April 15, 2009 (Happy Tax Day)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 2009
THE STIMULUS
Broadband Stimulus Funds Up for Grabs
Broadband Stimulus Should Require Maps First, Say Congressmen
Copps: FCC needs fifth Network Neutrality principle
Dear RUS/NTIA: There Will Be Losers And That's OK
Smart Grid, Smart Broadband, Smart Infrastructure
NIST moves toward smart-grid road map
GAO Announces Appointments to Health Information Technology Policy Committee
Blumenthal signals position on key stimulus policies
Consumer demand for healthcare IT 'never stronger,' survey shows
Stimulus Opening Doors in Health Care IT
State privacy laws may undercut electronic medical records
Schools' 'Money Is Falling Off the Truck'
NETWORK MANAGEMENT
Cable firm's pricing seems like a plan to Net extra cash
Time Warner's Higher Speeds And Lower Caps Collide
Pick your poison: bandwidth caps or throttling?
Free Press Calls on FCC to Protect Wireless Network Neutrality
Meeting the data quota
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America
China outnumbers US mobile broadband users 5 to 1
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Third Circuit Will Delay Media Ownership Decision
Media Executives Plan Online Service to Charge for Content
News Corp to launch global content portal
BROADCASTING
Study: Local TV Up in Recession
Whole New Ballgame for NAB in DC
Broadcasters Say No To Importing Adjacent-Market Signals
FCC Asks Court to Wait on White Spaces
WRAL Begins Broadcasting to City Buses
THE TRANSITION
Alex Ross Joins State Department
Connolly Introduces CTO Act
Law Professor to Lead FTC's Consumer Unit
Obama Taps Former Discovery President McHale For State Department
JOURNALISM
Newspaper Ad Revenue Could Fall as Much as 30%
Boston Globe union offers to talk cost cuts
Peter Bart's controversial reign is ending at Variety
QUICKLY -- California Seeks to Curb Appetite of Power-Hungry TVs; Report profiles states' ed-tech successes; AT&T Chief Presses to Keep iPhone, Deepen Wireless Push; US Telecoms Eager to Get Cuba on the Line; Smartphone consumers opt for "cheap chic"; Blagojevich pleads 'not guilty'
Recent Comments on:
All Nations Agree: Fiber's The Global Standard
Papers Try to Get Out of a Box
THE STIMULUS
BROADBAND STIMULUS FUNDS UP FOR GRABS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Now that money from the $787 billion economic stimulus is starting to flow, the jockeying for control over some of those funds is heating up. State officials argue that they often know best how to divvy up the portion of stimulus funds earmarked for competitive projects. That has put the Obama administration in the middle of a tug-of-war between the states and some consumer advocates who want to keep more control of stimulus grants at the federal level. This tension can been seen as the administration wrestles with how to hand out $7 billion allocated in the stimulus package for expanding broadband services. Officials from 38 states have told the administration they should have a big say in allocating broadband stimulus money. State regulators want the Obama administration to give them time to rank broadband projects in their areas. And they're asking for stimulus funds to hire a few full-time employees to review the applications. Some smaller Internet providers favor state involvement in picking projects, because they're concerned it may be too costly to compete for grants on their own.
http://benton.org/node/24328
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BROADBAND STIMULUS SHOULD REQUIRE MAPS FIRST, SAY CONGRESSMEN
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Andy Opsahl]
If two Members of Congress get their way, the awarding of stimulus money for broadband projects would be contingent upon completion of broadband mapping. Reps Cliff Stearns (R-FL) Joe Barton (R-TX) recently suggested that only local governments in states with completed maps of broadband coverage should receive stimulus money for broadband projects. The congressmen argue that a map of coverage would ensure the stimulus money included in the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 goes to areas that are actually lacking broadband. "The likelihood of waste, fraud and abuse increases if you act before having the benefit of this information," Reps Stearns and Barton wrote in a letter to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, the two agencies distributing federal stimulus money for broadband. The FCC also received the letter.
http://benton.org/node/24314
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COPPS: FCC NEEDS 5TH NET NEUTRALITY PRINCIPLE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
(April 6) Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps has called for a fifth Internet non-discrimination principle that would be added to the existing four. What is this fifth principle? A formal warning that if ISPs block, throttle, hobble, molest, unfairly prioritize, too deeply packet inspect, or otherwise selectively interfere with protocols or devices on the Internet, the Commission will go into clobbering mode pretty darned quick. He concedes that coming up with this fifth leg will not be easy. "These are evolving technologies and sometimes the line between reasonable network management and outright discrimination can be less than crystal clear," he added. "But that's why we need a for-sure enforcement process, to sift through complaints, to make the judgment calls, and, over time, to compile some case law and precedent so things become clearer."
http://benton.org/node/24313
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DEAR RUS/NTIA: THERE WILL BE LOSERS AND THAT'S OK
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Reading through comments on the creation of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, Daily concludes: 1) there's not enough money for everyone to get some, so it's unavoidable that there will be losers in this process, 2) by setting the bar too low and allowing marginal applications the same opportunity as the best applications we're making life harder for RUS and NTIA as this creates more work for them to vet everything and more hassle weighing the relative merits of projects, 3) while some incumbents most definitely deserve subsidies to keep doing the good work they've already been doing, not every incumbent deserves subsidies, 4) not every broadband technology deserves funding, and 5) not every municipality deserves funding, at least not right now.
http://benton.org/node/24312
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SMART GRID, SMART BROADBAND, SMART INFRASTRUCTURE
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Peter Swire]
(April 8) With a bit of imagination and coordination among multiple federal programs and agencies, the economic stimulus funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 could be used far more efficiently to achieve a diverse set of closely related goals. One section of the act provides billions of federal dollars to fund a "smart grid" for electricity that connects a far more flexible and efficient grid for long-distance transmission to regional feeder lines and local hubs, and then to that "last mile" to residences and businesses. A different part of the act provides billions in funding to upgrade broadband networks for unserved and underserved areas around the country. The broadband network has the same essential structure as the electricity network—long-distance transmission or the "Internet backbone," the feeder lines to local hubs or the "middle mile," and the "last mile" to fixed and wireless users. Both the smart-grid and broadband efforts involve substantial planning, spending on new wires, and the creation of major new digital infrastructure to connect homes in vastly expanded networks of information exchange. So here's a simple and powerful idea—construction of the electricity grid and the broadband network should go hand in hand. And here is an even more powerful idea—we should combine these efforts with other parts of the Recovery Act, such as health care information technology, education reform, weatherization initiatives, and future policy initiatives to create a nationwide smart infrastructure.
http://benton.org/node/24311
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NIST MOVES TOWARD SMART-GRID ROAD MAP
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
(April 8) The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a $1.3 million contract to the Electric Power Research Institute to help the agency determine the architecture and initial standards for an electric-power smart grid. EPRI, a nonprofit research and development group, will help NIST create an interim road map for the smart grid, a nationwide network that will use information technology with the goal of helping U.S. utilities deliver electricity more efficiently and reliably. NIST and EPRI announced the contract.
http://benton.org/node/24310
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GAO ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS TO HIT POLICY COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Press release]
On April 3, Gene Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States and head of the US Government Accountability Office, announced the appointment of 13 members to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, a new advisory body established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The committee will make recommendations on creating a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information. The Recovery Act directs the Comptroller General to appoint 13 members to the committee for terms of three years, although the members first appointed by the Comptroller General have staggered terms. An additional seven members will be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Majority and Minority leaders of the Senate, and the Speaker and Minority leader of the House of Representatives. The President can appoint other members as representatives of relevant federal agencies.
http://benton.org/node/24309
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BLUMENTHAL SIGNALS POSITION ON KEY STIMULUS POLICIES
[SOURCE: GovernmentHealthIT, AUTHOR: Paul McCloskey]
Dr. David Blumenthal offered a first significant glimpse into how he views the policy choices ahead of him as he prepares to take over as national coordinator for health IT. In a perspective piece published April 9 by the New England Journal of Medicine, Blumenthal said that to carry out Congress' intentions in the recently passed health IT stimulus legislation, it will be important not to set the bar too high for providers to qualify for health IT funding. The current certification process for health IT needs tightening, he said. Congress provided $20 billion in health IT incentives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as the means to improve the quality of health care, not as an end in itself, Blumenthal said. "Under the pressure to show results, it will be tempting to measure...the payoff from the $787 billion stimulus package in narrow terms — for example, the numbers of computers newly deployed in doctors' offices and hospital nursing stations," Blumenthal said. "But that does not seem to be Congress' intent. It wants improvements in health and health care through the use" of health IT.
http://benton.org/node/24316
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CONSUMER DEMAND FOR HEALTHCARE IT 'NEVER STRONGER,' SURVEY SHOWS
[SOURCE: HealthITNews, AUTHOR: Bernie Monegain]
Consumer appetite for electronic health records, online tools and services continues to grow, according to the results of the 2009 Deloitte Survey of Health Care Consumers. While only 9 percent of consumers surveyed have an electronic personal health record, 42 percent are interested in establishing PHRs connected online to their physicians. Fifty-five percent want the ability to communicate with their doctor via e-mail to exchange health information and get answers to questions. Fifty-seven percent reported they'd be interested in scheduling appointments, buying prescriptions and completing other transactions online if their information is protected.
http://benton.org/node/24308
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STIMULUS OPENING DOORS IN HEALTH CARE IT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Breaking into the health-care industry can be daunting. Doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and patients speak different languages and have vastly different needs. But more than $19 billion in stimulus money intended to revamp the nation's health system has piqued the interest of some local tech companies that have in the past shied away from the complex industry. And for companies with expertise in the business, stimulus dollars mean new opportunities.
http://benton.org/node/24307
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STATE PRIVACY LAWS MAY UNDERCUT ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: John Timmer]
The US government has now adopted a policy of fostering the adoption of electronic medical records (EMR). The policy is intended to increase the efficiency of the US healthcare system, thereby lowering costs and reducing the incidence of preventable errors. At the same time, through its The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules, the government has set minimum standards for the security of those records. These two goals—privacy and security of these records, along with their free interchange among medical providers—can easily wind up at odds with each other. A recent study that looked at the role of state privacy laws in EMR adoption suggests that the problem is very real, as state privacy laws seem to inhibit the use of EMR by hospitals located there. The authors, based at MIT and the University of Virginia, line up a variety of data that validate their suggestion that privacy and the use of EMR may require a careful balance. So, for example, they cite some highly publicized lapses when it comes to the maintenance of patient privacy: someone once offered the records of 200,000 patients for sale on Craigslist, while hospitals have seen their own employees attempt to get at the electronic files of famous patients.
http://benton.org/node/24306
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SCHOOLS' 'MONEY IS FALLING OFF THE TRUCK'
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Maria Glod, Michael Birnbaum]
Educators across the country are counting on a federal stimulus windfall to prevent teacher layoffs and improve schools. But while Washington is giving, some state and local governments are taking away. After hearing that an initial batch of $11.8 million in federal funds would soon arrive in Loudoun County, supervisors slashed $7.3 million from the schools budget. They also made clear that if more federal recovery money flows to schools, schools might be asked to give back an equal amount of county dollars. The Obama administration has heralded the stimulus -- which funnels an unprecedented $100 billion into public schools, universities and early childhood programs -- as a historic opportunity to reform education. But the budget shifts in Loudoun offer a case study of a phenomenon that worries educators nationwide. When the math is done, will the fiscal jolt from Washington be enough to transform classrooms? "The money is falling off the truck between Washington and the local schoolhouse," said Robley S. Jones, director of government affairs for the Virginia Education Association, which represents teachers.
http://benton.org/node/24305
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NETWORK MANAGEMENT
CABLE FIRM'S PRICING SEEMS LIKE A PLAN TO NET EXTRA CASH
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Lazarus]
Time Warner is planning to test a consumption-based billing system in which customers 'pay more if they use more.' The tiered plan is touted as a way to address the possibility of Internet brownouts. Heavy Internet users could soon be charged as much as $150 a month for online access. It's unclear what Time Warner, the dominant cable provider in Southern California, will do with the extra cash. Presumably it intends to invest at least a portion of it into improving the network. "The cable companies argue that they can't handle this demand," said Karl Bode, editor of BroadBand Reports.com, a website devoted to high-speed Internet use. "But if you look more closely, the growth of the Internet is manageable through reasonable equipment upgrades." He sees tiered pricing primarily as a money grab by the gatekeepers to the Net. "They're just trying to monetize Internet video," Bode said. "They want people to accept the idea of metered billing so that when Internet video expands, it will be more profitable because families will be comfortable paying for each gigabyte used, rather than the current all-you-can-eat system."
http://benton.org/node/24327
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TIME WARNER'S HIGHER SPEEDS AND LOWER CAPS COLLIDE
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
Through all the consternation surrounding Time Warner's new bandwidth caps their limitations are always discussed relative to downloading high quality movies. While this is a practical way of thinking about these caps, there's another angle that's even more striking to consider by comparing these caps against the increased speeds of Time Warner's service. Let's start with some numbers: 100GB and 50Mbps. The first is their top-level cap, and the second is the fastest speed they offer. Now let's consider some time in the not too distant future where someone invents an application that requires 50Mbps of constant throughput. Let's put aside the fact that there are no apps like that today, and that cable networks have trouble sustaining their maximum throughput. Instead let's assume an app with these requirements exists. How long would it take to use up 100GB? About four and a half hours. Even if you assume that there isn't an app that requires a constant 50Mbps but instead that a home would need that much capacity for only 10 minutes a day you still wouldn't get to the end of the month without going over the cap.
http://benton.org/node/24296
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PICK YOUR POISON: BANDWIDTH CAPS OR THROTTLING?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
Time Warner Cable's proposed Internet data caps is making news in the US, but capped Internet access is a worldwide issue. One UK website now suggests that 25 percent of Internet users there have received warnings about "excessive use." Direct comparisons are obviously impossible, owing to differences in regulatory structure, geography, and technology, but it's getting hard not to suspect that TWC's rates (which start at $15 a month for a mere 1GB of data at 768Kbps; similar UK plans offer 8Mbps speeds with 10GB of data for only $9) bear only the loosest of relationships to cost. In a competitive market, this should sort itself out, but one of the worries in places like upstate New York is that options are severely limited, switching is hard (and requires a shift to a competing technology), and real competition is tough to find. On the other hand, the UK has plenty of competition but no one appears to care much about network neutrality in its strict form, so ISPs are happy to come right out and tell you exactly how your connection will be throttled.
http://benton.org/node/24326
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FREE PRESS CALLS ON FCC TO PROTECT WIRELESS NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Free Press called on the agency to confirm that wireless networks must adhere to the Internet Policy Statement, which protects consumers' right to access any online content and services on any device of their choosing. "Wireless broadband networks cannot become a safe haven for discrimination," said Chris Riley, policy counsel of Free Press. "The Internet in your pocket should be just as free and open as the Internet in your home. The FCC must make it crystal clear that a closed Internet will not be tolerated on any platform."
http://benton.org/node/24292
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MEETING THE DATA QUOTA
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
Data caps on mobile broadband plans are starting to become the norm. To AT&T's credit, it made those caps explicit when it launched its new netbook pilot program, rather than include such restrictions in the fine print. But it raises the question of whether data quotas are the new order of business going forward. Will we have the freedom of the Internet on our mobile devices only up to a pre-defined point?
http://benton.org/node/24295
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
WIRED LESS: DISCONNECTED IN URBAN AMERICA
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Megan Tady]
(April 7) New multimedia report combines in-depth profiles and short, documentary-style videos into a compelling five-part series: 1) Offline in L.A.: The college and career aspirations of teenagers Lily Huerta and Julian Rosas' are stifled by lack of access, and Azusa Public Library Director Albert Tovar can barely keep up with the demand for Internet. 2) A Connection Changes Family's World: After struggling for years using slow dial up, the Quintero family has been transformed by finally getting a broadband connection in their home. 3) Desperately Needing the Net in El Monte: Twelve-year-old Michael Ibarra won a coveted scholarship to a private school, but has trouble completing his homework because his grandmother, Margaret, can't afford high-speed Internet. 4) D.C. Kids Want Internet: Ashea Williams and other teachers at D.C.'s Arts and Technology Academy find that the lack of Internet access after school and at home has a big impact on their classrooms. 5) Left Out in the Cold in D.C.: Carpenter Ferman Fletcher wants to pursue a new career in music using the Internet, but can't afford broadband and is thwarted by the limitations of public computers.
http://benton.org/node/24293
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CHINA OUTNUMBERS US MOBILE BROADBAND USERS 5 TO 1
[SOURCE: The Industry Standard, AUTHOR: Paul Boutin]
China has 102 million broadband users who regularly access the Internet through mobile gadgets, according to a new report from research firm Netpop. That compares to just 18 million Americans aged 13 or above who access the mobile Internet, Netpop said. Moreover, "Chinese users access, post, and purchase much more content on the mobile web than their U.S. counterparts—spending nearly double on premium content."
http://benton.org/node/24291
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
THIRD CIRCUIT WILL DELAY MEDIA OWNERSHIP DECISION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A three-judge panel on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday agreed to delay ruling on challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's loosening of the newspaper-broadcast crossownership rules until a newly constituted FCC can take another look at it, if it chooses to. The FCC two weeks ago reversed an earlier position and said it would no longer oppose a petition by public interest groups including Free Press, Prometheus Radio and United Church of Christ, to hold the case in abeyance pending new FCC leadership. Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president and CEO of Media Access Project, which filed the petition for abeyance, said Tuesday he was "very pleased" that the granted the motion. "It gives the new FCC membership a chance to review the situation and therefore potentially saves a great deal of wasted effort." He said he believed they would leave the stay in place. So why did the court seek in put on lifting the stay, phrasing it as wanting to know why it should not be lifted? "I think after six years you want to just check in and ask people should we still be doing this."
http://benton.org/node/24304
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MEDIA EXECUTIVES PLAN ONLINE SERVICE TO CHARGE FOR CONTENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
A trio of long-time media executives are building a computer system to allow newspapers and magazines to charge for online access, including an all-you-can-read subscription that would allow access to multiple publications. Their company, Journalism Online Inc., aims to supply publishers with ready-made tools to charge Internet fees, an idea that has gained sudden currency as advertising revenue plummets, but whose prospects of success are doubted by many media analysts. The company, which says it may have a product ready by the fall, says the advantages it offers are that publishers would not have to develop their own systems, and readers could use a single system for many different publications. Their plan might not draw much attention save for the stature of the people involved. The founders and investors are Steven Brill, creator of Court TV and American Lawyer magazine, among other ventures; L. Gordon Crovitz, a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, one of the few newspapers to charge online; and Leo Hindery Jr., who has headed communications companies like Tele-Communications Inc., Global Crossing and The YES Network, and now runs InterMedia Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in media.The company has a board of advisors that includes two of the nation's most prominent lawyers, David Boies and Theodore B. Olson, a former solicitor general of the United States.No publishers have signed on as yet as clients, but several major newspaper and magazine publishers have been in active talks with Journalism Online about how such a system should work.
http://benton.org/node/24303
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NEWS CORP TO LAUNCH GLOBAL CONTENT PORTAL
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Kenneth Li, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
Rupert Murdoch has tapped John Moody, a senior executive of Fox News, to oversee the creation of a global content portal to stitch together the editorial resources of News Corp's newspapers and cable news channels. The portal, which will not be available to consumers, is designed to help its news divisions from Dow Jones to the Times of London to Fox News better share resources amid pressure on costs from a wrenching decline in advertising spending. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/24319
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BROADCASTING
STUDY: LOCAL TV UP IN RECESSION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
(April 6) Despite the depressed economic state of local television, a new study shows that people rely on their local TV stations for news as much as ever, and perhaps more. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/24301
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WHOLE NEW BALLGAME FOR NAB IN DC
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
A Q&A with David Rehr. He is now deep into his fourth year as president of the National Association of Broadcasters and none has been easy. At the same time he was trying rebuild NAB congressional and Federal Communications Commission lobbying operations, he has had to face a series of serious challenges, ranging from white spaces to the XM-Sirius merger to a surprisingly regulatory Bush-era FCC. Things are not unlikely to get any easier — with new chairmen leading the congressional committees of importance to broadcasting and a new FCC with a Democratic majority and as many as four new commissioners. From the new FCC, Rehr is looking for 1) an appreciation for the real world business challenges that radio and television broadcasters face every day, 2) a renewed sense of the valuable role that broadcasters play in every community, and 3) recognition of how the broadcasting business, both on the radio and television sides, is evolving to meet the new technological changes.
http://benton.org/node/24300
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BROADCASTERS SAY NO TO IMPORTING ADJACENT-MARKET SIGNALS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Broadcasters and satellite TV operators continue to spar over proposals, backed by satellite companies, to allow for the importation of adjacent-market TV station signals to so-called split markets. Broadcasters argue it is unnecessary to fix the issue of importing news, weather and other local programming, and could upset the retransmission consent system by allowing satellite operators to play one station off another. The most recent letter was sent by the CBS and NBC affiliate associations to the lead legislators on the House and Senate committees overseeing the reauthorization of the bill that provides a blanket license for satellite operators to deliver distant TV station signals.
http://benton.org/node/24317
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FCC ASKS COURT TO WAIT ON WHITE SPACES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
(April 3) The Federal Communications Commission has asked a court to hold off on deciding the white spaces issue until after it considers petitions to reconsider or change it. The FCC received the petitions from a number of parties including the cable industry, but not the National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service Television, which took the FCC's initial decision straight to court, precluding them from also filing petitions for reconsideration with the FCC. NAB and MSTV jointly filed a petition earlier this month with the federal court of appeals for the D.C. Circuit, their preferred venue, to hold unlawful, vacate and set aside its decision last fall to allow mobile, unlicensed devices to share the so-called "white spaces" between DTV channels, a move opposed by lobbies for both those constituencies.
http://benton.org/node/24299
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WRAL BEGINS BROADCASTING TO CITY BUSES
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: ]
Digital TV pioneer Capitol Broadcasting's WRAL (Raleigh, NC) on Tuesday began simulcasting its regular mix of local news, syndication and CBS network programming to a city bus equipped with receivers and two plasma screens. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/24302
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THE TRANSITION
DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS GET TECH SUPPORT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
(April 6) Alex Ross has joined the State Department armed with a new set of diplomatic tools including Facebook, text messaging and YouTube. Ross is a senior adviser on innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton -- a role created for the 37-year-old nonprofit leader, who quickly rose within the Obama campaign, helping to craft tech policy under top technology adviser Julius Genachowski. His new job will blend technology with diplomacy in an attempt to help solve some of the globe's most vexing problems on health care, poverty, human rights and ethnic conflicts. And it is emblematic of the expansive approach the administration has taken to the role of technology in advancing its domestic and global agendas. Projects could include the use of cellphone text messaging as a way to reach isolated communities to warn people of natural disaster or remind patients to take medication. Social networking sites could bring together youth in warring tribes to communicate and organize cultural exchanges. Software could be used to help ensure aid is delivered by creating supply-chain systems. Ross will work for the chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.
http://benton.org/node/24298
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CONNOLLY INTRODUCES CTO ACT
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
(April 3) Rep Gerald Connolly (D-VA) introduced legislation that would statutorily codify the White House chief technology officer position. Rep Connolly believes the job, proposed by President Obama on the campaign trail, is too important to isolate in a single administration. Making the CTO a permanent position in the executive branch will give the individual "greater stature and empower him/her to accomplish the goals of the president," he wrote in a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated the same day. Obama has not yet selected his CTO but did tap former District of Columbia e-government expert Vivek Kundra to become the federal government's CIO.
http://benton.org/node/24297
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LAW PROFESSOR TO LEAD FTC'S CONSUMER UNIT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday named Georgetown University law professor David Vladeck as director of the agency's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Vladeck is co-director of Georgetown Law Center's Institute for Public Representation, a program for civil liberties, open government and regulatory litigation. Previously, he spent nearly 30 years with the Public Citizen Litigation Group. As that group's director, he argued a number of First Amendment and civil rights cases before the Supreme Court, and more than 60 cases before the federal courts of appeal and state courts of last resort, the FTC said. The appointment comes a month after several public interest and consumer advocacy groups asked FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz to quickly fill the post, which has been called the commission's most powerful consumer protection role. The groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Consumers Union, said the agency's oversight of a broad range of issues, from marketing practices to identity theft protection, will have significant impact as consumers increasingly rely on technology and digital communication. The new chief, they said, should have a "track record as a genuine champion of consumer rights." Vladeck's first priority will be dealing with the rise of consumer financial fraud as a result of the economic downturn.
http://benton.org/node/24321
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OBAMA TAPS FORMER DISCOVERY PRESIDENT FOR STATE DEPARTMENT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
President Barack Obama has signaled his intention to nominate former Discovery Communications President Judith McHale to be Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the Department of State. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/24320
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JOURNALISM
NEWSPAPER AD REVENUE COULD FALL AS MUCH AS 30%
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
Newspaper advertising, already in its worst slump since the Depression, suffered by far the sharpest drop in generations during the first quarter of 2009, down 30 percent for some papers, industry executives and analysts say. Publishers will start to report first-quarter results this week, but people who follow the industry and have had a glimpse of the 2009 numbers say it is clear that once again, even the most pessimistic predictions were not dark enough. They are expecting declines sharp enough to wipe out profit margins at many papers that, despite two years of battering, had stayed comfortably in the black, and to push already-weak publishers closer to bankruptcy, perhaps even closure. "I think over all we're going to see a decline somewhere in the mid-20s" compared to the first quarter of last year, said Edward Atorino, a media analyst at the Benchmark Company, a research firm. "There have been a lot of signals that things have gotten much worse in the last couple of months — the furloughs, the pay cuts, the layoffs."
http://benton.org/node/24324
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BOSTON GLOBE UNION OFFERS TO TALK COST CUTS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
A key Boston Globe union offered to negotiate cost cuts at the money-losing paper with parent company The New York Times Co on Tuesday in return for more power at the paper and a share of its revenue. The Boston Newspaper Guild is open to negotiating "immediate, significant labor cost savings measures" with the Times Co and the Globe management. The Globe reported that it is on track to lose $85 million this year and that the Times Co may close the paper if it cannot wrest cost cuts from the union and the paper immediately. The Newspaper Guild would agree to the talks if the Times Co and the Globe negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement with the union, and if the union gets a bigger decision-making role at the paper.
http://benton.org/node/24290
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PETER BART'S CONTROVERSIAL REIGN IS ENDING AT VARIETY
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: John Horn, Claudia Eller]
Variety's Peter Bart has ended his 20-year reign as the publication looks to remake itself for the digital age. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/24289
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QUICKLY
CALIFORNIA SEEKS TO CURB APPETITE OF POWER-HUNGRY TVs
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
Estimating that televisions and their electronic accessories account for 10 percent of the electricity used in an average household, California's energy wardens want to put new flat-panel models on a diet. The state's Energy Commission has proposed new efficiency standards that would require televisions sold in California to use 50 percent less energy by 2013. The proposed rules, which the commission is expected to act on this summer, would affect televisions manufactured from January 2011 onward. The Consumer Electronics Association is resisting the new standards, arguing that the industry could achieve the energy savings without the rules.
http://benton.org/node/24325
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REPORT PROFILES STATES' ED-TECH SUCCESSES
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: ]
(April 8) From using mobile video conferencing equipment to connect geographically isolated students to world-class educational resources, to leveraging the Internet to aid in project-based learning, examples of technology's power to increase student achievement can be seen in every state in the nation, according to the State Educational Technology Directors Association's (SETDA) annual National Trends Report. Focus on Technology Integration in America's Schools identifies programs that effectively integrate technology to create robust subject-matter content, innovative curricula, ongoing professional development, and diagnostic assessments to facilitate individualized instruction. The report highlights the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant program and focuses on how states are using those funds to increase student achievement.
http://benton.org/node/24294
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AT&T PRESSES TO KEEP IPHONE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma]
AT&T's exclusive deal to carry the iPhone in the US expires next year, but the telecom giant is already in discussions with Apple to get an extension until 2011. Keeping the iPhone away from rivals and finding the next hit devices, such as smart phones and multimedia handheld tablets, are among the challenges AT&T faces as it shifts its energy away from the crumbling US landline phone business and into the wireless market, where technologies evolve quickly and hit products don't last long. AT&T also is seeking to overhaul the company's marketing to make wireless the priority. The next step is to do away with a requirement that customers have AT&T's home-phone service to qualify for discounts on TV or broadband Internet services. Being a wireless customer should be enough.
http://benton.org/node/24323
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US TELECOMS EAGER TO GET CUBA ON THE LINE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
US telecommunication firms could open up investment in Cuba now that the Obama administration will allow companies to operate there, a final global frontier for the Internet age. But before cellphone and Internet providers rush in, they will closely study potential pitfalls in setting up shop in the Communist nation with one of the poorest populations in the region, analysts said. The Cuban government has not been helpful in allowing its citizens access to communications technology, said David Gross, who was U.S. ambassador and coordinator for International Information and Communications Policy during the Bush administration. Now that the United States has opened the door, he said, "the question is whether the Cuban government will allow people to come inside." Cuba has the lowest percentage of telephone, Internet and cellphone subscribers in Latin America, according to Manuel Cereijo, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Miami. About 11 percent of residents subscribe to land-line telephone service, and 2 percent have cellphone service.
http://benton.org/node/24322
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SMARTPHONE CONSUMERS OPT FOR "CHEAP CHIC"
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Tarmo Virki]
Cell phone makers are expected to report buoyant sales of lower-priced, feature-packed smartphones as consumers opt for "cheap chic" amid the global recession. The focus in the phone market this year has shifted increasingly to smartphones, as operators move subsidies to support consumers buying the feature-packed devices, which can generate more data revenue. Sales of smartphones such as the Blackberry are expected to rise some 10-20 percent, compared with a fall of 10 percent or more in the overall market.
http://benton.org/node/24318
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BLAGOJEVICH PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY'
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering and fraud charges Tuesday, denying corruption authorities say included a scheme to sell President Barack Obama's former US Senate seat. Blagojevich, 52, is charged with trying to auction off the Senate seat, planning to squeeze money from companies seeking state business and plotting to use the financial muscle of the governor's office to pressure the Chicago Tribune to fire editorial writers who had called for his impeachment.
http://benton.org/node/24315
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