Investigative journalism is on life support, real news is increasingly replaced with fluff and democracy is suffering because of it, a Federal Communications Commission member said Monday.

“Hundreds of newsrooms have been shuttered, thousands of reporters walk the streets in search of a job rather than walk the beat in search of a story,” Michael Copps said at a public hearing on the FCC’s report on media in the digital age.

His comments preceded three panels discussing the report’s recommendations at a session hosted by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

---

Nicol Turner-Lee, vice president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and director of its Media and Technology Institute, said the lack of universal access to broadband is leaving behind millions in under-served groups, particularly residents of rural areas, African-Americans and those with less than a high school education.

“That’s a problem if we are migrating our media to online,” she said.

This article was previously available at MSNBC.

As part of its effort to promote the expansion of broadband services to all Americans, Time Warner Cable has pledged to carry $1 million worth of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the Broadband Opportunity Coalition (BBOC). The PSA series emphasizes the importance of broadband Internet adoption for economic success in the 21st Century economy, particularly for struggling communities.

Time Warner Cable will carry the PSAs in English, Spanish and five other languages during a two-year period beginning in 2012.

Read more at benzinga.com.

This article was previousuly available at MarketWatch and streetinsider.com.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies held a  Technology Policy Forum sponsored by its Media and Technology Institute on Tuesday, July 26, 2011, on “The New Digital Profile: Managing Privacy in an Evolving, Mobile Internet.”

Parts One and Two of this forum are also available for viewing.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies held a  Technology Policy Forum sponsored by its Media and Technology Institute on Tuesday, July 26, 2011, on “The New Digital Profile: Managing Privacy in an Evolving, Mobile Internet.”

Parts One and Three of this forum are also available for viewing.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies held a Technology Policy Forum sponsored by its Media and Technology Institute on Tuesday, July 26, 2011, on "The New Digital Profile: Managing Privacy in an Evolving, Mobile Internet."

Parts Two and Three of this forum are also available for viewing.

Philadelphia city officials estimate 41 percent of residents cannot afford computers or to pay for Internet access. But Mayor Michael Nutter plans to change that.

Philadelphia plans to set up 48 computer centers - like the one at the People’s Emergency Center - in other shelters, recreation centers and libraries.

It will also distribute more than 5,000 laptops to low-income families and create public wifi spots for free wireless Internet access. The project will bring the city closer to digital equality. That's an important goal, according to Nicol Turner Lee, director of the Media and Technology Institute for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

“What started out as a digital divide, where at that time we were dealing with public access to computers and the Internet, has turned into a movement to advance digital inclusion and digital equality," says Lee, "that allows citizens to really realize the full benefit of how this tool and platform can improve the quality of their life.”

Read more and listen to a report at Voice of America and Daily News Corner.

Consumers should have the ability to decide how much of their personal information is available on the Internet, as well as ample opportunities to understand the purpose for which it is used, according to members of an expert panel of industry, advocacy and government leaders at a Washington forum on Internet privacy.

The forum, entitled The New Digital Profile: Managing Privacy in an Evolving, Mobile Internet, was sponsored on Tuesday by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a leading Washington, D.C.-based think tank addressing the concerns of African Americans and other people of color.

Read more at PR Newswire, The Sacramento Bee, Yahoo! News, ITBriefing.net, and Press Related.

Consumers should have the ability to decide how much of their personal information is available on the Internet, as well as ample opportunities to understand the purpose for which it is used, according to members of an expert panel of industry, advocacy and government leaders at a Washington forum on Internet privacy.

The forum, entitled The New Digital Profile: Managing Privacy in an Evolving, Mobile Internet, was sponsored on Tuesday by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a leading Washington, D.C. based think tank addressing the concerns of African Americans and other people of color.

Yesterday, the American Consumer Institute hosted an event entitled Competition in the Internet Ecosystem.  President of ACI, Steve Pociask moderated the four person panel.  Panelists included Everett Ehrlich, President of ESC Company and Former Under-Secretary of Commerce, Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President and Director of the Media and Technology Institute, Hance Haney, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute and Jeff Eisenach, Managing Director and Principal at Navigant Economics.

---

Nicol Turner-Lee emphasized the need for mobility as a way to reach underserved communities.  She addressed that rural communities would benefit from healthy competition.  She additionally commented on the concern over privacy for unfamiliar or new Internet users.

Read more at BroadbandMatters.org.

This paper presents three case studies in the state of South Carolina, and the cities of Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA, with in-depth analyses of wireline and wireless access in high minority, low-income communities. The findings of the study concluded that broadband service is becoming much more ubiquitous in high minority, low-income communities, yet levels of adoption still remain relatively low. The study also concluded that race is not a significant explanatory variable for disparate broadband deployment, and despite the availability of mobile broadband in low-income, high minority areas, wireless coverage is still inconsistent within regions.

Available in PDF Format Only.

To download this publication, click the file icon below.

A supplemental appendix for this publication is also available here.