The Media and Democracy Coalition links advocacy at the state and local level with action in Washington D.C. to transform our media landscape.
2008
The Coalition announced Regional Organizing Project funding for two new full time media democracy organizers in Washington State and for a multi-state Native media project.
We launched MADCoNet, a secure online hub where member organizations can share resources and information.
The Alliance for Community Media completed a Coalition-supported film documenting the organizing of Coalition groups leading up to FCC hearings all around the country. The video also serves to educate the public about public interest media policy issues.
An Advertising Age profile on FCC Commissioner Michael Copps recognized the Coalition's work: "In all, there are 25 groups under the banner of the Media & Democracy Coalition, which together have mafe railing against Big Media a rather sexy and counterculture thing to do."
2007
The Coalition launched its Regional Organizer Program. We provided funds for local organizations to hire full time organizers to work for media democracy in Colorado, Florida, and Pennsylvania, as well as a grant funding an organizer to work nationally on Low Power FM radio.
With Coalition support, the Future of Music Coalition to expand their Rock the Net campaign by working with local groups in Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, DC to organizer Rock the Net Conferences that attracted local news coverage and educated music fans about the importance of Net Neutrality.
The Coalition played important organizing and support roles leading up to a number of FCC media diversity and localism hearings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Tampa; Portland, Maine; Chicago; Washington, DC; Seattle.
We released the results from a survey that showed that 70% of respondents perceive media consololidation as a problem and 57% favor laws that favor rules barring one compnay from owning at TV station and a daily newspaper in the same market. The results were carried by several news outlets and are frequently included in speeches by FCC Commissioners voicing their concerns over the state of public interest media policy.
The Coalition worked to coordinate policy advocates fighting to open Low Power FM radio licenses to new cities all accros the country and against relaxed FCC media ownership rules that would allow companies to own a daily newspapaer and a television station in one market.
2006
The Coalition ran campaigns in ten states including Oregon, Washingon, California, Montana, Arkansas, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maine. We came together in Washington D.C. to push back against consolidation plans at the FCC and to educate lawmakers about media reform policies.