March 19, 2013 09:56 AM UTC

National Conference on Media Reform coming to Denver April 5-7

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• by: Jason Salzman

If you've been tracking the fall of journalism in America you might sit down and cry when you read this statistic, from a recent Pew Report, that about two thirds of the American public has heard little or nothing about the news industry's financial troubles.

Fighting to save journalism from dying in the shadows, and promoting quality alternatives, is Free Press, a national organization that advocates for public media, universal access, diverse media ownership, and other communications essentials of democracy.

And fortunately for us, Free Press is holding its 6th National Conference on Media Reform here in Denver April 5- 7 at the Sheraton Downtown. 

I've attended past NCMR conferences, which attract thousands of progressive activists trying to create new media projects, criticize dying ones, brainstorm new ideas, fund start-ups, and much more.

You won't find a better venue for networking with people concerned "media reform," in the broadest sense of the term. It's your chance to find out what's going on in the progressive media world across the country and talk directly with the folks doing the work.

For me, the presentations are the side show of the NCMR conference, but if you like panels and speeches, there's 80 sessions described here on the NCMR website, including panels on the "Lobby Game: How to Advocate for Media Change;" "What's Next for Internet Policy;" "The Media's Influence on the Immigration Debate;" "Labor Unions: MIA in the Media;" "Creative Grassroots Funding for Journalists and Media Makers," "Reinventing Media in Colorado" [disclosure: I’m moderating that one]; "Your Video Doesn't Have to Suck;" and "F*ck It, We’ll Do It Live: A Workshop on Livestreaming for Citizen Journalists and Community Media Outlets."

Presenters include Former White House Technology Advisor Susan Crawford; Author Dan Gillmor; Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!; Anna Holmes of Jezebel.com; President of Common Cause Bob Edgar; Robin Marty of RH Reality Check; Craig Aaron, Director of Free Press; Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps; Author Bob McChesney; Rashad Robinson of ColorOfChange; Andrea Quijada of the Media Literacy Project; The Nation's John Nichols; and Author Joseph Torres, and many, many more.

Some Denver-based presenters are The Denver Post's Kurtis Lee; Laura Frank of Denver's I-News Network; Anne Imse of Colorado Public News; Author David Sirota; and Open Media Foundation's Tony Showcross.

Register for the conference ($195 general and $125 for students) here.

See you there.