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A robust discussion on freedom of speech

I was honoured to be the moderator of an important discussion on freedom of speech at the 2023 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival in Montreal. [https://bluemetropolis.org/event/freedom-of-speech-propaganda-and-cacophony/]

The discussion focused on the challenges facing the fundamental human right of freedom of expression in the age of social media, ongoing government attempts at repression, and corporate control of communication resources.

I have published on this and related questions for over thirty years and it continues to be one of my main concerns.

Looking for Alicia wins the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction

Looking for Alicia: The Unfinished Life of an Argentinian Rebel was announced winner of the 2022 Quebec Writers’ Federation prestigious Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction at last night’s annual QWF Awards Gala. [https://qwf.org/award-year/2022/]

The Jury’s citation reads as follows:

“Marc Raboy’s investigation into the disappearance of Argentine journalist and social activist, Alicia Raboy, succeeds in many ways. As a personal memoir, it uncovers surprising family links (Marc and Alicia are distantly related). As a political essay, it delves into the nature of repressive and democratic governments. As a page-turning story, it sweeps away the dust around a decades-old mystery. As a cautionary tale, it warns of the consequences that idealistic youth inevitably face in their zeal to confront corrupt powers that be. As a moral treatise, it posits that the search for justice is an obligation that continues long after unpunished crimes were committed.”

You can access more news and reviews about Looking for Alicia here

Chinese edition of Marconi published

The Mandarin edition of Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World has been published by Hunan Science and Technology Press and is now out in China, reviewed, and on sale in bookstores as well as available in major university libraries. Xièxiè!

See a selection of news and reviews about Marconi here and here 

My new book, Looking for Alicia: The Unfinished Life of an Argentinian Rebel, will appear in April 2022

If anyone is wondering what I’ve been doing for the past few years, here is the answer.

Looking for AliciaLooking for Alicia

Looking for Alicia is the story of a woman born with the rebellious DNA of a typical 1960s radical, whose destiny was anything but typical.

The book explores how Alicia lived out her determination to make a difference in the world, and how her life can be a beacon – or a cautionary tale – for young people today.

This is a fundamentally human story, of an individual whose everyday life became entangled with history. But its broader relevance is more than just historical. It is also about how people deal with the circumstances they are dealt, and about human agency, the choices we make.

Recent News Regarding Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World

Marconi is now available in both hardcover and paperback print editions, as an ebook on various platforms, and as an audiobook. Check your favourite website for wherever books are sold, or ask for it at a library near you.

Since the last time I updated this blog, a number of new articles and reviews about Marconi have appeared. See a selection of Marconi press reports here and here

I continue to receive queries and messages from readers all over the world on various aspects of the Marconi story. If you write to me, I will respond!

Networking Global Communication in and Beyond the Age of Social Media

I retired from active teaching on December 31, 2017. Since that time, I have been kept busy with ongoing writing activities. I continue to intervene on issues that have concerned me during my academic career, and continue to be active in the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).

In October 2018, a group of my dear former students and some colleagues organized a day-long “Festschrift” conference to celebrate my work. A description of the event, entitled “Networking Global Communication in and Beyond the Age of Social Media,” can be found here.

Marc Raboy’s recent appearances

Presentation at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD), Princeton University, “Marconi and the 20th century triumph of radio,” April 7, 2017

Participation as “celebrity author” at BiblioBash, Toronto Public Library, April 27, 2017

Marc Raboy and telecom scholar Eli Noam at the CSPR summit in Calgary, May 11, 2017
Marc Raboy and telecom scholar Eli Noam at the CSPR summit in Calgary, May 11, 2017

Panelist, “Does a biography have the last word?” (with Rosemary Sullivan and Laurent Seksik), Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, Montreal, April 29, 2017

Featured speaker, Canadian Spectrum Policy Research Summit, University of Calgary, May 11, 2017