Some Research Questions & Possible Methods

Questions:

What sorts of ownership and regulatory schemes best serve both the market and the the public? How do you ensure a range of public uses centered around free speech and access coupled with ownership concerns around innovation, privacy, profit, competition?

How do the market, the state, and the public interact within telecommunications policy in the US? And what space is created for CMT practices?

Do community media & technology practices contribute to stonger communities?

What are the community impacts resulting from CMT practices?

What is the role of media within a community setting?

What defines a meaningful community media practice?

Are communities with a diverse media landscape, including community media, better off than communities without such environments?

Are there ideal environments in which communtiy media thrive (i.e. certain size community, certain types of individuals and groups present)?

Rather than creating a positive enviornment, are strong community media pratices evidence of a civically engaged community?

What are the elements that comprise a strong community media practice?

What are the strongest community media practices (i.e. youth media, immigrant / ethnic media, local orgs, local gov, political / religious speech)?

Is there an indexing or evaluation system that can predict if a community will sustain a meaningful community media practice?

Would it be ideal to focus on public access, community radio, Internet, print, some or all?

Methods:

GIS to map locations – compare against population, age, ethnicity, new american population, political culture, religious affiliation, income, home ownership, crime, race, voter registration, educaiton — are the set indicators of civic engagement?

Case studies of 3-4 different types of communities as a best practice for rural, urban, suburban, and mid-sized urban

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