CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION ALERT, November 19, 2003 http://www.chicagomediaaction.org There's no shortage of updates to pass along or things to do. So let's dive right in. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** There are three suggested actions that you can take part in, right now. (1) The FCC is trying to enact another shady giveaway. As the Center for Digital Democracy reports: "The Federal Communications Commission may soon approve a policy that would benefit the four major broadcast networks at the expense of the public interest. CDD has learned that at their next (December) meeting, the FCC could approve a...proposal that would enable each TV station to broadcast multiple interactive channels over cable systems. But the commission has thus far refused to require that broadcasters commit to a public interest quid pro quo in return." Read more here: http://www.mediareform.net/news.php?id=1655 And be sure to act: http://www.democraticmedia.org/getinvolved/mustCarryAction2.html (2) In Miami this week, a ministerial for the Free Trade Area of the Americas will convene. If the FTAA gets approved, it could override environmental protections and media ownership limits as "trade violations". It could enable U.S. media corporations to eclipse local cultures across the hemisphere and threaten all public or community broadcasting. Tens of thousands will protest in Miami. If you can't go to Miami, you can take part in a petition to stop the FTAA: http://www.mediareform.net/ftaa/petition (3) And don't forget CMA's own campaign to clean up WTTW, PBS channel 11. Read more about it, and take action, here: http://www.chicagomediaaction.org/index.php?link=rapid_response *** *** *** *** *** *** *** There are two CMA activities this weekend. Chicago Media Action will be included in this week's episode of the Chicago-area radio program "Live From The Heartland". North-side Chicagoans can listen on 88.7 FM WLUW, this Saturday, November 22, starting at 9AM. Or you can listen at http://www.wluw.org via the internet. And remember, CMA will be co-presenting (with Neighbors for Peace) an encore screening of "Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11" by the Guerrilla News Network. The screening begins at 2pm on Sunday, November 23, at the Evanston Public Library media room. For more details, please visit: http://chicago.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=31991 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Save the date: Sunday, January 18, 2004. Chicago Media Action is planning a film and forum for Martin Luther King Day, which would actually take place on the Sunday immediately before the official holiday. The forum may become part of a city-wide grassroots film festival scheduled for that weekend. More details to come. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Chicagoans: If you missed the National Conference on Media Reform in Madison last weekend, you have a chance to watch the conference on CAN TV. On Thanksgiving Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28, CAN TV, with support from The Joyce Foundation, will present two full days of coverage of the conference. CAN TV coverage starts at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, 11/27 and 1 p.m. on Friday, 11/28, both on channel 21. For a complete schedule, please visit http://www.cantv.org/media *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Finally, a notice about CMA logistics. Because of the upcoming holiday season, CMA is rescheduling its meeting schedule. There will be no CMA meeting for the fourth Tuesday in November. Instead, the next CMA meeting will be on Tuesday, December 2, at 6:30pm, with a subsequent meeting two weeks afterward, December 16, also at 6:30pm. Both meetings will be held at 3411 W. Diversey (corner of Diversey and Kimball, near the Logan Square stop on the CTA Blue Line). All are invited. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** This is an email from Chicago Media Action, a Chicago activist group devoted to media issues. Chicago Media Action, P.O. Box 14140, Chicago IL 60614-0140 Call toll-free: 1-866-260-7198 Web: www.chicagomediaaction.org email: cma@chicagomediaaction.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, simply send an email requesting removal to mailinglist@chicagomediaaction.org