Reportback from the National Conference for Media Reform

The Prometheus crew had the pleasure of attending Free Press's 5th National Conference on Media Reform in Boston earlier this month. The conference brought together more than 2,500 visionary media activists, policy makers, journalists, academics and media makers from around the country who were interested in learning new ways to collaborate to improve our media system. Hot topics included net neutrality, broadband initiatives, coverage of labor issues, and, LPFM of course. It was exciting for staff and volunteers to learn more about the media reform movement and meet so many great people interested in collaborating with Prometheus to spread the word about LPFM.

Read on for the rest of the report back and to hear audio from our workshops...

Prometheus certainly felt the radio love in Boston, as our organization's three workshops and LPFM caucus were all very well attended. We were able to connect with a lot of great people from existing stations, including some of our barnraising LPFMs, and other Prometheus supporters who came by to say hi and express their appreciation for our efforts to pass the Local Community Radio Act. This is perhaps the greatest part of our job. Seeing the people who have successfully built stations and support our mission inspires us to push forward with our big campaign. Thanks for all the support!

In addition to giving workshops, we kicked off the Radio Summer campaign and recruited volunteers to support outreach around LPFM. But perhaps the most fun part of the NCMR had to be the Saturday night plenary. There longtime Prometheus leaders, Pete Tridish and Hannah Sassaman were honored for their work on the Local Community Radio Act, while a group folks involved with the campaign were also featured in a hula hoop extravaganza. We danced with hull hoops on stage to live music while footage from our direct action in DC played for the audience. Even Congressman Mike Doyle from PA grabbed a hoop! We'd like to give special thanks to Free Press for putting together another amazing conference and for supporting Prometheus' work on LPFM. We were truly honored for Prometheus to be prominently featured throughout the conference.

If you weren't able to make it, you can check out the audio from our workshops:

• In the Belly of the Beast: Washington Insiders and Outsiders Talk Effective Advocacy
• Mr. Radio Goes to Washington: Teaming up to Pass the Local Community Radio Act
• Put Your Hands on the Radio

Look for Prometheus at the NFCB and Allied Media Conferences in June!