The passing of Shirley Temple Black gives us pause to consider her life and times.

For the purposes of this blog, I'll pull out an excerpt from her 1988 autobiography which she levels child exploitation charges against the Hollywood studios which made her famous, but also subjected an untold number of kids to abuse:

When any of the two dozen children in “Baby Burlesks” misbehaved, they were locked in a windowless sound box with only a block of ice on which to sit. “So far as I can tell, the black box did no lasting damage to my psyche,” Mrs. Black wrote in “Child Star.” “Its lesson of life, however, was profound and unforgettable. Time is money. Wasted time means wasted money means trouble."

I can't imagine a child remembering the damage to her or anyone else's "psyche" at the age of four or five.  Nevertheless, the revelation opens a small window into the thinking of those in charge of the studios at a time when Hollywood was coming of age.

In doing research on the launch of The Ah! Channel, I'm studying how others are working to provide original news content in a meaningful way.

My colleague, Nate Silver, for example, has hired more than a dozen journalists:

Nate Silver's online adventure

There are, of course, blogs that focus on just one topic, like this well-regarded website dedicated to healthcare reform:

The Incidental Economist

There are plenty examples of bonafide news websites that launched on their own without a lot of backing.  Most I find I would not want to emulate, in large part because they are just to superficial.  I think of TMZ, but there are other examples:

BuzzFeed

The reality is that good, hard-hitting journalism is expensive.  Real reporting is when you work long hours to uncover things that people don't want to talk about but that's important to upholding our democracy.

Reporters understand how dangerous their jobs can be.  Some get killed or find themselves in jail:

Jailed Reporters

Freedom is not free, and a strong and independent press is not cheap.

Here are two articles that are analogous when it comes to the free press.  They both talk about where we are at at this point in time, but in two different places.

In the United States, new digital ventures are taking hold.  They promise to further challenge the business model under which the free press has been operating:

The Status of the Free Press in the United States

At the same time, Afghanistan is on the cusp of a new era.  But in this case, television and radio are just now becoming key players:

Media & the 2014 Election in Afghanistan

Power companies in the United States are not prepared for major disruption of the electrical grid caused by possible major terrorist attack or solar storm.  So says the staff of U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman in a report spawned by increasing fears that the grid is in real danger.  Waxman, one of the most liberal members of congress and a representative os my district here in Los Angeles, is somewhat strangely on the side of some very conservative representatives.  They agree that more needs to be done to protect the country from what experts are saying is no longer such a distant threat.

At the same time, legislation to protect computer networks in the country against attack is stalled in the ongoing debate over intelligence gathering by the National Security Agency.  The proposal by the director of the agency is going nowhere as the county is caught up in the debate over classified documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

How the country handles these two issues will largely determine U.S. leadership in geopolitics over the remainder of this decade.  Foreign adversaries, either state sponsored or terrorist, undoubtedly are looking for weaknesses they can exploit at a time when Americans are increasingly distracted by a disparate flow of information brought on by the convergence of media and technology.  

These will be some of the issues we'll be exploring here at The Ah! Channel as we get ready for launch over the coming year.  Please subscribe and come back regularly for updates.

Have you noticed:  Content everywhere, anytime and on every device is finally a reality!  

Due to technical progress, we see radical changes in media content and platforms. The number of TV stations and online platforms is increasing, creating demand for both original and acquired content. The traditional roles and definitions of media categories are eroding, the fragmentation of content and media continues, media are merging, high profile Hollywood film directors and talent start producing TV and online content without hesitation. 

The traditional value chain is outdated: TV series find their way into film festivals, online content is sold on global TV markets, live events are screened in cinemas worldwide, premieres become online events. The film industry is questioning their business models and is chasing the constantly changing market conditions and consumer needs, in order to secure its sustainability.  

Please join me at the Ah! Channel by subscribing to my blog and the Ah! Channel on YouTube for continued updates on developments in the business of providing content.  And hold onto your seat, because you're in for a wild ride!

Google Glass

Google appears ready to take it's cutting edge eyewear public soon, announcing that Google Glass will be made available with prescription lenses.  

I've worn a beta version and I'm excited about possibly getting a pair with real lenses rather that just the frames you see in this demonstration.

Google Glass Beta Demonstration

Hold your breath though when it comes to cost.  There's a $1,500 entry fee to the Explorer Program in addition to the $225 cost for the Internet-enabled headset.

You'll want to check directly with Google via this link if you're interested:

http://www.google.com/glass/start/

The Renaissance of Downtown Los Angeles