Jack Valenti's Side Of The Story
from the yes,-but... dept
Dan Gillmor has written a number of columns bashing the entertainment industry for their heavy handed actions that hurt consumers. Apparently, Jack Valenti from the MPAA hasn't been to pleased. So, Gillmor agreed to listen to Valenti's side of the story, and present what he said without adding his opinion... yet. Later this week Gillmor will respond to Valenti's points. Everything Valenti has to say is what he's been saying all along - that the movie industry wants to give consumers content - but only if they're not sharing it. He insists that people being able to share content will destroy the movie industry (even though his identical claims about the VCR turned out to not only be wrong, but to provide the opposite effect - helping to grow the movie industry into an even bigger powerhouse). Valenti has the reputation for having a silver tongue, and saying things so eloquently that they must make sense. However, I'm wondering why no one has ever asked him point blank about his "Boston strangler" comment about VCRs or to explain why digital distribution can't also grow the industry.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
