This week, a Wall Street Journal story on the proposed Comcast/NBCU merger brought concerns about media consolidation back to the fore. The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly studying how the merger would affect the emerging internet video market.

Critics of the merger—including former Obama adviser and law professor Susan Crawford, a keynote speaker at this year’s Open Video Conference—say that the merger would hurt competition in the online video space.

Combined with anxieties about a shifting landscape for net neutrality, many are convinced that big changes are in store for the Internet as we know it—and by extension, the development of a rich online video medium that encourages user participation, creativity, and innovation.

We sat down with Ms. Crawford this week to hear her thoughts on the proposed merger, the FCC’s role in protecting net neutrality, and much more.

We’ll be releasing the 20-minute interview in three parts starting this week. It really captures the urgency that many are feeling about this critical time for the internet—a sense that we’re deciding new rules for the network and the web, and writing the the next few years of media history.

If you are passionate about the future of the open web and open video, we invite you to join us this October 1 & 2 at the Open Video Conference in New York City. Please register today.