Parry argues that by "suggesting that [indicted former Dick Cheney aide 'Scooter'] Libby committed no real offense beyond trimming a few facts when questioned by overzealous investigators" about having leaked Valerie Plame Wilson's CIA identity to the New York Times' Judith Miller,the major U.S. news media is again missing the point. The real significance of the Libby trial is that it could demonstrate how far George W. Bush went in 2003 to shut down legitimate criticism of his Iraq War policies as well as questions about his personal honesty.

Except in the case of Katrina, most major media outlets have treated America's extreme weather events as if they were wholly separate from the broader issue of climate change.

In his speech kicking off the National Conference on Media Reform, the public broadcasting icon "announced his return to the airwaves" and described exactly what media reformers are up against.As ownership gets more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources of information have survived in the marketplace; and those few significant alternatives that do survive, such as PBS and NPR, are under growing financial and political pressure to reduce critical news content and to shift their focus in a mainstream direction, which means being more attentive to establishment views than to the bleak realities of powerlessness that shape the lives of ordinary people.

While mainstream commentators astute enough to question claims of Iraqi WMDs were often "slandered by supposedly respectable commentators...who in the tradition of Joe McCarthy made ominous claims about how critics of the war were actively pro-terrorist," the "gross incompetence" on display in William Kristol's analyses of "the most important issue facing America today" has not altered the "bizarrely upward trajectory of [his] career path" toward a prime column at Time, "America's leading news weekly"—which Campos describes as "the journalistic equivalent of handing the former captain of the Exxon Valdez a case of whiskey and the command of a fully loaded supertanker." A small sample of Kristol's penchant for acheiving "maximum possible error":Since the start of the war, Kristol has claimed that "there's almost no evidence" Iraqi Shiites wouldn't be able to get along with Sunnis; that it was a mistake to worry that Iraq "would fracture into feuding clans and unleash a bloodbath";.. that the situation in Iraq wouldn't get worse in 2006, and thus opposition to the war would prove to be an electoral disaster for Democrats.

One blogger takes the occasion of the "irrepressibly corrupt" Kenneth Tomlinson's announcement that he "is jumping ship rather than face the newly elected Democratic majority in the senate that would be unlikely to reconfirm him" as chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors to remember thatThis is the same Kenneth Tomlinson that paid $15,000 in payments to two Republican lobbyists that were not disclosed to the Corporation [for Public Broadcasting]’s board. This is the same Kenneth Tomlinson that had taken overtly partisan steps to remake the CPB as a publicly financed Fox News—hiring Tucker Carlson and Paul Gigot and recruiting a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee as president of PBS. This is the same Kenneth Tomlinson engaged in ethically questionable tactics to discredit Bill Moyers, former host of PBS’s Now.

Taking on the premise of a USA Today article that "pulled out all the stops" when "decrying the fact that 'globalization' is losing support around the world and that countries are embracing "long-discredited economic strategies.'"It specifically notes nationalization and credit controls.... But many countries have effectively managed government enterprises and the list of successful developing countries is full of countries that use capital controls, such as China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Chile. (Maybe USA Today can find a reporter who has heard of these countries for its next piece on the topic.) The policies that the article considers consistent with globalization might better be described as "long-discredited economic strategies." Latin America embraced this path with enthusiasm and had a quarter century of stagnation. Russia followed the globalization path and saw its economy shrink by more than 40 percent.

Wikipedia's democratic media technology is utilized in a new Wikileaks.org effort to help anonymous whistleblowers increase "transparency in government activities." Citing a U.S. Supreme Court assertion from the Pentagon Papers case that "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government," the site's primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the West.... Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to a much more exacting scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency could provide.

A look at corporate TV coverage of George W. Bush's recent speech provides more evidence that "for the newscasters, this war debate is now only between the Congress and the White House."PBS ran the Democratic response by Sen. Charles Durbin who explained why his plan can’t work and won’t work. No one else did.... As for the public and the anti-war movement, they were briefly heard chanting slogans outside the White House but not seen on CBS.... The substance of the speech...was not subjected to any scrutiny. There was no analysis of likely consequences, especially the threats to attack Syria and Iran. In short, there was no reporting. How is this possible on an event that had been hyped for a week and whose key tenets were well known BEFORE it was delivered?

While averring that Martin Luther King Jr. "understood that a free, diverse and adventurous press was essential to social progress," Nichols reminds us of the angry media backlash when King expanded his activism beyond basic civil rights.When King began in 1967 to express outspoken opposition to the war in Vietnam, historian Taylor Branch recalls..."the most damaging public reaction that he had from the white press." The Washington Post went so far as to declare that, with his opposition to the war, "King has diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people." Similarly, King's attempts to advance an economic justice agenda [were] dismissed as a both futile and dangerous. Things have only grown worse as media consolidation has led to a dumbing down of our mass communications.

In "an urgent demand for media activism" at the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, Swanson makes a call to "put impeachment on the table and the airwaves":By any serious standard of journalism, impeachment should be in the news right now.... A Newsweek poll a while back said that 51 percent of Americans want Bush impeached and 44 percent do not. That's about double the support there was for impeaching Clinton when it was in the news every single day. Dozens of cities have passed resolutions for impeachment. State legislatures have introduced the same.... Dozens of scholars have written books advocating for impeachment. There are DVDs, forums, marches, rallies, protests. A week ago, we packed a huge ballroom for an impeachment forum, and to make it easy, it was the ballroom in the National Press Club. The media couldn't make the elevator trip to be there. And of course, the evidence of impeachable offenses is clear and overwhelming, but rarely presented in the media. The number one reason that Congress members and their staff tell you in private that they are not yet impeaching is fear of the media.Swanson provides you the resources for “urging pollsters to poll on impeachment, writing letters to editors, calling talk shows, calling producers, and protesting at media outlets," as well as how to “create a short video of yourself... and why you want impeachment” for YouTube.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps calls for "local stations that are actually local," "strengthen our democracy" and "look and sound like America"—while noting that "you deserve all this on free-over-the-air TV and radio" because "by the way, you have already paid for" it.Half a trillion dollars. That's a conservative valuation of the airwaves that our country lets TV and radio broadcasters use—for free.... It's just about the biggest chunk of change that our government gives to any private industry. And what do the American people—who own the public airwaves, by the way—get in return? Too little news, too much baloney passed off as news.... Too little of America, too much of Wall Street and Madison Avenue.... It's one hell of a bad bargain, don't you think?

If we truly care about women's rights and social justice, we must simply roll up our sleeves and tackle corporate media's failings, while strengthening independent media.

The future of the progressive movement depends on our ability to harness the power of digital media.

WASHINGTON -Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2007 today, reopening the debate in Congress over Net Neutrality - the fundamental principle that prevents Internet service providers from discriminating online.

A new set of concessions by AT&T appears to have cleared the way for the phone giant to take over BellSouth to create the world's largest telecommunications company.

• View (PDF) the new set of concessions filed by AT&T on the Federal Communications Commission web site.
• Read an Associated Press article on the deal.
• And see the reaction to the concessions by Consumers Union and other public interest groups.

There is an area in Eastern North Carolina (Hyde Co.) where my Ericson cell phone used to work in analog roaming mode.  My contract with NC Cingular Wireless allows unlimited roaming in South Eastern US. Cingular charged me for roaming three times in that area and when I contested the charges, they dropped them.  After the third time, my phone stopped working anywhere in the area. My mother in-law has the same Cingular plan that I have only it is based out of Florida. Her phone continues to work in the area while mine will not.  Cingular I.T. people told me to buy a Nokia 6340I and it would solve my problem.  I bought the $217 phone and it doesn't work there either. Now they tell me they have a GSM network only and the tri-mode Nokia is not programmed to work in NC for TDMA or analog.  I wasted the extra money and countless hours on the phone with their customer service and technical service only to have no phone coverage in one of the three key places in the state that I specifically need to have coverage. I am a long time Consumers Union/Consumer Reports member (over 25 years) and heard of this site on the Clark Howard Show. Update: On May 3, 2006 the New York Times ran a story about Tom's problem. Here is an excerpt from "Analog Callers Hung Up in a Digital Country" by Ken Belson: "TOM ARRINGTON is caught in a technological limbo. Most days, he uses his Nokia cellphone at home in Raleigh, N.C. But when he visits his farm in Hyde County near the Atlantic Coast, his handset, which uses digital G.S.M. technology, gets no reception. His carrier, Cingular, does not have digital coverage there yet. In years past, this was not a problem because Mr. Arrington's old handset roamed on Cingular's G.S.M. (global system for mobile communication) network and analog networks run by local carriers. But Mr. Arrington said that after complaining about his roaming charges, he found that his phone's analog roaming function no longer worked. "Cingular went all digital in North Carolina and took me with them," said Mr. Arrington, 56, a retired hydrogeologist. "They betrayed my contract." Mr. Arrington decided that getting a second cellphone plan from a local carrier was too expensive. Instead, he borrows his sister-in-law's phone because she has an older handset that still works on analog networks. A Cingular spokesman declined to say how or why the analog function on Mr. Arrington's phone stopped working, though he said his company had a roaming agreement with SunCom Wireless, a carrier that serves the Southeast. Even so, Mr. Arrington is not alone. As carriers expand their digital networks, they are selling fewer phones that work on older analog networks, which are often the only ones operating in far-flung corners of the country. To cut costs, big carriers are dropping roaming agreements with rural providers who used to cover gaps in their coverage." Update On January 8, 2007 Tom wrote: I am the person who had service with Cingular with unlimited roaming in south eastern US, then lost service in eastern NC, as they went solely digital in all of NC.  As Paul Harvey would say: "and now for the rest of the story." I had a friend visit us at our farm in coastal Hyde County (eastern NC) in early November 2006. She had a Verizon cell phone that worked without incident throughout the weekend. As she left, I promised her, my wife and myself that by close of business the following Tuesday, I would have a Verizon phone.  I went to Costco, signed a 2 yr contract with Verizon, and got a very nice Sanyo Trimode phone for $39 with free activation. I got, at no additional fee, a car charger, ear bud and carry holster and 'ported' my number from 12+ yrs with Cingular over to Verizon.  The sales representatives were outstanding; the support service I have experienced from Verizon is exceptional.  During the past 2+ yrs, I was trying to find other carriers that worked with the largely analog cell system in eastern NC, as well as my home in Raleigh, the Verizon coverage map did not include the areas I needed down east, now they do!  My new Verizon phone works everywhere I wanted and needed it.  Any questions or concerns that I have had received a response from Verizon Support personnel as though I was their only customer and the successful resolution of my problem was their only mission.  What a breath of spring!! As for Cingular Wireless: Can you hear me now?

I thought I would support Apple and buy my friend an iTunes Gift Certificate. I loaded up iTunes, and tried to buy a $10 gift certificate. It said "The iTunes Music Store cannot complete this purchase at the present time. Please try again later."  I figured there was no harm in clicking again. Same Message. Later, both gift certificates went through. Apple's support professionals, reached by e-mail, said that they could not refund my money. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and requested the token extra $10 back. They e-mailed me to ask whether my case was resolved a while back, I said no. I have not heard back from either Apple or the BBB. The moral of the story is that you always place web orders on credit cards. A credit card company would have gotten justice. I still support Apple Computer and understand that the representatives were bound by the Terms of Sale. This isn't an excuse: I bought no gift certificates, according to the messages at the time. I was charged for two because of a software bug.

I purchased three Apple itunes gift cards at $30 apiece. Once I thought about it, I realized that Apple is making a tremendous profit by pricing their gift cards in even amounts. Get it?! The songs cost $.99. This means that for these three cards, Apple will collect an unused $.30 for each card. Not a bad deal for Apple; and don't believe this was not their intent. Apple's response was "the card holder can add more songs to their card and use the extra cents." What?! How is my 10 year-old niece going to pay on a web site?  She has no credit cards. Also, how many people are going to go through the hassle for .99?

In December 2004 we responded to a full page ad in the Sunday supplement. The ad promised three pieces of equipment, free installation, HDTV, four rooms, for $29.99. It sounded too good to be true. We questioned the young lady extensively; the equipment was ours to keep, no contract, when we go north for the summer we could take it with us, no extra charge for re-installing. After several days, we got the billing and installation straightened out, the $50, was deducted from our account, and Dish Network's phone number appeared on the withdrawal. The only name on the ad was Dish Network. They are now refusing to honor the ad, which we verified with the company who ran it, that they had approved it. Dish Network/Echostar, now claims that the ad was run by Elephant/Marketing Guru, a promotions company, NOT them.  And that Elephant/Marketing Guru is responsible for making good on the promises in the ad. All I know is that, Dish Network/Echostar took our money and now they are refusing to give us what we paid for

Programmer does not want to refund money paid.  Signal gone today (W7 #19) FOX Net.  The company is offering no substitute.  My subscription is paid until June 05.  The other channels in the package are still on the air. I will contact Netlink account administrator tomorrow.