[IP] more on Journalists and the telco crisis

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Bob Frankston <rmfxixB@bobf.Frankston.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 17:03:47 -0500
To: dave@farber.net, "'ip'" <ip@v2.listbox.com>
Subject: RE: <[IP]> Journalists and the telco crisis

This raises an interesting point for those of us ranting and raving that
there is something fundamentally flawed about the concept of the
telecommunications industry as one that defines the services for us and
hosts connectivity hostage rather than giving us the ability to define
our own services.

We can look back at the financial scandals but they are piddling
compared with the trillion dollar scandal that is the current industry.

To some extent the press should be, not forgiven or excused but
recognized as passive conduits not advocates. Exposing scandals is
advocacy. I remember Sam Donaldson commenting on the Bush (v1)'s Willie
Horten story -- the one that used to portray Dukakis as soft on crime --
he admitted that the story was bogus but that it was Dukakis not the
reporters responsibility to point that out. I personally see this as
lame but at the same time how much should the reporters understand about
the many topics they are reporting on?

I don't have the answer but the bigger telecom scandals are very visible
yet unreported. While the press touts TiVo there is nary a mention that
there is no technical reason that the CableCos choose what you are
allowed to watch.

There is no difference between hyping Nortel, JDS et al and accepting
that the present players are any more real.


Bob Frankston
http://www.Frankston.com


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