In defense of newspapers

A fascinating article in the German website Sign and Sight addresses the future of newspapers. Mathias Dopfner, who heads the Axel Springer publishing powerhouse, says that newspapers exercise an important function in peoples' lives, and while their format may change from paper to electronic paper, their purpose of conveying news will ensure that they will continue to find readers. And the dreaded Internet? "The Internet is not the new newspaper," Dopfner says. "It is a genuinely new medium. Not just a new transfer medium, but a new creative medium, too. According to (early 20th-century Nurnberger Zeitung editor-in-chief Wolfgang) Riepl this means that the Internet will establish itself alongside the media already on offer, not replace them."
Yes, this speech was delivered by someone whose business hinges upon producing newspapers. That said, he makes some compelling points.

FICTION FORMULA

well, here's a formula for success as a fiction-writer...

(1) First, amass social capital that connects you to the power structure (publishing houses, movie producers, etc.), if you don't already have it. This is not at all easy.

(2) THEN, craft work that you believe in THAT ALSO fits the values of your contacts.

This is not to say that we shouldn't be writing before we have the social capital. You need to write to hone your abilities, so that when you get the social capital, you have something to say. If you write good enough stuff, then you may already have something readymade for the contacts, once they materialize.

But writers are given to daydream & fantasy. And there is no greater delusional fantasy than the idea that you can write, in your solitary world, and then find a market for your work.

I've tried it. It doesn't work. You write on the side, while you build a career in a more meritocratic field, that involves human contacts -- such a field allows you to build social capital.

Then, if you can get the social capital to connect you to the power (publishing houses, movie producers), you take your old writings or make new ones, and try to get your work distributed.

But it is delusion to think you can write in isolation/seclusion and succeed. Practically, it's impossible, due to lack of connections -- and it also probably degrades your work to write in isolation, because social contacts and life experience are the material from which great fiction is woven.

Of course, this theory is written out of the struggle of time I used to write -- which didnt yield anything. So who knows?

THoughts?

Free Software

Liberty, I was wondering you could help me understand the "Free Software" movement, which is explained at http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/anarchism.html and other sources.

I understand that they want open source codes. I don't understand the economics about allowing copies and derivative works to be distributed for free.

I'm not interested in critiquing this movement (yet), so much as learning and understanding their point of view.

Since you're the computer programmer / philosopher, I was wondering if you could help me out on this one.