Blog

  • Murdoch’s Media March

    More than half a century after taking over his father’s Australian media business, Rupert Murdoch has built a media empire with unparalleled reach. But his ability to grow his holdings has been aided every step of the way by big money and bad policies. A brief look at Murdoch’s march towards media consolidation highlights theContinue… Read more

  • Online Videos Respond to Murdoch’s Deal

    Some of the most compelling responses to the news of Rupert Murdoch’s deal to buy the Wall Street Journal and parent company Dow Jones have come from the online videos flooding YouTube and other video sites. Bloggers, documentary makers, activists and concerned citizens are using the emerging online video medium to start a public debateContinue… Read more

  • Taking the Lead

    In the fight against infotainment, news anchors are starting to take the lead. Tired of having their work watered down by celebrity scandals and other gossip being passed off as legitimate news, these reporters are pushing back against the bland “infotainment” that fills our airwaves. First it was Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC, who tried toContinue… Read more

  • A Good Deal for Murdoch, A Bad Deal for Democracy

    Originally posted at Stop Big Media on July 17, 2007. View the original post here.  This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp. has reached a tentative deal to buy Dow Jones. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has led the media consolidation charge, buying up prime media properties, homogenizing content, and spinning theContinue… Read more

  • Eating Well While Doing Good

    Originally posted at Kitchen Dancing on September 24, 2007. View original post here. I just returned from a week of organizing in Chicago. I was working to be educate the public about media reform issues in Chicago in the lead up to the 5th of 6 FCC hearings on media ownership. This was a rareContinue… Read more

  • Footing the Bill

    Originally posted at Kitchen Dancing on August 25th, 2007. View original post here.  The first in a series of articles on the Farm Bill. Some of you might know that in the past month I began a new job, working for a fantastic media reform organization (Free Press). One of our main talking points atContinue… Read more

  • The Smell of Tomatoes

    Originally posted at Kitchen Dancing on August 14th, 2007. View the original post here. I may be going out on a limb here – but does anyone else know that incredible, unique, and lovely smell of tomatoes? Not just tomatoes, but more specifically, tomato stems freshly snapped from the vine. There is nothing like it. Read more

  • Food, Place, Memory

    Originally posted at Kitchen Dancing on July 27th, 2007. View the original post here. My friend Abby Dallmann recently returned for a brief visit in the middle of a two year stint working and living in Hungary. My wife (and co-author of this blog), Erica lived in Hungary for a year when she was sixteen,Continue… Read more

  • Sexy Tomatoes

    Originally posted at Kitchen Dancing on July 16, 2007. View the original post here.   Not long ago NPR did a story about the Florida Tomato Committee, who hired an advertising firm to create a new image for the little red crop with an identity problem (is it a fruit or is it a vegetable?Continue… Read more

  • Wants and Needs

    Originally published on Kitchen Dancing on July 16, 2007. View original post here. The first time Erica and I walked through the big barn doors into the cool shade of the CSA barn, we were struck by the commotion inside. The roof over the biggest room in the barn is held up by two 8×8Continue… Read more