a short monthly column on media and politics that Tracy and I coauthored for In These Times:

What to Watch (or not) in 2007

It’s been a year of navel-gazing for journalists. As William Powers recently noted in National Journal, “These days, almost everything in the media seems to be about the media”–and 2007 is shaping up to be another year of upheaval and overload. So what should we be keeping an eye on other than our collective bellybuttons? Here’s a quick roundup.

Feeling masochistic? Then tune into Fox News Channel’s forthcoming “Daily Show” knockoff. As yet untitled, the pilot show is being produced by the co-creator of “24,” and co-hosted by comedians Kurt Long (late of the Sci Fi Channel’s “Scare Tactics”) and Susan Yeagley (most recently featured in VH1’s “Best Week Ever” series).

But take heart: A new option for frustrated news-lovers may soon be available: The Real News, a viewer-funded, 24-7 progressive online news channel. Find out more at www.iwtnews.com.

Yet such alternatives may be short-lived if the telecom industry has anything to say about it: it’s been lobbying Congress nonstop for the right to charge Web site proprietors extra to use their proposed high-speed lines. Tune into the issue by visiting www.savetheinternet.com. With the defeat of HR5252, the net neutrality fight will heat up again as the new Congress goes into session. A free and open Internet is the best chance for original and independent programming to flourish, but as Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, warns, “Industry will be back with their money and phony grassroots groups.”

Bored at the box office? Take a gander at the Media that Matters Film Festival, www.mediathatmattersfest.org, a juried online showcase of short films on diverse topics that “spark debate and action in 8 minutes or less.” Selections from the most recent festival include shorts on Congolese women’s reproductive health fights, a battle over the rising cost of water in Michigan, and the importance of asparagus, among others.

Or maybe this is the year to step down your media consumption and make some news of your own: digital audio and video gadgets are getting cheaper and better by the month. Check out www.newassignment.net for the latest scoop on innovations in citizen journalism.