Jan. 14, 2007  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Craig Aaron, (202) 441-9983 (in Memphis); Jen Howard, (703) 517-6273 (in Memphis)

Speeches Evoke The Civil Rights Movement While Urging A New Generation Of Activists To Mobilize For Better Media

MEMPHIS—On the weekend before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, headliners at the National Conference for Media Reform evoked the legacy of the civil rights movement while rallying more than 3,500 attendees for media reform.

“The nettlesome task about which Dr. King spoke is still being carried out by people who embody character, courage and the fortitude to make decisions in support of truth not spin, people who critically embrace diversity and reject monopoly,” actor and activist Danny Glover told the crowd Friday.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson pushed for more access to media and independent news.

“[King] brings us to this point today, 40 years later, to define the great issues of our time—the broken promises, the new schemes of denials, the impact of a media that freezes out democracy, the media that looks at the world through a key hole and not the door,” he said. “We must fight to open up airwaves for all the people.”

“The absence of women in the media is glaring,” Jane Fonda said in a speech at the conference’s closing session. “The media environment that is overwhelmingly white is also overwhelmingly male. Today, I hope to show you that  media that leaves women out is fundamentally, crucially flawed.”

Jane Fonda delivers one of the main addresses

“Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t get famous giving a speech called, ‘I have a complaint,’ ” said Van Jones, founder for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “The brother had a dream. We need to be able to have a movement that stands for that.”

“The wave of the future is a wave of technological empowerment and innovation,” said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). “It is a wave of grassroots activism that can make a difference in Washington, D.C., down to every single community in our country. It’s a wave of digital democracy the likes of which we have never seen in the history of our country.”

“The depth of this conference reflects the maturing power of this grassroots movement into a real force in American politics,” said Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. “No longer on the defense, media reform has a positive agenda to reclaim citizen, especially minority, ownership of the public airwaves and equal access to the Internet. Nobody in government can afford to ignore the organization and sophistication of this national movement for media democracy.”

Video of major speeches and audio of all sessions at the National Conference for Media Reform are available at www.freepress.net/conference .

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Free Press (www.freepress.net ) is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.

 

Got this from playahata.com. I’ve tacked on the group’s press release at the end. Also, here’s some required reading from the Black perspective.

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Historic event draws Hollywood actors, famed journalists, legendary civil rights leaders, renowned musicians, acclaimed scholars, grassroots activists to Memphis MEMPHIS — Riding a wave of unprecedented activism and interest around media issues, the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform— hosted by Free Press—will kick off this week in Memphis.

WHAT: 2007 National Conference for Media Reform
WHERE: Memphis Cook Convention Center, Memphis
WHEN: Jan. 12-14, 2007
WHO: Nearly 3,000 activists, media makers, journalists, policymakers, scholars and concerned citizens from across the country.

Online registration for conference participants is now closed.

However, those wishing to attend the conference can still register and pay at the conference site. Tuesday, Jan. 9 is the last day for members of the media covering the event to register for press credentials — please send all requests by noon to credentials@freepress.net.

Conference speakers and presenters and Free Press staff are available for interviews or comment before and during the event. The full conference schedule is now available here.

 

The event is packed with nearly 100 hands-on workshops, film screenings and interactive panels. See below for a list of some of the daily highlights of this momentous weekend:

THURSDAY, JAN. 11
9 p.m. — Join Free Press and MoveOn.org Civic Action for
SavetheInternet.com’s Party for the Future at the Gibson Guitar Factory near historic Beale Street (145 Lt. George Lee Ave.).

FRIDAY, JAN. 12
(All events at the Memphis Cook Convention Center)
9:30 a.m. — Welcome from Dr. Willie Herenton, Mayor of Memphis.

10 a.m. — Opening plenary with legendary journalist Bill Moyers.

11:30 a.m. — Press conference releasing new media ownership studies.

12:15 p.m. — Rev. Jesse Jackson headlines the afternoon plenary.

1:15 p.m. — Phil Donahue moderates “Inside Corporate Media: Can It Tell the Truth?” panel. Plus sessions on “The Fight over Media Ownership”; “Media and Elections”; “State Battlegrounds in Media Reform”; and more.

3:15 p.m. — “Saving the Internet” explores what’s next for the grassroots movement that made Net Neutrality a major issue last year; industry critic Paul Porter looks at “Payola: Radio, Records and the FCC”; former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani moderates a discussion on “Children & Media Policy”; and more.

8 p.m. — “The Memphis Music Showcase & Rally” features appearances by Rev. Al Green’s Gospel Choir, North Mississippi Allstars, Burnside Exploration, Jimbo & Olga, FCC Commissioners Michael Copps & Jonathan Adelstein, actor and activist Danny Glover, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, hip-hop activist Davey D and more.

SATURDAY, JAN. 12
(All events at the Memphis Cook Convention Center)
8 a.m. — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) addresses the conference.

9 a.m. — FCC Commissioners take questions on what’s happening in Washington; leaders discuss “Why Media Policy Is a Civil Rights Issue”; Dan Gillmor and Jay Rosen join a panel on “Citizen Journalism”; and more.

11 a.m. — Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Sanders offer a “Capitol Hill Update”; Memphis musicians Sid Selvidge and James Alexander join a panel on “Music & Media Reform”; grassroots activists on “The Battle to Control America’s Media”; and more.

1 p.m. — Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men shows clips from his upcoming film.

2: 30 p.m. — Laura Flanders, Amy Goodman, Robert Greenwald and blogger Atrios highlight “Winning Alternatives”; D.C. policy experts look ahead at “Washington 2007”; “Hip-Hop Activism for Media Justice”; and more.

4:30 p.m. — Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas debates “The Press at War & the War on the Press”; Media watchdogs David Brock, Janine Jackson and Norman Solomon; PBS’s David Brancaccio leads a panel on “The Future of Public Broadcasting”; plus a discussion about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the media with Judge D’Army Bailey and other civil rights experts; and more.

8 p.m. — A Keynote Event features Geena Davis, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Media Monopoly author Ben Bagdikian, former NAACP director Ben Hooks, Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus, radio host Deepa Fernandes, Free Press founder Robert W. McChesney and other special guests — plus a performance by The Bar-Kays.

SUNDAY, JAN. 14
(All events at the Memphis Cook Convention Center)
9 a.m. – Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, Ms. Magazine executive editor Katherine Spillar, journalist Roberto Lovato and community media innovator Wally Bowen on “Envisioning the Future of Independent Media”; plus hands-on workshops and a presentation by leading media scholars.

11 a.m. – The 2007 National Conference for Media Reform concludes with stirring closing remarks from Academy award-winner and activist Jane Fonda and Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.

More information about the National Conference for Media Reform is available here.

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Jan. 10, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Craig Aaron, (202) 441-9983 (in Memphis)

Jen Howard, (703) 517-6273 (in Memphis)

 

Memphis Conference Spotlights Media Issues

National Conference for Media Reform kicks off Friday, with nearly 3,000 activists, journalists, policymakers and concerned citizens in attendance

MEMPHIS—The 2007 National Conference for Media Reform—a landmark event filled with rousing speeches, musical performances, provocative panels and instructive workshops—promises to put reforming America’s media system in the national spotlight.

“More than 3,000 activists from across the country will gather in Memphis to declare that media reform is now on the national agenda,” said Robert W. McChesney, president and co-founder of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan group hosting the conference. “After years of fighting to prevent further consolidation of media ownership and the dumbing down of our airwaves, the movement is ready to pursue reforms that will transform American media.”

Headliners at the event—taking place at the Memphis Cook Convention Center—include legendary broadcaster Bill Moyers, Rev. Jesse Jackson, actors and activists Jane Fonda, Geena Davis and Danny Glover, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey, FCC Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, and civil rights activist Van Jones plus musical performances by The Bar-Kays, Rev. Al Green’s Gospel Choir and the North Mississippi Allstars.

“Media reform in this country is a story of activism that has made a huge difference,” said Commissioner Michael J. Copps. “The bipartisan, nationwide cry of outrage over our media has coalesced into a genuine and superbly organized grassroots movement. This year’s Free Press conference promises to be a first-rate forum for the latest thinking on how citizens can get involved in the fight for a better, fairer and more democratic media system in this country.” The beginning of a new Congress in January means that legislators will have a fresh start in crafting a new media and telecommunications legislation, with new leadership in place on key committees in both the House and Senate.

“The National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis will provide a venue where those of us who care about ensuring that this country has a free, diverse and independent media will come together to exchange ideas, work to create even better ones, and help to continue setting this country on the right path with media reform,” said Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Future of American Media Caucus.

From Jan. 12-14, more than 3,000 media activists, educators, journalists, policymakers and concerned citizens from nearly every state in the union will attend the National Conference for Media Reform, an event that aims to move media issues to the forefront of public discourse in the United States.

“We cannot achieve equality for women without full and fair representation in the media,” said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization of Women. “This conference provides the opportunity to network with activists from around the country and ensure that women’s rights issues are an integral part of the burgeoning media reform movement.”

On the weekend before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, media reformers will honor Dr. King’s legacy and vision by exploring and deepening the significant connections between the civil rights movement and the movement for media reform. “Memphis and the Mid-South are fortunate to have a conference here of this magnitude,” said Judge D’Army Bailey, founder of the National Civil Rights Museum. “For an area that has experienced so much social activism and civil rights history to have people of this caliber and commitment to social justice raising important issues of media and communications is a windfall. Hopefully this conference will leave behind strategies for local community leaders and activists that will make difference long after the event has left town.”

This is the third National Conference for Media Reform and builds on the success of the 2005 conference in St. Louis and 2003 conference in Madison, Wis.

“The activists who gather in Memphis recognize that they are no longer shouting from the sidelines; they are beginning to shape communications policy in the United States,” said journalist and Free Press co-founder John Nichols.

Online registration for conference participants is now closed. However, those wishing to attend the conference can still register and pay at the conference site.Full coverage of the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform—including streaming video, audio downloads of key sessions, and daily editions of the Media Minutes radio show—will be available at throughout the weekend at http://www.freepress.net/conference .

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Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.