Jan 22, 2009 (Day One: New FOIA Rules)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for JANUARY 22, 2009
Two event of note today: 1) a House Commerce Committee Hearing on Economic Recovery Package and 2) New York City Bar's Committee on Communications and Media Law will host Unfair and Indecent? Broadcast Regulation in the Courts and Congress at the Start of the Obama Administration. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-01-18--P1W
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Day One: New FOIA Rules
Let There Be Light
Journalists Feel Tug of Public Service as Obama Takes Office
DOJ seeks to block warrantless wiretap ruling
Kentucky court overturns gambling domain seizure on appeal
COPA finally, truly dead
NSA Spied on U.S. News Outlets?
Chinese TV Censors Part of Address by Obama
THE TRANSITION
Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages
McCain Leaves Commerce Committee; 4 Other Republicans Added
Kevin Martin Defends His Management of The FCC
Media Issues Top Obama's Online Tech Agenda
Obama's Inauguration Watched By 29.2% Of Households In Top 56 Markets
THE ECONOMY
Stimulating Broadband: If Obama builds it, will they log on?
Does Broadband Need a Stimulus?
An Analysis of the House Broadband Stimulus Package
US wireless group opposes net openness in stimulus
$6 billion, broadband, and impatience
Hard times all around for radio
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Stark Introduces Health IT Bill
Media Firms Team Up to Test Online-Video Ad Formats
DIGITAL TELEVISION
Delay the Delay: House Postpones Mark-Up of Digital Television Bill
Rockefeller Still Pushing DTV Date-Only Bill
Rep Space Concerned About DTV In Rural Communities
TV's Digital Transition Doesn't Have to Cause Headaches
JOURNALISM
Newspapers turn into rich men's toys
Top 30 Newspaper Sites for December Show Big Dips After Election Mania
Publisher Rethinks the Daily: It's Free and Printed and Has Blogs All Over
TELECOM
Verizon crosses wires with critics
Vodafone tries "soft caps" on mobile broadband usage
Obama Will Get His Blackberry
PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Shake-up in public service TV in UK outlined
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
DAY ONE: NEW FOIA RULES
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Clint Hendler]
Addressing his new White House staff in a ceremony Wednesday, President Barack Obama spoke repeatedly of the importance of open government to his new administration. "Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones," he promised, shortly before signing several new executive orders, two of which were specifically designed to increase access to government information. One will require President Obama and past presidents to consult with the solicitor general and the attorney general before they claim privilege over information. The second transparency-related order seems designed to reverse President Bush's widely reviled guidelines on how information officers should respond to Freedom of Information Act requests.
http://benton.org/node/20999
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LET THERE BE LIGHT
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Comentary] Over many years, Americans have come to embrace the idea that democracy suffers when the work of government is excessively secret—the people are shut out, corruption and cynicism thrive, and accountability wanes. President Obama can forcefully demonstrate, as he indicated on the campaign trail, that he will turn the lights back on in the White House. The president should: Instruct the attorney general to restore the presumption that exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act are designed to prevent "foreseeable harm," rather than to be used as expandable excuses to deny requests. Issue an executive order restoring the intent of the Presidential Records Act, making the government the owner and executor of past presidents' papers, rather than a mere custodian for as long as an ex-executive or his heirs want certain documents under wraps. Encourage the development of systems that proactively release government information, and build databases so they can be accessed and adapted by innovators outside government.
http://benton.org/node/20998
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JOURNALISTS FEEL TUG OF PUBLIC SERVICE AS OBAMA TAKES OFFICE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg News, AUTHOR: Greg Bensinger]
Journalists from Time magazine and the ABC television network took government jobs ahead of Obama's inauguration and more may follow. With their knowledge of the inner workings of the Capitol, reporters can be an attractive hire for incoming department chiefs, said Ellen Shearer, a journalism professor. "These can be good jobs for reporters," said Shearer, who teaches at Northwestern University's Washington program. "They get to view the government from a different perspective and can make contacts that are helpful later on." A slump in the newspaper industry makes positions in the new administration even more desirable.
http://benton.org/node/20997
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DOJ SEEKS TO BLOCK WARRANTLESS WIRETAP RULING
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Julian Sanchez]
The Bush administration may have passed into history, but its legal briefs linger on. Earlier this month, a federal court held that an Islamic charity could proceed with a lawsuit alleging it was subject to warrantless surveillance by the NSA—and ordered that the government turn over classified documents for review by the judge. On the eve of the presidential inauguration, however, the Justice Department filed a motion urging the court to stay that ruling pending an appeal, citing the risk of irreparable harm to national security.
http://benton.org/node/20982
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KENTUCKY COURT OVERTURNS GAMBLING DOMAIN SEIZURE ON APPEAL
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jacqui Cheng]
A Kentucky court order authorizing the seizure of 141 overseas domains has been overturned by the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the domain names, all related to online gambling, do not fall under the state's definition of a "gambling device," and therefore they cannot be seized under that statute. The original ruling came down in September of 2008 when a Franklin County Circuit judge issued an order giving the Commonwealth of Kentucky permission to seize control of some 141 illegal online gambling domains. The court claimed that the state had the authorization to seize unlicensed and unauthorized "gambling devices," and that Internet domains fell under that definition. In order to regain control of their domains, site owners would either have to implement software to block Kentucky residents, or risk forfeiting their businesses. Around the same time as the ruling, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (who, incidentally, is the one who filed the lawsuit) described Internet gambling sites as "a tremendous threat to the citizens of the commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity." What he didn't point out is that it's a much larger threat to the state's heralded horse-racing industry.
http://benton.org/node/20981
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COPA FINALLY, TRULY DEAD
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
The Child Online Protection Act, now a decade old, appears to be permanently, completely, and otherwise absolutely dead now that the Supreme Court has rejected Bush Administration pleas to consider reviving the law one more time. According to the Associated Press, the rejection was made without comment by the justices. COPA was passed back in 1998 under President Clinton after the earlier Communications Decency Act contained some much broader provisions that were eventually struck down. To keep children away from harmful (mostly pornographic) content, COPA was drawn up to be narrower in scope. As passed, though, the bill required US-based websites displaying anything that might violate "contemporary community standards" to bar kids from accessing the material. Those failing to comply with the law would face fines of up to $50,000 and six months in prison. Opponents of the law sued to block enforcement almost immediately, and in the ten years since the law was passed, it has never been enforced. The law has passed up and down the court system repeatedly, already ending up in the Supreme Court once already in 2004, when enforcement of COPA was blocked pending further review.
http://benton.org/node/20980
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NSA SPIED ON US NEWS OUTLETS?
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Former National Security Agency analyst Russell Tice told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann Wednesday night that the agency spied on U.S. news organizations "24/7, 365 days a year." Former President Bush and senior officials insisted repeatedly that the warrantless wiretapping program that came to light in 2005 was legal and only targeted those with suspected ties to terrorist organizations. Tice said he did not know what became of the journalists' collected communications nor did he mention news outlets by name.
http://benton.org/node/21011
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CHINESE TV CENSORS PART OF ADDRESS BY OBAMA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wong, Jonathan Ansfield]
President Obama's 18-minute Inaugural Address on Tuesday was generally lauded by Americans for its candor and conviction. But the Chinese Communist Party apparently thought the new American president's gilded words were a little too direct. China Central Television, or CCTV, the main state-run network, broadcast the address live until the moment President Obama mentioned "communism" in a line about the defeat of ideologies considered anathema to Americans. After the translator said "communism" in Chinese, the audio faded out even as President Obama's lips continued to move. CCTV then showed an anchor asking an analyst about the economic challenges that President Obama faces. The analyst was clearly caught off guard by the sudden question. The offending line in the president's speech was this: "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions."
http://benton.org/node/21010
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THE TRANSITION
STAFF FINDS WHITE HOUSE IN THE TECHNOLOGICAL DARK AGES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Anne Kornblut]
If the Obama campaign represented a sleek, new iPhone kind of future, the first day of the Obama Administration looked more like the rotary-dial past. Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts. What does that mean in 21st-century terms? No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Hard adjustments for a staff that helped sweep Obama to power through, among other things, relentless online social networking.
http://benton.org/node/21009
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MCCAIN LEAVES COMMERCE COMMITTEE; 4 OTHER REPUBLICANS ADDED
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Sen John McCain (R-AZ), who helped the satellite TV industry gain access to local TV signals, said Wednesday that he has decided to give up his seat on the Senate Commerce Committee which he has held for 22 years. Sen McCain was chairman of the Commerce Committee in 1999, playing an important role in passing the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act, a law which allowed DirecTV and Dish Network to provide local TV signals within the same local market for the first time. The provision of local TV signals greatly helped satellite TV compete with cable. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison welcomed four new GOP colleagues to the panel Wednesday: Johnny Isakson of Georgia; Sam Brownback of Kansas; Mel Martinez of Florida; and Mike Johanns of Nebraska.
http://benton.org/node/21008
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KEVIN MARTIN DEFENDS HIS MANAGEMENT OF THE FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Now-former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has defended his management of the agency. In a letter and voluminous response, dated Jan. 19 but posted Jan. 21, he took aim at a House government oversight subcommittee report released last month. He said the report, which criticized his management of the agency, ignored relevant information and contained mischaracterizations and errors. Among Martin's assertions are that the congressional report, which was only endorsed by Democrats (Martin is a Republican), used selective quotes to create the misleading impression that he had manipulated a report that concluded a la carte was a workable business model for cable. He also said the committee had erred in concluding that he had manipulated a competition report to conclude cable had reached a concentration threshhold triggering new regulation. Martin also released a lengthy report last week listing what he saw as the FCC's successes in "protecting consumers and promoting competition."
http://benton.org/node/21007
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MEDIA ISSUES TOP OBAMA'S ONLINE TECH AGENDA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Network neutrality, media diversity, and parental control of the media are at the head of the new administration's tech policy agenda, at least according to the agenda section of the White House Website. According to the revamped site, the new president and vice president "will work to ensure the full and free exchange of information through an open Internet." To that end, the first two bullet points are as follows: 1) "Protect the Openness of the Internet," which translates to "Supporting the principles of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet." 2) "Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligation of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum." 3) "Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment." Also on the list are deploying next-generation broadband, one of the keys to the new president's economic stimulus package, and improving first-responder communications.
http://benton.org/node/20988
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OBAMA'S INAUGURATION WATCHED BY 29.2% OF HOUSEHOLDS IN TOP 56 MARKETS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Marisa Guthrie]
The combined overall household rating -- including 14 broadcast and cable networks from 10 am to 5 pm and on CNBC and ESPN from 11:30 am to 1 pm -- for the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Nielsen's top 56 metered markets was 29.2%. That puts Obama way ahead of the second inauguration of George W. Bush four years ago. That inaugural was among the least watched at 11.8% in the top markets with a mere 15.5 million tuning in. The 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan is still the most-watched inaugural with 37.4% penetration in the top markets and 41.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
http://benton.org/node/20989
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THE ECONOMY
STIMULATING BROADBAND: IF OBAMA BUILDS IT, WILL THEY LOG ON?
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: John Horrigan]
Investment in broadband has become part of the broader discussion about President Obama's economic stimulus package. Although job creation is the main topic in this debate, there are really three policy goals associated with broadband in the stimulus package: creating new jobs, creating new broadband subscribers, and improving the broadband experience for all subscribers through faster networks. The goals are obviously related. New or better broadband infrastructure might attract new subscribers or encourage existing subscribers to upgrade to faster service. New (or upgrading) subscribers place demands on communications infrastructure, which in turn may require more workers to serve them. How easy will it be to increase the pool of broadband subscribers or to encourage existing ones to upgrade their connection speeds? Two surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project help address these issues. If more and faster broadband is provided, more people will subscribe. However, one-in-five Americans currently don't have broadband for reasons that won't be addressed by price cuts or a fiber node in the neighborhood. It will take time to get them up and running on broadband -- probably longer than the impacts of the stimulus package are intended to last.
http://benton.org/node/20996
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DOES BROADBAND NEED A STIMULUS?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
[Commentary] The Obama Administration has proposed spending $6 billion on wiring rural areas and urban centers, a relatively small sum considering the rhetoric surrounding the topic about how America has fallen behind other nations in its broadband infrastructure. But this seems to be a rather sound policy choice to Hansell who says the noise about a broadband gap is hooey. With new cable modem technology becoming available, 19 out of 20 American homes eventually will be able to have Internet service that is faster than any available now anywhere in the world. And that's without one new cable being laid. Running a new fiber-optic cable to every American home may well increase competition in broadband providers, but it isn't needed to deliver high-speed Internet service. Current cable modems use just one of the more than 100 channels on a typical cable system and can often offer speeds of 16 megabits per second or more. The next generation of modems, using a technology called Docsis 3, allows several of those video channels to be combined to offer what ultimately can be Internet service as fast as 1 gigabit per second. What is most significant about Docsis 3 is that it turns out to be quite inexpensive to upgrade existing cable systems to use it. As a result, Comcast and other cable systems are already deploying the technology rather quickly. In other words, with no government intervention, the country is going to have the infrastructure very soon to provide almost everyone with the fastest possible Internet service.
http://benton.org/node/20995
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AN ANALYSIS OF THE HOUSE BROADBAND STIMULUS PACKAGE
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
Daily looks at the broadband-related items in the stimulus bill and finds: 1) $2.825 billion to Dept of Agriculture for loans, loan guarantees, and grants to projects where at least 75% of the area to be served "shall be in a rural area without sufficient access to high speed broadband service to facilitate rural economic development." 2) $350 million to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for establishing and funding the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, which will track the availability and adoption of broadband. 3) $2.825 billion to NTIA for Wireless ($1 billion) and Broadband ($1.85 billion) Deployment Grants where wireless grants must prioritize unserved areas without wireless voice and underserved areas without wireless broadband, and broadband grants must prioritize projects that bring basic broadband service to unserved and advanced broadband to underserved areas. The findings lead to these questions: A) Why split the baby between two agencies? B) Why subsidize "high speed" broadband and wireless voice but not fiber? C) Why separate wireline and wireless support? D) Why force artificial timelines on an overburdened NTIA? E) Why limit projects to 20% of a state's area/population?
http://benton.org/node/20994
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US WIRELESS GROUP OPPOSES NET OPENNESS IN STIMULUS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
A group representing US wireless companies is seeking changes to $6 billion in grants aimed at promoting expanded Internet and wireless services as part of an economic stimulus bill proposed by Democrats. The CTIA industry group said a requirement that providers who get grant money abide by so-called "open access" principles will impede investment in wireless and Internet access for the rural and hard-to-serve areas targeted by the measure. "The utility of the program will be compromised if carriers are hesitant to participate because of uncertainty about the vague, undefined and unnecessary 'open access' obligation," CTIA President Steve Largent said in a letter to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and ranking Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas. The committee will hold a hearing today on parts of the $825 billion stimulus proposal.
http://benton.org/node/21001
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$6 BILLION, BROADBAND, AND IMPATIENCE
[SOURCE: FierceTelecom, AUTHOR: Doug Mohney]
[Commentary] Despite the best efforts of the Obama administration to get the word out, a lot of people think that the $6 billion to be put into broadband under the economic stimulus package is the be-all and end-all of national broadband policy. It just isn't true. The $6 billion in the economic stimulus package is a down payment for national broadband, not the cure-all.
http://benton.org/node/20993
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HARD TIMES ALL AROUND FOR RADIO
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
How are newer forms of radio doing? Webcasters live under the threat, not currently enforced, of paying both performers and songwriters when they stream music, while radio only pays the songwriters. For services like Pandora, which create customized radio stations based on favorite artists, the revenue pressure has been intense. Pandora has recently rolled out ads between songs moving into a format slightly more akin to traditional radio. CEO Tim Westergren told California's Press-Democrat that the commercials were just one of many things that Pandora was experimenting with, but that the service would never run as many as traditional radio. But if it's a tough time to launch a new webcasting ad format, Pandora can take cold comfort from the fact that the ad market is hammering just about every sector.
http://benton.org/node/20983
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
STARK INTRODUCES HEALTH IT BILL
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA) has introduced legislation aimed at overhauling the US healthcare system through advances in technology. The bill would codify the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology within the Health and Human Services Department; create a more transparent process for the development of health IT standards by the end of 2009; establish a voluntary certification process for health IT products; provide immediate funding for health IT infrastructure, training, dissemination of best practices, telemedicine, inclusion of health technology in clinical education, and state grants to promote the use of electronic medical records; provide financial incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid programs to encourage doctors and hospitals to adopt and use certified e-health systems; establish a federal breach notification requirement for health IT and would let patients request an audit trail showing all disclosures of their health information made through an electronic record; change existing laws to include new entities that were not contemplated when federal privacy rules were written as well as entities that do work on behalf of providers and insurers; ban the sale of an individual's health information without their authorization; and would require providers to attain authorization from a patient in order to use their health IT for marketing and fundraising activities. Physicians would be eligible for as much as $65,000 for showing they are meaningfully using health IT and hospitals would be eligible for several million dollars. Incentive payments would continue for several years but would be phased out over time.
http://benton.org/node/20990
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MEDIA FIRMS TEAM UP TO TEST ONLINE-VIDEO AD FORMATS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Suzanne Vranica]
The Pool, which includes six media companies and several marketers, such as Allstate, Capital One Financial and DineEquity's Applebee's, will test five online ad formats. The two highest-scoring ad formats will be put into beta testing on the media companies' sites. The Starcom MediaVest clients involved in the Pool have agreed to use the winning ad format and buy time on the media sites involved in the research. Among the ad formats being tested are videos that contain elements that, when clicked on, display more information in a separate pane or open a new browser window and videos that allow viewers to pick the ad that they wish to watch. The lack of standard online video ads has been an issue for several years, but the call for some sort of standardization is growing louder as the ad recession deepens. Advertisers and media buyers fear that the recession could derail the growth of online-video ads.
http://benton.org/node/21003
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DIGITAL TELEVISION
DELAY THE DELAY: HOUSE POSTPONES MARK-UP OF DIGITAL TELEVISION BID
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has postponed a planned mark-up of a bill to delay the digital television transition, saying that he will wait to see what happens with a Senate bill. Chairman Waxman said, "The transition to digital television is not going well. There is not enough money for the converter box coupon program and millions of Americans could experience serious problems. Delay of the deadline is our only hope of lessening the impact on millions of consumers. Without a short, one-time extension, millions of households will lose all television reception. Late last week Senate Republicans blocked a bill to delay the transition date. I have postponed Committee consideration of the DTV markup to give the Committee more time to assess the implications of the Senate action."
http://benton.org/node/20992
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ROCKEFELLER STILL PUSHING DTV DATE-ONLY BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With the House digital television transition-delay bill on hold for the moment, all eyes are turning to the Senate version, which so far has not moved due to Republican opposition. According to an aide to the Senate bill's author, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), "Senator Rockefeller is working with the leadership of the Commerce Committee to work out whatever problems there may be. He would not handicap a time frame, but obviously the bill has a deadline of Feb. 17, since that is the current date." The Rockefeller bill remains simply a date-change. "The consensus from our side," said the Rockefeller aide, "is let's move the date first. Let's give ourselves some breathing room here for the Obama administration to get a better sense of what is happening."
http://benton.org/node/21006
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REP SPACE CONCERNED ABOUT DTV IN RURAL COMMUNITIES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Rep Zack Space (D-OH) would like the House to add language to a proposed bill to delay the digital TV transition, language which would require the Federal Communications Commission to study the impact of the DTV transition on rural communities, including whether rural viewers lost service due to the shorter range of digital TV signals. His proposed language would also require the FCC to propose to Congress potential remedies to restore TV service in areas that can't receive stations that they did before the transition.
http://benton.org/node/20991
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TV'S DIGITAL TRANSITION DOESN'T HAVE TO CAUSE HEADACHES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Rob Pegoraro]
The transition from analog to digital television may have inflicted more confusion on the American public than any other electronic upgrade in history. Only the small minority of Americans who rely on the public airwaves for TV need worry about getting ready for the digital transition and its three direct benefits: better picture and sound quality; such extra digital channels as the cultural and educational programs many public broadcasters air; and, with a compatible set, high-definition video and sound, all for free. Should you be among those viewers affected by the switch, you have two ways to keep watching TV: a new set with a digital tuner, or a digital converter box for your old set. (Not sure you own a digital set? You probably don't, but run its channel-search function to be sure.) A new flat-panel TV can let you watch high-def broadcasts for free and liberate a few cubic feet of space, but most converter boxes cost only $50 or $60.
http://benton.org/node/21005
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JOURNALISM
NEWSPAPERS TURN INTO RICH MEN'S TOYS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
The newspaper industry is looking to wealthy individuals rather than government to bail it out. Newspapers have long been the playthings of wealthy men but a seemingly endless decline in advertising revenues is raising the question of whether private ownership or the shelter of sitting within diversified empires is now the industry's only valid business model. The question is most acute in America's regionally fragmented newspaper industry, where most titles enjoyed monopolies or near- monopolies over classified advertising revenues in the cities they served. A decade of incursions by free online listings and the decline of print readership has destroyed the old business model. According to an analysis published last week by eMarketer, a digital marketing and media research group, US newspaper advertising revenues dropped 16.4 per cent to $37.9bn in 2008. Another $10bn of advertising revenues will disappear by 2012, eMarketer estimates, leaving the industry half the size it was in 2005. The prospect is prompting several newspaper owners to make deep cuts to staffing, attempt to find buyers for lossmaking titles and consider closures.
http://benton.org/node/20987
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TOP 30 NEWSPAPER SITES FOR DECEMBER SHOW BIG DIPS AFTER ELECTION MANIA
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Jennifer Saba]
The vast majority of major newspaper sites lost momentum in online traffic following the peaks of user interest during the fall campaign for the White House, according to new figures from Nielsen Online. December monthly uniques at NYTimes.com, for example, declined 13% in December compared to November uniques. The Washington Post lost 15% and the Los Angeles Times shed 29%. Only one paper in the top 5 increased its online audience in December: USA Today.
http://benton.org/node/20986
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PUBLISHER RETHINKS THE DAILY: IT'S FREE AND PRINTED AND HAS BLOGS ALL OVER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
Amid the din of naysayers who insist that newspapers are on the verge of death, a new company wants to start dozens of new ones — with a twist. The Printed Blog, a Chicago start-up, plans to reprint blog posts on regular paper, surrounded by local ads, and distribute the publications free in big cities. The first issues of this Internet-era penny-saver will appear in Chicago and San Francisco on Tuesday. They will start as weeklies, but Joshua Karp, the founder and publisher, hopes eventually to publish free neighborhood editions of The Printed Blog twice a day in many cities around the country.
http://benton.org/node/21004
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TELECOM
VERIZON CROSSES WIRES WITH CRITICS
[SOURCE: New York Daily News, AUTHOR: Nicholas Hirshon]
Verizon is pushing its aging copper telephone lines to limp along with quick fixes - often leading to outages - until its heralded FiOS fiber-optic network becomes available New York City-wide in 2014, critics and company insiders charge. A spokesman for the telecommunications giant insisted that copper remains "the backbone of our business," and denied the allegations of neglect. But union officials said that Verizon foremen regularly instruct workers in the field to splice faulty copper lines instead of replacing them - cutting costs but sacrificing quality. The patched-up lines often go out of service just days later due to rain, snow or heavy winds - creating headaches for customers - but Verizon keeps instructing workers to splice instead of replace, union leaders said.
http://benton.org/node/20985
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VODAFONE TRIES "SOFT CAPS" ON MOBILE BROADBAND USAGE
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Rich Karpinski]
Vodafone Hungary said it has deployed a new bandwidth management system for its mobile data services that relies on sophisticated policy rules that aim to curb bandwidth hogs without punishing them with overage fees or cutting off their access. The Vodafone move is significant because it represents yet another approach to how service providers both wireline broadband providers and mobile data operators are experimenting with how they deal with heavy users. Vodafone's approach in Hungary is a unique one, aimed at minimizing congestion while also avoiding customer churn caused by angering users via heavy-handed actions, said Randy Fuller, vice president of business development for Camiant, which provides the policy servers for the solution. Like many mobile customers particularly outside the U.S. Vodafone Hungary providers tiers of mobile data service. Under the new system, when users go over their usage caps for a particular month, they do not face per-megabyte overage penalty fees, which can quickly become very costly. And they are not kicked off the network entirely. Rather, Vodafone dials back their usage to 2G speed levels, but only during times of heavy congestion; at other times, the users are actually able to exceed their usage cap, and at full 3G speeds. Such a "soft cap" gives users the best service possible (3G, even beyond their cap, at best; 2G at peak times, at worst) while ensuring the operator can both manage high usage periods as well as offer an upgrade path for customers that want to ensure more 3G peak time usage.
http://benton.org/node/20984
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OBAMA WILL GET HIS BLACKBERRY
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: ]
President Barack Obama is going to get his blackberry.
http://benton.org/node/21000
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PUBLIC BROADCASTING
SHAKE-UP IN PUBLIC SERVICE TV IN UK OUTLINED
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Ben Fenton]
Plans to merge Channel 4 with its rival Five or the BBC's commercial arm could be only the first phase in radical reorganization of public service broadcasting, it has emerged. Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, produced its report on the future of PSB on Wednesday as the government prepares to make struggling broadcasters co-operate in solutions to a fast-worsening economic climate. Channel 4 has been at the heart of the debate and was central to Ofcom's thinking, with plans laid out for a "structural relationship" with either Five, owned by the European broadcaster RTL, or BBC Worldwide. That would form an alternative provider of PSB programming to the BBC, which Ofcom said was a high priority for the public and the government, especially in the provision of news.
http://benton.org/node/21002
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