No surprise that there was nothing about freedom of information legislation in Friday’s Throne Speech. One can’t help thinking that the fact that The Evil White Empire of Par La Ville Road is campaigning for “your right to know” means Dr Brown will just dig his feet in and ignore it until it suits him and it can somehow be spun to appear to be his initiative. Meanwhile there are vague comments about a “self-regulatory Press Council”. Hmm. Call me cynical but you can just see this degenerating into a press-bashing vehicle for a few paranoid politicians, can’t you? I’m sorry, but given the media savaging American and British politicians take on a regular basis and the real investigative reporting tradition that still exists in both countries, politicians here really should count their blessings. By and large, they deal with a benign media here that is already far more open, responsible and accessible to readers and the written-about than many of its counterparts overseas. If Dr Brown really wants to “ensure that journalistic integrity and the freedom of information continue to mature” then, as Gazette editor Bill Zuill commented, increased public access to information would be a good start.
Archive for the ‘Bermuda’ Category
Could frustrated Bermuda digital music fans finally be able to legitimately buy downloaded music from the iTunes store without having to resort to overseas credit cards and buying up iTunes gift cards when they’re on a trip? Maybe, according to yesterday’s story in the Bermuda Sun by Tim Hall:
Richard Todd, manager of the island’s iStore, is in negotiations with Apple to have the company’s licensing agreements extended to Bermuda.
Apple’s lawyers are looking at the proposal and are expected to make a decision in the first half of this year. It could mean Bermuda getting its own country-specific version of iTunes – the world’s biggest online music store. Such a move could also put pressure on other companies, such as Amazon, to offer digital music and movies to the island.
Meanwhile, Richard says he hopes to reach an agreement with Apple to at least sell the iTunes gift cards in Bermuda. He’s already managed to convince them to let him sell the Apple TV which – ludicrously – is one of the products Apple deemed a “US-only” product and not available in an Island 600 miles away, which it lumps in the Latin American region. This is also why you cannot buy the top-end 2.8 Extreme iMac in Bermuda either. If you want one, check out B&H in New York. They will ship to Bermuda via UPS.
Back to the Sun story: a couple of minor corrections – eMusic is wrongly listed as an illegal download site (it’s a totally legit, if limited, music store) and yours truly is not a Bermudian, despite the Gibbons surname. I am a mere permanent resident, although I do have a Bermudian daughter which will no doubt be confusing to off-rock readers. Welcome to Bermuda!
The Royal Gazette has now set up a Facebook group to garner support for its Right To Know: Giving People Power public information campaign [see yesterday’s post]. So don’t just sit there – click something!
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