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ACTIVISTS AND ACADEMICS HAVE MUCH TO TEACH EACH OTHER ABOUT THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF DEMOCRATIC COMMUNICATION. WHILE CRITICAL SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS NORMATIVE PHILOSOPHICAL DEFINITIONS OF THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN A DEMOCRACY AND SYSTEMATIC CRITIQUES OF EXISTING MEDIA INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES, ACTIVISM ENGAGES IN DIRECT AND STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS WITHIN THE MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION.

Using 1951-85 data from 3 large Texas cities to asess the impact of the majority runoff requirement on nonpartisan municipal election outcomes, finds that over 70% of those who finish first in the general election go on to win their runoff. There is no evidence of systematic bias against minority and female front-runners forced into runoffs. The primary losers under the majority runoff requirement are incumbents, especially those elected from single-member districts. (Abstract amended)

Public access TV provides a public forum for democratic speech. Its roots lay in the participatory democracy movements of the 1960s & 1970s, & it has typically taken an exclusively local focus with limited success in democratic social change. During the past decade, however, media activists have developed the infrastructure necessary for national production & distribution. The national progressive programming of Deep Dish TV Network, the Gulf Crisis TV Project, & Free Speech TV is discussed. The strength of public access TV lies in its relative freedom from the political, economic, & editorial constraints that typically limit programming on mainstream TV. In exercising its relative freedom, public access TV provides the public with a greater spectrum of information & enhances the democratic process. D. Generoli