Free Debates: A campaign to get FOX to do the right thing

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Lessig

As reported at TPM, some in the coalition who originally made the call on the RNC and DNC to insist upon free debates are now pushing FOX to stop its copyright threats on McCain and others. Again, I had wished Senator Clinton (AWOL on this issue) would have made the call. She remains, sadly, AWOL.

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2 Responses to Free Debates: A campaign to get FOX to do the right thing

  1. three blind mice says:
    November 2, 2007 at 11:16 am

    In a press release just blasted out by MoveOn, RedState.com founder Eric Erickson, a prominent right-wing blogger, is quoted saying: “Already FOX is viewed as a partisan network by the Democrats, who will not use that forum for debates…Every other news organization has liberated their debate footage and FOX should either be no different or no longer have the privilege of airing debates.”

    note to eric erickson: fox WANTS to be viewed as a partisan network by democrats. they do not want to be seen as “every other news organisation”. their entire business model is built on this.

    the right wing is calling on THEIR network to be “no different” than any other news organisation. this is incredible. why should every “news organisation” be the same? isn’t this socialism? isn’t this what fidel castro would demand? “no longer have the privilege of airing debates.” isn’t this what hugo chavez does to broadasters who defy him?

    mr. erickson is typical of today’s so-called “conservatives”: they do not practice what they preach.

  2. orcmid says:
    November 3, 2007 at 7:33 pm

    This is intriguing. After coming to Kane Hall on Friday night (11/2), I realized I hadn’t been seeing your blog posts lately and confirmed that in a number of aggregator changes and reconstructions I haven’t been subscribed for too long. That’s repaired.

    I love that you reaffirm that fair-use is not a right here, and that it is a defense as far as copyright law is concerned. I also get that there’s a better way and that you want the networks to do the right thing. I’m for it.

    This also reminds me of the rights-and-permissions chilling effect that I just read in Chapter 1 of The Freedom of Ideas (on the bus on the way to the lecture). It is interesting that corruption of the kind you are now putting your focus on was always there in your attention at the turn of the century. I am fascinated how much putting your finger on a theme like that illuminates a number of quandaries around technologies and their use and the old-new conflict.

    [A belated hat-tip and handshake that there was not room for in last evening’s proceedings.]

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