Setting the price of a free press

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Robert Alberti <alberti () sanction net>
Date: August 23, 2009 9:41:55 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Setting the price of a free press
Reply-To: alberti () sanction net

Marcy Wheeler (handle: emptywheel) posted this carefully thought out
post mortem of one example of egregious Beltway journalism:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/08/22/mark-ambinders-cave/
It's well worth reviewing in light of the discussion of the future of
journalism.

In my view, in order for journalism in America to have any future
whatsoever, existing anti-trust laws need to be leveraged against the
megacorporations that have turned mainstream news into the corporate
communications arm of their parent companies.

Today being Sunday, the morning airwaves will feature news and politics
talking heads, all of whom are carrying water for corporate
establishment interests.  In today's case, I hazard a guess that we will
hear the corporate line that public option health care reform is dead in
the water, and with it the entire Obama administration.  Because that's
what the corporations, particularly the health care organizations that
have boardmembers on every major network except CBS, want the population
to believe. The truth, that according to polls 72% of the population
want a public health care option*, will be ignored for the fabricated
reality that the corporate communications divisions want us to accept.

-Bob Alberti

*
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/19/opinion/polls/main5098517.shtml

On Sun, 2009-08-23 at 09:04 -0400, David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Dave Crossland <dave () lab6 com>
> Date: August 22, 2009 9:14:48 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: [IP] Setting the price of a free press
>
> Hi,
>
> First post for me, for IP if you think its thoughtful; congrats on the
> great list btw, enjoying it a lot :-)
>
> 2009/8/23 David Farber <dave () farber net>:
> > But in fact I'm not too worried.  The Internet has a way of eroding
> > power.
>
> But what if the consortium is not going to be vending on the Internet?
>
> I think that there is _no way_ that Murdoch would try this on the
> regular open web, it is so obviously not going to work there. They
> must believe they have an alternative distribution channel that won't
> meaningfully leak onto the web.
>
> And I think there is one starting to take shape on the mobile devices
> which have their own internal mobile-phone-based data connections and
> are heavily DRM'd - Amazon Kindle and friends (Sony ebooks, Windows 7
> netbooks, the widely-rumoured upcoming Apple iTablet) and iPhone and
> friends (Nokia's upcoming iPhone-like devices, potentially Google
> Android devices too)
>
> With their own private network connections, these devices no longer
> need to be connected to any other device. Any data sharing
> requirements (addressbook, music library, etc) will be proxied through
> network services instead of done directly with a cable. No memory card
> drives, no cable connections, no way to install anything 'unsuitable.'
>
> There will be access to the open web, but it will be secondary to the
> private network's services by having a lower quality user experience.
> That is all that is needed to create the class divide.
>
> People will want the devices for their convenience and superior
> reading/user experience. This UX design will separate them from
> reading on the web in people's minds. Thus distinct, people won't mind
> paying for electronic reading of daily news on the devices, especially
> if it is much cheaper than the monthly cost of a print edition.
>
> The devices will cede control of advertising from Google to the
> publishers by reaching audiences Google can't; they'll get into the
> hands of people who won't take their news on existing computing
> devices because they don't have jobs mediated by computers.
>
> Pulling the mainstream media news off the open web is key to this,
> because it will force the people who already started taking their news
> on the web (ie, everyone on the IP list) to either abandon MSMN
> totally, or to buy into the new distribution channel either in
> parallel with their existing access habits, or - the goal - to bring
> their existing habits into the realm of the secondary user experience
> of this channel; and being savvy types, we'll be able to suffer the
> slightly lower grade UX perhaps without even really noticing it is a
> bit fiddly.
>
> Afterall, many of us are savvy enough to accept Apple's existing
> products....
>
> I think I'm going to read Stallman's "Right to Read" story again.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
>
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--
Robert Alberti, CISSP, ISSMP                       (612) 961-0507 cell
President, Sanction, Inc.                          (612) 486-5000 x211
http://sanction.net                                (612) 486-5000 fax
"Security solutions are cultural solutions facilitated by technology."





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