 | Documentary Filmmaker Wins in Tax Court by Katherine Reith, International Documentary Organization Lee Storey, an attorney in the area of water rights and a documentary filmmaker, learned today that her documentary film Smile ‘Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story has been considered a for-profit endeavor in the eyes of the US Tax Court |
 | Community Broadband - What It Is by Christopher Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance 90-second animated piece explaining that broadband doesn't have to come from AT&T or Comcast. |
 | Religious Websites More Malignant Than Pornsites by Daniel Ionesco, PC World Religious and ideological websites can carry three times more malware threats than pornography sites, according to research from security firm Symantec. The firm’s annual Internet Security Threat Report also found that threats to mobile devices continue to grow, almost exclusively for Google’s Android mobile OS. |
.jpg) | Eritrea Tops List of World Press Censors by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), UK Guardian Eritrea leads the world in imposing censorship on the media, followed closely by North Korea, Syria and Iran, according to a journalism group. |
 | 2011 Banned Books List - 70% Female Authors by Tracy Rosenberg, American Library Association The ALA list of the top 10 books targeted for removal from schools and libraries is out for 2011. 7 out of the 10 books were written by women. |
 | Community Media Rights Are Common Ground by Autumn Labbe Renault, The Davis Enterprise Davis Media Access director Autumn Labbe-Renault blogs about lobbying Sacramento in opposition to SB 1161 |
 | Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking In August 2011, 35 ACLU affiliates filed over 380 public records requests with state and local law enforcement agencies to ask about their policies, procedures and practices for tracking cell phones. |
 | People of the State of California Vs. Arbitron Settles The nation's dominant provider of radio audience metrics has agreed to settle a consumer protection lawsuit jointly pursued by the State of California and the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco over a listenership measurement scheme said to discriminate against radio stations with predominantly African American and Hispanic audiences. |
 | Underground Libraries Hit Arizona via Libro Traficantes Nuestra Palabras, a Houston-based alliance of writers, artists and activists (with a show on Pacifica Radio's KPFT) brought a caravan of 1,000 banned books into Arizona. |
 | The Insanely Long Guide to Spectrum Deals We hate spectrum. What could be more geeky-obscure and headache-inducing than the ins and outs of the bands? But it's important. Especially right now. |
 | Occupy the Media - Free Speech TV 5:00 on Wednesdays (or whenever you feel like it on your computer), Free Speech TV brings the occupy movement to the occupy the media movement. Watch the latest episodes! |
 | 2 Journalists Charged with Felonies Covering Occupy Santa Cruz Protests by Jessica Pasko, Santa Cruz Sentinel Two men facing charges in connection with the takeover of a former bank are slated for a preliminary hearing this week. Their attorneys say the men are photojournalists and were working in that capacity when the alleged violations took place. |
 | Astroturf Ads Demonize Legal Immigration A Fair Chance at Jobs Campaign has been blanketing Ohio and other states with ads pitting legal immigrants against the native-born unemployed. |
 | Beastie Boys Mike D Pushes AT&T on Net Neutrality by Greg Capobianco, Future of Music Coalition Blog Mike D of the Beastie Boys has authored a shareholder's initiative to AT&T for a proxy vote to allow AT&T shareholders to vote for an internal policy to support an open Internet. |
 | Only Vigilantes Tell The Truth by Arthur Brisbane, NY Times Just to totally blow one's mind: the NY Times public editor came up with a column called "Should the NY Times be a Truth Vigilante? |
 | Top 10 Public Interest Stories- ATT is #1 by Top Public Interest Story of 2011, Public News Network They say: "A story we followed from the beginning came to a happy ending in the form of a failed merger and the preservation of many American jobs" |
 | Microsoft's So-Called Avoid Ghetto App by Jamilah King, Colorlines Magazine Microsoft has recently been at the center of a whirlwind of controversy over a new app that critics allege is downright racist. On January 3, the company was granted a patent for technology related to its “Pedestrian Route Production” application, a tool that that the company says would navigate the user “safely through neighborhoods with violent crime statistics below a certain threshold.” |
 | Oakland Tribune Reporter Has a Late Night Visitor Oakland Tribune reporter Doug Oakley got a late-night visit from the Berkeley Police Department's public information officer demanding a retraction of a story filed at 11:00pm that evening. |
.jpg) | John Santos on the Grammy Awards by John Santos, Grammy Watch An open letter from musician John Santos to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). |
 | Test Drive a Widget? by Tracy Rosenberg Those of you wish to enter into a helping relationship with the FCC are encouraged to test drive their widgets as they roll out a new website. |