Derek leads Free Press’ research and policy analysis and advises the co-CEOs and policy team. Since joining Free Press full time in 2006, Derek's landmark research has revealed racial inequities in the digital divide, investigated the dismal state of media ownership among women and people of color, and exposed waste in federal broadband programs. He tracks the media, tech and telecommunications industries and writes on a wide range of policy issues, including broadband competition, broadcast consolidation, the economics of the media industry, and the future of journalism. He is the lead author of the book Changing Media: Public Interest Policies for the Digital Age, and his work has appeared in Ars Technica, Salon and Wired. Derek holds a master's degree in public policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received the 2006 Smolensky Prize for Outstanding Advanced Policy Analysis.
Expert Analysis
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Public-interest watchdogging and new FCC leadership halted the waste of billions of broadband-subsidy funds.
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Cable One — a broadband provider to 923,000 customers in 24 states — made some honest comments that should make regulators at the FCC sit up and take notice.
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Lawmakers finally seem to be getting more concerned about the deepening crisis in local journalism. Here’s our look at the bills that have been proposed so far.
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During the late 2010s, 21 rural Massachusetts towns voted to build their own fiber networks. A broken process from the Trump FCC nearly imperiled these networks.
News
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Net Neutrality proponents like Free Press disagree that broadband carriers will decrease investment as a result of the rules.
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Free Press research shows that the rules do not harm investment — despite what industry groups claim.
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Free Press’ nationwide poll also found that 76% of respondents are concerned that they’re reading disinformation online about the presidential election.
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Broadcast media continue to play an outsized role in informing the public, according to a new survey that Free Press commissioned.
From the Policy Library
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Free Press urges the FCC to take action against internet service providers that use data caps in an unjust or unreasonable action.
FCC Filing & Correspondence
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Californians are concerned about the spread of online misinformation and feel they do not have enough sources of independent news to make informed voting decisions.
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Free Press provided the FCC with research that debunks the industry’s claims that broadband investment is harmed by the rules required to guarantee proper oversight of the sector.
FCC Filing & Correspondence
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In reply comments submitted in the agency’s “Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet” proceeding, Free Press explained that the FCC’s Title II authority allows it to safeguard Net Neutrality and hold companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon accountable.
FCC Filing & Correspondence
