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Up one levelSSRC 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Grantee Feature: 'Migrant Voices' for Social Change
Sasha Costanza-Chock (USC) and Amanda Garcés (IDEPSCA) share lessons from ‘Migrant Voices', a participatory research project with IDEPSCA and the Garment Worker Center to develop new strategies for broad-based communication among low-wage immigrants in Los Angeles. Their current work, also funded by the SSRC, explores a new platform for mobile-based storytelling.
APCNews Features SSRC Grantee Report
The Association for Progressive Communications highlights the recent work of SSRC Small Grant recipient Abi Jagun, who investigated the unique case of Mauritius as part of APC's large-scale research project on SAT-3/WASC implementation in Africa.
Collaborative Grants: Honorable Mentions
The SSRC Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere Grants program introduces 'Honorable Mentions'. Each Collaborative Grants round sees a number of excellent proposals that can't be funded due to our limited resources. We want to draw your attention to these projects, in the hope that they will find success and support!
Whose Media? Our Media! SPIN Toolkit Available for Download
Whose Media? Our Media! -- A toolkit to help media activists develop and successfully execute their own communications campaigns from the ground up.
Broadband Access Data Mischief
Highlighting the Benton Foundation's response to the just-released NTIA study declaring success for President Bush's universal broadband initiative. The study's reliance on FCC data that the FCC admits cannot provide an accurate picture of broadband adoption makes it worth flagging in the context our proposals to modernize and reform the FCC's data collection practices.
New SSRC/IDRC Book: ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks
A new SSRC/IDRC-sponsored volume brings together scholars, practitioners, former regulators and policy makers to address the problem of expanding information and communication technology (ICT) connectivity in emerging Asia.
"Media Minutes" Radio Program focuses on SSRC-funded research on Children's Media
The "Media Minutes" syndicated radio program this week includes an interview with Christy Glaubke of Children Now talking the the report “Big Media, Little Kids 2.” This report summarizes a research study that found that media consolidation has a detrimental effect on the provision of educational television. Funded by a grant from the Necessary Knowledge Program.
European Parliament Issues Study on State of Community Media in European Union
The Directorate General Internal Policies of the Union of the European Parliament has published a report that investigates the state of Community Media in the European Union and examines the factors that influence their development.
"Case For Broadband in America Now!" Report Released
The Center for Creative Voices in Media released on October 10 a new report on the state of broadband internet access in the United States. The report details the impacts of the broadband access on economic growth, journalism, public safety, health care and democratic debate.
Grantee Profile: Study Suggests that Concentrated Station Ownership Is Detrimental to Children’s Educational TV
The children’s advocacy group Children Now worked with researcher Katharine Heintz-Knowles, PhD to examine how ownership patterns of television stations affect the amount of children’s educational programming they broadcast. In contrast to industry claims, the study found that more concentrated ownership of TV stations did not lead to more educational TV. In fact there is evidence that diversely held television markets provide more hours of educational programming. The study concludes that concentration of television station ownership in a market does not improve a station’s public service to the children in that market. Instead, this analysis suggests such concentration of ownership has a clear, negative impact on programming for children.