Feb 25, 2009 (A/V Update)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2009

VIDEO
   Satellite Home Viewer Reauthorization Hearing
   Low Power TV Broadcasters Highlight Diversity in Call for Cable Carriage
   NCTA, Comcast Argue Against Major Compulsory License Revamp
   National Association of Broadcasters optimistic on content regulations
   Television's quiet gray revolution
   Cable operators seek platform to put TV shows online

AUDIO
   Talk-show lawmaker seeks to block Fairness Doctrine
   Obama Should Bring Back the Fairness Doctrine
   Musicians seek royalties from broadcast radio
   Can a 'Day of Sharing' save the music industry?
   The Kindle Swindle?

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Broadband stimulus done, now to the real heavy lifting: USF reform
   NTIA Taking Broadband Grants Meetings
   We Should Only Subsidize Wireless And Next-Gen Wireline Broadband
   Stimulus could revitalize muni Wi-Fi, other stalled projects
   Qwest: $3 Billion to Get Broadband to 95%

TRANSITION
Commerce Pick Carries Lengthy China Résumé
The FCC at 75: Time for Reform

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Seventy-Two Hours Is All We Ask
   Misunderestimating open science
   E-Mail Surge Forces Hill IT To Keep Up
   President Obama and the role of the ethnic press

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
   Hearst Threatens to Close San Francisco Chronicle
   News Corp. exit door may widen with Murdoch plan
   Zieser on distressed media deals [Video]

TELECOM
   USF Reform, DTV Oversight Hearing On House Docket
   FCC to Fine Telecoms
   The Embarq/CenturyTel Merger Is Moving Fast in Oregon

QUICKLY -- In Science and Technology, Efforts to Lure Women Back; How Twitter could be a threat to Google; IT Security Tops Federal CIO Concerns; Experts: States need uniform policy for health IT; Google joins EU antitrust case against Microsoft;Online Safety and Technology Working Group; 'Liberal bias?' IU professors find network TV election coverage favors Republicans;CTIA, Public Safety Groups Urge FCC Action on 'Harmful' Auxiliary Devices; Free Press vs Tech Policy Institute on Broadband Minnesota; Tech firms slash 5,000 jobs

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VIDEO

SATELLITE HOME VIEWER REAUTHORIZATION HEARING
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing titled, "Reauthorization of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act" on Tuesday. Congress is required to reauthorize the law by the end of the year. Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) said he wanted to proceed on a pretty much straight line and didn't want to get sidetracked on collateral issues, which he said included retransmission consent reform, an issue that covered all multichannel platforms, rather than the satellite delivery of TV stations--both distant signals and local signals--that is the subject of the act. That proved to be easier said than done, with retransmission consent reform raised frequently in the three-hour hearing. Public Knowledge President Gigi B. Sohn suggested a series of changes to copyright law that would promote competition and do away with an antiquated series of rules that no longer make sense with today's technology. Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen proclaimed: "The digital age has arrived -- and the laws need to catch up." Ergen listed four SHVERA fixes. Former Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Ken Ferree told Congress that it is time to make some changes to the rules of the road for satellite delivery of local station signals to recognize the "extremely competitive" video delivery market. Just for fun, Reps Greg Walden (R-OR), John Shimkus (R-IL), and Lee Terry (R-NE) pointed out how smoothly the digital transition has gone for the hundreds of stations who went ahead and pulled the plug on analog on the original Feb. 17 date. [much more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/22484
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LOW POWER BROADCASTS HIGHLIGHT DIVERSITY IN CALL FOR CABLE CARRIAGE
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
As Congress examines renewing legislation that mandates satellite carriage of over-the-air broadcasts, owners of low power television stations say record levels of cable and satellite subscribership necessitate their inclusion in any retransmission consent regime to promote public safety, ensure a supply of local programming and promote ownership diversity. Eighty-five percent of Americans receive television programming by way of cable or satellite, Community Broadcasters Association president Kyle Reeves told President Obama in a letter sent to the White House last weekend. Many young people have never seen a pair of rabbit ears, Reeves wrote. Instead, they increasingly choose to access video programming over broadband, cable, or satellite connections. Reeves said this change means public interest groups that fought against allowing one entity to own multiple television stations in a market picked the wrong battle."The true issue that impacts the diversity of ideas available to the public...is access to distribution systems," he said.
http://benton.org/node/22528
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NCTA, COMCAST ARGUE AGAINST MAJOR COMPULSORY LICENSE REVAMP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow wants Congress to tweak cable's compulsory license, but doesn't want legislators to rewrite what he calls a "great public policy success story." McSlarrow will testify before House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on "Competition, Compensation and the Need to Update the Cable and Satellite TV licenses. McSlarrow will tell the House panel that Congress undertake some pro-consumer (and pro-cable) reforms of how the Copyright Office implements the compulsory license statute, rather than tackle a wholesale revamp of the regime. But if it does want to make wholesale changes, it needs to take into account the retransmission consent regime that McSlarrow says "is at odds with the intent of the compulsory license regime,: which is to facilitate the availability of broadcast signals to consumers." McSlarrow plans to say that the compulsory license is still necessary, that no major changes are needed, that the license should be tweaked to prevent payment for so-called phantom signals, and that the retrans regime is problematic and needs to be addressed.
http://benton.org/node/22505
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NAB OPTIMISTIC ON CONTENT REGULATIONS
[SOURCE: New York Daily News, AUTHOR: David Hinckley]
David Rehr, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, is cautiously optimistic the Obama administration will ease some of the pressure and uncertainty that have hovered over TV and radio in recent years concerning appropriate content. Television and radio have been nervous about running afoul of the FCC since the Janet Jackson moment at the 2004 Super Bowl triggered a wave of high-profile outrage over broadcast content. Congress increased indecency fines tenfold, to $325,000, and the FCC handed down several fines. Rehr says he sees indications that the FCC will shift its focus, letting broadcasters spend less time looking over their shoulders. Rehr stresses he isn't advocating an anything-goes policy. He just thinks the marketplace and broadcasters usually can sort out appropriate content themselves.
http://benton.org/node/22522
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TELEVISION'S QUIET GRAY REVOLUTION
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Brian Lowry]
For years the all-consuming emphasis on reaching adults under 50 has imposed dictatorial constraints on TV casting, prompting a "Logan's Run"-like effect that expunged older performers. Look closely, though, and you'll notice a new wave of dramas is producing what amounts to a mini grey revolution, virtually waged on the sly. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/22520
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CABLE OPERATORS SEEK PLATFORM TO PUT SHOWS ONLINE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR:]
HBO on your PC? It could happen sooner than you think. Wary of the growing number of consumers watching TV shows online for free -- and yet reluctant to upset viewers by yanking shows from the Internet -- the nation's largest cable operators are in talks with media conglomerates to take back control. They would create a platform to release cable TV shows online, but exclusively for paying subscribers. Potentially at stake is the business model of cable TV operators. They pay networks a per-subscriber fee each month for the right to carry channels. But the cable companies have groused that they are paying for content that programmers are giving away for free on the Web.
http://benton.org/node/22529
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AUDIO

TALK-SHOW LAWMAKER SEEKS TO BLOCK FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jeremy Jacobs]
Rep Mike Pence (R-IN), a former talk show host and current chairman of the House Republican Conference, is seeking to prevent the Federal Communications Commission using taxpayer money to force broadcasters to offer contrasting views on the airwaves. The so-called Fairness Doctrine has not been enforced since Ronald Reagan was president. But Rep Pence is concerned that on March 6, when the stopgap measure funding the government expires, Democrats could force the controversial policy to be put back in place. Rep Pence has drafted an amendment he intends to offer this week that would continuing blocking the FCC from resuming the policy. It's unclear whether the majority will allow the amendment to be offered as part of the debate. Congress tried to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, which was originated in 1949, in 1987 and 1991. In both of those instances Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush killed the efforts by threatening the veto the legislation.
http://benton.org/node/22473
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OBAMA SHOULD BRING BACK THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
[SOURCE: New America media, AUTHOR: Earl Ofari Hutchinson]
[Commentary] The Fairness Doctrine did not require that broadcasters give equal time to liberal or moderate Democrats to counter the hot air of conservative talk jocks. The Doctrine did not tell broadcasters who should get a talk show, what the hosts could say, or who they had to have on their shows. By the time Congress shelved the Doctrine, the FCC had virtually ceased even enforcing it. The Fairness Doctrine simply served as a broad guide to insure that stations give at least some time to differing points of view; for example, views other than those of conservative white guys, and an occasional token conservative woman or black. If enough listeners complained that a station was too lopsided in the parade of conservatives it had spouting off on a particular issue, than it had to give "reasonable opportunity" to the other side to give an opposing view. The FCC didn't tell the station how much time to give, who to give the time to, or when to give it.
http://benton.org/node/22472
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MUSICIANS SEEK ROYALTIES FROM BROADCAST RADIO
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR:]
Sheryl Crow, will.i.am, Herbie Hancock and other entertainers on Tuesday urged Congress to force radio stations to pay performers when their music is broadcast. Satellite radio, Internet radio and cable TV music channels already pay fees to performers and musicians, along with songwriter royalties. AM and FM radio stations pay royalties just to songwriters. People deserve to be paid when somebody else uses their property," jazz pianist Hancock said. He and the other musicians, including singers Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle, appeared at a news conference on Capitol Hill on behalf of the musicFIRST Coalition. The group is pushing legislation that would require radio stations to pay musicians royalties similar to those paid to songwriters. The National Association of Broadcasters, which opposes the measure, said a fee would put thousands of radio jobs at risk. The association contends that stations drive listeners to buy music and concert tickets.
http://benton.org/node/22527
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CAN A 'DAY OF SONY' SAVE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Daniel Wood]
Richard Gibbs argues that holding an international "Day of Sharing" would be a radical gesture on behalf of the beleaguered music industry. How would it work? "Order your favorite meal, eat it, and walk out," he cites as an example. "Test drive a car and simply keep driving. Fill your pockets with candy from the 7-Eleven." If this freeloading sounds absurd to you, and you figure Mr. Gibbs must be some kind of nut, rest assured he has been called that already. The composer of film and television scores for titles such as "Dr. Dolittle," "The Simpsons," and "Battlestar Galactica" is forging ahead despite warnings that he could go to jail should anyone take him up on his odd idea. Gibbs's goal is actually a sober one: Highlight the absurdity of people getting music free of charge on the Internet and urge lawmakers to make Internet service providers (ISPs, such as cable and telephone companies) financially responsible to creative artists.
http://benton.org/node/22525
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THE KINDLE SWINDLE?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Roy Blount Jr]
[Commentary] Kindle 2 can read books aloud. And Kindle 2 is not paying anyone for audio rights. True, you can already get software that will read aloud whatever is on your computer. But Kindle 2 is being sold specifically as a new, improved, multimedia version of books — every title is an e-book and an audio book rolled into one. And whereas e-books have yet to win mainstream enthusiasm, audio books are a billion-dollar market, and growing. Audio rights are not generally packaged with e-book rights. They are more valuable than e-book rights. Income from audio books helps not inconsiderably to keep authors, and publishers, afloat. [Roy Blount Jr is president of the Authors Guild]
http://benton.org/node/22532
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

FROM SHOVEL-READY BROADBAND TO HEAVY LIFTING ON USF REFORM
[SOURCE: RCR Wireless News, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Silva]
The most profound impact on the availability of high-speed Internet access in the United States is likely to flow from universal service fund reform and other regulatory changes. Such issues involve billions of dollars on an annual basis. At its essence, improving U.S. broadband penetration — which lags more than two dozen countries, despite this country being the world's biggest high-speed Internet market — will probably require a dramatic redistribution of government telecom subsidies. The Obama administration may offer more clues to its broadband objectives when it unveils its 2010 budget proposal in the coming weeks. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps and state regulators have been pressing to make broadband a component of a recalibrated universal service regime that currently provides about $7 billion in federal support for low-income and rural citizens, rural healthcare facilities, schools and libraries. Reforming outdated intercarrier compensation guidelines — which govern payments wireless and other telecom service providers pay one another for carrying each others' traffic — is viewed as inexorably linked to changes in universal service support in high-cost rural locales.
http://benton.org/node/22482
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NTIA TAKING BROADBAND GRANTS MEETINGS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
Starting March 2, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will begin meeting with interested parties in connection with the broadband grant
programs described in the Broadband Data Services Improvement Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The former directs the Secretary of Commerce to award grants to eligible entities on a competitive basis to assess, identify and track broadband service deployment in each State. The latter directs NTIA to establish the ''Broadband Technology Opportunities Program" to make grants available on a competitive basis to accelerate and expand broadband deployment.
http://benton.org/node/22481
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WE SHOULD ONLY SUBSIDIZE WIRELESS AND NEXT-GEN WIRELINE BROADBAND
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Here's a basic principle any broadband stimulus dollars should adhere to when deciding what deployments to subsidize: don't stick rural areas with yesterday's broadband. Using stimulus dollars to deploy DSL and broadband over power lines is "the absolute worst use of money." If all we want to get rural America is a few Mbps then we should focus our attention on wireless, which can not only deliver those speeds but do so ubiquitously, providing access anywhere whether you're in a building or out and about. But we also need to be doing whatever we can to get next-generation wireline access built out to all of rural America. While wireless serves as an essential extension cord, we need a robust wireline infrastructure on which to build the next generation of our economy. We need networks capable of at least 100Mbps and preferably we want competition, either between services on the same open fiber network or between fiber and DOCSIS 3.0 cable, which are the only two technologies that can deliver those speeds. DSL may some day be able to support what's needed, but for now it doesn't so we should be focusing our attention on what can work today.
http://benton.org/node/22509
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STIMULUS COULD REVITALIZE MUNI WI-FI, OTHER STALLED PROJECTS
[SOURCE: Computerworld, AUTHOR: Matt Hamblen]
Could $7.2 billion in federal funds committed to boost broadband in the U.S. transform small towns like Truckee, Calif., into the next Mumbai, India, filled with beehives of call centers that employ local residents? The federal money is seen by many broadband analysts as a critical means of building new or completing hundreds of stalled municipal Wi-Fi and other broadband projects nationwide. The money could definitely breath life back into the old, mostly failed municipal Wi-Fi movement that first came to life in 2004 and deteriorated to a terminal state last year, said Craig Settles, an analyst and president of consulting firm Successful.com. What's more, with a strong financial shot in the arm, rural towns and suburbs could begin offering broadband to attract companies in addition to offering lower office rents than those demanded in big cities, Settles said. That kind of economic growth in new locations could lure companies to build in the U.S., rather than moving jobs abroad, Settles said.
http://benton.org/node/22480
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QWEST: $3 BILLION TO GET BROADBAND TO 95%
[SOURCE: Telecompetitor, AUTHOR: ]
Larry Sarjeant, Qwest's Vice President of Federal Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, says it will cost Qwest $3 billion to get 7 Mbps broadband service available to 95% percent of its current footprint. Sarjeant says Qwest is currently at about 85% availability of 7 Mbps broadband. Qwest's estimates reveal the enormity of the broadband challenge in the U.S. By their estimate, 42 percent of the $7.1 billion broadband stimulus program could be swallowed by Qwest alone, and that wouldn't even get them to 100 percent coverage. It is going to cost a lot more than the identified stimulus money to get ubiquitous broadband to every corner of the U.S.
http://benton.org/node/22479
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TRANSITION

COMMERCE PICK CARRIES LENGTHY CHINA RESUME
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: William Yardley]
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama is expected to nominate Gary Locke, a former two-term Democratic governor of Washington, to lead the Commerce Department. Locke has a longstanding interest in expanding trade relations with China, an international focus, centrist pragmatism, strong skills in public policy and a largely scandal-free résumé. Several people who know Locke, 59, say his selection is a good fit for a department whose portfolio includes the complicated political and management challenges of the census and the oversight of agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which plays an important role in environmental and fishing issues. Yet it is Locke's work with China that they say stands out the most, both from his time as governor, from 1997 to 2005, and now in the private sector. Washington officials frequently refer to the state as the most trade dependent in the nation, saying a third of its jobs depend on foreign trade. As governor, Mr. Locke made at least three trade trips to China. Since leaving office, he has helped lead the China practice of the Seattle law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, which he joined in 2005.
http://benton.org/node/22533
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THE FCC AT 75: TIME FOR REFORM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Michael Copps]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps spoke at a federal Communications Bar Association event celebrating 75 years of the FCC. He began by asking: "How do we take this 75 year old agency, charged with implementing our formative communications law, and make sure it is up to the challenges of the 21st century? Born in the world of primitive radio sets, raised on plain old telephone service, now trying to manage high-speed broadband and orbiting satellites, can we make it an agency for all seasons?" He complained that the FCC's processes have become "opaque rather than transparent" and reiterated that it is time to return to the agency's mission to protect consumers. He called for predictability -- making policy through rules and making decisions flowing from good data, hard facts and acknowledged expertise. A large, new task for the FCC is the development of a national broadband strategy -- something Chairman Copps has been calling for since he arrived at the FCC almost eight years ago. But Chairman Copps went further to raise the issue of so much of our communications moving to the Internet in the years ahead. "How to keep that Internet open and dynamic is an important part of this dialogue. But so is how to ensure that as the Internet becomes our primary vehicle for communicating with one another, it protects the public interest and informs the civic dialogue that America depends upon for its democracy?"
http://benton.org/node/22483
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

SEVENTY-TWO HOURS IS ALL WE ASK
[SOURCE: Sunlight Foundation, AUTHOR: Nancy Watzman]
[Commentary] It's not much to ask Congress to make available legislation for public perusal for 72 hours before they take it up for consideration. It's not just members of Congress who should take a deep breath, step back, and read the bill -the public should have the opportunity to review legislation as well. Yet time after time in recent years, Congress has been in a terrible rush to vote on controversial bills.
http://benton.org/node/22521
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MISUNDERESTIMATING OPEN SCIENCE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: James Boyle]
[Commentary] Congress is considering the "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act," that would eviscerate public access to taxpayer funded research. The bill is so badly drafted that it would also wreak havoc on federal information policy more generally. It is supported by the commercial science publishers, but opposed by a remarkable set of groups -- ranging from the American Research Libraries, to 33 Nobel Prize Winners, to a coalition of patients' rights organizations. Its limitations on Federal agencies are completely unworkable. Even if this bill dies the death it so richly deserves, the very fact we are arguing about it indicates how far we have to go in our debates over science policy. [James Boyle is William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law at Duke Law School and co-founder of Science Commons.]
http://benton.org/node/22526
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E-MAIL SURGE FORCES HILL IT TO KEEP UP
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Winter Casey]
The volume of e-mail being received on Capitol Hill is constantly increasing but in order for members of Congress and staff to receive these communications in real time, their technology wizards must make sure they have the appropriate mechanisms in place to deal with it. On Tuesday, for example, the technology wasn't dealing well and there were significant delays of inbound e-mail traffic for some House staffers. A House Administration Committee spokesman confirmed the glitch, but noted that overall the House has a solid system in place.
http://benton.org/node/22523
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PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE ROLE OF THE ETHNIC PRESS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James Rainey]
[Commentary] The nation's first African American president has signaled that he may shake up the traditional protocols of Washington journalism. But Obama's forays into sometimes marginalized ethnic media outlets also renew a strategy dating to the Reagan administration and earlier -- finding alternatives to reach around the mainstream media and speak to loyal constituents. Black and brown media are having their moment. That's long overdue. But Rainey agrees with the journalists who told me that, to serve their audiences best, it's time to turn from celebration to examination.
http://benton.org/node/22471
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP

HEARST THREATENS TO CLOSE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Mark Fitzgerald]
The San Francisco Chronicle will be sold or closed unless major cost-cutting measures -- including an unspecified "significant reduction in the number of unionized and non-union employees" -- can be realized within weeks, parent company Hearst Corp. said Tuesday evening. "If these savings cannot be accomplished within weeks ... the company will be forced to sell or close the newspaper," Hearst said in a statement. The company claims the Chronicle lost more than $50 million last year, "and that this year's losses to date are worse." The paper has had "major losses" each year since 2001, the company added. "Because of the sea change newspapers everywhere are undergoing and these dire economic times, it is essential that our management and the local union leadership work together to implement the changes necessary to bring the cost of producing the Chronicle into line with available revenue," said a joint prepared statement by Frank A. Bennack Jr., vice chairman and chief executive officer of Hearst Corp. and Steven R. Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers. Hearst said it cannot wait long to implement the cuts at the 144-year-old paper.
http://benton.org/node/22508
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NEWS CORP EXIT DOOR MAY WIDEN WITH MURDOCH PLAN
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James, Dawn Chmielewski]
Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch plans to use the exit of his longtime lieutenant, Peter Chernin, to assume more direct involvement in operations and shuffle management at News Corp., which is expected to trigger the departure of some ranking executives. A restructuring would address the key burden of having as many as 20 executives reporting directly to Murdoch due to not filling Chernin's position of president and chief operating officer. Murdoch is expected to organize the company so that only four to six operating division heads report to him. Murdoch, who turns 78 in two weeks, has not groomed a successor, beyond Chernin, because he has long wanted to install one of his six children at the top of the global empire that encompasses the Fox film studio and network, online community MySpace and a chain of newspapers including The Times of London, New York Post and Murdoch's jewel, the Wall Street Journal.
http://benton.org/node/22530
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ZIESER ON DISTRESSED MEDIA DEALS
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Suzanne Stevens]
Distress in the media industry has created a deep pool of bargain-priced targets. But that doesn't mean it's easy for well-financed corporate buyers to scoop up distressed assets. Negotiating a low enough price is one of the biggest challenges.
http://benton.org/node/22470
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TELECOM

USF REFORM, DTV OVERSIGHT HEARING ON HOUSE DOCKET
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Communications, Tech & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher announced Tuesday that the panel's next hearing will on universal service reform (on March 12). Chairman Boucher said he hoped to have a bill reforming universal service done in the next several months. Also on the agenda will be a hearing on the digital television transition (sometime in the Spring before the June 12 deadline for analog). Chairman Boucher said the reason DTV was not "the most immediate" thing on the agenda was that he wanted to wait until the $650 in the economic stimulus package to jump start the converter box coupon program had been freed up and the program "reenergized."
http://benton.org/node/22510
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FCC TO FINE TELECOMS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Michael Copps]
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau released an Omnibus Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) against telecommunications carriers identified by the Bureau as having apparently failed to file the requisite annual Customer Proprietary Network Information ("CPNI") compliance certifications with the Commission. In addition, this week the Bureau is releasing Notices of Apparent Liability against multiple carriers that filed non-compliant annual CPNI certifications with the Commission. In response, FCC Chairman Michael Copps said, "I have long stressed the importance of protecting the sensitive information that telecommunications carriers collect about their customers. Carriers' obligation to annually certify that they have implemented a CPNI protection plan is essential to ensuring their compliance with the Commission's rules as well as our ability to monitor their compliance. The broad nature of this enforcement action hopefully will ensure substantial compliance with our CPNI rules going forward as the Commission continues to make consumer privacy protection a top priority."
http://benton.org/node/22504
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THE EMBARQ/CENTURYTEL MERGER IS MOVING FAST IN OREGON
[SOURCE: WetMachine, AUTHOR: Greg Rose]
The Embarq/CenturyTel merger is not just pending Federal Communications Commission approval. The transaction, which affects more than eight million access lines in 33 states, must be approved by regulatory agencies in several states. Washington and Oregon are pivotal in this, partly because of the extensive rural coverage CenturyTel has in both states, and the merger raises substantive issues about industry consolidation and quality of rural service. Were the Washington or Oregon Public Utility Commission to deny the merger, it would likely kill the deal. It is for this reason that Embarq and CenturyTel tried to avoid having the Oregon PUC rule on the merger until a decision by the Oregon Attorney General forced it to do so. What is extremely important is that this proceeding is moving forward very quickly. Parties which have filed as intervenors in other states, including public interest groups, have apparently not taken notice of this fact, as evidenced by the lack of filers in the relevant docket, UM-1416. It is possible to file as an intervenor or interested party electronically. Essentially, if there are few intervenors, it is likelier that public hearings will not take place.
http://benton.org/node/22476
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IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, EFFORTS TO LURE WOMEN BACK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sue Shellenbarger]
Small, innovative return-to-work programs are springing up in science, engineering and technology. Prospects for long-term job growth in these fields are relatively good, and many employers expect a talent shortage, partly because of high quit rates among experienced women. Honeywell, General Electric, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and even the British government have all launched programs to provide women scientists, engineers and technicians the tools they need to jump-start stalled careers. Some of the new programs provide only training, coaching, networking and referrals, while others offer actual jobs with lower return-to-work barriers through special training or mentoring.
http://benton.org/node/22531
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HOW TWITTER COULD BE THREAT TO GOOGLE
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O'Brien]
[Commentary] Google's search engine is so dominant that it's hard to imagine how anyone could knock the Mountain View company from its pedestal. And yet if history is any guide, such reigns never last. IBM gave way to Microsoft, which now has been usurped by Google. It could be a shift in technology. It could be a more nimble, innovative rival. But something always comes along and turns things upside-down, often emerging from a direction so surprising that the incumbent never sees it coming until it's too late. In this case, it's hard to imagine a company that might post a more surprising threat to Google than Twitter. But just this scenario is suddenly generating some heated discussions around the Web.
http://benton.org/node/22524
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IT SECURITY TOPS FEDERAL CIO CONCERNS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Information technology security is unsurprisingly the top challenge reported by federal government CIOs in an annual survey conducted by the Technology Association of America -- a group formed earlier this year by the merger of the Information Technology Association of America and the American Electronics Association. Since 2009 marks a period of greater change than normal, with the transition to a new administration, authors revised the study's format to examine impacts of the transition and offer advice for the future. The paper also looks back at the eight years of President George W. Bush's administration and provides commentary on challenges, outcomes and lessons learned. Key observations from CIOs for the Obama administration fit into the following themes: Strong leadership drives change; Employ laser-sharp focus; Demand results and verify; Achieve good IT governance; Fix IT infrastructure; Fund priority initiatives; Continue to standardize and consolidate; and Strengthen the blended workforce.
http://benton.org/node/22478
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EXPERTS: STATES NEED UNIFORM POLICY FOR HEALTH IT
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
With the incentives provided in the recently signed stimulus package for the adoption of health information technology, lawmakers across the country are expecting to be able to improve their states' health care by collaborating on a nationwide network of health data. Creating such a network, however, is a dizzying prospect bogged down by conflicting state laws regarding privacy and patient consent, policymakers acknowledged Tuesday at a conference of the National Governors' Association's State Alliance for e-Health. Laws and policies governing the use of electronic health information vary widely by state, and even within states different agencies interpret the jumble of rules on the books differently, said experts from the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration, a multistate collaboration established by RTI International. Indeed, members of the HISPC said, even their organization has had trouble interpreting the basic elements of the laws.
http://benton.org/node/22507
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GOOGLE JOINS EU ANTITRUST CASE AGAINST MICROSOFT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alexei Oreskovic, David Lawsky]
Google has added its voice to the case against Microsoft Corp as the European Commission probes antitrust charges related to the software giant's Internet Explorer browser. "Google believes that the browser market is still largely uncompetitive, which holds back innovation for users," Sundar Pichai, Google vice president product manager, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. Google introduced the Chrome browser last year, which has taken little market share. The Internet company joins the Mozilla foundation, producer of the Firefox Web browser, and Norway's Opera, a privately held company. Google adds the voice of a significant and well-financed player in the case against Microsoft.
http://benton.org/node/22506
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ONLINE SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
NTIA is clarifying a notice published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2008 seeking nominations of individuals to represent the business community, public interest groups, and other appropriate groups interested in serving on the NTIA Online Safety and Technology Working Group.
http://benton.org/node/22503
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'LIBERAL BIAS?' IU PROFESSORS FIND NETWORK TV ELECTION COVERAGE FAVORS REPUBLICANS
[SOURCE: Indiana University, AUTHOR: Press release]
A visual analysis of television presidential campaign coverage from 1992 to 2004 suggests that the three television broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- favored Republicans in each election, according to two Indiana University professors in a new book. Their research runs counter to the popular conventional notion of a liberal bias in the media in favor of Democrats and against Republican candidates. Maria Elizabeth Grabe and Erik Bucy, both associate professors in the Department of Telecommunications of IU's College of Arts and Sciences, report their findings in their book, Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing of Elections. "We don't think this is journalists conspiring to favor Republicans. We think they're just so beat up and tired of being accused of a liberal bias that they unknowingly give Republicans the benefit in coverage," said Grabe, who also is a research associate in political science at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. "It's self-censorship that journalists might be imposing on themselves."
http://benton.org/node/22502
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CTIA, PUBLIC SAFETY GROUPS URGE FCC ACTION ON 'HARMFUL' AUXILIARY DEVICES
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
On Monday, the CTIA The Wireless Association sought to bar the sale or operation of low power wireless devices in the 700 Megahertz (MHz) band being vacated by analog television stations. CTIA was joined by the National Emergency Number Association, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council in asking the Federal Communications Commission to protect the 700 MHz band from interference by "auxiliary" devices a category that includes many commercially available wireless microphones and other devices that do not require a license to operate. In their letter, the groups tell Copps that the devices are now "a growing public safety issue" that should be brought to his attention. Possible interference from auxiliary devices "threatens to prevent licensees from realizing the benefits to public safety that the 700 MHz band promises," the groups write. "It is of critical importance that low-power auxiliary devices do not cause harmful interference to critical communications and the commercial communications that enable ordinary Americans to reach public safety in their moments of need," they said.
http://benton.org/node/22477
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FREE PRESS VS TECH POLICY INSTITUTE ON BROADBAND MINNESOTA
[SOURCE: Blandin Foundation, AUTHOR: ]
In December, Scott Wallsten of the Technology Policy Institute gave a presentation to the Ultra High-Speed Task Force. His perspective was that there isn't a broadband crisis in the US; we have time to develop good policy. Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner says, "The simple fact is that international rankings do matter. This is not just a point of pride. Each spot the United States slips represents billions in lost producer and consumer surplus, and potentially millions of real jobs lost to overseas workers."
http://benton.org/node/22475
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TECH FIRMS SLASH 5,000 JOBS
[SOURCE: CNNMoney.com, AUTHOR: Aaron Smith]
Hit hard by the recession, two U.S.-based tech companies announced job cuts that will put 5,000 people out of work. Spansion, based in Sunnyvale (CA), said on Monday that it will cut 3,000 jobs, or 35% of its total workforce, to save money for restructuring and to position itself for a possible sale. The company said the cuts will initially cost $25 million but would result in annual savings of $225 million. Micron Technology, based in Boise (ID), said it would cut 2,000 jobs by the end of August, all of them in its home state. Of these cuts, 500 will occur in the next couple of weeks. The company, which has 16,000 global workers, including 7,000 in the U.S., makes memory for computers and other consumer electronics. Micron said the cuts will cost the company $50 million initially, but will result in savings of $150 million annually.
http://benton.org/node/22474
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