PubDef is launching a new 30-minute news magazine to air on KDHX-TV Channel 21 on Charter Cable in St. Louis City.

We are currently looking for contributors, cameramen and interns. Please send resumes to editor@pubdef.net.

More details to come…

We’re about to launch our new homepage design — PubDef 2.0!

Today is your chance to take a sneak peek and offer feedback.

Take a peek here: www.pubdef.net/new.html

Leave feedback in the comments section here or email to antonio@pubdef.net

At 9:09 PM we received the following email:

Dear Antonio,

In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we’ve completed
processing your counter-notification regarding your videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIjnOfqga5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr_r7XmPqQ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cimgwvcd6U

This content has been restored and your account has been reinstated.

Sincerely,

Harry
The YouTube Team

Our YouTube account has been restored and I am happy to report that all 507 of our videos are back online.

It was two weeks ago that KSDK Channel 5 filed two bogus copyright infringement claims against us with YouTube claiming we unfairly used segments from their news broadcasts in our media watch reports.

We maintained our usage of KSDK’s video falls under the “Fair Use” provision in copyright law and filed a counter-notification with YouTube.

About “Fair Use” from the Stanford University Libraries:

Fair use is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. For example, if you wish to criticize a novelist, you should have the freedom to quote a portion of the novelist’s work without asking permission. Absent this freedom, copyright owners could stifle any negative comments about their work.

Our win against KSDK, though it will likely go completely underreported locally (like far too many significant events — which is, of course, why PubDef exists and KSDK is threatened by us), is huge in this new media vs. old media revolution which we are proudly engaged in.

One small step for PubDef; one giant leap for St. Louis independent media!

Related Stories:

Is an Alderman on the Take? (Gasp!)

KSDK Chickens Out, Doesn’t Name Accused Alderman or Air Tape

KSDK SHUTS DOWN PUB DEF’S VIDEOS

You Can’t Keep a Good Blog Down

National Coverage of KSDK Bullying

More on KSDK’s YouTube Attack

We’re happy to announce a couple of great new features! First, we now have continuous play on PubDef.TV, meaning you just go to the site and videos start playing automatically, one after the other — just like real TV, but on-demand!

We’ve also made it easy for you to sign up to receive breaking news updates from PubDef right in your email inbox, Blackberry, or (coming June 29) iPhone. Look to the left side of the page to add your email address to our mailing list.

Be the first to know what happened! Sign up today for PubDef.net Alerts.

YouTube, which PubDef.net uses to post and play our videos, has just added a cool new scroll-through feature on its player that shows related videos.

It’s fun to play with and lets you discover new, related videos without leaving our site. Just hover over the video after pressing “play” and watch the magic unfold. Here, try it with our most popular video ever…

And by clicking the “menu” button, you can easily access the code to embed our videos on your own site or the URL to link directly to it.

Over the next days and weeks, you will be noticing a few new bylines on PubDef.

The interns have arrived! So be nice — and be patient — as these fresh eyes take their first hard looks at St. Louis politics.

And look out for some new flavor and changes to the site as these interns begin to make their contributions to PubDef and our community.

The field is narrowing and time is running out for area college students interested in being an intern with PubDef.net this summer.

The names of the two people selected for the 8-week guided tour through the world of St. Louis politics will be announced on Friday. Yes, applications are still being accepted, but get them in soon!

After months of neglect, the Pub Def Video Podcast has been updated. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

Following the release of the groundbreaking AppleTV, allowing us to watch video podcasts on our television — further eliminating the need to ever watch broadcast TV — we’ll be updating our own podcast much more regularly. So subscribe today to have our new vids automatically download to iTunes on your computer and AppleTV in your living room.

And yes, it’s free… But I think now is a great time to remind you about the costs associated with producing this site and these videos (video tapes, microphones, computer upgrades, gas – Oy vey!), and to remind you about that little “Make a Donation” button over there to the left. Hint-hint.

Since PubDef.net started 18 months ago, it has basically been a one man operation. The facts you read are as I know them to be true. The opinions expressed here have been my own.

But starting next week, the reports, opinions and views of a few new contributors will be added to the mix.

These invited guests will bring their own unique perspectives to this expanding discussion of local (and soon national) politics, media, education, race, economics, and much more — all while maintaining Pub Def’s reputation for accuracy, honesty, speed, and relevancy.

The fun begins Monday.

PubDef.TV has been updated with all of our videos from the ongoing student sit-in demonstration in City Hall.

Watch these exclusive videos and listen to students talk about this week’s events in their own words only at www.PubDef.tv.