Adán's blog

I'm in Amsterdam and keeping an eye on the upcoming "World Summit on the Information Society" (WSIS), a full UN Summit that will be held in December 10-12 in Geneva with a second meeting in Tunis in 2005. Early hopes that the WSIS would tackle a broad range of information and communication issues have been dashed and the agenda that has emerged is concerned mainly with telecommunication and internet related issues, viewed from a technical perspective and a narrowly construed development agenda. Broader communication and media issues, an essential feature of any information society, and human and communication rights that must animate its core, have been largely sidelined.

Stay in touch about the continuing efforts by a coalition of civil non-governmental agencies to make communications rights the center of regulatory policy. See: World Forum on Communications Rights.
Adán

Posted by at 5:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I´m attending the annual seminar, ¨Creadores de Imágenes Cristianas¨ in Santiago, Chile. The director of research for the national television council (equivalent of the FCC in the US), María Dolores de Souza, presented some of the research on children and TV in Chile. It is fascinating to see the mix of both quantitative and qualitative research. One of the findings is that children, on their own, re-signify the cartoons and other programs that they see. They do this by drawing and acting. They re-signify violence by drawing pictures of the same TV images but with the violence taken out. Their website has much info. It´s in Spanish.

Put this on your calendar if you want to enjoy Rio de Janeiro while soaking up research about children and TV. The 4th World summit on Media for Children and Adolescents, April 19-23, 2004.

Adán

Posted by at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is it finally clear to a substantial number of our citizens that that we have gone too far with deregulation? I think so, when the National Rifle Association and the National Organization for Women team up to fight the Federal Communications Commission's rule allowing even a greater concentration of media by a few corporations.

A strong backlash is the only reason I can see for the vote yesterday to block the FCC rule that would increase corporate ownership of TV stations. Before the rule, one company could own TV stations that reach 35% of the population. The rule increased it to 45%. There were other changes.

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting provides a good, short description of the rule, and how you can take action, though it is written before yesterday's vote.

I find it interesting and hopeful that grass-roots interests are winning out here. Also, the FCC chair is Colin Powell's son, Michael K. Powell. Hmmmm.

It would be great if a religious institution stepped up to the plate and gave this religion-TV discourse some life.
Adán

Posted by at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)