The EU thinks it needs to control the Internet, and doesn’t trust the United States and the private sector to do a job they’re sure bureaucrats could do better.

The EU and the UN are pressing to have Internet control pass from the US to the UN.

At issue is who would have ultimate authority over the Internet’s master directories, which tell Web browsers and e-mail programs how to direct traffic. That role has historically gone to the United States, which created the Internet as a Pentagon project and funded much of its early development. The U.S. Commerce Department has delegated much of that responsibility to a U.S.-based private organization with international board members, but Commerce ultimately retains veto power.

Movie and television studios are looking to direct-to-video DVDs to generate new income from old audiences.

DTV movie sequels capitalize on the brand name of the original, and video producers are attempting to expand existing lines onto DVDs.

“Franchising always has been important, but it’s more important now,” Lions Gate Entertainment president Steve Beeks said. “The market is softening, the consumer is a little more discerning, and unless you have some brand recognition, some franchise power, it’s going to be hard to break through the clutter.”

Similarly, Disney’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment has expanded its “Baby Einstein” line of edutainment DVDs for infants with a “Little Einstein” series targeting preschoolers.

Reuters profiles a new used DVD trading company that threatens to undermine even the booming DVD rental sites.

With DVD sales expected to reach
$21 billion next year, it may be comforting for consumers to know used discs now have a second life as tradable currency on a year-old Web site called Peerflix.

And at 99 cents a pop, the new commodities may threaten to erode demand for DVD rental services down the road.

Reuters reports that bloggers are providing an important alternative to traditional media coverage of the disaster.

More and more, bloggers, who frequently post short messages on Internet Web Sites, are becoming an information source, particularly for fast developing stories in remote areas. Blogs gained prominence during the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, when conservative and liberal writers became regulars on the campaign trail.

The audience for the narratives is growing. According to comScore Media Metrix, more than 1.7 million online searches were conducted on August 29 containing the words “Hurricane” and/or “Katrina,” a more-than-tenfold increase over the daily average during the five days ending August 26.

“Bloggers outside the area are doing their best to amplify the first-hand accounts,” said Mark Crispin Miller, professor of media studies at New York University.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Blockbuster share prices have dropped on fears that the company may default on some debt payments and close some stores in the next 12 months.

The rapid growth of DVDs and the large inventory and cheap distribution offered by Netflix have shown the video giant to be a little slow to respond.

Without any fanfare, Apple has added video to its podcasting features. Though you can only view the videos on your computer, they are sure to migrate to a new video iPod soon.

Ken Fisher comments:

We’re basically headed towards the democratization of video content. A brief outline of the revolution (if we can call it that) is as follows: from text, to audio, to video. Blogging caught on once it became dead easy for non-techie types to publish online. Podcasting has followed in its wake: why read or write when you can listen or speak? (Or so the thinking goes.) And now, coming full circle in many ways, the video podcast is poised to take on other forms of video entertainment head-on.

Hat tip: Instapundit

The NY Times and Washington Post have been giving each other advance notice of their front pages for the last 10 years.

If this were happening in another industry, the media would not stand for it. According to Mark Tapscott,

In any other industry, this would be called “collusion” and the Times and Post editorial pages would be in high dungeon, demanding anti-trust investigations by the Department of Justice. Go here for the full E & P report.Can you imagine what the outrage would be if it were Microsoft and Apple exchanging their product plans every day? Or GM and Ford? Hertz and Avis?

Hat tip: Instapundit

Walmart starts a blog to tell its story directly to its consumers.

Hat tip: Polipundit

Sony’s new products are being ignored as Apple’s new thin-line iPod and music phone hog the limelight.

Sony says it’s banking on its software business to give the eventual edge over Apple.