Tag Archives: Media

The innovative Creative Commons is taking their flexible copyright to the world: A customisable form of copyright license will soon be available internationally through the Creative Commons, a non-profit organisation based in the US. The organisation already offers US artists a way build their own copyright agreement. Each custom-made license …

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein is deeply concerned with proposed further media deregulation, and well he should be: FCC Chairman Michael Powell has vowed to overhaul these rules by June 2. A bipartisan group of 15 U.S. senators recently asked him to hold off on any changes until the FCC discloses …

Another incisive commentary from Dave Pell, this one on the grim state of Democratic thinking, and he’s a Democrat: The tsunami from the right has been so complete in recent years that it almost seems as if they are operating in a vacuum. Politically, the Republicans have control of the …

The Dixie Chicks seem to be weathering the negative publicity from their anti-Bush/war statements rather well. Maybe we’ve entered a new era of show biz negative advertising campaigns, as I mentioned earlier today in relationship to Madonna. They’ve done wonders for us here, too, that’s for sure (see below). The …

It is the American way: turn the news into an action figure and make some scratch: Herobuilders.com owner Emil Vicale said he wanted to take advantage of the craze and built the doll of al-Sahaf dressed in trademark army fatigues and black beret to be sold for $35.95. “We were …

Boss calls anti-Chick campaign “un-American” on his website: The Dixie Chicks have taken a big hit lately for exercising their basic right to express themselves. To me, they’re terrific American artists expressing American values by using their American right to free speech. For them to be banished wholesale from radio …

Paul Allen is at it again: the Science Fiction Experience will open in 2004: “Science fiction shows us that change is constant and exhilarating,” said Microsoft co-founder Allen, who is funding the project. Flanked by science fiction props such as Captain Kirk’s original command chair from the “Star Trek” television …

It’s very easy to look at large corporations as impersonal monoliths, but often the business they transact is very personal. Take the relationship between AOL’s Steve Case and Bertelsmann’s Thomas Middelhoff: Mr. Case, 44, who formally departs next month as the company’s chairman, still communicates often by e-mail and instant …

First, Cory Doctorow presented comments to the FCC (on behalf of the EFF) asking it to allocate unused TV frequencies to unlicensed use under the same terms as the 2.4GHz spectrum in which WiFi runs: The First Amendment calls on government to eschew regulation of who may speak and how …

Sony decides its application for a trademark on the term “shock and awe” for its PlayStation videogames unit isn’t worth the criticism: There have been press reports to the effect that Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has filed a trademark application for the …