OPEN MEDIA

= BETTER DEMOCRACY

Timothy KarrFree Press

SavetheInternet.comTwitter: @TimKarr

1. VISION: It’s the Internet, Stupid2. CRITICAL JUNCTURE: Open vs Closed

3. WHAT’S NEXT: Advocacy

THE VISION:

Communications technologies are central to almost every major political issue facing our democracy.

healthcare

voter rights and participation election finance reform

unemployment

It’s the Internet, Stupid

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

But communications technologies are undergoing a seismic shift.

newspapers

music & movies

All these media are converging online.

television & radio telephones

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

Profound

Democracy

It’s a a seismic shift that is having a

Effect on our

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

This transformation is being powered by a tool that gives users more control over information than at any other time in history.

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

Pew, 2010:

“Just 42% of Americans say they consider the television set to be a necessity… In 2009, this figure was 52%. In 2006, it was 64%.”

“Seven-in-ten adult internet users (69%) have used the internet to watch or download video.”

&

THE VISION:It’s the Mobile Internet,

Stupid Pew, 2010:

40% of adult Americans use their mobile phones to access the internet, or send email or instant messages (up from the 32% who did this in 2009).

Cell phone ownership is higher among African-Americans and Latinos than among whites (87% vs. 80%).

&

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

The emergence of this open channel presents an immense challenge to traditional media.

And it presents an immense opportunity to make democracy work better for everyone.

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

Open media = Better democracy

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

Protecting open media is an issue that

should transcend politics to include anyone who

seeks to build a healthier democracy … but …

THE VISION:It’s the Internet, Stupid

The debate over the Internet should not fall along an axis of

Left vs Right

Open vs ClosedBut of

3. WHAT’S NEXT: Advocacy

1. VISION: It’s the Internet, Stupid

2. CRITICAL JUNCTURE: Open v Closed

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:A juncture of technology & politics

Where mainstream media are replaced by

participatory content

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:

participatory politics

A juncture of technology & politics

Where top-down leadership is replaced by

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:

A collision of opposing cultures

Mass Media Social Media

VS

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:

A collision of opposing cultures

Mass MediaNewspapersRadioTelevisionMotion Pictures

Social MediaFacebook & TwitterSmart PhonesVideo GamesBlogs

VS

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:

A collision of opposing cultures

Mass MediaOne-directionalGatekeeperCentralized

Closed

Social MediaMulti-directionalNeutralDecentralized

OpenVS

Culture Culture

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:

Social Media

inform & empower allenhance democratic participationamplify alternative voicesspread free speech

Values

CRITICAL JUNCTURE:

Policies we make to protect the Internet will determine whether the future of our media is open or closed; whether the future of our democracy is healthy or weak.

Since the beginning of the mass media era, policies have determined the structure of the media system.

In the era of social media, making the right policies is even more critical.

2. CRITICAL JUNCTURE: Open vs Closed

1. VISION: It’s the Internet, Stupid

3. WHAT’S NEXT: The Advocacy role

WHAT’S NEXT:

To help ensure that everyone can play an active role in our democracy, our nation must build an Internet guided by these principles:

Access

Openness Innovation

Choice

Organize Around Principles

WHAT’S NEXT:Organize Around Principles

WHAT’S NEXT:Organize Around Principles

WHAT’S NEXT:Organize Around Principles

WHAT’S NEXT:Organize Around Principles

WHAT’S NEXT:

… win legal protections for an open and neutral Internet.

… make Internet access affordable to everyone.

… foster innovation on the Web’s level playing field.

… gain more choices for users by opening the airwaves.

… extend this new digital power to every American.

We will

Turn Principles into Goals

President Obama publicly called for Net Neutrality protections on at least seven occasions, saying, “I take a back seat to no one in my commitment to Net Neutrality.”

WHAT’S NEXT:A battle report on

Openness

more than two million Americans have petitioned Washington to demand that our leaders protect the open Internet from blocking and discrimination by corporations.

WHAT’S NEXT: A battle report on

Openness

WHAT’S NEXT: A battle report on

Openness

Late last year, a Democratic FCC passed an order that put in place weak rules to protect Net Neutrality. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski crafted a compromise that no one seems happy with.

WHAT’S NEXT: A battle report on

Openness

But new Republican leadership in the House has decided that the FCC action, weak though it may be, " went too far." House Speaker John Boehner pledged to use the full powers at his disposal "to fight [this] government takeover of the Internet." A vote in the House is planned for later this week.

WHAT’S NEXT: A battle report on

Openness

The Senate is more likely tosupport the FCC rule leavingCongress in a political stalemate. Meanwhile, major ISPs are exploring new ways to limit your accessto all things online.

We’re Stuck… for Now

WHAT’S NEXT:

How important is an open Internet to the ways that you communicate every day?

How would losing control over your ability to connect with anyone affect you?

Is this issue important enough for you to join the open Internet movement?

OPEN MEDIA

= BETTER DEMOCRACY

Timothy KarrFree Press

SavetheInternet.comTwitter: @TimKarr