This Is What Media Looks Like

The ranks of a growing media reform movement swelled recently with the fashionable issue of Net neutrality. Telecommunications companies have sought to gain the power to give preferential treatment to some internet sites over others. The ensuing battle galvanized many citizens who had previously not been involved in media issues, creating one of the most successful grassroots campaigns in recent US history.

Many conference speakers celebrated the recent success in securing Net neutrality for two years, while encouraging reformers to stay vigilant on the issue. As keynote speaker Bill Moyers put it, “What happened to radio, happened to television, and then it happened to cable. If we are not diligent, then it will happen to the Internet, [creating] a media plantation for the 21st century dominated by the same corporate and ideological forces that have controlled the media for the last 50 years.”

“This is the great gift of the digital revolution and you must never let them take it away from you,” said Moyers. The veteran broadcaster also took the opportunity to put his detractors on notice, announcing that he would be hosting a new news show on PBS in the coming months.

Other speakers celebrated the growth of key independent media outlets such as LinkTV, Democracy Now! and the up-and-coming The Real News. Touted as the “largest public media collaboration in the US,” Democracy Now! broadcasts on 500 radio and television stations, reaching an audience some estimate in the millions, surpassing many so-called “mainstream” outlets. The Real News expects to begin airing regular newscasts in March.

The demise of the Independent Press Association (IPA) served as a counterpoint to these success stories. The IPA advocated and provided resources for independent magazines. IPA’s collapse has hurt many independent magazines and was a factor in the recent closing of some magazines, most notably Clamor.

A Positive Agenda

One of the major themes of the conference was the move away from merely defending against media deregulation, towards advocating policy that will advance media democracy.

“After years of fighting to prevent further consolidation of media ownership and the dumbing down of our airwaves, the movement is ready to pursue reforms that will transform American media,” Robert McChesney, president and co-founder of Free Press, told attendees. The SavetheInternet.com Coalition (Founded by FreePress; the conference organizer) unveiled the “Internet Freedom Declaration of 2007” which sets forth its plan not only for winning Net Neutrality in Congress, but establishing faster, universal and affordable broadband for everyone. The declaration calls for “World Class Quality through Competition,” “An Open and Neutral Network,” and “Universal Affordable Access.” The declaration is hailed as seizing control of the terms of debate, shifting the agenda from defending against further media deregulation, to demanding a truly public media infrastructure.

Even before the declaration was unveiled, Senators Byron Dorgan (a Democrat from South Dakota) and Olympia Snowe (a Republican from Maine) announced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2007, which would protect Net neutrality.

Reformers energized

In addition to recent media reform success and the burgeoning positive agenda, conference attendees also railed against dismal coverage in the corporate media. Robert McChesney summarized this situation well in his address.

“We need to battle the ever-increasing commercialization of our media. We need to fight thinly disguised payola fuelling homogenized corporate music that leaves no room for local and independent artists; we need to fight video news releases masquerading as news, with PR agents pushing agendas that squeeze out real news coverage and local community concerns; we need to fight product placements turning news and entertainment shows alike into undisclosed commercials; and we need to fight rapacious advertisers preying on the unsuspecting minds of our young children,” McChesney told an energized crowd.

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman put it more concisely, telling activists about the need to stop a media system that produces “the lies that cost lives.”

At the closing of the conference, support for media reform was higher than every before in recent memory, and the record number of attendees left energized to work for a democratic media system.