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Jan 15, 2009 (What We Didn't Know Has Hurt Us)

From the frozen, remote office in Chicagoland...

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY JANUARY 15, 2009

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   What We Didn't Know Has Hurt Us
   White House Admits Little Done to recover missing E-Mail
   House Lacks Online Archiving Rules
   Federal Rules Don't Mesh With MySpace

JOURNALISM
   Newspapers Move to Outsource Foreign Coverage
   News Media Run by China Look Abroad for Growth
   Why the Net Erodes the Authority of the Press
   How to connect the dots between words and action
   Can the Media Derail Health Care Reform?
   Facebook Journalism

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   High-speed Web can't rely on stimulus: Obama aide
   Building a New Communications System for America at the Grassroots Level
   ICT: The 21st Century Transitional Initiative
   Nearly Half of Americans Are Frequent Internet Users
   China tops world in Internet users
   Adults and Social Network Websites
   Deceptive Ads 'Rampant' On Yahoo's Right Media

POLICYMAKERS
   It's A Whole New Telecom Team in Washington
   House Commerce GOP Positions Unveiled
   Hard decisions don't deter FCC chief Martin

DIGITAL TELEVISION
   Rockefeller Seeks "Doable" DTV Delay Bill
   FCC's McDowell: We're not Ready for DTV Transition
   House Commerce Committee Republicans Say 'Panicky Talk' of DTV Delay Breeding Uncertainty
   Regulators to eye Hawaii's analog TV shutoff

TELECOM
   Nortel Networks Files for Chapter 11
   AT&T pays more than $2 mln for botched Dobson deal
   Skype on Universal Service Reform

QUICKLY -- Folks Are Flocking to the Library, a Cozy Place to Look for a Job; FCC reviewing NBC's Golden Globes telecast; In Hawaii, the doctor is always in — online; Fiscal Crisis To Cut $30 Bil In IT Spending; Closed Captioning Order Printed in Federal Register; EchoStar To Deliver Satellite Services For Emergency Management; Duncan impresses during Senate hearing; Storyline Shifts from War to Washington; CBS says ratings success proves network TV viable ;Shortwave radio still packs an audible thrill

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW HAS HURT US
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Clint Hendler]
Advocates for open and transparent government are quick to note that no American presidential administration has, in practice, been enthusiastic about reducing secrecy in the executive branch—for some obvious and sometimes quite legitimate reasons. There are secrets that almost everyone agrees should remain secret. But secrecy must be balanced with the citizens' right to examine the operations of their government—to learn, to improve, to enforce, and sometimes to shame. And despite the bipartisan resistance from those in power, the arc of history has trended, if unevenly, toward openness. Against that backdrop, there is wide agreement among journalists and openness advocates that the administration of George W. Bush was an aberration, at least in the modern era. Bush and his advisers came into office with a broad vision for a more powerful, less accountable executive branch—a vision that has long been popular in conservative legal circles.
http://benton.org/node/20769
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WHITE HOUSE ADMITS LITTLE DONE TO RECOVER MISSING E-MAIL
[SOURCE: National Security Archive, AUTHOR: Press release]
On Wednesday, the White House acknowledged that it has done little to recover e-mail files from computer workstations and nothing to collect external media storage devices that could hold e-mails. These admissions came despite the issuance of a report and recommendation in April 2008 by a federal magistrate judge calling for the White House to locate and preserve data from the workstations and external media storage devices. The court on Wednesday court issued an order requiring steps to be taken to secure files from individual computer workstations, memory sticks, zip drives, DVDs and CDs. Despite prior contradictory statements about whether any White house e-mails had been lost, the government's lawyers also admitted they have now located at least 14 million missing emails and that a major restoration project has been commenced to recover additional missing e-mails from backup tapes.
http://benton.org/node/20768
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HOUSE LACKS ONLINE ARCHIVING RULES
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Winter Casey]
Members of the House or Representatives are under no obligation to keep records of their actions online. This would include the e-mail correspondences and comments that could take place on social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace. "There is no member archiving requirement. The committee passed a resolution encouraging member offices to explore archiving opportunities last session," Kyle Anderson, spokesman for the House Administration Committee, said. Anderson did note, however, that "many member offices do maintain archives" anyway. New rules adopted by the committee in October allow members to maintain Web sites in addition to their official House.gov site and post material on third-party Web sites so long as it complies with federal law and House rules and regulations applicable to official communications. He said the initial discussion to update the rules focused on posting video within House domains but regulations that passed do not specifically indicate video.
http://benton.org/node/20773
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FEDERAL RULES DON'T MESH WITH MY SPACE
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Winter Casey]
A Cabinet-level office that has been a leader in embracing new communications technologies has not put up a Facebook or MySpace profile in part because of the difficulty it would have in attempting to keep internal records of everything that might take place on such pages. "The federal government requires everything we post online to be archived as a record internally," said Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. While the agency has been able to set up an archiving system for its official blog posts and messages on Twitter, a microblogging site, it has found it much more difficult to meet the records requirement for other online technologies. "How do you keep records of status updates, photos and correspondence on Facebook internally?" Lemaitre asked. "Maybe in the next administration we can figure out a way to do that." President-elect Barack Obama has made online transparency and citizen participation priorities for his administration. But balancing the quest to use new technologies with the need to preserve information will pose a challenge to the new administration, as evidenced by the continuing struggle to preserve the electronic records of the Bush White House. But if a balance can be struck between direct communication and posterity, the benefits could run both ways, according to Darrell West, director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.
http://benton.org/node/20767
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JOURNALISM

NEWSPAPERS MOVE TO OUTSOURCE FOREIGN COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Russell Adams, Shira Ovide]
Two major newspapers publishers are taking steps to outsource international coverage, as falling revenue is causing more U.S. papers to shrink their foreign and national footprint. Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, is in talks with the Washington Post Co. about a deal to pay the Post for foreign and national coverage for Tribune's eight major dailies. Meantime, the New York Daily News has reached an agreement with a Boston-based start-up called GlobalPost to use the company's network of part-time foreign correspondents. Together, the agreements could substantially overhaul the foreign news operations of three of the 10 largest U.S. newspapers.
http://benton.org/node/20779
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NEWS MEDIA RUN BY CHINA LOOK ABROAD FOR GROWTH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Barboza]
China's biggest state-controlled news organizations plan to spend billions of dollars to expand overseas as part of a government effort to improve the nation's image abroad and to create respected international news organizations. The country's increasingly wealthy media giants, which operate under China's censorship rules and according to its propaganda motives, are trying to acquire international media assets, to open more overseas news bureaus and to publish and broadcast more broadly in English and other languages. Many of them have already announced plans to hire English-speaking Chinese and foreign media specialists. The plan, first reported Monday in The South China Morning Post, includes the creation of a 24-hour news channel modeled on Al Jazeera, the Arabic-language news network, with correspondents around the world. In contrast to this effort, which several people in the Chinese media confirmed had been under consideration for months, global media companies are in retreat, laying off employees, closing news bureaus and struggling with a steep drop in advertising. But in China, a handful of state-controlled broadcasters and publishers have thrived, benefiting from China's soaring economy.
http://benton.org/node/20778
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WHY THE NET ERODES THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRESS
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Jay Rosen]
[Commentary] Blogging and the Internet matter greatly in political journalism. In the age of mass media, the press was able to define the sphere of legitimate debate with relative ease because the people on the receiving end were atomized -- meaning they were connected "up" to Big Media but not across to each other. But today one of the biggest factors changing our world is the falling cost for like-minded people to locate each other, share information, trade impressions and realize their number. Among the first things they may do is establish that the "sphere of legitimate debate" as defined by journalists doesn't match up with their own definition. In the past there was nowhere for this kind of sentiment to go. Now it collects, solidifies and expresses itself online. Bloggers tap into it to gain a following and serve demand. Journalists call this the "echo chamber," which is their way of downgrading it as a reliable source. But what's really happening is that the authority of the press to assume consensus, define deviance and set the terms for legitimate debate is weaker when people can connect horizontally around and about the news. Which is how Rosen got to his three word formula for understanding the Internet's effects in politics and media: "audience atomization overcome."
http://benton.org/node/20766
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HOW TO CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN WORDS AND ACTION
[SOURCE: Online Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Tom Grubisich]
The Washington Post does great journalism. Jonathan Krim, assistant managing editor/ local at washingtonpost.com, documents several examples in his response to my recent piece "Washington Post needs to do some structural work on its shaky new strategy." Except Krim mislabeled this journalism as a serious attempt at "deeper and broader [community] engagement." It isn't. The best example that Krim cited "Fixing D.C.'s Schools" actually shows how the Post, particularly its website, remains stuck in this great paper's legacy of investigative journalism, where the investigators, who are word, not action, people, remain in total control. The series, put together by a team of 12 reporters, editors, videographers and others, is a devastating indictment of how the District public schools educate their students. But the articles, fine as they are, offer no avenues of help to District parents who have children in one of the worst public school systems in the country.
http://benton.org/node/20765
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CAN THE MEDIA DERAIL HEALTH CARE REFORM?
[SOURCE: Health Beat, AUTHOR: Maggie Mahar]
The possibility of imminent health care reform is certainly exciting, but a word of caution: just because some of us might be ready for health care reform doesn't mean that the media is ready to cover it properly. And that could have important implications for how reform plays out. Right now, health care reform is an abstract goal that everyone wants. But as the substantive process of health care reform gets underway, two things will happen: first, ideas will be crafted into policies—concrete plans of action and complex administrative measures—and second, politicians will become involved in the reform process. Policy can get pretty complicated; so the public will rely on the media to help it navigate the ins and outs of the issue. Unfortunately, reporters aren't health care policy experts. In fact, they rarely ever talk about the issue.
http://benton.org/node/20764
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FACEBOOK JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: Media Is Plural, AUTHOR: Rory O'Connor]
A Q&A with Facebook's Randi Zuckerberg on how social networking can help people find and share credible news and information.
http://benton.org/node/20763
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

HIGH-SPEED WEB CAN'T RELY ON STIMULUS: OBAMA AIDE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
Blair Levin, a top aide to President-elect Barack Obama, told the Congressional Internet Caucus that a broad US economic stimulus package cannot be the major vehicle for achieving the high-speed Internet goals of the incoming administration. Instead the broadband piece of the stimulus package should "only do things that are timely, targeted and temporary and can lead to lots of jobs." Analysts at investor advisory firm Stifel Nicolaus said Levin may be trying to lower expectations about the extent of broadband measures likely to be included in the bill. "We suspect broadband stimulus is not likely to be as ambitious as various groups have sought in proposals for massive new broadband spending, tax incentives, and other measures, though it could represent a down-payment," the group wrote in an investor note.
http://benton.org/node/20762
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BUILDING A NEW COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FOR AMERICA AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Mark Cooper, Gene Kimmelman]
[Commentary] The Washington debate over Internet funding in the economic stimulus package provides a remarkable opportunity to build a 21st century communications system. But if we're serious about making it work, this new communications system must focus on the people and the tools they use to communicate, instead of how fast or large the system is. Communications companies are lobbying for billions of dollars in the stimulus package. But what the new administration should be focused on is how to give people access to the Internet on open local networks managed by cities and counties. We envision a community-wide fiber network linking all local government buildings, schools, and libraries. The service would be anchored by local government. Non-mobile communications flow over the fiber network. Mobile communications flow over the fiber network to a WIFI/WIMAX wireless network. This is also the ideal moment to redefine what government can and should do for the people. Providing for the basic means of communications -- paving the streets and building the on-ramps for the information superhighway -- are proper local government functions. The big communications corporations can be hired to dig the trenches the way contractors bid on road and bridge projects, but the people should own the networks and should build the basic communications network that all households need. The private sector can still build its gold plated, hundred megabit network, but it will do so only if people are willing to pay for it. City streets and county roads are open to the least expensive compact car and the most expensive Rolls Royce providing access to basic services for all.
http://benton.org/node/20761
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ICT: THE 21ST CENTURY TRANSITIONAL INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program released a new report calling for bold and broad measures by the new Obama Administration to promote widespread diffusion and adoption of broadband communications, promotion of new applications in government and private industry using communications, and the use of communications to save energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. Underlying each of the recommendations is the belief that policy reforms, investments, and certain uses of ICT can lead to significant economic and social gains throughout the country, serving a double bottom line. As an exercise, the group contemplated the government's spending up to $10 billion in this area as part of its economic stimulus, but it also made many suggestions that would cost very little. The recommendations fit into three over-arching categories: (1) presidential leadership, (2) infrastructure development, and (3) energy savings and environmental benefit.
http://benton.org/node/20760
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NEARLY HALF OF AMERICANS ARE FREQUENT INTERNET USERS
[SOURCE: Gallup, AUTHOR: Lymari Morales]
Americans' frequent use of the Internet has almost doubled over the last five years; 48% now report using the Internet more than one hour per day compared to 26% in 2002. Large education, income, and age gaps continue to exist in terms of Internet usage. Post-graduates, those making more than $75,000 per year, and those under age 30 are the most frequent users of the Internet, with more than 6 out of 10 in each group saying they use the Internet more than one hour per day. At the same time, the least educated, least affluent, and oldest Americans are those who least often use the Internet, with about one-third or fewer in each group saying they use the Internet more than one hour per day. Smaller, though noteworthy, gaps also exist between men and women, and the employed versus the non-working.
http://benton.org/node/20745
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CHINA TOPS WORLD IN INTERNET USERS
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Yuli Yang]
China surpassed the United States in 2008 as the world's top user of the Internet. The number of Web surfers in the country grew by nearly 42 percent to 298 million, according to the China Internet Network Information Center's January report. And there's plenty of room for growth, as only about 1 in every 4 Chinese has Internet access. The rapid growth in China's Internet use can be tied to its swift economic gains and the government's push for the construction of telephone and broadband lines in the country's vast rural areas. The Chinese government wants phone and broadband access in each village by 2010. Nearly 91 percent of China's Internet users are surfing the Web with a broadband connection -- an increase of 100 million from 2007. Mobile phone Internet users totaled 118 million by the end of 2008.
http://benton.org/node/20744
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ADULTS AND SOCIAL NETWORK WEBSITES
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Amanda Lenhart]
The share of adult Internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years -- from 8% in 2005 to 35% now, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey. While media coverage and policy attention focus heavily on how children and young adults use social network sites, adults still make up the bulk of the users of these websites. Adults make up a larger portion of the US population than teens, which is why the 35% number represents a larger number of users than the 65% of online teens who also use online social networks. Still, younger online adults are much more likely than their older counterparts to use social networks, with 75% of adults 18-24 using these networks, compared to just 7% of adults 65 and older. At its core, use of online social networks is still a phenomenon of the young. Overall, personal use of social networks seems to be more prevalent than professional use of networks, both in the orientation of the networks that adults choose to use as well as the reasons they give for using the applications. Most adults, like teens, are using online social networks to connect with people they already know.
http://benton.org/node/20770
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DECEPTIVE ADS 'RAMPANT' ON YAHOO'S RIGHT MEDIA
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
Yahoo's Right Media automated ad network allows "deceptive" banner ads to "run rampant through its system," according to a new report by Harvard Business School's Ben Edelman. "Numerous banner advertisers are willing to resort to trickery to draw attention to their offerings. And plenty of Web site publishers stand ready to run deceptive ads," wrote Edelman, an attorney and assistant professor at Harvard. "But widespread distribution of deceptive ads also requires another crucial input: intermediary ad networks." Edelman, who represents search marketers in an unrelated lawsuit against Yahoo, estimates that as many of 35% of the ads shown through Right Media are deceptive.
http://benton.org/node/20743
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POLICYMAKERS

IT'S A WHOLE NEW TELECOM TEAM IN WASHINGTON
[SOURCE: PublicKnowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] Lots of the buzz in Washington has been about the selection of Julius Genachowski to be the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Genachowski's expected appointment, while significant, is still one-third of the new telecom line-up that includes three new chairmen in the Senate and House. The result of these seismic changes will be the landscape will be shifting (in some places more than others) beneath the feet of the industries which have heavily influenced the mechanisms of power for so long. Genachowski, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and House telecom Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) are starting out largely on the same page of some key issues. All three will have to keep that focus in order for the progressive Obama agenda to become reality.
http://benton.org/node/20759
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HOUSE COMMERCE GOP POSITION UNVEILED
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
House Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton unveiled his GOP subcommittee line-up on Wednesday. Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida will be the top Republican on the Communications, Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. GOP subcommittee members include: Fred Upton and Mike Rogers of Michigan; Nathan Deal of Georgia; John Shimkus of Illinois; John Shadegg or Arizona; Roy Blunt of Missouri; Steve Buyer of Indiana; George Radanovich and Mary Bono Mack of California; Greg Walden of Oregon, Lee Terry of Nebraska; and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
http://benton.org/node/20772
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HARD DECISIONS DON'T DETER FCC CHIEF MARTIN
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin will probably be remembered as one of the most controversial FCC chiefs in history. And that's just fine by him. To be effective, "You have to be willing to make hard decisions," Martin says, reflecting on his guiding philosophy. "You have to ... try to find the right answer, even if that means, at times, that every industry is unhappy. In the end, it is not about them. It is about the consumer." Chairman Martin will preside over his last FCC meeting as chairman Thursday. His successor is expected to be Julius Genachowski, the top tech guru of President-elect Barack Obama, according to a source close to the Obama transition team who declined to be identified before Obama makes the announcement official. When Martin steps down — probably by month's end — he'll leave behind a legacy that will be felt for years, predicts Paul Glenchur, a public policy analyst at Stanford Group. "He did a good job of laying the foundation for technological innovation" for the USA, Glenchur says. "He had a real willingness to pursue what he believed in aggressively, even if it ruffled feathers."
http://benton.org/node/20753
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DIGITAL TELEVISION

ROCKEFELLER SEEKS "DOABLE" DTV DELAY BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is working through issues of public safety communications as his committee tries swiftly to come up with a bill that would both increase funding for the fast-approaching digital television transition and make that approach a little less fast. But it needs to be one legislator's can agree on and that can pass swiftly. "He is working very closely with the Democratic leadership on a bill that will pass, basically, by unanimous consent, one that everybody will be happy with on the Democratic and Republican side," said a Senate aide familiar with the Senator's thinking. No word on how fast the bill will get done.
http://benton.org/node/20758
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FCC'S MCDOWELL: WE'RE NOT READY FOR THE DTV TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell has written FCC Chairman Kevin Martin saying he's concerned about the Commission's ability to handle inquiries about the coming digital television transition -- and to highlight that neither he nor his fellow Commissioners we're ever consulted about the FCC's efforts. Specifically, he's worried about the FCC's call center which is not staffed on weekends, gives callers a busy signal too often, often rings for two minutes or so before being answered, and begins with an automated menu instead of a live operator. Moreover, callers who try request a live operator are often disconnected when being transferred.
http://benton.org/node/20757
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HOUSE COMMERCE REPUBLICANS SAY 'PANICKY TALK' OF DTV DELAY BREEDING UNCERTAINTY
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
Rep Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member of the House Commerce Committee, and 14 fellow committee republicans wrote President-elect Obama to defend the plan they legislated for the digital television transition. They note that, according to Nielsen, at the end of November, 93 percent of households had at least one television prepared for the transition and 83 percent had all the their TVs prepared. The representatives say that the consequences of delaying the digital television transition will hurt first responders and delay the public safety improvements intended by the transition.

http://benton.org/node/20756
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REGULATORS TO EYE HAWAII'S ANALOG TV SHUTOFF
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Mark Niesse]
With the nation's Feb. 17 shutdown of analog TV signals in doubt, federal regulators will be closely watching what happens Thursday in Hawaii, when the state makes the move early because of an endangered bird. As Hawaii scrambles to become the first state to turn off analog broadcasts and go all digital, hundreds of people have been calling support lines for help and zipping digital converter boxes off store shelves. Teams of volunteers and contractors are making house calls to residents who were struggling to hook up the black converter box, which rests atop a TV like a small VCR. The boxes sell for $50 to $70. By Thursday at noon, all stations should be transmitting their digital signals at full power, and analog TV towers will be airing infomercials about the transition instead of regular programming. Government officials and broadcasters estimate about 20,000 households in Hawaii still get their TV signals over the air, meaning they'd have to buy new TVs with digital tuners or digital converter boxes for their old TVs. Or they could switch to cable or satellite service.
http://benton.org/node/20755
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TELECOM

NORTEL NETWORKS FILES FOR CHAPTER 11
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sara Silver, Joann Lublin]
Nortel Networks sought protection from creditors in the U.S. and Canada, falling victim to the economic downturn and years of struggle to turn around what was once Canada's largest company. The Chapter 11 filing further weakened the ranks of major telecom-equipment makers and sent chills through suppliers already coping with declining sales of network gear and handsets. Phone carriers more than ever are seeking suppliers with good products and better balance sheets. "The strong are going to get stronger," said telecom analyst Ping Zhao of CreditSights, a stock and bond research firm. Ms. Zhao gave Nortel little hope of emerging from bankruptcy. "They were already out of favor due to their weak finances, but for any of the new projects, they are definitely out of the picture" due to the filing. A $107 million interest payment due Thursday may have hastened Nortel's decision to seek protection from creditors, analysts said. The Toronto-based company is entering bankruptcy court with $2.4 billion in cash to fund day-to-day operations, at a time when financing is drying up for companies reorganizing under bankruptcy protection.
http://benton.org/node/20754
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AT&T PAYS MORE THAN $2MLN FOR BOTCHED DOBSON DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Diane Bartz]
AT&T has agreed to pay more than $2 million for mishandling a divestiture of cellular telephone business in three rural areas that was required as a condition of buying Dobson Communications, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. The department said AT&T failed to secure the customer records of the units to be divested, with the result that AT&T personnel used the information to win away their customers. "The petition further alleges that AT&T, without authorization by the management trustee, waived early termination fees for several customers of the divested businesses to facilitate switching their wireless service from the divested businesses to AT&T," the department said in a statement. AT&T agreed to pay $2,050,000 to settle the civil charges.
http://benton.org/node/20751
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SKYPE ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE REFORM
[SOURCE: Skype, AUTHOR: Staci Pies]
[Commentary] Skype believes that people should have the ability to use Skype over any broadband connection and on any broadband-enabled device. Given that the Universal Service Fund is funded by US taxpayers, Skype believes that service providers that receive money should be subject to two conditions: 1) Access to web sites, services and applications should be open and neutral. As well as offering US residents the freedom to make the most of their broadband connections, this will also offer the stability required by application developers. 2) Rigorous performance measures should be enforced. Government policies should challenge network operators to deliver both download and upload speeds in the area of 75-50 megabits per second. Setting the target lower than this merely mirrors what providers are already doing. These policies will jump-start a virtuous cycle in which robust and affordable broadband Internet access stimulates innovation, job creation. Ultimately, it will allow people to create applications that will improve economic conditions and create opportunities for rural and low-income US residents online, and we think Skype is a perfect example. Skype enables people, especially those in these groups, to connect to friends, family, business colleagues and partners across the world.
http://benton.org/node/20746
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FOLKS ARE FLOCKING TO THE LIBRARY, A COZY PLACE TO LOOK FOR A JOB
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jim Carlton]
A few years ago, public libraries were being written off as goners. The Internet had made them irrelevant, the argument went. But libraries across the country are reporting jumps in attendance of as much as 65% over the past year, as newly unemployed people flock to branches to fill out résumés and scan ads for job listings. Other recession-weary patrons are turning to libraries for cheap entertainment -- killing time with the free computers, video rentals and, of course, books. This isn't the first time library attendance has spiked in a downturn. The 1987 and 2001 recessions saw similar jumps, librarians say. But few people thought that libraries would again be in such favor after so much information flooded the Web. One big draw: Most libraries have put in free computer and Wi-Fi service. And they've begun stocking DVDs and videogames. With the recession weighing on them, "people recognize what a great value the public library is," says Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association in Chicago.
http://benton.org/node/20777
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FCC REVIEWING NBC'S GOLDEN GLOBES TELECAST
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Scott Collins]
After receiving multiple complaints about NBC's Sunday telecast of the Golden Globes, the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that it is reviewing the program for possible violations of indecency rules.
http://benton.org/node/20776
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IN HAWAII, THE DOCTOR IS IN -- ONLINE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Doctors in Hawaii plan to start making online house calls Thursday in the nation's first large-scale program of its kind that some believe could be a groundbreaking step in health care.
http://benton.org/node/20775
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FISCAL CRISIS TO CUT $30 BILLION IN IT SPENDING
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: ]
The ongoing U.S. economic crisis will trim $30 billion in cumulative information technology spending over the next five years, according to a recent report by consulting firm INPUT. This will come as states and localities try to come up with roughly $250 billion in new revenue and spending cuts to align budgets to the levels that preceded the multi-year real estate boom that ended in 2007. INPUT estimates the compound annual growth rate for the state and local IT market has slid to 4.3 percent from the 6.4 percent.
http://benton.org/node/20774
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CLOSED CAPTIONING ORDER PRINTED IN FEDERAL REGISTER
[SOURCE: CommLawBlog, AUTHOR: ]
Back in November the Federal Communications Commission released a Declaratory Ruling, Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in which it a) imposed a number of new obligations on TV licensees and other video programming distributors and b) sought comment on how the revenue-based per channel exemption from closed captioning requirements should be applied to stations with multicast programming streams. But neither the effective date of the changes nor the deadlines for comments and reply comments would be set until the Notice popped up in the Federal Register. Lo and behold, more than two months later, the Notice was published in the Federal Register, in two separate items, on January 13, 2009. (The rule changes which were adopted appear in one document, while the proposed rule changes, on which comment is sought, appear in another.) As a result, a couple of clocks are now running. If and when the OMB approves the new requirements, stations and cable operators will have 30 days in which to submit their contact information to the Commission. They will also have to post the information on their website (if they have one), obtain entries in local telephone directories, and, for cable operators, include the information in their bills.
http://benton.org/node/20771
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ECHOSTAR TO DELIVER SATELLITE SERVICES FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
EchoStar reached an agreement with Vredes Inc. to provide satellite services for emergency management and other remote-location broadcast demands, officials said Wednesday. With access to EchoStar's satellites and digital broadcast centers, Vredes will provide fully redundant transponder and hub services to support MotoSAT and its EtherSAT Service, which offers government and enterprise customers on-demand broadband Internet, voice and video services, especially during national disasters or when working in remote locations. Vredes will have the ability to provide MotoSAT with domestic Ku-band satellite access across multiple satellites via EchoStar's uplink facilities, giving MotoSAT customers an always-on, redundant hub.
http://benton.org/node/20749
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DUNCAN IMPRESSES DURING SENATE HEARING
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Maya Prabhu]
At his Senate confirmation hearing Jan. 13, Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan said that in an era of global economics, rapid technological change, and extreme economic disparity, education is the most pressing issue facing America.
http://benton.org/node/20748
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STORYLINE SHIFTS FROM WAR TO WASHINGTON
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
According to the News Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, the top news story from Jan. 5-11 was the Presidential transition. At 26% of the newshole, the subject more than tripled its coverage from the previous week. The Gaza conflict was the second-biggest story last week (17%), dropping modestly from the previous week when it was No. 1. The war narrative seemed to evolve last week, with an increasing focus on the humanitarian situation inside Gaza.
http://benton.org/node/20747
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CBS SAYS RATINGS SUCCESS PROVES NETWORK TV VIABLE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jill Serjeant]
The chief programer at CBS, the No. 1 U.S. network in prime-time ratings, said on Wednesday that its success proves broadcast television remains a viable business model despite a tough economy and challenges posed by the Internet.
http://benton.org/node/20752
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SHORTWAVE RADIO STILL PACKS AN AUDIBLE THRILL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
A staple form of broadcasting in many parts of the world since the 1920s and 1930s -- shortwave in North America has been mostly a hobby for decades. Now that the Internet is a fixture in many homes in the United States and Canada, there are few practical reasons to buy a shortwave radio. Thousands of stations that once were available only on the shortwave band are online. Why bother with shortwave? It's easy and cheap -- and fun. You can hear and learn things that you would never find even if you work your search engine like a mule. From Swaziland to Paris to Havana, shortwave broadcasters can surprise an adventurous listener more than any MP3 playlist.
http://benton.org/node/20750
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