Blogger as Journalist: the Trivialization of Journalism?

June 10, 2006

The recent California Apple case extending the protection of that state’s shield law to bloggers was hailed by the blogosphere, and in many respects I’m sure that the evaporation of that distinction between professional and amateur is a good thing. But as I listened this morning to a podcast mourning the recent dissipation of protections […]

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The Surveillance Society

June 10, 2006

There have been several streams of news lately touching on surveillance, and I thought I would jot down a few notes of the ones that appear to be currently most visible. The disclosure two weeks ago by CNET that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller had privately urged telecommunications officials to […]

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News of the Warm

June 7, 2006

Harry Shearer, the actor and satirist, has launched a new ‘copyrighted feature’ on his radio show / podcast Le Show called “News of the Warm” – news of global warming. The new segment first runs at about 25:30 on the June 4 show. You’ll drop by because it’s informative, but you’ll stay because it’s bitingly […]

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Bloggers as Journalists

June 7, 2006

One of the more intriguing views of the recent California case extending the protection of that state’s shield law to bloggers is suggested by Michael’s recent article on the case. After noting that the purpose of such protections is to shield the public’s right to know and protect society’s interest in keeping power honest, Michael […]

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The Heroic Adventures of Captain Copyright

June 7, 2006

It’s not easy being a Superhero. At first I thought Captain Copyright was the heroic and valiant defender of creators everywhere – bringing infringers their just desserts, keeping the world safe for creativity, and doing all of it in tights! Now I’m leaning to misguided propaganda tool. Follow the Captain’s exciting adventures here, here and […]

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Critique of Study Urging a Canadian DMCA

June 7, 2006

Tim Lee writes a short critique of a new study by the Progress and Freedom Foundation, as Tim puts it, “urging Canada to adopt stronger anti-circumvention laws”.

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The Future of Books

June 6, 2006

With regularity now, the NYT is running extensive pieces on the Web’s transformation of traditional media, particularly books. Recently, it was Kevin Kelly’s piece on book publishing attracting attention; more recently, Motoko Rich writes on the impact the Web is having on book distribution and marketing. One theme of the piece is the reluctance some […]

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LASIK v. Performance Enhancing Drugs

June 6, 2006

William Saletan has a provocative post on Slate about whether there is an ethical difference between athletes using performance enhancing drugs and LASIK eye surgery.

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English High Court: ISP Not Liable for Defamation by Hosted Website

June 5, 2006

This isn’t a novel principle for our US friends, assisted as they are by the Communications Decency Act, but it is in common law Canada – an English court has recently found an ISP not liable for defamation caused by a hosted website.

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Ingredients for Web 2.0 Success

June 5, 2006

Here, finally, the definitive explanation.

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More on Music and the Long Tail

June 5, 2006

The NYT has a short piece about Rhino Entertainment’s plan to use an online-only selling strategy for material with niche appeal: The decision to also put out an online-only album, “Lunafied,” which includes Luna’s versions of songs by the Velvet Underground, the Talking Heads and others that were originally recorded for soundtracks or as bonus […]

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FIFA Pre-emptive Demand, Redux

June 4, 2006

In a reprise of their pre-emptive demand letter sent to a Canadian ISP some time ago and cheerfully dissected by Michael Geist at the time (“It is abusive demands such as these that give many Canadians reason for concern about overly aggressive rights holders who shoot first and aim later.”), the rightsholder’s counsel is at […]

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