Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hannan, ACTA and Internet

Do you know why politicians have a deep desire to rule over the Internet? Ever wondered why so many people in power including many journalists don’t take a stand against idiocies like ACTA? Are you still contemplating why governments want to tax, regulate and forbid the free airwaves?

This is snatched from MailOnline and its about Daniel Hannan, the MP that’s getting famous.
(…)
The politician himself has been taken by surprise at the attention it has received on the web, especially because he has made similar speeches in the past.
He says it proves how much the internet has revolutionised - and democratised - the news.
'The internet has changed politics - changed it utterly and forever,' he wrote yesterday.
'Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown. I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly, they ignored me: I am, after all, simply a backbench MEP.
'When I woke up this morning, my phone was clogged with texts, my email inbox with messages. Overnight, the YouTube clip of my remarks had attracted over 36,000 hits. By today, it was the most watched video in Britain.
'How did it happen, in the absence of any media coverage? The answer is that political reporters no longer get to decide what's news.
'The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day's headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, you're news.'


Another Hannan - not the famous one...



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