Stories from the Field

MADCo Member Groups and Allies Have Announced Their Appointments to the FCC Consumers Advisory Committee

[Source: Media and Democracy Coalition, August 1, 2011]
The FCC has announced new appointments to the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) and Media Justice and reform advocates are well represented on the panel.

Regulators Focus Eye on the Sale of KUSF

[Source: The New York Times, by Reyhan Harmanci, August 27, 2011]
When KDFC, the popular commercial classical radio station, was sold to the University of Southern California in January and bumped down to 90.3, the nonprofit end of the dial, hundreds of ...

Turn Up The Radio: Fostering Community Media Collaboration

[Source: New America Foundation, by Colin Rhinesmith, August 5, 2011]
“Community radio is 10% radio and 90% community,” Jeff Shaw says. Speaking at a workshop about bringing together the worlds of low-power FM (LPFM) radio and public access television, Shaw drew ...

FrontlineSMS: Engaging the Audience to Transform the News

[Source: Media Shift - Idea Lab, by Sean McDonald, August 2, 2011]
If some projections are correct, the world is only a year or so from a major milestone: some time in 2012, there will be one active mobile phone connection for every person on the planet. The ...

Participatory Chinatown - Gaming for Urban Planning

[Source: Participatory Chinatown, July 6, 2011]
Participatory Chinatown brings a community together to plan and discuss the future

A Report from Making Media Now Conference

[Source: LEF Foundation, May 11, 2011]
This year's Making Media Now was held on Friday, May 6th at Bentley University. The theme for the conference was "Re-defining Collaboration in a Fractured Media World." Beyond just focusing on ...

The Transmedia Approach to Documentary Development and Marketing

[Source: About.com, by Jennifer Merin, July 25, 2011]
Because the transmedia concept and its manifestations are still works in progress, it's difficult to find a concrete definition for what is currently a buzz word in the documentaries world.As it ...

Speak Your Piece: Dear FCC... (on Proposed Universal Service Fund Reforms)

[Source: Daily Yonder, by Cassandra Heyne, July 14, 2011]
Yes, rural America needs broadband. But the best way to do that in many places is through local carriers. Reforms to the Universal Service Fund proposed by the FCC, however, could put these small, ...

If Phone Giants Merge: A Rural Take

[Source: Daily Yonder, by Parul Desai, July 18, 2011]
AT&T is proposing to acquire T-Mobile. What would this mean for phone pricing, customer service and jobs in rural areas?In March AT&T announced a proposed $39-billion merger with T-Mobile, ...

Geena Davis Says No to Women as Only "Eye Candy"

[Source: Washington Examiner, by Nikki Schwab, July 13, 2011]
Actress Geena Davis is not a fan of how women and girls are portrayed throughout the media. But she's not calling out any of her Hollywood colleagues. "I'm in the industry and I want to keep ...