MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Commentary: Deregulation Disaster
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Report: Literacy Skills for the World of Tomorrow
BROADCASTING
Study: Percentage of Minorities Drops in Local Radio and TV
Newsrooms
INTERNET
A Fight for Free Access to Medical Research
PUBLIC MEDIA
ACM Calls for Formal Apology from Senator Joseph Biden
EVENTS
National Conference on Media Reform
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
DEREGULATION DISASTER
[Commentary] Despite the overwhelming House vote on the spending bill that
included a rollback of the broadcast TV ownership cap last month, the public
should remain vigilant in the fight against media deregulation, argues Ryan
Nyburg. Nyburg warns that the spending bill passed by the House "would have
passed anyway" and that members "weren't expressing an opinion on media
ownership," adding that the rider must survive the House-Senate compromise
stage. The specter of additional deregulatory measures also suggests that
the fight is far from over. Nyburg also questions FCC Chairman Michael
Powell's true motives for championing deregulation, calling his statements
about increasing localism and diversity "a rather bland and cynical front to
Powell's real views on the issue." He notes that Powell sits on the board of
a fund created by Congress in 1996 to kick-start small communications firms,
meaning "a man who profits from the industry being deregulated is
spearheading its deregulation." Nyburg closes by noting that the new rules
would allow, among other scenarios, a company to own multiple TV station in
a market with nine or more stations, including some of Oregon's smaller
communities.
SOURCE: The Oregon Emerald; AUTHOR: Ryan Nyburg
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/08/05/3f2fcc1ce99d1
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
REPORT: LITERACY SKILLS FOR THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) and UNESCO shows considerable variation in levels of knowledge and
skills between students, schools and countries. The report, Literacy Skills
for the World of Tomorrow, analyzes data from the Program for International
Student Assessment (PISA), an international survey conducted every three
years. In particular, the report highlights new survey work conducted in
Albania, Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, FYR
Macedonia, Peru, Romania and Thailand. "Not all of these differences [in
skills and knowledge] are due to the social and economic conditions in which
students live and schools or countries operate," the OECD reports. "Some
countries have managed to mitigate the influence of social background and
some have achieved this while reaching a high overall level of performance."
This report updates the previous publication, Knowledge and Skills for Life
(2001).
SOURCE: OECD
http://www.pisa.oecd.org
Download the report:
http://www.pisa.oecd.org/literacy/download.htm
BROADCASTING
STUDY: PERCENTAGE OF MINORITIES DROPS IN LOCAL RADIO AND TV NEWSROOMS
The Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation (RTNDA) has
released the results of its 2003 RTNDA/Ball State University Annual Women &
Minorities Survey. The study shows that although minorities gained about 60
jobs overall in local radio and television this year, the percentage of
minorities has declined since last year -- from 20.6 percent to 18.1 percent
in local television and from 8 percent to 6.5 percent in local radio. RTNDA
president Barbara Cochran said the RTNDA was disappointed by these findings.
"We take this news very seriously and ... will redouble our efforts to
increase diversity in the workforce," she said. RTNDA Diversity Committee
Chair Janice Gin added, "These new figures are a call to action. As an
industry, it's obvious we need to do better at attracting minorities to
broadcast journalism and improve retention." The survey showed more positive
results for women, finding more women news directors and a growing
percentage of women in television newsrooms.
SOURCE: Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation
http://www.rtnda.org/news/2003/073103.shtml
Review the research data:
http://www.rtnda.org/research/research.shtml
INTERNET
A FIGHT FOR FREE ACCESS TO MEDICAL RESEARCH
An increasing number of Americans are asking why they are expected to pay to
see the results of federally funded medical research, and the Public Library
of Science (PloS) aims to answer those cries. Founded by Nobel Prize-winning
biologist Harold Varmus and two colleagues, PLoS aims to overthrow the $9
billion-a-year publishing juggernaut that controls medical journals,
replacing it with free Web access. PLoS has garnered considerable political
momentum for its cause. "It is wrong when a breast cancer patient cannot
access federally funded research data paid for by her hard-earned taxes,"
said Rep. Martin O. Sabo (D-MN), who introduced legislation to loosen
copyright restrictions on publicly funded research. Journals have long been
the source for scholarly recognition and rank, but in recent years they have
become a moneymaker for publishers, who charge yearly subscriptions costing
thousands of dollars. PLoS plans to release its first online journal, PLoS
Biology, in October and hopes to add PLoS Medicine next year. By that time,
they anticipate, other journals will follow suit and abandon the fee model.
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Rick Weiss
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19104-2003Aug4.html
PUBLIC MEDIA
ACM CALLS FOR FORMAL APOLOGY FROM SENATOR JOSEPH BIDEN
Comments made by Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) last week comparing US
broadcasting efforts in Iraq with public access television has drawn the ire
of community media supporters. Biden noted that the programming offered via
US broadcasting -- "bureaucrats reading dry, dull official scripts -- makes
public access television look good!" The Alliance for Community Media was
quick to react, having a letter couriered to Biden's office yesterday
extolling the contributions made by local public access TV. "We give you
black men who are not basketball players or hoodlums, but may be president
of their local Chamber of Commerce. We give you Hispanics who are
entrepreneurs or literary geniuses. We give you Asian women who are not
deferential but are community movers and shakers. We give you talk shows
made by and for people with disabilities. We give you respectful teenagers
and children who act their age. We give you the AARP, NAACP, Disabled
Veterans, PTA, League of Women Voters, the local ballet, symphony, art
museum, cultural festivals, high school sports and local emergency
information," wrote executive director Bunnie Riedel. The letter also
informed Biden that the Alliance has arranged to help the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security work with public
access centers to relay emergency information. The letter requests a formal
apology and invites Biden to tour a public access facility in the DC area.
SOURCE: Alliance for Community Media
http://www.alliancecm.org/news/2003/0804-BidenonAccess.htm
EVENTS
EVENT: NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEDIA REFORM
This November 7-9 in Madison, Wisconsin, Free Press will host the National
Conference on Media Reform. Media reform activists will join members of
Congress, the FCC and leaders of major groups working for civil rights,
women's rights, rural renewal, the environment, labor, community development
and other issues. Objectives of the event include mobilizing new
constituencies; strengthening coalitions working in Washington and at the
grassroots; developing unified action plans for immediate and long-term
reforms; and generating policies and strategies that will structurally
improve the media system. The conference will cover a broad range of media
issues, including media ownership, public broadcasting, Internet governance,
copyright issues, children's media regulation, and cable/satellite and
public access. Free Press recently launched a national petition campaign
directed at Congress, with the goal of reversing the FCC's media ownership
deregulation decision.
SOURCE: Free Press; CONTACT: Josh Silver
http://www.mediareform.net/conference
Free Press petition:
http://www.mediareform.net/petition
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