[IMC-Boston-Editorial] 5/17 Apocalypse Soon for the Public Media? 6:30 p.m.

[Sofia JarrinT]

--- Jason Pramas <jpramas at igc.org> wrote:

> Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 09:02:27 -0400
> From: Jason Pramas <jpramas at igc.org>
> To: mga-info at massglobalaction.org
> Subject: [MGA-info] 5/17 Apocalypse Soon for the
> Public Media? 6:30 p.m.
> 
> Apocalypse Soon for Public Media?
> An On-line Community Discussion featuring Live
> Podcasting and Blogging
> [Boston-area folks invited to be in the live
> audience]
> 
> Encuentro 5
> http://www.encuentro5.org/
> 33 Harrison Ave., 5th Floor
> Boston, MA 02111
> -- corner of Harrison Ave. and Beach St. in
> Chinatown, 3 blocks from the 
> Boston Common --
> 
> Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
> 6:30-8:30 p.m.
> 
> The Community Media and Technology Program at the
> UMass Boston College 
> of Public and Community Service, The Tactical Media
> Project, and 
> Massachusetts Global Action are presenting a
> communications policy 
> discussion and community meeting.
> 
> Public media and the Internet are in deep trouble.
> We are currently 
> seeing the emergence of the communications and media
> systems we will 
> live with for the next several decades. And, as we
> write, there are 
> proposals in Congress that dramatically threaten the
> public interest, 
> and the potential for innovation and media justice
> in those emerging 
> systems, in the US and around the world.
> 
> At stake are:
> 
> * local control of our communications
> infrastructure,
> * the survival of the Internet as an open and
> affordable communications 
> network [a.k.a. "net neutrality"],
> * maintaining and expanding public access to cable
> and other media 
> production and distribution resources,
> * our communications rights to receive and create
> media,
> * the democratic and equitable provision of
> telecommunications access to 
> low income communities and communities of color,
> * the future of public service media,
> * the ability of local government to assure the
> communications 
> infrastructure is present to support progressive
> economic development.
> 
> The current debate in Congress is symptomatic of a
> much larger surge of 
> social changes arising from global economic and
> technological shifts in 
> communications sectors. It is no accident that just
> when we are seeing 
> the media landscape tilting in the direction of
> communications rights, 
> many-to-many communications, and the hope for media
> justice glimmering 
> somewhere on the horizon, powerful commercial and
> private political 
> interests are moving to secure the communications
> future for themselves. 
> Now we are hearing about the roll back of public
> access to cable, 
> slashed funding and political chicanery for public
> service broadcasting, 
> privatizing the Internet, fast information lanes for
> the wealthy, and 
> slow lanes for the rest of us. Hanging in the
> balance are crucial issues 
> of global communications rights, media justice,
> democratic political and 
> economic development around the world.
> 
> Please join our group of experienced communications
> and media 
> commentators, and a live and virtual audience, for a
> discussion of these 
> issues, and what can be done about the current
> proposals in Congress. 
> For more information, contact Jason Pramas at
> jpramas at igc.org.
> 
> Partial List of Commentators:
> 
> Andy Carvin: Founding Editor, Digital Divide
> Network,
> Blogger, PBS Learning.Now
> (pbs.org/learningnow)
> 
> Dan Coughlin: Director, Manhattan Neighborhood
> Network
> http://www.mnn.org/
> 
> Alyce Myatt: Strategic communications planner and
> advocate for 
> independent media organizations and the
> philanthropic community.
>
http://www.democraticmedia.org/ddc/PublicMediaCaucus.php
> 
> Fred Johnson: Director, Community Media and
> Technology Program, College 
> of Public and Community Service, UMass Boston.
> http://www.cpcs.umb.edu/cmt/
> http://www.mwg.org
> 
> Chuck Sherwood: Principal, Community Media Visioning
> Partners, a Public 
> Sector consultancy serving Local Franchising
> Authorities and PEG Access 
> Management Organizations.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> MGA-info mailing list
> MGA-info at massglobalaction.org
>
http://massglobalaction.org/mailman/listinfo/mga-info_massglobalaction.org
> 


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