NBC News Wants to Own Presidential Debate

Most news organizations would probably claim to be champions of free speech and the people's right to know. But according to this BuzzMachine entry, NBC - via MSNBC - believe in free political speech that makes the company money and the right to know what the network broadcasts. It is putting significant restrictions on the use of the broadcast of the Democratic debate, including how long an excerpt can be (2 minutes maximum until a given date, and then 10 minutes), a kill date (May 26th) past which none of it can be shown, and a requirement to credit the network. What, it's not getting enough of an audience during the debate? Oh, and the killer - no posting on the Internet.

So, in the most important election that happens in this country every four years, people are supposed to refrain from using the Internet - the one medium that gives them a voice without vetting by some corporation? This is truly disgusting. Perhaps NBC News should change its name to NBC News and Corporate Propaganda.

By the way, there is no mention of transcripts. Technically the copyright on what a candidate says belongs to the candidate. I had no success in finding a full transcript without a single mention of MSNBC, but here at the New York Times site is the content of what the cable channel doesn't want you to have over the Internet.