Future of Public Media

"It is a treat seeing the product of legislation we wrote in the 80s," said Rep. Henry Waxman at an Independent Television Service award ceremony for him. "The rich and powerful often get their way in D.C., but the poor and marginalized don't get their story told."

Waxman, who is widely beloved for his pragmatic and conscientious struggle to leverage government for the good of many, whether in health care, the environment or the media, was remembering the 1988 legislation he shepherded, which created ITVS. Read more...

As part of our ongoing investigation into how documentary filmmakers can protect themselves against deep-pocketed detractors, CMSI recently attended a panel on reporter's privilege, hosted by the Media Law Resource Center Institute and the American University Washington College of Law. Reporter's privilege protects journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential information.  Read more...

High payment projections for the upcoming spectrum auctions are tempting public television stations to sell off channels – but for whose benefit?

The FCC’s October 1st report predicting payoffs of up to $570 million for stations giving up channels in coveted areas has spurred debate over the roles and responsibilities of public television stations in the auctions. Read more...

More cable series than ever before feature social-issue documentaries, but public TV still stands out for diversity in both creators and characters, according to Center research that will be announced at the International Documentary Association’s 2014 Getting Real Documentary Film Conference. Read more...

On Monday, October 6, author and activist Rebecca MacKinnon is coming to American University to lead a conversation on Internet governance, privacy, free speech, and journalism in the digital age. 

MacKinnon is the director of the Ranking Digital Rights project at the New America Foundation. After establishing her journalism career at CNN, she co-founded the citizen media network Global Voices with Ethan Zuckerman in 2005. More recently, she released her book "Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom."  Read more...