Page 8 – Friends of Community Media

Net-Neutrality Forum

July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 by enarcmot

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Spencer Graves (408) 655-4567

FORUM ON NET NEUTRALITY EFFORTS TO TAKE PLACE IN ON SATURDAY

Kansas City, July 10, 2017 – On Saturday July 15^th, Friends of Community Media (FCM) will convene the first of a series of forums on the media at 2:30 PM in the annex-room at 39^thand Main (rear door) in Kansas City. This meeting includes a panel with open-media advocate Spencer Graves and (tentatively) Ernesto Falcon, an attorney and Legislative Council with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a citizen’s advocacy group specializing in Internet law, and possibly others. Bring your concerns and questions.

This forum will discuss the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission under the Trump Administration to reverse the 2015 Open Internet rules with a “Notice of proposed rulemaking 17-60A1 on Restoring Internet Freedom”: Trump’s FCC wants to restore the freedom of telecoms like Comcast to censor your internet usage, destroying net neutrality. The “data” justifying this change were cherry-picked, according to the New York Times, FCC Commissioner Clyburn and others.

Recent polls by Mozilla and Civis Analytica found that 76 and 77 percent of Americas support net neutrality. [1]

The forum will encourage citizens and groups to send comments on this proposed change to the FCC before their July 17 deadline and to your representatives in the US House and Senate. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is via “BattleForTheNet.com”.

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Friends of Community Media is a Kansas City nonprofit group working to enable citizens to create their own media and influence existing media. FCM promotes diversity both in media ownership and diversity in views that media portray to the public.

[1] Sam Gustin, “Most Americans Support the Net Neutrality Rules that Trump’s FCC Wants to Kill”, Motherboard, July 10, 2017.

Upcoming events

June 28, 2017June 28, 2017 by enarcmot

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 15th FCM Forum on Net Neutrality – at 39th & Main – KKFI Annex Room 2:30 – 4:00

July 20th FCM/KKFI Broadcast ascertainment forum – KKFI Annex Room

August 5th FCM Net Neutrality Forum 2 – KKFI Annex Room 2:30 – 4:00

September – FCM Forum – War on the Media – To be announced

By-laws meeting

June 28, 2017June 23, 2017 by enarcmot

Meeting Sunday, 7/2/17 at 39th and Main 11:30 AM at the KKFI conference room to prepare the final draft of the FCM bylaws changes for presentation to the FCM board. All welcome to attend.

Next FCM meeting

June 4, 2017June 3, 2017 by enarcmot

Next FCM meeting will be Saturday 6/10/17 at the KKFI annex, 39th and Main, Noon.

Gordon suggested a by-laws change to remove the staggered terms and term limits for the time being, since we are a small group . This will be the second reading of the proposed change at this meeting, and be voted on, on June 10th. Text of the proposed change is available on this FCM website.

Craig has agreed to work on a wholesale change of all the by-laws and a meeting to discuss this will happen soon. However, we will do the second reading of the by-laws change and vote on it. We have 10 voting members to enact a change, and a quorum of members according to the current by-laws must be met.

Agenda items welcome

Items included so far:

Progress on planning for a late June event “War on the Media” will be discussed.

We will also set up a calendar on the website which Spencer can maintain, and a media news blog which Craig has offered to maintain.

-=Tom Crane=-

FCM By-laws change proposal

May 12, 2017May 12, 2017 by enarcmot

Due to the current size of the organization and the difficulties in managing the membership of the board, Gordon pointed out that the current Friends of Community Media by-laws should be amended. Currently Article VI, Section 2 reads

“Sec. 2. The board of directors shall consist of no less than five and no more than eleven directors. At the regularly scheduled membership meeting taking place immediately before the annual meeting the number of board members to be elected for that year will be determined by a vote of the members. All directors shall be elected by the membership, and a majority of the members of the board shall be elected from the membership. In each odd numbered year, half plus one of the members of the board shall be elected, with the remainder of the board being elected in the following even numbered year. Each member of the board of directors shall serve for a term of two years, and may be elected to no more than two consecutive terms.”

A motion is in order to remove the following lines from Article VI, Section 2 of the Friends of Community Media By-laws enacted on 3/28/07.

“In each odd numbered year, half plus one of the members of the board shall be elected, with the remainder of the board being elected in the following even numbered year. Each member of the board of directors shall serve for a term of two years, and may be elected to no more than two consecutive terms.”

The complete Article VI, Section 2 of the Friends of Community Media By-laws would now read,

Ascertainment at KKFI 4/20/17

April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 by enarcmot

Community ascertainment at KKFI – all welcome

Just a reminder of what MC Richardson has been working on to make our organizations more inclusive. This would be a good chance to explain and learn why media awareness and reform are important. Attached is a flyer we will pass out as well an updated FCM fact sheet.

I’d encourage anyone that can, to attend.

-=Tom Crane=-

The news release is below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2017

Contact Person – M.C. Richardson

Coordinator and Consultant

Mobile (816) 694-2273

KKFI 90.1 FM COMMUNITY ASCERTAINMENT FORUM

KKFI MID-COAST RADIO PROJECT,INC. will host its FIRST Community Ascertainment Forum this Thursday April 20, 2017 in KKFI Annex Room 6-8 p.m. location 3901 Main Street after 5:00 p.m.

you must enter rear entrance and park in Great American Bank’s Parking Lot. Take elevator to second level.

Mid-Coast Radio Project, Inc. KKFI is one of 200 Community Stations in the nation non commercial will bring together 18 Community Organizations, Agencies or Neighborhood Groups to voice their concerns and or issues for the betterment of Kansas City. These organizations are normally overlooked by previous held ascertainment gatherings, nor are the groups able to share their upcoming events with these meetings.

Some of the guest organizations include: Black Agenda Group, KCMO and Northeast Johnson County NAACP, Greater Kansas City Buffalo Soldiers 150 Celebration, Juneteenth Emancipation Proclamation Celebration, KCMO Human Relations Civil Rights Div., Midtown Kiwanis of Kansas City, FIRST CALL Drug and Alcohol Abuse,, League of Women Votes of Jackson County/Clay/Platte Counties, NEW GRAY PANTHERS, Eggs and Enlightenment, 24 HOUR FAITH TRAINING CENTER, Friends of Community Media Hogan College Prep Academy, TY-COR Great Plains Indians and Watkins Foundation Slave Cemeteries History.

This first of a kind event has invited various Media Groups located in Greater Kansas City which attendees can greet and meet. KKFI which is THE FLAG SHIP. And targeting PEOPLE of COLOR not limit to. Event Open to Public Refreshments served.

Other KKFI Community Ascertainment Forums scheduled for 2017 are July 20th and October 26th. Interviews can be arranged and electric outlets are available if needed.

Newspapers needing photos contact Jerry Lockett at (816) 588-9264, Groovy Grant (816) 756-7620 or M.C. Richardson