Dear friends:<br>
<br>
Lee Myung-bak&#39;s New Right government in S. Korea is taking disturbing
steps to limit freedom of expression, shut down independent media, and
defund media, arts, and cultural organizations across the country. The
latest blow is an attack on public media center MediAct, which has
played a key part in the democratization of Korea&#39;s media system since
the end of the dictatorship, trained thousands of people in media
production, and developed many successful media policy proposals to
open up Korea&#39;s mediascape to diverse voices.<br>
<br>
Please take action now to express international support for MediAct.<br>
<br>
More information below.<br>
<br>        MediAct in Korea has long played a vital role to support
alternative and independent film and video production, a critical
citizens’ media monitoring movement, and an independent, democratic
trade union movement since the late 1980s wave of democracy movement in
Korea. They have also collaborated with many of us around the world. <br>
<br>    However, in the past two years, the mediascape and culture
sector in South Korea has undergone some drastic changes under the Lee
Myung-bak regime/New Right that has taken power as of 2008.<br>
<br>    Now MediAct is facing the crisis of a shut down with the
massive and politically motivated budget cutting by Korean government.
Thus, we need international voices to condemn the Korean government&#39;s
attack against the independent media environment in Korea.<br>
<br>
<br>
1) Sign <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/online/33662.html" target="_blank">http://www.gopetition.com/online/33662.html</a><br>
Media and democracy in South Korea: Save Mediact<br>
<br>
2) For updates: Join ACT NOW to save MediAct &amp; Independent Media in Korea! facebook page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=273091817582&amp;ref=nf" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=273091817582&amp;ref=nf</a><br>

<br>
3) Call KOFIC&#39;s Chairman Cho, Hee Moon  82-2-958-7521<br>
or email: <a href="mailto:[log in to unmask]" target="_blank"><a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3D1001%26L%3DOURMEDIA-L%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D1702500%26B%3D--0016e6475672e31bce047e197212%26T%3Dtext%252Fhtml%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252%26pending%3D" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a></a><br>
cc: <a href="mailto:[log in to unmask]" target="_blank"><a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3D1001%26L%3DOURMEDIA-L%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D1702500%26B%3D--0016e6475672e31bce047e197212%26T%3Dtext%252Fhtml%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252%26pending%3D" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a></a><br>
<br>
More info:<br>
<br>
Mediact website: <a href="http://www.mediact.org/" target="_blank">http://www.mediact.org</a><br>
<br>
English Intro:<br>
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ygtsoq5" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/ygtsoq5</a><br>
<br>
Related Interviews:<br>
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/yk36jrl" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/yk36jrl</a><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Dorothy Kidd<br>Associate Professor<br>Department of Media Studies<br>
University of San Francisco<br>2130 Fulton St.<br>San Francisco<br>94117-1080<br>415-422-5061<br><a href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"><a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3D1001%26L%3DOURMEDIA-L%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D1702500%26B%3D--0016e6475672e31bce047e197212%26T%3Dtext%252Fhtml%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252%26pending%3D" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a></a><br>