danah boyd, researcher at Microsoft Research New England and Fellow at the Harvard University Berkman Center for Internet and Society, serving as a Commissioner on the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities (in the USA).

She just announced the release of the report, entitled Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age.

We begin our report by asking, “What are the information needs of communities in a democracy?” Following this reflective analysis, we outline findings and recommendations, centered on three objectives:

• Maximize the availability of relevant and credible information to all Americans and their communities
• Strengthen the capacity of individuals to engage with information
• Promote individual engagement with information and the public life of the community

The report concerns itself with journalism, open government, broadband access, digital/media literacy, skills, civic engagement, local communities, socioeconomic and sociotechnical inequality, education, free speech, etc.