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.

A 'Public Option' for Broadband?

[Source: PCWorld, by Mark Sullivan, June 30, 2010]
When it comes to broadband, I’m a socialist. Why? Because broadband service in the United States is currently provided by a cableco/telco duopoly, and, as such, is slower and more expensive than ...

Net Neutrality Gains Support from 150 Nonprofit and Allied Organizations

[Source: Save the Internet, by Megan Tady, June 30, 2010]
Nonprofit organizations clearly understand the power of the Internet to help create social change, and yesterday 150 public interest and allied organizations signed a letter to the Federal ...

Net Neutrality Opponents Outspending Proponents More Than 4 to 1

[Source: Read Write Web, by Marshall Kirkpatrick, June 29, 2010]
Companies opposed to Network Neutrality spent more than 4 times as much money on lobbying last quarter than organizations in support of it, according to a report on new hearings on the subject by ...

What DON'T You Need the Internet For?

[Source: NTEN: Nonprofit Technology Network, by Holly Ross, June 25, 2010]
This past April, how did you file your taxes? Did you mail them or e-File? How did you pay your last parking ticket? Find your last job? Watch a funny cat video? I'm betting the answer is the same ...

The Price of Broadband Politics

[Source: The New York Times, by Editorial, June 29, 2010]
One good measure of the intensity with which phone and cable companies dislike the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to extend its regulatory oversight over access to broadband Internet is ...

Broadband Availability to Expand

[Source: The New York Times, by Edward Wyatt, June 28, 2010]
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is seeking to nearly double the wireless communications spectrum available for commercial use over the next 10 years, an effort that could greatly enhance the ...

Sexting: Youth Practices and Legal Implications - A New Report from The Berkman Center for Internet & Society

[Source: The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, by Dena Sacco, Rebecca Argudin, James Maguire, Kelly Tallon, Cyberlaw Clinic, June 23, 2010]
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to share the Youth and Media Policy Working Group Initiative's latest document, which addresses legal and practical issues ...