Thursday, May 22, 2014

Net-neutrality proposals could spell 'game over' for small media entrepreneurs, minority journalists say

A plan to reduce Internet neutrality could kill the careers of small-time media entrepreneurs and "stifle innovation and creativity by discouraging the development of new media ventures, particularly those founded by people of color or that seek to serve diverse communities," according to a pair of independent African American  journalists who rely on the Internet to reach their audience, Tracie Powell reports for the Columbia Journalism Review.

The Federal Communication Commission's proposed rules on net neutrality were met with criticism, and the agency revised the plan and proposed some exceptions. Still, some feel the proposal don't create equality, but it will instead expand it.

The pair of journalists discussed in a video interview "how they already face an uphill battle when it comes to grabbing eyeballs and advertising dollars from larger, better-funded and staffed competitors," Powell writes. "If the FCC adopts new rules that will allow prioritization of some content—and some content providers—over others, it will mean game over for them as well as other digital media innovators, they said." (Read more)  

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