• Free Press Files Suit to Protect Openness on the Wireless Web

    Timothy Karr
    September 28, 2011

    On Wednesday afternoon Free Press filed a legal challenge to the Open Internet rules recently published by the Federal Communications Commission.

  • Will Your Senator Kill the Open Internet?

    Josh Levy
    September 28, 2011

    The day is almost upon us: A handful of corporate hardliners in the Senate is getting ready to rush through a measure that would give phone and cable companies absolute, unrestricted power over the Internet.

  • Where AT&T Money Goes, Merger Support Follows

    Amy Kroin
    September 28, 2011

    Less than a week after seven attorneys general joined the Justice Department suit to block the AT&T/T-Mobile merger, 10 other attorneys general threw their support behind AT&T.

  • Jobs Plan Creates Opportunity, Risk in Wireless Tech

    Chris Riley
    September 27, 2011

    A lot of attention is being paid to President Obama’s American Jobs Act, both inside and outside the Beltway, and what it could mean for the economy and the millions of unemployed Americans.

  • Owning Our Airwaves: Tonight in Pittsburgh

    Josh Stearns
    September 26, 2011

    Tonight in Pittsburgh people from around the city will come together at a public town hall to discuss the future of media and journalism. The event will be an opportunity for the people of Pittsburgh to speak directly to Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps about the state of local news.

    This fall marks a critical moment for the future of our airwaves. The FCC is gearing up to review its media-ownership rules and faces massive industry pressure to remove the remaining public-interest protections and pave the way for more industry consolidation.

  • Reporters Expose AT&T’s Astroturf Funding Practices

    Joseph Torres
    September 22, 2011

    Beltway insiders were hardly shocked when Bloomberg News reported that AT&T contributed nearly $1,000,000 to Republican members of Congress who signed a letter supporting its bid to acquire T-Mobile.

  • Public Media on the Chopping Block -- Or Not

    Josh Stearns
    September 22, 2011

    The federal appropriations for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are determined two years in advance to help insulate the CPB from congressional budget bickering. But now we are confronted with the odd paradox that one part of Congress — the Super Committee that grew out of the debt-ceiling debate — is likely debating cuts to public broadcasting even as a Senate subcommittee this week approved an increased budget for 2014.

    Current.org reported this week that “If CPB survives 'til [2014], it would receive $445 million, the same as appropriated for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 but $6 million below President Obama's request.”

  • Michael Copps and the First Amendment

    Josh Stearns
    September 22, 2011

    Last week’s Constitution Day celebrations sparked a flurry of news and debates about the role of the First Amendment in our society. On its surface, the First Amendment embodies the sort of apple-pie American value that all people tend to agree with. It’s fundamental to our democracy and has been our media’s defining characteristic since the nation’s founding. However, what became clear throughout the course of the week was that the First Amendment is a contested terrain, and the technological and economic changes shaping our media are also shaping new understandings and implications of freedom of speech and the press.

  • Rep. Clarke Sees the Light on AT&T Deal

    Josh Levy
    September 21, 2011

    Earlier this month, five activists and I met with Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) in Brooklyn to discuss the mounting opposition to AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile.

  • Comcast Should Bring Low-Cost Broadband to Everyone

    Jenn Topper
    September 20, 2011

    On Tuesday Comcast Executive Vice-President David Cohen and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, along with D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, announced a plan to provide low-cost broadband to families eligible for the National School Lunch Program.

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