Apocalypse Soon for Public Media?

An On-line Community Discussion featuring Live Podcasting and Blogging
[Boston-area folks invited to be in the live audience]

read more on the tactical media blog http://tacticalmedia.blogspot.com/

Encuentro 5
http://www.encuentro5.org/
33 Harrison Ave., 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02111
-- corner of Harrison Ave. and Beach St. in Chinatown, 3 blocks from the Boston Common --

Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
6:30-8:30 p.m.

The Community Media and Technology Program at the UMass Boston College of Public and Community Service, The Tactical Media Project, and Massachusetts Global Action are presenting a communications policy discussion and community meeting.

Public media and the Internet are in deep trouble. We are currently seeing the emergence of the communications and media systems we will live with for the next several decades. And, as we write, there are proposals in Congress that dramatically threaten the public interest, and the potential for innovation and media justice in those emerging systems, in the US and around the world.

At stake are:

* local control of our communications infrastructure,
* the survival of the Internet as an open and affordable communications network [a.k.a. "net neutrality"],
* maintaining and expanding public access to cable and other media production and distribution resources,
* our communications rights to receive and create media,
* the democratic and equitable provision of telecommunications access to low income communities and communities of color,
* the future of public service media,
* the ability of local government to assure the communications infrastructure is present to support progressive economic development.