Oct 6, 2008 (Waiting 'til next year, again)

Just for fun...
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2008/10/funniest_dtv_transition_skit_e.php

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY OCTOBER 6, 2008

ECONOMY
   Press May Own a Share in Financial Mess
   Labor Report Indicates Tech Squeeze
   Media stocks slide despite tax credits in bailout
   Congress extends R&D tax credit as part of bailout
   9 Things Cable Needs To Know About the Market Meltdown

MEDIA & ELECTION
   The Palin Phenomenon
   The candidates click on broadband
   Media Pave the Way to 3rd Term for Bloomberg
   Warner vs. Gilmore: The Debate TV Won't Show You
   Huge audience for VP debate
   Spending Big On Local Attack Ads
   Corporate Media Stand To Receive $1.44 Billion From McCain's Tax Cuts
   Congressmen finally allowed on YouTube

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Broadband Data Bill Faces Implementation Hurdles
   Google and Yahoo Ad Deal Delayed
   Craigslist founder criticizes telecoms for 'artificial' Network Neutrality debate

BROADCASTING/CABLE
   Court term to hear TV dirty words case
   A Lame Plan from a Likely Lame Duck
   Time Warner Cable loses broadcast TV in some areas
   Ruling: Michigan Cities Can Still Prevent Migration Of PEG Channels
   News Corp. Urging Removal of DirecTV Conditions
   Time Warner Cable Seeks Manhattan Deregulation
   NY Attorney General Intends to Sue Arbitron Over PPM

TELECOM
   FCC to Reform Intercarrier Comp by November?
   Program to Help States Upgrade 9-1-1 Services
   California Gov Schwarzenegger signs bills preserving rural phone service
   Skype: We didn't know about security issues

QUICKLY -- Annenberg scholars evaluate political differences on technology; Comparing the Presidential Candidates' Technology Platforms; Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers

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ECONOMY

PRESS MAY OWN A SHARE IN FINANCIAL MESS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
[Commentary] The stakes are enormous in a fast-moving financial crisis where the traditional concern about journalists causing a run on the bank is hardly a theoretical danger. But as news organizations chase exclusives about the Wall Street meltdown, they also are grappling with a troubling question: Why didn't they see this coming? "We all failed," says Charlie Gasparino, a former Wall Street Journal and Newsweek reporter. "What we didn't understand was that this was building up. We all bear responsibility to a certain extent." The shaky house of financial cards that has come tumbling down was erected largely in public view: overextended investment banks, risky practices by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, exotic mortgage instruments that became part of a shadow banking system. But while these were conveyed in incremental stories -- and a few whistle-blowing columns -- the business press never conveyed a real sense of alarm until institutions began to collapse.
http://benton.org/node/17601
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LABOR REPORT INDICATES TECH SQUEEZE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Barbara Ortutay]
The economic slowdown has started to squeeze the technology sector. So far this has not led to wide-scale job cuts, but a slowing demand for computers and other electronics may already be weighing on some payrolls. Computer and electronics manufacturers did not grow their work forces at all in September, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. In comparison, such companies added 5,100 jobs in August. Telecommunications companies, meanwhile, cut 3,400 jobs in September. Overall, U.S. employers slashed their payrolls by 159,000 in September, the most in more than five years. Many of these jobs were in manufacturing, construction, retail and financial services. Until recently, the tech sector was considered a relatively safe haven in the turbulent economy, though by no means was it immune.
http://benton.org/node/17600
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MEDIA STOCKS SLIDE DESPITE TAX CREDITS IN BAILOUT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Paul Bond]
The financial bailout bill signed into law last Friday included several tax credits for movies and TV, but Wall Street did not show its appreciation where prices for media stocks were concerned. The Dow Jones Industrial Index and Nasdaq stock market each ended this past Friday down 1.5 percent, and The Hollywood Reporter Showbiz 50 did worse, falling 2 percent. The Showbiz 50 has lost 13 percent in the past week, while the S&P 500 lost 9 percent. Media stocks are doing poorly, experts said, because with the economy hurting, businesses will rein in advertising spending. With digital video recorders and so much new media vying for attention, some worry that businesses that cut back on TV and radio ads might make their decisions permanent. The bailout bill is expected to save the film and television industries $487 million over 10 years.
http://benton.org/node/17599
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CONGRESS EXTENDS R&D TAX CREDIT AS PART OF BAILOUT
[SOURCE: InfoTech, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
The House of Representatives has voted to extend a research and development tax credit to US businesses as part of its approval of a giant bailout of the US mortgage industry. The bill included a two-year extension of a research and development tax credit for U.S. businesses that expired at the end of 2007. Several tech companies, including Microsoft and Texas Instruments, had called on Congress to extend the tax credit, saying it helps U.S. businesses invest in R&D and keeps R&D workers in the country. The R&D Tax Coalition, representing the tech, manufacturing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and other industries, praised Congress for extending the tax credit. Lawmakers have resisted making the tax break permanent largely because of its price tag of about $7 billion a year. Some critics have called the tax credit a government subsidy for large businesses.
http://benton.org/node/17593
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9 THINGS CABLE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT MARKET MELTDOWN
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell, Linda Moss, Linda Haugsted]
Multichannel News interviewed cable-TV operators, programmers, advertisers and investors to see what the impact of the Wall Street financial meltdown will be on cable. Will cable stocks continue to hold their own through this mess? Will consumers begin dropping premium services? What about pay-per-view movies and events? How will the closing of the debt markets affect cable companies' ability to borrow money and upgrade? What will the lending crisis do to cable's competitors? Will tough economic times spark a price war with the phone companies? How will all of this downturn and pessimism affect cable-TV advertising? Won't the mortgage crisis result in more disconnects as people lose their homes? Is there any truth to the old tenet that "cable TV is recession-proof?" That 10th question on you mind -- what does all this mean for PEG? -- never seems to come up.
http://benton.org/node/17592
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MEDIA & ELECTION

THE PALIN PHENOMENON
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
Just how much press coverage is Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) getting? More than anyone else. The Palin media phenomenon has been remarkable. During her first month in the public spotlight -- Aug 29 to Sept. 28 -- she was tied with Sen John McCain (R-AZ) as the No. 1 newsmaker overall. In that period, there were 500 stories in which at least 50% of the focus was on Palin. (That month-long wave of media attention was enough to make Palin the fifth biggest newsmaker for the entire 12 months between Sept. 28, 2007 and Sept. 28, 2008). Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) was next, registering as the lead newsmaker in 464 stories in the past month. President George Bush (R) (108 stories) followed. Lehman Brothers, the failed investment firm, (48 stories) and AIG, the big insurance company bailed out by the federal government (42 stories) came next. In sixth place was Joe Biden (D-Delaware), who was a lead newsmaker in 42 stories, less than one-tenth of the Palin total.
http://benton.org/node/17591
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THE CANDIDATES CLICK ON BROADBAND
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Fast Internet access is becoming as essential as a phone. In fact, a high-quality connection can even provide a substitute for phone lines. Happily, both presidential candidates call for government to expand high-speed Web access, as many other countries have done to advance their economies. Both candidates say they will look at underused portions of the wireless spectrum that could be tapped to provide low-cost broadband. Neither one seems tethered to hardened positions, however. That flexibility bodes well for a wired America, no matter which candidate wins.
http://benton.org/node/17598
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MEDIA PAVE WAY TO 3RD TERM FOR BLOOMBERG
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
[Commentary] When Michael R. Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, stepped to the microphone last Thursday at City Hall to announce that he would probably run for a third term even though he was limited by law to two terms (a limit approved by voters twice), he said did not take the people's verdict lightly. "But as newspaper editorialists and others have pointed out," he said, "the current law denies voters the right to choose who to vote for — at a time when our economy is in turmoil and the Council is a democratically elected representative body." It is no coincidence that Mayor Bloomberg cited voices from the city's opinion leaders. With a fiscal crisis at hand, the business leaders of New York has already held a private referendum and decided who the next mayor should be. So in spite of his rather breathtaking grab for another term, there will be no opprobrium forthcoming from the editorial pages of the city's newspapers.
http://benton.org/node/17597
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WARNER VS GILMORE: THE DEBATE TV WON'T SHOW YOU
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Marc Fisher]
Residents of northern Virginia could not see two former governors square off in hopes of being the next US senator from the state. Not on TV, at least. In every other market in Virginia -- even in extreme western Virginia where the local TV station is across the state line in Tennessee -- the debate between Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore was carried live on local TV. But not a single Washington TV station, despite all their promotional yammering about how much they care about this area, provided live coverage the only televised debate of this campaign. Local stations couldn't possibly air the debate at 7 p.m. because of the pressing, essential programming they provided instead: Channel 7 will fill the hour with "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy;" Channel 5 has late-breaking reruns of "The Simpsons" and "Seinfeld;" Channel 4 has NBC network news, followed by "Access Hollywood;" and Channel 9 is busy with local news and then "Entertainment Tonight."
http://benton.org/node/17596
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HUGE AUDIENCE FOR VP DEBATE
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Rick Kissell]
The vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin drew in just less than 70 million viewers. Preliminary overnight household figures from Nielsen show that 45% of U.S. households were watching the debate on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, CNN, Fox News, CSPAN, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo and Telefutura. This is a big jump over the 31.6 overnight rating for the first presidential debate, which aired last Friday and ended up averaging 52.4 million viewers.
http://benton.org/node/17590
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OBAMA, MCCAIN SPENDING BIG ON LOCAL ATTACK ADS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Nielsen Monitor-Plus reports that since June 7, when the primaries ended, through the first week in September, Sen John McCain (R-AZ) has run 76,192 ads attacking Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) while Sen Obama has run 75, 246 ads attacking Sen McCain. Their focus has been Ohio (14, 397 McCain ads, 11, 037 Obama ads), Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The McCain campaign has now shifted virtually 100 percent of his national ad spending into negative ads attacking Obama, a detailed breakdown of his ad buys reveals. By contrast, the Obama campaign is devoting less than half of its overall ad spending to ads attacking McCain. More than half of its spending is going to a spot that doesn't once mention his foe. Evan Tracey, who tracks national ad spending for the Campaign Media Analysis Group, says, Obama is now outspending McCain by nearly two to one on the air -- Obama is spending $2.4 million per week, and McCain is spending $1.3 million weekly.
http://benton.org/node/17589
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CORPORATE MEDIA STAND TO RECEIVE $1.44 BILLION FROM MCCAIN TAX CUTS
[SOURCE: Think Progress, AUTHOR: ]
[Commentary] The multinational corporations that run the mainstream media — GE (NBC), Time Warner (CNN), Walt Disney (ABC), News Corporation (FOX), and Viacom (CBS) — stand to benefit hugely under a McCain presidency. The centerpiece of Sen. McCain's economic plan — actually, the whole plan — is large tax cuts for corporations. It would deliver $1.44 billion in tax cuts to the five largest media companies, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
al media bias.
http://benton.org/node/17588
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CONGRESSMEN FINALLY ALLOWED ON YOUTUBE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
Members of Congress can finally use Web sites like YouTube, after committees in both the House and Senate adopted new rules allowing members to post content outside of the .gov domain, as long as it is for official purposes. The House Rules Committee approved the change for the House of Representatives on Thursday, while the Senate Rules and Administration Committee adopted the new rules on September 19. Sunlight Foundation program director John Wonderlich said the changes should "drastically improve members' ability to connect with their constituents online." "In the arms race of online political communications, Members and staffers have had one arm tied behind their backs, until now," he said.
http://benton.org/node/17575
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND DATA BILL FACES IMPLEMENTATION HURDLES
[SOURCE: PublicKnowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] Sometime next year, the new Administration will start to figure out a plan for collecting information about where broadband is, and how to increase deployment. The delay will be necessary because while Congress passed the bill to improve broadband data collection, S. 1492, there isn't any money actually set aside to pay for the program. Until appropriations bills are passed for the next fiscal year, FY 2010, which starts Oct. 1, 2009, there won't be any money. As a result, it could be calendar year 2010 before any program gets going. The legislation is by no means a broadband policy any more than a thermometer is a cure for an illness. Having some measurement of a problem is good. However, there are some parts to the bill that raise questions about how effective the data mapping and broadband cheerleading in the bill will be. However, the advantage of having such a delay in implementation is that there will be lots of work to be done in order to make this program useful.
http://benton.org/node/17587
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GOOGLE AND YAHOO AD DEAL DELAYED
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Peter Whoriskey]
Google and Yahoo will delay implementation of their joint advertising deal to give antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department more time to review the agreement. The announcement is another sign that the Justice Department has developed significant concerns about the agreement, which would join two of the most dominant companies on the Web. The deal calls for Google to provide ads to run alongside some queries conducted on Yahoo's search engine.
http://benton.org/node/17586
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CRAIGLIST FOUNDER CRITICIZES TELECOMS FOR 'ARTIFICIAL' NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
Craigslist.org founder Craig Newmark has found himself an unlikely advocate for career lobbyists. While lawmakers should embrace the online tools to make democracy more widespread, he said, industries like telecommunications have to play their part by steering away from deceitful lobbying practices. "There are some bad actors in the lobbying business, but the vast majority are just people trying to get a fair shake for their clients in the sausage factory," said Newmark, who belongs to boards for groups like the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for government transparency. However, he said industries like telecom, finance, and oil often resort to using "unsavory" lobbying tactics such as fake grassroots -- or "Astroturf" -- campaigns. Some of those groups have taken aim at Google on issues like Network Neutrality. Newmark said the telecom industry's use of Astroturf groups creates an "artificial" conflict. Newmark said the Internet should play a greater role in lawmakers' interactions with citizens and foster a "networked grassroots democracy."
http://benton.org/node/17576
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BROADCASTING/CABLE

COURT TERM TO HEAR TOBACCO, TV DIRTY WORDS CASES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: James Vicini]
Amid a presidential race that may decide its future direction, the Supreme Court begins a new term on Monday with cases about tobacco company lawsuits, protecting whales from Navy sonar and a government crackdown on dirty words on television. This term's docket includes Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, a challenge by broadcasters to the FCC's policy on "fleeting expletives." The commission, in a sharp reversal, started imposing large fines for television programming with brief profanities — like a Golden Globe awards show in which the singer Bono uttered a single offending word. A federal appeals court rightly struck down the policy, which seriously infringes on free speech. The New York Times hopes the court sides with the broadcasters
http://benton.org/node/17595
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A LAME PLAN FROM A LAME DUCK
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Jessell has no love for Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who has all of five months left at the FCC's helm. OK, a little love. Instead of pushing the same old discredited localism ideas that have been haunting broadcasting for decades -- programming quotas, ascertainment and such -- Chairman Martin has come up with an idea that could, in theory, yield some programming that could actually enhance the service that stations provide. The trouble is, the proposal still puts the FCC where it doesn't belong: in the middle of TV stations' decisionmaking on news and programming. Any news dollar a station spends on an FCC-approved independent news bureau is one less dollar spent on something else, perhaps another local producer or reporter. The FCC is, in effect, directing stations' news priorities. An unintended consequence of shifting resources to state issues may be the loss of local coverage — hardly the aim of the FCC's localism proceeding.
http://benton.org/node/17585
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TIME WARNER CABLE LOSES BROADCAST TV IN SOME AREAS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Time Warner Cable Inc said on Friday it lost the right to carry some broadcast channels on its cable systems in 13 U.S. cities after it failed to reach an agreement with broadcaster LIN TV Corp. Some 1.5 million subscribers in cities like Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, will not receive free-to-air broadcast local affiliate stations of General Electric Co's NBC affiliate, News Corp's Fox and CBS Corp's namesake network after Time Warner Cable's agreement with LIN TV ended Thursday. At dispute between Time Warner Cable and LIN TV is the long-simmering issue of retransmission rights. Broadcasters like LIN TV and Sinclair Broadcasting have started demanding cash payments from cable and satellite operators to carry their broadcast stations. Time Warner Cable said LIN TV is demanding that its customers pay a monthly fee to watch the channel and said it has never charged for broadcast programing. Both Time Warner Cable and LIN TV said subscribers would be able to watch the broadcast channels -- if they had "rabbit ear" antennas to receive the signals.
http://benton.org/node/17584
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RULING: MICHIGAN CITIES CAN STILL PREVENT MIGRATION OF PEG CHANNELS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: ]
Judge Victoria Roberts of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division has ruled that Michigan cities will be able to continue to prevent the migration of their public, educational and government channels into the 900-channel area at least until the Federal Communications Commission sets policy on the treatment of such channels. In a dispute between Comcast and a number of cities, Judge Roberts ruled that when there is a conflict between state and federal law, the state is preempted and federal law specifies that local franchisees can regulate PEG channels. However, she offered, many other issues raised in the suit are not addressed by federal law. The cities have specific language in community franchises that bar the movement of PEG channels without the prior permission of the local franchising authority; or language that bars extra charges to subscribers in order to receive PEG programming.
http://benton.org/node/17583
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NEWS CORP URGING REMOVAL OF DIRCTV CONDITIONS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
News Corp is urging the Federal Communications Commission to act quickly on its request to be released early from merger conditions imposed on its 2004 takeover of satellite TV provider DirecTV. The FCC's conditions allowed pay-TV distributors to take News Corp. to arbitration to settle disputes over access to its TV stations and regional sports networks (RSNs). News Corp says the basis for them disappeared after it transferred its 40% stake in DirecTV to Liberty Media in February.
http://benton.org/node/17582
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TIME WARNER CABLE SEEKS MANHATTAN DEREGULATION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Citing 160-channel competition from Verizon Communications FiOS TV, Time Warner Cable is seeking total price deregulation in Manhattan from the Federal Communications Commission. In 1992, Congress slapped price controls on cable operators until they could prove they faced "effective competition," as that term is defined in federal law, within a specific community. Some, but not all, rate controls were lifted in March 1999. With Verizon invading Manhattan and other densely populated New York City boroughs with its all-fiber FiOS TV service, Time Warner Cable said in a Sept. 17 filing at the FCC that the competitive test had been met and that the last vestiges of price controls had to be removed.
http://benton.org/node/17581
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NY ATTORNEY GENERAL INTENDS TO SUE ARBITRON OVER PPM
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Yorke, Mike Boyle]
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) said Oct 3 that he will file a suit against Arbitron to stop the company's rollout of portable people meters in the Empire State. He alleges that Arbitron has engaged in "unlawful and deceptive acts and practices" in connection with "the marketing and planned commercialization in New York of the Portable People Meter methodology." Arbitron plans to commercialize the PPM in New York and seven other markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco on Oct 8.
http://benton.org/node/17574
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TELECOM

FCC TO REFORM INTERCARRIER COMP BY NOVEMBER?
[SOURCE: xchange, AUTHOR: Kelly Teal]
Can the FCC take a 7-year-old proposed rulemaking on intercarrier compensation and overhaul the system by November? Chairman Kevin Martin says he's going to try. The impetus stems from a federal appeals court mandate. By Nov. 5, the FCC must justify its reason for treating ISP-bound traffic as "information access." If the FCC doesn't meet the deadline, the court will override the agency's authority, wreaking havoc on any carrier terminating traffic to an ILEC, sources said. That's because different state rates suddenly would apply for traffic termination, rather than the across-the-board $.0007 per minute. The tangled intercarrier compensation regime is long overdue for reform. Some carriers have figured out how to make IXCs pay thousands, if not millions, of dollars per month through traffic pumping. Others avoid their obligation to pay by disguising their traffic so their peers can't charge them. Still others want interconnected VoIP providers to pay access charges. All of this bleeds over into the Universal Service Fund (USF) policy, too, complicating an already complex program.
http://benton.org/node/17580
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NHTSA AND NTIA UNVEIL GRANT PROGRAM TO HELP STATES UPGRADE 9-1-1 SERVICES
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced a proposal to make available more than $40 million in grants to help states and territories improve their 9-1-1 call centers. The grants were authorized by the ENHANCE 9-1-1 Act. All states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories are eligible for the grants. Among other things, the funds will be used to implement technologies to deliver wireless 9-1-1 calls with automatic location information. The joint proposal, published in the Federal Register, spells out details of the proposed grant program, including the application and administrative requirements of the proposed rule. The funds will be awarded in fiscal year 2009. Interested parties will have 60 days to comment on the proposal.
http://benton.org/node/17579
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CALIFORNIA GOV SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS BILLS PRESERVING RURAL PHONE SERVICE
[SOURCE: The Humboldt Beacon, AUTHOR: ]
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has signed into a law a pair of bills by State Senator Patricia Wiggins (D - Santa Rosa) designed to maintain phone services to residents of rural and high-cost areas of California. On bill allows for the continued funding of a program paid for by all customers of home and cellular telephone services to protect rural and underserved areas of the state from outrageous phone bills, while the other continues funding for a grant program that provides residential telephone services and cellular coverage to people who are considered to be low-income and/or live in rural areas where no telephone services are currently offered.
http://benton.org/node/17578
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SKYPE: WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT SECURITY ISSUES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon]
Skype's president said that the company was largely unaware of a major security breach affecting Skype users in China. In a blog published Thursday, Josh Silverman, Skype's president, explained he did not realize that TOM-Skype, Skype's partner in China, was logging and storing users' instant messages that were deemed offensive by the Chinese government.
http://benton.org/node/17577
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QUICKLY -- Annenberg scholars evaluate political differences on technology; Comparing the Presidential Candidates' Technology Platforms; Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers

ANNENBERG SCHOLARS EVALUATE POLITICAL DIFFERENCES ON TECHNOLOGY
[SOURCE: USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication]
The Annenberg Research Network on International Communication (ARNIC) compiled a list of the main presidential candidates' views on hot-button political topics about media and technology such as media ownership/consolidation and network neutrality. The report, titled Campaign 2008: USC Annenberg Technology and Media Policy Watch, was directed by third-year Ph.D. student Russell Newman and communication professor Jonathan Taplin.
http://benton.org/node/17573
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COMPARING THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES' TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Industry Association, AUTHOR: ]
Both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have developed detailed policy platforms for technology. TIA has prepared this issue-by-issue comparison as a quick guide to how the candidates differ on key issues.
http://benton.org/node/17572
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USING VIDEO GAMES AS BAIL TO HOOK READERS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Motoko Rich]
Increasingly, authors, teachers, librarians and publishers are embracing this fast-paced, image-laden world in the hope that the games will draw children to reading. Spurred by arguments that video games also may teach a kind of digital literacy that is becoming as important as proficiency in print, libraries are hosting gaming tournaments, while schools are exploring how to incorporate video games in the classroom. In New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is supporting efforts to create a proposed public school that will use principles of game design like instant feedback and graphic imagery to promote learning.
http://benton.org/node/17594
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