Meet other people interested in community media, have some treats and hear Candace Clement of Free Press talk about the latest issues for community media, including the Cap Act (Community Action Preservation) and the state of the media today.

This from Candace: Every issue we care about is influenced by the media. The media set the terms of the debate, decide what’s news (and what isn’t), and shape our understanding of the world. Most of what we watch, read and hear is dominated by just a few giant corporations. But profit-obsessed corporate media fail to serve the public or hold our leaders accountable. Local news coverage is disappearing. Half of the country still doesn’t have high-speed Internet.

Free Press is a national non-profit organization based in Florence making sure the American people — not just high-priced lobbyists — get to decide who owns the media and what the future of the Internet looks like. And we advocate with partners on a range of issues including the crisis in journalism, the expansion of community and public media, and the open Internet.

Candace Clement is a Program Coordinator at Free Press, whose work focuses on fighting for a stronger public media system in America. She works with community-based organizations, public interest groups, academics and other allies to encourage participation in the media policy process. Candace served as a long-term volunteer for Northampton area community radio station Valley Free Radio prior to joining Free Press.