It's not just hard times for people in the high-tech and telecommunications industries: it's a very bad time to be seeking work as a journalist. The 'Journalism Jobs' web site maintains a Media Layoff Tracker, and things look bleak indeed. The Tracker earned a front page mention in the current issue of the Columbia Journalism Review as a 'Web Special.'

"When most people worry about losing their jobs, maybe they work harder or maybe they take fewer breaks. But when journalists are afraid of losing their jobs, does it affect the quality of their writing and reporting? Is a journalist who is concerned about holding onto a job likely to take the same risks in digging out a story as one who feels secure? Is such a journalist less likely to take a chance on offending a large corporation or a government bureaucrat?

"With The Economist reporting about eighteen months ago that seven media corporations now control over 90% of the content seen by Westerners in the mass media, broadcast and print, is this downward trend in the number of journalism jobs likely to be long-lived? Is the age of the crusading reporter over for good?"
4:00:33 AM    

Doc Searls says: "Alan Graham has a perfect idea:

"Let's send a book to each Representative [~] glued shut! They can't open it because we already read it. The iconic representation is simple...and most people would think that glueing a book shut after reading it would be absurd, but that is just what we need. The only way to define the absurd...is with more of the same. Let's send thousands of books, glued shut...along with a letter that clearly explains our point."

The only question remaining is which book?

3:51:45 AM    

The FBI illegally videotaped suspects, improperly recorded telephone calls and intercepted e-mails without court permission in more than a dozen secret terrorism and intelligence investigations, according to an internal memorandum obtained by a member of Congress.

The errors in the first three months of 2000 were considered so egregious that FBI officials in Washington launched a wholesale review of the agency's use of secret wiretaps and searches, and warned FBI field agents to do a better job of adhering to court orders, according to documents.

The newly disclosed incidents, recounted in a memo provided by the FBI to Rep. William D. Delahunt (D-Mass.), are the latest in a series of FBI mistakes to come to light in connection with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows investigators to obtain warrants from a secret court in espionage and counterterrorism cases.

[ ... ]

In another instance, also in 2000, technical problems with the FBI's e-mail intercept program formerly known as Carnivore resulted in the capture of communications from people not under investigation.

In the latest case, FBI officials issued an internal memorandum on April 21, 2000, warning of a sudden surge in errors by field agents in administering secret wiretaps obtained under FISA. Among the incidents cited was a case in which telephone conversations continued to be recorded even after the cell phone had been transferred to party not under investigation, and another case in which e-mails were monitored after court permission to do so had been withdrawn.

3:45:25 AM    

After 19 months of study, experts convened by the National Research Council, an arm of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, concluded that "national security is too important to be left to such a blunt instrument," and noted pointedly that "no spy has ever been caught [by] using the polygraph."

Up to now, the main objection to the determination of human believability by machine has come from civil libertarians. In criminal investigations, hot lights and rubber truncheons have been replaced by a modern "third degree." A U.S. attorney general once told me: "Look -- we know it's often wrong, but watching that needle jump is scary, and it's our best way for police to get confessions."

[ ... ]

Because professional spies are trained to defeat the device; because pathological liars do not cause its needles to spike; and because our counterspies relax when a potential suspect "passes" -- the system breeds the opposite of security.

3:43:35 AM    

Miasma

Art: What's Original, Anyway?. An upcoming art exhibit teases the bounds of legality by incorporating copyright-protected images, sounds and words. Organizers timed it to coincide with a landmark Supreme Court copyright case. By Kendra Mayfield. [Wired News]

[...]

Digital rights activists argue that creativity is under assault with the recent passage of laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Current copyright laws discourage the creation of new works, McLaren said. For example, filmmakers typically screen anything that appears on camera for copyright violations. "That effectively makes filmmaking off limits for anyone who's not a millionaire," McLaren said.

Some digital rights advocates believe that Eldred v. Ashcroft could shift the balance of power.

"The fact that the Supreme Court is taking this case is a major opportunity for this discussion," McLaren said. "It shows that the court is concerned about the First Amendment implications of copyright."

Timed with the exhibit's opening in November, a panel discussion at New York University will focus on some of the aspects of using and archiving artworks that appropriate copyrighted or trademarked material.

"Understanding the sociopolitical implications of the current copyright regime is of particular concern at this time," said Meg McLagan, an assistant professor of anthropology at NYU, "given the challenges posed by corporate attempts to limit access to works that should be moving into the public domain." McLagan is the panel's moderator.

Exhibit organizer McLaren hopes Illegal Art will "wake people up" to restrictive copyright legislation. "When people see this exhibit they won't want to support the laws that make this type of work illegal," she said.

The exhibit surveys a variety of mediums -- from collage to audio and film -- and includes pieces that flout intellectual property law by violating copyrights or infringing on trademarks. The visual art exhibit, viewable online, features murdered Disney characters, a parody of the Starbucks logo and a painting of a lace doily that incorporates the Texaco logo.

The exhibit's site also highlights illegal films and videos that appropriate others' intellectual property through the use of found footage, unauthorized music, or shots of copyrighted or trademarked material.
2:43:55 AM    

A day for thinking about copyright. It is about all I can think of right now.
2:08:25 AM    

Will we think of this case as shorthand in the future?

Miasma
2:05:36 AM    

Mickey Goes to Court [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]

Send Us Your Jetlagged, Your Hungry, Your Eldred Blogs

The spotlight is a funny thing. A reporter asked me yesterday why I support the Eldred challenge, and without warning I suddenly began to channel Robin Hood. Now I'm, uh, concerned about what I may spontaneously let loose here. (Later: Jenny Levine says she will spend most of her time in awe of the other presenters; I second that emotion!)

But I digress. As you can see here, the Berkman Center crew (especially Charlie) is excited about all of the blog commentary flowing from the Eldred hearing--especially first-person accounts like this one (How Appealing). If you have notes to share--and haven't already shared them--please do. The spotlight is yours.

Update: For those of you just now tuning in, here is my guide to the commentary so far:

* The Showdown * The Showdown II * The Showdown III
1:54:43 AM