PressEthic

The convergence of media continues as television moves online. Democracy Television, an internet TV platform, allows users to freely share and watch videos from the internet in one convenient interface.

This software is run by a non-profit organization:

* Democracy is developed by the Participatory Culture Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. * We're based in Worcester, Massachusetts.

* We think it's a problem that a small number of corporations control mass media.

* We think free, open-source, open standards internet TV is our best shot at a solution.

The concept that they've designed is unlike anything I've seen. You can search and watch internet videos from all kinds of sources, including YouTube, Google Video, and Yahoo. It's a smorgasbord of television, and it's absolutely free to download and share.

I downloaded the software to try it out and see what all the fuss was about. To me, it looked like a combination of iTunes and a glorified YouTube. It was mostly independent media that anyone can access from those specific sites on the internet. However, it does allow one to search for videos in all kinds of channels and RSS feeds from one place.

This new concept could completely change the face of television forever. As it is now, I wouldn't say it makes television obsolete, but it does offer a whole world of videos from all over the internet right at your fingertips. I do think that this could eventually make television obsolete one day, dying alongside print media.

However, how will television shows and advertisers get their revenue? A battle for regulation over this free and open source will inevitably ensue. We've seen this happen over and over with online music. Although I didn't see a lot of mainstream television being distributed through Democracy TV, it will eventually find its way there. When YouTube posts something that's copyrighted, they are forced to take it down. What's stopping someone from putting it back up again? And again? With Democracy TV, there is a convergence of all that the internet has to offer in terms of videos. Mainstream video is bound to end up on some of these channels, and it seems almost impossible to regulate if the media is popping up everywhere.

This hasn't gotten to any extreme yet, but it definitely could. If people are able to get the shows they want for free through the internet, then the people behind the corporation won't be getting the money they need to run. There are so many different businesses this could effect: the cable companies, the satellite companies, producers, crew, actors, advertisers, and even electronic companies. Especially dooming to these corporations is a line in Democracy TV's mission statement:

* We think it's a problem that a small number of corporations control mass media.

Could the internet be the death of another corporate media industry?