Media Policy

gfem_logo_mp_full_400.gif

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.

Public Media Is America

[Source: The Huffington Post, by Jacquie Jones, Executive Director, National Black Programming Consortium, March 22, 2011]
Public media is once again on the chopping block.

In AT&T & T-Mobile Merger, Everybody Loses

[Source: GigaOm, by Om Malik, March 20, 2011]
The lull of my lazy, rainy weekend was broken by the news that AT&T plans to acquire T-Mobile USA for a whopping $39 billion in cash and stock. Who wins and who loses in this deal? It’s ...

National Broadband Plan: A Quartet for an Anniversary

[Source: The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, by Blair Levin, March 18, 2011]
The one-year anniversary of the National Broadband Plan was marked by a number of conferences. I spoke at several. In each, I tried to address a different question.

FCC Plan Moves at Dial-Up Speed

[Source: Politico, by Tony Romm and Eliza Krigman, March 16, 2011]
One year after the Federal Communications Commission released its National Broadband Plan, more than half of the recommendations have yet to be implemented as the legacy of FCC Chairman Julius ...

Rep. Edward Markey Statement on FCC Open Internet Rule at House Sub-Committee on Communications and Technology Hearing

[Source: Representative Edward Markey, by Rep. Edward Markey, March 9, 2011]
Last December, the FCC promulgated a commonsense, light-touch regulatory framework for ensuring that the Internet remains an open, level playing field for all users. Why is an open Internet ...

Key House Subcommittee Votes to Undo Net Neutrality Rules

[Source: ArsTechnica, by Matthew Lasar, March 10, 2011]
On partisan lines, a House subcommittee on Communications and Technology has voted to disapprove the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, ...

The Hill's 'Wonderland' Assault On Net Neutrality - Opinion

[Source: Public Knowledge, by Art Brodsky, March 10, 2011]
Veer and Vinay Gidwaney are the kind of people that House Republicans should like. They are young, energetic, brilliant entrepreneurs. They are just the kind of startups and small business ...

Zipcar Founder Says Wireless/Wired Broadband Distinction In FCC Regs Is 'Nonsense'

[Source: Broadcasting & Cable, by John Eggerton, March 9, 2011]
Says Congress should strengthen FCC's net neutrality rules, not try to invalidate them

They Brought a Tote Bag to a Knife Fight: The Resignation of NPR’s CEO Vivian Schiller

[Source: PressThink, by Jay Rosen, March 10, 2011]
I feel compelled to share my view of the events that led yesterday to the resignation of Vivian Schiller as CEO of National Public Radio. I don’t know if they add up to a coherent response. Maybe ...

Native Public Media Hails Launch of FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy

[Source: New America Foundation, March 7, 2011]
Washington, D.C. – In homes across Indian Country, calling someone on the telephone is not easy. Only one in three families have access to a telephone. Over 90 percent of Native Americans do not ...