Sept 10, 2009 (President Obama Memorializes Cronkite, Challenges Journalists)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 (Happy 10th Birthday, Cassidy)
JOURNALISM
US must pass shield law to guard free press
President Obama Memorializes Cronkite, Challenges Journalists
Glenn Beck vs. Van Jones: McCarthyism Enters the 21st Century
The Story Behind the Story
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
Inspector General to Review NTIA Handling of BTOP
NTIA Shortens Broadband Mapping Grants from 5 to 2 Years
Sept 29 FCC Meeting to Focus on National Broadband Plan
Broadband Stimulus Applications Now Searchable Online
Broadband Stimulus Requirements Debate
Most Americans Believe Uninterrupted Broadband Access Should Be Available Like Other Utilities
Consumer Groups Discuss Broadband at FCC Workshop
Innovation and the Internet
EchoStar Pushes Coverage Over Speed in Broadband Definition Comments
MORE NEWS FROM THE FCC
Is the FCC drawing a new regulatory map?
How You -- Yes, You! -- Can Read Comments Filed at the FCC
FCC Chairman Genachowski Announces Enforcement Bureau Chief
FCC: Radio, TV On School Buses Should Be Decided At Local Level
TELEVISION/RADIO
Did Family Guy cause 179,997 FCC indecency complaints?
Comcast Will Look at Cable Purchases at 'Good Price'
NAB Urges FCC To Reject Radio Complaint
Viacom-CBS 10 Years Later
Despite Fears, Pledge-Drive Dollars Rise at Public Stations
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Turkish Media Group Is Fined $2.5 Billion
Privacy Groups Score Obama Team
Chopra: Cyber Czar To Be Named Soon
Administration issues solicitation to archive social media content
Feds to Let Citizens Log In With Yahoo, Google, Paypal Accounts
Military spends $10M to build Web sites aimed at squelching anti-US messages
Chopra: Open government directive imminent
Government takes on new data services role
HEALTH & MEDIA
HHS Seeks Public Comment on HIT Standards Committee Recommendations
Tech Companies Push to Digitize Patients' Records
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Supreme Court questions company campaign spending limits
MORE ONLINE
Silicon Valley is shrinking
Pigeon transfers data faster than South Africa's Telkom
YouTube's Bandwidth Bill Estimated At $300M For 2009
Telecom in the telemedicine value chain
How can media firms keep pace?
JOURNALISM
US MUST PASS SHIELD LAW TO GUARD FREE PRESS
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] President Obama has another pledge to fulfill: signing into law a federal shield law for journalists. It's a promise made easier with the Bush administration gone, but it remains an important barometer on press freedom. This year, the bill has cleared the House and awaits a first-stop vote in the Senate the Judiciary Committee, possibly today. The Senate should pass this essential element of maintaining a free press in this nation.
http://benton.org/node/27767
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PRESIDENT OBAMA MEMORIALIZES CRONKITE, CHALLENGES JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: The White House]
In memorializing former CBS newscaster Walter Cronkite, President Barack Obama said, "[We] celebrate the journalism that Walter practiced -- a standard of honesty and integrity and responsibility to which so many of you have committed your careers. It's a standard that's a little bit harder to find today. We know that this is a difficult time for journalism. Even as appetites for news and information grow, newsrooms are closing. Despite the big stories of our era, serious journalists find themselves all too often without a beat. Just as the news cycle has shrunk, so has the bottom line. And too often, we fill that void with instant commentary and celebrity gossip and the softer stories that Walter disdained, rather than the hard news and investigative journalism he championed. 'What happened today?' is replaced with 'Who won today?' The public debate cheapens. The public trust falters. We fail to understand our world or one another as well as we should - and that has real consequences in our own lives and in the life of our nation. We seem stuck with a choice between what cuts to our bottom line and what harms us as a society. Which price is higher to pay? Which cost is harder to bear? "This democracy," Walter said, "cannot function without a reasonably well-informed electorate." That's why the honest, objective, meticulous reporting that so many of you pursue with the same zeal that Walter did is so vital to our democracy and our society: Our future depends on it. Walter was no naive idealist. He understood the challenges and the pressures and the temptations facing journalism in this new era. He believed that a media company has an obligation to pursue a profit, but also an obligation to invest a good chunk of that profit back into news and public affairs. He was excited about all the stories that a high-tech world of journalism would be able to tell, and all the newly-emerging means with which to tell it. Naturally, we find ourselves wondering how he would have covered the monumental stories of our time. In an era where the news that city hall is on fire can sweep around the world at the speed of the Internet, would he still have called to double-check? Would he have been able to cut through the murky noise of the blogs and the tweets and the sound bites to shine the bright light on substance? Would he still offer the perspective that we value? Would he have been able to remain a singular figure in an age of dwindling attention spans and omnipresent media? And somehow, we know that the answer is yes. The simple values Walter Cronkite set out in pursuit of -- to seek the truth, to keep us honest, to explore our world the best he could -- they are as vital today as they ever were. Our American story continues. It needs to be told. And if we choose to live up to Walter's example, if we realize that the kind of journalism he embodied will not simply rekindle itself as part of a natural cycle, but will come alive only if we stand up and demand it and resolve to value it once again, then I'm convinced that the choice between profit and progress is a false one -- and that the golden days of journalism still lie ahead. Walter Cronkite invited a nation to believe in him -- and he never betrayed that trust. That's why so many of you entered the profession in the first place. That's why the standards he set for journalists still stand. And that's why he loved and valued all of you, but we loved and valued Walter not only as the rarest of men, but as an indispensable pillar of our society.
http://benton.org/node/27766
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GLENN BECK VS VAN JONES: MCCARTHYISM ENTERS 21ST CENTURY
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Joseph Palermo]
[Commentary] When Fox News' Glenn Beck called President Barack Obama a "racist" and claimed that he had "a deep-seated hatred for white people" an African-American netroots group, ColorOfChange.org, organized a successful boycott of Beck's corporate sponsors. It wasn't long until fifty seven of Beck's sponsors jumped ship lest they be associated with Beck's own "deep-seated" white supremacy. Burned, Beck and his right-wing Republican producers sought revenge by using his slice of the echo chamber to go after Van Jones, one of President Obama's most important advisers on green jobs, who could be linked to ColorOfChange. Beck and his buddies viewed Jones as the low hanging fruit of the Obama White House and launched a focused smear campaign against him. During one of his many conspiracy-laden tirades Beck asked: "Will progressive pigs fly right out of Van Jones' butt and pedal bicycles to" replace coal power? It didn't take much time under the glare of Beck's assault for Jones to make the politic move and resign his official post. The Beck vs. Jones saga illustrates that even with the Republicans out of power their control over a propaganda ministry called Fox News, combined with their domination of the AM radio dial, still allows them to frame the debates within our wider political discourse.
http://benton.org/node/27765
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THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Mark Bowen]
With journalists being laid off in droves, ideologues have stepped forward to provide the "reporting" that feeds the 24-hour news cycle. The collapse of journalism means that the quest for information has been superseded by the quest for ammunition.
http://benton.org/node/27764
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
INSPECTOR GENERAL TO REVIEW NTIA HANDLING OF BTOP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Commerce Department's Inspector General (IG) is conducting a review of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's handling of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) portion of the economic stimulus. In a memo last week to NTIA chief Larry Strickling, Judith Gordon, assistant inspector general for audit and evaluation, said an initial conference on the inquiry had been scheduled for Sept. 2. She said the goal of the review was to gauge how effectively NTIA is overseeing and managing the program, including contractors and office staffing. It will also evaluate how NTIA has set up the award process for winning bidders for the $7.2 billion in grant and loan money it is giving out in concert with the Department of Agriculture and with a consulting assist from the Federal Communications Commission. Finally, the IG will evaluate the reliability of the online application process. NTIA had to extend the deadline for bids after some users had trouble uploading documents electronically. It advised trying Firefox as a workaround.
http://benton.org/node/27763
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NTIA SHORTEN BROADBAND MAPPING GRANTS FROM 5 TO 2 YEARS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
On July 8, 2009, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration NTIA published a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) in the Federal Register to announce the availability of funds for the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. NTIA's highest priority with respect to this Program is to facilitate the development and maintenance of a national broadband map. The Agency seeks to develop the map in such a way that encourages continually improved data collection efforts while maintaining fiscal responsibility, resulting in a map that meets the requirements of Congress and the needs of all stakeholders, including policymakers and consumers. To that end, NTIA has determined that it will at this time fund mapping and data collection efforts for two years and will assess lessons learned, determine best practices, and investigate opportunities for improved data collection prior to obligating funding for subsequent years. NTIA now clarifies that the initial period of performance for funds allocated to Broadband Mapping purposes will be two years from the date of award and any subsequent funding will be subject to and contingent upon the agency's review of program priorities and the availability of funds.
http://benton.org/node/27762
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SEPT 29 FCC MEETING TO FOCUS ON NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has indicated the agenda for the FCC's September 29 meeting will consist of a report on the status of the National Broadband Plan. The presentation will include a review of the testimony from participants at the August and September staff workshops, comments received from the public, and staff research and analysis.
http://benton.org/node/27761
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BROADBAND STIMULUS APPLICATIONS NOW SEARCHABLE ONLINE
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
Applications for Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Broadband Infrastructure Program grants are now available online. The applications can be searched by state, program, project type keywords or organization.
http://benton.org/node/27760
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BROADBAND STIMULUS REQUIREMENTS DEBATE
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Andy Opsahl]
A debate has erupted over whether or not broadband stimulus requirements should change to satisfy large telecommunications companies that snubbed the first round of funding in August. Many saw their absence as a sign that the broadband stimulus strategy had failed, but roughly $28 billion in applications were submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Services (RUS), the two agencies distributing $7.2 billion set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for broadband projects. With volume like that already in place, is it even necessary for large telecommunications companies to participate in the broadband stimulus? Some answer no.
http://benton.org/node/27759
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MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE UNINTERRUPTED BROADBAND ACCESS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE LIKE OTHER UTILITIES
[SOURCE: SUPERCOMM, AUTHOR: Press release]
According to a recent survey commissioned by SUPERCOMM, the telecommunications industry's trade show hosted by TIA and US Telecom, nearly 70 percent of all respondents believe uninterrupted broadband access should be as readily available as other utilities like electricity and water. This sentiment spreads almost evenly across all ages, race, income brackets and geographic lines. Additionally, the SUPERCOMM study, which involved over 1,000 respondents, found that more than half of respondents believe faster broadband access positively impacts productivity at the workplace
http://benton.org/node/27758
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CONSUMER GROUPS DISCUSS BROADBAND AT FCC WORKSHOP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan workshop Wednesday focused on transparency, consumer control, and better broadband data. Taking dead aim at broadband data-collection efforts to date was Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation. He said that nobody really knows the impact of broadband on the consumer because networks have refused to provide sufficiently granular data and the FCC has "facilitated that uncertainty" by refusing to mandate the kind of data collection that leads to informed policy, saying instead that broadband policymaking "continues to exist in a self-imposed veil of ignorance." Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, focused on three areas: cyber crime, behavioral tracking, and deep packet inspection. He acknowledged that surfers had to take some responsibility for protecting themselves from cyber crimes, but that government and industry, which collects and shares sensitive information, also bears some responsibility. Ari Shcwartz, of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said companies have failed to respond to consumers' basic concerns and that they were still working from a 1980's direct marketing playbook that the data belonged to the companies doing the marketing rather than the users from whom it was collected. Debra Berlyn, who heads up the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee, said the committee had shifted its focus from the DTV transition to broadband, particularly helping older populations adapt to and adopt broadband.
http://benton.org/node/27757
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INNOVATION AND THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Jon Peha]
Once something becomes a part of our everyday lives, we tend to assume that it will always be roughly as we see it now. In the case of the Internet, while we hope that even greater data rates will become available, and that these rates will become available to even more homes and businesses, we may assume that little else will change. Last week's panel discussion on "the Internet of the Future" was a powerful reminder that the Internet, and broadband technology more generally, will continue to evolve. Moreover, innovation is critical to an infrastructure that meets our long-term needs, and this has implications for broadband policy. Moore's law suggests that electronic devices will continue to improve exponentially, and if the Internet does not improve at a comparable pace, it may become what Dave Clark called a "sea anchor." Moreover, progress does not simply mean we will see the same actors doing the same things but more quickly. Although the Internet has been around for four decades, elements of the current infrastructure, applications, and industry structure have emerged fairly recently, quickly, and sometimes unexpectedly a phenomenon that could continue in the future.
http://benton.org/node/27756
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ECHOSTAR PUSHES COVERAGE OVER SPEED IN BROADBAND DEFINITION COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Satellite television operator EchoStar is telling the Federal Communications Commission that the Commission should not define broadband by speeds high enough to exclude satellite broadband, which can be deployed more rapidly to rural and other hard-to reach places. The company also said it has applied for stimulus money to launch a satellite broadband service that could make that a reality. EchoStar said the definition should be "at least" 768 kbps downstream and 200 kbps upstream, far lower than some commenters have suggested, but enough for satellite operators to handle. That is the same threshold adopted by NTIA and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utility Service for its broadband stimulus/grant money, the company points out.
http://benton.org/node/27755
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MORE NEWS FROM THE FCC
IS THE FCC DRAWING A NEW REGULATORY MAP?
[SOURCE: RCR Wireless News, AUTHOR: Matt Kapko]
While FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is digging into wireless matters such as competition, innovation and third-party application control perhaps more swiftly (and publicly) than his predecessor, the Federal Communications Commission is only asking questions at this point. Questions are cheap. Policymaking is an entirely different matter that must measure political fallout against results. And more important: the nation is still digging out of the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression. Even while the FCC's recent inquiries have surely rattled some nerves, it would be a tough stretch to suggest Genachowski has a pre-determined goal of radical regulation.
http://benton.org/node/27749
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HOW YOU -- YES, YOU! -- CAN READ COMMENTS FILED AT THE FCC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Bill Cline]
There have been over 10,000 comments filed about the National Broadband Plan. And there will be a lot more in response to the Public Notices issued by the Commission to drill deeper into specific issues. So here's instructions on how to access and read those comments using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System, known as ECFS.
http://benton.org/node/27748
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FCC CHAIRMAN GENACHOWSKI ANNOUNCES ENFORCEMENT BUREAU CHIEF
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the appointment of P. Michele Ellison as Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Ms. Ellison will take the helm of the Enforcement Bureau starting on September 28, 2009. Ellison is currently Deputy General Counsel, a position she has held for the last twelve years, and most recently served as Acting General Counsel of the FCC through July 2009. In addition to her other duties, she also was named Transition Counsel to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Ellison has co-chaired the Commission's Localism Task Force, lead a Task Force on expanding communications opportunities to small businesses and developing countries, and served as senior advisor to former Chairman Kennard on a variety of agency-wide substantive and operational matters.
http://benton.org/node/27747
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FCC: RADIO, TV ON SCHOOL BUSES SHOULD BE DECIDED AT LOCAL LEVEL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has concluded that the decision on whether radio and TV programs on school buses are in the public interest are best decided at the local level "where individual school districts in close partnership with parents and other stakeholders can weigh the particular benefits and potential harms of the service in their communities." BusRadio is the only service currently serving school buses with such a system. The FCC pointed out that since BusRadio holds no FCC licenses, it is not subject to the regulatory oversight the Commission has over broadcast services. But it did refer to its children's television programming rules to suggest that BusRadio, and by extension any other service that wanted to operate in that space, could follow the same guidelines. Those include prohibitions on over-commercialization and host-selling. The Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood, which pressed Congress for the report, called it "essential reading for any school district considering a contract with BusRadio." It pointed to the FCC comments about the commercial load and sufficient buffer between ads and content.
http://benton.org/node/27746
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TELEVISION/RADIO
DID FAMILY GUY CAUSE 179,997 FCC INDECENCY COMPLAINTS?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Every three months the Federal Communications Commission comes up with its Quarterly Report on indecency complaints, and we sit around scratching our heads. How come the latest stats, in this instance for the first quarter of this year, show the viewers relatively calm at 578 complaints in January, then 505 in February, followed by 179,997 in March? 179,997? Um, did we miss something? Did television really get that much more indecent in March? No worries. In these situations, we know what to do. We go over and check out the Parents Television Council's website. And sure enough, there's a plausible instigator—a PTC viewer action alert crusade against a March 8 episode of the animated comedy show the PTC just loves to hate, Fox TV's Family Guy. PTC's parental advisory system rates Family Guy "red for sex," it should be noted. "Should a Sunday night cartoon show YOUR children bestiality, gay orgies and babies eating sperm?" the PTC alert declared. "Fox thinks so." Well, that definitely got our attention. So we ran over to another institution that the PTC keeps sharp eyes on, youtube, and got some clips of the episode. Frankly, it's not one of the better Family Guy episodes, but...
http://benton.org/node/27751
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COMCAST WILL LOOK AT CABLE PURCHASES AT 'GOOD PRICE'
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Kelly Riddell]
Comcast Corp., the biggest U.S. cable-television provider, will consider buying other cable operators at a "good price," Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke said. "If there is a way to acquire cable systems for what we consider a good price, ones that are well managed, we would certainly look at whatever is out three," Burke, 51, said today at a Bank of America Corp. conference in Marina del Rey, California. Still, the company "isn't waking up every morning" evaluating how it can become bigger, he said. Comcast won a legal victory last month, allowing it to own more than 30 percent of the national cable market. Without the ownership limit, "Comcast has greater freedom to buy cable assets if it so desires," David Kaut, a Washington- based analyst for Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said today in an e-mail. The company's first priority may be acquiring content companies, Burke said. Comcast owns the Golf Channel, E! Entertainment and Style Network among others.
http://benton.org/node/27743
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NAB URGES FCC TO REJECT RADIO COMPLAINT
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
The National Association of Broadcasters on Tuesday filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission dismissing a complaint filed by music industry stakeholders as nothing more than a "carefully crafted public relations document" that runs counter to the First Amendment, the Communications Act, and precedent set by both the Supreme Court and the FCC. As such, the MusicFirst Coalition's argument that AM and FM stations are threatening and intimidating artists while rejecting the group's ad dollars, should be rejected, NAB said.
http://benton.org/node/27741
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VIACOM-CBS 10 YEARS LATER
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
it was 10 years ago that Sumner Redstone and Mel Karmazin unveiled the $36-billion marriage of their respective companies, Viacom and CBS. "Our union will be king," Viacom's Redstone said in the announcement of the deal. Karmazin added that the new Viacom "will be the first 21st century media company ... the future is virtually unlimited for this new and exciting company." Wall Street ate it up. "It's just perfect," Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif-Cohen gushed to Time. It sure sounded good on paper. Viacom had the cable networks -- MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and a movie studio in Paramount Pictures. CBS had the iconic broadcast network, 200 radio stations, a huge outdoor advertising company, lots of TV stations and even Oprah Winfrey. We all know what happened next. After the Sept. 11 attacks and the first Internet bubble burst, advertising went into the toilet and media stocks tumbled.
http://benton.org/node/27740
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DESPITE FEARS, PLEDGE-DRIVE DOLLARS RISE AT PUBLIC STATIONS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
With the country beset by recession, layoffs and mortgage woes, officials at Washington public radio station WAMU-FM have been understandably nervous about their on-air fundraisers over the past year. As each pledge drive approached, the same question loomed: Would listeners continue to heed the station's plea for dollars? The answer, it turns out, has been surprising. Each of the station's past three quarterly drives has set records, including the most recent one in May. Four months into its new fiscal year, donations are 50 percent higher than at the same time last year, and membership -- public broadcasting-speak for people who contribute -- is up 53 percent. "We're getting astounding numbers," says Walt Gillette, WAMU's head of fundraising. WAMU's numbers are at the sunny end of the spectrum, but things are looking up elsewhere in the Land of Pledge Drives. As money from government and corporate sources has shriveled, struggling public stations have found that the public is willing to step up. Stations across the country say contributions from viewers and listeners have held steady, and in some cases have been rising in defiance of the worst recession in decades.
http://benton.org/node/27739
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
TURKISH MEDIA GROUP IS FINED $2.5 BILLION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sebnem Arsu, Sabrina Tavernise]
Turkey's Tax Ministry this week imposed a $2.5 billion fine on a media group, Dogan Yayin, a conglomerate of newspapers and television stations that has been the most critical of the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's strong-willed prime minister. The fine was issued Monday, just months after a first tax penalty of more than $500 million was leveled against the group, whose holdings include CNN-Turk, a Turkish-language version of CNN that is jointly owned with the Time Warner broadcasting company. The group's parent organization, Dogan Holding, is owned in part by a Turkish businessman, Aydin Dogan, who has been an outspoken critic of Mr. Erdogan. Many of his papers portray Mr. Erdogan as pushing secular Turkey in a direction that is too Islamic. The fines are nearly as much as the value of the holding company, raising fears that Mr. Erdogan is trying to put the entire conglomerate out of business.
http://benton.org/node/27768
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PRIVACY GROUPS SCORE OBAMA TEAM
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Privacy watchdogs on Wednesday gave the Obama administration an "incomplete" for consumer privacy; an "A" for medical privacy; a "C+" for civil liberties; and a "B" for cybersecurity. The scores from the Electronic Privacy Information Center and a coalition of consumer, educational, library, labor and technology stakeholders were unveiled at a National Press Club event that organizers hoped would act as an "early warning system" for the administration.
http://benton.org/node/27738
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CHOPRA: CYBER CZAR TO BE NAMED SOON
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra told reporters at a high-tech summit Wednesday that the Obama administration will announce its long anticipated cybersecurity coordinator "in the not-too-distant future." "I've had the pleasure of interviewing a number of candidates that I think are top notch," he said. "I don't think we're in a position to say that we have a candidate picked yet but I'm hopeful." President Obama in late May pledged to handpick his cyber czar -- a position recommended by recent legislation and an administration report.
http://benton.org/node/27737
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ADMINISTRATION ISSUES SOLICITATION TO ARCHIVE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
The Obama administration issued a solicitation in August for a contractor to archive the increasing amount of information published online that qualifies as presidential records. The White House wants an automated process to capture, extract and store information posted by employees in the Executive Office of the President on publicly accessible Web sites, including social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to the solicitation posted on FedBizOps and dated Aug. 21. The contractor will be responsible for archiving comments on pages the White House creates and messages sent to the office on those sites. The notice specified the contract applies to offices subject to the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which requires the White House to preserve the president's records and communications. It notes that the White House already is capturing and restoring communications on several social networking sites, including MySpace and Vimeo. The system must be easy to organize and search captured information, and the contractor would be responsible for ensuring the records are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration in an acceptable format.
http://benton.org/node/27736
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FEDS TO LET CITIZENS LOG IN WITH YAHOO, GOOGLE, PAYPAL ACCOUNTS
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Michael Calore]
US citizens will soon be able to log in to government websites using their Google account, or the URL of their Yahoo profile. It's a significant embrace of the open and emerging tech standards the Obama Administration promised. The US government pilot program will allow people to interact with various government websites using an OpenID or an Information Card, he nation's information technology officer will announce Wednesday. These are two of the most popular emerging technologies that let web users manage their identities across multiple websites. Under the new program, which will go into effect in the coming weeks, people will be able to sign in, request information, participate in forums and build user profiles on the government's websites without having to set up a new user account. Anyone will be able to interact with the government sites using credentials provided to them by Yahoo, Google, AOL, VeriSign or PayPal, among others.
http://benton.org/node/27735
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MILITARY SPENDS $10M ON SQUELCHING ANTI-US MESSAGES
[SOURCE: NetworkWorld, AUTHOR: Michael Cooney]
Can a series of customized Web sites written in specific, strategic foreign languages actually influence how the world perceives our government's policies? And by-the-way help fight the war on terror? Sounds like a stretch but that is indeed the goal of the project known as the Trans Regional Web Initiative. General Dynamics Information Technology said it was awarded a $10.1 million contract to start the project the officials hope would quell any anti-US communications out on the Web. Specifically the project requires "the capability to posture for rapid, on-order global dissemination of Web-based influence products and tools in support of strategic and long-term US Government goals and objectives." The project will build a minimum of two and no more than twelve websites focused on Modern Standard Arabic, French, English (British dialect and spelling), Portuguese, Spanish, Armenian, Azeri, Chinese, Farsi, Georgian, Hindi, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog (no relation), Thai, Urdu, Bahasa (Indonesian and Malay), according to the group supporting the contract, the US Special Operations Command, which is devoted to fighting "unconventional warfare."
http://benton.org/node/27734
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CHOPRA: OBAMA GOVERNMENT DIRECTIVE IMMINENT
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
The Obama administration is weeks away from unveiling a comprehensive open government directive to push agencies toward greater accountability and transparency, Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra said Wednesday. The directive will lay out a structured schedule for the release of data in a machine-readable format and institute reporting requirements for agencies to describe how they will involve the public in open government initiatives, Chopra said. President Obama instructed administration officials shortly after taking office in January to operate under principles of openness. More interactive Web-based platforms are in the works, according to Chopra. The Obama administration launched an Internet-based dashboard in June that provides details about every major federal IT project at a single location, including each initiative's goals, schedule, cost outlays, key personnel, and contractors used. The OMB also runs Data.gov, a service that provides the public raw feeds of government information.
http://benton.org/node/27733
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GOVERNMENT TAKES ON NEW DATA SERVICES ROLE
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Aliya Sternstein]
New media has given rise to a new government service -- making data accessible, a top Microsoft Corp. official said during a federal technology conference on Wednesday. "The fundamental role of government is to provide services and they have to be provided in a universal way," said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft, during the Gov 2.0 Summit in Washington. The event was hosted by O'Reilly Media and TechWeb. Nextgov was a media sponsor. "There is essentially a new government service and that is the data service . . .government is faced with the problem of how do I make that [data] more uniformly available," said Mundie, who spoke before a ballroom filled with senior government officials, company executives and nonprofit leaders.
http://benton.org/node/27732
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HEALTH & MEDIA
HHS SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON HIT STANDARDS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
[SOURCE: Department of Health and Human Services , AUTHOR: ]
The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comment on the recommendations of the Health Information Technology Standards Committee. The recommendations focus on: 1) Clinical Quality, 2) Clinical Operations, and 3) Privacy and 4) Security. Individuals wishing to make comments on the Committee's August 20, 2009, recommendations may present oral comments at the Committee's next meeting on September 15, 2009, from approximately 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m./Eastern Time, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008. Comments will be limited to two (2) minutes per person. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/27742
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TECH COMPANIES PUSH TO DIGITIZE PATIENTS' RECORDS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
On one proposal for health care reform at least, there is a rare bipartisan consensus: the push to computerize patient records. The goal of moving paper medical records into the digital age has been championed for years by health care policy makers across the political spectrum, from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Newt Gingrich. As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama, too, was an advocate, and the economic crisis opened the door for an ambitious step — $19 billion put into the recovery package to encourage doctors and hospitals to install and use electronic health records. So even as the Obama administration and Congress struggle with broad health policy legislation, the technology industry is pursuing the opportunity in digital health records as never before. Although most of the government money will not start flowing until next year, the companies hoping to get their share include technology giants like General Electric, I.B.M. and the big telecommunications company, Verizon. Also in the hunt are smaller health technology specialists like Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks and Practice Fusion.
http://benton.org/node/27769
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
SUPREME COURT QUESTIONS COMPANY CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMITS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: James Vicini]
Corporate spending limits in US political campaigns may be too broad and silence free-speech rights of small businesses, Supreme Court conservatives said on Wednesday. But the court's four liberals, including new Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said more harm than good could be done by overturning precedents upholding the restrictions on corporations and labor unions. The comments came during arguments in a special session to consider ending long-standing limits on corporate and union spending in political campaigns. The case involves a 2008 movie critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
http://benton.org/node/27731
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