March 9, 2009 (Levin Lays Out Telecom Policy Roadmap)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY MARCH 9, 2009
THE ECONOMY
Levin Lays Out Telecom Policy Roadmap
Many Voices, Many Eyes Needed
Obama calls healthcare IT 'low hanging fruit' on health reform
TechAmerica: Stimulus money is major focus
Seifert, McGuire-Rivera to Head NTIA's Broadband Stimulus Programs
THE TRANSITION
The Nation's New Chief Information Officer Speaks
Meet Commerce Dept Chief of Staff Rick Wade
Cybersecurity chief Beckstrom resigns
TV Awaits New FCC Approach
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Obama Aims to Shield Science From Politics
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Seeks Stimulus Accountability
House Omnibus Includes Rep Honda's Open Gov't Text
Hill Staffers Join Blogerati, Twitterati
Obama Says Hola To a More Inclusive Press Strategy
JOURNALISM
What Battered Newsrooms Can Learn From Stewart's CNBC Takedown [Video]
CNBC Thrives as Hosts Deliver News With Attitude
TV News: It Doesn't Play in Peoria
United, Newspapers May Stand
Professors could rescue newspapers
Obama Central to Online News Narrative
CONTENT
Fight Over Internet Filtering Has a Test Run in Europe
ZillionTV tempts Network Neutrality gods with prioritized video
Who will set forth a compelling alternative to centralized media and build it?
FCC: IPTV, Satellite Dishes Not 'Functional Equivalents' On Access Fees
Diane Disney Says Fairness Doctrine Repeal Hurt Nonprofits
CBS's $6 Billion NCAA Wager Isn't Dead Yet
Firms Take to The Tweetable Business Model
QUICKLY -- Wireless Industry Price Wars Loom; Comcast: 50% 'All-Digital' in 2009; FCC Waives Limitation on CETC Interim Cap for Tribal Lands; Men ran pirate radio station that dispensed gang advice
THE ECONOMY
LEVIN LAYS OUT TELECOM POLICY ROADMAP
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Stifel Nicolaus analyst and Obama technology advisor Blair Levin predicts that privacy and Network Neutrality will be among the biggest telecommunications issues facing the Federal Communications Commission and the administration going forward. The economic crisis and change of administration will shift the focus of telecom policy away from traditional phone companies to "Internet/edge" players. "(There is a) consensus emerging that disputes about whether a wireline network management tool is 'reasonable' (or is actually blocking or degrading traffic) to be resolved on a case-by-case basis," Levin wrote in the note with analysts Rebecca Arbogast and David Kaut. He said the biggest "sleeper" issue will be privacy. With a major overhaul of healthcare records to the Web, the rise in behavioral advertising and cloud computing, where information is stored in computers strung across many geographies, consumer, business and government advertising will lead to privacy disputes at the FCC and courts. Levin's note also downplayed the immediate success of Obama's push for high-speed Internet in every American household. He said the initial $8 billion in stimulus funds for constructing new high-speed Internet lines and other programs was modest and just a start. He also said the FCC's mandate in the stimulus plan to come up with a broadband strategy for the country within one year would be "more likely to produce a volley of targeted recommendations than a silver bullet." He added the FCC probably wouldn't quickly overhaul a $7 billion phone subsidy program to also include broadband Internet networks.
http://benton.org/node/23008
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MANY VOICES, MANY EYES NEEDED
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Charles Benton]
On March 5, the Benton Foundation sent a number of questions to the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce -- the lead agencies implementing the broadband provisions of the stimulus law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), recently signed by President Barack Obama. The agenda for the March 10 joint public meeting of these agencies invites these questions, so I hope you will contact the government at this crucial moment in planing for the broadband grant, loan, loan guarantee, and mapping initiatives outlined in the stimulus law. The success of these programs may very well determine the quality of our telecommunications system for the 21st century.
http://www.benton.org/node/22953
See comments from Chase 3000
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OBAMA CALLS HEALTHCARE IT 'LOW HANGING FRUIT' ON HEALTH REFORM
[SOURCE: Healthcare IT News, AUTHOR: Diana Manos]
President Barack Obama called healthcare IT the "low hanging fruit" on healthcare reform and an area in which Republicans and Democrats could find common ground. His comments came during Thursday's healthcare reform summit at the White House, which brought together a bipartisan mix of Congressional leaders and other stakeholders to launch the president's healthcare reform plans. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) endorsed healthcare IT as a way to cut costs and align provider incentives. The stimulus package is a down payment on healthcare reform, according to the president, and includes more than $19 billion to advance healthcare IT. The single hardest task in politics is to get lawmakers to agree on spending money up front for a savings down the road, President Obama said. Healthcare IT won't show rewards for several years, he said, but it's needed as a cornerstone to overhaul an inefficient healthcare system that is strangling the economy.
http://benton.org/node/23037
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TECHAMERICA: STIMULUS MONEY IS MAJOR FOCUS
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
The No. 1 government goal of trade group TechAmerica in the coming year is assisting federal and state governments in how to wisely spend money from the $787 billion economic stimulus package. TechAmerica -- formed from the merger of AeA, the Information Technology Association of America and two other tech trade groups -- feels a responsibility to make the tech portions of the stimulus package successful. The stimulus package, pushed by U.S. President Barack Obama, includes about $50 billion in direct spending by the U.S. government, including $19 billion for health IT projects, $7.2 billion for broadband deployment, and $4.5 billion for smart energy grid projects. TechAmerica is offering its advice to state governments, which much of the money will flow through, on how to most efficiently spend the money, said Roxanne Gould, TechAmerica's senior vice president for state government affairs. For example, TechAmerica is working with Florida's state government to extend fiber broadband networks to schools currently using dial-up.
http://benton.org/node/23005
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SEIFERT, MCGUIRE-RIVERA TO HEAD NTIA'S BROADBAND STIMULUS PROGRAMS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Mark Seifert has been tapped to head up the policy side of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's allocation of broadband stimulus grant and loan money. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera will be handling administrative duties. Seifert was a staffer on the House Commerce Committee and was once deputy chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Common Carrier Bureau. He was brought in after acting NTIA head Anna Gomez recused herself from the grant administration process, said the sources. Gomez is formerly a Washington government affairs executive with Sprint-Nextel in Washington, which could make a bid for some of the broadband money. McGuire-Rivera has a lot on her plate already given that she also has been the NTIA point person on the DTV-to-analog converter box coupon program. She will reportedly be staffing up NTIA's Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, which she heads up as associate administrator, to help with the workload.
http://benton.org/node/23004
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THE TRANSITION
THE NATION'S NEW CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER SPEAKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
Vivek Kundra wants to reform the government's computer systems. As the Federal government's Chief Information Officer, Kundra will be part of the Office of Management and Budget and will oversee $71 billion in annual technology spending across the government and set standards for the design of federal systems. He has a long list of what is wrong with the way the government runs its computers today and what he wants to do to change it. A central theme is that the government needs to stop thinking it is special. Instead of designing custom systems for each problem, it should use off-the-shelf software and approaches whenever possible. Kundra wants to use technology to open government records and invite the public to participate in decision making, which has been among the promises President Obama has made. Another initiative will be to create a new site, Data.gov, that will become a repository for all the information the government collects.
http://benton.org/node/23003
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MEET COMMERCE SEPT CHIEF OF STAFF RICK WADE
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
Rick C. Wade, a senior advisor in the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, is currently the acting chief of staff for the Commerce Department. He was in South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges' cabinet before joining the Obama campaign and has been serving on the president's 10-person Task Force on the Auto Industry for the past two weeks. Wade received a B.S. degree from the University of South Carolina and Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, where he was also a Kennedy Fellow, and has studied theology in Atlanta and in Washington. Wade's inclusion on the program bumps the spot that had been allocated to Mark Seifert, who was on a previous program listed as a "Senior Advisor" to NTIA. Currently, there is no Commerce secretary, nor an assistant secretary and administrator of the NTIA. Last week Obama named Gary Locke, the former governor of Washington, as his cabinet-level designee. Although the White House has yet to name an NTIA head, sources and published reports say that Larry Strickland, Obama policy advisor and former FCC Common Carrier Bureau Chief, tops the list of candidates.
http://benton.org/node/23002
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CYBERSECURITY CHIEF BECKSTROM RESIGNS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sinead Carew, Christopher Doering]
Rod Beckstrom, government's director for cybersecurity, resigned on Friday criticizing the excessive role of the National Security Agency in countering threats to the country's computer systems. he said it was a "bad strategy" to have the National Security Agency, which is part of the Department of Defense, play a major role in cybersecurity. Beckstrom headed the National Cybersecurity Center, which was created last March to coordinate all government cybersecurity efforts and answers to the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security said in a statement that it has a strong relationship with the NSA and continues to work closely with all of its partners to protect the country's cyber networks.
http://benton.org/node/23001
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TV AWAITS NEW FCC APPROACH
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
While technology issues may sit at the top of the to-do list for Julius Genachowski, President Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Communications Commission, he may be compelled to delve into the world of television before the ink on his business cards dries. Several people who know Mr. Genachowski say that once the new chairman is confirmed, it will be Internet issues—both the broadband rollout anticipated in the president's stimulus plan and the debate over whether all Web users should have an equally speedy Internet (so-called Network Neutrality) that will likely get the chairman's attention first. "I would imagine his top priority will be broadband deployment," said Andy Schwartzman, executive director of the Media Access Project, a public-interest law firm. Broadcast lobbyists and their lawyers may not be sanguine at the prospect of having their issues deferred for now, but they point out that new developments -- legal decisions on indecency and media ownership in the Supreme Court and an appellate court -- could push their agenda to the front burner.
http://benton.org/node/23035
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
OBAMA AIMS TO SHIELD SCIENCE FROM POLITICS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Rob Stein]
President Barack Obama will issue a presidential memorandum today aimed at insulating scientific decisions across the federal government from political influence. "The president believes that it's particularly important to sign this memorandum so that we can put science and technology back at the heart of pursuing a broad range of national goals," said Melody C. Barnes, director of Obama's Domestic Policy Council. Although officials would not go into details, the memorandum will order the Office of Science and Technology Policy to "assure a number of effective standards and practices that will help our society feel that we have the highest-quality individuals carrying out scientific jobs and that information is shared with the public," said Harold Varmus, who co-chairs Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
http://benton.org/node/23039
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SENATE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SEEKS STIMULUS ACCOUNTABILITY
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Jesse Masai]
Senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday weighed the need to distribute federal stimulus fund urgently against the desire to ensure that monies are well-spent. "We understand that speed is important if the stimulus package is to succeed, but we must not repeat the kind of mistakes that occurred in support of Iraqi reconstruction projects or in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where money was rushed out the door with little accountability an billions wasted," said Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). Chairman Lieberman said that the Recovery.gov web site would "provide transparency by posting information about spending, including grants, contracts, and all oversight activities, so that any American will be able to report on waste, fraud or abuse when they see it." Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Robert Nabors said that for the fiscal stimulus law to have to have its desired effect, funds must reach recipients quickly. "It is essential that funds be spent wisely at all levels of government, and in a way that maintains the confidence of the public."
http://benton.org/node/23038
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HOUSE OMNIBUS INCLUDES REP HONDA'S OPEN GOV'T TEXT
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Tucked away in the FY09 omnibus appropriations bill that passed the House last week is language inserted by Rep Michael Honda (D-CA) that directs the Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office to make their data available to the public in raw form, which he believes will increase availability of government data in more user-friendly formats. It is unclear whether the Senate version will include such language. Currently, constituents' official channel to learn about legislation is through a limited search form on Thomas while congressional staffers maintain a more advanced system. His proposal also requests a report on the feasibility of providing advanced search capabilities.
http://benton.org/node/22993
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HILL STAFFERS, JOIN BLOGERATI, TWITTERATI
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Winter Casey]
Members of Congress have finally embraced the Web, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube, and they are hiring new-media experts to help extend their reach. The trend reflects many lawmakers' growing awareness of the Internet's importance to campaigns and of their constituents' increasing desire to connect and gather information on the Web. Further driving the change are an influx of Capitol Hill freshmen familiar with the new tools, and fresh rules that allow members to post on third party Web sites.
http://benton.org/node/22992
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OBAMA SAYS HOLA TO A MORE INCLUSIVE PRESS STRATEGY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
Every administration does some outreach to minority outlets. But by talking to Black Enterprise well before the New York Times, which last week got its first sit-down interview since Election Day, President Barack Obama is shaking up the existing media order. Just as he took a question from the Huffington Post -- but not from the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune or Wall Street Journal -- at his first news conference, the president is broadening the circle of access to include more sympathetic outlets. "We should have a conscious strategy of communicating through Hispanic media," said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. "It's one of the fastest-growing groups in the country. Telemundo is one of the most significant media outlets." The nation's first African American president isn't neglecting black media outlets, either. His first print interview after taking office was with Black Enterprise magazine. The risk for Obama would be if he were caught saying something different to the ethnic media than to other news organizations. He went to great lengths, after all, not to run as a minority candidate. The challenge for minority journalists is not to slip into the role of cheerleader. If Telemundo is leading a campaign to register more Hispanics in the 2010 Census, viewers may wonder about the objectivity of its news reports on the subject. But most of the interviews so far with the president have been handled with professionalism.
http://benton.org/node/23030
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JOURNALISM
WHAT BATTERED NEWSROOMS CAN LEARN FROM STEWART'S TAKEDOWN
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Will Bunch]
Jon Stewart's epic, eight-minute takedown of CNBC's clueless, in-the-tank reporting most talked-about journalism of this week. You can quibble about Stewart's motives in undertaking the piece, but you can't argue with the results. The piece wasn't just the laugh-out-loud funniest thing on TV all week, but it was exquisitely reported, insightful, and it tapped into America's real anger about the financial crisis in a way that mainstream journalism has found so elusive all these months, in a time when we all need to be tearing down myths. As one commenter on the Romenesko blog noted, "it's simply pathetic that one has to watch a comedy show to see things like this." But that's not all. The Stewart piece also got the kind of eyeballs that most newsrooms would kill for in this digital age. Some take-aways: 1) Great research trumps good access to the powerful; 2) The American public is mad as hell right now, so why isn't the mainstream media?; 3) Tear down this wall... of pretending that the media itself isn't a major player in American society; and 4) The First Amendment doesn't say anything about not being funny, or not being passionate.
http://benton.org/node/23000
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CNBC THRIVES AS HOSTS DELIVER NEWS WITH ATTITUDE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter, Tim Arango]
Was last week the worst one in CNBC's 20-year history — or the best? The financial news network, a unit of NBC Universal, was savaged by "The Daily Show" in a viral video sensation. It was criticized for being too cozy with the corporations it covers. One of its stars, Jim Cramer, was ridiculed by the White House press secretary. And one of its reporters faced a new round of criticism for an on-air outburst about mortgage "losers." All the while, CNBC covered the incessant downward slide of the economy with special reports on particularly bad days for the markets. Whether the attention is positive or negative, it is certain that this tumultuous financial season is CNBC's reason for being. One month shy of its 20th anniversary, CNBC is being jokingly called "the recession network."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/business/media/09cnbc.html?ref=todayspaper
A Matrix of News Winners Buoys NBC (NYTimes)
http://benton.org/node/23029
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TV NEWS: IT DOESN'T PLAY IN PEORIA
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Barrington Broadcasting and Granite Broadcasting have merged their operations in some television markets. The result -- Syracuse (NY)(DMA 81) and Peoria (IL) (DMA 116) -- is the loss of local TV news outlets. The Barrington-Granite deal wasn't driven by a desire to generate more and better news stories. It was done simply to save money for two companies that have been struggling financially. The evidence is the 70 or so broadcasters at the two stations who found themselves suddenly among the swelling ranks of America's unemployed on Tuesday. The trend and the lesson are clear: Small TV markets aren't big enough anymore for three or four independent news operations. Syracuse and Peoria now each have two. If you aren't No. 1 or No. 2 in the sweeps and your parent company is being badgered by lenders (many companies are), you just might come to work one day only to be told to pack it up.
http://benton.org/node/22999
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UNITED, NEWSPAPERS MAY STAND
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
[Commentary] Newspaper publishers and editors should come together to help save the ailing business. Here's how: 1) No more free content; 2) No more free rides to aggregators; 3) No more commoditized ads; 4) Throw out the Newspaper Preservation Act -- let the industry consolidate to an economically feasible model and preserve newsgathering. It's worth remembering that the regulatory apparatus governing the industry was developed back when newspapers were the dominant local ad medium, with very little competition. In recent years, the Newspaper Preservation Act has done precisely the opposite of its framers' intention, allowing joint operating agreements that let weak papers linger and pull down the alpha papers in Detroit, Seattle, Denver and Tucson. The Justice Department still holds that combining local dailies is anticompetitive, but if that antiquated logic continues to prevail, there won't be much left to regulate.
http://benton.org/node/23028
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PROFESSORS COULD RESCUE NEWSPAPERS
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jonathan Zimmerman]
[Commentary] Let's get university professors to gather news -- for free. Remember, most professors aren't paid for what they write now. When I publish an article in an academic journal, I don't earn a cent. But I also don't engage more than a handful of readers, mainly fellow specialists in my own field. It wasn't always that way. A hundred years ago, many of the leading lights in the social sciences and the humanities wrote for the popular press. If we want to revive the press - as well as our own struggling disciplines - we might look to their example.
http://benton.org/node/23027
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OBAMA CENTRAL TO ONLINE NEWS NARRATIVE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
According to the New Media Index of Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, President Barack Obama was the central figure in two of the three most linked to stories by blogs and social media sites the week of Feb. 23-27. The most frequent postings, at 15% of the embedded links, stemmed from new polls showing strong public support for the President. Following close behind, at 14%, was debate over Obama's sweeping $3.6 trillion budget proposal.
http://benton.org/node/22998
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CONTENT
FIGHT OVER INTERNET FILTERING HAS A TEST RUN IN EUROPE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Kevin O'Brien]
As European lawmakers debate Network Neutrality, they are inundated, not unsurprisingly, by lobbyists. But the corporate envoys roaming the halls of Brussels trying to make their case, more often than not, do not represent the Continent's myriad telecommunications and Internet companies, but rather those from the United States. Europe has become the world's technology regulator. So the AT&Ts and Verizons are pitted against the Googles and Yahoos to shape European law in the hopes that American regulators will follow suit. "The U.S. companies see the outcome of the fight in Europe as key," said Jeremie Zimmermann, a lobbyist for La Quadrature du Net, an Internet advocacy group based in Paris. "Each side is hoping to score points on the issue here so they can take it back to the States to influence the outcome there." Network neutrality is a proposal backed by some free-speech advocates and Internet businesses that would bar network operators from filtering Internet traffic. Internet service providers, however, say that basic traffic management is necessary to balance the soaring demand for bandwidth from video and popular sites.
http://benton.org/node/23036
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ZILLIONTV TEMPTS NETWORK NEUTRALITY GODS WITH PRIORITIZED VIDEO
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
In the current US Internet climate, it takes a gutsy company to sign deals with ISPs and ask them to guarantee quality of service for its video content. It's about the least "neutral" thing someone could possibly imagine, but it appears to be ZillionTV's new business strategy. ZillionTV made a splash last week after going public with its plan to offer on-demand streaming video content from NBC Universal, Disney, 20th Century Fox Television, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. Viewers can watch free content by choosing to watch ads, but those who would prefer to rent or own can pay up to access the material ad-free. All this comes courtesy of a $50 set-top box—and the cooperation of one's ISP. Think of it like Hulu for TVs (and in fact it might explain why Hulu has recently cracked down on services like Boxee that try to make its content easily accessible on the TV), but with this difference: the box can only be ordered through an ISP that has partnered with ZillionTV. Why would such a partnership be necessary? Netflix and Amazon offer similar services through devices such as TiVos, Roku boxes, and Xbox 360s, but neither popular service needs a cooperating ISP. If the viewer wants to use his or her bandwidth to access the content, they are free to do so. But ZillionTV doesn't work this way. The company website is cryptic, saying only, "Without getting too technical, we work with your Internet service provider to make sure you can get the richest, creamiest programs playing right on your TV."
http://benton.org/node/23034
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WHO WILL SET FORTH A COMPELLING ALTERNATIVE TO CENTRALIZED MEDIA AND BUILD IT?
[SOURCE: eComm Media, AUTHOR: Sascha Meinrath]
[Commentary] Language creates our knowledge framework. How we describe our experiences within the world affects our epistemology and warps, for both better and for worse, our understanding and comprehension of our communities and of one another. Indy Media and media activists everywhere, from the commie-pinko left, all the way to the completely reactionary wacko right, have been waging a war to establish platforms for telling their stories and narratives, for years now, in the United States. The goal of all of this work has been to impact mainstream culture and to shift the very foundations of civil discourse. Unfortunately, media creation and the documentation and telling of our stories without the information dissemination component are entirely impotent. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/23031
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FCC: IPTV, SATELLITE NOT 'FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENTS' ON ACCESS FEES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has concluded that because a cable operator doesn't charge a programmer for using a satellite dish to deliver its programming to the headend, it doesn't mean it must absorb the cost of broadband delivery of programming by a leased-access programmer. The Commission concluded Friday that the Internet and satellite program delivery are not "functional equivalents," when it comes to the FCC's prohibition on cable operators charging leased access programmers fees for technical support they provide non-leased access programmers at no charge. That decision came in the FCC Media Bureau's denial of a complaint filed by Charlie Stogner of StogMedia against Cable One systems in Long Beach and Biloxi, both of Mississippi. Stogner complained that Cable One was charging his company to deliver his programming via the Internet, while not charging other programmers to use satellite receiving dishes at their headends, which he claimed was discriminatory. "Because Cable One does not provide free broadband capacity to any leased access or non-leased access programmer for the delivery of video programming to its headends, it is entitled to charge StogMedia for the reasonable costs of such services," the FCC concluded. The agency went on to say that the satellite dishes were a collection point for programming, and did not absolve StogMedia of the responsibility of getting the programming to the headend.
http://benton.org/node/22996
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DIANE DISNEY SAYS FAIRNESS DOCTRINE REPEAL HURT NONPROFITS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Diane Disney, a professor at Penn State and former Clinton administration official, says one result of the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine was "the nonprofit sector's effective loss of access to the public airwaves." As evidence she cited a the decline in broadcast and cable PSAs, which she said now represent one-half of one percent of TV time, are "disproportionately placed" in overnight time periods and tend to be nationally focused." Disney conceded that nonprofits now have an alternative means of seeking funding via the Internet, and that they still need broadcast and cable help to let viewers know their Web sites exist. "Most of us don't just sit around surfing the Web hoping to find a nonprofit we can send money to," she said, adding that it was broadcast's reach that was key.
http://benton.org/node/22995
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CBS'S $6 BILLION NCAA WAGER ISN'T DEAD YET
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel]
A decade ago, when CBS struck a comprehensive $6 billion, 11-year pact with the NCAA for the rights to 89 NCAA properties, including the men's basketball tournament, it was considered one of the most bloated sports deals in television. But CBS had the foresight to secure a crucial sweetener: new-media rights. A week before tipoff, CBS says it has nearly sold out its online ad inventory to 35 marketers including AT&T and Coca-Cola and expects online ad revenue to reach about $30 million this year, up 30% from $23 million in 2008. Analysts say the current ad slump could make it challenging for the network to profit on March Madness this year, but the deal, which runs through 2013, isn't turning out to be quite as mad as many thought. During the past couple of years, CBS has knit together a broad network to distribute the tournament, ranging from the Web to a new mobile partnership with AT&T. It has a deal with DirectTV to distribute games by satellite and also broadcasts games on CBS College Sports, the college sports cable network CBS acquired in 2005. "These different platforms were just a gleam in somebody's eye when the deal was signed. Now, they are very real," says Lee Berke, a sports media consultant.
http://benton.org/node/23033
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FIRMS TAKE TO THE TWEETABLE BUSINESS MODEL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
The Twitterverse is expanding. Twitter, that microblogging tool that caught on with teens and twentysomethings using it to tell loyal followers what they're doing at any given time -- in 140 characters or less -- is now becoming part of the business strategy for a wide range of brands, from Skittles to Fairfax County. As exciting as it may be to hear about what your friends, or total strangers for that matter, ate for breakfast, some companies are realizing that a more effective use of Twitter is to mine it for clients, recruit employees and answer customer service questions. To that end, some businesses are starting to host Twitter tutorials for employees.
http://benton.org/node/23026
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QUICKLY
WIRELESS INDUSTRY PRICE WARS LOOM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
Industry analyst Craig Moffett from Sanford C Bernstein asserts that wireless carriers will have extraordinary difficulty continuing to grow based on recent data from the major carriers showing subscriber growth falling faster. The problem is, simply, that most people have phones and service. He says wireless carriers are suffering from a collective case of inflated optimism. He said that if things play out the way he projects, the industry could face a second whammy: price wars. If that happens, he said, wireless carriers together could see flat revenue growth. The wireless carriers have said they believe there will be plenty of growth as consumers move to the more powerful devices known as "smartphones." Carriers like that because smartphone users subscribe to data plans that bring in more revenue.
http://benton.org/node/22997
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COMCAST: 50% 'ALL-DIGITAL' IN 2009
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Comcast expects to reclaim the majority of the analog channels in about half its footprint this year. "All-digital" in Comcast's current usage of the term means eliminating 50-60 analogs, while maintaining around 30 broadcast channels and others in analog. To receive the full basic cable lineup, subscribers who don't have a digital set-top need a digital-to-analog adapter connected to their TV. Comcast will roll out DOCSIS 3.0 to about 65% of its footprint in 2009.
http://benton.org/node/22994
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FCC WAIVES LIMITATIONS ON CETC INTERIM CAP FOR TRIBAL LANDS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission has issued an order waiving the limitation on the availability of upcapped high-cost universal service support for competitive eligible telecommunications carriers servicing tribal lands or Alaska Native regions. The availability of such payments had been limited for competitive ETCs serving covered locations "to one payment" per each residential account."
http://benton.org/node/22991
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MEN RAN PIRATE RADIO STATION THAT DISPENSED GANG ADVICE
[SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel, AUTHOR: Audrea Huff]
The Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Communications Commission have shut down a pirate radio station broadcasting from south Orlando. They allege the radio station, dubbed "Street Heat," broadcast live advertisements for gangs, promoted where to buy illegal drugs or solicit prostitutes and offered gang-related advice such as how to fold a "flag," or bandanna. Two men were arrested. A two-week investigation by the sheriff's gang unit and the Federal Communications Commission found that radio signals were broadcast from an antenna mounted in a tree behind a residence in Orlando. FCC investigators found a cable from the antenna and traced it to a window on the northwest side of the home. FCC records show no license had been issued for the broadcast station at the residence.
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