Media and the U.S. political conventions September 2, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Independent Media, Media News.add a comment
So we are finding out what “democracy” looks like in the States.
First off, you basically have one of two options.
Then, if you disagree with either of those options, you are treated like a criminal.
Especially if you disagree with the Republicans. There was a lot of police helping ‘contain’ the demonstrators at the Democratic Convention last week, but this week’s Republican Convention has seen the police take it to a new level.
They did ‘pre-emptive’ raids on the weekend, arresting people in their houses and in the welcoming convergence centre.
The reason why Media Matters is bringing this up is two fold:
1) the corporate media doesn’t cover the type of affronts to democracy that is happening here (premptive raids and arrest, political persecution, etc)
2) the police have actively targetted independent media(!)
On the weekend, they took aim at different groups, including people involved with I-Witness, a group of video journalists who cover police treatment of protesters and have a history of documenting questionable police tactics. One of these people was also involved with Democracy Now, one of the most reknowned independent media initiatives in the States.
Then on Monday, a day that saw a reported 10,000 to 30,000 people marching against the Republican’s war(s), police arrested three Democracy Now people including journalist Amy Goodman (the other two were bloodied while being arrested, one on their arms, the other their nose). Additionally, an Associated Press photographer was also arrested.
Note: an ABC reporter was arrested last week in Denver in conjuction with the Democratic Convention.
Basically, America is a police state that attempts to intimidate and silence dissent. That is being made more than clear here.
To read and see more:
Four journalists arrested
http://carlosmiller.com/2008/09/02/four-journalists-including-ap-photog-arrested-on-riot-charges-at-rnc/
Video of Goodman’s arrest, plus updates
http://zmag.org/zvideo/2816
Video of police raid on I-Witness collective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi1eluuDGss
‘Raiding democracy’
http://counterpunch.org/cohn09022008.html
Raids targetting video activists
http://www.alternet.org/rights/97110/rnc_raids_have_been_targeting_video_activists_/
Summary of ‘pre-emptive’ police raids
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/08/31-1
Summary of police raids (includes video)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/08/31
Feds involved in police raids
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/31/raids/
Democracy Now homepage
http://www.democracynow.org/
Minneapolis-St.Paul Indymedia
http://twincities.indymedia.org/
Video coverage of RNC convention related items
http://theuptake.org/
Follow up on ABC reporter arrested last week
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6591378.html
Media Matters update, August August 10, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Media Matters Projects, Media News, Media Reform.add a comment
Media Matters update, August 2008
In this email:
- Next meeting, upcoming plans
- National Conference on Media Reform coverage
- Digital channels giveaway
- Dying newspaper industry
- Ontario police posing as journalists
- Reporters Without Borders: Olympic focus
- Ottawa Cinema Politica
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Our next meeting is Thurs August 14, 6pm
OPIRG-Ottawa, 631 King Edward Ave, 3rd floor
We will be discussing the plans we are working on with Indymedia Ottawa to put on public events for September, October, and November featuring special out-of-town speakers as well as exciting media projects and empowering workshops. Stay tuned for details, or come out to the meeting!
Remember to visit our website at http://mediamattersottawa.org
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The National Conference for Media Reform was held in early June in Minneapolis, bringing together thousands of people involved in media activism. The online coverage featured on the official website has over 20 video and 60 audio files to view or listen to:
http://www.freepress.net/conference
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The digital channel giveway (aka theft)!
See the article:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/30/10708/
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The dying newspaper industry
Another article to check out:
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/92284
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Ontario police posing as journalists!
During testimony at Shawn Brant’s trial, it came out that a provincial police officer had posed as a journalist in order to get close to Mohawk activists during the Aboriginal Day of Action in 2007. And it’s not the first time, either:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/95817/
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Reporters Without Borders and the Olympics
If you attended the human rights protest in front of the Chinese embassy the day before the opening of the Olympics, you would’ve seen a sizeable delegation of Reporters Without Borders people from Montreal. The global organization has a campaign to bring attention to the situation in China for the Olympics.
http://www.rsf.org
http://www.rsfcanada.org
http://www.rsfbeijing2008.org/
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Ottawa Cinema Politica is a series of film screenings that has been held the past three years at the University of Ottawa. Here is an update about the current OCP situation:
Dear OCP attendees,
Dear Friday Film and Discussion enthusiasts,
Re: BAD NEWS AND CALL TO ACTION
The purpose of this message is:
(((1))) to give you the bad news that the University of Ottawa, under its new president Allan Rock, HAS KILLED THE WEEKLY FILM AND DISCUSSION EVENT that I have hosted since September 2005, currently known as OCP (Ottawa Cinema Politica); and
(((2))) to ask you to act in order to turn the University’s misguided decision around.
I ASK FOR YOUR HELP.
I addressed a letter to Allan Rock that he received electronically on July 19, 2008. The letter is attached below and summarizes the situation. In the letter, I asked Mr. Rock to answer by July 26, 2008, so that I could inform you accordingly of his decision. I called Mr. Rock’s office four times, leaving voice messages and messages with his assistant, and sent another email (attached below) on July 30th before I received an answer to my July 19th email on August 7th. The answer is attached below and is from the Secretary of the University Pamela Harrod.
The “answer” means that Mr. Rock agrees with the former administration and that the University’s absurd decision of July 14, 2008, holds: See Indy Media report at http://ottawa.indymedia.ca/en/2008/07/8037.shtml .
It’s time for the community (you) to take this in your own hands.
PLEASE CONSIDER DOING ALL THREE (or one?) OF THE FOLLOWING:
(1) Sign the petition to reinstate the Friday film and discussion series at the University of Ottawa by sending your FULL NAME, your POSITION (community member, student in Education, professional engineer, etc.), and a petition COMMENT to me, by replying to this message.
(2) Write a letter to Mr. Allan Rock, President, University of Ottawa, at allan.rock@uottawa.ca, and make your letter public by putting me in cc at dgr@uottawa.ca. Make your position known to Mr. Rock. I will remove your personal information other than your name and post all of these letters.
Alternatively, you can contact Mr. Rock more directly: Tel. 613-562-5809, Fax. 613-562-5103. Make an appointment, etc. In any case, I ask that you make your efforts and any results public.
(3) Join in an active group to lobby to reinstate the Friday film and discussion series at the University of Ottawa by contacting me to express your interest in being part of this group. Members should expect to meet regularly and to participate in various lobbying activities.
The University’s position on this point is absurd. We should win this. If we do not, I will not be able to continue the series, because of my many other and growing time commitments. Other community members are welcome to self-organize an alternative but I will not be able to help as much as I would like.
Let’s beat this thing!
Denis Rancourt
dgr@uottawa.ca
http://www.science.uottawa.ca/~dgr/
PS: Some interesting and entertaining recent posts about University of Ottawa anti-democratic actions are at: http://uofowatch.blogspot.com/
New website, new email, upcoming events, & more! May 21, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Events, Independent Media, Media News, Media Reform.add a comment
WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS !!!
we also have a new email address:
mediamattersottawa@gmail.com
Please visit the site and let us know what you think!
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In today’s update:
- upcoming events (x5)
- coverage of media news (x2)
- appeal from Rabble.ca
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Upcoming Events
(3 in Ottawa, 2 out of town)
May 26, 7pm
The Story of Stuff screening & panel discussion
@ National Library & Archives, 395 Wellington St
- Media Matters will have a table at this event!
info at http://ottawa.indymedia.org/en/2008/05/7627.shtml
May 27, 1pm / 3pm
Rally to demand broadband access!
Parliament Hill
info at http://ottawa.indymedia.org/en/2008/05/7628.shtml
also see http://www.SaveTheNet.ca
May 29, 9pm
Solidarity / benefit show
The Mercury Lounge, 56 Byward Market Sq.
- in support of Common Cause Ottawa, Stop Canadian Complicity in Torture, ?and others?
- featuring LAL http://www.lalforest.com , qr5 http://www.qr5.com/ & DJ Trevor Walker, ?and others?
suggested $8-$10
May 30 – June 1st
Radio Without Boundaries conference
Toronto
http://www.naisa.ca/RWB
June 20 – 22
Allied Media Conference
Detroit, Michigan, USA
http://alliedmediaconference.org/
also see coverage from last year at http://nosnowhere.wordpress.com/2007/07/11/carnival-of-radical-action-iii-the-allied-media-conference/
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Articles on Media
Ralph Nader on Google:
http://counterpunch.org/nader05202008.html
Canwest, the media bully
http://workingtv.com/canwest.html
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Appeal from http://Rabble.ca
- see http://www.rabble.ca/about_us/about_us.shtml?x=70872
(forwarded message:)
Dear friends: Most of you, if not all of you, will be familiar with rabble.ca, a great on-line journal and promoter of social justice. rabble.ca is in the midst of a membership drive and if you are not a member (at $5 a month), frankly you should be.
Nothing is more damaging to democracy in this country than our restricted ability to speak to Canadians about the kind of Canada we want. That reality has been driven home here in BC with the increasing use of SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation) by CanWest. One is against Mordecai Briemberg ( go to seriouslyfreespeech.ca to find out the details) a long-time supporter of Palestinian rights, and the other against theTyee.ca another fine on-line journal.
Independent media have never been more important in this country. With Stephen Harper as prime minister the very nature of our country and its social programs are at risk of being destroyed.
rabble.ca plays a key role in opposing the neo-liberal agenda of Harper and Company but they can’t do it without resources. Skip two café lattes a month an subscribe now.
Cheers,
Murray Dobbin
What do new members get?
Knowledge! Entertainment! And any member who joins for $5/month gets a “thank you” gift of a great independent print magazine subscription and is entered into a draw for a gift certificate from Eco Outdoor Sports on-line shop for $300. In other words it’s a great time to show the love and become a member. You can choose from: Briarpatch, Broken Pencil, Canadian Dimension, The Dominion, Geez, Geist, Herizons, Middle East Report, The New Internationalist, The Progressive, Maisonneuve Magazine, Mother Jones Magazine (digital pdf version), Our Times, Ricepaper, Shameless, Sub-Terrain, This, and Yes!. (While supplies last, but we are stocked up.)
Sign up at: https://secure.rabble.ca/membership/signup.php
Membership-a-thon….
If you are already a member of rabble you can join the membership-a-thon and sign up friends (and win a prize) at: http://www.rabble.ca/about_us/about_us.shtml?x=70872
You can download pledge forms right here! Take the form with you wherever you go and ask for support. Don’t forget to tell folks about the free stuff they’re going to get – show them the list of magazines! Also let them know about the grand prize gift certificate they could win if they become a member right now. They must sign up by July 1 to be eligible for the big draw and to be included in your count. On July 1: Mail us your completed membership forms, and the funds you’ve collected. We’ll tally up the totals here at rabble.ca and let folks know.
That’s it. It’s simple and a great way to support progressive Canadian voices in the media. You get our thanks, and a chance for great prizes; your friends get a magazine subscription and a chance for another prize. We all get a continuously improving independent Canadian media site.
Canadian musician Matthew Good recently wrote, “rabble is part of a shrinking democratic necessity. A fourth estate that exists to challenge rather than placate.” If you agree, and think your friends and colleagues will too, please join our membership-a-thon and keep rabble thriving. Thank you for your support!
Don’t delay! You can sign yourself up as a member for $5/month right here, right now!
May Day update – new Media Matters website, and more! May 1, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Independent Media, Media Matters Projects, Media News.add a comment
Happy May Day!
We feel it’s important to keep our collective history of struggle and activism alive, so we’d like to share with you an article from the upcoming Linchpin paper, entitled “History of May Day”: http://ottawa.indymedia.ca/en/2008/04/7479.shtml
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In this update:
- Media Matters website/blog
- next meeting: May 6
- media news
- media analysis
- message on gov’t monitoring communications
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We’d also like to alert you to Media Matters’ not-yet-fully-launched website & blog:
http://mediamattersottawa.wordpress.com
So far, we have pages on:
- “About Us”: who Media Matters is, what we do, and what we’ve done
- “Media Activism”: links to groups working for better media, plus other resources and background
- “Independent Media”: links to local, Canadian, and international news media
- “Events”: upcoming media events, other local events listings, and past local media events
We will also have pages on ‘Guidelines for Creators’ on making media, and ‘En Francais’ with some french links and information. The blog aspect will soon have all our past sendouts uploaded, and we will be posting future sendouts there as well.
Please send us any feedback you have on the site!
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Next meeting – Tues May 6
We are having our next Media Matters meeting on Tuesday, May 6, at 6:30 pm at the OPIRG-Ottawa offices at 631 King Edward Ave (3rd floor). Please feel free to come if you’d like to get involved, or email us if you can’t make it – mediamatters@canada.com
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MEDIA NEWS
Two community radio reporters murdered in Oaxaco
http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/204239/index.php
Major survey on media leading up to International Press Freedom Day (May 3rd)
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42199
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MEDIA ANALYSIS
‘Crisis in journalism’:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/22/8463/
‘Major US media disseminating propaganda’:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/21/8438/
‘The BBC: imperial tool’
http://mostlywater.org/bbc_imperial_tool
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FORWARDED MESSAGE – GOV’T MONITORING OF COMMUNICATIONS
1. If your social movement has nothing to hide…
http://help.riseup.net/security/measures/#use_secure_email_providers
In the waning days of Babylon and empire, what will the US government think up next? According to numerous leaks from the intelligence bureaucracy to the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal, the government’s new fun toy is the ability to monitor our social networks by tracking, in real time, the patterns of email, phone calls, text messages, and financial transactions. This program is top secret, so you can’t take legal action because you can’t prove the program exists (according to the catch-22 logic of a February 19th US Supreme Court decision).
The Clinton and Bush administrations have said the program is entirely constitutional because it does not involve eavesdropping on the content of our communication. Instead, it focuses on the pattern of our relationships. In this way, individuals are not under surveillance, all of society is. If your social movement has nothing to hide, then what are you worried about? Plenty. This kind of map of our social networks creates a ready made blueprint for disrupting any social movement deemed to be a threat. In many ways, the government knows more about how we organize than we do. This issue is important to all organizers, because much of the world’s email is routed through the US.
So, what can we do about it? For starters, get everyone you know to start using an email provider that uses StartTLS. For email, this is the only thing that can protect against the surveillance of our social networks. For a list of StartTLS providers besides riseup see: http://help.riseup.net/security/measures/#use_secure_email_providers
What about phone calls, internet chat, and social networking sites? Riseup birds don’t have all the answers, but we are working on it. One thing we know, privacy and security are not solved by personal solutions. If we want security, it will take a collective response and a collective commitment to building alternative communication infrastructure.
For more information, see:
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120511973377523845.html
“NSA’s Domestic Spying Grows As Agency Sweeps Up Data” by Siobhan Gorman.
The Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2008.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529ta_talk_hersh
“Listening In” by Seymour Hersh.
The New Yorker, May 29, 2006.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm
“NSA has massive database of Americans’ phone calls” by Leslie Cauley.
USA Today, May 10, 2006.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jyusZ2V1ACKGV2iJuGVmuPUERi_QD8UTICG00
“Court Rejects ACLU Challenge to Wiretaps.”
Associated Press, February 19, 2008.
Meetings April 15th & 17th, CHUO funding drive, Adbusters media articles, CBC Radio 2 changes and resistance April 10, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Events, Independent Media, Media Matters Projects, Media News.add a comment
Greetings everyone!
Today’s email includes:
- next Media Matters & postering meetings
- CHUO funding drive (& chance to support Media Matters)
- Adbusters new issue featuring articles on media issues!
- Raise a Ruckus for CBC Radio Two (Friday the 11th at noon at Queen & Sparks Streets)
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Next meetings: Tues April 15, Thurs April 17
The next full Media Matters meeting will be at 6:30 on Tuesday the 15th, at the OPIRG-Ottawa office (631 King Edward Ave. 3rd floor)
The postering group (maybe to soon become it’s own action group!?) will be meeting Thursday the 17th, also at 6:30, also at the OPIRG-Ottawa office.
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CHUO 89.1 FM ‘s funding drive!
CHUO is currently holding their funding drive, and it runs this year until April 13th. Tune in, dial in, and pledge to support them, to keep the station on the air and support all the volunteering programming they broadcast out onto the airwaves. More info at http://chuo.fm
You can also support CHUO and Media Matters at the same time. To promote our soon-to-be-launched blog/website, Media Matters is thinking of purchasing some advertising on CHUO, at a rate of $15 per 30-second ad (possibly $12 per ad if we buy enough). If you would like, instead of pledging directly to CHUO, you can donate to Media Matters purchase of CHUO airtime – contact us and we’ll let you know how (and you’ll be getting a tax receipt from OPIRG for your donation). We are also considering directing our advertising dollars to other local independent media;
so any donations could also go towards other (independent and deserving) options.
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Adbusters feature media articles
The new Adbusters magazine has one of the Aspers on the cover, in boxing gloves, with a black eye. Articles inside explore the Asper’s CanWest media corporation, as well as other perspectives on media issues, including short interviews with both Noam Chomsky and Robert McChesney.
The http://Adbusters.org website doesn’t yet have these articles up, so you’ll either have to wait, or go and get a physical copy of the magazine (note: Adbusters is available in the OPIRG resource centre, 631 King Edward Ave, 3rd floor)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 12:00pm Eastern Time, the 12,500 strong members of a hastily arranged Facebook group entitled “Save Classical Music at the CBC” will be holding a NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION called “RAISE A RUCKUS FOR RADIO TWO!” in over a dozen cities across Canada.
In response to recently announced programming changes at CBC Radio Two and the planned axing of the famed CBC Vancouver Radio Orchestra, classical music fans, musicians and Radio Two listeners are planning to take to the streets in front of their local CBC installations in every province simultaneously.
Demonstrations are to be held at CBC facilities in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, London, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown and St. John’s; with possible demonstrations to be held in Regina, Kingston, ON, and Saint John, NB as well.
Disappointment with the planned changes has been swiftly building and increasingly vocal since the CBC’s announcement of March 4th, where top executives including Richard Stursberg – head of CBC English services, Jennifer McGuire – head of CBC radio, and Mark Steinmetz – director of radio programming divulged that CBC Radio Two’s 40 year tradition as a primarily classical music broadcaster would be coming to a close. Weekday classical music programming is to be cut from 12 hours daily to 5 off-peak hours leading to the cancellation of many popular shows. Though listeners realize that shows and hosts come and go, most of the quality programming is to be replaced with pop music with sprinklings of light jazz and world music. Classical music fans and musicians feel as though they have lost a trusted and beloved member of the family – they feel like they are being punished for CBC’s inability to stay true to its history and mandate.
Since coming into power, the current team of Programming Executives have been responsible for the fact that:
-They have failed to transform the innovative Radio 3 into a national broadcast network, thereby necessitating, in their eyes, the gutting of Radio Two’s classical programming in order to satisfy their self-perceived mandate to be all things to all people.
-The CBC Young Composers Competition and the CBC Young Performers Competition, have been suspended for the past four years. These two important domestic competitions had been instrumental in the development of some of Canada’s best musical talent including: Angela Hewitt, Ben Heppner, Jon Kimura Parker. The Canada Council provided the funding for the $10,000.00 grand prizes.
-The CBC has, as of February, erased the classical music budget for CBC Records, precisely on the eve of their first Grammy win by Canadian violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey on the CBC Records label. Many artists, such as Measha Brueggergosman, launched their careers on a CBC Records label recording.
-The commissioning budget previously devoted to commissioning new works from composers is now spread out to cover jazz, pop musicians, and some unspecified amount of contemporary music. CBC says they will spend the same amount on classical commissions – but their track record is not looking good.
-The proposed cuts for the Fall of 2008 represents further reductions in classical music content, eliminating classical music 6am to 10am and 3pm to 6pm – reducing by over half the overall classical weekday programming from 12 hours to 5 hours, and shifting all weekday classical programming to inconvenient, off-peak times of the day when no one who works or goes to school can tune in.
-The axing of the 70 year old CBC Radio Orchestra: North America’s last remaining radio orchestra and platform for countless premieres of new Canadian compositions. And then, one day after citing lack of resources as the reason for cutting the orchestra, buying an expensive full-page ad in a national newspaper to convince Canadians about how wonderful the evisceration of their national radio music network is – signed and supported by wealthy pop music recording industry executives and artists, the people who stand to gain monetarily from the demise of CBC’s classical programming
All existing and long-standing weekday classical shows on Radio Two are to be cut, including:
-Music & Company – Tom Allen’s morning wake up show
-Here’s to You – Catherine Belyea’s all-request show
-Studio Sparks – due to the venerable Eric Friesen’s “retirement”
-Disc Drive – Jurgen Gothe’s popular, 30 year old drive-home show
-Sound Advice – Rick Philips’ extraordinarily informative and unique classical recording showcase and review
These changes come on the heels of last years round of cuts to vital programs such as:
-Danielle Charbonneau’s much-loved Music for a While;
-Larry Lake’s new composer showcase Two New Hours;
-Symphony Hall – Canada’s live orchestra recording showcase;
-The Singer and the Song – Catherine Belyea’s excellent Classical vocal program;
-Northern Lights – the overnight Classical program beloved by Night Owls everywhere;
-The reformatting of In Performance- a primarily classical live performance show into the unfocused Canada Live – a uniformly non-classical and completely confusing mix of World music, soft pop, and lounge Jazz;
The CBC claims financial constraints drive these cuts, yet spending in other areas, and support from the commercial recording industry suggest otherwise.
Canadian classical music fans and musicians and Radio Two listeners have had enough of this “concerted” and unprecedented campaign against classical and art music programming and infrastructure. Though their numbers may be relatively small compared to commercial radio, Radio Two listeners are among the most engaged and loyal in the world. They feel the have been betrayed and belittled by the current management team entrenched at the nation’s public broadcaster.
We are expecting a large and vocal turnout at CBC installations across Canada, in every province where Radio Two is heard and loved. These demonstrations will occur simultaneously at 1200hrs Eastern Time (9am in Vancouver, 1:30pm in St. John’s, etc.). We are inviting all lovers of classical music and public support for the non-commercial arts scene in this country to join with us in calling for the restoration of Radio Two’s vital classical music programming and the reversal of the decision to axe the CBC Radio Orchestra. Let our voices ring out and be heard! We welcome and encourage all members of the print, radio, electronic and television media to cover this important story and join us on this important day for Canada’s classical music community.
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The following is a list of local CBC installation addresses across Canada where demonstrations are being planned, including local times and local contact information:
[Note: Media Matters has taken the contact info off of this page due to spam considerations]
9amPacific: Victoria: 1025 Pandora Avenue
9am Pacific: Vancouver: 775 Cambie Street
10am Mountain: Calgary: 1724 Westmount Blvd. NW
10am Mountain: Edmonton: 23 Edmonton City Centre, 10062-102nd Avenue
10am Sask: Saskatoon: CBC 144 2nd Ave South
10am Sask: Regina: 2440 Broad Street
11am Central: Winnipeg: 541 Portage Avenue
12pm Eastern: Toronto: 250 Front Street West
12pm Eastern: London, ON: 208 Piccadilly Street
12pm Eastern: Ottawa: 181 Queen Street, Ottawa – Meeting at Sparks Street entrance
12pm Eastern: Montreal: 1400 Rene Levesque East
1pm Atlantic: Saint John: 560 Main Street
1pm Atlantic: Halifax: 1601 South Park
1pm Atlantic: Charlottetown: 430 University Avenue
1:30pm Newfoundland: St John’s: 25 Henry Street
Links and Web Resources:
Save Classical Music at the CBC
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9009203294
Save the CBC Radio Orchestra
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10103441879
Vancouver composer, John Oliver’s Ad Campaign Site
http://standonguardforcbcradio.earsay.com/
La Scena Musicale’s list of web articles:
http://www.scena.org/columns/spotlight.asp?lan=2&flag=1&id=79
Save the CBC Orchestra
http://savecbcorchestra.com/
Save the CBC
http://www.savethecbc.ca/
For more general information, please contact Peter McGillivray – radio2@petermcgillivray.com
Dominion event, media resources, and links February 22, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Events, Independent Media, Media News, Media Reform.add a comment
In this email:
1) Next meeting Thurs Feb 28 @ 6:30pm
2) Dominion Paper tour event, Thurs Mar 6 @ 7pm
3) Media resources available at OPIRG-Ottawa
4) Web links on community media, alternative publishing
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1) Next Media Matters meeting is Thursday, Feb. 28 @ 6:30pm …
… being held as usual at the OPIRG-Ottawa office, 631 King Edward, 3rd floor. We are looking at starting to hold meetings regularly every second Thursday evening at this time and location, so if it doesn’t work for you and you’d like to come, please let us know – mediamatters@canada.com
Items on the agenda:
- strategic and long-term planning process (involving local communities as well as other media groups)
- creating a (local) media directory
- critical thinking and media literacy: speakers? a course? resources?
- social theatre possibilities
- a speaker event on “Getting Media Coverage for your Cause”
- and any other ideas people bring or send in
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2) Own Your Media tour stop in Ottawa – Thursday March 6 @ 7pm
Own Your Media! Building a Grassroots News Cooperative
Thursday, March 6, at 7pm
Jack Purcell Community Centre, Room 201
320 Jack Purcell Lane, Ottawa
Refreshments provided.
The Dominion (http://dominonpaper.ca) provides accurate, critical news coverage on events, policies and movements in Canada. It is also a multi-stakeholder coop, owned and operated by its readers and journalists.
The Dominion is now taking Canadian media to the next level. With a comprehensive five-year plan, The Dominion aims to build an independent news cooperative that will challenge the corporate press in Canada – and publish the stories you need to know about. You are invited to attend a presentation, where you will be given the opportunity to Own Your Media!
This event is part of a March national tour on the part of the Dominion’s editors.
Print out the poster from http://www.fairtrademedia.com/temp/dom/tourposter.pdf and then write in the Ottawa details, and post it at your workplace or in your community.
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3) Media resources available at OPIRG-Ottawa resource centre
We’d like to take note of some of the resources available at OPIRG-Ottawa, including two magazines that have issues dedicated to the topic of communication media. The resource centre carries books, DVDs and VHS that can be loaned out, while its collection of magazines must be read on-site. Hours are Mon-Fri 10am-5pm but the office is occasionally open earlier or later; phone 613 230-3076 to confirm.
The two magazines are:
Canadian Dimension, Jan-Feb 08 edition, with articles on ‘Why Media Refom Should be a Democratic Priority’, ‘Media Merger Mania’, ‘An Inside Look at the Irvings’, ‘Journalists Changing the World’, ‘The Fight for the Open Internet’, and ‘The Struggle for the Soul of Canadian Media’. Some of these articles are also available online at http://www.canadiandimension.com/
…and…
BriarPatch, June/July 07 edition, with articles on ‘Community Radio & the Frequency of Struggle’, ‘PropAfghanda’, ‘The Power of Imaginative Media’, ‘Covering Fallujah’, ‘Better Zine than Herd’, ‘Love’s Labour Lost’, and ‘Deep Integration Buried Deep in the Back Pages’. Again, some of these articles are available online at http://briarpatchmagazine.com/
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4) Web links
Community Media in Venezuela: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3158
Alternative Publishing and Z-Net: http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/16562
Here is an excerpt from this, of a questioner and Micheal Albert:
BGST PH: What principles do you think a dissident web site who wants to share a rich content must have in order to be effective and widely known?
MA: The first thing about the question is “what does the word effective mean?” for a website, or for a publisher or for any of those things. For most people, effective means reaching a reasonable size of audience with good material. That’s not what I would mean if I use the word effective. What I would mean would be being part of a process that’s going to win a new society, and that’s very different if you think about it. So, for instance you can imagine a bunch of progressive websites who are functioning quite well, who are putting out a mass of useful information, and you can imagine that going on for a long time, but the whole society doesn’t change. To me, that’s not effective. To me, that’s running a successful business, but it isn’t being a successful movement operation. What’s effective as a movement operation is that the society is changing and even changing dramatically in new directions. So if I ask myself what is needed from a publisher or website or a political organization, the answer is more and more people consciously and militantly desiring a new society and working to win it. So that means that it isn’t sufficient to just put out of information, what is needed is to inspire and help people make good use of it.
BGST PH: Yes, sure.
MA: I think you have to build a community of people who by virtue of the information they are receiving and also their connections to each other become a movement, and even a more and more effective movement. So to me, the answer to your question about a website would be, well, of course, one thing is that it must deliver good content, good information which contributes to people becoming more and more radical. And if you ask me, what kind of information would do that? My answer is it’s partly what everybody does; partly it’s analysis of what’s wrong, analysis of foreign policy, analysis of poverty, analysis of racism, and so on and so forth. But to me that’s not enough because the real obstacle I think to people becoming active, to people becoming really involved, to people devoting themselves, committing themselves to winning something new, is gaining some clarity and confidence about what that new thing is. Clarity about vision. So my first answer to your question is that the first thing a publishing house would need to do is not just provide analysis but also vision, and not even just vision but also strategy. So the content which is being delivered, the information which is being delivered has to be about what’s wrong but also about what we want, what’s desirable, what we’re seeking and desire to win, and how we can go about doing so. So that’s the first part of the problem. The second part of the problem is that the website or the publishing operations should not just deliver content to an audience but should galvanize the audience into working together. It should somehow create out of its audience a community of active people
Meeting Feb7th, new Linchpin, and more… January 29, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Events, Independent Media, Media Matters Projects, Media News.add a comment
In this email:
1) next Media Matters meeting
2) Linchpin issue 2 out now
3) upcoming Media Matters events
4) guide to citizen journalism
5) recent CRTC decision
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1) Next Media Matters meeting …
… will be on Thursday, February 7 at 7pm, at the OPIRG-Ottawa office (631 King Edward Ave, 3rd floor).
This is our first meeting of the new year, so feel free to drop in with your ideas and enthusiasm.
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2) The new Linchpin newspaper is now out
Visit http://linchpin.ca to browse the articles, or download the full 8-pg pdf file: http://linchpin.ca/files/linchpintwonewsletter.pdf
Media Matters worked on a special 2-pg Ottawa insert, which can be downloaded at http://ottawa.indymedia.org/media/2008/01//6707.pdf
Also note the article on media activism by Media Matters volunteer Greg Macdougall, at http://linchpin.ca/node/554
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3) Upcoming Media Matters events:
Saturday, February 9: Workshop as part of the Community Movements: Building Solidarity for Social Change conference at Trent University in Peterborough: http://buildingsolidarityconference2008.20fr.com/
Friday February 15, 7pm: Film screening of “Un Poquitao de Tanta Veridad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth)” @ MacDonald Hall Auditorium (MCD 146), 150 Louis Pasteur Street, University of Ottawa: http://www.cinemapolitica.org/ottawa
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4) Guide to Citizen Journalism
The Rising Voices Web site has released the first in a series of guides on interactive media. An Introduction to Citizen Media offers case studies on how people are using tools such as blogs, podcasts, online video and digital photography to engage in global conversations.
Rising Voices, an initiative that promotes citizen media, said that the goal of the guide is to show that anyone with Internet access can take part in the “emerging global conversation.” The guide’s first edition is available in English, Spanish and Bengali. Future editions will be available in Swahili, Malagasy and Aymara, the organizers said in a news release.
The guide in English (PDF format):
http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/library/Introduction-to-Citizen-Media-EN.pdf
For more information: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/news/
http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2008/01/16/a-introductory-guide-to-global-citizen-media/
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5) Recent CRTC decision
Comments first from the Council of Canadians, then excerpt from NCRA list
(this from the Council of Canadians, Jan 15)
As reported by CTV today, “Canada’s broadcast regulator has put in place new rules on media ownership in Canada that will restrict how big the country’s broadcasters can get, following a year of unprecedented deals in the sector. After hearings were held last fall to probe media ownership rules, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission introduced three significant rule changes Tuesday: 1) No person or company will be allowed to control more than two of types of media in one local market, including local TV, local radio and a local newspaper. 2) No company will be allowed to control more than 45 per cent of the total television audience in Canada, which could restrict the acquisition of specialty cable channels by major broadcasters. 3) Deals between television distributors, such as cable and satellite TV companies, will not be allowed if they result in one company or person controlling the delivery of programming in a market.”
CBC.ca reports that, “The ownership restrictions followed hearings last year into the issue of media concentration and the diversity of voices following two high-profile media deals – CanWest Global’s purchase of Alliance Atlantis Communications, and CTV’s acquisition of Chum Ltd. The new rules are not retroactive and will not require any change to the current media ownership picture in Canada.” The Council’s media release on that issue, ‘CRTC foreign ownership decision puts Canadian media at risk, says Council of Canadians’, can be read at http://www.canadians.org/media/other/2007/21-Dec-07.html.
Please note below comments from the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, the Canadian Media Guild, and the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting as reported by CBC.ca on this CRTC announcement:
CEP
The CRTC ruling “allows the big players to become bigger, and does very little if anything to limit media concentration in Canada,” said Peter Murdoch, vice-president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union. “The new policy does nothing about media empires that currently have a stranglehold on some large markets, such as Vancouver, or about what happens on a national level,” he said.
CANADIAN MEDIA GUILD
The Canadian Media Guild agreed. “The CRTC is preserving the current unacceptable levels of concentration and is not even adopting meaningful measures to stop it from getting worse,” said Guild president Lise Lareau. “By their own admission, they are legalizing the status quo since they admit that their new rules are not being contravened anywhere in Canada.”
FRIENDS OF CANADIAN BROADCASTING
But the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting liked the CRTC’s policy changes. “The CRTC is recognizing that as a result of media concentration, there are levels of concentration that could well pose a threat to diversity and, therefore, democracy,” said the group’s spokesman, Ian Morrison. “Although I would quibble on some of the details, I think this an example of the CRTC doing its job,” he said.
The CTV/Globe and Mail article ‘CRTC puts new restrictions on media ownership’ can be found at http://ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080115.wCRTC0115/business/Business/businessBN/ctv-business.
The CBC article ‘CRTC imposes cross-media ownership restrictions’ can be read at http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/01/15/crtc.html.
(and from the NCRA list)
Here’s what they had to say about the community aspect (section ‘E’):
E. The community element
E-1 How should the Commission address the community element in broadcasting?
160.
As noted earlier in this public notice, community broadcasting is one of the three basic elements that make up the Canadian broadcasting system. A healthy community element, strong public broadcasters and a plurality of voices within the private element provide the basis for a broadcasting system that offers Canadians a diversity of voices.
Canada has played a central role in the development of community media and it is considered by many to be the birthplace of community broadcasting. The community element was developed to provide local groups with access to the broadcasting system. Community broadcasting, which is local, volunteer-based and largely not-for-profit, is often able to broadcast a diverse range of voices, alternative points of view, and innovative programming ideas.
The Commission’s policies for campus and community radio were last reviewed in 2000. These reviews resulted in Public Notice 2000-12 (the Campus Radio Policy) and Public Notice 2000-13 (the Community Radio Policy). In 2002, the Commission issued Public Notice 2002-61 (the Community-based Media Policy), which focused largely on community television.
Summary of comments 163.
At the Public Hearing a number of parties spoke to concerns regarding community broadcasting.
All of those representing community broadcasting organizations stated that improved funding is required in order to ensure a healthy community sector. The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), l’Alliance des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Canada (ARC du Canada) and l’Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec (ARC du Québec) all advocated a re-examination of the Commission’s benefits policy in order to divert a specific portion to the community sector.
Several parties raised concerns that spectrum was not being reserved for the community sector at a time when spectrum availability is becoming limited. TimeScape Productions also stated that national distribution undertakings should be required to reserve spectrum for the community sector.
With respect to community television, Shaw submitted that the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations (the BDU Regulations) should be modified to allow it to offer a national community channel with the 5% of revenues that it pays for local expression.
St. Andrews Community Channel Inc., licensee of CHCT-TV, requested that the BDU Regulations be amended to ensure that community services receive basic tier carriage by terrestrial BDU providers.
Radio Ottawa Inc., licensee of CHUO-FM Ottawa, submitted that the Commission needs to develop a policy for non-commercial media that would take a more assertive position on the development of community media.
The Commission recognizes the importance of the community element in the Canadian broadcasting system. While campus and community radio, in both official lanuages, is reasonably widespread, community-based television operations do not yet occupy a significant place in the system. Cable community channels remain an important component of the system but, increasingly, they have a regional rather than a local focus.
The cost of television production equipment continues to decline, and new distribution technologies offer cost-effective means of delivering community programming to audiences. However, stable funding to allow for the production of quality community programming remains a significant issue.
In this regard, the Commission notes that in June 2007 the Department of Canadian Heritage announced that it had undertaken a review of the community and campus radio broadcasting sectors. It is expected that the results of this review will be available in the Spring of 2008.
In light of the record of this proceeding and the changes taking place in the broadcasting environment, the Commission has decided to undertake a comprehensive review of its policies with respect to community-based radio and television. The objective of this review will be to ensure that the Commission’s regulatory policy supports the development of a healthy community broadcasting sector.
This review will include, but will not be limited to,: the most appropriate licensing policy for community undertakings; the role of new technologies in the creation and distribution of community services; funding sources for not-for-profit community licensees; the role, if any, of national community undertakings; and the results of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s review of community radio.
Adbusters court update, and upcoming events January 11, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Events, Independent Media, Media News.add a comment
Greetings,
We thought you’d like to know about this update from Adbusters, who are fighting in court for the right to purchase air-time for messages that the commercial media would rather not air, like anti-consumerism messages and the like. Check the article at Indymedia, http://www.ottawa.indymedia.org/en/2008/01/6555.shtml or visit Adbusters directly at http://adbusters.org
Next are some upcoming events you might be interested in:
Wed, Jan16: Speaker George Rishmawi, founder of the International Middle East Media Center (Bethlehem, Palestine) (see http://imemc.org) at Carleton University @ 7:00 PM, Azrieli Theatre 301 (1125 Colonel By Drive) – presented by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, http://sphr.org
Thurs, Jan 17: As previously mentioned, Nate Hendley will give a talk on his new book, “Motivation for (Non-Fiction) Writers”, at Jack Purcell Centre (off of Elgin Street) @ 7:30 PM, put on by Professional Writers’ Association of Canada, http://pwac.ca (cost is $5 / $10 – mention you’re with Media Matters!)
Saturday, January 19: Anti-Oppression Training
This all-day training will explore issues of privilege related to racism, sexism, and homophobia. Trainers from Montreal will help participants to examine privilege and oppression in their own lives and communities, encouraging them to work for change. Breakfast, lunch and light afternoon snacks will be provided. Two sessions, English and French, will be run concurrently from 9:00 – 5:00. Free, but PLEASE REGISTER, as spaces are limited. Email: wrc@uottawa.ca.
Schedule:
8.00-9.00am: Registration and Breakfast
9.00-12.30pm: Morning Session
12.30-1.30pm: Vegan lunch by the People’s Republic of Delicious
1.30-5.00pm: Afternoon Session
5.00-8.00pm: Wrap session at Café Nostalgica
Wed, Jan 30: OPIRG-Carleton Presents: DERRICK JENSEN on ‘Civilization as Pathology: Collapse, Resilience and Resistance’
Carleton University, 301 Azrieli Theatre @ 7:00pm Map: http://www2.carleton.ca/campus/
Tickets: $5 – $20 (sliding scale, with no one denied a ticket for financial reasons)
Tickets Available at: OPIRG-Carleton (326 Unicentre, Carleton University) and Exile Infoshop
(256 Bank St., Suite 203 – 12-8 Wed-Sun)
Activist, small farmer, teacher, and philosopher Derrick Jensen seamlessly weaves together the threads that connect different forms of oppression and domination, from racial and class domination, to technology and surveillance, to domestic violence and abuse, to ecological devastation and global climate change, to form a cohesive narrative about the inherent destructiveness of the cultural forms we know as “civilization.” Therein, Jensen sees the roots of the current global ecological crisis, and the possibilities for determined and effective resistance to it.
In Jensen’s book Endgame he asks: “Do you believe that this culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living?” Nearly everyone he talks to says no. His next question is: “How would this understanding — that this culture will not voluntarily stop destroying the natural world, eliminating indigenous cultures, exploiting the poor, and killing those who resist — shift our strategy and tactics? The answer? Nobody knows, because we never talk about it: we’re too busy pretending the culture will undergo a magical transformation.” Endgame, he says, is “about that shift in strategy, and in tactics. And this talk will also focus on that, and the possibilities for the birth and rebirth of different ways of perceiving and being in the world.
Jan/Feb events, plus good news from Uruguay! January 3, 2008
Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Events, Independent Media, Media News.add a comment
In this message:
- Jan 17: PWAC talk
- Feb 8-10: Conference / Media workshop
- Feb 15: Movie screening
- Top 25 censored stories of the past year
- Forwarded message from Uruguay!
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Happy New Years!
We’re forwarding a message on to you that is inspirational news from South America (see bottom of this message) …
But we also have some things coming up that we’d like to tell you about:
First, we’ve been asked to pass on notice of a talk presented by the Professional Writer’s Association of Canada, on Thurs Jan 17, 7:30-9pm, at the Jack Purcell Centre (off Elgin St.). Nate Hendley will give the talk, based on his book “Motivation for non-fiction writers” … Mention you’re with Media Matters and they might give you the discount/student rate of $5 (otherwise it’s $10). See http://www.pwacottawa.org/ for more
Next, on Sat Feb 9 (well, actually Feb 8-10) is the Building Solidarity Conference at Trent University in Peterborough … Media Matters will be presenting a workshop at 1pm on Sat Feb 9, entitled “Organizing around Media and Communication” … for more information, check the conference website at http://buildingsolidarityconference2008.20fr.com/ … also note that we will be looking for an opportunity to deliver this same workshop in Ottawa at some point, so stay tuned for that
Finally, on Fri Feb 15 Media Matters along with Ottawa Cinema Politica presents the movie “A Little Bit of So Much Truth”. This will be shown at 7:30pm (doors at 7) at the MacDonald Hall Auditorium (MCD 146), 150 Louis Pasteur St, on the main campus of the University of Ottawa. For details on the film, see http://www.corrugate.org/un_poquito_de_tanta_verdad/un_poquito_de_tanta_verdad
And, at the end of every year, Project Censored releases a list of what they consider to be the Top 25 stories that didn’t get coverage in the mainstream media. Read this year’s list at http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2008/index.htm … also note that OPIRG-Ottawa, located at 631 King Edward, 3rd floor, phone (613)230-3076, orders the annual list in book format, and these are available from the resource centre, so feel free
And, without further adieu, the good news you’ve been waiting for:
Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:33:50 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [ncra] Uruguay approves Community Broadcasting Bill
From: “George Lessard” <media@web.net>
Check out the new Uruguayan CR Bill. This is what all CR regulation should aspire to be.
1. It sets aside one-third of all radio (AM & FM) *and* television frequencies for community-based media.
2. Licenses are granted by a council made up of all the stake-holders.
3. There is no fixed transmitter power or coverage area – the range depends on the size of the audience.
SENATE PASSES COMMUNITY BROADCASTING BILL
http://www.mediaforfreedom.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=7158
In what the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) calls a “groundbreaking move for freedom of expression in Latin America,” the Uruguayan Senate approved a Community Broadcasting Bill that recognises community broadcasting in its own right and says television and radio frequencies should be more equitably distributed.
The bill acknowledges the importance of this “third” broadcasting sector alongside the state and private sectors, and stipulates that one third of the AM and FM radio airwaves and television broadband will be reserved for community-based media outlets, which AMARC says ensures greater diversity of media ownership.
A new council, made up of government, media, university and free expression representatives, will play a part in granting and renewing frequencies and ensuring that the government does not use frequency allocation to indirectly censor broadcasts.
According to AMARC, the bill does not impose limits on the geographical range and signal strength of community media outlets, unlike laws in Brazil and Chile. Instead, the bill says the range of coverage will depend on the outlet’s purpose and the audience it is trying to reach.
Community broadcasters will also have the right to secure financing through donations, advertising and government grants.
AMARC and other free expression organisations, including IFEX members ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), have been closely following this development as it sets a crucial precedent for the region. AMARC was also involved in drafting the bill. “This is the first time that transparent and non-discriminatory processes for the allocation of radio and television frequencies have been explicitly laid out in Uruguayan legislation,” says AMARC.
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives to approve some amendments made by the Senate. According to government officials, the law will be passed by the end of the year.
Visit these links:
- AMARC: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/87839/
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22492
- ARTICLE 19: http://tinyurl.com/22xkhs
- “IFEX Communiqué” on passage of bill in House of Representatives: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/84084/
