Marking the one-year anniversary of the Knight Commission's report "Informing Communities," the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are convening a group of key policymakers and other leaders on Wednesday, September 29th at the Newseum to discuss the progress of the report’s 15 recommendations.

One of these recommendations, setting standards for nationwide universal broadband services, is the subject of a new policy paper by Blair Levin, the lead author of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)'s National Broadband Plan. The paper, to be unveiled and discussed at the event, outlines a detailed, sensible plan for deploying broadband networks to 99% of our population in 10 years without requiring any additional federal funding.

Who:

Alberto Ibargüen, President and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Julius Genachowski, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (via video)
Jon Leibowitz, Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
Blair Levin, Senior Fellow, Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program
Larry Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Patricia Harrison, President and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Nancy Tate, Executive Director, League of Women Voters
Steve Coll, President, New America Foundation
Rey Ramsey, President and CEO, TechNet
Kathleen Grillo, Senior Vice President of Federal Regulatory Affairs, Verizon

Where:

The Newseum-Knight Broadcast Studio (entrance on 6th Street)
555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001

When: Wednesday, September 29, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

If you are unable to attend in person, watch the event live at www.knightcomm.org and join the discussion on Twitter with the hashtag #knightcomm.

Interviews with the participants can be arranged by contacting Rachel Zaentz at rachel.zaentz@widmeyer.com or call 202.667.0901.

About The Knight Commission

The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy was a blue ribbon panel of seventeen media, policy and community leaders that met in 2008 and 2009. Its purpose was to assess the information needs of communities, and recommend measures to help Americans better meet those needs. Its Report, Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age, was the first major commission on media since the Hutchins Commission in the 1940’s and the Kerner and Carnegie Commissions of the 1960's.

The Commission's aims were to maximize the availability and flow of credible local information; to enhance access and capacity to use the new tools of knowledge and exchange; and to encourage people to engage with information and each other within their geographic communities. Among its 15 recommendations the Commission argues for universal broadband, open networks, transparent government, a media and digitally literate populace, vibrant local journalism, public media reform, and more local public engagement.

The Knight Commission is a project of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org or follow on Twitter @AspenInstitute.

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