Category: media

NBC, which has refused to rate its programs for content, says it will now do so. “The ratings system was developed in 1997 in response to the V-chip section of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, but NBC refused to run the descriptors — V for violence, S for sexual content, L for vulgar language, D for suggestive dialogue and FV for fantasy violence — because of First Amendment concerns and the fear that the onscreen clutter would confuse viewers.”

What’s so smart about turning off your TV? “What does that solve? “Here I am, cutting myself off from the world in the name of …” What? “Spending more quality time with my family?” “Reading a book?” “Getting outside for some exercise and fresh air?” “Contributing to my community in some meaningful way?” … instead of sitting like a lump on the couch, brain in neutral, pallid features bathed in flickering cathode radiation … TV does not prevent you from doing these things. You prevent you from doing these things. It’s called a sense of proportion.”

British TV viewers are tuning out of election coverage on television. “For the three weeks before the election was called BBC One’s Six O’Clock News had an average of 4.7 million viewers, which has since slipped to 4.5 million. Broadcast editor Conor Dignam said this showed viewers see the election campaign as “a bore”.”

It’s Tilt-At-Windmills Week again, otherwise known as TV Turnoff Week, when do-gooders across the U.S. beg, plead, and otherwise cajole us to snap off the tube and for-God’s-sake-do-something-with-our-lives. But this year, you may not notice the usual screeching about the evils of television, because proponents of the turnoff effort are taking a new tack, and you probably won’t even know they’re working on you unless you’re paying close attention.

A bill giving legal protection to companies which “sanitize” Hollywood movies by removing nudity, profanity, and innuendo was signed into law by President Bush on Wednesday. “The legislation, called the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, creates an exemption in copyright laws to make sure companies selling filtering technology won’t get sued out of existence.”

“People who ‘pirate’ music and movies on the internet in the US face up to three years in jail under a new law signed by President Bush on Wednesday. The bill targets file-sharers who put copies of new songs and films online before their commercial release. It also introduces tough new penalties for anyone caught in a cinema filming a movie with a video camera.”

Rock music is falling off American radio airwaves. “In the last four months, radio executives have switched the formats of four modern-rock, or alternative, stations in big media markets, including WHFS in Washington-Baltimore area, WPLY in Philadelphia and the year-old KRQI in Seattle. Earlier this month WXRK in New York discarded most newer songs in favor of a playlist laden with rock stars from the 80’s and 90’s. Music executives say the lack of true stars today is partly the reason.”

Bollywood, home to the world’s biggest movie industry has long had a shady connection to organized crime. But four years ago “top conglomerates run by India’s wealthiest families plunged into film financing when the Indian government declared Bollywood a bona fide industry. A series of flops and millions of lost dollars later, however, and the more respectable investors are running scared, leaving Bollywood’s hopes of putting its murky past behind in tatters.”

“A French court has ordered DVD vendors to pull copies of the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive off store shelves as part of an unprecedented ruling against copy prevention techniques. The appeals court ruled Friday that copy prevention software on the DVD violated privacy rights in the case of one consumer who had tried to transfer the film onto a video cassette for personal use. The ruling could be a major setback for the DVD industry, which places lock software on disks as part of its battle against piracy. The industry blames illegal copying for millions of dollars in lost revenues each year.”

Technophiles have been saying for months now that “podcasting” – the do-it-yourself method of creating downloadable audio shows – will eclipse traditional radio, and a low-rated San Francisco station apparently believes the hype. KYCY-AM will shortly be converting its format from all-talk to do-it-yourself, giving a traditional broadcast outlet to podcasters across the globe. The station manager calls the “open source radio” idea a low-risk format, though it likely won’t bring in big advertising dollars at first.