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Ear to the Ground

C-SPAN Pulls Colbert Clips From Internet Sites

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Posted on May 8, 2006
Colbert Points
Roger L. Wollenberg / Pool Photo via N.Y. Times

Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington. 

The nonprofit TV network demanded that popular video hosting sites Youtube and iFilm remove clips of Stephen Colbert’s roast of President Bush--because of alleged copyright infringement.

(Google Video made a deal with C-SPAN to host the video.)

N.Y. Times:

Stephen Colbert’s performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner nine days ago has already created a debate over politics, the press and humor. Now, a commercial rivalry has broken out over its rebroadcast.

On Wednesday, C-Span, the nonprofit network that first showed Mr. Colbert’s speech, wrote letters to the video sites YouTube.com and ifilm.com, demanding that the clips of the speech be taken off their Web sites. The action was a first for C-Span, whose prime-time schedule tends to feature events like Congressional hearings on auto fuel-economy standards.

“We have had other hot — I hate to use that word — videos that generated a lot of buzz,” said Rob Kennedy, executive vice president of C-Span, which was founded in 1979. “But this is the first time it has occurred since the advent of the video clipping sites.”

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By tjimenez, May 9, 2006 at 9:59 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

I read Howard Zinn’s “The People’s History of the United States” and it gave me hope that we can all organize to stop what this administration is doing.  Because of its incompetence and its corruption this administration can be stopped.

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By MarkS, May 9, 2006 at 9:19 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

It’s a Rovian scheme to suppress criticism of the prez. C’mon let’s hear it from you paranoids.  grin

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By Chuck, May 8, 2006 at 9:48 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of this Dartmouth Plan that’s going around?  I understand it offers some insights on this kind of media problem. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dartmouth_Plan

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By lifewriter, May 8, 2006 at 9:29 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Looks like C-Span is hosting the video on their site, see rtsp://video.c-span.org/60days/wh042906_colbert.rm

You have to admit, it makes perfect sense that Colbert should be shunned for saying the things that he did.  I’m reminded of the 61 Correspondent’s Dinner (last year’s gala), where Lewis Black spoke directly after Dick Cheny knocked ‘em down, and he discussed how the Correspondent’s Dinner staff had coached him on not being too “Lewis Black”.  It was perfectly uneventful, and no copyright infringement laws were sited, the whole bit being rather forgettable.

See rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/c04/c04040605_dinner.rm.  Pull the Clip Position button to 38:00 to fast forward through the bs.  (Though there is a moment, at about 30:00 into the event, where our VP offers heartfelt condolences on the Pope’s passing, calling him a “worldly and intellectual man” and “not submitting to evil.” At least someone somewhere was…

Black’s delivery has a hostile edge which is normally aimed directly at the pundits that print the swill that we’re expected to swallow daily…and with this opportunity to publicly undress this crowd (as above, see Colbert) Black offers quips about fumbling with his cummerbund, about how the Muslims are a humorless race, and that’s the great difference between “them” and “us.” Them being a bunch of “pricks.”

But what’s striking, when comparing one to the other is how very prepared Colbert was for his 15 minutes, whereas, Black fumbled between segues; going so far to, at times, actually edit his jokes and complain that this crowd was the hardest he’s ever played in front of…Colbert, on the other hand seems to embrace the fact that he’s alone in the room, it’s where he seems to be comfortable, and he was smart enough to anticipate it. 

I’m glad that Colbert had balls, that he wasn’t afraid to use ‘em…it’s made all the difference.

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By anatole, May 8, 2006 at 7:56 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

cowardice, duplicity, yes, with a touch of the fascist lickspittle--For God’s sake get up off your knees and NAME those who have conspired to silence the bravest political speech of the decade!

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By Will Jones, May 8, 2006 at 4:12 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Stephen Colbert’s performance at the Washington Hilton ranks with Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” in the tapestry of America’s history. The only point foregone by him, for good reason perhaps, can be gleaned by viewing “Loose Change 2.”

The gangster politicians are once again fully exposed with their lackeys in the Fourth Estate huddled around them.

Rise again Whig America. May God Bless us and the Dream live on.

Death for Treason
End American Caesaropapism Now

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By Tennov, May 8, 2006 at 11:46 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Colbert Unfunny-ness.

Colbet hit issues directly, stabbingly, for which the implications for the fate of this country and for the fate of each of us personally, are too grim to evoke amusement. responses. Called “verbal naplam bombs,” they include 32% (evoking images of why), flagrant disregard of reality, torture, privacy, and photo ops. What’s to laugh at?

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By A Gaggle of DeerTM, May 8, 2006 at 11:07 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

C-SPAN’s desire to protect its product is honorable… at least it still is available by from Google.

http://sharperthandull.blogspot.com/2006/05/dropping-c -bomb.html

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By John Doe, May 8, 2006 at 11:00 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

This is blatent censorship.  Dig up who ordered C-span to remove the clips.  I doubt they would do it without a government order.

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By Larry Anklam, May 8, 2006 at 10:37 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Mr. Wollenberg! Is it possible that you may be part of the extreme right wing press who controls our news?

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By Donald S. Rosanelli, May 8, 2006 at 9:44 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

My email to C-Span:

Dear C-Span:

I am disturbed to read that you are threatening various websites with copyright infringement for offering the video of Stephen Colbert’s address to the White House Correspondents Dinner.  This is cowardice and duplicity of the highest order!

You are supposed to be a public service, funded as you are by taxpayer dollars.  Do you carry the Colbert video on your own website?  This is a craven decision to remove from public access Colbert’s bold and brave criticism of the president and his policies.

Please publish the names of the Republican Party members who have pressured you to take this move.  And whoever your editor-in-chief is, he or she should RESIGN IN SHAME for attempting to censor the news.

Sincerely,
Donald Rosanellli

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