Civil Society Media Policy

Participants in the workshop “Cyber-surveillance in Everyday Life” which took place in Toronto, 12-14 May, discussed the growing stream of personal data which is generated and distributed through digital media. Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter) and mobile phones were highlighted as surveillance tools whose data on our location, preferences, etc. is used extensively by commercial entities and the state. Workshop website | Research papers

Loopholes in the Swedish radio law are allowing private commercial operators to take control of frequencies which are reserved for not-for-profit entities to operate non-commercial community radio. The Swedish case highlights the problem of commercial takeovers of community licences. The Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE) has called the Swedish government to take the issue under consideration. CMFE latest news | CMFE statement (pdf)

Excessive intellectual property rights are a key obstacle to many grassroots media. Now one of the very terms that describe those media has been trademarked by an advertising company, and organizers of a conference on “radical media” have been threatened with legal action. The whole story (with calls for action): Conference website | Patrick McCurdy blog entry | Indymedia article |

UK-based political groups had their Facebook pages taken down in preparation for the royal wedding in London. In times of general enthusiasm about commercial social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, this incident shows why non-corporate independant activist sites like Indymedia still matter. Reports: Waves of Change | Citizenlab | Citizenlab on reinstatement of sites

At the US National Conference for Media Reform which took place on 8-10 April in Boston, the recent adoption of the Community Radio Act by the US Congress and Senate was celebrated as the most decisive victory of the media reform movement of the past year. At a time when the prospects for mainstream media and communication reform are bleak, independent and social media were seen as the main signs of hope.

The US media reform movement has grown significantly over the past eight years, but recently it has not exactly been flooded with successes. Just as over 2000 activists, advocates, academics and policy-makers gathered for the first day of the annual conference, hosted by the advocacy organization Free Press, the US Congress rejected an Federal Communications Commission rule on net neutrality. Net neutrality has been one of Free Press’ key campaign goals. The proposed FCC rule was already much weaker than what media reform advocates had proposed, and while the Congress decision does not automatically kill net neutrality, it is a further blow.

The presence of a range of high-profile politicians, including Democratic Party leader Nancy Pelosi, confirmed the importance of media reform. Nevertheless the movement seems to experience a rude awakening from the Obama dream. This is particularly acute in the WikiLeaks case where the US government has shown fierce hostility against investigative reporting and where the US mainstream media have largely been complicit rather than critical watchdogs. Alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning has now been imprisoned for almost a year, without trial, and under conditions which are widely regarded as torture.

Well-known movement figures such as Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig and outgoing Free Press CEO Josh Silver are redirecting their attention from media/communication issues to the overarching corporate influence on US politics and the systemic corruption that it leads to. Both speakers highlighted that no progressive media policy is likely to emerge as long as the major business players can use their limitless funds to buy the policy they like.

While some focus on the problems of Washington politics, others point to the role of alternative media. Jeff Cohen, founder of the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, identified a “consensus at this conference that the media is more stupid and more corporate than ever, and if there is a bright spot it’s the growth of independent media”. He moderated one of the panels that highlighted the positive experiences with alternative and social media: “Egypt, Afghanistan and Beyond: Independent Journalism and International Crisis”. Other panels discussed the role of social media for disaster relief, the use of mobile phones for social change, community media, and mapping tools for connecting media activists (for example: Community Media Datababase).

Despite (or because?) widespread celebratory accounts of Facebook-/Twitter-/etc.-”revolutions” in North Africa and the Middle East, government interventions into Internet infrastructure and repression against social media continue and expand. A brief and inconclusive roundup of some current measures includes censorship, blocking, domain name seizures, DDoS attacks, and physical repression against bloggers, around the globe:  Iran | India 1 | India 2 |  Bahrain | Russia | UK | US | China |

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has started the process of allocating frequencies to community radios. Radios can now apply. More: APC News | BNNRC | Meanwhile in India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is considering to set up a “Community Radio Fund”. Such a fund would ensure the sustainability and enhanced outreach of the community radio movement within the country. More…

On 27 January, following the dramatic increase of anti-government protests, Egyptian authorities shut down the country’s Internet and cell phone networks, curtailing the information flow in and out of the country, as well as the use of social networking and other media tools to protest and mobilize. This highlights the vulnerability of the communication infrastructure that has been crucial for civil society media, and the persistent role of governments in managing and restricting it. News and comments: Citizenlab | EFF | IGP | Global Voices | Waves of Change. Ongoing coverage by Global Voices.

The community radio movement has recently enjoyed significant successes in becoming recognized and supported by policy-makers. Policy gains were shared and discussed at the recent global conference of the World Association of Community Broadcasters AMARC in La Plata, Argentina. McGill University’s research hub Media@McGill contributed a workshop on Mapping Global Media Policy, and CSMP consortium members Arne Hintz and Stefania Milan reported from the event: Blog entry on policy debate | All blog entries

While the media interest seems to move to the question of who will play Julian Assange in the upcoming Hollywood movie, cables continue to be published. Daily updates by, amongst others, The Nation’s Greg Mitchell, The Guardian, and WL Central. The Personal Democracy Forum is holding a series of WikiLeaks-related roundtables in New York. Part of the discussion concerns the existing policy environment of ‘leaking’, and the question of how a more favourable environment can be created. A prominent current example for policy change is the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative IMMI.

New Hungarian laws that have reshaped the legislative framework and regulation of communications and the media have drawn international critical attention. Community radio station Radio Tilos has already been affected by the new tightened content regulation. The Center for Media and Communication Studies in Budapest provides an online resource with news as well as the legal texts.

Upcoming academic conferences include the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) (submission deadline 8 February) and the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) (submission deadline 1 February). IAMCR includes debates on civil society media policy, for example in its Community Communication section, while ECPR will include sessions on online activism and internet governance. Community media will be discussed at the second AMARC Europe conference in Ireland on 24-26 February 2011, and at the Civilmedia conference in Salzburg on 14-16 April.

At this address, a new blog is emerging which will provide news and updates on the policy environment of community, alternative, citizens’ and activist media.