Events

Current Activites of FCM and in the past

Important Palestinian Peace Event

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  

Contact:  Spencer Graves (408) 655-4567                                   

PALESTINIAN PEACE ACTIVIST TO SPEAK THIS WEEKEND MAY 4 AND 5

Kansas City, Missouri – 4/29/24

Doctor Mubarak Awad, Palestinian-American from Jerusalem, will speak on “Standing up for Palestine”, with baklava donated by the Jerusalem Café available at 1:30 PM for the event at 2-4 PM, on Saturday, May 4th at All-Souls  Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut in Kansas City, followed by a Q&A session.

Awad Mubarak is a Christian Palestinian, born in Jerusalem in 1943. He has a PhD in psychology and has US citizenship. In 1983 he founded the Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence in Jerusalem. He was expelled by Israel in 1988 for organizing nonviolent civil disobedience in the First Intifada.  He then founded Nonviolence International, advocating for active nonviolence and nonviolent campaigns worldwide.

In the session about events in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire, ideas to be discussed include actions that people can take.  These include contacting senators and representatives, participating in peaceful demonstrations and events, putting up yard signs protesting the treatment of Gazans, advising religious communities to host a educational forums, and how to contribute to humanitarian aid for the region.

Dr. Awad will also speak at the 9:30 All-Souls forum on Sunday, May 5 to be broadcast on community radio station KKFI 90.1 FM May 14th 7-8 PM, and the event will also be available later on the YouTube “AllSoulsKC” the second “Forum”.

Donations requested.  Net proceeds will go to the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) for humanitarian aid. Contributions may be made  through the “donate” button on the ourfcm.org website, or by mailing a check to “Friends of Community Media”, 3707 Pennsylvania Ave, KC, MO 64111.  

Friends of Community Media is a 501(c)3 Kansas City non-profit organization founded in 2007, with the goal of promoting community-based media.  It also assists local groups to create independent media, influence existing media, and promote diverse media ownership.

In its history it has conducted the “Media 4 Us week” literacy event, sponsored progressive media awards, brought in guest speakers on media topics, worked with the United Minority Media Association, and conducted media literacy classes. 

Information on this event and on Friends of Community Media may  found on the group’s website:  ourfcm.org.

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Looks Interesting

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Training Session for Netroots Nation 2024! Will you please help choose the title?” – Sue Wilson
 
1. “How Local Communities can Hold TV and Radio Stations Accountable”
2. “Empowering Local Communities by Holding the FCC Accountable”
3. “Making Local Broadcasters Accountable to Your Community”
4. “How to make Local Broadcasters Accountable to Your Community”
5. “How to Stop Local TV and Radio from Poisoning Your Air” Don’t like any? I’m open to suggestions. THANKS!

Sue Wilson may be contacted on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/SueWilsonTV

 

Decline in Local News Coverage Affects All Americans

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From Associated Press 11/15/23

“The decline of local news in the United States is speeding up despite attention paid to the issue, to the point where the nation has lost one-third of its newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists since 2005.” Giant media corporations continue to dominate American information outlets – even digital media decline.

https://apnews.com/article/local-newspapers-closing-jobs-3ad83659a6ee070ae3f39144dd840c1b

FCM Meeting Next Week

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Want to learn more about the media?

The next monthly meeting and potluck for Friends of Community Media will be held at 5 PM CST, October 28th at 3707 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City.  Issues discussed will be upcoming events.

Program Next Week on Information Access

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Spencer Graves, President of Friends of Community Media, will address the All-Souls Forum in Kansas City on Oct. 29th from 9:30 – 10:30 AM CST. The media-related topic will be “Information is a public good: Experiments in better government”.

This will be occur both in person at All Souls UU Church, 4501 Walnut Street, KCMO 64111, and via YouTube Live at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIoASyxWDu-DqHJZh-2gcjQ

The audio from the presentation will also be broadcast 11 days later on Nov. 9th on:

http://kkfi.org

Below is a related link to Mr. Graves’ Wikiversity article called, “Information is a public good: Designing experiments to improve government”. This article covers the topic in more detail than will be discussed Oct. 29:

https://kkfi.org/program-episodes/information-is-a-public-good-experiments-in-better-government/

FCM Sponsors Event With Community of Reason

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Friends of Community Media is now a co-sponsor for the Oct. 29th session of Community of Reason. This program (2-4 PM CST) will feature Romary Daval, General Secretary of “Un Bout des Médias” (translates – a purpose for the media), speaking to us via Zoom from Paris.

“Un Bout des Médias” is roughly a French counterpart to the U.S. Freepress.net but their activism program seems to be getting more traction than the media reform movement in the US is getting. They actively raise funds for nonprofit journalism organizations giving journalists more power in editorial decisions than may be possible in the U.S. due to legal structures.

For information:

 

http://www.communityofreasonkc.org/

Friends of Community Media Annual Meeting

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Greetings:

      April 8, 2-4 PM, is the time for the 2023 annual meeting for Friends of Community Media.  This will be a hybrid event followed by a pot luck in the Oak Room of Oak Hall, 4550 Warwick Blvd, KCMO 64111.  Zoom credentials appear below.

      People who wish to attend in person are asked to RSVP, so I can notify the Oak Hall reception staff of whom to admit.

      Help us plan a series of events featuring local media leaders discussing media reform to improve democracy.

* McChesney recommends distributing 0.15% of GDP (roughly $100 per person per year) to local new organizations via local elections.

* This is comparable to the US Postal Service Act of 1792, which helped catapult the US into its leadership position in the world today.

* Most cities could fund this by matching what they spend for accounting, advertising, media and public relations.       Dues are $10 per year.  FCM members who have not contributed at least

$10 since January of this year can pay in person or via the PayPal “Donate” button on the “Donate” page: “https://ourfcm.org/donate/“.

      The key agenda item will be to elect four people for 2-year terms on the Board.  The terms of Spencer Graves, Lynn Norris, and Richard Thompson end with this meeting.  Susan Sarachek was on our board but is no longer with us.  (Tom Crane, Craig Lubow, and Greg Swartz were elected to 2-year terms last year.  Their terms will expire with the 2024 annual meeting.) 

Other agenda items will include a proposed series of public events with local media leaders, a fund raiser at Hamburger Mary’s scheduled for April 29 (Saturday), Grassroots Radio Conference,

Also considered will be the past, future, and management of this website.  A more detailed agenda will be distributed as we get closer.

Hope to see you then.      Spencer Graves, President, Friends of Community Media. 408-655-4567