C-SPAN Wisely Removing Restrictions On Its Content
from the transparency dept
There was a bit of a controversy last week after C-SPAN asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remove some of the network's footage from a committee meeting that she had posted on her site. The network has apparently revisited its stance on the issue, and will now encourage non-commercial sharing and copying of all Congressional and federal agency footage, even if it was filmed with C-SPAN's own cameras. Apparently, the network's move is influenced by Creative Commons licensing, although it won't actually put such a license on its content. Unfortunately, this new policy won't apply to its own, in-studio programming, such as its morning call-in show. It really makes sense for C-SPAN to fully embrace open distribution of its content. It's not a commercial organization, so it shouldn't be too concerned if viewers are watching it though unofficial channels. Furthermore, opening up helps further its goal of providing public access to the political process. Still, this is a step in the right direction, and hopefully the network will continue along further along this path.
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And gee..
Perhaps they thought the inter-tubes were full :-p
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Tiresome Phrases
After a few weeks of seeing these particular phrases in almost every article, I find myself not reading the articles for the value of their content, but just to amuse myself by finding the "easter eggs."
Comon guys, can't you get a little more creative than this?
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Re: Tiresome Phrases
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I can see why...
While that doesn't hurt C-SPAN directly, by retaining full control over their information, they can make sure people don't go around selling it.
Of course, this is completely a guess. I think C-SPAN does a great job and I listen to them on the radion a lot. Backing down was the right thing to do, it's nice to see an organization, even if it's not a for-profit business, recognize that technology has changed the way we distribute media.
Now if we could only get the **AA companies to stop trying to fight the future and embrace it. All it takes is a business model that can be stated without the words "extort" or "violate" (or "screw").
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It's not tax dollars
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Re: It's not tax dollars
"C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit business created in 1979 by America’s cable television industry. Its operating funds are derived from monthly fees paid by affiliated cable TV systems and other distributors of C-SPAN programming. C-SPAN receives no funds from the government."
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Re: It's not tax dollars
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C-SPAN policy change
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