The new owner of the Tribune Company, Sam Zell, has previously stated that his interest in purchasing the media conglomerate was purely financial. He is wasting no time in throwing out challenges to those he perceives as stepping on his profit opportunities:

“If all of the newspapers in America did not allow Google to steal their content for nothing, what would Google do? We have a situation today where effectively the content is being paid for by the newspapers and stolen by Google, etcetera. That can last for a short time, but it can’t last forever. I think Google and the boys understand that. We’re going to see new deals and new formulas in the media space that reflect the reality of cost benefit.”

That’s pretty tough talk for a guy who has never spent a single day working in media. Zell callously accuses Google, and thousands of other on- and off-line publishers, of theft for merely printing excerpts of stories and links to the source. His ignorance of fair-use threatens to criminalize methods of distributing information that are both legal and beneficial to a free society.

If Zell intends to raise revenue by reversing long-held precedents in journalism, he better expect some blowback. David Garrity, a research director with an investment bank, believes Zell will try to work out settlements with the Googles of the world, but may resort to litigation. It seems appropriate that the bank Garrity represents is Dinosaur Securities, because the world has long since evolved past the stage where news can be hoarded by corporate misers.

White house spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, has stumbled upon the same tranquil Baghdad that charmed John McCain. When asked his reaction to Muqtada al Sadr’s urging his followers to rise up against the U.S. forces in Iraq, he said this:

“Iraq, four years on, is now a place where people can freely gather and express their opinions.”

“And that was something they could not do under Saddam. And while we have much more progress ahead of us…this is a country that has come a long way from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.”


You’ve come along way, Baghdad! And looking back on four years of progress, we feel nothing but excitement knowing that there is “much more progress ahead.”

We congratulate you on your newfound freedom to advocate the killing of American soldiers. How exhilarating it must be for you to experience this gift of democracy that was denied to you by the dictator Saddam. We are so proud, as Americans, to know the part we have played in your liberation to snipe at us from behind bombed out storefronts, or plant IEDs under our unarmored Humvees.

But remember, that along with democracy comes responsibility. Just because you are now able to hold massive rallies calling for the ouster of foreign occupiers, that doesn’t mean that the occupiers, or even your own government, has to listen to you. As you learn about democracy, you will notice that, even in America, leaders are not bound to pay the slightest bit of attention to the majority of our citizens who want their soldiers to return home from Iraq. This may seem confusing to you, but when you’ve had as much experience with the democratic process as we have, it will all become clear. You will eventually have your own experts, like Karl Rove, to explain it all to you.

In the meantime, enjoy your great good fortune at having partners like the United States to introduce you to a world of liberty. And rejoice in knowing that, although the past four years seem to have been roiled in mass murder and destruction, it was actually progress, and there is much more of that on the way. In fact, we expect that, by this time next year, there will have been so much progress that Iraq will be as peaceful as a deserted island whose tranquility is ne’er disturbed by living souls – and for the same reason.

Discovery Communications, parent of the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and the Learning Channel, has announced that they will be launching a new cable network dedicated to environmental living. The new channel will be carved from the rebranding of the Discovery Home channel.

This is an interesting idea that could capitalize on the popularity of green culture and contribute to a positive advancement of environmental education. Last year, “An Inconvenient Truth” became the 3rd highest grossing documentary of all time and is approaching $50 million dollars in box office. In fact 4 of the top ten documentaries are nature or health themed. That bodes well for the viability of this genre of programming. Discovery is accepting responsibility for a healthy planet with this venture, and they are holding themselves up as a model by announcing an even broader effort, dubbed PlanetGreen, to promote an environmental lifestyle. They even plan to make the company’s headquarters carbon neutral.

That’s more than our current political establishment is doing. At a time when our President is openly hostile to environmental concerns, there is a great need to inspire the American people to live harmoniously with the Earth. Americans are curiously schizophrenic when it comes to the environment. While every poll shows an overwhelming support for green policy, they still tool around the suburbs in SUVs. Clearly more education to reinforce their innate tendencies is required. David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications, appears to recognize both the morality and the opportunity of eco-awareness.

“To be able to rebrand an existing channel and launch with over 50 million homes in 2008 is a big statement to where the world is today,” Mr. Zaslav said in an interview. “Five years ago, people would have said ‘who are those lefties talking about green?’ “

Those lefties are the majority of mainstream citizens, and they are ready for new media choices that represent their views. By rebranding an existing channel, Discovery will debut with the 50 million homes already subscribed to the Discovery Home network. That’s a considerable launching pad for the new effort that has yet to be named. If they asked me, I would say to keep the current name, “Home,” with an arrow pointing to a picture of the Earth, which is already incorporated into their logo. This is, after all, our one and only home.