Corporate Media

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press April 16, 2008

BAGHDAD - Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein embraced sobbing relatives and thanked colleagues after being released Wednesday from more than two years in U.S.  read more »

Jammers and creatives,
Today is our big moment in court. Ever since the first issue of
Adbusters was published seventeen years ago we've been fighting to
break the corporate monopoly on access to the airwaves. After
countless delays, and over $100,000 spent on legal fees, we've
arrived at a critical juncture in the case. At issue is our
freedom of speech on the most powerful social communications
medium of our time, television.

Below is a copy of our press release as well as a sneak preview of
an article that will appear in the upcoming issue of Adbusters (on
newsstands February 18th). Please give us your support by getting
the word out there.  read more »

Mon Nov 19, 2007

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Mogadishu-based broadcasters on Monday went on a 24-hour-boycott to protest against the Somali government's clampdown on press freedom, st  read more »

By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Nov. 19, 2007

NEW YORK - The U.S. military plans to seek a criminal case in an Iraqi court against an award-winning Associated Press photographer but is refusing to disclose what evidence or accusations would be presented.An AP attorney on Monday strongly protested the decision, calling the U.S. military plans a "sham of due process." The journalist, Bilal Hussein, has already been imprisoned without charges for more than 19 months.  read more »

Islamabad, 8 Nov. (AKI/DAWN) - The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has announced that reporters throughout the country will observe a "black day" on Friday to protest against the imposition of emergency rule.

The journalists plan to boycott all official functions on Friday and Saturday, hoist black flags on press clubs. All affiliates of the PFUJ will organise meetings, set up protest camps and observe a hunger strike.

They have threatened to carry out this protest if the government fails to lift curbs on the media by Thursday.  read more »

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Oct. 19, 2007

NEW YORK - Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally.  read more »

yes, boingboing.

Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation, sez, "An international coalition of environmental and social justice groups have signed a statement condemning DRM and specifically the DRM in Microsoft's Windows Vista, looking to promote awareness of computer user freedom. Groups and individuals who support the statement are being asked to add their own signatures at http://freesoftwarefreesociety.org. The coalition hope that this statement will help raise awareness to these important issues amongst social activists and NGOs outside of the technology field."

In January and February of this year, the Green Party and Greenpeace issued warnings about the tremendous threat posed to the environment by the disposable computer mentality promoted in Microsoft's $500-million Windows Vista marketing campaign. Vista's steep hardware requirements mean that to use it, most people will have to throw their current computer into a landfill and buy a new one.  read more »

from the EFF via boingboing

It's been four or five years since Electronic Frontier Foundation joined the fight against the United Nations' "broadcast treaty," and this week, just as things were looking darkest, we scored our most definitive victory,  read more »

New licensing fees could doom Internet radio, but webcasters are fighting back.

By Chris Taylor, Business 2.0 Magazine senior editor

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- If, like me, you're a fan of Internet radio sites such as Pandora or Live365, you'll have to find something else to listen to next Tuesday. That's the day dozens of online broadcasters go silent, in protest of a new levy the government and the music labels are about to impose.  read more »

U.S. newspapers seem to overlook what Venezuela used to be like as they today discuss the actions of the current government. I have lived in Venezuela for most of the past 22 years and have never experienced such freedom as that which the Venezuelan population enjoys today under Hugo Chavez. That would include freedom of information. Never, in the past 22 years, has the mass media experienced the freedom it has had during the presidency of Chavez. One can freely buy anti-Chavez newspapers on streets and the airwaves and television channels are amply filled with anti-Chavez commentators.  read more »