Another member of Thursday’s panel on campus was Free Press co-founder John Nichols. After finishing up with Kevin Klose I pigeonholed him as well, wondering what the f*ck the deal was with possibly charging journalists to attend the National Conference on Media Reform.
Nichols did not know this, and did not believe it. Of course journalists would not be required to pay for entry. He said they will not make distinctions between news organizations, either – the New York Times and Indymedia will get equal treatment, although there is concern lots of folks may show up and claim to be IMC reporters just for a free pass.
The house is guaranteed to be far from empty: at least 500 people have registered for the conference so far (which at $75-175 each makes for an excellent debut) and more are signing on every day. The momentum with which things are growing seems to have swamped the organizing staff, leading to disconnects between stuff like what the web site says and what the real deal is.
Nichols also believes combining activism with reform is the way to go. Hopefully this gets reflected at the shindig itself.
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