Smithsonian gives Viacom rights to control everything

[Armstead]

Another blow to the quaint idea of an open society in which public institutions actually belong to the public.....

Matt McKenzie Keeps You Up To Date

http://techsearch.cmp.com/blog/archives/2006/04/the_smithsonian.html?loc=government_legal_regulatory

The Smithsonian's Raw Deal

...The Smithsonian Institution recently signed an agreement with Showtime Networks, granting Showtime the right of first refusal for any documentary that draws heavily upon the Smithsonian's staff or archival resources. The two organizations have set up a joint-venture cable network to air their first-refusal picks.

Documentary filmmakers have no doubt where this leaves them: subject to the slightest whim of Showtime Networks' management, which is free to sit and "consider" their projects right out of existence if it chooses, whether or not it ends up buying. And if you trust Ken Burns to know a thing or two about his chosen craft, you'll want to take to heart his opinion of the deal:

Ken Burns, whose documentaries "The Civil War" and "Baseball" have become classics of the form, said in an interview yesterday that he believed that such an arrangement would have prohibited him from making some of his recent works, like the musical history "Jazz," available to public television because they relied heavily on Smithsonian collections and curators.

"I find this deal terrifying," Mr. Burns said...

[ThomCat]

1. Everything public is being sold to corporations.

x(

How soon until we have enough support to form a revolution?

[SoCalDem]

2. History is a commodity..for sale to the highest bidder..UNLESS

history's gatekeepers don't approve of the USE of THEIR history..bah!!

Does this mean the the Smithsonian will no longer ask for any financial assistance from MY TAX DOLLARS..


What if Fox decides to buy it from Viacom? Everything's for sale..depends on the price

[Beelzebud]

3. Welcome to our new Unitary Executive Ownership Society.

[Tanuki]

4. Cheney and Frist are on the Smithsonian board of regents,

so very little they do would surprise me.

[Armstead]

5. Surprise, Surprise

Privitization in action

[Armstead]

6. Kick

Think about this. The country's history has now been made a corporate property.

[lectrobyte]

7. They are milking the public "commons" for every nickel they

can squeeze out. Thanks for posting this, I posted an article about it yesterday and it sanks amidst all the McKinney etc. talk.