That’s the warning of a Valleywag piece.
It notes that the Federal Trade Commission will hear out proposals in such areas as “copyright law and doctrine, including the ‘fair use’ of news stories."
Will we see the FTC recommending copyright-law changes and tax breaks?
The mainstream media tend to be wimps as it as. Imagine what’ll happen if they’re granted even more special favors. I want newspapers to thrive, not just survive. But this isn’t the way to do it.
For a good look at what can happen when news monopolies rule, check out The Brass Check. TeleRead was the first to get this Upton Sinclair classic on the Web.
Related FTC documents: From Town Crier to Blogger: How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age? and a discussion of “fundamental financial challenges to many news organizations.”
I wish the ftc would lay off the blogger minnows, until after it’s busted up the zillions of local cable monopolies across the country, instead. Consumers are *always* harmed when they are a captive audience. (Relevant to reading, to those who have a *cable* internet connection…)