• Gee, Contracts Are So Confusing!

    Josh Levy
    November 17, 2009

    This weekend, the New York Times’ Saul Hansell wrote a piece that could have been written by AT&T’s PR department.

  • Prioritizing Internet Traffic Will Cause Problems

    Stevie Converse
    November 16, 2009

    Internet service providers like Comcast and AT&T want to speed up voice and video applications while downgrading others. And while that might not seem as dramatic as outright blocking or slowing down their competitors’ applications, prioritization can still cause problems for Internet users.

  • Editors Make the Case for Smart Journalism Policies

    Josh Stearns
    November 12, 2009

    The editors of the Columbia Journalism Review published an important editorial this week outlining why they feel public policy must be a central part of the discussion about the future of news in America.

    They wrote: “The idea that a purely commercial media alone can continue to deliver the journalism we need is becoming difficult to swallow. If we don’t get beyond the rational but outdated fear of government help for accountability journalism—if we just let the market sort it out—this vital public good will continue to decline.”

  • Net Neutrality Preserves the Writers’ Inkwell

    Megan Tady
    November 11, 2009

    The Internet is the writers’ inkwell. When consolidated publishing houses don’t consider our book pitches; when the top magazines present writers’ guidelines as a cruel joke; when Hollywood studios mop their floors with screenplays; and when news agencies operate on a skeleton crew of reporters, we can turn to the Internet.

  • How Application Bias Harms the Net

    Chris Riley
    November 11, 2009

    In the fight for Net Neutrality, we can’t get lost in the nuance. Internet Service Providers would have us believe that certain types of network prioritization are innocuous. In truth, there’s a litany of hidden harms in any attempt to shape Internet traffic.

  • The Dirty Truth about Rural Broadband

    Adam Lynn
    November 10, 2009

    The largest Internet service providers have long paid lip service to connecting America’s rural areas to broadband, even as rural residents remain without service because these ISPs fail to connect them.

  • Sharing Ideas with the FTC on the Future of Journalism

    Josh Stearns
    November 10, 2009

    Last week, Free Press and SaveTheNews.org joined thousands of concerned citizens to file comments with the Federal Trade Commission on policy ideas to improve the future of journalism in America. The agency is collecting public comments in advance of its two-day workshop in December on the state of the news in our digital economy.

    The high-profile workshop comes on the heels of a number of reports this year advocating for a central role for government in addressing the news and information needs of our communities.

  • Sen. Klobuchar: Verizon’s Fees Are Anti-Consumer

    Josh Levy
    November 9, 2009

    It's good to see that Congress is waking up to Verizon's outrageous early-termination fees, which were recently doubled to $350 for "advanced devices" (read: smart phones).

    Today, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) expressed her opposition to the fee, calling it "anti-competitive and anti-consumer."

  • Open Letter to Civil Rights Community on Net Neutrality

    Alex Nogales
    Ben Scott
    November 9, 2009

    This letter is co-authored by Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press.

    The debate over Network Neutrality has intensified since the FCC announced its intention to clarify and codify its Network Neutrality rules.

  • 2,000 Citizens Tell the FTC to Support Journalism

    Shelby Kinney-Lang
    November 9, 2009

    Last week, we asked you to send your thoughts and ideas about the future of the news to the Federal Trade Commission as part of its inquiry into the state of journalism. The response was overwhelming: More than 2,000 citizens submitted comments to the agency through SavetheNews.org.

    In December, the FTC will hold workshops on journalism and the news in our digital economy, and will consider what role policymakers should play in supporting journalism.

    The public outpouring clearly shows that people are concerned about these issues, and that they favor a central role for the government in supporting healthy and vibrant journalism. What that role should be, however, was hotly debated.

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