In this podcast, David Newhoff interviews Parry Teasdale, Editor-in-Chief of The Columbia Paper, which serves a small, rural community in the Hudson Valley. They discuss Teasdale’s involvement in the new media vanguard of the late 1960s and early 1970s (when portable video cameras were just becoming available to ordinary citizens), as well as the current state of journalism, and our relationship to information.

This is Part II of David Newhoff’s interview with Chris Ruen, author of Freeloading: How Our Insatiable Hunger for Free Content Starves Creativity. 

David Newhoff speaks with Chris Ruen, author of the book Freeloading: How Our Insatiable Hunger for Free Content Starves Creativity.  Ruen’s book provides a glimpse into his personal transition from consumer of free media to advocate for artists’ rights and a more rational conversation about copyright in the digital age.  In this podcast, Ruen shares his own thoughts about common justifications for online piracy, about the mechanics behind the anti-SOPA protest, and about his own proposals for a renewed dialogue about copyright reform and enforcement.  Listen to Part II of the podcast next.

Michael Grecco briefly discusses his work as a celebrity, journalistic, and commercial photographer and the lighting books he has written. As a professional photographer in the digital age, he describes both the business sense required to be successful in the field and the importance of copyrighting one’s work.   

New York filmmaker Matthew Harrison discusses his film Rhythm Thief, which won the Sundance Jury Prize in 1995.  Inspired by anti-bootlegging campaigns of the 1990s, Harrison talks about wanting to make a film that is of a time and place yet holds up even decades later.

Representative Judy Chu of California discusses the founding of the Creative Rights Caucus and describes the events they are organizing to promote artists rights and highlight the importance of creative occupations around the country.

NBCUniversal Studios chief archivist Jeff Pirtle shares some assets from the studio's collection, including the minute book from the founding of Universal.  Jeff describes his role in preserving assets used in motion pictures, including set plans, vintage posters, and costumes.  His favorite part of his job is uncovering interesting facts about the studio’s history.

Poppy Cannon-Reese gives a tour of the NBCUniversal costume rental facility, showing costumes such as those created for the movies Oblivion and 47 Ronin.  Poppy describes the collaboration between the director, costume designer, and actor to make a character jump from the page to the screen.

Filmmaker David Avallone discusses the work of his father, Michael Avallone, author of the Ed Noon detective series.  Having inherited the rights to his father’s novels, Avallone discusses the process of making these works newly available as eBooks and self-promoting Ed Noon via social media.

In this profile, Cheryl B. Englehardt gives us a glimpse into the world of a contemporary working composer. She discusses her songwriting process and how she manages to strike a balance between composing for clients and composing for her own records.