Download the February/March 2007 issue of the Public Access of Indianapolis newsletter, The Right of Way.  The feature article is "Prominent Speakers Draw Inspiration from Civil Rights Movement at Media Reform Conference," by Kathleen Dobie. Other articles include an analysis of WISH-TV's evening news; "Radio Payola: A Youth Perspective;" a profile of new Cable Franchise Board member, Lara Beck; Video Art at the IMA; and an FCC update. (Adobe Reader required.) 

2006 Year in Review and Looking Ahead to 2007

2006 was to be the year of major telecommunications deregulation, and for citizens in Indiana, the push from the Baby Bells to ease their entry into the video services market quickly became reality. It was also the year that we witnessed the largest telecom merger in history with the union of AT&T and BellSouth.

Attending the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, Tennessee introduced me not only to a new way of thinking, but to the realization that free media is in danger of extinction. The conference was a learning opportunity as well as it was an experience. One of the things that affected me most was a workshop I was able to attend on the subject of payola.

Essential to understanding how the commercial media creates meaning is an analysis of what information is considered important: what information is considered relevant to the greatest number of viewers?in short, what is considered news.

Bill Moyers

Held the weekend before Martin Luther King Day in Memphis, the city where Dr. King?s life was ended by an assassin?s bullet, the underlying theme of the third National Conference on Media Reform harkened to the struggles of the Civil Rights Era. Conference speakers and workshops focused on media justice and the plight of minorities of race, of gender, of economic class, and of media access.