Sept 15, 2008 (Elections & Media)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
This week's agenda includes four events tomorrow: 1) a House hearing on the Status of the DTV Transition: 154 Days and Counting (http://benton.org/node/16785), 2) a Senate hearing titled Why Broadband Matters (http://benton.org/node/16784 and see commentary below) 3) the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors meet to discuss Putting the Public Interest Back Into Communications (http://benton.org/node/16676) and 4) Consensus FCC Reforms and the Communications Agenda for the Next Administration (http://benton.org/node/16846). But there's more -- see http://benton.org/calendar
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
FEC, FCC to Consider Complaints Over GOP Ads
Facebook Political Ads Test Limits
Obama ad slams McCain for being computer illiterate
Comparing the Candidates' Technology and Innovation Policies
Obama's science-tech policies top McCain's
Palin's Home State Last Frontier For Tech, Too
Study: Palin gives McCain a media boost
The Attack on Oprah: A Case Study Of The Strategies of the Conservative Noise Machine
DIGITAL TELEVISION
Wilmington DTV Test Portends Feb Crisis
Sen Klobuchar Warns of DTV 'Cliff Effect'
Copps: More Focused DTV-Transition Efforts
Four Noncoms Join Border Stations vs. Bill
Senate Commerce Committee to Review Progress of DTV Transition with FCC, NTIA
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Why Broadband Matters
AT&T will "temporarily reduce" speeds for U-verse customers
The White Space Lobbying Race Pits Internet Vs. Telecom Firms
Study: Using Data for Targeted Ads a Black Cloud
NEWS FROM THE FCC
Strengthening oversight of the Universal Service Fund
Proposed Fourth Quarter 2008 Universal Service Contribution Factor
Connolly Named FCC Chief Economist
Devices Capable of Supporting Multiple Audio Entertainment Services
McDowell Favors Industry Deal On Quiet Period
Verizon Submits Plan to Reform Intercarrier Compensation System
QUICKLY -- Hearing: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Nominees; Cable Lags Telco In Workforce Diversity Efforts: NAMIC Study; The Power of Political Misinformation; Katie Couric Lets Down Her Hair; Teens view cell phones as essential
TEN YEARS AGO
FCC Approves MCI-WORLDCOM Merger
Sleep well, David Foster Wallace
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
FEDERAL AGENCIES TO CONSIDER COMPLAINTS OVER GOP ADS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Matthew Mosk]
Television stations in four states are asking the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Communications Commission for advice regarding allegations that Republicans in several Senate races are shortchanging viewers with the brevity of their stand-by-your-ad statements. The argument is over a matter of seconds, but depending on how the complaints are evaluated, the decision could cost four Republican Senate candidates hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those being challenged are Republican Sens. Norm Coleman (MN) and Gordon Smith (OR), Virginia challenger James S. Gilmore III, and Colorado candidate Bob Schaffer. TV stations received letters from Democratic challengers arguing that the statements of approval at the end of campaign ads violate election laws. Attorneys for Al Franken, the challenger in Minnesota, said Coleman's image does not appear for four seconds at the end of his spot. Attorneys for Oregon challenger Jeff Merkley said Smith's ad shows a written statement but not his image. Similar allegations were brought against Gilmore and Schaffer. As a result, the Republican candidates have "forfeited their entitlement" to discounted television advertising rates reserved for political office-seekers "for the duration of the campaign," wrote lawyer Marc Elias, who signed all four letters. That means, Elias contended, that the Republicans should have to pay the commercial rate, instead of the discounted rate.
http://benton.org/node/16843
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FACEBOOK POLITICAL ADS TEST LIMITS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel]
Political parties and interest groups have long cherry-picked news stories that promote their agenda to feature in campaign ads. But some new ads popping up on Facebook take that tactic to a new level. None of the publications cited in the ads bought them -- or even was aware of them. The buyer -- though never identified anywhere on the ads or on the pages that you land on after clicking on them -- is the liberal group MoveOn.org. It's the latest example of fuzziness about who's behind what when it comes to political ads online.
http://benton.org/node/16856
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OBAMA AD SLAMS MCCAIN FOR BEING COMPUTER ILLITERATE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
It probably was only a matter of time before Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama (IL), whose campaign has displayed its tech savvy through tactics such as aggressive online fundraising, use of social networking and texting the news of his running mate selection, hit Republican rival John McCain (AZ) for his admitted technological difficulties. The Obama campaign wielded McCain's past comments -- that he doesn't send e-mail and is computer "illiterate" -- like a blunt instrument. A biting new TV ad uses those examples to brand the 72-year-old Arizona senator as out of touch with today's world. Hitting an opponent on economic issues is standard political strategy. But going after a candidate for his skill with computers and e-mail is a new, 21st century line of attack. "John McCain travels with a laptop," said McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds. "This is a senseless tactic from Obama's campaign because they're struggling with the realization that the American people understand he is not equipped to deliver change because his record has no bipartisanship or significant legislative accomplishment in it."
http://benton.org/node/16842
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COMPARING THE CANDIDATES' TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION POLICIES
[SOURCE: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, AUTHOR: Robert Atkinson, Stephen Ezell]
Innovation drives long-term national economic growth and has in fact been responsible for 80 percent of the growth in the U.S. economy since World War II. This places technology and innovation squarely at the center of the issue - the economy - that voters have identified as the most important in the 2008 Presidential election. ITIF's latest report, Comparing the Candidates' Innovation and Technology Policies, finds that both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have recognized the central role that science, technology, and innovation play in economic growth and have developed specific policy positions on these issues. The report presents one of the most comprehensive reviews of the two Presidential candidates' views on issues relating to technology and innovation, including: tax, R&D funding, education, trade, broadband, e-government, energy, and related policies.
http://benton.org/node/16841
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OBAMA'S SCIENCE-TECH POLICIES TOP MCCAIN'S
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA)]
[Commentary] John McCain has seen the future - and it looks a lot like the last decade. Over the last several years a consensus has developed among experts in technology, science, and innovation that the United States has begun to lose its historic dominance in high-tech innovation and scientific discovery. Recognizing this critical challenge, last year Sen. Barack Obama launched a thoughtful, comprehensive plan to reshape the American economy to compete in the Digital Age. His plan draws from the lessons of recent decades to change how our schools and universities educate the next generation, to invest in science and research and to modernize our telecommunications networks. Just over two months before the election, Sen. John McCain has responded with his own technology agenda. It reveals a lack of vision and more of the same failed policies of the current administration. To respond to the global competitiveness challenge, McCain's agenda rests largely on a variety of tax breaks for corporations, many of which I would support. However, McCain fundamentally misunderstands how innovation and technology emerge and how the United States became a high-tech superpower over the last half-century.
http://benton.org/node/16840
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PALIN'S HOME STATE LAST FRONTIER FOR TECH, TOO
[SOURCE: InformationWeek, AUTHOR: KC Jones]
[Commentary] Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) does not have a technology track record. The Milken Institute's 2008 State Technology and Science Index used 77 indicators to judge how all 50 states rank in terms of technology. The indicators fall into five main categories: human capital investment, research and development funding, risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, technology and science work force, and technology concentration and dynamism. Alaska ranking near rock bottom of the list at number 44. Gov Palin vetoed funding for wireless Internet access for Badger Road Elementary School ($20,000), Taku Elementary School ($27,000), Ticasuk Brown Elementary School ($20,000), North Pole Middle School ($10,000) and North Pole High School ($32,000). The reason in every case given for wireless cuts in the state's supplemental '08 budget: other funding options available. In this season of hyperbole, convenient omission and sincere untruths, such vetoes might easily incite venomous political attacks and indignant outrage. On the other hand, there are federal universal service E-rate and high-cost funds and the private-sector dollars that could possibly bridge the wireless divide for schools left behind because of Gov Palin's line-item vetoes.
http://benton.org/node/16839
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STUDY: PALIN GIVES MCCAIN A MEDIA BOOST
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Rex Huppke]
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has helped open a pipeline of coverage for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, giving the GOP candidate almost 60 percent more media attention last week than Sen. Barack Obama, according to findings of a study released Thursday -- a dramatic reversal from earlier in the campaign. In fact, Palin received 10 percent more ink and airtime than Obama from Sept. 1 to Sept. 7, the study says. Since early July, the information database company LexisNexis has been tracking media coverage of McCain and Obama, evaluating thousands of print, broadcast and online stories each week. Last week marked the first time McCain has received more coverage than Obama. Before that, Obama had been averaging about one-third more stories a week than McCain. Much of last week's swing in media coverage, of course, was attributable to the GOP convention in Minnesota. But the "Palin bump" undoubtedly boosted the attention paid to the McCain campaign. Perhaps the most surprising finding from last week—at least to those who claim the media have been attacking Palin -- was that the coverage of Palin was deemed balanced.
http://benton.org/node/16838
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THE ATTACK ON OPRAH: A CASE STUDY OF THE STRATEGIES OF THE CONSERVATIVE NOISE MACHINE
[SOURCE: Tales from the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] PalinPetition dot com may start to dominate the cable and broadcast news rounds via FOX and other conservative commentators soon. Timing will no doubt depend on focus group polling on whether Sen Obama is gaining traction or if passion about Gov Palin begins to wane. But from the current ferment in the vectors, Feld is pegging it to be next week's distraction. The fact is that the developing attack on Oprah is an excellent case study of how the Republicans manipulate both their base and the mainstream media. It also highlights what Obama and the Ds need to do to defend. It is not simply about going after smears or going negative sooner stronger or any of these things. It is to understand that the Republican strategists at this level do not wait for targets of opportunity, nor do they hitch their train to a single issue or person. It is a matter of understanding overall methods of operation and developing proactive counter-strategies rather than reactive counter strategies. Along the way, it also helps highlight the current problem with our mainstream media and illustrates how the Rs are taking advantage of the Internet in non-obvious ways.
http://benton.org/node/16837
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DIGITAL TELEVISION
WILMINGTON DTV TEST PORTENDS FEB CRISIS
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] From the numbers coming out of Wilmington, Jessell is figuring that about 5 percent of the homes that rely on off-air reception for some or all of their TV were either unaware or unprepared for the market's early DTV switch. If that is the case, then we should expect that at least 1.7 million homes will be at a loss on the morning of Feb 18, 2009, the morning after every full-power TV station as a matter of law must turn off its analog transmitter. That's an awful lot of homes. There are many executive producers who would love to attract that many households to their programs. There is no way the FCC and local broadcasters are going to be able to cope with the problems of 3.4 million homes -- more than eight million people -- no matter how hard they try. Broadcasters should begin touting the benefits of digital so that off-air viewers have an incentive to switch to digital well before the analog cut off. Broadcasters need to do more and longer "soft tests," in which they replace the programming on their analog signal with informational graphics. The government needs to permit at least one station in every market to continue broadcasting an analog signal with a graphic after the cut-off. The government should stagger the cut-off dates so that the millions of confused and frustrated viewers don't all take to the phones expressing their confusion and frustration on the same day.
http://benton.org/node/16836
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SEN KLOBUCHAR WARNS OF DTV 'CLIFF EFFECT'
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to reiterate her concerns about the DTV "cliff effect." She pointed out that 21% of her state relies on over-the-air TV and said the FCC and industry need to educate consumers about the issue. Unlike analog broadcasters, where a weakening signal means an increasingly weak picture, when a digital signal gets weak enough, there is no picture at all. In addition, the coverage areas of digital can vary from analog, as was the case in Wilmington. The solution may be repositioning or upgrading antennas, but for some fraction, it will mean losing access to that TV-station signal. Sen Klobuchar said not enough has been done to educate viewers that some may lose their signals even if they buy new DTV sets or converter boxes. Sen Klobuchar said she wanted answers to the following questions: 1) What, if anything, have the FCC and NTIA done to make consumers -- particularly rural viewers -- aware of the potential digital cliff phenomenon? 2) What will happen to those viewers who purchase a new television or converter box and nonetheless cannot receive television coverage because of the digital cliff? 3) Have the agencies given any thought as to how to make the people affected by the digital cliff whole, especially those who acted in good faith but nevertheless find themselves without an ability to receive over-the-air television? What contingencies are being considered for this group? 4) What attention did the FCC give to educating consumers in the Wilmington, N.C., test market about digital-cliff issues prior to the switch-over? 5) How does the FCC and/or NTIA plan to quickly share and apply nationally any lessons learned in Wilmington about coverage and technical issues facing consumers?
http://benton.org/node/16833
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COPPS: MORE FOCUSED DTV-TRANSITION EFFORTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps, a driving force behind the FCC's Wilmington digital-transition test, came up with a list of steps the FCC should take in response to lessons learned out of the early analog cutoff, including more field testing, a contingency plan, better education about the need to rescan channels and getting consumer messages out to analog viewers beyond the transition date. In a proposal to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Friday, Copps said that unless the FCC "sharpens its approach" to the transition, "we face the possibility of enormous consumer disruption Feb 17, 2009 -- now less than 160 days away." Commissioner Copps pointed to the results from Wilmington indicating that "the great majority of residents who sought help in the wake of the switch-over had specific technical problems -- e.g., converter-box-installation issues, antenna or other reception problems -- and sought individualized assistance from the FCC and others." He added, "Generalized PSAs [public-service announcements]" would have done those folks "no good."
http://benton.org/node/16835
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FOUR NONCOMS JOIN BORDER STATIONS VS BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Opposition is growing to a bill allowing some broadcasters to continue in analog years beyond the Feb 17, 2009, cutoff date set by Congress. The general managers of four noncommercial stations along the border with Mexico joined 11 commercial stations in opposing a bill that would extend analog broadcasts for five years past the cutoff date. They signed on to a letter sent to the leadership of the House and Senate earlier this week in advance of a digital-TV-oversight hearing next week in the House that will include that topic. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) proposed allowing -- though not requiring -- stations within 50 miles of the Mexican border to continue in analog until 2014 to ensure that high populations of over-the-air viewers, particularly Spanish-language, still have access to emergency information. Spanish-language stations pushed for the bill, not wanting to lose access to border viewers in both the United States and Mexico.
http://benton.org/node/16834
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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO REVIEW PROGRESS OF DTV TRANSITION WITH FCC, NTIA
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Full Committee hearing on Oversight of the DTV Transition - Countdown to February 2009, scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. With February 17, 2009 less than five months away, the Committee will assess the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications Information Administration's efforts to promote broadcaster and consumer preparedness, as well as the recent test pilot in Wilmington, North Carolina.
http://benton.org/node/16832
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
WHY BROADBAND MATTERS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Charles Benton]
[Commentary] The Senate Commerce Committee meets September 16 to hear testimony on the consumer benefits of broadband service. The question of the day is Why Broadband Matters? I could offer a long list of reasons why broadband matters, but the list of reasons is too long to enumerate here because it is over 305 million names long. Broadband matters for every American. Luckily, the Senate's hearing focuses on people rather than pipes. Because even as we come to recognize that broadband networks are the essential communications medium of the 21st century, those who could benefit the most from this economically empowering technology are also those most likely to be left without access because of where they live or how much money they make. The Senate hearing will undoubtedly reach this answer: universal, affordable broadband access is as important to the advancement of the American ideal of equal opportunity in the 21st century as universal access to education and universal phone service was in the last. As broadband becomes more critical for everything from jobs, to education and even participation in modern campaigns - millions do not have access to affordable high-speed broadband - or any broadband choices at all. We have made great progress in extending broadband's reach, but, unfortunately, America faces a lingering broadband gap that is unlikely to be bridged by market forces alone. Now is the time for government leadership -- for making broadband as universal as telephone service is today and bringing its benefits to all Americans as soon as possible.
http://benton.org/node/16820
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AT&T WILL "TEMPORARILY REDUCE" SPEEDS FOR U-VERSE CUSTOMERS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
As AT&T disclosed at the Federal Communications Commission's summer hearing on network management practices at Carnegie Mellon University, it was rewriting its broadband service terms of service. The telco submitted them to the FCC on Thursday, and it looks like speed throttling is on the menu. "In order to provide a consistently high-quality video service, AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet throughput speeds may be temporarily reduced when a customer is using other U-verse services in a manner that requires high bandwidth," the new language will warn. "This could occur more often with higher speed Internet access products. It may be necessary, for some AT&T High Speed Internet users, for AT&T to set a maximum downstream speed on a customer line to enhance the reliability and consistency of performance." The disclosure concedes that these changes "will prevent some customers from obtaining the maximum downstream speed capability," but the overall speed will not be reduced from the tier that the customer purchased, promises AT&T. U-verse offers video, phone, and broadband services in a single package, all delivered over a phone line and powered by a fiber-to-the node system. AT&T says these new conditions will go into effect starting October 18.
http://benton.org/node/16857
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THE WHITE SPACE LOBBYING RACE PITS INTERNET VS TELECOM FIRMS
[SOURCE: Investor's Business Daily, AUTHOR: Brian Deagon]
It looks like static on your old analog TV, but to Microsoft, Google and other tech giants, those unused channels between local broadcast stations represent the future of the Internet. A coalition of tech companies is promising a new generation of wireless offerings and faster, cheaper Internet services if the government frees up chunks of radio-wave spectrum being abandoned in the transition to digital TV. As TV broadcasters switch to digital signals that take up a different slice of the radio-wave spectrum, they'll leave behind airwaves used now for analog signals. A coalition of tech companies hopes to use those frequencies for a slew of wireless devices and services -- everything from Internet-connected cars to interactive TV on the go. That vision hinges on a report the Federal Communications Commission plans to issue in the next few weeks. After nearly a year of research, the FCC is set to define how wireless networks and devices can tap into the spectrum without messing with TV signals and other communication systems that use nearby frequencies. Earlier tests on prototype devices uncovered some glitches, but technology firms say those bugs have been fixed.
http://benton.org/node/16830
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STUDY: USING DATA FOR TARGETED ADS A BLACK CLOUD
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 68% of those engaged in the practice of storing data online or using Web-based software programs were "very" concerned about advertisers using that information to target ads to them. That was an even greater concern than the prospect of their files being turned over to the government (49% were very concerned). Targeted advertising came in third among the data policies of most concern to those using cloud services behind companies selling their files to others (90% very concerned) and using their information or images for marketing campaigns (80%).
http://benton.org/node/16829
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NEWS FROM THE FCC
STRENGTHENING OVERSIGHT OF THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission has released a Notice of Inquiry seeking comment on ways to further strengthen management, administration, and oversight of the Universal Service Fund, how to more clearly define the goals of the USF, and how to identify additional quantifiable performance measures that may be necessary. The Commission is also seeking comment on whether, and to what extent, the FCC's oversight of the USF can be improved. Commissioner Michael Copps said, "Only with the Commission's vigilance and scrutiny, along with the responsible use of monies by USF recipients, will the Fund be able to continue its successes in the future."
http://benton.org/node/16828
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PROPOSED FOURTH QUARTER 2008 UNIVERSAL SERVICE CONTRIBUTION FACTOR
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Managing Director has proposed that the universal service contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2008 be 0.114 or 11.4 percent. Contributions to the federal universal service support mechanisms are determined using a quarterly contribution factor calculated by the FCC. The Commission calculates the quarterly contribution factor based on the ratio of total projected quarterly costs of the universal service support mechanisms to contributors' total projected collected end-user interstate and international telecommunications revenues, net of projected contributions.
http://benton.org/node/16827
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CONNOLLY NAMED FCC CHIEF ECONOMIST
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has named Michelle P. Connolly the Chief Economist of the FCC. This is her second term as Chief Economist, having previously served from 2006 to 2007. Dr. Connolly has been a member of the Economics faculty at Duke University since 1997. Prior to joining Duke's Department of Economics in 1997, Dr. Connolly spent a year as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. Dr. Connolly is an expert in the fields of International Trade, Growth and Development, and Telecommunications.
http://benton.org/node/16826
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DEVICES CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING MULTIPLE AUDIO ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On August 25, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission released a Notice of Inquiry on issues pertaining to 1) requiring devices capable of receiving Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service to include digital audio broadcast, or HD Radio, or any other technologies capable of providing audio entertainment services; and 2) requiring devices capable of receiving HD Radio to include SDARS or any other technologies capable of providing audio entertainment services. Comments must be filed on or before November 10, 2008 and reply comments must be filed on or before December 9, 2008.
http://benton.org/node/16825
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MCDOWELL FAVORS INDUSTRY DEAL ON QUIET PERIOD
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Appearing on C-SPAN's The Communicators, Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell is urging TV station owners, cable operators and satellite TV providers to reach a private agreement that guarantees carriage of local TV signals during next February's digital TV transition. In other comments, Commissioner McDowell said he expects Comcast to win its broadband network management court case against the FCC. He also voiced his opposition to forcing the cable industry to the break up its programming packages and sell channels on an a la carte basis. "...Because I think it is a market-driven a la carte world, I don't see the need for a government mandate," he said.
http://benton.org/node/16824
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VERIZON SUBMITS PLAN TO REFORM INTERCARRIER COMPENSATION SYSTEM
[SOURCE: Verizon, AUTHOR: Press release]
On September 12, Verizon filed a proposal with the Federal Communications Commission to reform the intercarrier compensation system. Verizon's filing outlines a "straightforward and workable" plan to "sustain rural network infrastructure and other communications networks that consumers depend on, while encouraging investment in new, innovative services (including broadband) nationwide." Verizon designed the plan with a special focus on ensuring the viability of rural telecommunications infrastructures by providing carriers with a predictable and reliable source of support to replace the current unstable access charge regime.
http://benton.org/node/16822
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QUICKLY
HEARING: CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING NOMINEES
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Full Committee Hearing on Corporation for Public Broadcasting Nominations, scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at 10:30 a.m. The Committee will hear testimony from five nominees to the Corporation's Board of Directors. The nominees are: 1) Cheryl Feldman Halpern, 2) David H. Pryor, 3) Bruce M. Ramer, 4) Elizabeth Sembler, 5) Loretta Cheryl Sutliff.
http://benton.org/node/16823
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CABLE LAGS TELECO IN WORKFORCE DIVERSITY EFFORTS: NAMIC STUDY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: R Thomas Umstead]
The cable industry has made gains in minority employment over the past two years, but some of its numbers fall well short of its telco competitors, according to a new National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications survey. Cable's overall representation of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans rose to 30% from 28% since NAMIC's last survey in 2006. But that falls short of diversity statistics from the top telco companies -- AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Communications -- which report a 36% diversity rate among their collective employees according to the survey, which was developed in conjunction with DiversityInc magazine. Each year that magazine compiled its own top-50 list of companies committed to diversifying their employment and supplier ranks. Cable's minority workforce compares favorably with that of the DiversityInc Top 50 list.
http://benton.org/node/16854
Cable Building A More Diverse Workforce
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THE POWER OF POLITICAL MISINFORMATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Shankar Vedantam]
As the presidential campaign heats up, intense efforts are underway to debunk rumors and misinformation. Nearly all these efforts rest on the assumption that good information is the antidote to misinformation. But a series of new experiments show that misinformation can exercise a ghostly influence on people's minds after it has been debunked -- even among people who recognize it as misinformation. In some cases, correcting misinformation serves to increase the power of bad information.
http://benton.org/node/16855
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AN ANCHOR LETS DOWN HER HAIR
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
A look at Katie Couric, the anchor of the CBS Evening News.
http://benton.org/node/16853
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TEENS VIEW CELL PHONE AS ESSENTIAL
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon]
Cell phones have become almost as important to American teens as the clothes they wear, according to a nationwide survey of teenagers released last week. The wireless trade association CTIA and Harris Interactive surveyed some 2,000 teens across the country and learned that teens feel that cell phones have become a vital part of their identities. They also believe that they can gauge a peer's popularity or status by the phone he or she uses.
http://benton.org/node/16852
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TEN YEARS AGO
FCC APPROVES MCI-WORLDCOM MERGER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Ten years ago, the Federal Communications Commission conditionally approved WorldCom's purchase of MCI, removing the last hurdle for completion of the deal. In an unanimous vote, with Commissioner Gloria Tristani dissenting in part, the FCC placed two conditions on the merger: 1) MCI had to complete the sale of its Internet assets to Cable & Wireless before completing the merger; and 2) the transfer of MCI's direct broadcast satellite (DBS) license to WorldCom was subject to the outcome of then-pending applications for review of the license that was granted to MCI. The Commission said it approved the merger because the combined company would be able to enter the local phone market "more quickly than either company could do on its own." It also said the merger was consistent with the "pro-competitive, de-regulatory" framework of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and would produce "tangible benefits to consumers." Commissioner Tristani said she dissented because she wanted the FCC to impose "some sort of" reporting requirement to monitor the company's progress in the local market.
http://benton.org/node/16851
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SLEEP WELL, DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bruce Weber]
David Foster Wallace, whose prodigiously observant, exuberantly plotted, grammatically and etymologically challenging, philosophically probing and culturally hyper-contemporary novels, stories and essays made him an heir to modern virtuosos like Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLillo, an experimental contemporary of William T. Vollmann, Mark Leyner and Nicholson Baker and a clear influence on younger tour-de-force stylists like Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer, died on Friday at his home in Claremont, Calif. He was 46. Wallace was an apparent suicide.
http://benton.org/node/16850
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