Sneak Peek: New Internet Coalition To Launch
Buzz is building about the Wednesday launch of an advocacy coalition intended to draw attention to "the opportunities and challenges that the Internet presents for consumers, artists and the technology community alike." The kick-off is being held in New York City -- not in Washington -- which already smells a little funny to me if this group's intention is to influence policy. Organizers have been tight-lipped about the affair but there are a few clues I can offer.
Among the notables scheduled to be trotted out at the event are Mike McCurry, former White House press secretary to President Bill Clinton; Mark McKinnon, former chief media adviser to the campaigns of President Bush and current GOP presidential nominee John McCain; Chuck Sims, a copyright and First Amendment lawyer; and Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters Guild of America.
McCurry, a principal at Public Strategies Washington, co-chaired Hands Off the Internet, a group formed during the 109th Congress to counter calls for so-called "network neutrality" legislation. That coalition was affiliated with AT&T, NetCompetition.org and other telecom industry fueled ventures. McKinnon was an early backer of the short-lived HotSoup.com, a Web site launched in 2006 with the aim "to spark debate over hot-button topics of the day in the worlds of politics, business, and culture."
Sims is a partner at Proskauer Rose (interestingly, the same law firm where McCurry's Hands Off co-chair Christopher Wolf works) where he has argued on behalf of movie studios and against software and DVD pirates. He has also represented information broker Lexis-Nexis, the Association of American Publishers, The New York Times and the Discovery Channel.
Carnes is a Nashville songwriter and as head of the SGA has gone to bat on Capitol Hill for his industry at a number of hearings and briefings on contractual, technological and legal issues affecting songwriters.
So what do McCurry, McKinnon, Sims and Carnes all have in common? We'll know more on Wednesday.
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