Nice DIY video by the actor John Cusack. He made it for the 2008 National Conference on Media Reform. I first saw this on a giant screen at the conference. Nice to have here to share.

Dig this guys words. He’s a true Hollywood Liberal. Just like I like ‘em. Thanks [...]]]>

Nice DIY video by the actor John Cusack. He made it for the 2008 National Conference on Media Reform. I first saw this on a giant screen at the conference. Nice to have here to share.

Dig this guys words. He’s a true Hollywood Liberal. Just like I like ‘em. Thanks Mr. Cusack for speaking your mind.

Both Chapel Hill and Orange County received money for Chapel Hill channel 8, on which The People’s Channel broadcasts.

Yet neither government has passed [...]]]> Local governments withhold public access TV funds. Get the story from this Independent Weekly blog post by Fiona Morgan called Legislature to consider future of public TV channels.

Both Chapel Hill and Orange County received money for Chapel Hill channel 8, on which The People’s Channel broadcasts.

Yet neither government has passed that money on to The People’s Channel. The law says local governments must spend the supplemental money on PEG channels, but it doesn’t specify which channels.

Chapel Hill spokesperson Catherine Lazorko says the town manager and town council have yet to decide how to distribute PEG funding. Chapel Hill operates its own government channel, 18, which broadcasts public meetings.

Orange County, which certified a total of three PEG channels, decided to spend all $29,400 of its supplemental PEG funding on its own government channel, 265, which broadcasts county commissioners meetings. The annual budget for Channel 265 is approximately $40,000.

There is also some discussion going on about it on Orange Politics. You’ll find my passionate comments there. Here is one.

I am very disappointed in the position Town of Chapel Hill Staff and Orange County Staff have taken in this situation. As Fiona’s article pointed out the law governing the funds distributed by the state is up to interpretation. But for the County Assistant Manager and Manager to hide behind a legal opinion that they support to retain funds purposely earmarked by the State for a local non-profit is disgusting!

I wish this were a case of unemotional bean counting in a disconnected bureaucracy. But it just doesn’t seem so. I look forward to more information coming to light on the attitude our public servants have had when dealing with our fellow citizens. If they treated other nonprofits with more loud public voices this way I think Council, Commissioners, and citizens would be publicly outraged.

Please consider donating to The Peoples’ Channel, taking a course to learn how to shoot and edit your own video at TPC, and asking your local representatives WHY our Staff members act this way.

To get a bit more background on the situation here is a PDF that describes PEG (Public Access Television) Funding.

Chuck Olsen humor at its best! This was made four years ago. Now John Stewart is making BANK ripping the MSM a new one nightly! Stupid TV anchors, we love to laugh at you! LMFAO

Wayne Sutton the Community Content Manager over at WNCN NBC 17‘s Local Conversations blog met me at the Open Eye Café in Carrboro for a quick video interview. He asked me about blogging and other social media. [...]]]>
Community Building with Brian Russell from waynesutton12 on Vimeo

Wayne Sutton the Community Content Manager over at WNCN NBC 17‘s Local Conversations blog met me at the Open Eye Café in Carrboro for a quick video interview. He asked me about blogging and other social media. I shared my thoughts on how to start blogging and how this new social media would effect the 2008 presidential campaign.

We met at 12:30pm. Its now 4pm and the video is already up. (Thanks to the Town of Carrboro WiFi) Fun to watch Wayne work with the small HD video camera and a laptop. I’m really impressed with what Wayne is doing. Its a cool blend of Main Stream and Citizen Media.

A former Presbyterian minister and tae kwon do instructor, Cho is a writer raising two children in Chapel Hill. He has been writing a monthly My View column for the Chapel Hill [...]]]> The December 9, 2007 Chapel Hill News ‘My View’ column titled GOP chair Cho to challenge Price contained the following:

A former Presbyterian minister and tae kwon do instructor, Cho is a writer raising two children in Chapel Hill. He has been writing a monthly My View column for the Chapel Hill News. His column will go on hiatus during his run.

Now on December 26, 2007 Mr Cho has another column in the Chapel Hill News titled ‘Soul patrol.’ (It’s not online yet. I just pulled it out of my driveway at 12AM.) At the end of Mr. Cho’s column today is this excuse,

This is his last My View for now. Cho’s column is on hiatus as he campaigns for the Republican nomination for U.S. House District 4.

To me this column contradicts the first one. His column was supposed to “go on hiatus.” Second, its a clear violation of the News’ journalistic principles. Will Congressman Price get a My View column so he can promote his personal values too?

Cross posted from BlueNC.

Put your picture on the wall, sign the petition, and tell your friends. [...]]]> Stop Big Media! On Tuesday the FCC is meeting. Part of their agenda is relaxing ownership rules. This means even fewer companies will own more newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations. That’s not what our county needs.

Put your picture on the wall, sign the petition, and tell your friends.

More Detail: Media Consolidation: What happens after the FCC vote? from The Moyers Blog.

I was impressed that some actors and producers spoke out in solidarity. But now that the smart writers of The Daily Show have laid it out… I grok it. Viacom is [...]]]> Have to say I was pretty confused about the details of the TV writers strike. But then I saw this video.

I was impressed that some actors and producers spoke out in solidarity. But now that the smart writers of The Daily Show have laid it out… I grok it. Viacom is being fat cat greedy!

This video helped me understand why we need them so much. These folks are our teachers. Well some of them. Maybe not the folks who write for reality TV. hugs and kisses! This vid is funny and educational BTW. It explains a lot!

Thanks for sharing this Albert! More info at the United Hollywood blog.

More info here on Freepres.net. Bipartisan Bill to Put the Brakes on FCC

If you are on Facebook consider joining the 100,000 [...]]]> Watch this Bill Moyer’s video about the latest FCC attack on our media freedom. It explains the threat very clearly. Such amazing footage of the Seattle FCC hearing held recently.

More info here on Freepres.net. Bipartisan Bill to Put the Brakes on FCC

If you are on Facebook consider joining the 100,000 by 12/18/07 to Fight Media Consolidation group. Here are some action items.

1. Invite all of your friends this group. Most of the “100,000″ or “1 million” strong groups are meaningless. If we can get thousands of people on facebook to contact the FCC and their Senators there is a good chance we can actually stop this disastrous rule change.

2. Contact the FCC

3. Contact your Senators

4. Learn More
Please do whatever you can to spread the word about this. Media consolidation is one of the most overlooked issues in contemporary political discourse. Without access to diverse and distinct media sources, our Democracy itself is in peril. Make sure your voice is heard on this critical issue.