Demand democratically accountable community media in Chicago or forfeit democracy. Your choice.

Posted by Scott - November 9, 2016 (entry 721)

Dear activist / artist / educator / friend,

Registration is now closed for the CAN TV open house tomorrow Thursday November 10th 3:00 PM - 6:30 PM at 1309 S. Wood Street. The event will help mark the first year of CAN TV's facilitation of community media at the awesome new, permanent, expandable, multi-use digs it has constructed in the U of I medical district. But we will definitely keep in touch with you on related community media issues.

There has been much recent turbulence and change at Chicago's community television provider CAN TV including a successful and necessary unionization of the staff and the unanticipated departure of its top executives. But we have learned that important work remains on necessary changes to CAN TV's bylaws to ensure that it has a democratically accountable board of trustees as it seeks new leadership so that it does not repeat the mistakes of its past. And there's a LOT more at stake: CAN TV is being offered control of a brand new community radio license and station at 98.3 FM that can be live streamed and put on Chicago cable channel 42, a paid & volunteer multi-media, multi-platform, independent journalism program in partnership with leading local journalism instructors, more arts and cultural programming, more education for media consumers, and just . . . more!

When it rains it pours!

We encourage you to contact CAN TV and ask it to fix its anti-democratic bylaws and accept the gift of a radio station license and support the journalism and other programs listed above.

Various turns of events have brought community media, independent journalism, and public arts to a rare juncture that can benefit the entire Chicago region. Who said it is impossible to respond to the anti-democratic monocultural consequences of billion dollar corporate media and oligarchy? Help make CAN TV even better!

We will be at the open house asking for truly community controlled media, along with representatives of WGHC-LPFM, Medill School of Journalism instructors, and others!

We hope you were able to reserve a spot at the open house, but we will keep those who could not attend informed of developments.

Scott Sanders, longtime local media justice activist
Christine Geovanis, well placed local political communications consultant

resources:

--->"CAN TV multi-use expansion proposal - 1 page summary"
photo of spanking new radio studio being offered to CAN TV
Link to a partial list of groups that received this communication in email form on 11/09/2016.

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.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.