MSM Falling Down

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I've been thinking a lot lately about all the things that happen in a typical day (some noteworthy, some not) that are missed by the mainstream press. Particularly if you live in a place smaller than New York City, there are a lot of interesting things and events that escape attention. In particular, I was struck by the things that happened in Florida last week that apparently didn't merit a mention in the local paper or on the local news. The MSM dynamic seems simple in large markets - MSM outlets often look for stories that can differentiate them from competitors. But what if you're in a smaller media market? A lot more tends to get missed.

Steve Rubel Speaks (Finally)

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Steve Rubel has broken his silence on the NY Times story and subsequent controversy concerning his new employer (Edelman), a client (Wal-Mart) and certain bloggers. Personally, I'm giving Steve the benefit of the doubt because I know he's a stand-up guy. And I think that given this recent controversy, Edelman needs someone like Steve internally to effect some real change there and make transparency the guiding principle at that agency.

I think Steve is just getting up to speed with his new gig, so it's obvious he wasn't involved with the whole Wal-Mart flap. I just hope that more Steve rubs off on Edelman than Edelman rubs off on Steve.

And I'm glad that Steve did post something about the controversy because leaving it unaddressed would have made folks think that there was more there than met the eye.

Maximum PC April

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I recently picked up an issue of Maximum PC from a newsstand at Penn Station. Every once in a while, I pick up a copy of the magazine just for fun, but this month, the cover seemed to call out to me. The issue was all about freeing content from boundaries. If I had to characterize its tone, I'd say it was along the lines of "screw the man." The articles inside editorialized about the DMCA and how it screws your average, ordinary content consumer more than it screws pirating operations. Given that we've seen instances where major content publishers have been caught installing viruses on people's machines to prevent them from making copies of audio CDs, I'm inclined to agree with that point of view.

Anyway, back to the April issue. The bundled CD includes apps that facilitate copying DVDs, compressing them and getting them on other devices. I was particularly psyched to see utilities that could help me put movies on my Sony PSP and on my 60GB video iPod. This is great because I have an entire collection of DVDs laying around in my basement and I'd really like to make them portable without having to buy yet another hardware device.

I lent my copy (and the CD) to Eric so he can check it out, but I installed much of the CD on my laptop and have been messing with it on the train. Cool stuff - I'd like to get all six Star Wars movies on my iPod, seeing as how I've already paid for them on DVD. (In some cases, I've paid for them twice or three times. For instance, I have a copy of Episode IV on VHS. I also have a copy of the "Special Edition" of Episode IV on VHS. I also have a DVD of it.) I think I've paid for this movie too many times already - I should be able to put it on whatever portable device I fancy at the moment.

Regardless of the DRM schemes entertainment companies manage to push through, people are tired of paying over and over for the same content in different formats. And they're also getting tired of entertainment companies' ambiguity regarding whether users are being licensed content or sold a format. So they're going to do things like download apps that give them freedom to move content between devices. And the entertainment companies will once again be in the position of having to reinvent themselves, or pick up the lawsuits against 12-year-old girls.