I am on my way to DC for the Free Press Summit. Hundreds of policy makers and media justice activists attend this annual event.
The summit will kick off with a session on “Media and Democracy in the Digital Age,” which will feature keynote remarks from Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on the Federal Communications Commission’s role in the media.
I am looking forward to the panel discussion on “Social Media, Social Justice and the Future of the Internet” with Jose Antonio Vargas, James Rucker, Deanna Zandt and Andrew Noyes.
The discussion should be lively. It comes on the heels of President Barack Obama’s commencement speech at Hampton University, during which he bemoaned the ubiquity of social media:
And meanwhile, you’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads; and Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it’s putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy.
Sure, it’s a distraction, but information is power. So, I’ll be tweeting away. You can follow my Twitter updates.
The event will be live streamed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST here.
