Latino politicians Henry Cisneros and Bill Richardson have been chosen to publicly support the merger of the largest Hispanic TV corporation, Univision, with the largest Hispanic radio corporation, Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. What a sad mix of bedfellows.
These Latino leaders are following the trend of media corporations to merge and control the voice of our community. This deal needs FCC approval, so write and say no to this deal. The FCC may be receptive at this time, because last month their “let’s give even more media to the coporations” spree was stopped by congress. The e-mail address is: fccinfo@fcc.gov
The Houston Chronicle has an article, written by the Washington Post, about the political voice-controlling aspect of this deal.
Univision CEO, Jerrold Perenchio, is among an elite club of “pioneers” who have raised at least $100,000 for Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance watchdog group. ”
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After Bishop Gene Robinson was accepted as the first openly gay bishop by the general convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting in Minneapolis Minnesota last week, he was interviewed by “All Things Considered” on NPR. He said that throughout the ordeal of the debate in Minneapolis he prayed Psalm 27. He quoted some of the passages on the air with ringing sincerity “men advance against me to devour my flesh.”
“Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident. .”
Upon hearing his words my faith was deeply touched and vitalized. Gracias a Dios.
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Communications Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) is a campaign to ensure that communication rights are central to the information society and to the upcoming World Summit to the Information Society (WSIS). The campaign is sponsored and supported by the Platform for Communication Rights, a group of NGOs involved in media and communication projects around the word.
Pradip Thomas from WACC gave a personalized explanation in Vancouver last week.
You can get involved by forming discussion groups for your organization. Take the first step and write to the campaign organizers.
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During the WACC meeting of the central committee here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, I presented a seminar about media from a cultural perspective, shifting away from instrumentalism. The discussions and friendships during this event are affirming.
As promised, these are the handouts in case you want to either read them online or download them:
Mary Hess, Ph.D. writes about the religious imagination and religious education. It is an invitation to not juse “use the media” but to rethink our education project.
Fabio Pasqualetti, Ph.D. maps out the aspects of digital culture that have implications for religious educators.
David Morgan, Ph.D. promotes the art of listening to and accompanying their congregations and parishioners. This checklist about how to listen, ethnography, relates to still images but can be modified for use with TV, movies and film.
The video, “The Child, the Slums and the Pot Lids” has a reference in an earlier log entry, June 23,.
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This wonderful poem, “A Forgotten People” can be used in prayer services, don’t you think? “Love your gente” is a rephrasing of ancient wisdom, even of “love your neighbor.”
The whole site, Soy Chicano portal/site is a good mix of entertainment, thought and community connections. I always wonder why “religion” or “spirituality” is never a category on these sites. There’s a question that I will probably never be able to answer.
Adan

My friend in Santiago, Chile, Rodrigo Garcia says that “Can Linux be an opportunity to develop solutions in communites with limited resources, as in Latin America?” He mentions BioLinux, an Argentinian project that develops a sofware solution for Argentinean hospitals using the Linux platform and adds, will Linux survive the giant Microsoft?
Alberto Pigola, Uruguay, reminds me that even for Linux there are “talons of greed” biting on its heels, citing this article about SCO.
Any coments or links, I will really appreciate.
Adan

La Campesina Radio Network is an example of community radio, different from the “public radio” stations at university campuses, many of which play mainly European classical and are members of NPR. Radio Campesina was founded by Cesar Chavez and has a clear, direct, energy-filled identity — the migrant farm working community. With 7 stations and several repeaters, the network’s reach covers Arizona, California and Washington. Also look at the UnitedFarm Worker webiste. It is informative and provides ways of getting involved. You will be welcomed with an audio file that plays automatically, the voice of Cesar Chavez.
�S� se puede!
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