We asked each of the facilitators to write an answer to the forum question. Here is the answer from Dr Laura Stein, RTF Dept, UT Austin

The advent of interactive, digital technology combined with the distribution mechanism of the Internet opens up new possibilities and challenges for community media. The rise of Internet distribution platforms, like Youtube and Veoh, serve as new venues for community video. Musicians and audio artists can post their recordings on Myspace and elsewhere for anyone who registers to hear. Web logs (blogs), video logs (vlogs), and personal Web pages serve as alternative publishing outlets for those who don't want to pass through the filters of the mainstream media. At present, the Internet functions as a relatively open publishing forum with ample capacity for print, visual and audio communication. It lacks the space constraints of other distribution outlets, such as a limited number of printed pages, and a finite number of broadcast channels or broadcast time. Moreover, these platforms can be interactive.

Audiences can search these spaces by keywords to more easily find the information and content they seek. They can sometimes post their responses to the content they find, and in some cases engage in dialog with others through participatory forums connected to these sites. Community media makers have already begun to utilize many of these outlets to broaden their reach; to augment their other media activities; to develop cross-platform initiatives, content and projects; and to establish links to each other and their communities. The Benton Foundation Report, "What's Going on in Community Media," gives an excellent snapshot of some of the innovative ways that media makers are taking advantage of these new technological tools to more effectively fulfill their missions. Some of these projects include community-based and participatory online journalism, Web sites that aggregate community media content through a unified portal, and community development initiatives that link community media providers' content and skills with other community-based organizations.

But the question of how community media makers can best utilize these new technologies, including how these technologies might broaden and diversify their audience and producer base, is an ongoing one. Another question is how to articulate and demonstrate the value of community media to policymakers, funders, and others who may argue that the Internet makes community media redundant. How do established alt media articulate the differences between themselves and the new Internet-based outlets? How do we position ourselves to highlight our distinctiveness? And how do we make use of these technologies to translate the goals of community and alternative media into this sphere and to make use of its range of capabilities? Finally, how do we work to ensure that these capabilities don't evaporate due to government policy, business practice, or our own failure to envision the kind of environment necessary to support community media online.