The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the state of journalism, and they need to hear from you by Friday, Nov. 6. Don't miss this opportunity to tell the FTC what you need from the news.

Buried in the fine print of the FCC's proposed Net Neutrality rules is a potential loophole that if left open would undermine the future of Internet freedom. So says a group of prominent law professors who on Monday told the FCC that its proposed rules don't sufficiently define what the agency means by its use of the terms "non-discrimination" and "reasonable network management."

We must enshrine basic principles of openness and fairness into the rules governing how Internet service providers operate -- giving the FCC the authority to be the proverbial cop on the cyber beat and ensuring that these principles of freedom and competition are upheld in the marketplace.

We need to begin debating ways for enlightened public subsidies to provide a competitive and independent digital news media. Also, we should greatly expand funding for public and community media, and establish policies that help convert dying daily newspapers into post-corporate low-profit news operations. If we do so, journalism and democracy will not just survive. They will flourish.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission has approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Network Neutrality policies that would preserve the open Internet on all wired and wireless networks.