free103point9 Dispatch Series subscribers just received copies of The Dust Dive Flash's Tens of Thousands CD. Largely a solo effort, as all songs were written and performed by Laura Ortman (violin, vocals, electric guitar, piano, chord organ, Casio). Ortman got a little help too from producer Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, John Zorn, Swans, others), and photographer (see cover, above) and fellow Dust Diver Bryan Zimmerman. You can listen to an mp3 of "Gone and Placed to the Land" from Tens of Thousands here, and buy a copy for $8 here.

From Media Network weblog:

The Times reports that the Russians are suspected of involvement in the disruption of the BBC’s Russian Service FM broadcasts in Moscow and St Petersburg, at the height of coverage of the poisoning in London of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko. The FM transmitter that carries the 4-hour daily broadcast in St Petersburg was off the air from 13 November to 1 December. During this period the poison story broke, Litvinenko died and, in a final statement, accused Mr Putin of his murder.

In Moscow the FM broadcasts went off air on 24 November, the day after Litvinenko’s death, and have not resumed since. Sarah Gibson, the head of the BBC Russian Service, told The Times that this was the first time that the FM transmissions had been stopped. She said that the Russians had blamed “technical difficulties” for the suspension. The service is still broadcast on shortwave and mediumwave, but the FM transmission is the most accessible in the Russian capital, where most of the one million Russian Service listeners live.

A member of the Russian Service said that the 40 Russian journalists working for the BBC in Moscow were fearful for their safety if the Litvinenko story continued to dominate the headlines.

"The service is still broadcast on short wave and [local] medium wave, although the FM transmission is the most accessible in the Russian capital, where most of the one million Russian Service listeners live. A member of the Russian Service said that staff suspected that the broadcasts were taken off air to stop Muscovites hearing allegations that Russian security services were linked to the Litvinenko killing. The staff member added that the 40 Russian journalists working for the BBC in Moscow were fearful for their safety if the Litvinenko story continued to dominate the headlines." Times Online, 9 December 2006

From CMedford at Red Herring:

Neither television nor the movies could do it, but regulators in the United Kingdom are considering the end of AM and FM radio on the grounds that they have both outlived their usefulness, and digital services could make better use of the spectrum occupied by both bands. Ofcom, the U.K.’s communications regulator, published a statement that said many of the AM and FM licenses are up for renewal and an automatic renewal could tie up very valuable slices of spectrum for 24 years, so the time is right for a long-term decision....By making a decision on the future of analog commercial radio now, the U.K regulator argues, it will have more flexibility in the use of the VHF Band II spectrum currently occupied by FM radio. Ofcom believes that the spectrum would be put to better use if it were allotted to emerging services such as mobile TV and more digital radio and data services.

“FM radio re-uses a limited number of frequencies in a patchwork across the U.K. to deliver around 300 local BBC and commercial services and five UK-wide networks,” said the Ofcom statement. “Any alternative uses for those frequencies would require large chunks of that spectrum to be freed-up simultaneously—something a rolling re-licensing process does not allow for,” the statement continued.

From Boing Boing:

A Platform for RFID Security and Privacy Administration is a paper by Melanie R. Rieback and Georgi N. Gaydadjiev that won the award for Best Paper at the USENIX LISA (Large Installation Systems Administration) conference today. It proposes a "firewall for RFID tags" -- a device that sits on your person and jams the signals from all your personal wireless tags (transit passes, etc), then selectively impersonates them according to rules you set. Your contactless transit card will only send its signal when you authorize it, not when some jerk with an RFID scanner snipes it as you walk down the street. The implementation details are both ingenious and plausible -- it's a remarkable piece of work. Up until now, the standard answer to privacy concerns with RFIDs is to just kill them -- put your new US Passport in a microwave for a few minutes to nuke the chip. But with an RFID firewall, it might be possible to reap the benefits of RFID without the cost. This is a must-read paper for anyone who cares about electronic privacy and who wants to catch a glimpse of the future.

Tag Spoofing Demystified

RFID readers produce an electromagnetic field that powers up RFID tags, and provides them with a reference signal (e.g. 13.56 MHz) that they can use for internal timing purposes. Once an RFID tag decodes a query from an RFID reader (using its internal circuitry), it encodes its response by turning on and off a resistor in synchronization with the reader’s clock signal. This so-called “load modulation” of the carrier signal results in two sidebands, which are tiny peaks of radio energy, just higher and lower than the carrier frequency. Tag response information is transmitted solely in these sidebands2, rather than in the carrier signal. Figure 5 (from the RFID Handbook[6]) illustrates how these sidebands look, in relation to the reader-generated carrier frequency. The comparatively tiny sidebands have approximately 90 decibels less power than the reader-generated carrier signal, and this is the reason why RFID tag responses often have such a limited transmission range.

The secret to creating fake tag responses is to generate the two sideband frequencies, and use them to send back properly-encoded responses, that are synchronized with the RFID reader’s clock signal. The simplest way to generate these sidebands is to imitate an RFID tag, by turning on and off a load resistor with the correct timing. The disadvantage of this approach is that passive modulation of the reader signal will saddle our fake tag response with identical range limitations as real RFID tags (˜10 cm for our test setup).

From Rhizome:

Brooklyn's Monkey Town is a one-of-a-kind venue presenting the interactive installations, video, music, and performance work of international artists in a multi-channel environment. The venue stays afloat by doubling as a highly-regarded restaurant, making the pleasure of spectatorship all the more synesthetic. Recently, this artist-run space encountered financial difficulties and a community of New York artists responded immediately, helping them face the threat of closure by organizing a massive new media holiday party. For one night only, Monkey Town will take over Greenpoint's Polish-American Discotheque, Europa, to present performances by quasi-animatronic pop star My Robot Friend, computer vision maestro Golan Levin, and the always hilariously poignant stylings of Dynasty Handbag. The December 7th event will be emceed by Nicklcat and will also feature DJing by No Ordinary Monkey and live video performances by Luke Dubois, Adam Kendall, Ray Sweeten, and others at the forefront of New York's contemporary audio-visual art scene. The party runs from 8pm-2am and tickets are $12-20. - Marisa Olson

12th International Media Art Biennale WRO 07 Competition :: 16 - 20 May 2007, Wroclaw, Poland.

WRO Foundation for Media Art in Wroclaw/Poland, announces an international competition open to any work created using electronic media techniques, exploring innovative forms of artistic communication. The competition welcomes creators of artistic projects of diverse forms such as screenings (video art, computer animation), installations, objects, performances, multimedia concerts and network projects from all over the world. The main prize is 5000. The deadline date for entry submission is 15.02.2007.

Presentation of shortlisted works and the international jury's announcement of the competition results will take place during public screening at the WRO 07 Biennale. The competition regulations and entry form are available in downloadable format at http://wro07.wrocenter.pl. Requests to receive the regulations and entry form by post can be made at print[at]wrocenter.pl.

Asking for 30 second original sound works focusing on McCarren Park, Brooklyn.
Each 30 second work will become part of a larger sound piece to be installed at experimental art/video/dining space, Monkeytown, N. 3rd, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Requirements:
1. Final piece must be precisely 30 seconds in length.
2. Original audio must have been recorded at McCarren Park, Brooklyn.
Besides above requirements, anything goes.
Deadline:
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Send submissions and questions to:
Greg - gregallenmuller@yahoo.com
Preferred formats are .AIFF, and .WAV no larger than 8 MB.
Less preferred format is MP3, but if you must send in this format please make it the highest quality possible. Feel free to submit more than one. If this is not possible then please email me and we can arrange a drop-off. Thanks. This is hopefully the first of many projects in which I will be exploring all of the physical
elements, concepts and perception of sound. I am looking to expand my base of sound artists as well as the size and stature of these projects.

free103point9 Online Radio
December 2006 Top 40

1. Compiled by TJ Norris, triMIX: TribrydInstallation Soundtracks Deconstructed (Innova)
With Scanner, Beequeen, Humectant Interruption, M. Behrens, Asmus Tietchens, Nobukazu Takemura, Illusion of Safety, and others.
2. Phantom Limb & Tetuzi Akiyama, Hot Ginger (Archive)
Recorded June, 2006 at free103point9 Project Space in Brooklyn.
3. Edmund Mooney, Happy Trails (self)
4. Pauline Oliveros, Lion's Eye/Lion's Tale (Deep Listening)
5. Dave Burrell, Momentum (High Two)
6. Jonny Farrow, Suite for Broken Rhodes/Sketches of a Cleaning Building (self)
7. Sonic Liberation Front, Change Overtime (High Two)
8. North Guinea Hills, North Guinea Hills et. al. (self)
With Patrick McCarthy, Michael Garafalo, Laura Harrison, Sean Smith, and others.
9. Charter Oak, three song CD (self)
With Tianna Kennedy, Brendon Anderegg, Chris Millstein, Lucas Jansen, and Rob Hatch-Miller.
10. Laura Ortman, Tens of Thousands (free103point9 Audio Dispatch 029)
11. Fortner Anderson + tape/head, he sings (Wired on Words)
12. Sybarite, Cut Out Shape (Temporary Residence)
13. Juan Matos Capote, the subway aural recordings (self)
14. Various artists, The Art of the Virtual Rhythmicon (Innova)
With Jeff Feddersen, Matthew Burtner, Janek Schaefer, Annie Gosfield, and others.
15. Caustic Castle, Caustic Castle mini-CD (804noise)
16. ben owen, radio in (Winds Measure Recordings)
17. chefkirk, Giant Squid (804noise 006)
18. Giancarlo Bracchi, Universal Soul Adaptor (self)
19. Viki, compilation (Animal Disguise)
20. FFFFs, I Can Hear Summer Coming (Sockets)
21. DJ Slip, She's a Time Traveller (Broklyn Beats)
22. Prana Trio, After Dark (Circavision)
23. Scanner with MCs from the New Horizon Youth Centre, Night Jam (Bette)
24. Mammal, "No Hope/In the Mood" 7" (Chondritic Sound)
25. Sic Alps, Pleasures and Treasures (Animal Disguise)
26. Sabir Mateen's Shapes, Textures, and Sound Ensemble, Prophecies Comes to Pass (577)
27. Andrey Kiritchenko, Stuffed With/Out (self)
28. Fluorescent Grey, Lying on the floor mingling with god in a tijuana motel room next door to a veterinary supply store (Isolate Records)
29. Shawn Hansen, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas trapped in outer space (Evolving Ear)
30. Lycaon Pictus, Personal Disaster (Avant-God)
31. Sybarite, Remix/Mash-up for Temprary Residence Fest at Bowery Ballroom (Temporary Residence)
32. Todd Merrell, Neptune (Dreamland Recordings)
33. The Caution Curves, a little hungry (Sockets)
34. Andy McWain + Albey Balgochian + Laurence Cook, Vigil (Fuller Street Music)
35. Jeff Arnal + Gordon Befferman, Rogue States (Generate)
36. Jeff Rehnlund, our thin mercy of error (self)
37. Jeph Jerman + Albert Casais, and this (Winds Measure Recordings)
38. Tor Lundvall, Empty City (Strange Fortune)
39. Judy Dunaway, Mother of Balloon Music (innova)
With Damian Catera, Flux Quartet, Ryuko Mizutani, and others.
40. Mammal, Let Me Die (Animal Disguise)

From post.thing.net:

The Experimental Television Center announces the next deadline for the Artists in Residency Program, December 15th, 2006, for residencies between February and June 30, 2007. The Residency supports contemporary electronic media art projects. The studio workshop environment offers access to an image processing system, intensive individualized instruction and time for exploration and personal creative growth. Artists have an opportunity to study the processes and techniques of analog and digital imaging and to then use the system independently in the creation of new works. Participating artists have complete aesthetic and technical control over all aspects of the making process.

The image processing system is a hybrid tool set which facilitates interactive relationships between older historically important analog instruments such as colorizers and keyers, and new digital technologies using a G5, several G4s, a customized Doepfer A-100 system with sonic and control modules, software including Max/MSP, Jitter and Pluggo, as well as DVD authoring and editing software, DVD Studio Pro and Flash. Recording is mini-DV/DV and DVD. Svhs and 3/4" decks are also available. This rich electronic environment encourages artists to explore boundaries and intersections within narrative, documentary and social issue traditions as well as more experimental forms. A complete list is available by email and on the web in the News section. The postmark deadline is December 15th. You are encouraged to email the written materials. To apply please send the following:
1. A brief project description
2. A current resume
3. A prioritized set of dates between February 1 and June 30, 2007.
4. A sample of completed work with SASE if you wish it returned.

DIYmedia does an excellent job breaking down all the information from the Federal Communications Commission web site about enforcement actions against microcasters. DIY's latest chart shows 40 contacts with New York microcasters plus a number from northern New Jersey, which sounds like a major increase until you look closer and see that most "contacts" are letters to the same people over and over again.

The FCC typically investigates and observes stations, then sends warning letters and makes "casual" visits to the locations of the transmissions, before moving on to search warrants and $10,000 fines. But they count all these actions as contacts. So Arlene Capell (3), Kacy Rankine (5, $10,000 fine last notice), Elroy Simpson (7, $10,000 fine), Carmen Spencer (3, warning letter), Denver McIntyre (2, warning), Moises and Juan Cabrera (2, $10,000 fine), Shawn Deroux (2, $17,000 fine), Denyse Roberts (2, warning), and a handful of real estate shops (presumably, they are sending letters to landlords too) made up almost all of the New York microcasting contacts so far this year.

New York City metropolitan microcasters used 87.9, 89.7, 90.1, 90.9, 94.5, 95.9, 96.1, 96.7, 99.1, 102.3, and 103.1. Most contacted seem from the reports to be ethnic or religious minorities, with music programming that does not exist on much of the rest of the New York City dial. The FCC continues to miss many NYC-based microcasters, such as the hip hop station that's on from 10 p.m. to midnight on 91.9-FM, and the other night time hip hop station on 88.7.

From The Economist via Pasta and Vinegar:

The last issue of The Economist has a good article about the phone of the future. Some quotes of this compelling overview:
The chances are that phones will not only look very different—they may not even be seen.(…) And even if they are still called “phones”—a word derived from the Greek word for voice—making voice calls may no longer be their primary function.
(…) “The cellphone is not a telephone. It is a—I don’t know what it is. A communications device? A tool I carry in my pocket?” says Don Norman
(…)
One thing that is clear is that phones will pack a lot more computing power in future, and will be able to do more and more of the things that PCs are used for today—and more besides. (…) In a decade’s time a typical phone will have enough storage capacity to be able to video its user’s entire life, says Mr Lindoff. Tom MacTavish, a researcher at Motorola Labs, predicts that such “life recorders” will be used for everything from security to settling accident claims with insurance firms.
(…)
Researchers at Nokia, meanwhile, speculate that within a decade, the cost of storage will have fallen so far that it might be possible to store every piece of music ever recorded in a single chip that could be included in each phone.
(…)
No doubt other new functions will be incorporated into phones. But which ones? (…) they might subsume the other two items that are generally carried everywhere, namely wallets and keys.
(…)
handset-makers now make different devices optimised for particular tasks such as music, photography or e-mail, and combinations thereof. The next step, suggests Stephen Randall of LocaModa, a wireless-services firm, will be a great decoupling, as the screen, keypad and earpiece start to become separate components, or are replaced by other completely new technologies.
(…)
Some users might choose to hook up separate screens and keyboards when needed, such as when answering e-mail or browsing the web. Already, early examples of such technologies exist. And there are even more elaborate alternatives. Tiny projectors inside handsets could allow walls, tabletops or screens made of flexible materials to be used as displays while on the move (…) This approach also makes it possible to overlay information on the real world, which could be useful when giving directions. Your phone might even label people at a party or conference to remind you of their names.
(…)
“virtual keyboard” onto a flat surface….Voice-recognition systems ….use of brainwaves to interface.

The ability to superimpose images and sound upon reality means that future phones will “create layers on our world”, says Pierre de Vries of the Annenberg Centre for Communication at the University of Southern California. Users will always be connected, he says, but in concentric circles of conversations and interactions that range from people right next to them to those far away.

“When I try to make predictions, I don’t look at what I see in the technical realm, I look at what I see in the social realm,” says Mr Norman. He has recently been investigating how children interact with each other and with technology. “They are never alone with their own thoughts,” he says. Instead, they listen to music while texting and talking with friends next to them. “We are learning that we never have to be away from people,” says Mr Norman.

One-time meeting between Tetuzi Akiyama and Phantom Limb (1/2 of PSI) recorded in June, 2006 at the free103point9 Project Space in Brooklyn. The recording, released on the Archive label, is a 30-minute improv drone piece for two guitars and two organs. free103point9 has a different recording of the set up on its Audio Archive page.

From Daily Wireless:

A report from four University of Washington researchers says Nike’s RFID-embedded shoe that links to an Apple iPod, using the $29 Nike + iPod Sport Kit, makes it easy for tech-savvy stalkers to track your movements, even plot your running routes on a Google map without your knowledge. Wired explains the Nike+ iPod gives runners real-time updates about the speed and length of their workouts. A small transmitter in the soles of Nike shoes broadcasts workout data to a small receiver plugged into an iPod Nano.

The RFID in the shoe sensor contains its own on-board power source, essentially turning your running shoe into a small radio station capable of being received from up to 60 feet away, with a signal powerful enough to be picked up from a passing car. Compare this with the roughly 3-centimeter to 10-inch read range of a typical consumer-grade RFID, such as the kind you find in smart tags in Gap clothing or in credit cards, which is passively powered by the reader. In their report, the researchers detail a scenario in which a stalker who wants to know when his ex-girlfriend is at home taps into her Nike+ iPod system. He simply hides the gumstix device next to her door, and it registers her presence as she passes by in her Nike shoes. If he adds a small “wifistix” antenna to the device, it can transmit this information to any nearby Wi-Fi access point and alert him to her presence via SMS or by plotting her location on Google Maps.

free103point9 is included a new book, and a scholarly essay. University of Wisconsin-Madison's Peter Brinson writes an essay "Libertion Frequency: The Free Radio Movement and Alternative Strategies of Media Relations" in "The Sociological Quarterly" #47. Click here to read the PDF. The essay is an excellent overview of the late 1990s microradio movement, how it led to an LPFM movement, and the implications of both. (There is one error: free103point9 is described as an all-DJ station, which was never the case.) free103point9 began as a microradio station at the same time as Grid Radio, Free Radio Berkeley, Free Radio Memphis, Radio Mutiny (in Philadelphia, with some members evolving into the Prometheus Radio Project), and others.


Wesleyan University Press just released Alan Gilbert's "Another Future: Poetry and Art in a Postmodern Twilight," which starts off with "Sound Mappings: free103point9's Constructive Engagement." The review, originally printed in "The Brooklyn Rail," breaks down the LP that combines field recordings from various political protests, with manipulated sounds from Matt Mikas, Transmaniacon MC, Tom Roe, Kelly Benjamin, and others. With disparate but connected topics -- from the Barbie Liberation Organization to Martha Rosler, and C. S. Giscombe's poetry to Gregory Green's "M.I.T.A.R.B.U." mobile transmission vehicle -- the book is smart, revealing, and on point throughout.

Radiovisionen: a series of productions and a prologue look back at a
confrontation with the future of the medium radio. The format of Radiovisionen places the focus on the future, as seen against a historical backdrop. The development of and practical reflection on utopian and dystopian visions of radiophony form the center of Radiovisionen - 250 Years of Radio. The title suggests a chance to gain insight beyond current discussions of technical developments, and the subtitle is a both fictional and an historical anticipation: a double flip with a twist. As bold as these concepts might appear, their intent is serious. Independent from the actual business of broadcasting, the planned discussions of radio's future should reach well beyond questions of ratings and format, registering constructive demands on
the medium itself.

Prologue
The project begins with one weekend in March, 2007: the prologue.
Artists, scientists, radiomakers, futurologists, and related thinkers
come together in an informal context to present their visions of the
future and discuss their work in an interdisciplinary environment.
Attention will not only focus on new media in general and radio in
particular, but also on political, economic, and sociological trends
and utopias. The prologue will be documented using various media; its
goal is to determine materials and scenarios for four radio visions,
which will be developed by selected artists and presented on four
weekends in October, 2007. Radio visions are Science-Fiction.

Production
In order to cover the broadest possible spectrum of subjects and
interests, the four radio visions should have very different points
of departure. Productions should emerge which are independent from
the contemporary broadcasting business. Radiovisionen grants the
invited artists as much freedom as possible to find the most
appropriate form to communicate their conceptions. A minimum of 5000
EUR and the Tesla Berlin Studio are available for the realization of each
vision. In addition, Deutschland-radio Kultur, WDR, SWR, ORF, and the c-base have expressed interest in cooperation.

Program
The highlights are the premières of the four radio visions: four
designs for a radio of the future, an invitation to reflect on what
radio can achieve and signify in the future; ideally, a stimulus for
the daily routine of the media. The radio visions will be presented
Fridays and Saturdays from October 5th until the 27th, 2007 in the Kubus of Tesla. In the week after each première, the supporting program will include discussions, lectures and presentations of historic utopian visions of radio. In addition, listening stations will provide access to previous presentations and materials from the prologue.

Parallels
The process of Radiovisionen has indirect forerunners in other media;
examples can be found in the proto-LSD novel, "St. Petri Schnee", by
Leo Perutz (Vienna, 1933); Robert Scheckley's, "The Prize of Peril"
(1958), which was the model for Wolfgang Menge's and Tom Toelle's
"Das Millionenspiel" (WDR, 1970) - killer TV in reality format - or
Stanislav Lem's "Wielko urojona" (1973), a series of fictional reviews.

People
Radiovisionen will be supervised by Martina Groß, Andreas Hagelüken,
Séamus O'Donnell, Moritz von Rappard and Johannes Wilms - the team
from Radiotesla, which has presented "programs, fragments and
impressions from the past, present and future of radio," since 2005
in the Podewils'sches Palais.

Contact
Please send comments, questions, and project proposals before November 30, 2006 to:
Tesla Berlin / RADIOTESLA, Moritz von Rappard, Klosterstraße 68, 10179 Berlin or: production.mvr@tesla-berlin.de

From Media Network weblog:

Burundi authorities detained the head of a private radio station today over the broadcasting of information deemed to threaten state and public security, officials said. The arrest of Matthias Manirakiza, the head of Radio Isanganiro, brings to three the number of journalists working for private media to be arrested in a week in connection with a vaguely defined coup plot. “Magistrates have decided to detain the director of Radio Isanganiro, Mr Manirakiza, at the central Mpimba prison for authorising the broadcast of information that can threaten state and public security,” said Raphael Gahungu, Manirakiza’s lawyer. Manirakiza was detained a day after authorities grilled two journalists from the private Radio Public Africaine for allegedly divulging information about an ongoing probe into the coup plot against Burundi’s year-old government. “Manirakiza’s fate had been determined beforehand,” Gahungu said. “It was evident from the number of police officers sent here and the denial of access to journalists at the court.” Manirakiza was driven straight to prison after being interrogated by judicial officers for nearly three hours. In August, his station said that police had prepared a fake attack at the presidential palace to back claims of the alleged putsch, for which the country’s former president Domitien Ndayizeye and six other high-ranking politician have been detained. “The government is brazenly violating the law. This government is no longer hiding that it wants to silence private radios that denounce the numerous abuses committed in this country,” Frank Kaze, the head of Burundi’s journalists’ union, told AFP. “We are asking the international community to pressure the government so that justice can be done,” he added. The Bujumbura government has come under fire since it launched a crackdown in August against those suspected to be behind the ill-defined coup, with some observers saying it is becoming increasingly intolerant of criticism. Last week, five private radio stations muted their news broadcasts to protest the detention of the two journalists detained for allegedly breaching judicial and state secrecy by reporting on the coup. (Source: AFP)

Radio creates a dimension in which various communities can meet, exchange, discuss, and develop ideas, transforming the way we think of notions of geography and public place. Since cyberspace and advanced technologies in media have not yet reached much of the developing world, radio is still the most accessible medium for sharing knowledge across borders and in spite of time and space. As non-visual medium, it has gained additional prominence in politically charged situations where a certain degree of anonymity is necessary. What political, cultural, and humanitarian goals can be served by this medium exclusively? How does radio function as a tool for shared information? This panel discusses the longevity of the medium and the ability of the airwaves to keep the world connected where technology fails. Panelists include Pete Tridish, founder, Prometheus Radio Project; William H. Siemering, president, Developing Radio Partners; Khin Phyu Htway, student, The New School and contributor to Voice of America, Burmese service; and Gregory Whitehead, writer and artist. Moderated by Stephanie Guyer-Stevens, producer, Outer Voices. This event is presented as part of the Vera List Center's program cycle on The Public Domain.
Wed., Nov. 29, 6:30 p.m. $8.
at Theresa Lang Center, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor.

From Times Herald-Record by Paul Brooks

Hyde Park — Local news is hard to find in the Hudson Valley and likely to fade even more unless federal officials curb the trend toward media consolidation.
About 250 people sent that message loud and clear last night. The call fell on the friendly ears of FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who will vote sometime soon on possible changes in the Federal Communications Commission's regulations on media ownership. Copps held the hearing at the FDR Library at the invitation of Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley. The discussion panel included Hinchey's soon-to-be colleague and fellow Democrat, Rep.-elect John Hall, and Roberto Calderin, principal of the New Windsor Elementary School in the Newburgh School District. The media scene in the Hudson Valley is grim, organizers said. The big cities in the region have only one daily newspaper each. The weeklies are owned by either one big chain or a regional chain, for the most part. Most local radio stations don't cover local news on their own anymore, and local television news is equally hard to find, they said.

"Instead of investing in local reporting, large media companies are far more likely to make staff cuts ... and produce generic news content that is not connected to local communities," said William Hoynes, a professor at Vassar College. If approved, the new FCC regulations would allow ownership of TV, radio and newspapers in the same area by fewer and fewer corporations. "Ultimately, you allow them to control the ideas people hold," Hinchey said. "It is being done purposefully to corrupt the political debate." Copps said that public pressure can make a difference. "We can win this," he said. "I believe people want a new deal for their media. Let's go and get it for them."

M/C is a crossover journal between the popular and the academic, and a blind- and peer-reviewed journal. In 2007, M/C Journal celebrates its tenth year in publication.

Call for Papers: 'mobile.' Edited by Larissa Hjorth & Olivia Khoo

Convergence has become part of burgeoning mobile media. The mobile phone has come of age. As an integral component of visual media cultures, camera phone practices are arguably both extending and creating emerging ways of seeing and representing. In media footage of late, camera phones have been heralded as providing everyday users with the possibility of self- expression and voice in the once unidirectional model of mass media. In addition, the "exchange" and gift-giving economy underpinning mobile phone practices (Taylor and Harper 2003) is further enunciated by the camera phone's ability to "share" moments between intimates (and strangers) through various contextual frameworks and archives from MMS, blogs, virtual community sites to actual face-to-face digital storytelling. This issue of M/C Journal seeks papers exploring the role of convergent mobile technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. The issue aims to explore the socio-cultural particularities of various adaptations of mobile media from case studies on mobile communication in the Asia Pacific, to cross- cultural analyses of the transborder flows of mobile media production, representation and consumption. Topics may include:
- Convergent mobile technologies
- The use of mobile technologies in the construction, regulation and upkeep
of social software and virtual communities
- Pervasive mobile gaming
- Mobile communication case studies in the region
- The role of co-presence and maintenance of intimacy and community through
mobile communication
- The "future" of mobile media
- Creativity and mobile media; the aesthetics of mobile media
- Critiques of prosumer rhetoric in mass media
- Emerging forms of techno-nationalism and governmental policies around
'mobility' and digital convergent cultures
- The changing role of temporality and spatiality in contemporary case
studies of mobile telephony

Submit your essays of 3000 words in length to the editors at
mobile@journal.media-culture.org.au.
Article deadline: 17 January 2007. Issue release date: 14 March 2007
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/journal/upcoming.php#mobile

The In Practice project series supports artists in creating new work for exhibition at SculptureCenter. We invite artists to submit proposals for projects and installations to be presented beginning in the summer of 2007. The works and exhibitions created through this series include sculptural objects, installations, performances and artworks that operate between all of these disciplines. Past participants in the series include Karyn Olivier, Justin Lowe, Josh Smith, and Mary Temple. Downloadable building floorplans and images may be found at www.sculpture-center.org/pe_ip_about.html.
Deadline:
January 15, 2007.
Your proposal must be in our office by this date.
Site visit dates:
December 2-3, 2006
Notification Date:
February 28, 2007
Questions? Email us at inpractice@sculpture-center.org.