On Wednesday, trade ministers from 34 countries will begin three days of closed-door sessions to advance negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Under this agreement, US regulations that protect media diversity, localism and the public interest could be attacked as 'barriers to trade.' Media ownership limits could be considered outright 'trade violations.' Most absurdly, multinational corporations could seek cash 'compensation' -- paid for by taxpayer dollars -- if secret tribunals of trade lawyers found our government's public interest media policies to be 'unduly burdensome' to competition. The FTAA is a sweeping agreement that would extend the failed NAFTA model of corporate-driven globalization to the entire Western Hemisphere, minus Cuba. Tens of thousands of protesters will greet these trade ministers with a powerful display of opposition to the FTAA and with concrete proposals for alternatives, in what is shaping up to be the most important showdown over corporate globalization since Seattle. What would the FTAA mean for media, culture, and communications? Put simply, the agreement threatens to undermine media democracy, privatize public services, and expand corporate power in every sector. Under the FTAA, laws that limit media ownership could be considered 'trade violations,' and public funding for nonprofit media could be attacked. Media corporations would be allowed to sue governments for maintaining democratically created, public interest media and cultural policies. The recent battle against FCC deregulation could be rendered moot. However, there is reason for hope: the FTAA summit comes on the heels of the collapse of World Trade Organization negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. In Cancun, a newly formed coalition of countries from the Global South, emboldened by protests in the streets of Cancun and around the world, walked out of the WTO in rejection of the strong-arm tactics of wealthy countries. Free Press was there, organizing the Cancun Forum on Communication Rights vs. 'Free Trade' and supporting the Independent Media Center Cancun (cancun.mediosindependientes.org). The failure of the WTO meetings makes regional trade agreements like the FTAA the leading edge of the multinational corporate drive to override democracy. For all those who support democracy, environmental sustainability, media diversity and human rights, the Miami mobilization this week is a crucial opportunity to carry forward the momentum of Cancun and derail this disastrous agreement. The trade ministers will be greeted in Miami by hundreds of thousands of protesters from across the globe. Media activists from across the country and around the world will be marching together with thousands from labor, the environmental movement, academia, indigenous populations, small farmers, and many others. Join us in saying, "Our Media Are Not for Sale!" It's the next chapter of the historic struggle that will determine whether or not we trade away our environment, our public services, our culture and our media. * For further information see: http://www.mediareform.net/ftaa