I streamed about 45 minutes of the "What is the Media For Today?" panel at Media Futures Conference (backchannel tracker feed here) before the memory on my N95 was filled, then the battery started to pack in, then someone tweeted me and it hit my phone and my phone crashed... But all that doesn't matter because this 45 minutes is probably more than enough for you to feel sorry for Beckett for having had to share this stage.
Keen says he abhores the idea of journalists getting paid by "how popular they are" [eg. number of readers (ala Gawker)]. Of course, he gets paid based on how many copies of his book he sells and uses the fact that he pisses off bloggers and journalists alike to make sure he stays in the public's eye with his old and ignorantly confrontational views. I don't, by the way, disagree with the point that there is a danger that the only news we see could, as is arguably the case in America today, the news people want to see (and advertise want to use as an advertising vehicle), but I mention it only as an example of one of many points of irony, and weakness, there is in Keen's arguments. Please stop inviting him to conferences. Charlie Beckett from Polis, on the other hand, is a considered voice of reason. If you can avoid smashing your laptop whilst watching Keen, Beckett's well worth watching. I really have no idea what the other guy was talking about.

http://qik.com/video/108474






Comments