Net Neutrality a must to counter media consolidation
BY AUSTIN BURBRIDGE. 2008 AMERICAN FILM MARKET, SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA (CINEMA MINIMA) — In an exclusive interview with Cinema Minima, Lloyd Kaufman — Chairman of the Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA) — explained why net neutrality remains a very significant concern for independent filmmakers and distributors.
“My own firm, Troma Entertainment, depends on its Web site to reach its audience. [The U.S. TV network] NBC has launched Hulu.com to show its own product. Without a policy of net neutrality, NBC Universal Cable can stop its internet customers from visiting troma.com — and the Web sites of every other, competing company.”
In a video presentation at the 2008 ITFA Production Conference, Kaufman emphasized the importance of getting United States government regulations which would guarantee unrestricted access for American Internet users. Unrestricted access to all Web sites and online services is something which Big Media — including the Motion Picture Association of America — want to do away with.
Net neutrality is not the standard for American cable-TV companies, which also supply Internet access to their subscribers. At the moment, cable companies can legally prevent their customers from accessing any Web sites — such as those of competitors. The most notorious instance is that of Cox Communications’ blocking access to Craigslist in markets where Cox newspapers compete with it for classified ads. (Cox also blocks its subscribers from access to Cinema Minima in some markets.)
The IFTA is lobbying the United States to institute net neutrality as a policy. What are the chances? “I’m optimistic,” opined Kaufman. “The thinking is, that the new [Obama] administration would be sympathetic to net neutrality, because Barack Obama’s campaign benefited from unrestricted access to the Internet to raise funds in the recent election.”
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Suddhasatya Ghosh
Suddhasatya Ghosh is based in Kolkata, West Bengal, IndiaKietryn Zychal
Kietryn Zychal is a Correspondent for the New York Bureau of Cinema Minima. She has worked as a journalist in the American state of Pennsylvania. Prior to working as a journalist, Zychal was an actress. She toured several American states performing a one-woman show “Merely the Ravings of a Maniac,” that she wrote and produced. Her screenplay, “What Comes Next,” is a dark comedy about the difficulty of being married to a professional golfer. Zychal is writing a TV pilot called “Eco-Hookers.” She was educated at Lehigh University and studied abroad in England and Switzerland.
Chris WinsomeChristopher Winsome is the Publisher of Cinema Minima for Movie MakersAustin Burbridge
Austin Burbridge is Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Minima. After successful careers in manufacturing and in technology, he founded Cinema Minima, Sustainable Cinema, and Far From Hollywood. A native of Texas, he learned cinéma vérité technique at Rice Media Center. At Brown he concentrated in Semiotics and in Art; he studied Art History at the University of Chicago. He lives in Los Angeles.
Ogova OndegoNairobi-based full time worshipper at the shrine of arts and culture; writer specialising in issues related to children, youth, media, culture and development, with a bias towards african and children's cinema
