May 6, 2009 (Open access is way to create competition, investment, jobs)
"There needs to be a level playing field and the simple thing to do to achieve that is to open access. It's the only way to create competition and thereby create investment and jobs."
-- Sir Michael Rake, chairman of British Telecommunications
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY MAY 6, 2009
Today, it is the Senate's turn to discuss the future of journalism (see http://www.benton.org/node/24551). Tomorrow Benton hosts a discussion on the broadband stimulus (see http://www.benton.org/node/24884)
INTERNET/BROADBAND
British Telecom Chairman Says Open Access Key to Broadband Growth
Google Seeks Small Biz Help For Broadband Conditions
RUS Revises Rules on Fiber Optic Cable
Colorado town fights Qwest to bridge a digital divide
CYBER SECURITY
Cyber-Command May Help Protect Civilian Networks
US Cyber Infrastructure Vulnerable to Attacks
Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities Place Federal Systems at Risk
CDT Testifies on Data Security and P2P Disclosure Bills
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Details thin on stimulus contracts
Recovery Act Oversight
Senate Moves To Adopt XML Format
JOURNALISM
Boston Globe union, NY Times Co reach accord
How Media Will Pay for Poor Warning on Financial Collapse
Chicago TV stations pooling news coverage
TELEVISION/RADIO
DTV Cliff Effect Assistance Act Introduced In Senate
FCC Proposing Multiple National Soft DTV Tests May 21
Bill Would Grant Artists, Record Labels Some of Radio's Take
Getting Sirius: Satellite Radio Broadens Reach
OWNERSHIP
Few Match Google; Does That Make It a Monopoly?
Disney looks beyond traditional studio model
TELECOM
EU set to adopt big reform of bloc's telecom rules
IBM Study Shows Telco CEOs Struggling to Adapt
QUICKLY -- Baucus touts HIT as key to healthcare reform; $50 Million to Identify and Expand Effective, Innovative Non-Profits; Recession forces new focus in e-commerce marketing
INTERNET/BROADBAND
BRITISH TELECOM CHAIRMAN SAYS OPEN ACCESS KEY TO BROADBAND GROWTH
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Five years ago, Britain's largest telecommunication's service provider was forced to do what at the time seemed like a losing proposition. Regulators required BT, formerly called British Telecom, to open its networks to competitors to lease, and for use by any device and software application. By doing so, BT and many analysts at the time predicted the company's demise, saying it would lose its monopoly power over the industry and its revenue streams from proprietary hardware contracts. The company would become a network of dumb pipes, some feared. Today, BT generates annual revenues of about 20 billion British pounds, the same as five years ago. What's different is that many more competitors have entered into the wireless, phone, and broadband Internet markets in the U.K. The average speed for broadband access has nearly doubled to 2 megabits a second and the price for service has been reduced by an average of 50 percent from five years ago. And BT ? It was forced to reinvent itself and be more aggressive with new technologies like its current buildout of fiber optic networks across the U.K., said Sir Michael Rake, chairman of BT. He believes the lessons learned by BT could be useful for the U.S., which has more telecommunications service providers but is largely dominated by AT&T, Verizon Communications and cable operator Comcast. The best way to get more people to adopt high-speed Internet is to create competition through a regulatory framework that forces the biggest players to open their networks, Rake said.
http://benton.org/node/25097
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GOOGLE SEEKS SMALL BIZ HELP FROM BROADBAND CONDITIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Google is urging small business owners to sign on to a letter to their congressman calling for open Internet conditions on the broadband money in the economic stimulus package. The company warns that "without safeguards that preserve an open Internet, the Internet could be shaped in ways that only serve the interests of broadband carriers, rather than US consumers and Web entrepreneurs." Google has created what it calls the Small Business Network to encourage small business owners to promote "business-friendly" policies in Washington and on the state level, starting with broadband stimulus and open Internet.
http://benton.org/node/25096
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RUS REVISES RULES ON FIBER OPTIC CABLE
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: ]
The Rural Utilities Service is revising its regulation: on fiber optic cable specifications used by borrowers, their consulting engineers, and cable manufacturers; updates the specifications to meet current industry standards; includes additional requirements in the specifications to meet the construction requirements of fiber-to-the-home construction; clarifies certain existing definitions; separates the regulation into two distinct specifications for cables covering backbone and distribution plant, as well as for service entrance cables covering subscribers' drops; and includes new definitions.
http://benton.org/node/25095
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COLORADO TOWN FIGHTS QWEST TO BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: Denver Post, AUTHOR: Nancy Lofholm]
Silverton is the only county seat in Colorado that is not connected to the rest of the state by fiber optics, causing problems for businesses running credit cards at the height of the tourist season, students trying to take classes and town leaders trying to attract new investment. The cables that bring high-speed digital access to the state's 63 other counties stop 16 miles south of Silverton, where Coal Bank Pass pitches steeply to the heart of the rugged San Juan Mountains. Disgruntled Silverton residents have been protesting that digital snub for more than five years. Now, they're ratcheting up their complaints. A $37 million contract that Colorado has with Qwest to link every county seat with reliable high-speed Internet expires next year, and Qwest is admitting that it has no plans to string cable to the only municipality in one of the smallest, poorest and most remote counties in Colorado. Instead of an information highway, Silverton has a road. Qwest has installed a microwave radio relay system to deliver cellphone and computer access. Qwest spokeswoman Johnna Hoff said that system is fast, has plenty of capacity and can be upgraded to accommodate growth. John Conley, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Information Technology, said it appears from old documents that state officials decided the microwave system fulfilled the requirements that all counties be connected. But Silverton residents learned in 2005 that the microwave system is not as reliable as fiber optics. An avalanche took out a relay tower on Coal Bank Pass, and for about 24 hours, the town had no phone or Internet link.
http://benton.org/node/25094
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CYBER SECURITY
CYBER-COMMAND MAY HELP PROTECT CIVILIAN NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
The Pentagon is considering whether to create a new cyber-command that would oversee government efforts to protect the military's computer networks and would also assist in protecting the civilian government networks, the head of the National Security Agency said. The new command would be headquartered at Fort Meade, the NSA's director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, told the House Armed Services terrorism subcommittee. Alexander, who is a front-runner to assume control of the command if it is created, said its focus would be to better protect the U.S. military's computers by marrying the offensive and defensive capabilities of the military and the NSA. Through the command, the NSA would also provide technical support to the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of protecting civilian networks and helps safeguard the energy grid and other critical infrastructure from cyber-attack, Alexander said. He stressed that the NSA does not want to run or operate the civilian networks, but help Homeland Security improve its efforts.
http://benton.org/node/25104
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US CYBER INFRASTRUCTURE VULNERABLE TO ATTACKS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Yochi Dreazen, Siobhan Gorman ]
The government is struggling to keep pace with the growing number of attacks on its computer networks, potentially leaving key military and civilian systems vulnerable to overseas hackers, senior US officials said Tuesday. At several hearings on Capitol Hill, officials from each branch of the armed forces said the nation's cyber defenses were being challenged like never before by sophisticated, well-organized efforts to disrupt important systems and steal classified information. The Pentagon's top information-security official, Robert Lentz, said the Defense Department detected 360 million attempts to penetrate its networks last year, up from six million in 2006. The Pentagon recently disclosed that it had spent $100 million in the past six months repairing damage from cyber attacks. The officials declined to specify the source of the attacks, but top military and civilian officials believe that most of the hacking attempts originate in Russia and China, which have been pouring resources into cyber espionage in recent years. The hearings come amid growing evidence that sophisticated overseas hackers are regularly penetrating important US networks.
http://benton.org/node/25105
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CYBER THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES PLACE FEDERAL SYSTEMS AT RISK
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Gregory Wilshusen]
In testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement, GAO responds to a request to describe 1) cyber threats to federal information systems and cyber-based critical infrastructures and 2) control deficiencies that make these systems and infrastructures vulnerable to those threats. To do so, GAO relied on its previous reports and reviewed agency and inspectors general reports on information security.
http://benton.org/node/25081
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CDT TESTIFIES ON DATA SECURITY AND P2P DISCLOSURE BILLS
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology, AUTHOR: David Sohn]
CDT's David Sohn testified before a congressional subcommittee on two pending privacy-related bills. Appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Sohn stated CDT's support for the principal elements of the Data Accountability and Trust Act (H.R. 2221), owing to provisions in the bill that would allow consumers the right to review their data broker files. On the Informed P2P User Act (H.R. 1319), Sohn said that CDT supports the principle that file sharing functions should be disclosed clearly to users, but also warned that legislating in this area poses difficulties. The testimony emphasized that dealing effectively with data privacy and security issues will require general baseline privacy legislation.
http://benton.org/node/25083
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
DETAILS THIN ON STIMULUS CONTRACTS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Matt Kelley]
Although President Obama has vowed that citizens will be able to track "every dime" of the $787 billion stimulus bill, a government website dedicated to the spending won't have details on contracts and grants until October and may not be complete until next spring — halfway through the program, administration officials said. Recovery.gov now lists programs being funded by the stimulus money, but provides no details on who received the grants and contracts. Agencies won't report that data until Oct. 10, according to Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which manages the website. Devaney told a House subcommittee Tuesday that it will be a challenge to have the site ready to present spending data in five months. He said after the hearing that the board doesn't have enough data storage capacity, for example.
http://benton.org/node/25103
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RECOVERY ACT OVERSIGHT
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro]
Testifying before the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, the Government Accountability Office reported that it is carrying out its responsibilities to review the uses of Recovery Act funds and will also target certain areas for additional review using a risk-based approach. GAO's first bimonthly report examined the steps 16 states, the District of Columbia, and selected localities are taking to use and oversee Recovery Act funds. These states contain about 65 percent of the U.S. population and are estimated to receive about two-thirds of the intergovernmental grant funds available through the Recovery Act. GAO's report made several recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) toward improving accountability and transparency requirements; clarifying the Recovery Act funds that can be used to support state efforts to ensure accountability and oversight; and improving communications with Recovery Act funds recipients.
http://benton.org/node/25082
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SENATE MOVES TO ADOPT XML FORMAT
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Senate Rules Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-NY) and ranking member Bob Bennett (R-UT) took a large but simple step this week toward modernizing the way the chamber provides information about roll call votes by instructing the Secretary of the Senate to embrace XML format. The change will allow the public to use computers to search, sort, and visualize Senate voting records in new ways and the costs associated with the transition are minor, said Sen Jim DeMint (R-SC), who has championed the effort. By moving forward on XML, Sens Schumer and Bennett are helping to increase Senate transparency and accountability, Sen DeMint said
http://benton.org/node/25089
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JOURNALISM
BOSTON GLOBE UNION, NY TIMES CO REACH ACCORD
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jason Szep, Robert MacMillan]
The Boston Globe's biggest union reached a tentative accord early on Wednesday with owner New York Times Co to secure the money-losing newspaper's survival after a month of intense negotiations. The Boston Newspaper Guild, the lone hold-out of seven unions on a cost-cutting deal, agreed to a substantial pay cut, unpaid furloughs and changes in lifetime job guarantee provisions. The Guild, representing some 600 workers including the newsroom staff, has sought to preserve lifetime job guarantees, saying their elimination would pave the way for layoffs of some of the paper's highest-paid veteran staff.
http://benton.org/node/25106
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HOW MEDIA WILL PAY FOR POOR WARNING ON FINANCIAL COLLAPSE
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell ]
The media miss stories all the time, always have, always will, and there's nothing to be ashamed about in that -- you can only do so much, especially in a time of slashed newsroom staffs. But to miss the financial collapse, a story of this enormity, with consequences that will echo (like Iraq) for decades, only adds weight to the warnings of doom for the "old" media.
http://benton.org/node/25088
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CHICAGO TV STATIONS POOLING NEWS COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Phil Rosenthal]
In Chicago, NBC-owned WMAQ-Ch. 5, Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32, CBS-owned WBBM-Ch. 2 and WGN-Ch. 9, which is owned by Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co., announced Monday that they have joined forces to establish an independently run local news service that will share newsgathering resources to provide pool coverage of non-exclusive events. It will be up to each rival station how or if the shared video is incorporated into its respective newscasts and Web site. ABC's WLS-Ch. 7, the market's No. 1 station, was the lone holdout among commercial broadcast news outlets. Participants say it is a more cost-effective use of manpower and equipment, although some rank-and-file at the stations fear it may make it easier to reduce staffing. "It has never quite made sense to me that you have a podium with a cluster of mike flags on it," Channel 2 boss Bruno Cohen said. "I've always been thinking, as a former news director, what are we doing? What is the point of this?" Tony Capriolo, a WMAQ sports producer, has been selected as managing editor of the service, which will be based at WBBM's headquarters across from Daley Plaza but separate from Channel 2's news operation. Said Pat Mullen, Channel 32 boss, "It's a more efficient method of gathering news video at a time when we have to look for every efficiency we possibly can."
http://benton.org/node/25085
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TELEVISION/RADIO
DTV CLIFF EFFECT ASSISTANCE ACT INTRODUCED IN SENATE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sens Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced the DTV Cliff Effect Assistance Act, a bill that would allocate $125 million to help pay for digital repeaters or translator towers to fill in areas where a weak signal means no signal at all (the cliff effect). The money would be available through 2012 from a newly created Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund. The bill would also require that those translators serve double duty to help out with the rollout of broadband service, saying that the equipment "shall reasonably facilitate the collocation of any wireless communications or broadband equipment," with the stipulation that the requirement would not apply if there is "clear evidence" that co-location would create interference issues.
http://benton.org/node/25093
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FCC PROPOSING MULTIPLE NATIONAL SOFT TESTS MAY 21
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing that the 1,000-plus TV stations that have not pulled the plug on analog conduct a series of three national soft DTV transition tests May 21, targeted at local news time periods. The FCC is looking for broadcasters to simulate pulling the plug on analog during multiple time slots during the day, 7:30 am, 12:30 pm and 6:30 pm (which would be in local news time periods on stations with local news). The tests would be five minutes apiece so viewers would be able to check out the status of their TV signal in advance of the June 12 date, when those stations will be pulling the plug for real. The test would be preceded and followed by a "consistent" national DTV education message that the FCC says it would work with industry to develop. It would also coordinate the test with cable operators and other MVPDs to insure that their customers were not confused about whether or not they needed to take action. The test would include voice-overs for the blind and coordinate the test with its existing DTV call center so it would be ready for an influx of calls. The FCC is said to be looking for feedback from the industry within the next couple of days. Broadcasters are currently considering the proposal.
http://benton.org/node/25092
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BILL WOULD GRANT ARTISTS, RECORD LABELS SOME OF RADIO'S TAKE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride]
Congress is considering a bill that could upend the way money gets distributed in the music business by giving artists and record labels a share of broadcasters' take. The legislation would force radio companies to pay royalties of as much as $500 million a year to record labels and artists whose music they play. Radio already pays about that same amount in royalties to songwriters and music publishers. The House Judiciary Committee could vote on the bill as early as next week; the Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to advance its version of the bill in the next few weeks. At that point, the full chambers could vote on the bill, or more likely, congressional leaders could ask that the broadcasters and the music industry negotiate a resolution themselves, to be ratified by Congress. If the deal goes through, it could change the economics in the struggling music industry. Though many radio companies still record sizable profits on an operating basis, they have come under growing pressure recently as the advertising market dwindles. With many of them struggling to maintain various financial targets to avoid breaching debt covenants, any additional expenses could send them one step closer to financial restructuring. Record labels, meanwhile, have been fighting for survival as sales of recorded music have plummeted in recent years. Extra royalty income, while doing nothing to solve the underlying challenge of declining sales, could represent a modest increase in revenue on top of the $8.5 billion in shipments to physical and digital retailers reported last year by the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA. It would also restore some momentum to an industry that is suffering severely from image problems.
http://benton.org/node/25102
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GETTING SIRIUS: SATELLITE RADIO BROADENS REACH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride]
In releasing the new Sirius iPhone application, which will allow customers to stream satellite radio over their iPhones, Sirius XM appears to be tacitly conceding that the satellite-delivery system that once was cutting edge now has competition far beyond what its founders imagined. Sirius must prove it can hold its own in a world where cars have iPod jacks and phones can go online, allowing people to stream free music stations. And cars, where many people do most of their radio listening, are expected increasingly to have built-in Internet access. That's good news for consumers, who will have another way to listen to Sirius, which for a $12.95-a-month subscription offers 130 channels of music and talk programming, including stations created by artists.
http://benton.org/node/25100
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OWNERSHIP
FEW MATCH GOOGLE; DOES THAT MAKE IT A MONOPOLY?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: James Stewart]
[Commentary] Why would the US government be so eager to punish Google, the country's most successful and innovative start-up in recent memory? Google is indisputably a victim of its own success. Its market share of Internet search has continued to rise steadily, encompassing roughly two-thirds of total searches. At 76%, its share of search advertising is even higher, thanks to Google's technological prowess at matching ads to people's search queries. Given the accompanying high profit margins on this lucrative business, Google displays the telltale characteristics of a monopolist: high, even dominant market share, with high profits and pricing power that are evidence of high barriers to entry for competitors. Of course, this is exactly what makes Google so attractive to investors.
http://benton.org/node/25101
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DISNEY LOOKS BEYOND TRADITIONAL STUDIO MODEL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sue Zeidler]
Walt Disney Co is developing an Internet subscription service and may consider trimming studio output, executives said on Tuesday after the division posted a 97 percent decline in operating income. Disney said on Tuesday it will continue to reposition itself for a changing marketplace as industrywide DVD sales slump and as more and more consumers look online for content, even though a clear business model for online distribution has not yet emerged. "We realize that monetizing at a rate that is as robust as the traditional platforms doesn't exist yet, but we believe... that eventually it will," Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger said. Disney last week announced it would buy a 30 percent stake in Hulu.com, bringing popular TV shows such as "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" to the video Web site founded by General Electric's NBC Universal and News Corp. Disney became the third major U.S. broadcast network to take a stake in Hulu.
http://benton.org/node/25099
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TELECOM
EU SET TO ADOPT BIG REFORM OF BLOC'S TELECOM RULES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Huw Jones]
The European Parliament is set to adopt a major reform of EU telecoms rules on Wednesday to increase consumer protection, competition and investment in new networks. EU Telecoms Commissioner, Viviane Reding, who drafted the reform, said it would have a big impact on two ways. "The first one is by getting rid of the last barriers of fragmentation in the EU telecoms market and reinforcing competition in the telecoms industry," Reding said. "It also gives new rights to users and reinforces their rights in the Internet world," Reding said. The reform updates existing EU telecoms rules that were drawn up before the big surge in broadband, Wifi and mobile phone usage as the bloc's 495 million citizens increasingly operate in a digital world. Consumers will get stronger, clearer rights when it comes to contracts they sign with telecom operators. Privacy will also be protected such as by forcing Websites to notify an user before it places a "cookie" on a person's computer, a step industry groups challenged.
http://benton.org/node/25091
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IBM STUDY SHOWS TELECO CEOS STRUGGLING TO ADAPT
[SOURCE: GigaOM, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Eric Riddleberger, IBM's global business strategy leader, who heads up the company's corporate social responsibility consulting efforts, said rather than competition or regulatory changes, the biggest issue haunting the executives at major carriers is how to keep their businesses from becoming a dumb pipe. "That's the thing that keeps them up at night on the innovation front," Riddleberger said. "They aren't worrying about competing with the cable guys. They worry about someone like a Google or Apple coming in and totally disintermediating them from the consumer." Seventy-seven percent of telecom executives plan to change their business models extensively over the next three years, while the remaining 23 percent plan to make more modest alterations. However, instead of tackling the issue of being a dumb pipe through wholesale innovation, 40 percent of the survey respondents are looking to alter their revenue model through changes in pricing plans, such as metering, or new services such as figuring out an acceptable way to leverage their customer knowledge for advertisers. Another 30 percent are looking at ways to change their operational model such as by outsourcing their network.
http://benton.org/node/25084
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QUICKLY
BAUCUS TOUTS HIT AS KEY TO HEALTHCARE REFORM
[SOURCE: HealthITNews, AUTHOR: Diana Manos]
Sen Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and responsible for leading healthcare reform efforts, said Monday that health IT will be key in containing costs to pay for reform. Sen Baucus said Congress wants to reduce costs internally through delivery system reform, and he highlighted health IT and comparative effectiveness as prime examples. He emphasized savings would come over the long haul, up to 12 years, after initial investments in health IT.
http://benton.org/node/25086
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$50 MILLION TO IDENTIFY AND EXPAND EFFECTIVE, INNOVATIVE NON-PROFITS
[SOURCE: The White House]
President Barack Obama, in his FY2010 budget, will ask Congress to provide $50 million in seed capital for the Social Innovation Fund to identify the most promising, results-oriented non-profit programs and expand their reach throughout the country. Many solutions to our nation's most challenging social problems are being generated outside of Washington; the Social Innovation Fund will identify what is working in communities across the country, provide growth capital for these programs, and improve the use of data and evaluation to raise the bar on what programs the government funds. The Social Innovation Fund was authorized in the recent Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Fund will focus on priority policy areas, including education, health care, and economic opportunity. It will partner with foundations, philanthropists, and corporations which will commit matching resources, funding, and technical assistance. The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation will coordinate efforts to enlist all Americans -individuals, non-profits, social entrepreneurs, corporations and foundations - as partners in solving our great challenges.
http://benton.org/node/25090
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RECESSION FORCES NEW FOCUS IN E-COMMERCE MARKETING
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Anne D'Innocenzio]
Online retailers are shifting their marketing from traditional advertising to less expensive tools like Facebook.com and Twitter and e-mail as they seek market share or just work to retain customers, according to Forrester Research. The survey found that merchants believe online business is better suited to withstand an economic downturn than physical stores or catalogs, though they acknowledge challenges for both. The companies reported scaling back hiring and their increasingly expensive search marketing programs, which include paying for top billing in the results consumers see for their Web searches. Online merchants whose business is beating expectations will likely fuel much of the e-commerce investments in the coming months, the survey found.
http://benton.org/node/25087
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