What a difference three and one-half decades makes! This is an article I wrote for what turned out to be the last issue of Video Action Magazine (July 1981), which (in a total retrospective lack of surprise considering the principles behind this endeavor) died with a whimper, not a bang (more about Video Action can be found here). It’s about video piracy, which back then wasn’t as easy as anonymously hitting the download button on a BitTorrent site. I’m proud of this piece; it was my first try at big boy journalism, seeking out sources, talking to people off the record or with the promise of quoting them anonymously, interviewing corporate execs and FBI agents…even going into a couple of dark, dingy places to run down sources and leads. It was so Woodward and Bernstein!
Tags: home video, Superman The Movie, VHS, Video Action Magazine, video piracy