WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission member Michael J. Copps is calling for reinvigorated federal regulation of broadcasting to encourage more, and more serious journalism. Expanding on his June 9 remarks following the release of the FCC's staff report on the information needs of communities, Copps criticized the report's optimism about the Internet. "What we have gained on the Internet," said Copps (pictured left), "does not match what we have lost" due to cutbacks in newspaper and broadcast newsrooms. And he urged new FCC regulatory initiatives to help create new and strengthened forums for journalism and debate…….
Month: June 2011
Here We Go Again: Reform in California
Forget the midnight ride of Paul Revere, Callista Gingrich's jewelry collection and Anthony Weiner's … well, you know. The most important political people right now are 14 Californians you don't know. They are the members of the Citizens Redistricting Commission of this great state. American elections are rarely decided by debates in New Hampshire or even hundreds of millions of dollars in television advertising. By and large, American elections are determined by who comes out to vote, the fine print of election laws and squiggly lines on state maps. Except for presidential elections, which can surprise you, more than 90……
USC forum explores new FCC transparency & accountability requirements
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission will propose a new "streamlined web system" regulatory regime for broadcasters, requiring licensees to file all information on the Internet in a publicly accessible and searchable form. That promise came from Steven Waldman (pictured left), senior advisor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who spoke at a Washington, D.C. forum organized by USC's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism to discuss the report, The Information Needs Of Communities: The changing media landscape in a broadband age which was released on June 9. First came the good news: the U.S. is close to having "the best……
Landmark FCC Report highlights CCLP research
For its new report assessing the national and local media landscape and offering policy recommendations on how to preserve the public's access to news and information, the Federal Communications Commission appointed award-winning journalist and CCLP Senior Fellow Cinny Kennard to the working group that led research, conducted interviews and drafted the document. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski publicly thanked Kennard in his remarks at the FCC meeting in Washington D.C. on June 9. Kennard (pictured below) assembled a research team that included CCLP junior fellows Rebecca Shapiro and Monica Alba, along with research associates Cater Lee and Sarah Erickson. They investigated……
U.S. must do more for global food security
How do you feed 10 billion people? It is not just a humanitarian question, but a vital U.S. national security imperative. A recent U.N. report projects a 46 percent population increase by 2100. Africa, home to more than a quarter of the world's undernourished people and more than 20 violent conflicts in the past half century, is predicted to more than double its population. We must not only consider how to feed all of these people — but what it means if we can't. Food commodity prices are at record highs, leading to instability in already volatile regions. The Pentagon's……
Politicians are Different from You and Me
The current issue of The Week magazine certainly has the right headline: "Hey, Look at Me!" But the picture was not of Congressman Anthony Weiner and his little package. The picture below the headline showed Sarah Palin and her great big Harley-Davidson. She is fully clothed, wrapped in leather actually. "Hey, Look at Me" could be the motto of modern politics, particularly male politicians. The name of the game has always been seduction of individuals, of crowds. That is what politicians do. I've traveled with a lot of them long enough to know that unlike the characters in "Toy Story,"……
Winograd examines roots of Egyptian revolution in Headwaters of the Arab Spring
On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, the leaders of the Egyptian protest group, April 6 Youth Movement (A6Y), led hundreds of thousands of protesters chanting, "Bread, Freedom, Human Rights" into Cairo's Tahrir Square. The events that followed completely surprised the economic elites gathering for the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Few put much stock in the importance of the actions of young people in Egypt until the protests overturned that country's entrenched power structure in a matter of weeks…….
The New American Segregation: The Military
CHICAGO — It seems that I only see American soldiers at airports. Walking forever through O'Hare here, every man and woman in uniform is greeted by the same line: "Thank you for your service." At American Airlines, military personnel are allowed to board before other economy class passengers, after first class and business class passengers are comfortable in their big chairs. It all makes me cringe. The reason for all this small courtesy is the guilt felt by the rest of us. This small band of brothers and sisters are doing our most difficult work, much of it as unnecessary……
Judith McHale's Departure from the State Department
The article was written by CCLP Faculty Fellow Phil Seib, and was originally posted on the Center on Public Diplomacy blog. Judith McHale's departure from her position as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs presents an opportunity not only to appraise her tenure, but also to consider the future direction of U.S. public diplomacy. McHale's most valuable contribution may have been to structurally reinforce public diplomacy within the State Department. By overseeing the addition of deputy assistant secretaries responsible for public diplomacy throughout State, she took a big step toward increasing the centrality of public diplomacy……