Media Policy

Restrictive media policies can curtail access to the content we do have through the infrastructure we currently have in place. There are clear roles for funders to play in helping to address media policy issues and GFEM works to keep funders abreast of the constantly shifting media policy environment.

The Media Policy Working Group (MPWG) was created to raise awareness and build knowledge about key issues in media policy within the broader philanthropic community. Our aim is to engage and educate grantmakers across fields about the ever-changing media policy and communications policy landscape, as well as foster collaboration among interested donors in support of targeted activities to help advance the media policy field. MPWG activities include a quarterly teleconference and periodic phone briefings on timely issues in addition to quarterly updates in the GFEM newsletter. MPWG also partners with other funder affinity groups to organize media policy-related sessions at national gatherings. Membership is open to grantmakers working in and outside the U.S. with an interest in learning and sharing grantmaking experiences about media policy in the public interest. If you would like to join the MPWG please contact jperlstein (at) gfem (dot) org.

Comcast and NBC: Did the Feds Fold?

[Source: The Washington Post, by Rob Pegoraro, January 18, 2011]
It's on: Comcast and NBC now have the government's blessing to set up a joint venture, increasingly controlled by Comcast, that will bring the nation's largest TV and Internet provider and one of ...

Justice Department Allows Comcast-NBCU Joint Venture to Proceed with Conditions

[Source: U.S. Department of Justice, January 18, 2011]
Companies Agree to License Programming to Online Distributors and Comply with Anti-Retaliation Provisions and Open Internet Requirements

So Long, Broadband Duopoly? Cable's High-Speed Triumph

[Source: ArsTechnica, by Nate Anderson, January 4, 2011]
Broadband users have long been skeptical of the duopoly situation in the US Internet market, which often feels like “pick your poison”: telephone company or cable company. "Where's the real ...

Who Wins and Loses Under the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules

[Source: GigaOm, by Stacey Higginbotham, December 28, 2010]
After the Federal Communication Commission released the complete version of its first set of so-called network neutrality rules last Thursday afternoon, I read the full order to understand what ...

AT&T Attacks 'Well Funded Neutrality Ideologues'

[Source: Broadband DSLReports.com, by Karl Bode, December 22, 2010]
As we've discussed, AT&T had the lion's share of input into the FCC's neutrality rules, getting more private meetings with the agency than any other company . As such, the final FCC rules are ...

FCC Net Neutrality Rules Slammed From All Sides

[Source: Wired, by Ryan Singel, December 21, 2010]
The federal government’s new internet fairness policy — designed to prevent the nation’s cable and DSL internet service providers from meddling with the open, free-wheeling nature of the internet ...

The FCC Network Neutrality Order: Possible Adequacy, But No Regulatory Certainty Any Time Soon

[Source: Public Knowledge, by Harold Feld, December 20, 2010]
So after a year of process, what has the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) accomplished on network neutrality? I will not say “nothing,” and I understand why FCC Democratic Commissioners ...

Thousands of Community Groups Rejoice at New Opportunity for Locally Owned Media

[Source: Prometheus Radio Project, December 17, 2010]
Prometheus Radio Project Press ReleaseToday a bill to expand community radio nationwide – the Local Community Radio Act – passed the U.S. Senate, thanks to the bipartisan leadership of Senators ...

Free Press / StopBigMedia.com Infographic: Comcast by the Numbers

[Source: StopBigMedia.com, by Josh Stearns, December 20, 2010]
StopBigMedia.com (a part of Free Press) has created a compelling visual to show the impact that the Comcast-NBC Universal merger would have on media content, access, distribution and control -- ...

Senate Joins House in Passing the Local Community Radio Act

Thousands of community groups rejoice at new opportunity for locally owned media WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today a bill to expand community radio nationwide – the Local Community Radio Act – passed the ...