Across The Media Universe: Camera Phones Are Like Rifles Edition
Everything Is Photographable: What's it like for the guy who conceived the idea of a camera phone during the birth of his daughter to look on as his invention fuels such media circus events as Michael Richards' racist tirade and the hanging of Saddam Hussein? Well, he was a bit "taken aback" when an interviewer compared him to the inventor of the Kalashnikov, writes The Browser at Slate. But as he told Wired in 2000: "With this kind of device, you're going to see the best and the worst of things."
Take Your Anti-Chavez Programming Somewhere Else: The Washington Post reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government has decided not to renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television, and free press advocates are none too thrilled. That's because for most of them, "the non-renewal of a license has echoes of right-wing dictatorships of the past, when newspapers and broadcasters were closed if they veered from the party line." And RCTV, "much to the bane of the government" features programming like "The Interview," which "makes mincemeat of Chavez's government every weekday morning." The network also carries soap operas, which Chavez has referred to as "poisoning the souls of children with irresponsible sex."