BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
Critical Minerals in the Information Age – AND Spectrum on today’s agenda https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-03-18
OWNERSHIP
Tribune Publishing wins auction for Orange County Register parent
Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Stop LA Times Publisher from Acquiring Competing Newspapers - press release
Rep. Conyers: Charter-TWC Conditions Must Be Durable, Enforceable [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Common Cause Urges Charter-TWC Rejection [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
San Francisco Officials Recommend Construction of Municipal Broadband Network
Comcast is afraid of Google Fiber - analysis
In depth on pole attachments, “one touch make ready” and what’s going on in Louisville - Fiber to the Home Council op-ed
New Research Reveals Buffer Rage as Tech’s Newest Epidemic [links to IneoQuest Technologies]
ICANN, The IANA Transition and The Marrakech Package - Internet Infrastructure Coalition press release [links to Benton summary]
The Roots of the Case to Tax Internet Retailers [links to Wall Street Journal]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
NSA 'not interested in' Americans, privacy officer claims [links to Benton summary]
Under Surveillance: Examining Facebook’s Spiral of Silence Effects in the Wake of NSA Internet Monitoring - research
Apple Encryption Engineers, if Ordered to Unlock iPhone, Might Resist [links to New York Times]
Apple gets new encryption patent - even as it fights the FBI [links to CNN]
FTC Issues Warning Letters to App Developers Using ‘Silverpush’ Code - press release
FCC Chair: Proposal Would Let Consumers Determine Value Of Internet Privacy [links to National Public Radio]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Who’s Winning the Election? The Networks [links to Benton summary]
Trump The Only Candidate To Swamp The Sunday Shows With Phone Interviews [links to Media Matters for America]
Hollywood doles out dollars for Senate Dems [links to Hill, The]
JOURNALISM
Media consumption isn’t as polarized as you think, new studies conclude
CONTENT
T-Mobile and YouTube compromise on video throttling and zero-rating
Spotify Strikes Deal With Music Publishers [links to Wall Street Journal]
TELEVISION
PBS Launches Late-Night Debate Show 'Point Taken' [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
CNN to Pump $20 Million Into Digital Expansion [links to Wall Street Journal]
Fox Ready to Do TV Ad Deals Without Traditional Nielsen Guarantees [links to Variety]
HEALTH
Idea to retire: Patients as passive recipients of health care [links to Brookings]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Expanding Open Data Access through the Commerce Data Usability Project [links to Department of Commerce]
POLICYMAKERS
Judge Garland a Quick Study on Telecom Issues
OWNERSHIP
TRIBUNE WINS AUCTION FOR OC REGISTER
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Khouri]
The owner of the Los Angeles Times was selected as the top bidder for the Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise during a bankruptcy auction. If the $56-million cash purchase of Freedom Communications is approved at a hearing in bankruptcy court on March 21, it would mark a deep expansion in Southern California for Tribune Publishing. The company, which last year bought the San Diego Union-Tribune, is looking to extend its reach in Southern California and save money by streamlining some business operations at a time when newspapers struggle to remain profitable. Tribune Publishing beat out two other bidders vying for Freedom, including Digital First Media, a national newspaper chain whose holdings include the Los Angeles Daily News and eight other Southern California newspapers. An insider group, which includes Freedom co-owner and Chief Executive Rich Mirman and Orange County developer Mike Harrah, withdrew from the process after hours of negotiations and just before the auction’s official start. The group complained about the fairness of the process, including how their bid was valued
benton.org/headlines/tribune-publishing-wins-auction-orange-county-register-parent | Los Angeles Times
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JUSTICE SUES TO BLOCK TRIBUNE PURCHASE
[SOURCE: Department of Justice, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today seeking to block the acquisition by Tribune Publishing Company, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, of Freedom Communications, publisher of the Register in Orange County, California, and the Press-Enterprise in Riverside County, California. Tribune was selected as purchaser of Freedom’s newspapers following a bankruptcy auction and will seek bankruptcy court approval of its acquisition on March 21. The department is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the sale to Tribune from proceeding. According to the department’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times and the Register together account for 98 percent of newspaper sales in Orange County and the Los Angeles Times and Freedom’s newspapers together account for 81 percent of English-language newspaper sales in Riverside County. Tribune’s acquisition of its most significant competitor would give it a monopoly over newspaper sales in each county and allow it to increase subscription prices, raise advertising rates and invest less to maintain the quality of its newspapers. “If this acquisition is allowed to proceed, newspaper competition will be eliminated and readers and advertisers in Orange and Riverside Counties will suffer,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Newspapers continue to play an important role in the dissemination of news and information to readers and remain an important vehicle for advertisers. The Antitrust Division is committed to ensuring that competition in this important industry is protected.”
benton.org/headlines/justice-department-files-antitrust-lawsuit-stop-la-times-publisher-acquiring-competing | Department of Justice
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
SF MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Andrew Burger]
City officials have recommended construction of a San Francisco municipal broadband network based on a public-private partnership. The recommendations came in a 103-page report issued by the office of Supervisor Mark Farrell on March 15. According to the San Francisco Municipal Fiber Advisory Panel’s report – ¨Financial Analysis of Options for a Municipal Fiber Optic Network for Citywide Internet Access – a publicly funded broadband utility network would cost the city an estimated $867.3 million in construction costs plus $231.7 million a year in maintenance costs. Projected subscriber revenue would result in an annual deficit of $145 million. Given this, as well as the desire to build in some market competition, the authors recommended the city launch a public-private partnership model that calls for all San Francisco homes and businesses to pay an average $26 per month utility fee for baseline Internet access. Introducing tiered pricing models based on type of service or bandwidth use could offset operating costs and lower baseline fees.
benton.org/headlines/san-francisco-officials-recommend-construction-municipal-broadband-network | telecompetitor | read the recommendation
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COMCAST IS AFRAID OF GOOGLE FIBER
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: TC Sottek]
[Commentary] Comcast is worried that real competition is creeping in on its markets, so the company is offering customers in Atlanta a new choice as part of its gigabit internet trial: sign a three-year contract, or pay twice as much with a data cap. Comcast's promotional price of $70 is the same as Google Fiber's regular price, but locks customers in for two years longer than what Google is asking. The move is clearly designed to deny Google Fiber customers as it enters Comcast's turf, and Comcast hasn't been shy about it; the ISP has been dumping flyers that say "don't fall for the hype" on Atlanta residents, and even set up a website that offers silly cherry-picked facts about how the services compare. But Comcast conveniently neglects to mention Google Fiber's real competitive advantages in its chart, which are the only ones that really matter: the price customers have to pay and the quality of service they get. Fiber is cheaper, doesn't lock customers into a 36-month contract, and is actually faster, since Comcast's gigabit plan only offers 35Mbps upload speeds. To get symmetrical speeds, customers would have to opt for Comcast's "Gigabit Pro" service, which offers 2 gigabit upload/download speeds. That plan costs $299.95 a month. Comcast is afraid of Google Fiber because it's afraid of competition, which is why it tried to buy Time Warner Cable instead of competing with it.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-afraid-google-fiber | Verge, The
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ONE TOUCH MAKE READY
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Fiber to the Home Council]
The Fiber to the Home Council released guidance on streamlining make-ready policies for pole attachments to accelerate the deployment of high performance broadband networks. The Council proposed that communities adopt “one touch” policies which would allow a single construction crew — with sufficient skill and experience to be approved and chosen by the pole owner — to complete all the work to make a pole ready for a new attachment. “One touch” not only accelerates deployment but it reduces the disruption and inconvenience in a community’s streets that come from multiple construction crews performing “make ready” to move existing attachers and a final crew to attach the new entrant. “One touch” also is equitable because the use of a recognized authorized contractor protects the pole owner and other companies or entities that have equipment attached to poles, and all communications attachers have the same right to use the “one touch” process. Not surprisingly, some entrenched companies are not fans of a “one touch” policy.
benton.org/headlines/depth-pole-attachments-one-touch-make-ready-and-whats-going-louisville | Medium
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PRIVACY/SECURITY
FACEBOOK AND NSA MONITORING
[SOURCE: Journalism and Mass Media Communications Quarterly, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Stoycheff]
Since Edward Snowden exposed the National Security Agency’s use of controversial online surveillance programs in 2013, there has been widespread speculation about the potentially deleterious effects of online government monitoring. This study explores how perceptions and justification of surveillance practices may create a chilling effect on democratic discourse by stifling the expression of minority political views. Using a spiral of silence theoretical framework, knowing one is subject to surveillance and accepting such surveillance as necessary act as moderating agents in the relationship between one’s perceived climate of opinion and willingness to voice opinions online. Theoretical and normative implications are discussed.
benton.org/headlines/under-surveillance-examining-facebooks-spiral-silence-effects-wake-nsa-internet-monitoring | Journalism and Mass Media Communications Quarterly
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SILVERPUSH
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The staff of the Federal Trade Commission has issued warning letters to app developers who have installed a piece of software that can monitor a device’s microphone to listen for audio signals that are embedded in television advertisements. Known as Silverpush, the software is designed to monitor consumers’ television use through the use of “audio beacons” emitted by TVs, which consumers can’t hear but can be detected by the software. The letters note that the software would be capable of producing a detailed log of the television content viewed while a user’s mobile device was turned on for the purpose of targeted advertising and analytics. The letters note that Silverpush has stated publicly that its service is not currently in use in the United States, but it encourages app developers to notify consumers that their app could allow third parties to monitor consumers’ television viewing habits should the software begin to be used in the United States. The warning letters note that app developers ask users for permission to use the device’s microphone, despite the apps not appearing to have a need for that functionality. The letters also note that nowhere do the apps in question provide notice that the app could monitor television-viewing habits, even if the app is not in use.
benton.org/headlines/ftc-issues-warning-letters-app-developers-using-silverpush-code | Federal Trade Commission | FTC blog
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CONTENT
T-MOBILE-YOUTUBE COMPROMISE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
T-Mobile USA and YouTube have reached a compromise that will bring YouTube into T-Mobile's Binge On program, which reduces streaming quality but exempts videos from data caps. YouTube was the most notable absence from Binge On when T-Mobile launched the program in November. YouTube later said that while reducing data charges can be good for customers, "it doesn’t justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent." T-Mobile announced that YouTube, Google Play Movies, and a few other services have joined Binge On, bringing the total to more than 50 (including its own T-Mobile TV). YouTube explained its change of heart, saying that T-Mobile has made changes to Binge On that make it easier for both customers and video services to opt out of the service. "The initial implementation of the Binge On program raised questions from both users and video services, including YouTube," the post said. "For instance, we didn’t think it was clear how the program would be implemented for video services that were not included in the 'free streaming' portion of the Binge On program. We also thought users needed more help to understand how the program worked and how to exercise their options."
benton.org/headlines/t-mobile-and-youtube-compromise-video-throttling-and-zero-rating | Ars Technica | The Verge | Recode | The Hill
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JOURNALISM
MEDIA CONSUMPTION RESEARCH
[SOURCE: Poynter, AUTHOR: James Warren]
The nation is not degenerating into ideologically driven echo chambers in which citizens simply talk past one another, according to two upcoming academics studies. In sum, the studies in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media and the Atlantic Journal of Communication conclude that even political partisans consume both opposing views found elsewhere and a substantial amount of general interest news.
benton.org/headlines/media-consumption-isnt-polarized-you-think-new-studies-conclude | Poynter
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POLICYMAKERS
GARLAND A QUICK STUDY ON TELECOM ISSUES
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Josh Gerstein]
President Obama's nominee to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court doesn't have a high-profile history on telecom law, but Judge Merrick Garland has dealt with more than his share of arcane Federal Communications Commission-related issues. As the top judge for the DC Circuit, Judge Garland ruled on cases involving set-top boxes, the effect of cell towers on migratory birds and intercarrier compensation, an issue Arent Fox partner Mike Hazzard says is "as arcane as net neutrality, and in some ways, more so." Hazzard described him as a quick study on the often complicated, inside-baseball telecom issues that appear before the courts. "There's not a judge in my experience that's been better prepared or able to understand the technology and the law and how the regulations are applied," Hazzard said. More broadly, Judge Garland has had a penchant for agency deference, according to numerous reviews of his judicial history. Such a stance could be a boost for the FCC if the net neutrality fight reaches the Supreme Court.
benton.org/headlines/judge-garland-quick-study-telecom-issues | Politico
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