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Up one levelProgram news, opportunities, and updates. To submit news to us, send it to mediahub@ssrc.org.
SSRC Essay Forum: Transformations of the Public Sphere
Accompanied by a mapping project called the Public Sphere Guide, a new essay forum hosted by the SSRC provides a platform for discussions around current and emerging projects on the public sphere, serving as a gateway to ongoing conversations around sub-themes of media reform, academia and public policy, religion, the privatization of risk and the public good.
Call for Papers: Democratizing Communication Policy in the Americas
For a special issue on the current state of media and communications policy and its links to social policy and civil society, the Canadian Journal of Communications invites papers from concerned experts working in academic or non-academic settings in the Americas. Full papers must be submitted by December 15, 2009.
Beyond Television: The Digital Transition of Public Access
Martha Fuentes-Bautista and channelAustin introduce new metrics for measuring the opportunities and demands faced by community access organizations in the transition to digital scenarios. Taking the case of channelAustin, the study highlights the diverse communities and needs served, providing action items for local decision-makers, strategic planners, and the access community at large.
New Study Confirms Cross-Ownership Leads to Less Local Content
Danilo Yanich, at the University of Delaware, examines a key FCC study on the effects of cross-ownership on local news content in television markets. Yanich finds serious problems with the 2007 study, and with the changes in ownership policies that followed. The project was supported by a grant from the SSRC and conducted in cooperation with the Consumer Federation of America and Free Press.
Future of Music Coalition Releases Study on Independent Music Airplay
April 29, 2009, Washington, D.C. -- Artist education, research and advocacy organization Future of Music Coalition (FMC) announces the release of a new report that analyzes radio playlists to determine whether the policy interventions resulting from 2003-2007 payola investigations have had any effect on the amount of independent music played on terrestrial radio. This project was supported by a Large Collaborative Grant from the SSRC.
Allied Media Conference & Media Equity Summit
Allied Media Projects invites proposals for workshops, panel discussions, film presentations, and caucuses for their 11th annual Conference, to be held July 16-19th in Detroit, MI. The AMC Conference is preceded this year by a Summit of Women's Social Justice Media Organizations organized by the Women's Media Equity Collaborative (MEC), supported by a Large Collaborative Grant from the SSRC.
SSRC Awards 13 Grants to Improve Public Knowledge on Islam and Muslim Communities
Thirteen centers on university campuses have received grants ranging from approximately $35,000 to $100,000 for projects that will help revitalize the public mission of universities by addressing topics of critical importance to ongoing national debates. The grants support journalism projects or other channels for the distribution of high-quality expert knowledge to impact policy and public discourse.
Process is Powerful: A Practical Guide for Media Activists
The Center for International Media Action (CIMA) draws on five years of alliance-building experience to produce an open source guide for practitioners working toward systemic, progressive media change. With a focus on planning and evaluation strategies, the guide draws from several case studies, including CIMA's work with the 'Necessary Knowledge' Collaborative Grants program at the SSRC.
NHMC Study of Hate Speech to be Released
January 22, 2009 – The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), one of the country’s foremost Latino media advocacy and civil rights organizations, announces an upcoming press conference, January 28th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss the role of media in hate speech and hate crimes. This research is supported by a Large Collaborative Grant from the Social Science Research Council.
Call for Proposals: The VAI-SSRC 'New York Prize Fellowship in Information and Communication'
The Van Alen Institute and the Social Science Research Council welcome proposals from researchers, designers, and architects investigating the spatial conditions and implications of contemporary intellectual property regimes, in recognition of their role in reorganizing basic social understandings of public and private, licit and illicit, freedom and constraint.
"...and Communications for All: A Policy Agenda for a New Administration"
This new volume is the culmination of the the Future of American Communications (FACT) Working Group, composed of sixteen telecommunications scholars from eleven American universities.
Six Steps Toward a Stronger, More Transparent, More Accountable FCC in the Obama Era
Public policy should be made with robust, publicly-available data. Few would disagree. Yet in the last decade, federal policymaking in the communications arena has repeatedly failed to meet these two basic conditions: quality of data and access to data.
What is the Future of the Newspaper?
The Christian Science Monitor, which turned 100 this year, recently announced that it will cease daily publication next April. The newspaper will shift to a weekly print format while increasing its emphasis on its Web site. Against this backdrop, SSRC Program Officer - Minna Aslama hosts a new President's Question.
New Essays on Making Communications Research Matter
Dec. 2008 -- "Making Communications Research Matter" is an SSRC essay forum intended to advance dialogue about the relationship between research and policymaking in media and communications. Recent additions (by Kate Coyer, Marianne Franklin, Philip Napoli, and Danilo Yanich) are up for comment and discussion.
Press Release: Citizen Access to Democracy Hurting in Rural America
As an increasing number of participatory democratic processes assume access to modern, high-speed telecommunications services, are citizens in rural/remote areas politically disenfranchised by lack of adequate, affordable and equal communications infrastructure? With the support of a Collaborative Grant from the SSRC, Dr. Richard Wolff (Montana State University) and Montana Common Cause team up to answer this question of civic engagement.
Humanitarianism, Activism, Media, Religion: A Roundtable
Distinctions between religious and secular activist media often seem self-evident. This panel asks what they might share. How do religious and secular forms of activism overlap? How do contemporary humanitarian and activist movements use complex networks of mediation? How do visions of suffering function when mediated and deployed globally? How do the formal properties of media signs and symbols constitute humanitarian and activist movements?
SSRC Announces Seven New Collaborative Grant Winners -- Small Grants and Research Bounties
Oct. 27, 2008 -- The Social Science Research Council announces seven new recipients of Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications. The winners include five $7,500 Small Grants and two Research Bounties.
Grantee Feature: Consumer's Rights and Internet Access in Brazil
With the boom in Internet use, the Brazilian government is re-examining legal and policy frameworks surrounding telecom services, including the debate around network neutrality in the US. With SSRC support, the Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC) has tested the broadband Internet access of the three main service providers in São Paulo.
Grantee Feature: A New Model for Measuring Radio Audiences
Graciela Orozco (San Francisco State University) believes in the power of community radio to reach a wide audience. For stations serving rural or marginalized populations, how can we better measure their reach and impact?
Grantee Feature: Common Frequency Public FM
In 2007, a rare window opened for non-profit groups to apply for full-power FM radio licenses. Common Frequency and researcher Andy Jones (UC Davis) applied for an SSRC Grant to provide information about available frequencies to a wide range of non-profits and student groups. Working with Radio for People, their efforts supported some 200 frequency applications.