IP: The Internet bares all

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 13:27:34 -0400
From: Bill Frezza <frezza () alum MIT EDU>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>

Declan,

Don't know if you saw my recent Op-ed in InternetWeek (below, and also at 
http://www.internetwk.com/columns/frezz100598.htm ). I thought the Politech
list
might enjoy it.

Regards,

Bill Frezza - MIT '76
______________________________
Bill Frezza, General Partner
Adams Capital Management
668 Stoney Hill Rd., Suite 155
Yardley, PA 19067
Phone: 215-321-0929
Email: frezza () alum MIT EDU

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TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES: THE INTERNET BARES ALL
by Bill Frezza
Copyright InternetWeek, October 1998

Watching Bill Clinton's ship of state slowly sink into a foul mire of its own
making, one can't help but be transfixed with the same horrible fascination
that drew so many viewers to the blockbuster movie "Titanic." Everyone knew
the
outcome in advance, yet the awesome spectacle of the great ship going down,
accompanied by flashback commentary describing the exact nature and
progress of
its mortal wounds, served as an abject lesson on the wages of hubris. 

Regardless of one's political leanings, it's fair to say that we are facing a
watershed in our nation's history--not just the destruction of a flawed
politician, but the unraveling of the imperial presidency. 

"Old media" and hard times created the imperial presidency when Franklin
D.  Roosevelt transformed a constitutionally limited government of
enumerated powers into an unbridled leviathan. As federal power grew,
escaping the fetters crafted by the founders, mass media played a key role
in molding public opinion. Gulled by brilliant propagandists, the
citizenry abandoned its instinctive distrust and invested its faith not
just in elected rulers but in a new class of pundits, journalists and
opinion leaders who, they were told, could be trusted to serve as
disinterested watchdogs over the burgeoning central power.

Unfortunately, this "fourth branch" of government was driven by a business
model that could not help but foster a symbiotic relationship between the
press and the very people they were supposed to watch. In addition, the
false scarcity created by government spectrum policy resulted in an
oligopoly of broadcast networks whose interests were far more common than
diverse. While the outward appearance of an adversarial press was
maintained, in fact the media took care to protect the people and
institutions from which they drew their power and influence.

The destruction of the Clinton presidency never could have happened at the
hands of old media. Clinton's defenders and apologists are absolutely
right:  This president's disgraceful behavior and persistent mendacity
make him no different from either his predecessors or the hypocrites who
occupy Congress.  The only difference is that the old media elites have
lost their ability to frame the debate.

Instead, the white blaze of the spotlight has moved to the Internet, which
has no owners, brooks no pundits and offers no controls. The Internet
imposes no limitations on content and hence requires no manipulating or
manipulated editors. The Internet's business model will not create a
symbiosis with the nation's rulers because it has no unified business
model. It is a diverse, decentralized, irreverent, snarling watchdog that
our founding fathers certainly would have loved.

The release of the entire Starr report on the Internet was not a
calculated act of political sabotage by the Republican party. Rather, it
was a panicked act of surrender. By disenfranchising the intermediaries
that ruled the airwaves for half a century, a precedent has been set that
will undermine the spin doctors of both parties, along with the
millionaire news anchors who serve them.

Let's have it out. Let's have it all out, every bit of dirty laundry in
every nook and cranny in Washington. Let the accusers and the accused go
down together, and by breaking through the fog and smoke, lay waste to a
self-perpetuating political machine that has run amok.

What old media and hard times created, new media and good times can destroy. 

And as this process unfolds and federal paralysis sets in, perhaps the
people will awake from their stupor and realize that they don't need an
all-powerful president and Congress to "run the country." This country and
its resourceful, hard-working citizens are fully capable of taking care of
themselves.

Bill Frezza is a general partner at Adams Capital Management. The opinions
expressed here are his own. He can be reached at frezza () alum MIT EDU or
www.networkcomputing.com/frezza/frezza.html .