Center for Social Media prof suggests Congress revamp Broadcasting Act

Ellen Goodman, a Rutgers law professor and Fellow at the Center for Social Media, submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on the development of a national broadband plan, according to the Center, at American University. Her thoughts reflect research the Center has been doing for its Future of Public Media project. In her comments (PDF), Goodman notes various current pubmedia activities using high-speed connections, and suggests that further progress will only happen “if public media systems become more diverse, open, networked, innovative, technologically sophisticated, and focused on a service mission to meet public needs where the market will not go.” She echoes a common drumbeat of late, that pubcasting "has not performed adequately in catalyzing and assisting in local content creation. . . . Capacity-constrained and one-way, broadcasting alone has never been capable of truly engaging diverse local populations while also networking effectively nationally with a wide array of partners."

Another nonprof news web site up and running

The Texas Tribune, an online nonprof news site based in Austin, launched Nov. 3 to cover “public policy, politics, government and other matters of statewide concern.” It received $1 million from its new chairman and co-founder, venture capitalist John Thornton, according to the Daily Texan at the University of Texas at Austin. The project will collaborate with the university on five election polls, and with the school's Center for Politics and Governance for a lecture series and student internships. Here's more about the project.

Attention, Northwest pubcasters...

Journalism That Matters, an organization of "media innovators and stakeholders" that nurtures discussions on the emerging modern ecosystem of public media, is hosting the confab "Reimagining News and Community in the Pacific Northwest," Jan. 7-10, 2010, at the University of Washington, Seattle. It's the group's first regional workshop since its founding in 2000, following nationally focused meetings in St. Petersburg, Fla.; Philadelphia; Minneapolis; Silicon Valley; and Washington, D.C. Participants have included reporters, editors, publishers, videographers, photographers, media educators, reformers and citizen journalists; audience members are from print, broadcast, and online media, both mainstream and entrepreneurial. The group's founders are also a diverse bunch. Interested? Register here, or take a peek at who's attending here.