When:
Thursday, November 7, 2013 -
12:45pm to 4:00pm EST
Where:
Philanthropy New York, 4th Floor, 79 Fifth Avenue, NYC
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Democracy and media are inextricably connected – one cannot have an informed and engaged electorate without robust access to information and guarantees of free expression.
While we have a growing array of communications choices at our fingertips, what we read, watch, hear and see is increasingly created and distributed by an ever-shrinking number of corporate media giants. Media consolidation in radio, TV, newspapers, and online has enormous implications for the quality of news and information available – especially at the local level. The fight between locally controlled, independent voices and telecom goliaths is taking place across the country and across all media formats. Even so, there have been some successful organizing efforts by media policy reform activists, supported by a dedicated cadre of grantmakers and individual philanthropists. This fall Low-Power FM radio is celebrating a long-fought victory to expand local radio while consumer activists closely watch a case between Verizon and the Federal Communications Commission over open Internet principles. At the same time, Free Press, the largest media policy coalition, is celebrating a decade of fighting for diverse and free expression.
Join us for a lively discussion with a terrific panel of experts and practitioners to learn about the critical role that funders play at the local, state and federal level to ensure that our media system serves our democracy.
Presenters
- Michael Copps, former Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission; Special Advisor, Media and Democracy Reform Initiative, Common Cause
- Robert McChesney, Professor of Communication, University of Illinois; Co-Founder, Free Press
- Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor and Publisher, The Nation
- Vince Stehle (Moderator), Executive Director, Media Impact Funders
Openness Scale
This program is "Mostly Open"
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Questions?
Contact register@philanthropynewyork.org.