Press Release
National Conference for Media Reform Honors King's Legacy, Looks to the Future
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
MEMPHIS - On the weekend before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, headliners at the National Conference for Media Reform evoked the legacy of the civil rights movement while rallying more than 3,500 attendees for media reform.
"The nettlesome task about which Dr. King spoke is still being carried out by people who embody character, courage and the fortitude to make decisions in support of truth not spin, people who critically embrace diversity and reject monopoly," actor and activist Danny Glover told the crowd Friday.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson pushed for more access to media and independent news. "[King] brings us to this point today, 40 years later, to define the great issues of our time -- the broken promises, the new schemes of denials, the impact of a media that freezes out democracy, the media that looks at the world through a keyhole and not the door," he said. "We must fight to open up airwaves for all the people."
"The absence of women in the media is glaring," Jane Fonda said in a speech at the conference's closing session. "The media environment that is overwhelmingly white is also overwhelmingly male. Today, I hope to show you that a media that leaves women out is fundamentally, crucially flawed."
"Martin Luther King Jr. didn't get famous giving a speech called, 'I have a complaint,' " said Van Jones, founder for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. "The brother had a dream. We need to be able to have a movement that stands for that."
"The wave of the future is a wave of technological empowerment and innovation," said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). "It is a wave of grassroots activism that can make a difference in Washington, D.C., down to every single community in our country. It's a wave of digital democracy the likes of which we have never seen in the history of our country."
"The depth of this conference reflects the maturing power of this grassroots movement into a real force in American politics," said Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. "No longer on the defense, media reform has a positive agenda to reclaim citizen, especially minority, ownership of the public airwaves and equal access to the Internet. Nobody in government can afford to ignore the organization and sophistication of this national movement for media democracy."
Video of the major speeches and audio of all the sessions and panels at the National Conference for Media Reform is available at www.freepress.net/conference
Free Press (www.freepress.net) 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.
"The nettlesome task about which Dr. King spoke is still being carried out by people who embody character, courage and the fortitude to make decisions in support of truth not spin, people who critically embrace diversity and reject monopoly," actor and activist Danny Glover told the crowd Friday.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson pushed for more access to media and independent news. "[King] brings us to this point today, 40 years later, to define the great issues of our time -- the broken promises, the new schemes of denials, the impact of a media that freezes out democracy, the media that looks at the world through a keyhole and not the door," he said. "We must fight to open up airwaves for all the people."
"The absence of women in the media is glaring," Jane Fonda said in a speech at the conference's closing session. "The media environment that is overwhelmingly white is also overwhelmingly male. Today, I hope to show you that a media that leaves women out is fundamentally, crucially flawed."
"Martin Luther King Jr. didn't get famous giving a speech called, 'I have a complaint,' " said Van Jones, founder for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. "The brother had a dream. We need to be able to have a movement that stands for that."
"The wave of the future is a wave of technological empowerment and innovation," said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). "It is a wave of grassroots activism that can make a difference in Washington, D.C., down to every single community in our country. It's a wave of digital democracy the likes of which we have never seen in the history of our country."
"The depth of this conference reflects the maturing power of this grassroots movement into a real force in American politics," said Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. "No longer on the defense, media reform has a positive agenda to reclaim citizen, especially minority, ownership of the public airwaves and equal access to the Internet. Nobody in government can afford to ignore the organization and sophistication of this national movement for media democracy."
Video of the major speeches and audio of all the sessions and panels at the National Conference for Media Reform is available at www.freepress.net/conference
Free Press (www.freepress.net) 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.
