Many activists (especially those involved in progressive/radical causes) are intimately familiar with doing hard work for little or no money or recognition. I’ve unfortunately watched friends burn out on causes for change because of this. However, my hiatus of late has taught me an important lesson: people do notice your work and, if you keep plugging away at it, you will reap rewards (above and beyond altruistic satisfaction, which still unfortunately is not yet considered a form of currency).
When I decided to move to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois from Madison several months ago, I had little idea what I’d be doing when I got here (outside of the higher-learning thing). It was the first time I’d apartment-hunted with no clue as to how I’d manage the rent, an experience I’d recommend to nobody. Continue reading “The Voice of Media Reform?”
Tag: robert mcchesney
Preach On, Brother Bob
We are at the two-week point from the FCC’s further decimation of American media. Last week a communiqué of sorts came in from media scholar and author Bob McChesney: “Please spread this article around on the Internet. Thanks.”
While that one is good, if you had to pick only one article on media ownership to forward around in a last-minute flurry of activist email, I’d pick McChesney’s “The FCC’s Big Grab,” which is the most succinct yet complete synopsis available on the FCC’s pending action and its disastrous implications for media democracy.
Media Coverage of Media Deregulation: Too Little, Too Late
The Pacifica radio network’s flagship program, Democracy Now!, featured a segment this week on the FCC’s current media deregulation crusade. It featured several guests, including whiz-bang media scholar Robert McChesney, Jeff Chester from the Center for Digital Democracy, and FCC Media Bureau chief W. Kenneth Ferree (who’s already scoffed at encouraging more public input on this issue as “an exercise in foot-stomping”).
While these three did the majority of the talking, a couple of other guests got some important words in edgewise. One of them was Mara Einstein, assistant professor of Media Studies at Queens College (CUNY). Einstein wrote one of the 12 studies the FCC released late last year to justify its current effort: hers was “Program Diversity and the Program Selection Process on Broadcast Network Television.” Continue reading “Media Coverage of Media Deregulation: Too Little, Too Late”