Free Press Action Fund

Long-term goals:

1. Internet Freedom: An Uncensored and Open Internet Everywhere
The internet is now the primary engine of commercial, cultural, democratic, economic and educational innovation and exchange. It is also the foremost battleground for free speech in the 21st century. Yet internet users' rights to free expression, communication and privacy are under constant attack.

Most people in the United States have little or no choice for high-speed internet service, and many are stranded on the wrong side of the digital divide. The lack of affordable options for high-speed internet is the primary obstacle to universal access in the United States. Americans are paying twice as much for service that is half the speed typically available throughout the developed world.

Free Press' aim is to promote policies that protect and expand the internet's free and open architecture; enable everyone to get online; and safeguard our fundamental rights and freedoms.

2. Platform Accountability

Platform companies profit from collecting vast quantities of data, which they’ve used along with ad-targeting tools and algorithms to discriminate against people based on their race, gender and other identities. Hate groups are using online platforms to funnel resources, spread propaganda and organize, leading to targeted harassment and violence. Free Press pushes tech companies to do more to protect the civil rights of targeted communities; reduce the spread of online hate; and address how their business model harms vulnerable communities, local news and fair elections.

3. Journalism's Future: Serving Communities and Protecting Press Freedom

Free Press seeks ways to sustain and improve journalism so that it can better hold the powerful accountable, uncover the truth and respond to community needs.

A healthy media system is characterized in part by the diversity of owners, perspectives and sources of news, information and cultural fare available to the public. Too often the thing missing from debates over journalism's future has been the public, the very people journalism is supposed to serve. This is especially true for communities of color and others that are too often misrepresented and aren't media owners. Free Press aims to build an active and sustainable community that supports quality journalism at the local level and includes voices that historically have been excluded.

Through our News Voices projects in multiple states, we're engaging communities and newsrooms in two-way conversation, using this dialogue to inspire collaborative local news projects. We're also launching advocacy efforts on the state and local level to push novel and innovative ways of funding local journalism and community media. Free Press also continues to work to protect press freedom while simultaneously holding the media accountable for dishonest, false and racist coverage.

Free Press Action Fund is committed to an outside-inside strategy to ensure public participation in policymaking. We combine deep policy knowledge, direct advocacy in Washington and media outreach with broad public education efforts and innovative organizing strategies both online and off. We:

*Build public interest champions by deepening relationships with members of Congress, the FCC and their respective staffs.

*Lobby elected officials, amplifying the public’s voice in media and technology debates.

*Monitor and analyze federal and state policy; identify legislative goals, opportunities and threats.

*Craft policy proposals, fact sheets and communications for policymakers.

*Coordinate, inform and assist allies in direct and grassroots lobbying.

*Raise the profile of its issues on Capitol Hill by organizing congressional briefings and other events.

*Shape the media narrative by speaking with reporters, issuing press releases, organizing press briefings and other events, and driving social media engagement.

Free Press Action Fund’s staff of 36, coupled with a base of 1.4 million activists and thousands of active volunteers, offer the field a unique combination of public-interest lobbying; grassroots advocacy; legal, research and policy expertise; digital advocacy and media outreach; and network-building and strategic coordination. It is bolstered by the educational, organizing and communications capacity of Free Press, its allied 501c3 organization.

In 2003, Free Press joined a movement at its nascent phase. Initially we focused on building the visibility and legitimacy of media reform issues. Since then, we've built a base of more than 1.4 million people engaged in the fight for our rights to connect and communicate. And we've won significant victories -- securing strong Net Neutrality protections and privacy at the FCC, defeating harmful media mega mergers and saving public media funding time and again. Through a combination of online and in-person action-taking, we are continuing to develop a better understanding of how to maximize and expand this power.

Our analysis is continuing to evolve. We recognize that structural racism in the media system and the lack of inclusion in the media and technology policymaking process are real barriers to having a media system that works for everyone, particularly communities of color that have gone underserved for so long. To address this, Free Press is prioritizing racial equity, elevating diverse voices and leadership in policymaking, building strong coalitions, and bringing the people who are most impacted into policy debates.