Press Release
Memphis Conference Spotlights Media Issues
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
MEMPHIS -- The 2007 National Conference for Media Reform -- a landmark event filled with rousing speeches, musical performances, provocative panels and instructive workshops -- promises to put reforming America's media system in the national spotlight.
"More than 3,000 activists from across the country will gather in Memphis to declare that media reform is now on the national agenda," said Robert W. McChesney, president and co-founder of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan group hosting the conference. "After years of fighting to prevent further consolidation of media ownership and the dumbing down of our airwaves, the movement is ready to pursue reforms that will transform American media."
Headliners at the event - taking place at the Memphis Cook Convention Center -- include legendary broadcaster Bill Moyers, Rev. Jesse Jackson, actors and activists Jane Fonda, Geena Davis and Danny Glover, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey, FCC Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, and civil rights activist Van Jones plus musical performances by The Bar-Kays, Rev. Al Green's Gospel Choir and the North Mississippi Allstars.
"Media reform in this country is a story of activism that has made a huge difference," said Commissioner Michael J. Copps. "The bipartisan, nationwide cry of outrage over our media has coalesced into a genuine and superbly organized grassroots movement. This year's Free Press conference promises to be a first-rate forum for the latest thinking on how citizens can get involved in the fight for a better, fairer and more democratic media system in this country."
The beginning of a new Congress in January means that legislators will have a fresh start in crafting a new media and telecommunications legislation, with new leadership in place on key committees in both the House and Senate.
"The National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis will provide a venue where those of us who care about ensuring that this country has a free, diverse and independent media will come together to exchange ideas, work to create even better ones, and help to continue setting this country on the right path with media reform," said Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Future of American Media Caucus.
From Jan. 12-14, more than 3,000 media activists, educators, journalists, policymakers and concerned citizens from nearly every state in the union will attend the National Conference for Media Reform, an event that aims to move media issues to the forefront of public discourse in the United States.
"We cannot achieve equality for women without full and fair representation in the media," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization of Women. "This conference provides the opportunity to network with activists from around the country and ensure that women's rights issues are an integral part of the burgeoning media reform movement."
On the weekend before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, media reformers will honor Dr. King's legacy and vision by exploring and deepening the significant connections between the civil rights movement and the movement for media reform.
"Memphis and the Mid-South are fortunate to have a conference here of this magnitude," said Judge D'Army Bailey, founder of the National Civil Rights Museum. "For an area that has experienced so much social activism and civil rights history to have people of this caliber and commitment to social justice raising important issues of media and communications is a windfall. Hopefully this conference will leave behind strategies for local community leaders and activists that will make difference long after the event has left town."
This is the third National Conference for Media Reform and builds on the success of the 2005 conference in St. Louis and 2003 conference in Madison, Wis.
"The activists who gather in Memphis recognize that they are no longer shouting from the sidelines; they are beginning to shape communications policy in the United States," said journalist and Free Press co-founder John Nichols.
Online registration for conference participants is now closed. However, those wishing to attend the conference can still register and pay at the conference site.
Full coverage of the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform -- including streaming video, audio downloads of key sessions, and daily editions of the Media Minutes radio show -- will be available at throughout the weekend at http://www.freepress.net/conference.
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.
"More than 3,000 activists from across the country will gather in Memphis to declare that media reform is now on the national agenda," said Robert W. McChesney, president and co-founder of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan group hosting the conference. "After years of fighting to prevent further consolidation of media ownership and the dumbing down of our airwaves, the movement is ready to pursue reforms that will transform American media."
Headliners at the event - taking place at the Memphis Cook Convention Center -- include legendary broadcaster Bill Moyers, Rev. Jesse Jackson, actors and activists Jane Fonda, Geena Davis and Danny Glover, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey, FCC Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, and civil rights activist Van Jones plus musical performances by The Bar-Kays, Rev. Al Green's Gospel Choir and the North Mississippi Allstars.
"Media reform in this country is a story of activism that has made a huge difference," said Commissioner Michael J. Copps. "The bipartisan, nationwide cry of outrage over our media has coalesced into a genuine and superbly organized grassroots movement. This year's Free Press conference promises to be a first-rate forum for the latest thinking on how citizens can get involved in the fight for a better, fairer and more democratic media system in this country."
The beginning of a new Congress in January means that legislators will have a fresh start in crafting a new media and telecommunications legislation, with new leadership in place on key committees in both the House and Senate.
"The National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis will provide a venue where those of us who care about ensuring that this country has a free, diverse and independent media will come together to exchange ideas, work to create even better ones, and help to continue setting this country on the right path with media reform," said Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Future of American Media Caucus.
From Jan. 12-14, more than 3,000 media activists, educators, journalists, policymakers and concerned citizens from nearly every state in the union will attend the National Conference for Media Reform, an event that aims to move media issues to the forefront of public discourse in the United States.
"We cannot achieve equality for women without full and fair representation in the media," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization of Women. "This conference provides the opportunity to network with activists from around the country and ensure that women's rights issues are an integral part of the burgeoning media reform movement."
On the weekend before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, media reformers will honor Dr. King's legacy and vision by exploring and deepening the significant connections between the civil rights movement and the movement for media reform.
"Memphis and the Mid-South are fortunate to have a conference here of this magnitude," said Judge D'Army Bailey, founder of the National Civil Rights Museum. "For an area that has experienced so much social activism and civil rights history to have people of this caliber and commitment to social justice raising important issues of media and communications is a windfall. Hopefully this conference will leave behind strategies for local community leaders and activists that will make difference long after the event has left town."
This is the third National Conference for Media Reform and builds on the success of the 2005 conference in St. Louis and 2003 conference in Madison, Wis.
"The activists who gather in Memphis recognize that they are no longer shouting from the sidelines; they are beginning to shape communications policy in the United States," said journalist and Free Press co-founder John Nichols.
Online registration for conference participants is now closed. However, those wishing to attend the conference can still register and pay at the conference site.
Full coverage of the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform -- including streaming video, audio downloads of key sessions, and daily editions of the Media Minutes radio show -- will be available at throughout the weekend at http://www.freepress.net/conference.
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.
