For anyone who ever wondered how or why we offer Headlines, see below Where News Is Power, a Fight to Be Well-Armed
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011
Our quick recap of last week's top stories http://bit.ly/dGqjvA Today's events http://bit.ly/fdQxkb
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The Social Side of the Internet
Network neutrality could face legal battle
Verizon: Level 3's Network Neutrality Charge Against Comcast is Specious
Oversight Chairman Stearns planning 'aggressive and rigorous' oversight
2010 Online, by the Numbers
Apocalypse in Cyberspace? It’s Overdone
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
How the Verizon iPhone Announcement Could Influence the Mobile Market
Charlie Rose Talks to Verizon CEO Seidenberg
Amazon Will Set The Prices For Paid Apps In Its Android App Store
BROADCASTING/CABLE
FCC to Study Retransmission Fees
See also: Let's Keep a Lid on the retransmission Volcano
CEA'S Shapiro: Broadcasters Have Terrified Hill With Power To Demonize Legislators
Rep Nadler: Fairness doctrine needed 'as long as it's the people's airwaves'
Broadcast TV Must Stem Sports Migration
Nielsen Wins Ruling In People Meter Case
Standoff Between Casting Directors And TV Studios Threatens Primetime Pilot Season
Albany Sites Ride Politics to Online Success
OWNERSHIP
Comcast/NBCU Expected To Get Approval This Week
Why Congress Wants the Comcast-NBC Merger
National Coalition of African American Owned Media Slams FCC For Tardy Market Barriers Report
Goldman Limits Facebook Investment to Foreign Clients
How fair use brought us VCRs, copiers and more
Tech Companies Spearhead New Kind of Stimulus
LABOR
US IT hiring shows gains, but jobs may be shifting
Actors ratify new three-year contract
PRIVACY
Stearns Plans to Introduce Privacy Bill
Me and My Algorithm
RESEARCH
Toward a 21st-Century Regulatory System
New Tools Allow Developers to Leverage Spectrum Data
Wikipedia, past and present
HEALTH
Health IT panel seeks comments on meaningful use proposals
POLICYMAKERS
Where News Is Power, a Fight to Be Well-Armed
Hannah Sassaman Joins New America Foundation Initiative in Philadelphia
See also: Native Public Media Partners with the New America Foundation
TechAmerica adds three to lobbying team
OPEN GOVERNMENT
Toward a 21st-Century Regulatory System
Web 2.0 tools could save rulemaking transparency
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Americans see tone of debate as negative
STORIES FROM ABROAD
First thoughts on Tunisia and the role of the Internet
A Google Worry Recedes, for Now, as Italy Ends Investigation Into News Service
Google Contests Spain's Privacy Laws
MORE ONLINE
Raising Disclosure's Digital Profile
Voice Of The Consumer Still In The Woods
FERC lacks the juice to enforce smart grid security, study finds
Pentagon contractors push for industrial base policy
Smart phones, tablets can give kids access to unsavory content
Cellphones for seniors and cheap service are in easy reach
Why I Don't Use Facebook
INTERNET/BROADBAND
THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Lee Rainie, Kristen Purcell, Aaron Smith]
The Internet is now deeply embedded in group and organizational life in America. A new national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has found that 75% of all American adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization and Internet users are more likely than others to be active: 80% of Internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-Internet users. And social media users are even more likely to be active: 82% of social network users and 85% of Twitter users are group participants. Asked to assess the overall impact of the Internet on group activities:
68% of all Americans (Internet users and non-users alike) said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to communicate with members. Some 75% of Internet users said that.
62% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to draw attention to an issue. Some 68% of Internet users said that.
60% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to connect with other groups. Some 67% of Internet users said that.
59% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to impact society at large. Some 64% of Internet users said that.
59% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to organize activities. Some 65% of Internet users said that.
52% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to raise money. Some 55% of Internet users said that.
51% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to recruit new members. Some 55% of Internet users said that.
49% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to impact local communities. Some 52% of Internet users said that.
35% of all Americans said the Internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to find people to take leadership roles. Some 35% of Internet users said that.
benton.org/node/48200 | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
LEGAL BATTLE AHEAD FOR FCC
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
Despite spending more than a year hashing out a compromise on measures to protect the open Internet, the Federal Communications Commission will most likely have to defend its recent network neutrality order in court, industry insiders predict. If challenged, the controversial net neutrality order may face the same court that last year ruled against the FCC’s earlier network neutrality attempt. However, it is uncertain which court would hear the case if the FCC’s order is challenged. Even if a company or an individual files a petition to review the FCC’s decision in the D.C. Circuit, it doesn't mean the case will be heard there. After the new regulations are published in the federal register, which has yet to happen, interested parties will have 10 days to file a petition for review to be part of the circuit lottery that will determine where the matter is heard. Many will file outside of the Beltway, observers say. The lottery decision is not necessarily final, however. The chosen court could send the case to another court for a variety of reasons. Venue shopping “is not unusual for a decision this controversial that parties oppose from many different directions,” said Andrew Lipman, a communications lawyer at Bingham McCutchen. The FCC may not be too concerned about having the legal battle play out in the nation’s capital. After meeting with FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick, Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn got the impression that Schlick, “feels that he has addressed the D.C. Circuit’s concerns in the Comcast decision and I don’t think he is bothered by it.”
benton.org/node/48112 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top
VERIZON BACKS COMCAST AGAINST LEVEL 3
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Verizon Communications is siding with Comcast in urging the Federal Communications Commission stay out of the MSO's dispute with Level 3 Communications over Internet interconnection fees, saying the standoff is decidedly not about network-neutrality issues. "The Commission should reject Level 3's efforts to upset the well-functioning and pro-consumer marketplace that exists today by interjecting regulatory involvement in place of true, market-based negotiations for interconnection of networks," Ian Dillner, Verizon's vice president of federal regulatory affairs, wrote said in an FCC filing. "[A]ll of the information disclosed publicly by the parties suggests this involves a run-of-the-mill commercial negotiation over the terms of a peering arrangement in which one party now seeks to obtain a negotiating advantage by converting the negotiation into a regulatory dispute," Dillner said. In addition, Verizon said, "Level 3 has endeavored to convert its dispute with Comcast into a net neutrality issue even after the Commission concluded that 'content delivery network services,... hosting or data storage services, or Internet backbone services,' among other things, are outside of the scope of its new rules."
benton.org/node/48144 | Multichannel News
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FCC OVERSIGHT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
New House Commerce Committee Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) says he is planning an "aggressive and rigorous" agenda including thoroughly examining the Federal Communications Commission's "decision to regulate the Internet." The effort falls within the subcommittee's primary goal of examining job creation and "removing government barriers to economic growth," Chairman Stearns said.
benton.org/node/48142 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NEW CYBERSECURITY REPORT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Pfanner]
The Web site Cyberwarzone.com lists 270 books about Internet crime and warfare. In one of the highest-profile examples, “Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It,” Richard A. Clarke, the former U.S. counterterrorism chief, and Robert K. Knake of the Council on Foreign Relations, describe a digital “Day After” in which large parts of the U.S. transportation, energy and communications systems have been wiped out by Internet-borne attackers, leaving the authorities struggling to maintain control and consumers scrambling for food. Prophets of Internet-borne Götterdämmerung have gotten even more breathless since the publication of “Cyber War” last year. They describe China’s alleged hacking campaign against Google and the campaign by “hacktivists” against foes of the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, as the opening acts. Is a cyberwar already under way and, if so, could it really cause destruction on the scale portrayed by Knake and Clarke? Nonsense, say two academics in a study commissioned by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The report argues that doomsayers have greatly exaggerated the power of belligerents to wreak havoc in cyberspace. It is extremely unlikely that their attacks could create problems like those caused by a global pandemic or the recent financial crisis, let alone an actual shooting war, the study concludes.
benton.org/node/48185 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
HOW VERIZON IPHONE COULD CHANGE THE MARKET
[SOURCE: comScore, AUTHOR: Sarah Radwanick]
As Apple ends its exclusive deal with AT&T, it is facing an increasingly competitive smartphone environment as new devices flood the marketplace, highlighted by the rising number of Android devices hitting store shelves. In the past year, Android has risen from minimal penetration to now holding a solid 26% of the smartphone market, putting it slightly ahead of Apple’s 25% share but still behind platform leader RIM, which held 33.5% of the market in comScore’s latest mobile benchmarker. Throughout the year iPhone has seen its penetration remain relatively unchanged, hovering at 25% share throughout the year. (It should be noted that the iPhone’s installed base has certainly grown, but its share of the market has remained more or less stable.) The iPhone Verizon deal will no doubt bring even greater competition to the smartphone arena throughout the coming year as Android, iPhone and RIM jockey for the leadership position. Although it’s too early to tell exactly how consumers will react to the Verizon iPhone announcement, it is fair to say that this deal represents a potentially significant turning point in the ascendance of the smartphone market. Only time will tell which carriers and platforms will emerge as the market leaders, but it’s clear that right now the consumers are winners as they gain yet another option when making their smartphone choice.
benton.org/node/48120 | comScore
Recommend this Headline
back to top
DETAILS ON AMAZON APP STORE
[SOURCE: Silicon Alley Insider, AUTHOR: Dan Frommer]
In its new Android app store, Amazon and not the actual app developers will ultimately set the prices for paid apps in its store. That is a big change from what developers are used to (and have grown comfortable with) on the iPhone and Android. Here's how it works: When developers submit apps to Amazon's app store, they will be able to set a suggested retail price ("MSRP"). It can be free, it can be $50, whatever, but it has to be the same price as (or cheaper than) the app is selling anywhere else. Then Amazon -- not the developer -- will set the retail price. It can be full price, it can be a sale price, or it can be free. Developers will get to take home the standard 70% of the app's retail price (what the app sells for) or 20% of the MSRP (what the developer thinks it should sell for), whichever is greater.
benton.org/node/48173 | Silicon Alley Insider
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BROADCASTING/CABLE
FCC TO STUDY RETRANSMISSION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to revisit the rules that govern the retransmission of local television stations by cable and satellite companies like Time Warner Cable. The industry will be looking for the first signs of a reform plan when the FCC releases its February meeting agenda on Jan 18. FCC officials have said they want to ensure that consumers are protected when companies clash over the fees paid to stations for the right to retransmit programming. Prominent blackouts -- like the one that denied Fox programming to Cablevision customers for two weeks last year -- have focused attention on the issue.
benton.org/node/48183 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CES ACCUSES BROADCASTERS OF TERRIFYING LEGISLATORS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro appears on C-SPAN's The Communicators this week. He continues to push for reclaiming broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, saying broadcasters had "terrified" Congress with their power to demonize legislators over the airwaves. Shapiro said the push by the FCC and administration for more spectrum is the exact right thing to do given the coming spectrum crunch and given that broadcasters are using their "borrowed" spectrum to reach less than 10% of American homes, and can deliver their signals via cable and satellite, and with the help of electronics companies' help, locally over the Internet. What about another new delivery system for broadcasters -- mobile DTV -- which requires spectrum and creates opportunities for consumer electronics companies supplying the receivers? Shapiro said mobile TV is possible. He pointed out that Qualcomm tried it "and it didn't work out." He conceded it had worked in other cultures "where people are more used to watching TV on the go," but he said the more likely on-the-go video service would be over the Internet. But Shapiro also argued that broadcasters haven't really gotten behind the service or promoted it, but if they do he thinks it is supportable with the kind of spectrum slicing and dicing he advocates.
benton.org/node/48169 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SPORTS PROGRAMMING AND BROADCAST TV
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Broadcast television network affiliates cannot afford to lose any more big sports games. They have to be tuned in to when these rights come up for renewal and then work with each other and their networks to make sure they hang on to what they've got. The more powerhouse programming broadcasting loses, the smaller the medium becomes in the eyes of the public, investors and policymakers. The NFL will seeking big increases when it starts talking to CBS, Fox and NBC this year or next about contract renewals. The current deals, signed in 2009, expire after the 2013-14 season. Broadcasters are on notice. The networks and the affiliates have to push hard for retransmission consent increases from cable and satellite so that they will be able to play in the big rights game. Remember, ESPN is getting $4 per sub per month, while the typical TV station is getting just 25 cents. That big gap needs to be closed. And the National Association of Broadcasters must put together the whole sad history of sports migration from broadcasting to pay TV (it began in the 1970s when theaters and HBO snatched away the big heavyweight fights) and submit it to the Federal Communications Commission as Exhibit 1 for why the retransmission rules should not now be bent to favor cable and satellite. The FCC has said it would launch a proceeding to consider retransmission reform early this year.
benton.org/node/48167 | TVNewsCheck
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NIELSEN WINS RULING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Jon Lafayette]
A Federal judge in Miami ruled in favor of the Nielsen, which had been sued by Sunbeam Television, owner of WSVN-TV, for abusing its monopoly power over television ratings when it installed its new local people meter audience measurement system. Sunbeam said it would appeal the ruling and would continue to pursue the other charges in its lawsuit, which allege that Nielsen has breached its contract with the station and engaged in unfair business practices. "The Court held that Sunbeam failed to show that any competitor was ‘willing and able' to enter the local television ratings market in Miami and was excluded from that market by Nielsen," Nielsen said in a statement. "The Court also determined that Sunbeam could not prove that the current ratings for Sunbeam's local station WSVN are less accurate than they would be under a prospective competitor's methodology."
benton.org/node/48146 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OWNERSHIP
COMCAST/NBCU ON THIS WEEK'S AGENDA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Unnamed staff at the Federal Communications Commission say the FCC will approve the Comcast-NBC Universal merger by the end of the week. Public interest groups and other deal critics have pressed FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn for help with various conditions. The commissioners have been vetting the chairman's draft approval, which was circulated just before Christmas. Comcast has agreed to a number of additional conditions in the past few weeks to help smooth the process, including more news and public affairs programing on Telemundo stations, low-cost broadband to low-income families, more children's programming, limits on interactive advertising to kids, online community news partnerships, broadband deployment and more. The FCC and Justice Department are expected to coordinate the approval, so look for a decision out of Justice as well that the deal will go through with plenty of conditions.
benton.org/node/48182 | Broadcasting&Cable | The Hill | The Wrap
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WHY CONGRESS WANTS THE COMCAST-NBC MERGER
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Broadsky]
[Commentary] On January 5, 2011, 97 Members of Congress signed a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission urging the FCC to complete its review of the largest media merger in U.S. history “without delay.” An additional seven members were added Jan. 11, bringing the total to 104. Of the 104 legislators who signed the letter to allow the country’s largest broadband provider, Comcast, which also owns considerable programming properties to take over NBC Universal, a broadcast network, movie studio and cable programmer, 88 received campaign contributions from Comcast last year. These kinds of letters go from Congress to regulatory agencies all the time, generally motivated by industries which want to keep agencies from doing something like protecting the public from anticompetitive activities or cleaning up the environment. It would be crass, unflattering and even inaccurate in some cases to say that the only reason a legislator would sign such a letter is that said legislator has received financial support from the company or industry trying to influence the government. It is not, however, irrelevant. In fact, given the influence of money in politics, it is highly relevant. Chances are that if a story is written about such a letter, or mention is included in a story, the reporter won't have taken the time to check out the financial backing of the signatories. All a reader would see, if anything, is that X number of legislators signed a letter supporting/opposing some particular situation.
benton.org/node/48180 | Public Knowledge
Recommend this Headline
back to top
MARKET ENTRY BARRIER REPORT DUE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Coalition of African American Owned Media (NCAAOM) branded the Federal Communications Commission "incompetent and unfair" for not filing its triennial report on eliminating market entry barriers to small businesses before it vetted the Comcast/NBCU merger proposal.
benton.org/node/48134 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOLDMAN LIMITS FACEBOOK OFFER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
Just more than a week after Goldman Sachs offered its most prized clients a chance to invest in Facebook, the firm on Jan 17 withdrew the opportunity from clients in the United States because of worries that the deal could run afoul of securities regulations. The decision is a considered a serious embarrassment for Goldman, which had marketed the investment to its wealthiest clients, including corporate magnates and directors of the nation’s largest companies. The offering was supposed to have been a triumph for the firm, which is trying to move past run-ins with regulators, including a $550 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission last summer over a complex mortgage investment. But the Facebook plan is now likely to raise new questions about whether Goldman tried to push regulatory boundaries once again. Goldman made its decision after the investment plan drew scrutiny. The SEC had opened an inquiry into the structure of the offering and whether it violated the law because of widespread news coverage. Federal and state regulations prohibit what is known as “general solicitation and advertising” in private offerings. Firms like Goldman seeking to raise money cannot take action that resembles public promotion of the offering, like buying ads or communicating with news outlets.
benton.org/node/48198 | New York Times | WSJ | FT
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NEW KIND OF STIMULUS
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Seeking rapprochement with the Obama administration, which has been strident in its criticism of offshore tax havens, technology companies with sizable overseas operations are floating a compromise: a temporary tax holiday for American corporations in exchange for more domestic investment. Silicon Valley heavyweights such as Cisco, Oracle, and Qualcomm want to bring home more of the revenue they earn in foreign countries (at lower tax rates)--but only if Uncle Sam cuts them a break on their liabilities here. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs has proposed that American companies be allowed to bring overseas profits home -- known as "repatriation" -- at a reduced tax rate if they agree to use the money for specific purposes such as job creation, research and development, and capital expenditures.
benton.org/node/48143 | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
PRIVACY
PRIVACY BILL COMING FROM STEARNS
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) plans to pick up where he and former Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA) left off in the last Congress in trying to craft an online privacy bill. Rep Stearns is reworking the draft bill he helped develop with Boucher, who was defeated in November, to address concerns raised about the measure in comments provided to the lawmakers last year. "Rep. Stearns has taken those comments and is working with stakeholders on developing legislation that he plans to offer soon," a Stearns spokesman said.
benton.org/node/48165 | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
RESEARCH
LEVERAGING SPECTRUM DATA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: James Brown]
The Federal Communications Commission released two new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on our developer page at fcc.gov/developer. The new APIs leverage data from the Spectrum Dashboard and provide the developer community with direct access to these assets:
Spectrum Bands: This API returns a description of how spectrum bands are allocated and for what uses within the 225 MHz to 3700 MHz frequency range. This information includes the lower and upper frequencies of each band, the radio services operating within the band, whether the band is allocated for federal or non-federal use, and whether the band permits unlicensed operation. The API returns data falling within the frequency range specified as the search criteria.
Spectrum Dashboard Licenses: This API returns an overview of who owns spectrum across the country within the 225 MHz to 3700 MHz frequency range in radio services deemed appropriate for mobile broadband use. The API returns the call sign, licensee name, common name, radio service code, radio service description, channel block, channel block frequency, market code and market description.
benton.org/node/48164 | Federal Communications Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WIKIPEDIA PAST AND PRESENT
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Kathryn Zickuhr, Lee Rainie]
Wikipedia, the “multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project,” was created in 2001 and celebrates its tenth anniversary on January 15, 2011. The percentage of all American adults who use Wikipedia to look for information has increased from 25% in February 2007 to 42% in May 2010. This translates to 53% of adult Internet users. Education level continues to be the strongest predictor of Wikipedia use. The collaborative encyclopedia is most popular among Internet users with at least a college degree, 69% of whom use the site. Broadband use remains another predictor, as 59% of those with home broadband use the service, compared with 26% of those who connect to the Internet through dial-up. Additionally, Wikipedia is generally more popular among those with annual household incomes of at least $50,000, as well as with young adults: 62% of Internet users under the age of 30 using the service, compared with only 33% of Internet users age 65 and older. In the scope of general online activities, using Wikipedia is more popular than sending instant messages (done by 47% of Internet users) or rating a product, service, or person (32%), but is less popular than using social network sites (61%) or watching videos on sites like YouTube (66%).
benton.org/node/48140 | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
Recommend this Headline
back to top
HEALTH
HIT PANEL SEEKS COMMENT ON MEANINGFUL USE
[SOURCE: GovernemntHealthIT, AUTHOR: Mary Mosquera]
An advisory panel of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has requested comments from the public on objectives it has initially recommended for the next stage of requirements for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR). The Health IT Policy Committee will analyze and weigh the remarks in forming its final recommendations for stage 2 meaningful use requirements this summer for the Health and Human Services Department, according to the draft document ONC released Jan. 12. The public may comment for 45 days after ONC publishes the document in the Federal Register, scheduled for Jan. 18. The policy committee has developed a set of recommendations that represents its early views of what meaningful use should require of healthcare providers and vendors beginning in 2013. The proposed recommendations send a signal to vendors of potential new EHR functionalities so they can get a head start on development and act as stepping stones for providers to later expectations, ONC said.
benton.org/node/48162 | GovernemntHealthIT
Recommend this Headline
back to top
POLICYMAKERS
Where News Is Power, a Fight to Be Well-Armed
WHERE NEWS IS POWER, A FIGHT TO BE WELL-ARMED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ashley Parker]
A look at some of the dozens of young aides throughout Washington (DC) who rise before dawn to pore over the news to synthesize it, summarize it and spin it, so their bosses start the day well-prepared. Washington is a city that traffics in information, and as these 20-something staff members are learning, who knows what — and when they know it — can be the difference between professional advancement and barely scraping by. “Information is the capital market of Washington, so you know something that other people don't know and you know something earlier than other people know it is a formulation for increasing your status and power,” said David Perlmutter, the director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa. “So any edge you can use to get stuff faster, earlier, better or exclusively is very important.” No hard data exists on how many people spend the hours before breakfast rounding up news and e-mailing clips and quick summaries, and everyone’s routine varies slightly.
benton.org/node/48201 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OPEN GOVERNMENT
TOWARD A 21ST-CENTURY REGULATORY SYSTEM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: President Barack Obama]
[Commentary] Today I will sign an executive order that requires that federal agencies ensure that regulations protect our safety, health and environment while promoting economic growth. And it orders a government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regulations that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive. It's a review that will help bring order to regulations that have become a patchwork of overlapping rules, the result of tinkering by administrations and legislators of both parties and the influence of special interests in Washington over decades. Where necessary, we won't shy away from addressing obvious gaps: new safety rules for infant formula; procedures to stop preventable infections in hospitals; efforts to target chronic violators of workplace safety laws. But we are also making it our mission to root out regulations that conflict, that are not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb. But creating a 21st-century regulatory system is about more than which rules to add and which rules to subtract. As the executive order I am signing makes clear, we are seeking more affordable, less intrusive means to achieve the same ends -- giving careful consideration to benefits and costs. This means writing rules with more input from experts, businesses and ordinary citizens. It means using disclosure as a tool to inform consumers of their choices, rather than restricting those choices. And it means making sure the government does more of its work online, just like companies are doing. We're also getting rid of absurd and unnecessary paperwork requirements that waste time and money. We're looking at the system as a whole to make sure we avoid excessive, inconsistent and redundant regulation. And finally, today I am directing federal agencies to do more to account for -- and reduce -- the burdens regulations may place on small businesses. Small firms drive growth and create most new jobs in this country. We need to make sure nothing stands in their way.
benton.org/node/48203 | Wall Street Journal | WSJ - news coverage
Recommend this Headline
back to top
RULEMAKING TRANSPARENCY
[SOURCE: Federal Computer Week, AUTHOR: Alice Lipowicz]
Federal agencies face several barriers in establishing effective and transparent online rulemaking programs and aren't likely to achieve success until they use Web 2.0 technologies to overcome those problems, according to a new white paper on “Rulemaking 2.0” from Cornell Law School. Public participation in online rulemaking is hurt by ignorance of the process, lack of awareness of specific rulemaking formats and schedules and information overload and complexity, wrote authors Clair Cardie, Dan Cosley, Cynthia Farina and Mary Newhart. “Unless we recognize the several barriers to making rulemaking a more broadly participatory process, and purposefully adapt Web 2.0 technologies and methods to lower those barriers, Rulemaking 2.0 is likely to disappoint agencies and open government advocates alike,” said the report recently published online by the Social Science Research Network.
benton.org/node/48124 | Federal Computer Week | read the paper
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
AMERICANS SEE TONE OF DEBATE AS NEGATIVE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dan Balz, Jon Cohen]
Americans overwhelmingly describe the tone of political discourse in the country as negative, verging on angry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, but more than half say the culture did not contribute to the shootings in Tucson that killed six people and wounded 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Evaluations of President Obama's handling of the Jan. 8 tragedy are highly positive across the political spectrum, with nearly eight in 10 giving him high marks for his response to the incident. A robust 71 percent of Republicans say they approve of his leadership following the shootings. The strong reviews of the president's response to the Arizona incident - which included giving a prime-time eulogy at a memorial service for the victims - have helped boost Obama's overall approval rating to its highest point since last April. Fully 54 percent of all Americans now approve of the way he is handling his job as president, while 43 percent disapprove.
benton.org/node/48192 | Washington Post
Recommend this Headline
back to top
STORIES FROM ABROAD
ITALY ENDS INVESTIGATION OF GOOGLE NEWS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Pfanner]
The Italian antitrust authority said Monday that it had ended an investigation into Google’s Internet news service after the company took steps to ease newspaper publishers’ concerns about control over their content and the sharing of advertising revenue. The Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers complained to the regulator in 2009 about Google News, contending that its members were unable to remove articles from the service without pulling them out of Google’s main search engine, a move that would cost them advertising revenue. While Google News, which publishes blurbs from news articles, provides links to the originating site, publishers say few users bother to click through. Since the investigation began, Google has moved to make it easier for publishers to quit Google News without affecting their search results, and the company pledged to maintain that system. Google also agreed to disclose the revenue-sharing arrangements for partners of its AdSense program, under which Google directs advertising to other Web sites.
benton.org/node/48195 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SPAIN'S PRIVACY LAWS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: David Roman]
A legal case pitting Internet search giant Google against Spain's privacy laws will be heard by a Spanish court, a Google spokeswoman said. The case, a significant test of tightening privacy laws in the developed world, stems from a 2008 Google challenge to Spain's Agency of Data Protection, a government organization that deals with complaints from citizens over the handling of their personal data on the Internet. The agency claims that, under Spanish law, Google must delete links on its search engine to any websites containing information that could compromise an individual's right to privacy.This could include potentially embarrassing information about an individual's activities. A spokeswoman for the agency said requests are only sent to Google when private citizens specifically cite Google in their privacy complaint. Recent cases include a prison guard who received administrative punishment and feared for his safety if this was widely known, she said. Google counters that Spain's privacy agency doesn't force news providers to modify or remove such content on freedom-of-expression grounds, but refuses Google such protection. Other countries target the news providers themselves, rather than search engines like Google, it adds.
benton.org/node/48193 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top