The future of an open Internet got a whole lot brighter this week. On Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered a landmark speech in which he called for new rules to protect Net Neutrality, the long-standing principle that bars Internet service providers from blocking or slowing any lawful content on the Web.

The FCC is being asked to investigate broadcasters that have banned musicians who support the Performance Rights Act from their playlists. And the St. Paul Neighborhood Network is helping people to create media messages that matter to their communities.

Privacy watchdogs want Congress and the FTC to create a system that would keep online marketing tactics transparent, accountable and respectful of user privacy. And following an investigation by the newspaper Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon was forced to terminate a journalist profiling program that rated reporters based on their likelihood of giving the military friendly coverage.

In response to ColorofChange.org's call for advertisers to stop airing commercials on the Glenn Beck Show after Beck's racist remarks, 57 companies have pulled their ads. And an appeals court threw out the FCC's ruling that cable companies can't control more than 30 percent of a market. But that doesn't mean that the agency gets to ignore the issue of capping cable ownership.

Summer 2009 has been the season of Astroturf. And the best way to combat it is to expose these phony grassroots organizations at every turn. August is typically quiet in Washington, D.C., but statistics have been loud and clear in illustrating the impact of government media policy on communities across America.

The cell phone industry not only engages in price-gouging, but its anti-competitive practices have left the United States wireless industry lagging behind the rest of the world. And university scholars, city and state government, and private enterprise are working to bridge the digital divide in Chicago.

Consumer and public interest groups want the FCC to take action to collect better information on broadband availability and usage across the country. And around the world, plans are under way for celebrating OneWebDay on Sept. 22.

The Internet Freedom Preservation Act, just introduced in Congress, will prevent Internet Service Providers from controlling access to online content, services and applications. And the Transmission Project is on a mission of its own: to amplify the power of public media and community technology.

As Google expands its book search service, consumer privacy protections are shrinking. Privacy watchdogs want the search giant to takes steps to ensure our privacy. And Dan Rather called on President Barack Obama to form a White House commission on journalism and public media.

The closing of the Bay State Banner, Boston's only black-owned community newspaper, is another example of the systemic crisis facing journalism. And Verizon is back in the Massachusetts legislature with a new video franchise bill that could harm community media.