Citizen-media maven Dan Gillmor used a Columbia Journalism School forum Thursday evening to blast phone and cable companies on the network neutrality issue. He warned that the democratizing potential of new media could be forfeited if those firms are allowed to prioritize Internet traffic.
Most at risk would be Web video distributors or voice-over-IP providers who hadn't given phone and cable firms a piece of the action, he suggested.
Said Gillmor, "Two of the most control-freakish businesses in American are working hard to hijack the Internet right now. ... [and] a compliant Congress is helping them along." He cited what he called the U.S. lag in broadband as an example of the retarding effect phone-cable control could have. And he implored those who believe that would be "crazy and dangerous" to tell their congressional and state legislators.
More background on net neutrality: Amy Gahran, Dan Gillmor, and Save the Internet.com.
The wide-ranging talk also addressed citizen journalism's potential. Gillmor speculated about the long-term outcome of MediaNews' recent purchase of his old alma mater, the San Jose Mercury News: "I suspect in a year or two the staff will be yearning for the days when the guy running the place was know as Darth Ridder."
