Each year the American Film Institute (AFI) votes on “moments of significance”. A 13 member jury (which includes film scholars, artists and critics) vote on seven events that affected “the world of moving image” over the past year. The iPhone made the list this year.

AFI says the iPhone is a “symbol of the exploding on-demand culture.” The device, which sparked a buying frenzy when it was launched this summer in the United States, allows users to stream and download music, movies and TV shows.

At the top of the list was the Writers Guild of America strike, which began on November 5. The dispute between the Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers addresses storytelling in the digital age and “may be a defining event in shaping the future,” the AFI said.

The AFI is concerned about the hyper-tabloidization of traditional television news. Coverage of the antics of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears often eclipsed coverage of the war, the economy and international topics in 2007.

AFI