• Susan Crawford Warns of Dire Consequences for Internet Users

    Timothy Karr
    February 1, 2013
    Susan Crawford’s new book, Captive Audience, details a host of challenges for the Internet and its users as this network enters middle age. Many of its recent growing pains come at the hands of network providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon that sell access to the global network.

  • What AT&T's Latest Scheme Would Mean for American Consumers

    Josh Levy
    S. Derek Turner
    January 31, 2013

    In January, a German court ruled that the Internet is an “essential” part of life.

    "The Internet plays a very important role today and affects the private life of an individual in very decisive ways,” said a court spokeswoman. “Therefore loss of use of the Internet is comparable to the loss of use of a car."

  • Spin the Revolving Door: Tribune Hires FCC Chairman's Right-Hand Man

    Craig Aaron
    January 30, 2013
    A lot of things don't work at the Federal Communications Commission. Consumer complaints disappear for years into seemingly bottomless file drawers. The wonky proceedings are hard to decipher if you're not a telecom lawyer. Even the website is clunky. But at least one thing at the FCC always runs at full speed: the revolving door.

  • Special Early-Bird Deadline Extended!

    Candace Clement
    January 30, 2013

    Let's get right to it: We've all had enough of the racist, sexist, homophobic and otherwise insulting stereotypes perpetrated by the media.

    Wanna do something about it? Join thousands of others in Denver on April 5–7 at the National Conference for Media Reform.

  • FCC Chairman's Legacy: Ignoring Diversity

    Joseph Torres
    January 29, 2013
    Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan to allow greater media consolidation in local markets could wipe out many of the remaining TV station owners of color left in the country.

  • Fighting Words for the FCC

    Amy Kroin
    January 28, 2013
    Our nation’s capital is known for its bare-knuckle brawls. But last Thursday there was a smackdown of a different variety, courtesy of a debate on “Media Ownership and the Public Interest.” The event explored the gulf between America’s shifting demographics — and the incredibly puny numbers of women and people of color who actually own broadcast TV and radio stations.

  • Protecting Online Freedom as the Internet Turns 30

    Timothy Karr
    January 28, 2013

    The Internet turned 30 earlier this month.

    It's during anniversaries like these that we have a chance to take stock of this remarkable network and the people who make it what it is.

  • Yo, AT&T: Stop Bullying Us

    Amy Kroin
    January 25, 2013

    AT&T customers are mad as hell — and by the looks of it, they’re not going to take it anymore.

    Back in August, the company announced that it would block iPhone users from accessing the FaceTime video calling app unless they subscribed to more expensive voice-and-text plans. Bedlam ensued.

  • Keep the Pressure On

    Josh Stearns
    January 25, 2013

    Late last year, word got out that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski was trying to rush a vote on a plan that would have weakened media consolidation rules, hurt media diversity and given Rupert Murdoch a green light to buy up major papers like the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune.  

  • Genachowski's Gigabit Gambit

    Josh Levy
    January 23, 2013

    Last week, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski extolled the virtues of “gigabit” broadband:

    Making sure the U.S. has super-fast, high-capacity, ubiquitous broadband networks delivering speeds measured in gigabits, not megabits, isn’t just a matter of consumer convenience, as important as that is. It’s essential to economic growth, job creation and U.S. competitiveness.

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