Stop! Put down the remote!

Henry Jenkins has written Treating Viewers as Criminals, an excellent article over at MIT Technology Review. Apparently some exec at Turner Broadcasting has decided we're all thieves. Our theft? Well, when you tune in to a particular network show, according to this exec you agree to a "contract" that requires you to watch the commercials. Failing to watch the commercials, either by leaving or using the features of your VCR or other digital recording device, is a violation of contract and, therefore, a theft of services.

Nice logic, which Jenkins addresses thus:

Name-calling is the last resort of once powerful institutions that are finding themselves losing control in the face of rapid media change. Never mind that the same media giants are often the manufactures of the new media technologies we are using to skip their commercials or that some of the advertisements they want us to watch are marketing us features which allow us to skip advertisements. Never mind that we now have many more media options and we need the networks frankly far less than the networks need us.

I don't know about you but I want to renegotiate my contract! ...

There's more, so please click over and read.