Link of the Week: March 9 - 15
C-Span on Demand
Many TV news programs provide only superficial coverage of events — or show content designed to have emotional impact, rather than informational value. That's why I find myself tuning in to C-Span more than ever — on TV, radio and especially on the Internet, where they have video on demand. A box that appears on every page of the site allows searches for recent content.

C-Span lacks the punch of other news programs, but it may be the closest you can come to unbiased news. It covers the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate when they are in session, as well as congressional hearings, White House press briefings, speeches and other important public affairs events that can have great impact but get little notice elsewhere on TV.

Using free players (links for download are on C-Span's home page) and an Internet connection, you can search for the news you want and then view video clips of that news. For instance, during the past week on C-Span, you could have watched Tom Ridge's budget testimony, a Hearing on the Haitian political situation, a Mars Rover briefing, a Ralph Nader speech or an American Perspectives program on Howard Dean and Lynne Cheney. And, you can still view or listen to all of these programs on the Web. If you don't plan to watch on the Web, be sure to check the TV schedules which are updated every evening to keep programming timely.

Nonprofits Online
View our latest links page for nonprofits here.

Media Forum Links
The handouts that were distributed by journalists at our media forum are online. Journalist contact information is posted also, if you want to follow up with any of the people you met at the forum (or if you live in the Asheville area and want to see what you missed!).

Link/Article of the Week Archives
For your convenience, we've begun archiving past weeks' featured links and articles.

The Missing Link
Have any suggestions for us regarding next week’s link? Or is there information you seek, but you can’t find a helpful link? Let us know! If others would benefit from the information, we just may track down a link for you, or use your suggestion as Link of the Week.

Contribute Online!
It is now possible to contribute to FIRE online using your credit card. Please help us out, we can't be effective without your financial support! In the future, we will also be using similar technology, provided by PayPal, to enable you to pay for our upcoming events from our website with ease.

<<<<<<Hey, What's That?
Glad you asked! That box on the left border of the page is a new way to keep up with FIRE. Type in your e-mail, hit subscribe, and we'll do the rest! You'll get occasional updates from us about new workshops, links and assorted FIRE services. We won't barrage you with e-mails or distribute your e-mail address. Please sign up today.

Help Put a Local Paper on the Web!: If you have some spare time to give to a good cause, we could use your help! Please visit our new volunteer opportunities page.

Tell Us What You Think
Are you enjoying our "link of the week" and "article spotlight" features? Please let us know.

Welcome to FIRE, a non-profit organization which provides community media resources to the Appalachian region. You can use the search box on this page to search our online archive of media outlets throughout the area. If you are a local journalist (or want to be), visit the "Resources for Journalists" section. You'll find resources that will improve your community reporting skills and will enable area residents to easily locate your published articles online.

FIRE's purpose is to promote citizen participation and community-based media. Please contact us if you would like to participate in our programs or if you have any feedback that will improve this Web site.