Testimony on Media

On behalf of Internews Network, board member Pat Mitchell submitted testimony to the US Congress in March urging support for independent media and outlining the importance of increasing access to communications technologies in the Middle East (www.internews.org/testimony2006).

She emphasized that in the Middle East in particular, development of an accessible Internet can help meet citizens’ needs for greater accountability from governments and can provide an alternative way to disseminate news that is less likely to be subject to government censorship.

In March Mitchell became president and CEO of the Museum of Television & Radio in New York. She previously served as president and CEO of PBS.

Internews submitted the testimony at the invitation of the House Subcommittee on Foreign Operations.