By Karen Archer Perry, director of Community Outreach and Programs, Knight Center of Digital Excellence

With $787 billion in economic stimulus funding trickling into the market, there are more than just school kids studying the workings of government inside the beltway.

My spring trip to our nation’s capital started May 12 at a breakfast sponsored by Broadband Census. The discussion focused on broadband stimulus funding and development of a national broadband policy that will include definitions of un-served and underserved.

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), who directs the FCC through his role as chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, suggested a very narrow definition of underserved communities. He also made clear a strong inclination to give grant preferences to commercial players over municipal entrants, citing their ability to put people to work and to complete projects on time.

From the Broadband Breakfast, my tour took me to the Media and Democracy Coalition’s annual meeting, where Executive Director Beth McConnell was working to pull common agendas from this fiercely independent and passionate group of local media activists and advocates. After joining Free Press for the Members Meeting of Internet For Everyone, it’s refreshing to see organizations such as these having an active and important voice in the upcoming debates on broadband and media policy.

My final stop was at the Newseum, a 250,000 square-foot museum of news, for the Free Press Summit on Changing Media, sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In contrast to what I found in earlier meetings, this group was looking for bold changes in policy to tightly connect democracy with the free flow of information and with pervasive, ubiquitous access. While all of the speakers were excellent, it was a special treat to hear from three generations of FCC Chairmen: Acting Chairman Michael Copps and former chairs Michael Powell and Reed Hundt. Hundt spoke of the need to create an EducationNet, DemocracyNet, HealthNet and EngergyNet. Powell noted that broadband policy was so strategic to the country that it should really be driven from the office of the president and not the FCC.

Copps presented a compelling vision of the need for change. He identified four tenants for the future of media:

1) It’s all about democracy, and democracy requires information and access;

2) Old Media is not dead and must continue to be on the regulatory radar screen;

3) We must apply our lessons from past regulatory experience to the new environment to ensure true openness, nondiscrimination and competition;

4) Community and grassroots activism will be needed to capitalize on this opportunity and actually usher in the change we all desire. Add to their vision, the words from Susan Crawford, a member of President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council, and the trip certainly capped with inspiration.

The real lesson for all of us, including the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, is the same as it is for students learning about our government for the first time: Government serves us best when we pay attention, stay informed and become engaged. We are the people in the democracy, and for our government to be responsive we need to participate at every level. Let the debate be full and robust.