9
Media Reform in the United States and Canada: Activism and Advocacy for Media Policies in the Public Interest
Introduction1
In his keynote address at the fourth annual (American) National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) in Minneapolis, June 2008, legendary broadcaster Bill Moyers referred to media reform as:
one of the most significant citizens’ movements to emerge in this new century … a movement to challenge the stranglehold of mega media corporations over our press and to build alterative and independent sources of news and information that people can trust.2
Over 3,000 activists, scholars, and policy-makers attended the conference, strategizing media policy interventions for the public interest and highlighting best practices for sustaining independent, community, and citizens’ media.
Media reform as a locus of praxis and a venue for scholarly attention has burgeoned during the last decade in the United States (US) and Canada. Established civil society groups have picked up the mantle, grassroots groups have spontaneously mobilized, partisan politics have been cast aside to coalesce around policy interventions, and politicians and citizens alike have been necessarily steeped in a learning curve about the arcane technical minutiae that ensures (or inhibits) the open and diverse communication system that many of us depend upon for our livelihoods and social enjoyment. Reforming the media can be framed as conceptualizing a vision for broader values vital ...
