Stories from the Field

Door Open for Women in Media Policy

[Source: WIMN’s Voices, by Carolyn Byerly, July 12, 2011]
As a result of a court decision last week, women and people of color have an open door to advocate for media policy that will serve to expand their media ownership.

indieWIRE Does Hulu: Favorite Docs About the American Dream (Or the Lack Thereof)

[Source: indieWIRE, by Basil Tsiokos, July 14, 2011]
For this edition of indieWIRE at Hulu Docs - iW‘s regular curation of Hulu’s Documentaries page - we’re very loosely tying into this month’s connection with patriotism and national celebration by ...

A Call to Take Back the Internet From Corporations

[Source: The New York Times, by Jennifer 8. Lee, July 12, 2011]
Is the Internet due for a “Magna Carta moment?”

Three New Studies Prove that Docs Can Change the World

[Source: International Documentary Association, by Thomas White, July 10, 2011]
Social issue documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc. have made major inroads at the box office, and thanks to the vital work of Participant Media, Sundance Institute, The Good ...

LA Teen Reporters Boost Community with Newspaper

[Source: KSRO, by Christina Hoag (Associated Press), July 10, 2011]
Eighteen-year-old Alejandro Rojas is tired of how outsiders view his neighborhood of Boyle Heights as a hub of gang violence and housing projects. "We have good things but you have to look for ...

Commissioner Copps on the Media Ownership Decision

[Source: FCC, July 8, 2011]
Statement of Commissioner Michael J. Copps on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit's Decision on Media Ownership

Growing Fiber Internet in Rural America: A Stimulus Success Story

[Source: Wired, by Ryan Singel, July 1, 2011]
If you think the Obama administration’s stimulus package is about digging ditches, you’d be right — at least when it comes to funding broadband efforts in rural areas. Take for instance the ...

911 to Nowhere

[Source: Daily Yonder, by Miranda Kessel, June 23, 2011]
Seven out of ten 911 emergency calls are made from mobile phones. What happens in rural areas when the cell phone coverage runs out?Ask rural residents where cell phone service is scarce, and ...

What Can Independent Producers Learn from the New FCC Report?

[Source: Public Radio Makers Quest 2.0, by Jessica Clark, June 15, 2011]
Weighing in at a hefty 475 pages of densely packed text, the latest FCC report, The Information Needs of Communities, is unlikely to replace your summer beach reading. But it does offer some key ...

IDA Urges US Tax Court to Recognize For-Profit Filmmaking Status

[Source: International Documentary Association, by IDA Editorial Staff, June 12, 2011]
The IDA joined forces with a coalition of media arts organizations and independent filmmakers to lend their names to an amicus brief filed on their behalf by entertainment attorney Michael C. ...