The king of Silicon Valley reporting, Dan Gillmor, has penned his final column for the San Jose Mercury News.
And there's a parting shot at government interference in the internet, and at the copyright cartel that he has written about many times before:
As always, the people and institutions currently holding the clout don't cede it willingly. Governments are clamping down on us in all kinds of ways. Incumbent business powerhouses are trying to hold back the tide as well, not just to keep their positions but also to thwart new innovation that might threaten them.
These reactionary encroachments and retrenchments are not surprising. They always occur in times of swift change and challenge. In the end, they are almost always unsuccessful, because progress ultimately finds a way around barriers, and because people challenge the reactionaries.
But we need to keep the pressure up, as citizens and people who want the freedom to use these new tools and live in liberty. The stakes are high, and liberty takes work.
For those who don't know, Gillmor is getting out of Big Media journalism and putting his considerable talents behind a new enterprise - which he describes in a little detail on his new blog.
