Web Exercises


  • Pick 2 of the media advocacy organizations in Exhibit 3.33 that sound most interesting to you and visit their websites. Explore their missions and their current projects. Which aspects of media regulation discussed in Chapter 3 are these groups focusing on and why? Discuss your chosen groups with your classmates. What role do groups like this play in the media landscape? Do you think they are necessary? Are they effective?

  • Visit the Prometheus Radio Project: http://www.prometheusradio.org/.
    Why does an organization like this exist and why are they often in opposition to the FCC and to media corporations? What kind of actions do they recommend and why? What do you think of “pirate radio” or micro-broadcasters? Have you ever listened to one? Would you be inclined to now?

  • Search for content with a Creative Commons license at http://search.creativecommons.org/.
    What does it mean to have a Creative Commons license rather than a traditional copyright? Can you conceive of a creative project using the content you find? What specific level of CC licensing is attached to the work you locate? Read some of the case studies at: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Case_Studies. What have others done with CC licensing?

  • Explore the Wikileaks website: http://wikileaks.org/.
    What do they say their mission is? What sorts of information/stories are they currently concerned with? In what ways do they encourage people to become involved? What is Wikileaks’ relationship to governments who want to control information? Do you agree with the purpose and actions of Wikileaks? Or do you think the government has the right to control information in the “national interest”? Why?