Find Free Press on the Road This Summer

For me and my Free Press colleagues, summer brings lots of travel to events around the country to meet with you: our members, supporters and friends.

Here’s what Free Press staffers have been up to in just the last couple of weeks:

We gave a speech about Net Neutrality at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

We collaborated with our allies the Center for Media Justice and May First/People Link to host a gathering in Detroit that examined the relationship between race, surveillance and social control.

We met with longtime activists John and Bonnie Raines, who had key roles in uncovering illegal spying operations back in 1971.

We testified in the Senate about the wasteful AT&T-DirecTV merger, and provided public testimony in Albany about the equally disastrous Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger.

We participated in a town hall on Net Neutrality and innovation with Maine Senator Angus King.

There are so many places to find us — and we want to meet you! So check out our event calendar to find out what’s happening near you.

And if you can, come say hi at these upcoming events:

  • Nuestras Voces/Our Voices: A Youth Dialogue with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: On Mon., June 30, you can find Free Press staff at this youth-focused event in Albuquerque featuring Chairman Wheeler. There’s still time to sign up for this event, which our allies at the Media Literacy Project organized. You can also join the conversation online via Twitter (use the hashtag #OurVoicesNM) and a livestream. You might just catch great testimony and comments from young activists like filmmaker Charlie Dean.
  • Which Side Are You on, Tom?: On Tues., July 1, join in the fun at a creative action organized by our friends and fellow Net Neutrality supporters Popular Resistance in Washington, D.C. The action will feature street theater, music and a playful tug-of-war in which corporations and Internet fast-lane proponents battle supporters of real Net Neutrality for Chairman Wheeler's vote. Email info@PopularResistance.org to get involved. Keep an eye out for Free Press representatives and introduce yourself!
  • Preserving an Open Internet: Rules to Promote Competition and Protect Main Street Consumers: Also on Tuesday, Vermonters can visit with Free Pressers attending a Senate Judiciary Committee field hearing in Burlington organized by Sen. Patrick Leahy. The hearing will explore Chairman Wheeler’s Net Neutrality plan and may delve into other topics, like the Comcast merger. Sign up to join us here.

Many other events are happening around the country in the coming months — conferences, rallies, public FCC meetings — and we encourage you to send us your media- and tech-related events to post to our calendar. Email me your submissions for review.

Or plan your own event to fight for your rights to connect and communicate. Check out our tips here.

Original photo by Flickr user Ed Suominen