Closed Captioning Urged for Online Series

Posted on July 7, 2011 at 8:00 am

As more original content is being created for the web, deaf and hard of hearing audiences are urging producers to include closed captions. The Washington Post reports:

Last year, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, requiring that captioned television shows must be captioned online. But there’s a loophole: The law does not require original online programming to be captioned.

The story reports on grass roots efforts to persuade producers and distributors of online content to include closed captions through social media and some lawsuits against Time Warner and Netflix, charging discrimination. There is a petition calling on Netflix to improve and expand their closed captioning and search functions.

My dad, Newton Minow, was one of those who fought for closed captioning of television shows, in part because his older brother was hard of hearing but mostly because he has always worked for choice and accessibility. The networks objected for years. But once forced to comply, it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to them because the captions are what make it possible for TIVO and DVRs to find the shows they record.

Earlier this year, Regal and Cinemark made a commitment to full captioning in their movie theaters by the end of 2012. Netflix and the producers of web series should do the same.

Supreme Court: Violent Video Games Get Free Speech Protection

Posted on June 27, 2011 at 12:10 pm

A California law that would prevent the sale of violent video games to children has been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 2005 California law has never been enforced because it was found unconstitutional in the lower court as well. The 7-2 ruling (Breyer and Thomas dissenting) said, “The State wishes to create a wholly new category of content-based regulation that is permissible only for speech directed at children. That is unprecedented and mistaken. This country has no tradition of specially restricting children’s access to depictions of violence.”

Supporters of the legislation tried to make the case that exposure to violence is a public health issue, like smoking and alcohol. Opponents argued that games are protected speech, like a book or a movie. While the industry may choose to adopt its own rules voluntarily (as the movie industry has with its ratings and the theaters have done with their ticket sales policies), the government may not impose these restrictions.

Parents will have to continue to be especially vigilant about the restrictions on video games in their own homes and, the bigger challenge, in the homes of the friends where children go to play. Start with the ESRB ratings and then check out the ratings from Common Sense Media.

Common Sense Media’s Best Book Apps for Kids

Posted on June 8, 2011 at 8:00 am

Common Sense Media has a great list of the best apps to encourage young readers. This is a wonderful way to introduce children to the pleasures of books. I was especially taken with Icarus Swinebuckle. Parents can read aloud, with the text highlighted as they go to help children begin to recognize the words. Then, when they begin to read on their own, they can tap on any word they do not know and hear it said aloud. And I love the way it is inspired by the classic story from Greek mythology.

Smartphones and tablets may have transformed the lives of adults, but the impact they will have on learning for children and older kids will be even greater.

You and Your Friends in the ‘Bridesmaids’ Trailer

Posted on May 13, 2011 at 3:59 pm

Do you want to appear in the trailer for “Bridesmaids?” Upload photos of you and your friends or celebrities from your computer or Facebook to make your own version of the “Bridesmaids” trailer and see what you’d look like getting sick while you try on gowns!

10,000 Historic Recordings — Free Online

Posted on May 12, 2011 at 3:12 pm

The Library of Congress has a new online “jukebox” with more than 10,000 historic recordings made before 1925. “Much of it hasn’t been widely available since World War I,” notes the Washington Post. “Call it America’s iTunes.” The Library hopes to keep adding more recordings that are in the public domain. Harry Connick, Jr. was there to celebrate the opening of the online archive by playing “I’m Just Wild About Harry” on the piano. The Paul Whiteman version of the song is in the jukebox, and so is one from the song’s composer, Eubie Blake. According to Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post:

The collection, which is drawn from Sony’s back catalog, is a bewildering assortment of stuff. Listeners can hear the first ever jazz release — “Livery Stable Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jass Band — to 32 recordings of yodeling. There is a reading of the classic “Casey at Bat” and a forgotten speech by President William Howard Taft on U.S. policy toward Puerto Rico. Most of all, there is loads and loads of music: famed opera singer Enrico Caruso and composers Irving Berlin and George Gershwin are all represented.

“The absence of these recordings have created a sort of cultural amnesia. I think the jukebox will lead to a rediscovery of these artists,” said Patrick Loughney, who oversees the Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center campus in Culpeper.

The jukebox allows listeners to create playlists of their favorite tracks and share them via Facebook or other sites. The Library is creating a series of playlists curated by historians and well-known artists.

You can browse or search by type (vocal, spoken, instrumental), performer, composer, lyricist, date, or title. There is something there for everyone — be sure to check it out.