Tim Wu has rounded up some of the dumbest things that Jack Valenti said — and he's found some real howlers, things that make Jack's infamous condemnation of the VCR ("the Boston Strangler of the American film industry") look like a walk in the park.
On the nascent cable industry, in 1974
"[Cable will become] a huge parasite in the marketplace, feeding and fattening itself off of local television stations and copyright owners of copyrighted material. We do not like it because we think it wrong and unfair."On the dangers on media concentration, 1984 Op-Ed
"Will a democratic society allow just three corporate entities to wield unprecedented dominion over television, the most decisive voice in the land? There are now only three national networks …. There will never be more than three national networks."On the public domain, 1995
"A public domain work is an orphan. No one is responsible for its life. But everyone exploits its use, until that time certain when it becomes soiled and haggard, barren of its previous virtues. How does the consumer benefit from the steady decline of a film's quality?"
(Thanks, Patricio!)
