Recent press releases issued by Media Alliance. Sometimes we’ll post newspaper, radio and broadcast interviews here as well.
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg on
Huffington Post August 18 2010
Ever had one of those weeks where the distance between what was said and what was done stretches way out into the blue yonder? In my job as director of Media Alliance, many things pass my desk that generate moments of disbelief, but the 1st week of August was truly remarkable.
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg June 2012 at Oakland Local
I was out-gunned 30-1.
On May 26th, I went to the California Public Utilities Commission to encourage them to perform a thorough investigation of the impact of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger on California consumers.
As a public interest advocate, I’m used to being the underdog. Despite sending lots of last-minute emails asking people to come, I didn’t expect a huge amount of folks would be able to dispense with work and family and rush over to the commission meeting.
But I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Continue reading Astroturf Up Close And Personal
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg on August 19th, 2013
Huffington Post
Update 9/9/2013 – Here is a brief blog entry on the Stop Watching Us coalition meeting with Nancy Pelosi’s SF District office on August 26th.
Stop Watching Us also met with Representative Mike Thompson in the North Bay. Read an account of that visit by Anna Givens in the North Bay Bohemian newspaper.
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Talking About Spying with Nancy Pelosi’s Office
When Edward Snowden’s revelations about the scope and extent of NSA surveillance activities started breaking on the pages of the U.K. Guardian, it was a wake-up call for Internet freedom activists that many of our worst suspicions had come true.
As the flow of stories continued, both in the pages of Guardian and now in many other media outlets including the Washington Post, Der Speigel, the NY Times and Pro Publica, the American public grew more and more convinced of government over-reach and an overly loose interpretation of the Bill of Rights. These perceptions crossed partisan dividing lines and reached 75% of the population. Half a million people signed a petition at http://www.stopwatching.us demanding an end to the programs. Continue reading Talking About Spying With Nancy Pelosi
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg on February 9th, 2014
Truthout
The future of democratic media may come down to a bunch of lawyers.
Twenty-five years after pirate radio aficionados and media activists pushed for and eventually won the Low Power Community Radio Act, the fate of hundreds of radio licenses is up in the air. Continue reading A Thousand New Radio Stations: Whose Will They Be?
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg on February 9th, 2014
Counterpunch
The prominent Democratic website Think Progress recently took aim at the anti-NSA surveillance movement with a warning to “Beware of Libertarians Bearing Gifts”. The blog suggests bipartisan alliances between civil liberties advocates and libertarians will sink the New Deal, which some might say is already taking on a bit of water.
Continue reading The Center for American Progress and the Nullify NSA Movement
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg on February 19th, 2014
Mag-Net Blog
The San Francisco Bay Area is often seen across the country as a blue outpost and a place where liberal ideas predominate. This image is especially widespread in media reports which emphasize cultural and political innovations. But the local media system which indulges in the self-congratulatory blather is itself a retrograde example of corporate consolidation and dominance. More like Texas than Vermont, if you like.
If the purpose of media systems is to connect and to exchange information, then Bay Area communication is about as controlled by big media corporations as the US is dependent on imported oil. The statistics are terrifying: Continue reading Mergers Lock In The Status Quo
Posted by Tracy Rosenberg on March 23rd, 2014
Oakland Tribune
The arguments for and against the Oakland Domain Awareness Center project are well-established. After hours of community testimony at the Oakland City Council meetings Feb. 18 and March 4, the council voted to rein in the planned surveillance center.
What isn’t so well-established is what the center was for in the first place, and what policies would prevent the Orwellian nightmare presented by DAC opponents. Continue reading DAC As Planned Was A Serious Case Of Mission Creep
Posted by Jean Lee on June 27th, 2014
Oakland Local
Viewing an episode of your favorite show may become a matter of speed, fast or slow. Trying to watch that season finale of Game of Thrones or that premiere of Orange is the New Black could become an experience based on how much you’re willing to pay.
The way we watch our shows online, or anything online, for that matter, could face some significant changes under the Federal Communications Commission’s new proposal. In May, the FCC voted 3-2 to proceed with Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposed “Open Internet,” which would essentially allow for Internet Service Providers to prioritize certain sites like Netflix and YouTube, and charge users premium fees for accessing them at a faster pace.
Continue reading Without Net Neutrality, How Are Oakland’s Communities Affected?
