SlideShare ist ein Scribd-Unternehmen logo
1 von 28
Timothy Karr  Campaign Director  Free Press www.freepress.net  The Future of the Internet
60,000 years ago ,[object Object],5,000 years ago ,[object Object],600 years ago ,[object Object],43 years ago ,[object Object],A brief history of communications
In the 1960s, a U.S. defense research project created a linked network that shared information across computers.   ,[object Object],[object Object],The Internet
The World Wide Web 17 years ago ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
The Internet… The Internet became a network of networks, constantly expanding and accelerating in all dimensions. ,[object Object],[object Object],exploded
It exploded in all directions ,[object Object],[object Object]
…  and included everyone ,[object Object],[object Object]
The Internet is changing … Soon all the information you ever encountered in your life will be linked together in this system across countries, across continents. ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],The Internet is changing how we live
Welcome to the revolution Net Neutrality is this: ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Here’s how it works ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Net Neutrality is about Internet choice ,[object Object],[object Object],Changing this system would give unfair advantage to deep-pocketed content providers, while start-ups, small businesses, artists, musicians and others who can't pay will be sidelined. Since the Internet's inception, every site, every packet of data, regardless of its size, has been given equal — neutral — treatment by providers; its content is transmitted at equal speed.
Net Neutrality is about innovation The neutral network has become a wonderland for entrepreneurs. It’s important to remember that the Internet’s name brands of today were just a good idea in a garage a decade ago.  ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],This technological revolution keeps turning as long as the Internet remains an unrestricted marketplace of ideas where innovators rise and fall on their merits.
Net Neutrality is the Internet … This fundamental notion of an open and level playing field is NOW under siege by powerful industries who seek to tilt the field to their advantage. ... and it’s under threat Net Neutrality is the reason that the Internet has been an explosion of online economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech.
How did this happen?  What ever happened to the idea of the MASS media? Let’s review …
The technology to build newspapers could facilitate the construction of a press for about $10,000 in current money. In the early days, there were pamphleteers who produced arguments that they could spread broadly because the cost of access to that distribution was low. But that cost changed dramatically. By the time of the civil war, the cost of running a newspaper was about $2.5 million.  Newspaper publishing and journalism professionalized and commercialized pushing aside broad public participation in popular print media. Newspapers?
In the 1920s radio was a COMMON technology, in the sense that an extraordinary range of people could gain access to a new and relatively cheap technology — broadcasting — to send messages to one another over the air.  But once people began to think that they could  begin to make commercial radio function through  advertising the Federal Communications  Commission began to implement a very different idea about how radio would function. Working with business, government allocated the spectrum in a way that made it so only a few could get access to the airwaves. By the mid 1930s NBC and CBS were responsible for an astounding 97% of nighttime broadcasting. The number of radio station owners has plummeted by 34% since the 1996 Telecommunications Act. That year, the biggest radio owners controlled fewer than 65 stations. Today, Clear Channel Communications — one company — owns more than 1,200 stations. Radio?
Television suffered much the same fate in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Through well-financed lobbyists, television broadcasters gained overwhelming influence in Washington.  Broadcasters spent $222 million to lobby government officials from 1998 to 2004. including millions on entertainment and travel, taking FCC regulators on 2,500 all-expense-paid trips. As a result television broadcasting policy was shaped in closed-door meetings with policymakers. So, even though the public owned the airwaves, special interests decided how this influential media was created, financed, and distributed. There developed an interdependence between those who held political power (and needed access to the airwaves) and those who controlled the airwaves (and needed access to political power). Television?
What happened to the Mass Media… It's gotten so bad that today, Instead  of nurturing and extending democracy and free speech, broadcasting threatens to distort it. The media industry and their lobbyists in Washington worked hand in hand with policymakers to shape a system that hands control of mass media over to a few corporations.  In all of these cases what were describing is a dramatic technological change that initially sparks an explosion of democratic participation.  But this explosion threatens the status quo. And those threatened react. Their reaction is to take a culture that had been unlocked by technological change and to re-lock it.
What happened to stifle openness and limit access to publishing and broadcasting could very well happen with the public Internet right now. …  could happen to the Internet A handful of phone and cable companies are promising to build a new network of Internet services. But they want something in return. They want control. Not just over the copper wires, and fiber optics cables but control over the Internet itself. They’re pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment — this principle called Network Neutrality — which prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you based on what site pays them the most.
The threat to an open internet isn't just speculation — we've seen what happens when the gatekeepers get too much control over radio and television. Phone and cable companies are now hatching plans to discriminate online. The threat is real William L. Smith, chief technology officer for Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., told the  Washington Post  that an Internet service provider such as his firm should be able, for example, to charge Yahoo Inc. for the opportunity to have its search site load faster than that of Google Inc. Ed Whitacre of AT&T told Business Week that he was no longer going to let people "use his pipes for free ... there's going to have to be some mechanism for these people who use these pipes to pay for the portion they're using."
Google users —Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer. Ipod listeners —A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned. Political groups —Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their websites and online features to work correctly. Online purchasers —Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices—distorting your choice as a consumer. Small businesses and tele-commuters —When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office. Bloggers —Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips—silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets. How would this affect you
In order to do this the phone and cable companies need to change the laws. And they're spending money in Washington to get it done. In the past 10 years, they have spent more than half a billion dollars on campaign contributions, political action committees, PR firms and high-spending lobbyists to push through self-interested policies.  On the issue of Net Neutrality alone, companies like AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth and Comcast have spent more than $100 million to push Congress to remove this longstanding nondiscrimination rule. As with radio and television, the industry lobby is outspending all others to set the policy agenda and write new laws that will hand them control over the public Internet. Changing the law But they didn't anticipate one thing....
In 2006, a grassroots coalition of more than 850 groups  including educators, not-for-profits, consumer rights  groups, small business and public advocates — banded  together to protect Internet freedom. They were joined by more than a million people who  signed a petition urging Congress to maintain the free  and open Internet.  More than 6,000 bloggers linked to the coalition's site,  SavetheInternet.com, many of them posting homemade  videos to counteract the phone companies’ misinformation campaign. Online social networks formed around the issue at MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube. We all joined together to protest phone and cable company efforts in Washington to kill Net Neutrality. The public
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],We took action
We came out in the streets ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
This grassroots campaign lifted the crucial issue of  Net Neutrality from obscurity, throwing a wrench in  the phone and cable giants’ plan to overhaul our  telecommunications laws behind closed doors. Mass public opposition stalled efforts by Congress  and the phone and cable lobby to pass legislation  that would have effectively killed Net Neutrality. Whereas before, the phone companies had been  confident that Congress would simply sign-off on industry-written legislation, today no member of Congress can vote with the telecom cartel without feeling the full heat of public scrutiny. And we won
Near the top of the Congress’ new agenda will be restoring Net Neutrality.  Many in Congress came to this realization after receiving more than a million letters and tens of thousands of phone calls from concerned citizens urging them to maintain a free and open Internet.  The plan for 2007 and beyond is to continue to organize people across the country to ensure that Congress writes Net Neutrality into law. SavetheInternet.com   What’s ahead

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet
2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet
2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet
hazirma
 
INTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS
INTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERSINTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS
INTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS
vibhabehl
 
The History Of The Internet Presentation
The  History Of The  Internet  PresentationThe  History Of The  Internet  Presentation
The History Of The Internet Presentation
dgieseler1
 
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............Role and impact of media on society final ppt............
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............
Aaryendr
 
History about Media
History about Media  History about Media
History about Media
Namra Imran
 

Was ist angesagt? (20)

A Short History Of Media
A Short History Of MediaA Short History Of Media
A Short History Of Media
 
Digital Media: The good, the bad, the ugly
Digital Media: The good, the bad, the uglyDigital Media: The good, the bad, the ugly
Digital Media: The good, the bad, the ugly
 
History of the internet
History of the internetHistory of the internet
History of the internet
 
Internet and pre internet presentation
Internet and pre internet presentationInternet and pre internet presentation
Internet and pre internet presentation
 
2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet
2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet
2.2.1.1 the evolution of internet
 
The future of journalism and AI
The future of journalism and AIThe future of journalism and AI
The future of journalism and AI
 
Internet and its history
Internet and its historyInternet and its history
Internet and its history
 
Community media
Community mediaCommunity media
Community media
 
Evolution of internet
Evolution of internetEvolution of internet
Evolution of internet
 
INTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS
INTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERSINTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS
INTERNET THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS
 
The History Of The Internet Presentation
The  History Of The  Internet  PresentationThe  History Of The  Internet  Presentation
The History Of The Internet Presentation
 
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............Role and impact of media on society final ppt............
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............
 
Social Media & it's Impact in Today's World
Social Media & it's Impact in Today's WorldSocial Media & it's Impact in Today's World
Social Media & it's Impact in Today's World
 
History of the internet
History of the internetHistory of the internet
History of the internet
 
History of the internet
History of the internetHistory of the internet
History of the internet
 
What is Web 3,0?
What is Web 3,0?What is Web 3,0?
What is Web 3,0?
 
History about Media
History about Media  History about Media
History about Media
 
The Digital Revolution? #MediaLit15
The Digital Revolution? #MediaLit15The Digital Revolution? #MediaLit15
The Digital Revolution? #MediaLit15
 
E newspaper
E newspaperE newspaper
E newspaper
 
A Brief History of the Internet
A Brief History of the InternetA Brief History of the Internet
A Brief History of the Internet
 

Andere mochten auch

Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the Network
Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the NetworkSoftware-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the Network
Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the Network
Robert Keahey
 
Software-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to Networking
Software-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to NetworkingSoftware-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to Networking
Software-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to Networking
Anju Ann
 

Andere mochten auch (15)

The Future of the Internet: the key trends (Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard)
The Future of the Internet: the key trends (Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard)The Future of the Internet: the key trends (Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard)
The Future of the Internet: the key trends (Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard)
 
Future of the Internet - National Geographic - Digital Capital Week
Future of the Internet - National Geographic - Digital Capital WeekFuture of the Internet - National Geographic - Digital Capital Week
Future of the Internet - National Geographic - Digital Capital Week
 
Future Of Internet Presentation
Future Of Internet PresentationFuture Of Internet Presentation
Future Of Internet Presentation
 
Future of the Internet
Future of the InternetFuture of the Internet
Future of the Internet
 
Future Of Internet IV | AAAS
Future Of Internet IV | AAASFuture Of Internet IV | AAAS
Future Of Internet IV | AAAS
 
Why does future internet need e-Culture?
Why does future internet need e-Culture?Why does future internet need e-Culture?
Why does future internet need e-Culture?
 
The Future of the Internet
The Future of the InternetThe Future of the Internet
The Future of the Internet
 
The Future of the Internet
The Future of the Internet The Future of the Internet
The Future of the Internet
 
20090906 On Future Internet, Cloud Computing, and Semantics – You name it
20090906 On Future Internet, Cloud Computing, and Semantics – You name it20090906 On Future Internet, Cloud Computing, and Semantics – You name it
20090906 On Future Internet, Cloud Computing, and Semantics – You name it
 
Future of the Internet | Media Briefing from Bangkok, Thailand [19 August 2015]
Future of the Internet | Media Briefing from Bangkok, Thailand [19 August 2015]Future of the Internet | Media Briefing from Bangkok, Thailand [19 August 2015]
Future of the Internet | Media Briefing from Bangkok, Thailand [19 August 2015]
 
Teens and the Internet: The Future of Digital Diversity
Teens and the Internet: The Future of Digital DiversityTeens and the Internet: The Future of Digital Diversity
Teens and the Internet: The Future of Digital Diversity
 
Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the Network
Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the NetworkSoftware-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the Network
Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Unleashing the Power of the Network
 
Software-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to Networking
Software-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to NetworkingSoftware-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to Networking
Software-Defined Networking(SDN):A New Approach to Networking
 
Sdn ppt
Sdn pptSdn ppt
Sdn ppt
 
The Internet Presentation
The Internet Presentation The Internet Presentation
The Internet Presentation
 

Ähnlich wie The Future of the Internet

(c) BedfordSt. Martins bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx
(c) BedfordSt. Martins  bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx(c) BedfordSt. Martins  bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx
(c) BedfordSt. Martins bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx
katherncarlyle
 
Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docx
Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docxWill the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docx
Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docx
alanfhall8953
 
Week34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdf
Week34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdfWeek34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdf
Week34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdf
PhngLinhTrn33
 

Ähnlich wie The Future of the Internet (20)

The Future of the Internet 2.0
The Future of the Internet 2.0The Future of the Internet 2.0
The Future of the Internet 2.0
 
Future of Mass Media
Future of Mass MediaFuture of Mass Media
Future of Mass Media
 
(c) BedfordSt. Martins bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx
(c) BedfordSt. Martins  bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx(c) BedfordSt. Martins  bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx
(c) BedfordSt. Martins bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 .docx
 
Bjmc i, dcm, unit-iv, media regulation and censorship
Bjmc i, dcm, unit-iv, media regulation and censorshipBjmc i, dcm, unit-iv, media regulation and censorship
Bjmc i, dcm, unit-iv, media regulation and censorship
 
Net Neutrality
Net NeutralityNet Neutrality
Net Neutrality
 
Net Nutrality
Net NutralityNet Nutrality
Net Nutrality
 
Media and government
Media and governmentMedia and government
Media and government
 
Rc 11.networks
Rc 11.networksRc 11.networks
Rc 11.networks
 
The internet done
The internet doneThe internet done
The internet done
 
Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docx
Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docxWill the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docx
Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy Eli M. NoamProfessor a.docx
 
Technology evolves so fast
Technology evolves so fast Technology evolves so fast
Technology evolves so fast
 
The Internet is shaping the future
The Internet is shaping the futureThe Internet is shaping the future
The Internet is shaping the future
 
Media Literacy (Information Era)
Media Literacy (Information Era)Media Literacy (Information Era)
Media Literacy (Information Era)
 
#DEBIll: The Conspiracy Of Copyright
#DEBIll: The Conspiracy Of Copyright#DEBIll: The Conspiracy Of Copyright
#DEBIll: The Conspiracy Of Copyright
 
E Business Overview Edit
E Business Overview EditE Business Overview Edit
E Business Overview Edit
 
Week34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdf
Week34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdfWeek34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdf
Week34_The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter2) (1).pdf
 
Internet Essays
Internet EssaysInternet Essays
Internet Essays
 
Internet
InternetInternet
Internet
 
Network Neutrality: Potential impact on free speech and the right to information
Network Neutrality: Potential impact on free speech and the right to informationNetwork Neutrality: Potential impact on free speech and the right to information
Network Neutrality: Potential impact on free speech and the right to information
 
The Clash of Media
The Clash of MediaThe Clash of Media
The Clash of Media
 

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Axa Assurance Maroc - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Axa Assurance Maroc - Insurer Innovation Award 2024Axa Assurance Maroc - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Axa Assurance Maroc - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
 
TrustArc Webinar - Unlock the Power of AI-Driven Data Discovery
TrustArc Webinar - Unlock the Power of AI-Driven Data DiscoveryTrustArc Webinar - Unlock the Power of AI-Driven Data Discovery
TrustArc Webinar - Unlock the Power of AI-Driven Data Discovery
 
Powerful Google developer tools for immediate impact! (2023-24 C)
Powerful Google developer tools for immediate impact! (2023-24 C)Powerful Google developer tools for immediate impact! (2023-24 C)
Powerful Google developer tools for immediate impact! (2023-24 C)
 
Apidays New York 2024 - The value of a flexible API Management solution for O...
Apidays New York 2024 - The value of a flexible API Management solution for O...Apidays New York 2024 - The value of a flexible API Management solution for O...
Apidays New York 2024 - The value of a flexible API Management solution for O...
 
ProductAnonymous-April2024-WinProductDiscovery-MelissaKlemke
ProductAnonymous-April2024-WinProductDiscovery-MelissaKlemkeProductAnonymous-April2024-WinProductDiscovery-MelissaKlemke
ProductAnonymous-April2024-WinProductDiscovery-MelissaKlemke
 
From Event to Action: Accelerate Your Decision Making with Real-Time Automation
From Event to Action: Accelerate Your Decision Making with Real-Time AutomationFrom Event to Action: Accelerate Your Decision Making with Real-Time Automation
From Event to Action: Accelerate Your Decision Making with Real-Time Automation
 
A Domino Admins Adventures (Engage 2024)
A Domino Admins Adventures (Engage 2024)A Domino Admins Adventures (Engage 2024)
A Domino Admins Adventures (Engage 2024)
 
Exploring the Future Potential of AI-Enabled Smartphone Processors
Exploring the Future Potential of AI-Enabled Smartphone ProcessorsExploring the Future Potential of AI-Enabled Smartphone Processors
Exploring the Future Potential of AI-Enabled Smartphone Processors
 
[2024]Digital Global Overview Report 2024 Meltwater.pdf
[2024]Digital Global Overview Report 2024 Meltwater.pdf[2024]Digital Global Overview Report 2024 Meltwater.pdf
[2024]Digital Global Overview Report 2024 Meltwater.pdf
 
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
 
Strategies for Landing an Oracle DBA Job as a Fresher
Strategies for Landing an Oracle DBA Job as a FresherStrategies for Landing an Oracle DBA Job as a Fresher
Strategies for Landing an Oracle DBA Job as a Fresher
 
Data Cloud, More than a CDP by Matt Robison
Data Cloud, More than a CDP by Matt RobisonData Cloud, More than a CDP by Matt Robison
Data Cloud, More than a CDP by Matt Robison
 
2024: Domino Containers - The Next Step. News from the Domino Container commu...
2024: Domino Containers - The Next Step. News from the Domino Container commu...2024: Domino Containers - The Next Step. News from the Domino Container commu...
2024: Domino Containers - The Next Step. News from the Domino Container commu...
 
Boost Fertility New Invention Ups Success Rates.pdf
Boost Fertility New Invention Ups Success Rates.pdfBoost Fertility New Invention Ups Success Rates.pdf
Boost Fertility New Invention Ups Success Rates.pdf
 
Partners Life - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Partners Life - Insurer Innovation Award 2024Partners Life - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Partners Life - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
 
🐬 The future of MySQL is Postgres 🐘
🐬  The future of MySQL is Postgres   🐘🐬  The future of MySQL is Postgres   🐘
🐬 The future of MySQL is Postgres 🐘
 
TrustArc Webinar - Stay Ahead of US State Data Privacy Law Developments
TrustArc Webinar - Stay Ahead of US State Data Privacy Law DevelopmentsTrustArc Webinar - Stay Ahead of US State Data Privacy Law Developments
TrustArc Webinar - Stay Ahead of US State Data Privacy Law Developments
 
Advantages of Hiring UIUX Design Service Providers for Your Business
Advantages of Hiring UIUX Design Service Providers for Your BusinessAdvantages of Hiring UIUX Design Service Providers for Your Business
Advantages of Hiring UIUX Design Service Providers for Your Business
 
Tata AIG General Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Tata AIG General Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024Tata AIG General Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Tata AIG General Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
 
What Are The Drone Anti-jamming Systems Technology?
What Are The Drone Anti-jamming Systems Technology?What Are The Drone Anti-jamming Systems Technology?
What Are The Drone Anti-jamming Systems Technology?
 

The Future of the Internet

  • 1. Timothy Karr Campaign Director Free Press www.freepress.net The Future of the Internet
  • 2.
  • 3.
  • 4.
  • 5.
  • 6.
  • 7.
  • 8.
  • 9.
  • 10.
  • 11.
  • 12.
  • 13.
  • 14. Net Neutrality is the Internet … This fundamental notion of an open and level playing field is NOW under siege by powerful industries who seek to tilt the field to their advantage. ... and it’s under threat Net Neutrality is the reason that the Internet has been an explosion of online economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech.
  • 15. How did this happen? What ever happened to the idea of the MASS media? Let’s review …
  • 16. The technology to build newspapers could facilitate the construction of a press for about $10,000 in current money. In the early days, there were pamphleteers who produced arguments that they could spread broadly because the cost of access to that distribution was low. But that cost changed dramatically. By the time of the civil war, the cost of running a newspaper was about $2.5 million. Newspaper publishing and journalism professionalized and commercialized pushing aside broad public participation in popular print media. Newspapers?
  • 17. In the 1920s radio was a COMMON technology, in the sense that an extraordinary range of people could gain access to a new and relatively cheap technology — broadcasting — to send messages to one another over the air. But once people began to think that they could begin to make commercial radio function through advertising the Federal Communications Commission began to implement a very different idea about how radio would function. Working with business, government allocated the spectrum in a way that made it so only a few could get access to the airwaves. By the mid 1930s NBC and CBS were responsible for an astounding 97% of nighttime broadcasting. The number of radio station owners has plummeted by 34% since the 1996 Telecommunications Act. That year, the biggest radio owners controlled fewer than 65 stations. Today, Clear Channel Communications — one company — owns more than 1,200 stations. Radio?
  • 18. Television suffered much the same fate in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Through well-financed lobbyists, television broadcasters gained overwhelming influence in Washington. Broadcasters spent $222 million to lobby government officials from 1998 to 2004. including millions on entertainment and travel, taking FCC regulators on 2,500 all-expense-paid trips. As a result television broadcasting policy was shaped in closed-door meetings with policymakers. So, even though the public owned the airwaves, special interests decided how this influential media was created, financed, and distributed. There developed an interdependence between those who held political power (and needed access to the airwaves) and those who controlled the airwaves (and needed access to political power). Television?
  • 19. What happened to the Mass Media… It's gotten so bad that today, Instead of nurturing and extending democracy and free speech, broadcasting threatens to distort it. The media industry and their lobbyists in Washington worked hand in hand with policymakers to shape a system that hands control of mass media over to a few corporations. In all of these cases what were describing is a dramatic technological change that initially sparks an explosion of democratic participation. But this explosion threatens the status quo. And those threatened react. Their reaction is to take a culture that had been unlocked by technological change and to re-lock it.
  • 20. What happened to stifle openness and limit access to publishing and broadcasting could very well happen with the public Internet right now. … could happen to the Internet A handful of phone and cable companies are promising to build a new network of Internet services. But they want something in return. They want control. Not just over the copper wires, and fiber optics cables but control over the Internet itself. They’re pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment — this principle called Network Neutrality — which prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you based on what site pays them the most.
  • 21. The threat to an open internet isn't just speculation — we've seen what happens when the gatekeepers get too much control over radio and television. Phone and cable companies are now hatching plans to discriminate online. The threat is real William L. Smith, chief technology officer for Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., told the Washington Post that an Internet service provider such as his firm should be able, for example, to charge Yahoo Inc. for the opportunity to have its search site load faster than that of Google Inc. Ed Whitacre of AT&T told Business Week that he was no longer going to let people "use his pipes for free ... there's going to have to be some mechanism for these people who use these pipes to pay for the portion they're using."
  • 22. Google users —Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer. Ipod listeners —A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned. Political groups —Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their websites and online features to work correctly. Online purchasers —Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices—distorting your choice as a consumer. Small businesses and tele-commuters —When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office. Bloggers —Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips—silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets. How would this affect you
  • 23. In order to do this the phone and cable companies need to change the laws. And they're spending money in Washington to get it done. In the past 10 years, they have spent more than half a billion dollars on campaign contributions, political action committees, PR firms and high-spending lobbyists to push through self-interested policies. On the issue of Net Neutrality alone, companies like AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth and Comcast have spent more than $100 million to push Congress to remove this longstanding nondiscrimination rule. As with radio and television, the industry lobby is outspending all others to set the policy agenda and write new laws that will hand them control over the public Internet. Changing the law But they didn't anticipate one thing....
  • 24. In 2006, a grassroots coalition of more than 850 groups including educators, not-for-profits, consumer rights groups, small business and public advocates — banded together to protect Internet freedom. They were joined by more than a million people who signed a petition urging Congress to maintain the free and open Internet. More than 6,000 bloggers linked to the coalition's site, SavetheInternet.com, many of them posting homemade videos to counteract the phone companies’ misinformation campaign. Online social networks formed around the issue at MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube. We all joined together to protest phone and cable company efforts in Washington to kill Net Neutrality. The public
  • 25.
  • 26.
  • 27. This grassroots campaign lifted the crucial issue of Net Neutrality from obscurity, throwing a wrench in the phone and cable giants’ plan to overhaul our telecommunications laws behind closed doors. Mass public opposition stalled efforts by Congress and the phone and cable lobby to pass legislation that would have effectively killed Net Neutrality. Whereas before, the phone companies had been confident that Congress would simply sign-off on industry-written legislation, today no member of Congress can vote with the telecom cartel without feeling the full heat of public scrutiny. And we won
  • 28. Near the top of the Congress’ new agenda will be restoring Net Neutrality. Many in Congress came to this realization after receiving more than a million letters and tens of thousands of phone calls from concerned citizens urging them to maintain a free and open Internet. The plan for 2007 and beyond is to continue to organize people across the country to ensure that Congress writes Net Neutrality into law. SavetheInternet.com What’s ahead