Video: Wherein CBS makes a fool of itself by showing it has no idea what it's talking about re: movie piracy

Bias much, CBS? The network ran a report on 60 Minutes the other day (which shows how far off our radar the show is, seeing as though we just found out about it) that, according to TechDirt’s fantastic report, is basically a piece of MPAA propaganda. It makes all sorts of ridiculous claims that can easily be disproven by, you know, spending two minutes looking this stuff up.

The premise was this: Internet piracy is ruining the movie business. No dissenting opinions were presented to dispute that idea, so right away the report was a little fishy.

The report said that because so much money is being lost to piracy, less fewer movies are being made, and Hollywood is doomed as a result. Of course that’s a lie, since TechDirt dug up the statistics that show that nearly twice as many movies were made in 2008 as there were in 2004. And yes, more money was made.

I’ve embedded a clip (I don’t know if it’s visible outside the U.S., sorry about that) to illustrate what a piece of garbage the report was.

The beauty is that the report was presented as Lesley Stahl Reports, some really official thing, when I can guarantee the woman has no idea what she’s talking about. The look on her face when the guy explains peers and seeders and whatnot to her is priceless. That’s a good way to get an accurate report: have someone who is so clearly out of their element present the information.

And to address a TechDirt comment, as to who watches CBS anymore. That’s the thing: the people who use these technologies, who actually know what’s going on, aren’t watching, but the people who have the power to impact said technologies do. The show 60 Minutes may not mean a damn thing to anyone under the age of 60, but how many people running uTorrent all day long know how to hire a lobbyist who can call a congressman to put the wheels in motion for a DMCA-type law? What do you think your senator is more familiar with, 60 Minutes or Slashdot?