Build the Echo is a site administered by Executive Editor Jessica Clark and Publisher Tracy Van Slyke of In These Times magazine, developed to continue the work we began with our maps of the Conservative Media Machine and the Emerging Progressive Media Network, published in the spring of 2005. The map and accompanying article generated a groundswell of response from media organizations and outlets, and continues to serve as reference point for the quickly evolving progressive media sphere.

Since late last year, we have been keeping tabs on the intersection of media and activism in “Spin Cycle,” a brief monthly column in In These Times and are participating in a variety of media activism and research efforts while working on the next stage of the maps, slated for publication in the June 2006 issue.

Here’s what we’ve been reading lately