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 | YOU'RE THE PUBLIC, SO GET CABLE ACCESS, by Lisa Sousa
Are you Margaret?" two or three people ask me eagerly as I walk through the door. "No, she's not Margaret," responds Brian Scott, CityVisions Channel 53's public access coordinator. The large, lofty studio is a flurry of activity this Friday night. |
 | TAKING JOURNALISM TO JAIL: an interview with David Gaither, by Elton Bradman
David Gaither is an associate editor at Pacific News Service (PNS), where he works on The Beat Within, a weekly newsletter by and for incarcerated youth in the Bay Area, as well as on New California Media: In Search of Common Ground, a television talk show aimed at members and readers of the ethnic press; Youth Outlook, a journal of youth life in the Bay Area; and the PNS wire service. |
 | TAKING BACK THE MEDIA: NOTES ON THE POTENTIAL FOR A COMMUNICATIVE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT. By Bob Hackett
Of all contemporary popular struggles, the struggle to democratize the communication media is arguably one of the most important and least recognized. In this article, I first argue for the importance of placing media democratization higher on the progressive agenda, and briefly sketch its normative commitments. Then, I explore the potential social and political obstacles and bases for a media democracy movement, concluding with a few strategic suggestions.
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| NOAM CHOMSKY: BEHIND THE HEADLINES ON COLOMBIA. AN INTERVIEW by David Barsamian.
DB: Talk about evolving U.S. policy in Colombia. The Interhemispheric Resource Center in Albuquerque has issued a statement: "U.S. Policy in Colombia: Towards a Vietnam Quagmire." Do you think that's an appropriate analogy? The New York Times writes in an editorial titled "Dangerous Plans for Colombia" that the aid to Colombia "risks dragging the United States into a costly counterinsurgency war." |
 | PBS SHUTS OUT INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS. by Jerold M. Starr.
Despite its auspicious and promising beginning, the Public Broadcasting Service largely has failed its congressional mandate. PBS was supposed to compensate for the inadequacies of advertiser-driven network programming by providing, in the words of its mandate, an "alternative" that expresses "diversity and excellence," involves "creative risks," and addresses "the needs of the unserved and underserved audiences." |
| ACTIVISTS FIGHT MEDIA CONSOLIDATION: FCC DROPPING OWNERSHIP LIMITS by Aliza Dichter
Under intense lobbying pressure and lawsuits brought by corporate media, the federal government is now considering removing the last few media-ownership limits. These rules--intended to protect diversity of viewpoints, competition and local ownership-- keep major TV networks from merging into one and prevent a single company from dominating the local TV market or owning a town's local newspaper, TV and radio station.
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 | CAN MUNCIPAL BROADBAND HELP SF SMASH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE?
by Jeff Perlstein
What do Tacoma, Provo, Lompoc and soon Philadelphia share in common? All residents there have access to very low-cost, very high-speed Internet service thanks to visionary policy initiatives, known as Municipal Broadband. |
| STREET SOLDIERS SILENCED BY MEDIA MERGER, by Laura Saponara
Produced in San Francisco, the radio program Street Soldiers is well known as a live forum for youth to talk openly about their experiences with gang violence, crime, drugs, pregnancy, and countless other issues. Antiviolence activists credit the program with saving lives by mediating conflicts through dialogue and providing an on- and off-air system of social support. |
| AT&T STALLS BROADBAND ACCESS, by Laura Saponara
Tired of the dial-up routine that connects your computer to an Internet service provider through your telephone line? If you've been following the debate over control of broadband technologies, you know that faster, smoother means of sending and receiving data over the Internet already exist. But questions about how these services will be provided, who will control the way they function, and what their financial and social costs will be remain unanswered. |
| INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS WIN VICTORIES, by Dorothy Kidd
The convergence of activists on the recent World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle signaled not only worldwide concern about the effects of globalization, but also the emergence of a well-organized and increasingly sophisticated network of internationalist media campaigners based both in and outside the media world. |
| MUMIA'S TRIAL -- THE SMELL OF SMOKE, by Margot Pepper
I saw the ad in the last issue of MediaFile soliciting signatures for the writers' petition in support of a fair trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. I am signing the petition and would like to share my reasons for doing so. |
| REPORTS FROM THE FIELD: FCC says to Hell with the Public Interest , by Camille Taiara
Congress has been hacking away for years at the Federal Communication Commission's original mandate to regulate the broadcast industry in the public's interest. The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the relaxation of antitrust regulations related to media ownership were major blows. And now, with the release of its Draft Strategic Plan for the 21st Century, the FCC itself has openly renounced its mission as regulator and forfeited democratic concerns in favor of a new role as "market facilitator." |
 | REPORTING ON DISABILITY, by Suzanne C. Levine
Media coverage plays a crucial role in educating the public on disability issues. It could--and should--be helping people understand that these are civil-rights issues. But more often than not, reporting on disability perpetuates negative stereotypes or fails to tell the story from the perspective of people with disabilities. |
| WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH WELFARE REFORM?, by Camille Taiara
Three years after the federal government ended subsistence guarantees for low-income people--and after hundreds of thousands of people have left or been kicked off the benefit rolls--welfare is no longer considered newsworth |
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