The 55-member FCC Consumer Advisory Committee meeting on Friday, November 18, 2005 will be covered with a live Realvideo stream at: http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/#nov18. There will be a one-hour panel on media ownership, scheduled for 11 am to noon, which will include presentations and Q&A with Juan Gonzalez, Hannah Sassaman of Prometheus Radio, Tony Riddle of the Alliance for Community Radio, and David Honig of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. Denis Moynihan of Democracy Now! chairs the committee's media working group, that is looking mostly at media ownership rules. Members of the public may address the Committee or may send written comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  There will likely be 4-6 meetings per two year term.

The controversial new film Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price will debut in Indianapolis area homes, schools and theaters as part of Wal-Mart Premiere Week, an unprecedented grassroots effort that will see over 3,000 screenings across the nation from November 13-19, 2005. Wal-Mart is the newest film from director and producer Robert Greenwald (Outfoxed,Unprecedented), and the first from his new venture, Brave New Films.

Local public access television across the United States is being threatened by legislation introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Critics say the bills could eliminate the only source of funding public access providers receive and would take away control from local governments. Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman speak with Anthony Riddle of the Alliance for Community Media and George Stoney, who many consider the father of public access. [Transcript, Video, mp3]