Media Activists in Minneapolis Discuss Reform

Critics of the corporate media are gathering in Minneapolis this weekend to discuss reform. The National Conference for Media Reform is being organized by Free Press, a nonprofit organization that promotes diverse and independent media ownership and public media. The conference opened Friday with several speakers, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minneapolis. Free Press executive director Josh Silver says the movement toward media reform has gotten stronger over the past five years. He says one of the most important fights now is to push for a free and open Internet. There's incredible coverage of the event from reporters who really understand the importance of media: the participants themselves. Check out the stories linked below.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/06/06/ap5090400.html

DAN RATHER HITS PRESS COVERAGE OF WAR -- AND 'CORPORATE NEWS'
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell]
Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan's claims in his new book -- that the mainstream media were "complicit enablers" in the run-up to the Iraq war -- have been met with denials from past and present TV news anchors such as Tom Brokaw, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams (with Katie Couric admitting some failures). But Dan Rather, who was CBS anchor in 2003, offered a strong critique of the journalists' performance in his speech to the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis. Rather opened by admitting that, referring to McClellan, "Whatever his motives for saying these things, he's right," but he also recalled that some reporters did ask tough questions: "So how do we reconcile these competing reactions? Well, we need to pull back for what we in television call the wide shot." Rather then explored the big picture, starting with: "In the wake of 9/11 and in the run-up to Iraq, these news organizations made a decision -- consciously or unconsciously, but unquestionably in a climate of fear -- to accept the overall narrative frame given them by the White House.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568264.html?rssid=193

* Official conf blog
http://www.freepress.net/conference/blog

* Bill Moyers: ‘Journalism in Profound Crisis’ (Bill Moyers)
http://www.trueblueliberal.com/2008/06/08/bill-moyers-journalism-in-prof...
* Moyers on O'Reilly: "Bill Is Not a Journalist, He's a Pugilist" (TVNewser)
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/moyers_on_oreilly_bill_is_not_a_...
* Bill Moyers in the Valley of Elah (Daily Kos)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/8/95937/79219
* Dan Rather Admits Press Failure on Iraq -- and Hits Corporate Media (Huffington Post)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/dan-rather-admits-press-f_b_...
* Rep Keith Ellison, Media Critic
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/06/020707.php
* Getting Hate Speech Off the Dial (Utne Reader)
http://www.utne.com/2008-06-07/Media/Media-Conference-Getting-Hate-Speec...
* Amend the First Amendment (Utne Reader)
http://www.utne.com/2008-06-07/Media/Media-Conference-Amend-the-First-Am...
* Rise of the Advocate Journalists (Utne Reader)
http://www.utne.com/2008-06-07/Media/Media-Conference-Rise-of-the-Advoca...
* The Freedom That Makes Freedom Possible (Utne Reader)
http://www.utne.com/2008-06-07/Media/The-Freedom-That-Makes-Freedom-Poss...
* Robert Greenwald Embarasses Bill O'Reilly's Ambush Gang (News Hounds)
http://www.newshounds.us/2008/06/06/robert_greenwald_embarasses_bill_ore...
* How Far Have We Come? People of Color in the Mass Media (Swirlspice)
http://www.swirlspice.com/oldstuff/009048.php
* More from National Conference for Media Reform (Uppity Wisconsin)
http://www.uppitywis.org/more-national-conference-media-reform
* Policy Wonkery with Michael Copps
http://edwards.orcas.net/blog/archives/000429.html
* Media Reform Now About Internet, Not Broadcast Ownership, says Free Press (BroadbandCensus.com)
http://broadbandcensus.com/blog/?p=13
* iPhone central to "future of the Internet"
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080608-tim-wu-iphone-central-to-f...
* FCC's Adelstein Calls for New Investigations into Propaganda (Broadcasting&Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/50000405.html
* Susan Crawford speaks at NCMR 2008
http://onewebday.org/?p=308
* O'Reilly producer chases Deggans down in Minneapolis; More big names call for serious media reform
http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2008/06/oreilly-chases.html
* National Conference on Media Reform, Final Report
http://www.toddsuomela.com/ecec/2008/06/national-conference-on-media-r-2...