Day Two of the National Conference for Media Reform Gets Rolling

DENVER — On Saturday, the National Conference for Media Reform — the nation's largest event devoted to issues of media, technology and democracy — continues into its second day at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. Nearly 2,000 people from every state in the country and dozens of countries around the world have convened to strategize, celebrate and fight for better media. The conference runs through Sun., April 7.

“We've gathered this weekend to push back against corporate control of our media, to reclaim our airwaves, and to move toward a just and sustainable world,” said Mary Alice Crim, organizing and events manager at Free Press. “Together we can create change that will be felt across the nation for generations to come.”
Saturday Highlights:

• Keynote: Celebrating Our Media Moment (7:30–10 p.m., available on live stream at conference.freepress.net)
  Speakers include Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron, former Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps, former White House technology adviser Susan Crawford, Grammy winner Kimya Dawson, Democracy Now! co-host Amy Goodman, comedian Jamie Kilstein, Lost actress Evangeline Lilly, artist An Xiao Mina, Nation correspondent John Nichols, and many more, including our house band, featuring DeVotchKa’s Shawn King.
   
• United Citizens vs. Citizens United: Challenging Big Money and Big Media (11–12:30 p.m.)
  Featuring Amy Ngai, Sunlight Foundation; Elena Nunez, Colorado Common Cause; Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Free Press; Josh Silver, United Republic; and David Sirota, columnist, author and commentator.
   
• Liberating Cable’s Captive Audience: Can Consumers Cut the Cord? (2–3:30 p.m.)
  Featuring Susan Crawford; Gene Kimmelman, Internet Freedom and Human Rights Project; Rob Pegoraro, journalist; S. Derek Turner, Free Press; and Corie Wright, Netflix
   
• Covering Race in the Time of Obama (4–5:30 p.m., available on livestream)
  Davey D, hip-hop historian and Hard Knock Radio host; Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay Times; Achy Obejas, In These Times; Rinku Sen, Applied Research Center and Colorlines.com; Laura Washington, journalist, commentator and editor.

The National Conference for Media Reform kicked off on Friday with sessions on subjects ranging from women in the tech industry to the media’s influence on the immigration debate to the roles of media and technology in times of crisis.

Friday also featured appearances by NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue, David Sirota, civil rights activist and “Little Rock Nine” member Carlotta Walls LaNier, plus performances by artist Staceyann Chin and Albuquerque poet laureate Hakim Bellamy.

To read Bellamy’s poem “An Open Letter to the Future #NCMR13,” go to: http://conference.freepress.net/ncmr-resource/open-email-future-ncmr13.

Tickets and day passes are still available on site at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, 1550 Court Place.

For people who can’t make the trip to Denver, live coverage of many sessions will be streaming on the Free Press website at conference.freepress.net.

In addition, Free Speech TV will air conference coverage and exclusive interviews on its satellite network located on DISH channel 9415 and DirecTV channel 348.

Social media users can follow the events on Facebook and Twitter via the hashtag #NCMR13.

Press credentials are available to members of the media covering the event. Request press credentials by contacting Jenn Ettinger at jettinger@freepress.net.

Many conference presenters, media policy experts and event planners are also available for interviews at the conference. To schedule an interview, contact Jenn Ettinger at jettinger@freepress.net.