The problem is cited in the segment I quoted. It is not merely that it happens in Apple's gated community, but that others may see Apple's route as a successful idea and implement equally closed ecosystems.
We can, in a way, see that with WP7 which (unless MS does a 180 in the next few months) will be equally closed. This would likely be backed up by demands from media companies of those who wish to carry their content, and relying on public inertia and apathy (or ignorance?) to carry it. The ultimate worry is where such a situation would steer modern personal computing technology.
Personally, I don't enjoy the thought of having to effectively give up ownership of my hardware to stay up to date with the news. For now I'm content to criticize and work against Apple's closed platform.
Hardly. It voices a concern the rest of the media is more than happy to brush under the carpet. After all, -they're- absolutely gung ho about a closed system that makes it really easy to extract payments from everyone. They'd love it if that were the new way of interacting with "The Web" and the -only- way. The new TV, per se.