Digital Future of Public Media

Free Press, Main Street Project and the Center for Media Justice will be co-hosting a public forum today on the future of the Internet: Aug. 19 from 6-9 p.m. CST. Watch the FCC townhall here live.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Google and Verizon "are nearing an agreement that could … speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege." While both Google and Verizon quickly denied the NYT report, the newspaper says it's standing by its story.

In the 33 months since the launch of Amazon's Kindle platform, sales of Kindle e-books have surpassed sales of hardcover books. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos predicts that e-book sales will surpass paperback sales within the next 12 months, and combined hardcover and paperback sales soon after that. This despite the fact that the 600,000 titles in the Kindle bookstore represents only a fraction of Amazon's inventory.

In the final segment of PEG Point's interview, Sascha Meinrath outlines how PEG and Community Media Centers are "fundamental to the American Democracy," and emphasizes the need to fight the systematic de-funding of institutions to encourage participatory media and empower communities across the country.

The digital revolution has shifted vast amounts of information online.

Access to reliable, fast Internet connectivity for all has become vital to promoting an informed society and democracy.

The Internet is the third most popular news platform after local and national television, and 61 percent of American adults get some kind of news online, according to the survey released last month, "Understanding the Participatory News Consumer," by Pew Internet and American Life.

As old analog media structures evolve or die off, there is a sense of urgency to understand the dynamics of our human communication systems so that we can nurture and create new digital media solutions for future generations. The question remains: "How can new media inform our communities with essential information to sustain democracy for the future?"

The media as we've known it is changing.

Television is still popular, newspapers arrive on doorsteps and radio broadcasts transmit music or talk shows that take the pulse of the electorate, but the general health of these traditional information formats, combined with shifting consumer habits, raises questions about their role in a wired society.