DTV for The People

MAGNet DTV event's national radio coverage

2009-06-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

http://budurl.com/DTVVegas

http://budurl.com/DTVSeattle

http://budurl.com/DTVRichmond

http://budurl.com/DTVABQEspanol

http://budurl.com/DTVABQ

http://budurl.com/DTVChicago

Some Seattle DTV Action Video

2009-04-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

More socially responsible DTV transition national day of action stories

2009-04-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

DTV Day of Action in Minneapolis

Blaine store selling converters for $40

Rob Olson

MINNEAPOLIS - Halfway through the DTV switch delay, there are still 3.5 million U.S. households not prepared for the transition. Friday, a national DTV Day of Action attempted to tackle the biggest problems holding people back.

An event at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis was one more attempt to remove the hurdles of the paperwork, the know-how, the cost and and language barrier.

Signing people up for the government coupons has been the easy part, but the coupons haven't covered the full cost of converter boxes, which is holding some back.

"It's been really difficult for me being that I live on a fixed income," Samantha Villagomez said.

The grassroots organization Minnesota Media Empowerment Project is trying to change that.

"We're trying to promote a socially responsible transition, meaning we want local retailers to do their part to make sure these folks here stay connected to DTV, " Steven Renderos, of the Minnesota Media Empowerment Project said.

The social irresponsibility they see is from retailers, who are selling converter boxes for $50 or $60, while the government coupon covers $40.

Orlando Davis was one of those standing in line at Midtown Global Market, where community organizations found Mosquito Productions in Blaine -- the one Twin Cities retailer that sells a $40 converter.

"$40 dollar coupon…that should be the box," Davis said. "Today it is, so that's a good thing."

The delay happened mainly because the government ran out of money to send out the coupons. That's not longer a problem, and they hope to find more retailers to sell converters for $40.

The transition happens June 12.

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Seattles socially responsible DTV transition: Countdown to June 12 2009

Reclaim the Media

While urging local viewers to plan ahead for the DTV transition,
public interest groups and elected officials ask local retailers to do their part

On April 17, Seattle City Council president Richard Conlin and Energy, Technology and Commerce Committee chair Bruce Harrell joined community groups to remind local residents that the time is now to get prepared for the June 12 DTV transition, by applying for converter box coupons, and installing and testing new equipment if needed. Councilmembers also repeated their call, first made earlier this year, for local retailers to do their part for a socially responsible DTV transition, by providing a no-cost converter box option for consumers redeeming $40 coupons distributed by the federal government.

"In the current economy, nobody should be faced with economic hardship just to maintain their access to local TV news and emergency information," said Conlin. "Free TV is an essential service for many households, not an optional expense."

Public interest group Reclaim the Media is spearheading the local effort as part of a multi-city campaign for a Socially Responsible DTV Transition, coordinated with other members of the Media Action Grassroots Network and the Consumers Union. The campaign is asking electronics retailers to pledge to stock and sell at least one $40 DTV converter box; several models are available through online retailers at that price, matching the value of coupons distributed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). However, walk-in retailers have largely ignored calls to stock the boxes, instead offering only more expensive models ranging from $50-$200 in price.

Late in January, Mayor Nickels and the entire City Council sent letters to local retailers, writing that the unavailability of $40 boxes "will cause an economic hardship for many lower-income households and individuals, including seniors and people with disabilities... In many cases, TV is a basic necessity, not a luxury—providing local news, weather and emergency broadcast information which nobody in our community should be without. We strongly encourage our local retailers to do the right thing in this matter."

In the Seattle area, Fred Meyer stores have pledged to offer a $40 converter box option as a special promotion, on at least one occasion between now and June 12; company officials said that details will be advertised in local newspapers. To date, no other local retailers have taken the Socially Responsible Retailer pledge.

Reclaim the Media says that the costs associated with the transition—often including a new antenna as well as a converter box—could leave millions of US residents in the dark, including seniors, those with mobility issues, communities of color and low-income families.

“The DTV transition should be more than business as usual,” says Jonathan Lawson, Reclaim the Media executive director. “Like it or not, local TV is still the primary news source for millions of Americans. Retailers participating in the government coupon program have a social responsibility to offer low-cost options for consumers who rely on TV for daily information.”

Other local partners in the Socially Responsible DTV Transition campaign include the Youth Media Institute, the Leadership Academy, the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, and the Seattle Housing Authority. The Media Action Grassroots Network is a national initiative linking media justice organizing hubs in eight regions: Seattle, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Albuquerque, New York, San Antonio, Philadelphia and Appalachia.

Several Seattle groups are hosting Seattle DTV Assistance Centers, partnering with the national Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to provide DTV assistance to low-income residents, people of color, immigrants, seniors and people with disabilities. Drop-in centers are located at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), at the Leadership Academy (425 SW 144th St, Burien), and at rotating locations around Seattle. Volunteer telephone support is available at (206) 508-1277, or (206) 988-3760 for Spanish speakers. Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese language support is available from the National Asian Pacific Council on Aging, at (800) 336-2722. Seattle DTV Assistance Center information is on the web at www.seattledtv.com.

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Philly's DTV Day of ACTION

ShareThis

Today, in cities across the country people are standing up and saying they will not sit silently as their connection with the world is cut off.

On June 12th the airwaves that give us television will switch from analog to digital. And even though there is a subsidy program for the switch, offering $40 coupons for digital television (DTV) converter boxes, many people will still be left behind. Most retailers across the country only offer DTV converter boxes for prices much higher than what the coupon will cover, meaning that as concerned viewers get to the store they will turn around and leave the converter box as an unnecessary purchase.

Here steps in MAG-Net, a national coalition of grassroots media organizations that MMP is a part of, pushing to make sure retailers offer a no-cost box for consumers.

Right here in Philadelphia our own Hannah Sassaman is talking up the transition. "I've lived in Philadelphia for over twelve years -- without cable. For much of that I didn't have internet access at home, either. Like thousands of my neighbors, if I wanted local news and weather, I turned to my broadcast TV... and with all TV stations going digital in June, now is the time to make sure that every Philadelphian gets a box they can afford."

MAG-Net DTV Day of Action Pictures (MN, TX)

2009-04-17T15:49:00.001-07:00

Some coverage from today's MAG-Net DTV National Day of Action

2009-04-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Markets on the bubble

[Today's MAG-Net National Day of Action is holding events in the following locations where the FCC and the NTIA have identified as needing special educational efforts in advance of the 6/12/09 DTV Transition]

Albuquerque-Santa Fe (both)
Minneapolis-St. Paul MN (both)
Louisville KY (FCC only)
Philadelphia PA (FCC only)
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CA (both)
Seattle-Tacoma WA (both)
New York NY (FCC only)
(MAG-Net is also holding a DTV event today in San Antonio)

Metro group to offer DTV hook up help

Resources:
DTV: Questions and Answers
Don't need all your DTV coupons? Donate them
Got an expired TV converter box coupon?

On Friday, local community organizations will gather at the Midtown Global Market to assist the Twin Cities community in the transition to DTV.

The group is also calling on local retailers to join together to provide a ‘no-cost box’ solution for Minnesotans.

The event will start at 2 p.m. at 920 East Lake street in Minneapolis and will help connect individuals in the community who are unprepared for the digital switch.

Local community organizations are partnering to help their communities apply for government coupons and providing television hook-up demonstrations in English, Spanish, Hmong and Lao.

Mosquito Productions, a local retailer from Blaine, will be on site to provide a no-cost converter box for people who already have the $40 coupons.

This DTV Day of Action is a nationally coordinated effort by the Media Action Grassroots Network.

******************************************************

April 17, 2009

Free Digital TV Converters Promise More Than Just Re-Runs

Minneapolis - A Minneapolis group is working to ensure the pending conversion to digital television won't put people in the dark. The Main Street Project is making digital converter boxes available at no cost to people who have federal government coupons. Most retailers offer converters that require some cost above the $40 coupon limit. Minneapolis is among eight cities holding events to help get the word out for those who haven't already made the switch.

Amalia Deloney, the Project's senior fellow, says many of the people still lacking converters are poor, disabled or don't speak English.

"It's very cost prohibitive for them to be able to afford a box and it's also challenging, because there's a lot of steps; whether it's applying for the coupon, or learning how to connect the box to your TV, or being able to go home with a box that we're calling a 'no-cost' box."

Of the eight participating cities, Minneapolis is one of only three offering boxes at no additional cost above the federal coupon. The event is part of the effort leading up to the June 11 deadline, after which many older TVs will need the converter in order to receive a broadcast signal.

Steven Renderos, project coordinator for the Minnesota Media Empowerment Project, says a TV signal is more important than its capacity to receive reality shows and sitcoms. Many people rely on local stations for important weather and emergency information, he says.

"Snow storms, tornado warnings, emergency situations. Especially in rural communities television ends up being the number-one source of information for a lot of these folks."

Supporters are gauging whether to stage additional events in other parts of the state. They're working with Blaine retailer Mosquito Productions to offer the no-cost converters.

The Minneapolis event begins at 2:00 p.m. inside the Midtown Global Market on Lake Street. Groups will make presentations in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali. Only people with coupons will receive converter boxes at no cost. Others may apply for the coupons.

*******************************************************
More N.M. retailers need a better approach to DTV transition

By Omar Ahmed 4/15/09 8:20 AM

The June 12th date of the much discussed Digital Television (DTV) Transition looms nearer, but Nielsen Media reports that 3.8 million households are still not ready and 3.4 percent of all homes would no longer have any TV service at all if analog service disappeared today.

Though the federal government’s coupon program is back on track and people with expired coupons can now reapply, millions of people of color, poor and working class people, the elderly, and disabled communities remain unable to afford the costly converter boxes needed to maintain television access once broadcast signals are no longer available.

By now most people agree that the DTV Transition was poorly conceived. Still, the burden of the cost laid in the laps of the poorest consumers hasn’t really been sufficiently alleviated — even with the recent additional allocation of $600 million by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for education and coupons to subsidize the cost of converter boxes.

Why? Because enough retailers haven’t yet pulled up a chair to play a significant role in ensuring that there a no-cost converter box option exists that is fully covered by the $40 NTIA coupons.

The bad news is that converter boxes are priced between $50 and $200, and some retailers are more concerned with banking a profit than ensuring that the nation’s poorest aren’t threatened with the loss of basic television access simply because they can’t afford a converter box.

The good news is that there are some electronics retailers who understand that poverty should not prevent anyone from accessing basic news and information.

On April 17th local retailers here in New Mexico as well as in New York, Minneapolis, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Kentucky will participate in an unusual national campaign led by the community organizations of the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) to offer a “no cost” cost converter box option to consumers presenting NTIAA coupons. These converter boxes aren’t free, but they will cost no more than the amount of the coupon, thus demonstrating a significant commitment from retailers to play their part in ensuring a socially responsible digital television transition.

Best Buy and Fred Meyers retailers have already stepped up to the plate and the organizations of MAG-Net are taking steps to encourage Radio Shack, Wal-mart, and Target stores also do the right thing.

Partnering with local community groups, these electronic retailers proudly display their pledge to a socially responsible DTV transition in their window, the marker that a “no cost” box is available on their shelves.

Even more unusual, Mosquito Production, a small local retailer located in Minneapolis, Minnesota has taken an additional, positive step.

Not only has this store taken the “no cost” pledge, but they’ve also created two Web sites — one which gives consumers an online vehicle to order a “no cost” converter box, and another to facilitate those with extra NTIA coupons to donate them to people in need.

Going beyond the call of duty, Mosquito Productions has even partnered with Main Street Project, a local grassroots community organization, to design and print a “no cost box” T-shirt!

Two-thirds of people in the U.S. base their electoral and other political decisions on what they read, watch, and listen to in the news. For communities of color, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor, losing television access during the DTV Transition won’t simply mean the loss of luxury entertainment, rather it would signify the loss of access to basic information, news, and cultural ties — and would represent a violation of the fundamental right to free speech.

Designing a socially responsible digital television transition that leaves no part of our community behind has proved a serious challenge for the FCC, Congress, and the NTIA, but with the right retail and community partnerships — and the right government priorities — no community here in New Mexico has to lose out.

Omar Ahmed is director of community outreach for the Albuquerque-based New Mexico Media Literacy Project.

*******************************************************

DTV day of action: it’s time for a socially responsible DTV transition

by Amalia Deloney and Jonathan Lawson, Media Action Grassroots Network

The transition to digital TV is coming on June 12 – after Congress granted an unprepared population a final extension from the previous date on Feb. 17. The country has been slowly getting ready for this transition since Congress passed the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act back in 2005, paving the way for broadcasters to end their decades of analog television transmissions and transition to more efficient digital technology. The bill gave the FCC the authority to reclaim swathes of broadcast spectrum for public safety and new wireless broadband services.

The June 12 date means changes for over-the-air TV viewers in the Seattle area, who are promised more channels and clearer signals, but who may also need new equipment to continue receiving the complete available range of free TV signals. Recognizing that low-income viewers shouldn't be unfairly taxed just to keep watching free TV, the government set up a program to provide free $40 coupons for people to apply towards the purchase of a DTV Converter box. As long as $40 boxes are available, people should be able to have a no-cost conversion.

The government's plan, however, had a flaw. While $40 boxes are available in some parts of the country and on the Internet, many local electronics retailers have chosen exploitation of a captive audience over a sense of social responsibility –and are refusing to carry the low-cost boxes.

Digital Justice in Washington State

That's why, on Friday April 17th, local community organizations will gather at Seattle Housing Authority's Center Park facility to mark a National DTV Day of Action. The events are part of a nationwide effort, the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net)’s “Socially Responsible DTV Transition Campaign.” Across the country (San Antonio, Minneapolis, New Mexico, Philadelphia, NYC, San Francisco Bay Area, and rural Appalachia), MAG-Net partner organizations will hold similar events to help community members with the transition to DTV, as well as calling on local retailers to provide a “no-cost box” option for local consumers.

City Councilmembers Richard Conlin and Bruce Harrell, along with Mayor Nickels and the rest of the City Council, wrote letters to local electronics dealers last January, asking retailers to provide local customers with a no-cost box option. To date, few local retailers have answered the community's call for affordable box options. While Fred Meyer has offered $40 boxes as a special promotion, enabling customers with government coupons to take home boxes basically for free (excluding taxes), the community and its elected officials were rebuffed by Target, Radio Shack, Best Buy and other outlets. Conlin and Harrell will join community groups at Center Park on Friday, to discuss retailers' lack of response to their request, and public readiness for the DTV transition.

Seattle groups involved in Friday's event include local MAG-Net partner organizations Reclaim the Media and the Youth Media Institute, as well as the Seattle Housing Authority, whose Center Park facility provides affordable living accommodations for physically or mentally challenged individuals and their caretakers.

Center Park is one of several locations around the city where the Seattle DTV Assistance Centers have provided workshops and walk-in DTV assistance to low-income residents, immigrants, elders and people with disabilities. Walk-in Centers are sponsored by the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW) and the Leadership Academy (425 SW 144th St, Burien). Reclaim the Media hosts workshops at a variety of locations and operates a local call-in hotline at 206.508.1277. As the June 12 DTV transition date comes closer, local assistance center operations will increase – visit seattledtv.com for details. The Seattle DTV Assistance Centers were organized in collaboration with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Communication is a fundamental human right!

Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights guarantees that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media, and regardless of frontiers.” Many media justice organizations recognize that the DTVtransition represents a major shift in the way news, information, and culture is transmitted and received. Our move from historic forms of communication such as broadcast and print to new digital models of communication raises questions about digital inclusion—and its relation to the DTV transition. Whether the DTV transition or broadband build-out, this digital expansion presents challenges to access and regulation that have the potential to either increase the pre-existing disenfranchisement of marginalized groups, or access and equity.

How we handle the DTV transition is a good indication of how we will handle other Digital Inclusion issues. The Digital TV transition has always been about access. It is about ensuring that every individual and every community (irrespective of circumstance) is able to access low cost, convenient technology. And, it’s about skills–whether using the Internet to apply for a $40 coupon, or hooking up a new converter box, we have to ensure that individuals have the ability to interact with relevant hardware and make it work for them.

April 17, 2009 DTV National Day of Action

2009-04-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

Go to http://budurl.com/NoCostDTVBox for more information and to share w/ your social networks!
Electronics retailers team up with media and consumer advocates to offer “No Cost DTV Box Option” Electronics retailers team up with media and consumer advocates to offer “No Cost DTV Box Option” solrak

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape ftia dtv

Seattle DTV Release

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape obama ftia

Minnesota DTV Release

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Rural DTV Resource

2009-03-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

DONATEDTV.COM PROVIDES NO-COST CONVERTER BOXES TO THOSE IN NEED DURING DIGITAL TV TRANSITION

2009-03-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A group of Minnesota organizations and businesses have recently joined forces to help bring digital TV into every household, especially those who may need some assistance. Through a relationship established by the DTV Assistance Centers in Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN and “Mosquito Productions at FreeDTVShop.com” (www.mosquitoproductions.com), an authorized retailer in the government's TV Converter Box Coupon Program, people impacted by financial, language, mobility, and technological barriers will now be able to receive digital TV transmissions in their homes at no cost to them.

But this effort will only be successful with the help of the public at large. Together, these groups have established an online coupon donation website at www.DonateDTV.com. Anyone from around the country can donate unused, non-expired coupons simply by visiting the website and entering in the information found on a red plastic converter box coupon card. To date, nearly 50% of all coupons that have been sent out by the government have expired. If you are in possession of a coupon card that is not needed for your own home's televisions, donate it today at www.DonateDTV.com. It will result in a DTV converter box being placed in the home of someone in need.

"It's a shame that so many coupons are going unused and expiring," said John Buchmann, owner of Mosquito Productions. "The good news is that once a coupon expires, the funds that were allocated for that coupon are then applied to a new coupon, so there is still a huge opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone who just needs a little help during this confusing transition time. If you have a coupon that you don't need, don't let it expire -- donate it now at DonateDTV.com!"

The Twin Cities' DTV Assistance Centers were established by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) with the support of the National Telecommunication and Information Administration and are comprised of the Main Street Project (www.mainstreetproject.org) and the Lao Assistance Center (www.laocenter.org). The assistance centers are also working in concert with the Minnesotano Media Empowerment Project (www.mmediap.umn.edu), and Media Action Grassroots Network (www.mediagrassroots.org) during this endeavor.

“Mosquito Productions at FreeDTVShop.com” has been an authorized retailer in the TV coupon program since February, 2008 and sells converter boxes online at www.FreeDTVShop.com.

###

Contact:
John Buchmann
Mosquito Productions
763-390-5700 x50
john@mosquitoproductions.com
http://www.freedtvshop.com
http://www.mosquitoproductions.com

Analog Funeral in San Antonio

2009-02-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

"Analog Funeral" Eulogy
San Antonio, Texas
By Chuck Robinson
2.17.09

"Tonight, our FOX29 and MY35 stations in San Antonio change their
broadcast from analog to digital, meaning people watching over-the-air tv
need a converter box to attach to their antenna in order to keep watching
those channels. Although the date’s pushed back to June 12 for all
stations to broadcast digitally, there’s still work left so no one’s left
behind.

From its’ birth on April 7, 1927, when the first images flashed from
Washington, D.C. to New York City on an iPod-sized screen, the analog
television broadcast has brought news and information to people worldwide.
Today, we gather as media activists to read analog tv her last rites, and
reflect upon the state of “our” airwaves.

The scientists performing that first US tv test were from AT&T Bell
Labs--remember ‘Ma Bell’, which was broken up and over time, reformed as
the modern at&t? Yes, the same at&t sitting atop an empire that raked in
$118 Billion in 2007, second only to GE in media revenue. TV, radio and
internet are big business, and there’s much money made and lost in the
battle over our airwaves.

Remember the airplane banners flying overhead, urging you to use Time
Warner or at&t? Ads assuring San Antonio that cable is “all you need”
(don’t forget to ‘go for three’!)? What about those who drop the luxury of
cable tv--they’ll need converter boxes as well. And other local stations
could switch to digital any time the city sees fit between now and June,
leaving our communities with questions as we continue to struggle for
access to information.

As it stands now, many of our nation’s low-income, elderly and non-English
speaking population aren’t ready for the digital transition: either
unprepared, waiting for converter box coupons, searching for the right box
at an affordable price, and/or struggling to hook them up. Pushing back
the transition date four months gives us time to say goodnight to lady
analog, and give her a just burial, but only if we work together.

Only community groups, government and retailers working together will
ensure that people have the civil...no, the human right to information.
Retailers must stock an analog pass-through, SAP and Closed
Caption-enabled converter box. Federal government must deploy coupons to
everyone who needs one, reaching further than the internet. Local
governments and community groups must unite with retailers to ensure boxes
priced at $40; we applaud HEB for giving us access to those.

From the Civil Rights movement to Afghanistan, tv has the ability, more
than any other medium, to reach into the homes of Americans and
communicate our triumphs as well as our sorrows. How well-informed would
we be without tv? Perhaps a better question to ask is: ‘How informed are
we now?’ 70% of Americans still rely on tv as their primary source of
national and international news; it is for this reason we are here to help
the community with dtv. We believe the people deserve a no-cost
transition, and a just burial for analog tv...may she rest in pieces.
Thank you."

DTV Transition Delay Applauded, But Gaps Still Exist

2009-02-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

Please go to http://pitch.pe/4704 for Social Media Release to share with your networks...
DTV Transition Delay Applauded, But Gaps Still Exist

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-To Guides & DIY february 17 dtv

Quick links for DTV transition stories

2009-02-11T08:59:00.000-08:00

FCC says 491 stations plan to go digital Feb 17; Albuquerque households most unprepared in nation

Official Rules for Reclaim the Media DTV Converter Box Giveaway

Out of reach of stations' new signals, rural Americans are discovering digital disappointment

Digital TV Assistance Center providers praise transition delay,call for additional funding of coupon program; The four-month delay will help the 3.2 million Americans still sitting on waiting list for converter-box coupons

Full FCC List of Stations Terminating Analog on or Before 2-17-09

2009-02-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

FCC List of Stations Terminating Analog on or Before 2-17-09

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TV Stations in Minnesota Transition to Digital Early and DTV Shoe Box Antennae

2009-02-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a listing of television stations that will be opting to transition to full digital broadcast on February 17, 2009 in Minnesota:

FOX KFTC (Bemidji)
CW WUCW (Minneapolis)
PBS KAWB (Brainerd)
PBS KAWE (Bemidji)
PBS KWCM (Appleton)

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Are you looking for an easy, low-cost option for an antenna for the DTV Conversion. If so, look no further. Check out this simple, easy to make 'Shoe Box Antenna' brought to you by the People Escaping Poverty Project, Minnesotano Media Empowerment Project and Main Street Project.

Contact:
Amalia Deloney
amalia1609(at)gmail(dot)com
Phone: 651.269.1781

Hello World

2009-01-21T15:03:00.001-08:00

Hola Mundo.