4 ms·

New documentary exposes media consolidation and government collusion

51 points by Chris_Dollar 15y ago

chopsueyar 15y ago
This is actually a request for donations to create a documentary... but there is a trailer.
usef600 15y ago
This Stock Blog gives insight on daily stock market trading as well as stock trading analysis and technical analysis of the Stock Market and individual stocks making the news. We don't give Stock Picks ( I guess the stocks that I buy are stock picks ) but we do give stock alerts on the best stocks to watch and the hottest stocks to trade daily http://stockmarkettowatch.blogspot.com http://stockmarkettowatch.blogspot.com Stock trading blog
Vic-nyc 15y ago
This would be a very interesting and timely movie, since we're approaching a cycle when conglomerates are, once again, consolidating into ever-bigger entities. (think AT&T trying to buy T-mobile as a small example). I would also recommend Tim Wu's book "The Master Switch" that discusses media monopolies in the U.S. in historical perspective, from the telegraph and early telephone on to movie studios and on to the Internet nowadays. As the book explains, the Internet itself in its current open form is a historical aberration, similar to the multitude of choice in the early days of radio which was short-lived, to be soon replaced by monopolies under the government's helping hand. In fact, many technological inventions would not even have been possible when they happened (and some were delayed by decades) because of large monopolies. The origination of the Internet itself, the book explains, is a direct result of the splitting of AT&T in 1984, which allowed, for example the standard modem jack to exist (jacks and equipment were proprietary before that), and which disallowed AT&T from getting in the Internet business as an ISP. It seems that these lessons have begun to be, once again, forgotten by our modern generation. The solution to all this would be that the government properly fulfills its role of ensuring free market access and prevention of monopolies. It would also entail what's termed a "separations principle", the creation of distance between each of the major layers in the information economy.
- Chris_Dollar 15y ago
  Good insights Vic-nyc. Tim Wu's book is excellent and was one of the many books that have influenced me in the writing of this doc. He's on our list of future interviewees. His explanation of the "Separations Principle" is essential reading for any one that wants to protect the integrity of the Internet as we know it. Have you read Evgeny Morozov's book, "The Net Delusion"...? Interesting book -- He looks at the future of the Internet and of democratic government from an interesting perspective. His central premise is that totalitarian governments in the 21st century will look increasingly more like Huxley's, "Brave New World" than Orwell's "1984"... We plan on interviewing him as well...
- gnosis 15y ago
  "The origination of the Internet itself, the book explains, is a direct result of the splitting of AT&T in 1984, which allowed, for example the standard modem jack to exist (jacks and equipment were proprietary before that)" The earliest modems didn't use phone jacks at all: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Acoustic_coupler https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Acoustic_coup...
rkalla 15y ago
For folks more in-the-know than me on govt/corp history, does the power struggle between the people and controlling entities (wether it be the govt or the corps as we are seeing more recently) ebb and flow? Is this an ebb in out history where we see the balance of power pouring to the corp side of the scale or is this an unprecedented moment in history where we see control in health care, research, internet, communications, news, newspaper/magazine, popular culture (TV shows, Disney-created properties, modern fads, etc.), food, etc. all primarily dictated by corporations? I'll do my part to pledge money for this movie because I think it is important to shine as much light as possible into dark corners... the lack of light allows nasty things to grow it seems, but I also (unfortunately) have no expectations that any change will come out of this as a result. It seems like we have more information about corruptions and injustices now than we ever have in the history of the world; whether it is too overwhelming or "just not bad enough to care", the result of things mostly staying the same and going down the same path seem to continue. Either things aren't as bad/terrible/horrifying as movies like Lose Change and Zeitgeist make them out to be or we (humans) are extremely difficult to mobilize as a group. I really don't know how to think about gross imbalances of power. You see it so much it doesn't surprise you any more, but you still hate it, but I'm also very busy so I'm not running out with signs to stand on corners trying to get people to change their minds. Anyone have more valuable thoughts on this to help put this in perspective? I'd appreciate it.
- Chris_Dollar 15y ago
  Hi rkalla: Thanks very much for your contribution to the production of #killswitch the documentary. You're right, there is a lot corruption and sometimes it's difficult to make sense of it all. In my opinion the most alarming part of all is the unprecedented corruption and concentration of the traditional media. You can really get a sense of how corrupt and concentrated the media industry is when you check out these ownership charts on FreePress.com... You'd be amazed at how many television stations, Film Production Studios, Magazines, Online, holdings, etc. a company like General Electric or Walt Disney owns. Here's the charts: http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main Once you realize how much control over knowledge and information these six companies have and how few people in the US get their news outside of these six sources you realize we've got a major problem for a functioning democracy. Now that these companies are threatening the integrity of the Internet (NBC-Comcast Merger)... Wait to see which major media conglomerate will be the next to merge with a major ISP... it's quite possible that in the not so distant future the Internet will look like super-charged cable T.V.
Chris_Dollar 15y ago
For those that want to know more about the film... check out our kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-documentary-film?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum... (Our 5 minute trailer is posted there - and you can contribute to production if you would like to - we've raised over $14,000 in two weeks thanks friends passing this along) You can read our treatment on our official website: www.killswitchthefilm.com And if you want to see the film projects we've worked on in the past go here: www.akorn.tv Thanks everyone for taking interest. We have no advertising budget, so any interest we generate is word of mouth.
jentulman 15y ago
Whilst not directly related to #killswitch, if you'd like to see some great documentaries related to the balance of power between business, government and the public then I can highly recommend checking out the work of documentarian Adam Curtis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis
ColinWright 15y ago
Interesting how on one hand people are claiming that the government is colluding to create internet censorship, and on the other hand the government is sponsoring a device to help circumvent internet censorship: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651245 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651245 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2652169 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2652169 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656074 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656074 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656816 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656816 Left hand? Right hand? What will the government do when people create their own mesh internet?
- Chris_Dollar 15y ago
  Very interesting, Colin. Our central premise in #killswitch - the documentary, is that decentralization of knowledge is essential for democracy. The Printing Press gave society this during the enlightenment period, halting centuries of oppression in the Western World. And the Internet is doing this today by revitalizing democracies in the Western world and helping ignite revolution in the Middle East. We advocate a Constitutional framework that protects the integrity of the Internet. i.e. a separations principle, whereby content providers should not be ISP's and vice versa. (Detailed account of this in Tim Wu's, "Master Switch"). We are averse to any "Big Brother" Regulation by the Government or "Brave New World" Corporate take-over of the Internet. The only way to combat oppression is to have accountable governance is to have decentralization of info/knowledge. One of a demcocracy's central purposes is to protect this decentralized and accountable framework (by protecting the decentralized integrity of the Internet). One way the gov. can do this by enforcing the 1st Amendment, i.e. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. But the gov. won't do this with out an aware and educated citizenry. Which is why we're making the documentary. Check out our trailer on kickstarter when you get a chance: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-documentary-film http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum... (for a detailed account of how our founding father's expressed the difference between Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech, check out Robert McChesney's "The Death and Life of American Journalism")

51 points by Chris_Dollar 15y ago

This is actually a request for donations to create a documentary... but there is a trailer.

This Stock Blog gives insight on daily stock market trading as well as stock trading analysis and technical analysis of the Stock Market and individual stocks making the news. We don't give Stock Picks ( I guess the stocks that I buy are stock picks ) but we do give stock alerts on the best stocks to watch and the hottest stocks to trade daily http://stockmarkettowatch.blogspot.com http://stockmarkettowatch.blogspot.com Stock trading blog

Vic-nyc 15y ago

This would be a very interesting and timely movie, since we're approaching a cycle when conglomerates are, once again, consolidating into ever-bigger entities. (think AT&T trying to buy T-mobile as a small example). I would also recommend Tim Wu's book "The Master Switch" that discusses media monopolies in the U.S. in historical perspective, from the telegraph and early telephone on to movie studios and on to the Internet nowadays. As the book explains, the Internet itself in its current open form is a historical aberration, similar to the multitude of choice in the early days of radio which was short-lived, to be soon replaced by monopolies under the government's helping hand. In fact, many technological inventions would not even have been possible when they happened (and some were delayed by decades) because of large monopolies. The origination of the Internet itself, the book explains, is a direct result of the splitting of AT&T in 1984, which allowed, for example the standard modem jack to exist (jacks and equipment were proprietary before that), and which disallowed AT&T from getting in the Internet business as an ISP. It seems that these lessons have begun to be, once again, forgotten by our modern generation. The solution to all this would be that the government properly fulfills its role of ensuring free market access and prevention of monopolies. It would also entail what's termed a "separations principle", the creation of distance between each of the major layers in the information economy.

Chris_Dollar 15y ago
Good insights Vic-nyc. Tim Wu's book is excellent and was one of the many books that have influenced me in the writing of this doc. He's on our list of future interviewees. His explanation of the "Separations Principle" is essential reading for any one that wants to protect the integrity of the Internet as we know it. Have you read Evgeny Morozov's book, "The Net Delusion"...? Interesting book -- He looks at the future of the Internet and of democratic government from an interesting perspective. His central premise is that totalitarian governments in the 21st century will look increasingly more like Huxley's, "Brave New World" than Orwell's "1984"... We plan on interviewing him as well...
gnosis 15y ago
"The origination of the Internet itself, the book explains, is a direct result of the splitting of AT&T in 1984, which allowed, for example the standard modem jack to exist (jacks and equipment were proprietary before that)" The earliest modems didn't use phone jacks at all: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Acoustic_coupler https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Acoustic_coup...

rkalla 15y ago

For folks more in-the-know than me on govt/corp history, does the power struggle between the people and controlling entities (wether it be the govt or the corps as we are seeing more recently) ebb and flow? Is this an ebb in out history where we see the balance of power pouring to the corp side of the scale or is this an unprecedented moment in history where we see control in health care, research, internet, communications, news, newspaper/magazine, popular culture (TV shows, Disney-created properties, modern fads, etc.), food, etc. all primarily dictated by corporations? I'll do my part to pledge money for this movie because I think it is important to shine as much light as possible into dark corners... the lack of light allows nasty things to grow it seems, but I also (unfortunately) have no expectations that any change will come out of this as a result. It seems like we have more information about corruptions and injustices now than we ever have in the history of the world; whether it is too overwhelming or "just not bad enough to care", the result of things mostly staying the same and going down the same path seem to continue. Either things aren't as bad/terrible/horrifying as movies like Lose Change and Zeitgeist make them out to be or we (humans) are extremely difficult to mobilize as a group. I really don't know how to think about gross imbalances of power. You see it so much it doesn't surprise you any more, but you still hate it, but I'm also very busy so I'm not running out with signs to stand on corners trying to get people to change their minds. Anyone have more valuable thoughts on this to help put this in perspective? I'd appreciate it.

Chris_Dollar 15y ago
Hi rkalla: Thanks very much for your contribution to the production of #killswitch the documentary. You're right, there is a lot corruption and sometimes it's difficult to make sense of it all. In my opinion the most alarming part of all is the unprecedented corruption and concentration of the traditional media. You can really get a sense of how corrupt and concentrated the media industry is when you check out these ownership charts on FreePress.com... You'd be amazed at how many television stations, Film Production Studios, Magazines, Online, holdings, etc. a company like General Electric or Walt Disney owns. Here's the charts: http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main Once you realize how much control over knowledge and information these six companies have and how few people in the US get their news outside of these six sources you realize we've got a major problem for a functioning democracy. Now that these companies are threatening the integrity of the Internet (NBC-Comcast Merger)... Wait to see which major media conglomerate will be the next to merge with a major ISP... it's quite possible that in the not so distant future the Internet will look like super-charged cable T.V.

Chris_Dollar 15y ago

For those that want to know more about the film... check out our kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-documentary-film?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum... (Our 5 minute trailer is posted there - and you can contribute to production if you would like to - we've raised over $14,000 in two weeks thanks friends passing this along) You can read our treatment on our official website: www.killswitchthefilm.com And if you want to see the film projects we've worked on in the past go here: www.akorn.tv Thanks everyone for taking interest. We have no advertising budget, so any interest we generate is word of mouth.

jentulman 15y ago

Whilst not directly related to #killswitch, if you'd like to see some great documentaries related to the balance of power between business, government and the public then I can highly recommend checking out the work of documentarian Adam Curtis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis

ColinWright 15y ago

Interesting how on one hand people are claiming that the government is colluding to create internet censorship, and on the other hand the government is sponsoring a device to help circumvent internet censorship: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651245 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651245 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2652169 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2652169 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656074 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656074 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656816 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656816 Left hand? Right hand? What will the government do when people create their own mesh internet?

Chris_Dollar 15y ago
Very interesting, Colin. Our central premise in #killswitch - the documentary, is that decentralization of knowledge is essential for democracy. The Printing Press gave society this during the enlightenment period, halting centuries of oppression in the Western World. And the Internet is doing this today by revitalizing democracies in the Western world and helping ignite revolution in the Middle East. We advocate a Constitutional framework that protects the integrity of the Internet. i.e. a separations principle, whereby content providers should not be ISP's and vice versa. (Detailed account of this in Tim Wu's, "Master Switch"). We are averse to any "Big Brother" Regulation by the Government or "Brave New World" Corporate take-over of the Internet. The only way to combat oppression is to have accountable governance is to have decentralization of info/knowledge. One of a demcocracy's central purposes is to protect this decentralized and accountable framework (by protecting the decentralized integrity of the Internet). One way the gov. can do this by enforcing the 1st Amendment, i.e. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. But the gov. won't do this with out an aware and educated citizenry. Which is why we're making the documentary. Check out our trailer on kickstarter when you get a chance: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-documentary-film http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum... (for a detailed account of how our founding father's expressed the difference between Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech, check out Robert McChesney's "The Death and Life of American Journalism")