Craig Aaron is the senior program director of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan, nonprofit media reform group, where he leads all program, public advocacy and communications work, including the SavetheInternet.com and SaveTheNews.org campaigns. He works in the Washington office and speaks often on media, Internet and journalism issues. His commentaries appear regularly in the Guardian and the Huffington Post. He recently edited and co-authored the book Changing Media: Public Interest Policies for the Digital Age. Before joining Free Press, he was an investigative reporter for Public Citizen's Congress Watch, where he helped create and launch WhiteHouseforSale.org. He was also managing editor of In These Times magazine and is the editor of the book Appeal to Reason: 25 Years In These Times. Follow him on Twitter @notaaroncraig.

Blog Entries by Craig Aaron

Want to Change the Media? Be a Lobbyist

2 Comments | Posted September 4, 2009 | 09:52 AM (EST)


Last week, I was invited to speak at the National Alliance of Media Arts and Culture conference in Boston. This organization of media and arts leaders represents hundreds of thousands of community media centers, arts educators, artists and filmmakers. Here's some of what I told NAMAC about the importance...

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Consolidation Is No Cure for Journalism Crisis

Posted March 28, 2009 | 02:57 PM (EST)


Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose hometown San Francisco Chronicle is in trouble, asked Attorney General Eric Holder to consider loosening antitrust laws to help out struggling newspapers by allowing more media mergers. Holder says he is open to revisiting the rules.

Pelosi's request sounds innocuous at...

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Fairness Doctrine 'Debate' Goes Off the Deep End

Posted March 6, 2009 | 02:14 PM (EST)


The Fairness Doctrine is dead. But some Republicans are still trying to prop up the issue and parade it around in a tired political theater production of Weekend at Bernie's.

The star of the show is Rush Limbaugh, de facto leader of the Republican Party, who saw one of...

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The Fairness Doctrine: Just Say No

Posted February 13, 2009 | 01:11 PM (EST)


Alert the Centers for Disease Control: The latest panic over the Fairness Doctrine is becoming a full-blown epidemic.

The hysteria is no longer limited to right-wing radio and the Republican Caucus. Some prominent Democrats are catching it, too.

The Fairness Doctrine is the long defunct federal rule that required...

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Fairness Doctrine: Secret Republican Agenda Exposed!

Posted January 8, 2009 | 10:31 AM (EST)


You won't believe this. Today, I overheard a group of leading Republicans talking in the House about the greatest threats facing America.

And here -- made public for the first time -- is their list:

1. Bigfoot
2. Killer Bees
3. Fluoride in the drinking...

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Keep the Sock Puppets Out of Your Stimulus

Posted January 7, 2009 | 02:02 PM (EST)


I wrote here two weeks ago about why a multi-billion dollar investment in broadband must be part of the massive economic stimulus package now being crafted in Congress.

I touted the detailed plan put forward by colleague S. Derek Turner, which proposes $44 billion in broadband stimulus spending,...

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Broadband: Very Stimulating

Posted December 24, 2008 | 09:07 AM (EST)


From great crisis comes great opportunity. At least if you're a lobbyist in Washington.

And while Chrysler plants are shutting down and journalists are being sacked by the thousands, influence-peddlers inside the Beltway are gearing up to get a piece of what could be a $1 trillion -- with...

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Why Even Rush Limbaugh Shouldn't Fear the Fairness Doctrine

Posted November 3, 2008 | 03:38 PM (EST)


"DEMS SET TO MUZZLE THE RIGHT," blared a recent headline in the New York Post -- one of a seemingly endless series of articles warning that if Democrats take power in Washington, they're going to hush the Rush Limbaughs of the world via a sinister plot...

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Is America Still a Beacon for Press Freedom?

Posted October 27, 2008 | 02:03 PM (EST)


The United States of America -- land of the free, home of the First Amendment -- is supposed to be a beacon for the rest of the world. So where do we stand in the latest global rankings of press freedom?

Thirty-sixth.

That's not a typo. It's a national disgrace.

...
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Comcast Unleashes the Lapdogs

Posted July 30, 2008 | 08:19 PM (EST)


It's the 11th hour for Comcast at the Federal Communications Commission. They were caught secretly blocking legal Internet traffic. They lied about it. On Friday, a bipartisan majority at the FCC is expected to finally hold them accountable.

Let's review Comcast's strategy so far:

When a network expert...

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Minneapolis: Something's Happening Here

Posted June 5, 2008 | 02:54 PM (EST)


Here in Minneapolis, it's hard to avoid the presidential race. Tuesday, Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination before an immense crowd here. In a few months, John McCain will take to the same stage to accept the Republican nod.

This could be the first presidential election where the Internet is...

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Comcast: Worst. Company. Ever.

Posted April 19, 2008 | 02:59 PM (EST)


Inspired by March Madness, the folks at The Consumerist set up brackets to determine America's worst company. The tournament is still going on, but I'm not afraid to predict the winner.

It will be Comcast -- in a rout.

Sure, you skeptics are thinking, "What about Wal-Mart? Exxon? Halliburton?"

...
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Rank Disappointment

Posted April 9, 2008 | 01:05 PM (EST)


We're No. 4! We're No. 4! USA! USA! USA!

Today's New York Times touts a study that offers a new spin on America's digital decline. While every other recent study shows the United States falling further behind the rest of the world, a new Global Information Technology Report...

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The Future of the Internet: Going Public

Posted February 5, 2008 | 01:15 PM (EST)


The good folks over at Internet Evolution recently invited me to join in a discussion about what's in store for the series of tubes bringing you this post.

While I can't honestly claim to be among "the Internet's leading minds," as the site proclaims, I put forward an idea...

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FCC to Tribune: So Sue Me

Posted December 3, 2007 | 06:55 PM (EST)


Late on Friday -- which FCC watchers know is the only time new policies are announced- the agency effectively granted Tribune Co. further waivers [PDF] to operate both TV stations and the major daily newspaper in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Hartford Conn.

The FCC had been...

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