New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler gave his first major speech on Monday. He described himself as an “an unabashed supporter of competition.” That’s big news since the FCC hasn’t taken the c-word seriously in quite a while.
What's really worrisome is Google's gradual but unmistakable shift away from the principles of openness and innovation it once championed. Google might not be evil yet, but it's reserving the right to go there.
A few of the organizations behind the StopWatching.Us campaign and an organizer of the Restore the Fourth rallies happening across the country on July 4 held a press conference today on the public response to NSA spying and surveillance programs.
When President Obama nominated Tom Wheeler as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he praised him as the "Bo Jackson of telecom" — because he's been an all-star in two industries.
In announcing his departure as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski said: "The last four years have demonstrated that the country needs an effective FCC."
A lot of things don't work at the Federal Communications Commission. Consumer complaints disappear for years into seemingly bottomless file drawers. The wonky proceedings are hard to decipher if you're not a telecom lawyer. Even the website is clunky.
But at least one thing at the FCC always runs at full speed: the revolving door.
On Thursday night at the Washington Hilton, communications lawyers, media industry lobbyists, tech policy wonks and a few beat reporters will gather for the FCC Chairman's Dinner — an annual night of backslapping and inside jokes where the head of the Federal Communications Commission gives a "funny" speech zinging his colleagues and critics.
What if there was a gadget that could fix everything that’s wrong with the media?
There’s no such thing — yet.
But at Free Press we’re building a people-powered machine that fights every day to change the media and build a better democracy. Click here to read about all of the “apps” that make Free Press such a powerful and effective tool for achieving lasting change.
