We’re fading to black

Tomorrow, the Center for Media Justice website will go dark to protest the U.S. House of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its companion bill in the Senate, the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). Both of these bills would alter the technical operations of the Internet, and threaten Internet Freedom and openness online. If these bills pass, they will change the Internet as we know it. Neither bill would be effective at stamping out online piracy, but both will have consequences for how the Internet functions as a whole.

The incredibly true story of a girl (her family and friends) and her phone

Truth be told my relationship with my cell phone number and my yahoo email are my longest running relationships to date—longer even than my relationship with JD. In fact, until last February when I changed my number and email, my longest relationship ever was with the phone number that I got with my first cell phone in 1997—a Motorola Micro T-A-C 550.

CMJ Celebrates a Community Victory over AT&T’s Failed Attempt at Media Consolidation

amalia deloney, Media Policy Field Director stated, “Since AT&T first announced its intent to takeover T-Mobile, CMJ has continuously raised concerns about what role a duopoly would mean for those who rely on access to mobile broadband to find employment, access healthcare, advance their education and organize for social and economic justice.”

Virtual Summit on Diversity and Social Media

Watch CMJ’s amalia deloney talking about media policy for social change and movement building on Saturday, December 3rd.

CMJ Applauds President Obama’s Vow to Protect Internet Freedom

The Center for Media Justice applauds President Obama for declaring his intention to safeguard rules set by the Federal Communications Commission to keep our Internet fair and open. Yesterday, the President went on record, stating his intention to veto a Senate resolution (S.J. Res. 6) that, if passed, would repeal the Federal Communications Commission’s rules for net neutrality.

As the 99% are #OccupyingEverywhere. . .

Trainers at the Take Back the Dream Conference were offering interview tips for folks being interviewed by mainstream press. There was a strong emphasis on framing messages that would speak or appeal to the middle – that is the white middle class. Where then, I wonder, would the hundreds of people I work with through the Media Action Grassroots Network fit in?

USF Reform Shouldn’t Come at the Expense of America’s Most Vulnerable

“The announcement today means one thing—your phone bill is going to go up. People on fixed incomes or out of work can’t afford any price increase, yet the proposed plan would take money out of their pockets and hand it to the companies. At CMJ, we don’t call that reform. We call it taxing the poor.”

Launch of Black Voices for Internet Freedom

The Urgency of Doing

As we talk about all the issues surrounding Internet freedom and mobile
communications, we have to make sure the conversation doesn’t get derailed
by rhetoric minimizing the urgency of these issues. Some will dismiss this
as a legitimate human rights issue- they will say that the technology
conversation is one we don’t need to have because there are more “pressing”
issues such as the economy or education.

The Evolution of Activism

Birdseye View from the 2011 Knowledge Exchange: “Our goal as we gather here this week and beyond is to start the process of developing a new national and multi-regional generation of social justice advocates connected to this shared vision of Internet freedom – we are building a coalition of digital literate civil rights leaders.”