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Closing arguments are set for Monday in ACLU v. Gonzales, the latest chapter in the long saga of the Child Online Protection Act. Under the law, racy internet content would be put behind a virtual wall, which many websites argue would deter readers and slash ad revenue. But it’s more likely that COPA will die a quiet death in the courts. Reason magazine’s Kerry Howley tells Brooke that it’s no big loss.
For people who spend a lot of time online, "network neutrality" is one of the most important issues pending in Washington. But the question of whether to create a "premium lane" on the information superhighway also has a lot of bearing on TV, too. This Wednesday, Rick Karr will examine the future of the Internet for PBS' Moyers on America. He gives us a preview of what's at stake.
Last weekend's $1.6 billion deal between Google and YouTube left some people scratching their heads over the enormity of the price-tag. New media consultant Rishad Tobaccowala tells Bob why the online video site is worth that much., despite the giant obsticles Google will face in making YouTube a money-maker.
Former Virginia governor and presidential hopeful Mark Warner recently took one small step for politicians, when he became the first major politician to deliver a press conference in Second Life, a virtual online world. Warner tells Brooke why his campaign schedule included Second Life, and why he’ll be stumping there again.
Second Life is not a game, its creators and residents insist, but rather a virtual world, with an ever-growing population. It attracts real-world investors like Harvard University, and real-world performers like Suzanne Vega. Brooke speaks with economists, gamers, politicians and journalists about the lure of reinventing the real-world online. And she goes inside to take a look for herself.
Slowly but surely, Congress members are waking up to the online citizenry’s ability to hold them accountable. As for the volunteer watchdogs, the reward may be more than a matter of virtue. This week, transparency advocates announced a bounty of $1000 for any person who gets their Congress member to post his or her schedule online. Bob speaks with Sunlight Foundation national director Zephyr Teachout about the “changing culture of citizenry.”
As the summer draws to a close, so does the season-long Internet mystery of lonelygirl15. Sixteen year-old “Bree” posted regular video logs about her life on YouTube, where a half-million viewers tuned in to watch what happened next. But it turns out Bree, 16, is really Jessica, 19, an aspiring actress living in Los Angeles. Brooke bids farewell to the lonely girl that never was.
As long as citizen journalism proponents have been pumping its merits, skeptics have been bothered by one question: Where will the funds come from? NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen thinks he has an answer, and is launching a website to test it. He tells Bob how NewAssignment.net will attempt to harness the experience of ordinary people to mount investigative projects that mainstream media just aren’t up to.
