But the G8 apparently thought that visible public protest (at least visible in the corporate media -- it never went away) went into terminal decline, so they (or somebody) went ahead and scheduled in June 2011 to bring the G8 into Chicago, beforethe rise and prominence of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which probably wasn't even imagined yet. So now, locked in to a situation in a city that's certainly not Sea Island, and facing widespread and growing discontent that has captured widespread public awareness (even in the corporatemedia), officials in Chicago are apparently responding the only way they can -- making it much harder to hold public protest.
The latest back-and-forth on this is a proposed rewrite of the Chicago ordinance regarding public displays of political protest, which would redefine "resisting arrest" to include passive resistance (like going limp, as many activists commonly do), increasing the range of fines (fat lot of good that will do; many protesters can't afford current fines), requiring $1 million dollars of liability insurance per protest (maybe the 1% can pay for the insurance), registering with the city at least one week in advance (assuming the city grants a permit), requiring one marshal for every 100 protesters in attendance (note to officials: protests don't have RSVPs), and -- particularly relevant to Chicago Media Action -- imposing all of these requirements on sidewalk protests.
Chicago Media Action has held anumberof protestactions over the years, which have never been on the scale of the massive street protests against the Iraq war or those staged by Occupy Chicago, but which have nevertheless shown their value, raised awareness, and inspired others to action. And frankly, we fear that these added restrictions would adversely affect our ability to carry out public actions, which is why Chicago Media Action opposes this rewrite. (We have learned that a revision to the ordinance is slated for release on Wednesday. January 12th; we'll see things improve or not.)
Nevertheless, if you live in Chicago, we encourage you to contact your Alderman insisting him or her to vote against this ordinance, and attend the council hearings on January 17th and 18th, 2012, which will take up the ordinance for debate. They're located at:
10 AM, Tuesday, January 17 in the City Council Chambers, 121 N. LaSalle Street, 2nd floor
1 PM, Tuesday, January 17 in Room 201A, 121 N. LaSalle Street.
AM, Wednesday, January 18 in the City Council Chambers, 121 N. LaSalle Street, 2nd floor
Remember, the rights you help save might be your own.
Video updates: Media, Technology, and Hackergate
December 31, 2011
Posted by Mitchell
Entry 682
And we also have some video to share. First, a segment with longtime Chicago Media Action contributor Mitchell Szczepanczyk on the Chicago TV show "26 N. Halsted":
And, a short film produced for Chicago Independent Television featuring CMA's protest this past summer at Fox Chicago over Hackergate:
Audio updates: Media Democracy Day, and Net Neutrality
November 29, 2011
Posted by Mitchell
Entry 681
It's not often that we get to update the CMA audio podcast, but we're in good stead to say that we've got not one but two updates from the past month:
(1) On November 5, 2011, the Human Thread art space in Pilsen played host to Media Democracy Day 2011, the third such presentation in Chicago in as many years. We recorded the full audio of the opening panel, which features three current members of Chicago Media Action, and posted it in the podcast (about 75 minutes).
(2) On November 11, 2011, the Cafe Society hosted a presentation and discussion at the Chicago Cultural Center on Net Neutrality, with CMA's Mitchell Szczepanczyk. The audio of that discussion, nearly an hour, is also online.
Enjoy!
Online petition to act: Help Secure the Future of CAN TV
October 30, 2011
Posted by Mitchell
Entry 680
Chicago Media Action is a longtime supporter of CAN TV, Chicago's fleet of public access cable television channels. And CAN TV is in the middle of contract negotiations with each of Chicago's cable companies, and it turns out that RCN, which has not been friendly to CAN TV in the past, is once again behaving badly. Here's a post, with a link to a petition that we strongly encourage you to sign.
CAN TV gives our communities a voice in television. The Committee for Media Access has been fighting to ensure that the public does not come last in the current City re-franchising of cable companies. But after the expiration of RCN's regular franchise in June, RCN has provided no funding for the public's channels. In fact, RCN has been operating without a city cable franchise since September 30th.
It is unacceptable that RCN has not completed its new funding agreement with CAN TV. The City of Chicago should take immediate action to enforce RCN's public obligations and to ensure that the new franchise sets a high standard for public benefits by all cable companies.
We urge you to sign our petition calling on the City of Chicago to hold open community hearings for public input on the enforcement of cable company obligations and the future of CAN TV.
Corporate Media's Endless Validations of its Own Limitations
October 17, 2011
Posted by Scott
Entry 679
Once the Occupy Wall Street protests belatedly broke through key mainstream media barriers, a collective sigh of relief could be heard. Unfortunately, many barriers to adequate telling of the necessary OWS story remain, buried deeply within the professional norms and behaviours that are learned and practiced - sometimes unknowingly - throughout corporate journalism.
To be fair, one recent NPR report intelligently focuses on OWS's international aspects,
another, though, significantly, not broadcast, on the ways impactful social change movements work.
But often overlooked yet ingrained within public media's coverage of OWS are found corporate professional journalism's endless validations of its own limitations.
We all have read, heard, and seen corporate media reports that scold the OWS protesters about their lack of clearly identified goals and lists of demands ad infinitum. In response, one viewer writes to the PBS ombudsman concerning NewsHour:
"I sure hope you aren't paying those "reporters" anything, since they seemed incapable of even suspecting the demonstrations have anything to do with Wall Street or our financial industry and its impact on the lives of most Americans." -- Bob Walker, Bowling Green, OH
Here, New York based NPR media correspondant David Folkenflik attempts to validate NPR's limitations:
"Lacking easy labels, Occupy Wall Street proved difficult for the media to categorize and therefore to cover."
This professional need to validate public radio's limitations is also behind Chicago Public Radio web site content honcho Justin Kaufmann's coverup of the holes and distortions in public radio's coverage.
Kaufmann again felt the need to excuse public radio's - and professional journalism's - limitations when he patronizingly attempted to take one complainer to the woodshed here: "Yeah, you pegged us. WBEZ is usually just a mouthpiece for richer Chicagoans. Get off your horse and stop being so selfish."
Certainly WBEZ - through its "enhanced underwriting", well-heeled board of trustees, as well as the professional norms and standards of its journalism - is never a mouthpiece for the 1%. Uh-huh.
In pictures: Worldwide protests over economic crisis. (BBC News)
Photos and report-back from Chicago Media Action protest at Fox Chicago: July 22, 2011
July 30, 2011
Posted by Mitchell
Entry 677
Protesters assembled outside of the Fox Chicago headquarters at 205 N. Michigan during rush hour on Friday, July 22, in response to a call from Chicago Media Action to protest Fox Chicago, reiterate a call to the FCC to revoke the licenses of broadcasters convicted of crimes. (CMA has a petition to deny in its fifth appeal currently before the FCC, and WFLD Fox 32 is one of the targeted stations.) We held a press conference, displayed our signs, handed out flyers, rubbed elbows with police and security, and had a generally good response and some positive discussion even with some folks who disagreed with us.
Photos of the protest (gathered below) were taken by Julian Zeng on the Windy Citizen website. We also recorded some video which we'll hopefully have assembled into a short film soon. Interestingly, there was a cameraman affiliated with Fox Chicago (see photo below) who did record some video and, as we understand it, tried to get the footage into that night's Fox Chicago news broadcast. Unfortunately, that night's Fox Chicago broadcast didn't include footage of our protest, but somehow they were able to squeeze in coverage of the growing fad of using fishing bait for women's hats.
We were encouraged by the response that Chicago Media Action organizers have agreed to have a follow-up protest on Sunday, August 7th, from 1pm to 3pm (yes, we know that coincides with Lollapalooza -- that's the point).
Protest News Corporation - Demand the FCC pull the broadcast licenses of criminals
July 17, 2011
Posted by Mitchell
Entry 675
On July 3, 2011, a six-year-old phone voicemail hacking scandal involving the British tabloid News Of The World (owned by right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch) took a dramatic new turn when it was revealed that News Of The World had intercepted the voicemails of thousands of everyday people, including victims of the 7/7 London bombing of 2005, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and a thirteen-year-old murdered girl.
In the two weeks since these revelations, the scandal has grown to hurricane strength, resulting (so far) in the following:
* The closing of News Of The World after 168 years, causing the layoffs of some 200 journalists
* The arrests of nine people implicated in the scandal, including the spokesperson for British Prime Minister David Cameron.
* The resignations of (among others) the head of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal (also owned by Murdoch)
* The scuttling of an attempted Murdoch buyout of British Sky Broadcasting, the largest pay-TV provider in Britain
* The loss of some $7 billion dollars of market capitalization of Murdoch media properties
The investigation into the matter has also extended to the United States, as allegations has surfaced of hacking (and paying a police officer for) the voicemails of 9/11 victims. The FBI has already opened an investigation into the matter.
What's more, there has already been some talk, even in major corporate media (like ABC's This Week), of the FCC taking action against Murdoch media in the United States, by urging the FCC to withdraw the broadcast licenses including a number of Murdoch-owned Fox TV stations. But the FCC has cold feet on the question; what public indications the FCC has made on the issue suggest that they would not be likely to pull the licenses of any stations, and historically the FCC has very rarely pulled the broadcast licenses of any TV stations on public-interest grounds since the FCC's founding in 1934.
That needs to change. And we intend to make a statement at the Chicago nerve-center of Murdoch media -- Fox Chicago WFLD (ironically, one of the stations still facing a still-pending six-year-old license challenge at the FCC brought by Chicago Media Action).
We encourage you to join us. Join us as we demand the FCC pull the broadcast licenses of criminals
What: Protest News Corporation - Demand the FCC pull the broadcast licenses of criminals
Where: Fox Chicago, 205 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
When: Friday, July 22, 2011, from 5pm CT to 6pm CT
Any questions? Email cma@chicagomediaaction.org or call 773-641-2151.
On Public Files, Secrecy, and the Public Interest Obligations of Broadcasters
Why is this important? The public file is one of the few opportunities to see some of the seamier side of broadcasters; it's little wonder why broadcasters don't want people to visit or know about them, a lot of ugly secrets are hidden in plain sight in a public file, if you know what to look for. Some of these are outlined in a letter I sent to the FCC and reposted here at the CMA website. As Glenn Greenwald reminds us: "Secrecy is the crux of institutional power", and anything to help reveal those secrets can defuse that institutional power.
Broadcasters are giving half-assed arguments supporting public file abolition saying that (a) hardly anyone views public files and (b) it's too expensive to maintain. But (a) broadcasters barely publicize the fact that they maintain public files, and more people probably would make use of public files if they, you know, heard about it from broadcasters, and (b) broadcasters have been eviscerating their staff in the wake of increasing media concentration, so if they didn't go full-hog on concentrating media and firing their staff it wouldn't be so hard to maintain.
The FCC is actually on our side on this one, and speaking out -- even a relatively few emails -- can make a difference. The last time the FCC had a docket on the matter, it got fewer than 36 comments. Public comment will be accepted through June 17, 2011. You can send feedback via email to PRA@fcc.gov and Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on this
website are those of the individual members of Chicago Media
Action who authored them, and not necessarily those of the entire
membership of Chicago Media Action, nor of Chicago Media Action
as an organization.
Chicago Media Action is 
Protesters assembled outside of the Fox Chicago headquarters at 205 N. Michigan during rush hour on Friday, July 22, in response to a call from Chicago Media Action to protest Fox Chicago, reiterate a call to the FCC to revoke the licenses of broadcasters convicted of crimes. (CMA has a petition to deny in its fifth appeal currently before the FCC, and WFLD Fox 32 is one of the targeted stations.) We held a press conference, displayed our signs, handed out flyers, rubbed elbows with police and security, and had a generally good response and some positive discussion even with some folks who disagreed with us.