THE MEDIACRACY

NEWS FLASH: WALL STREET JOURNAL GETTING SMALLER. . . 24/7 COVERAGE

WILLIAM POWERS, NATIONAL JOURNAL - The debut of the smaller [Wall
Street] Journal came with a ponderous eight-page "Reader's Guide" full
of throat-clearing ("Today's changes . . . are part of a tradition of
innovation that began with The Journal's founding in 1889"),
self-congratulation ("Embracing Change to Build on a Tradition of
Excellence"), pandering ("How the Changing Needs of Readers Drive the
New Design of The Journal"), and needlessly complex explanations of
other design changes.

The lead piece by publisher L. Gordon Crovitz took eight long paragraphs
to get to the most obvious issue: "We've reduced the width of the
newspaper." He attributed this change, first and foremost, to reader
requests, referring only parenthetically to what everyone knows is the
crucial factor, newsprint costs.

This is classic top-down mediaspeak, pomposity rooted in insecurity.
It's why newspapers are the butt of so many jokes, while relatively
lightweight New Media outlets are taken seriously. They seem to speak
more plainly and with less guile.

http://nationaljournal.com/powers.htm

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MISTER ROGERS VS. THE MOVIE MOGULS

WIKIPEDIA - During the controversy surrounding the introduction of the
household VCR, Rogers was involved in supporting the manufacturers of
VCRs in court. His 1979 testimony in the case Sony Corp. of America v.
Universal City Studios, Inc. noted that he did not object to home
recording of his television programs, for instance, by families in order
to watch together at a later time. This testimony contrasted with the
views of others in the television industry who objected to home
recording or believed that devices to facilitate it should be taxed or
regulated.

The Supreme Court considered the testimony of Rogers in its decision
that held that the Betamax video recorder did not infringe copyright.
The Court stated that his views were a notable piece of evidence "that
many [television] producers are willing to allow private time-shifting
to continue;" it even quoted his testimony in a footnote:

|||| Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the
"Neighborhood" at hours when some children cannot use it . . . I have
always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that
allows people to tape the "Neighborhood" off-the-air, and I'm speaking
for the "Neighborhood" because that's what I produce, that they then
become much more active in the programming of their family's television
life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others.
My whole approach in broadcasting has always been "You are an important
person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions." Maybe I'm
going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to
be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is
important. ||||

The Home Recording Rights Coalition later stated that Rogers was "one of
the most prominent witnesses on this issue."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Rogers

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