Recommended Outside Resources
  • Adbusters - Adbusters, the Journal of the Mental Environment, is a website and bimonthly magazine which looks critically and cleverly at advertising. Adbusters has taken on the major media, including its Media Carta campaign.
  • Agitproperties.com - Agitproperties.com describes itself as "a company and a Web site", which works to "license, manufacture and sell 'agitational propaganda' - parody apparel and other items lampooning current media outlets - whose sole purpose is to make Americans THINK about the choices they have when obtaining news information from the U.S. Media, as well as the fairness and impartiality of those same outlets."
  • Be The Media - Be The Media describes itself as a project to "help... independent artists create and distribute content without selling their royalties, rights or souls in the process. It is the result of a decentralized, collaborative effort by some of today's leading media activists, educators and experts." Be sure to check out Be The Media's blog.
  • Benton Foundation - The Benton Foundation is a private organization which has worked in philanthrophy, public policy, and community activism, and which has made media work its centerpiece.
  • Black Commentator - The Black Commentator is a website devoted to commentary, analysis and investigations of issues affecting African Americans. The website publishes a new set of commentary every Thursday.
  • Buzzflash - Buzzflash is a Chicago-based news and commentary portal, focusing on a left/liberal perspective of events.
  • Center for Digital Democracy - This is a group devoted to public interest advocacy ofdigital technologies and the Internet.
  • Center for International Media Action - The Center for International Media Action describes itself as "a nonprofit organization created to strengthen connections ...[and] to increase the efficacy of organizing and activism around media issues by providing tools and services to help groups share knowledge, build relationships and utilize existing resources."
  • Chicago Access Network Television (CAN-TV) - CAN-TV is the fleet of Chicago's public access cable television channels. Chicago Media Action has made many appearances on CAN-TV, including appearances on CAN-TV's Community Forum.
  • Chicago Filmmakers - Chicago Filmmakers is a 30 year-old media arts organization that fosters the creation, appreciation and understanding of film and video as media for artistic and personal expression, as well as media of important social and community impact. CMA has co-sponsored presentations with Chicago Filmmakers.
  • Chicago Independent Media Center - This is Chicago's chapter of the international Independent Media Center ("indymedia") movement. Indymedia is a collective of journalists and media groups devoted to non-profit non-corporate coverage of national, international, local events.
  • Chicago Newspaper Guild - The Chicago Newspaper Guild describes itself as a "550 member labor union created by and for newspaper and news-related employees in the Chicago area." Chicago Media Action has held some of its meetings at the Guild's offices.
  • Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting - CIPB is a group specialized in advocating structural reform of public television in the United States.
  • Collective Interest Radio - Collective Interest Radio is a Chicago radio program of politics and current events which airs from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
  • Colorado Media Reform - Colorado Media Reform is a Colorado group devoted to independent media and critique and structural reform of the major media.
  • Common Cause - Common Cause is a grassroots lobbying organization which has been instrumental in media policy struggles in recent years. Chicago Media Action has worked in the past with the Chicago chapter of Common Cause.
  • Critical Notes - Critical Notes is a weblog of criticism and media analysis by Chicagoan Josh Honn.
  • Democracy Now! - As described on its website, "Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 140 stations in North America." Members of Chicago Media Action helped bring DN! back to Chicago's airwaves (listen weekdays, 7am-9am, on WZRD 88.3FM).
  • DIYmedia.net - DIYmedia.net is a news and information resource for do-it-yourself media efforts. And you haven't lived until you check out the links under Media Collage.
  • Downhill Battle - Downhill Battle is a non-profit organization devoted to activism around the music industry. It is "working to end the major label monopoly and build a better, fairer music industry."
  • Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting - FAIR bills itself as "the national media watch group [headquartered in New York City, which] has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986." Of particular interest are their reports on how power shapes the news, the presence of right-wing think-tanks as news show guests, and their pioneering study on guests from ABCNews' Nightline.
  • Free Press - Free Press is a national media reform and media advocacy organization, headquartered in Northampton, Massachusetts. The website is a must for anyone interested in media, media politics, and media activism.
  • Free Radio SAIC - Free Radio SAIC is the online radio station of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
  • Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy - GRIID is an organization devoted to media literacy, media strategies, and media activism, predominantly in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  • Greg Palast - Greg Palast is an investigative journalist with the BBC and the Guardian of London, even though he's American and has Chicago connections (he got a degree from the University of Chicago).
  • Guerrilla News Network - Guerrilla News Network is a production company and news organization with offices in New York City and Berkeley, California. GNN works to present issues of serious importance through its website and through its pioneering genre of "newsvideos"--a combination of documentary and music video.
  • In These Times - According to its website, "In These Times is a national, biweekly magazine of news and opinion published in Chicago. For 27 years, In These Times has provided groundbreaking coverage of the labor movement, environment, feminism, grassroots politics, minority communities and the media."
  • Independent Press Association - The IPA is devoted to supporting independent publications--some 400 magazines and newspapers. Chicago Media Action has worked in the past with IPA staff.
  • Industry Ears - Industry Ears describes itself as "[a] consortium of entertainment and broadcast industry professionals with more than 60 years of experience dedicated to revealing truth and promoting justice in media."
  • Labor Beat - Labor Beat is a weekly television series produced in Chicago which discusses issues pertaining to labor. Chicago Media Action has many past colloborations with Labor Beat.
  • Media Access Project - Media Access Project is a nonprofit law firm in Washington DC, which specializes in litigation on media and telecommunications issues.
  • Media Geek - An impressive one-man show out of Urbana. The main feature is the media geek blog, which has much worthwhile and thoughtful commentary.
  • Media Lens - This is a website of media criticism from the UK. The website's articles ranges across a wide array of topics, and they are all unfailingly compassionate, unwavering, and very well-written.
  • Media Tank - The Philadelphia-based Media Tank describes itself as "an innovative non-profit organization working to bring together media arts, education and activism to build broader awareness and support for media as a vital civic, cultural and communications resource." Of particular note are its media ownership page on FCC actions and their PDF flyer.
  • Mediachannel - Mediachannel bills itself as a "media issues supersite, featuring criticism, breaking news, and investigative reporting from hundreds of organizations worldwide." It's home to the incomparable Danny Schechter's News Dissector Daily Blog about the Media.
  • Micah Wright - Micah Wright "is an author who works in film, television, videogames and comic books. His...book Back The Attack: Remixed War Propaganda is a complilation of 41 of his Remixed Propaganda posters."
  • National Organization for Women -- Chicago Chapter - This is the website of the Chicago chapter of the venerable women's rights organization. NOW has been involved in struggles on media issues; the Chicago chapter of NOW has worked in the past with Chicago Media Action.
  • NOW with Bill Moyers - This PBS television show may be unique in American broadcasting for its forthright coverage of media politics. Of particular interest are its pages on Milestones in Media and Politics and The Massing of the Media
  • Pittsburgh Media Action - This is an organization in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which fights for media justice in Pittsburgh.
  • Project Censored - Project Censored is an eye-opening, mind-expanding annual review of what didn't make the news--but should have. Project Censored--a project from Sonoma State University--publishes its annual review as an annual book.
  • Prometheus Radio Project - The Prometheus Radio Project describes itself as "a non-profit organization created by radio activists to facilitate the growth of the Free Radio Movement and present an organized demand for the democratization of the airwaves." Prometheus serves as a legal, technical, organizational, and inspirational resource for low-power radio broadcasters.
  • Radio Arte - Radio Arte (WRTE, 90.5 FM) is a bilingual English/Spanish community radio station which broadcasts from Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods.
  • Reclaim The Media - A fascinating news and information portal on happenings in the media democracy movement. The website is run out of the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
  • Redline Radio - Redline Radio is a low powered FM radio station that serves the communities on Chicago's far north side. The station airs on 99.1 FM in the Uptown, Edgewater, and Rogers Park neighborhoods, and also in Evanston.
  • Robert McChesney - This is the website of Bob McChesney--author of eight books on media and politics, professor of communications at the University of Illinois, host of the weekly radio show Media Matters, and president of the media activist organization Free Press.
  • SPEC Chicago - The Self-Publishers Event Council (SPEC) of Chicago is composed of creative producers of zinesters, writers, bloggers, artists, performers and poets dedicated to creating alternative avenues for sharing self-published artistic expression with the public. SPEC Chicago organizes frequent events in the Chicago area and nationwide to provide venues for creative expression.
  • Take Back The Media - A visually dazzling and fun website with lots of informative criticism about the major corporate media. The media flash resources have to be seen to be believed.
  • The NewStandard - TNS describes itself as "one of the only professional, independent, noncommercial hard news sources in the United States", which provides "uncompromised investigative journalism and 24-hour news coverage of current events." Many of the same folks which brought you ZNet are working on The NewStandard.
  • This Is Hell - Chuck Mertz hosts this weekly Evanston-based radio program, which airs on WNUR 89.3 FM on Saturday mornings. What This is Hell "[tries] to do is give the public access to information and perspectives that are muted or overlooked by mainstream media here in the States.". (Footnote: Chuck has referred to Chicago Media Action as "Chicago Media Watch Watch".)
  • UPPNET - UPPNET (Union Producers & Programming Network) is an international organization of producers of union television and radio programming.
  • WLUW-FM - WLUW (88.7 FM) is the radio station of Loyola University of Chicago, and has devoted a serious portion of its schedule to independent and community voices in Chicago. Chicago Media Action has made many appearances on WLUW shows.
  • Workers Independent News Service (WINS) - WINS is an independent news and headlines radio resouce with the mission of providing news and content of relevance to working families: organizing efforts, workplace issues, coalition campaigns, and other workforce issues.
  • WVON (AM 1450) - WVON is a part-time Chicago talk radio station. Members of Chicago Media Action have been on WVON, in particular during the show of AM radio host Cliff Kelley.
  • WZRD (88.3 FM) - WZRD is the radio station of Northeastern Illinois University and maintains a commitment to public and community service. Members of Chicago Media Action have been on WZRD in the past.
  • ZNet - ZNet is the online complement to Z Magazine--a magazine of critical thinking on contemporary political issues. ZNet is a massive website, with subsites devoted to mainstream media and alternative media.

If you wish to submit suggestions to our resources database, send e-mail to cma@chicagomediaaction.org