This week on Building Local Power, we are joined by Brandi Collins-Dexter, author of Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and our Political Future and Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of ILSR. We engage in a riveting conversation on how political parties have monopolistic tendencies, how Big Tech has dominated mainstream media, and the future of Black-owned and led businesses in America. … Read More
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell spoke to KQED News’ podcast Forum to discuss the importance of shopping local this holiday season.… Read More
In this episode of the Building Local Power podcast, ILSR co-director and Community-Scaled Economy initiative director Stacy Mitchell sits down with Laura Flanders to discuss the disturbing trend toward a calcified and monopolistic media landscape.… Read More
What will we do without David Carr, the brilliant media columnist at the New York Times who died last week? At ILSR, we will especially miss his writing on monopoly power, Amazon, and the book business. We’ve excerpted and linked to a few of his best recent pieces on those subjects.… Read More
At MuniNetworks.org, we provide resources that support local authority for broadband networks that are directly accountable to the communities they serve. As more community leaders realize the economic benefits of faster, more reliable Internet services, they are pursuing local control of connectivity through public ownership, cooperative models, and other nonprofit approaches. The vast majority of community … Read More
“When private industry does not answer the call because of market failures or other obstacles, it is appropriate and even commendable, for the people acting through their local governments to improve their lives by investing in their own future.” ~ John McCain, 2005 Wait. What? Brendan Sasso from The National Journal brought up some excellent points … Read More
On Tuesday June 17th, Chris will be participating in a conversation hosted by the Media Consortium as part of its Media Policy Reporting and Education Program (MPREP). You are invited to sit in on what is sure to be a spirited discussion on community networks and the lack of competition in the cable industry. What: Community Fiber … Read More
Local news editors seem inspired by the current network neutrality debate at the FCC. Newsrooms considering the prospect of paid prioritization are reassessing the value of municipal networks. Not long ago, the Olympian ran an editorial offering the basics of municipal networks. Editors mentioned NoaNet, the statewide fiber project that brings access to a series of community … Read More
After a listener suggested we do a show on the modern role of public access media, we decided to reach out to Mike Wassenaar, now a senior development officer at Free Press and formerly the Executive Director of Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, a great example of the promise of public access. Mike and I talk about … Read More
