Headlines

Debate over the "embedded journalist" program run by the Pentagon since the weeks before the Iraq invasion in 2003 has long raged, with some claiming that it gave reporters valuable close access to action while others saying that the journalists were severely compromised within it.

The American Association of People with Disabilities, Consumer Federation of America, National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America Foundation, Telecommunications Research and Action Center, and World Institute on Disability urged the Federal Communications Commission to investigate whether the lack of an automatic upgrade capability in digital televisions (DTVs) is hurting consumers, particularly those with disabilities.

Former Majority Leader Dick Armey came out swinging on Wednesday, offering the National Association of Broadcasters a good old-fashioned Texas butt-kicking over their opposition to a bill that he believes would put AM and FM radio on a level playing field with other music distribution platforms that pay royalties to artists and copyright holders.

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on how the Commission should proceed with the re-auction and licensing of the 700 MHz D Block spectrum while maximizing the public safety and commercial benefits of a nationwide, interoperable broadband network.

Two separate sources this week are offering up more analysis showing the telcos are falling behind the cable companies in the broadband and video battle. Information Gatekeepers, an analyst firm that once predicted the telcos would overtake cable in broadband penetration, this week issued its High-Speed Access Report for the first quarter of 2008, showing cable is outperforming its forecast and the telcos are under-performing what IGI had forecast in 2006.

Improving Internet access in Africa is a fight on several fronts -- building undersea cables, setting up regional exchanges and bridging the last mile to homes and businesses -- but the continent is making progress.

About 400 librarians from around the country have descended on Washington this week for their annual lobbying blitz. But before they began Wednesday meetings in the House and Senate, American Library Association President Loriene Roy hosted a press conference to discuss her group's joint effort with the Association of Public Television Stations and PBS to help educate citizens about the rapidly approaching digital TV transition deadline.

The Presidential race's preoccupation with demographic-based voting has made the similarity between Hollywood and Washington (DC) even more striking. That's because the debate surrounding Barack Obama's campaign needing to dumb down the message and messenger to appease the masses has a longstanding precedent in television.

Traditional land-line phones, once the bedrock of communications in the USA, are quickly going the way of eight-track tapes as consumers go wireless or choose Internet-based phone calling.