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Up one levelPress 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.
APC Launches New Book on the WSIS and Civil Society
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has announced a new book, commissioned by the APC and written by David Souter, that examines how developing country delegations and civil society fared at the UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Grantee Profile: What’s Meant by Digital Inclusion? An Interrogation of Municipal Broadband Policy in San Francisco
Stanford Ph.D Candidate Seeta Peña Gangadharan and activist group Media Alliance examine San Francisco's efforts to develop a "digital inclusion" strategy in the context of its highly-publicized municipal wi-fi build out planning. This research may be particularly useful for communities and groups involved in discussions with their own municipal governments about how to develop inclusive and effective access to the internet. Groups are especially encouraged to download the “Digital Inclusion Advocacy Toolkit” prepared by Media Alliance as part of this research study.
Project Profile: Understanding Barriers to Entry for Minority and Female Broadcasters
Recent studies have shown that minorities and women are very underrepresented in the population of radio and television station owners. Researchers Catherine Sandoval and Allen Hammond, IV at Santa Clara University School of Law and David Honig, Director of the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council, have developed and tested two surveys to help understand the experiences and perspectives of minority and female broadcasters, particularly with regard to public policies that affect their entry into the market.
New study finds "poor mostly missing" from network news
The group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting has just released a report entitled "The Poor Will Always Be With Us... Just Not on the Nightly News" which examines how news shows on the three main broadcast networks in the Unites States treat issues of poverty.
ICA Grassroots Organizers Panels available as e-book
The presentations from the grassroots discussion panels at the 2007 ICA Conference are now available in an e-book entitled "Alternatives on Media Content, Journalism and Regulation." Edited by Seeta Peña Gangadharan, Benjamin De Cleen and Nico Carpentier. You can download the complete book or access the individual chapters on the website.
Grantee Profile: Study Explores Radio as a Mobilization Tool in Latino Communities
San Francisco State University researcher Graciela Orozco examined how Latinos in California utilized Radio Bilingue, a local Spanish-language radio station, to inform, encourage, and organize political action on the issue of immigrants' rights as part of the national May 1st mobilization protests that took place last year. Orozco’s work lends evidence to the continuing importance of broadcast radio for community discourse, outreach and organizing.