You may want to read the comments on http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3467550 where Alexis Ohanion went on NBC to debate SOPA.

Well! Reading the summary comment by inmygarage, that's kind of heartening. I'll view the segment later today for a full impression. Thanks for pointing this out!

The action was "bottom-up", not top down. Pressure came from users, not (solely, principally?) from sites' management. This has been totally mis-represented in the "mainstream media".

Here's a comment I submitted to some friends after seeing and hearing some of the "mainstream" broadcast press coverage, last night:

Caught some of the "mainstream media" reporting on the SOPA/PIPA blackout (including public radio and TV). Universally terrible. Minimally reported, with most of the language making it sound as if the sites are supporting piracy. They aren't defending piracy; they're opposing horribly formulated legislation that lends itself to abuse and censorship, places enormous legal and management burdens on them, and undermines the technical infrastructure and attendant security of the Internet.

(And, to boot, cogent analysis makes good arguments that the legislation won't even accomplish what it ostensibly sets out to do.)

Finally, I'd say that the "tech community" has been seeking dialog and participation. They've found a cold-shoulder. In the face of this -- being ignored and disrespected -- escalation to the "blackout" protest became their one avenue to attempting to gain a seat at the table.

Also, if there's any investigative journalism left at ABC and the like, they should spend some time really looking into the financial claims and mis-representations that have been made.

Tim O'Reilly is owner/CEO of a major publishing house that has a different perspective. He's eloquent and quite tied into the "progressive" technical community. They should talk to him (if they can reach a format he's comfortable with, e.g. not editing his words into a mis-representation -- that's my take on what the mainstream media often do, these days).

"Policing" requirements on links that are unsustainable for small businesses. Something that might have hit home on an NPR interview I heard earlier today: how many people do you have to police your own blog comment section? The usual response from shills is to say that the bill doesn't target those sites. But the point is that it's so poorly drafted that it's likely to sweep them in anyway, by abuse of process.

Speaking of which: Prior abuse of DMCA process against sites like veoh, which got painted as pirates, and subjected to legal or government action, when they weren't. Including at least one fraudulent takedown which was used to censor a news story about a prior fraudulent takedown: http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/14/2636680/universal-has-tec...

Just got word that the segment was canceled. Sad days :(

I'm already fairly cynical. Nonetheless, I've been shocked at what I can only interpret as outright repression and slanting of the story particularly on U.S. broadcast media (including public radio and television).

When BBC America came on to that same PBS TV station late last night, it was like a breath of fresh air when they rain a several minute and at least somewhat balanced report on the blackout day.

For me, personally, this is pretty much the "stick a fork in it, it's done" moment for U.S. mainstream broadcast media concerns. Domestic press isn't altogether there, yet -- though that's in part a matter of relatively greater diversity ("relatively", I said).

I'll "watch the news" for the weather and the occasional breaking local story. For the rest, I'll get my information elsewhere.

Not that the TV shows had much substance anymore, anyway, but yesterday reinforced for me just how wholly owned they've become.

Public television and public radio's performances were particularly troubling, though. I've been worried about the trend I've observed with them; nonetheless, I'd hoped for better.

Watch Salman Khan's video. It can probably give you a few good ideas. And also this Clay Shirky one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h2dF-IsH0I

Watched, took notes. Gracias.

I think ultimately the worst thing will be the unintended consequences, but those are hard to predict before they happen - and don't fit conveniently into a sound bite.