As Thousands Gather in Memphis for National Media Reform Conference, A Look at the State of the U.S. Media

Several thousand people are gathering here in Memphis this weekend for the National Conference on Media Reform. Speakers include Bill Moyers, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Phil Donahue, Jane Fonda, Helen Thomas and scores of others. The conference comes just weeks after media activists won a victory in the fight over the future of the Internet.

The telecom giant AT&T recently agreed to adhere to net neutrality - the concept that everyone, everywhere, should have free, universal and non-discriminatory access to the Internet. AT&T made the pledge as part of its efforts to win FCC approval for its merger with Bell South. The two Democratic commissioners on the FCC agreed to back the merger after AT&T's pledge.

This year's National Conference on Media Reform is also taking place as the FCC considers rewriting the nation's media ownership laws to allow major corporations to purchase more radio/TV stations and newspapers.

To talk about these issues two guests join us here in Memphis:

* Jonathan Adelstein, commissioner of the FCC. He has served on the Federal Communications Commission since 2002.
* Robert McChesney, co-founder of the group Free Press which runs the National Conference on Media Reform. He is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Robert's most recent book is "Tragedy & Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy."

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/12/151235