-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: August 9, 2007 1:51:23 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: AT&T"s "Accidental" Censorship of Anti-Bush Lyrics on Webcast
Just another brick in the PRISON wall that Bush is building around
us ...
Public Knowledge to AT&T:
Leave Those Pearl Jam Lyrics Alone
http://facilities.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?
id=170751
(Broadcasting & Cable) _ Public Knowledge http://
www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6464536.html called "appalling"
AT&T's editing of some added, anti-Bush lyrics from a Webcast of
the Lollapalooza concert the telco sponsored. AT&T called it a
mistake that won't be repeated.
The Web site of Pearl Jam http://www.pearljam.com -- the band that
performed a variation on Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall"
with some modified lyrics -- was painting the edit as a "network-
neutrality" and media-consolidation issue http://pearljam.com/news/
index.php?what=News#195.
The lines cut from the telco's Web site, it said, were, "George
Bush, leave this world alone," and, "George Bush, find yourself
another home."
"This, of course, troubles us as artists, but also as citizens
concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly
consolidated control of the media," said an item on the site.
"AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public's concerns over
the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what
the public sees and hears through communications media," the item
continued. "Most telecommunications companies oppose 'net
neutrality' and argue that the public can trust them not to censor."
AT&T spokesman Mike Coe confirmed the edit but said it was a
mistake made by an outside contractor, adding that the company is
talking with the band about posting the song in its entirety on
AT&T's Blue Room http://www.attblueroom.com/home/index.php concert
Web site, which streamed the event.
Public Knowledge, which has been a proponent of network neutrality,
wasn't buying the explanation.
"It is nothing short of appalling that AT&T should take it upon
itself to censor a Webcast because it didn't like the content of
lyrics being sung by a band," Public Knowledge president Gigi B.
Sohn said. "This incident goes beyond AT&T's explanation that the
blocking of lyrics was due to an overzealous 'content monitor.' We
hope the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] and Congress take
note."
Coe said it was not a case of AT&T not liking song lyrics. In fact,
he added, the monitor was an outside contractor who was there to
edit out excessive profanity in band banter between songs, not to
edit lyrics.
"We don't censor these concerts," he said. "What happened was a
mistake."
Coe added that because the Blue Room is not age-restricted and
anyone can watch, "we have a two-minute buffer from live to the
Web, and we have a policy of reviewing the content for excessive
profanity in the banter that is going on, or, say someone 'streaks'
across the stage."
But this was political speech, not profanity or nudity.
"It was a mistake," he reiterated, adding that the company is
working through its outside agency to make sure the monitors are
"well-versed and well-trained" to ensure that "something like this
doesn't happen again."
The Future of Music Coalition joined the crowd criticizing AT&T and
calling for Network Neutrality:
"This event shows that companies like AT&T will risk the appearance
of censorship by turning off the sound on a webcast that's being
viewed by thousands of people, just because it works counter to
their financial interests. What do you think they will do to
protect their financial interests on the web when no one is
looking? It's time for every musician in America to demand
protection from the telecommunications companies and their "self
regulation." We need strong net neutrality laws to protect the
openness of the Internet, or our views and our freedoms will be as
silent as the second half of the muted Pearl Jam song."
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com.
www.ctrl.org
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