Sept 11, 2009 (Broadband Stimulus Oversight)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Three National Broadband Plan workshops on tap for next week. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-09-13--P1W/

POLICYMAKERS
   Role of White House Czars Sparks Battle
   FCC Official Comes Under Fire for Past Statements
   Glenn Beck: Stop the Insanity
   Time for Beck's Bad-Asses to Back Off of Mark Lloyd
   President Obama Picks Gallagher to Direct National Institute of Standards and Technology
   Cass Sunstein Confirmed by Full Senate

THE STIMULUS & NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   Broadband Stimulus Oversight Hearing
   Sens Call for Speed, Fraud Protection in Stimulus Spending
   Levin: Congress Not Looking For Broadband Bumper Sticker
   Incentives Matter: Decision Making at the FCC
   NTIA's Broadband Mapping Initiative
   EchoStar, WildBlue Partner On Broadband Stimulus Bids With NTIA, RUS
   What We Can Learn from the Broadband GSD Ten

TELEVISION
   Citigroup Analyst Has 7 Good Reasons for Comcast and Time Warner Cable to Merge
   Coalition Of 14 Companies Launches Nielsen Rival
   Political Ads Could Top $1 Billion This Year

DIGITAL CONTENT
   Copyright Office Assails Google's Settlement on Digital Books
   Lots of Fee Ideas for Media Online

JOURNALISM
   Harvard, Heal Thyself (Why Journalism Matters)
   Afghanistan Hot Topic Online

WIRELESS
   Don't Neglect the Network
   Orange and T-Mobile may be forced to give up spectrum

GOVERNMENT 2.0
   Kundra: Transparency Will Take Time
   Government works toward a more proactive cybersecurity approach
   Chopra: secretary of collaboration
   Geospatial tools offer killer app for Gov 2.0
   The Ingenuity of the American People

HEALTH IT
   How emerging wireless techs are transforming healthcare
   Bringing health information to life
   Optimizing EHRs through self-service

MORE ONLINE
   Minneapolis to Donate Used Government PCs to Those in Need
   Ford Backs Ban on Text Messaging by Drivers

Recent Comments on:
The tragedy of this event is by PeterEckart,
Van Jones will do more for by RonDv

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POLICYMAKERS

ROLE OF WHITE HOUSE CZARS SPARKS BATTLE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Neil King Jr]
The uproar over former White House adviser Van Jones has heightened attention on the ranks of nonconfirmed policy "czars" within the Obama administration. The use of special White House advisers and the czar moniker itself go back decades, but government watchers say President Barack Obama has appointed an unusual number of senior coordinators, especially for a president so early in his administration. They have responsibilities ranging from health care and climate change to Afghanistan and the auto sector. Some Republicans, fanned by conservative commentators' warnings that these advisers constitute a shadow government, have seized on the czar issue to criticize President Obama for trying to push policy initiatives outside normal bureaucratic channels. Republicans, including Sen Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA), say that the use of these special advisers has run amok, and that their powers should be curbed. The issue flared in recent weeks at dozens of congressional town-hall meetings. One concern about czars centers on the fact that many of these appointments aren't subject to confirmation by Congress. To have them running the government, rather than simply assisting the president, "is an affront to the Constitution," Sen Alexander said. Sen Robert Byrd (D-WV) warned earlier this year that the growth of czars could sap congressional authority.
http://benton.org/node/27806
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FCC OFFICIAL COMES UNDER FIRE FOR PAST STATEMENTS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Federal Communications Commission Chief Diversity Officer Mark Lloyd is under fire from conservative media personalities because in the past he's written about the conservative dominance of talk radio. Lloyd's past policy recommendations include broadening the range of voices in the media and he advocated taxing commercial station owners to subsidize public broadcasters and local media. Lloyd has no authority to set policy at the FCC, and his appointment has drawn little reaction so far from companies. Nevertheless, his past statements have fueled an outcry among conservative commentators and lawmakers concerned that Lloyd's hiring signals the FCC will change rules to make it easier for interest groups unhappy with a local station's programming to threaten its license. The Administration "is trying to stifle dissenting voices," said radio host Rush Limbaugh, discussing Lloyd with Fox News host Glenn Beck last month. Some contend the concerns about Lloyd are overblown. "His writings, while tending to be liberal, aren't anything anyone regarded as radical or outside the mainstream," said David Honig, executive director of the nonpartisan group Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. "He's a midlevel staff member at the FCC. It doesn't come with a big corner office. He certainly doesn't set policy."
http://benton.org/node/27805
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GLENN BECK: STOP THE INSANITY
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Josh Silver]
[Commentary] Why do our media continue to resemble the hate radio of decades past? How did it happen that just a few media pundits can disseminate such vitriol and misinformation into millions of homes, and -- worse -- cast it as real news? In the last month, Beck launched a smear campaign against one of Obama's top environmental advisers and forced his resignation. Van Jones is one of the great, principled leaders of our time, and he was unceremoniously hung out to dry while the White House quietly acquiesced to the agents of fear. That Fox News Channel lets Beck use its media megaphone to stir up hatred and fear of others is repulsive, divisive and beyond all common sense or decency. By giving Beck a nightly platform for witch hunts and smear campaigns, Rupert Murdoch's media empire undermines our democracy.
http://benton.org/node/27794
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TIME FOR BECK'S BAD ASSES TO BACK OFF OF MARK LLOYD
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] Mark Lloyd is a distinguished member of the telecommunications community. He is a former journalist who turned to law and scholarly pursuits, casting a particularly skeptical eye on media concentration and its effects. He has been affiliated with any number of worthy organizations, most recently with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Center for American Progress. The Federal Communications Commission announced on July 29 that Lloyd had been named associate general counsel and chief diversity officer. As a rule, it's not that big a deal to become an associate general counsel in an independent regulatory agency. It's a nice job with some potentially interesting work, but all things being equal, hardly the equivalent of, say, a presidential chief-of-staff, or even of an FCC commissioner. The FCC release said Lloyd, and others, "will collaborate on the policies and legal framework necessary to expand opportunities for women, minorities, and small businesses to participate in the communications marketplace." In other words, Lloyd and others will make sure that broadband policy, for example, leads to improvements for everyone - from rural areas and urban areas alike. But under Glenn Beck's attack, however, Lloyd joined the elite ranks as a government "czar" who will lead the attack against the radio industry generally, and conservative radio specifically. My goodness. Lloyd would be the most powerful associate general counsel of the FCC in history if Beck were right. Alas, he is not, but that didn't stop Beck from claiming, "Radio is under attack" on his Aug. 14 program.
http://benton.org/node/27793
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PRESIDENT OBAMA PICKS GALLAGHER TO DIRECT NIST
[SOURCE: The White House]
President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Patrick Gallagher to be Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce. Dr. Patrick Gallagher is currently the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In his present position, Dr. Gallagher provides high-level oversight and direction for NIST. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/27792
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CASS SUNSTEIN CONFIRMED BY FULL SENATE
[SOURCE: US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee]
The Senate, by a 57-40 vote, confirmed the nomination of Cass Sunstein to lead the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Sunstein previously taught at Harvard Law School and the University of Chicago Law School.
http://benton.org/node/27791
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THE STIMULUS & NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

BROADBAND STIMULUS OVERSIGHT HEARING
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing titled, "Oversight of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Broadband, Part 2." The hearing examined the implementation of the broadband programs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Specifically, the hearing focused on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program established within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce, and the Broadband Initiatives Program administered by the Rural Utilities Service within the Department of Agriculture. Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA), chair of the subcommittee, that some rules governing the $7.2 billion program of loans and grants are too restrictive and urged administrators to be flexible. He is specifically concerned about how a community might be considered "remote." For example, some grants are not available to remote communities that are within 50 miles of a city of at least 20,000. "Almost the entire Eastern U.S. is disqualified from 80 to 100 percent grants by this inappropriate standard, which in mountainous terrain is not a reasonable yardstick for determining need," Chairman Boucher said. National Telecommunications & Information Administration Larry Strickling indicated that there may only be two rounds of broadband funding after a period of delay to address Congressional concerns. Republicans want assurances that the program will favor states that have completed their broadband mapping, pointing out it made more sense to put money where the data was already in on broadband service gaps. Ranking subcommittee member Cliff Stearns (R-FL) went so far as to say no money should be handed out until broadband mapping is complete.
http://benton.org/node/27801
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SENS CALL FOR SPEED, FRAUD PROTECTION IN STIMULUS SPENDING
[SOURCE: US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee]
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine) Thursday asked the Administration to accelerate the spending of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money and urged close monitoring of stimulus dollars to prevent fraud and abuse. At a hearing entitled "Follow the Money: An Update on Stimulus Spending, Transparency, and Fraud Prevention," Administration witnesses testified that they have taken numerous steps to streamline red tape to allow for faster spending of stimulus dollars and to ferret out fraud and abuse. The Federal Trade Commission said it is working to protect consumers from fraudulent schemes claiming to dispense guaranteed grants from the economic stimulus program, and from other frauds exploiting consumers who are struggling due to the economic downturn.
http://benton.org/node/27800
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LEVIN: CONGRESS NOT LOOKING FOR BROADBAND BUMPER STICKER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a speech delivered at a Free State Foundation event, Federal Communications Commission broadband advisor Blair Levin said Congress isn't looking for a universal broadband bumper sticker or eloquent musings about a broadband future. It wants a plan on how to get there, a plan he is charged with coming up with in 160 days. "You can have any philosophy you want but if Congress tells you to create a plan to connect every unconnected home and you don't know how many there are, where they are, the technological options, or the costs of building out and operating the networks, you are going to get the wrong answer no matter how thoughtful your philosophy," he said. He argued that the record in the broadband proceeding -- whose comments he has criticized as often more aspirational than helpful -- mimics that of the run-up to the credit market collapse, where analysts were unable to escape their frame of reference and see the future as an extension of the present. Levin says the FCC needs more fact on 1) whether the supply of key inputs for the broadband ecosystem are being inefficiently constrained; 2) the extent to which a significant portion of our population is functionally illiterate for the 21st century workforce; 3) the needs, costs and options are for the nation-wide interoperable public safety network that many studies have concluded we need; and 4) whether our current public assets are being effectively deployed to address the problems we know are moving toward, or whether we have the ability to adjust that deployment to take advantage of modern communications networks.
http://benton.org/node/27799
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INCENTIVES MATTER: DECISION MAKING AT THE FCC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker]
Speaking at the Free State Foundation, Federal Communications Commission member Meredith Baker laid out her analytical framework for decisions she'll make at the FCC: 1) identify the objectives; 2) look at the statute and to Congress; 3) consider the context; and 4) weigh the costs and benefits. She identified broadband as a top priority saying "our highest priority in broadband policy should be to get broadband to all remaining unserved areas of the country."
http://benton.org/node/27798
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NTIA'S BROADBAND MAPPING INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that it has received applications representing all 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia to participate in NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, which will assist NTIA in creating a national broadband map. This unprecedented initiative will provide consumers with better information on the broadband Internet services available to them and inform policymakers' efforts to increase broadband availability nationwide. In consideration of its charge to both create and maintain the national broadband map, and its responsibility to use funds in a fiscally prudent manner, NTIA has decided to initially fund state mapping and data collection efforts for a two-year period as opposed to a five-year period as originally contemplated. This approach will allow NTIA to assess lessons learned, determine best practices, and investigate opportunities for improved data collection methods prior to awarding funds for subsequent years. Based on the information submitted by the applicants, NTIA estimates funding requests for the first two years to total approximately $100 million. NTIA's grant awards will also include funding for state broadband planning. Planning projects may include, for example, efforts to identify barriers to broadband adoption in a state. As originally contemplated, NTIA intends to fund broadband planning grants for a five-year period. Fifty-two of the applicants requested a total of approximately $26 million to support broadband planning activities.
http://benton.org/node/27797
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WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE BROADBAND GSD TEN
[SOURCE: Fighting the Next Good Fight, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] 1) It's time for a strong push for public-owned broadband networks, and networks run by public/private partnerships in which local governments are more than window dressing. Going through the list of broadband stimulus applications, it's uplifting and very telling that so many fall into one of these two categories. 2) When you look at the main stakeholder groups whose needs are being met by these networks on the GSD Ten list, it's pretty clear that these are the end-user organizations that should dictate broadband speeds. 3) People wrapped up in the discussion about how do you increase broadband adoption need to contact these governments with successful networks to understand that institutional customers drive adoption. 4) Local government needs to step up as the anchor tenant. 5) When studying these communities, take note of how you can "leapfrog" technologies to bring broadband to your area. Santa Monica started by using fiber it had at the time to improve the city's communication infrastructure, then sold excess fiber capacity to businesses to finance network expansion, and now they're ready to leapfrog into greater buildout of wireless. 6) When you delve into how these GSD Ten communities made their networks successful, it should be clear to those who haven't caught on yet that you can't ­ and shouldn't ­ approach ROI the same way private sector companies do.
http://benton.org/node/27795
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TELEVISION

CITIGROUP ANALYST HAS 7 GOOD REASONS FOR COMCAST AND TIME WARNER CABLE TO MERGE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Despite claims that the removal of the 30% ownership cap will have no effect on mergers and acquisitions in the cable space in the short term, Citigroup media analyst Jason Bazinet called for the mother of all cable deals -- the merging of Comcast and Time Warner Cable -- in a research note Thursday. Even though the removal of the 30% ownership cap on cable companies appears to have opened the door for mega mergers, many analysts have said that the economic climate, all-time low cable valuations and the paucity of systems available for sale would dampen any major M&A activity in the cable space for quite some time. And even those who believe Comcast could buy a smaller operator -- like Charter Communications or Cablevision Systems -- have said that a Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger would be blocked by federal anti-trust regulators. In his research note, Bazinet made the case for a combination of the No. 1 and No. 2 cable operators, claiming that a deal would create $2.7 billion in cost synergies - $1.6 billion in lower programming costs and $1.1 billion in other cost savings. Bazinet also claimed that the regulatory hurdles may be low -- even with 37 million subscribers (Comcast has 24 million and TWC 13 million) a combined entity would control only 37% of the pay television market. Currently, Comcast controls about 24% of the pay TV universe. Aside from the cost synergies, Bazinet cited six other benefits to a deal -- both companies would maintain their investment grade credit ratings; a deal would counter escalating content costs; it would simplify both companies' wireless strategy; would limit the bidding war for further cable consolidation; and extend the cost advantage over satellite TV and the telcos.
http://benton.org/node/27790
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COALITION OF 14 COMPANIES LAUNCHES NIELSEN RIVAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
A group of major cable and broadcasting programmers, advertisers and ad agencies -- calling themselves the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement -- has officially unveiled its bid to challenge Nielsen Media Research's stronghold in television ratings. The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, or CIMM, will "promote innovation in audience measurement for television and cross-platform media," including identifying new methodologies and approaches to audience measurement through a series of pilot studies with independent measurement companies, the companies said in a joint announcement Thursday. The group's founding members and current participating companies are: AT&T, CBS, Discovery Communications, GroupM, Interpublic Group's Mediabrands, NBC Universal, News Corp., Omnicom Media Group, P&G, Starcom MediaVest Group Worldwide, Time Warner, Unilever, Viacom and The Walt Disney Co. CIMM will focus on two key areas: the current and future potential of TV measurement through set-top-box data, and new methods for cross-platform media measurement.
http://benton.org/node/27789
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POLITICAL ADS COULD TOP $1 BILLION THIS YEAR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
While nothing short of a "political Armageddon" is on tap for next year, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG President Evan Tracey, 2009 is turning out to be a hot year for political spending too. Between governor races in New Jersey and Virginia, candidates getting a headstart on advertising in next year's elections, and a long list of hot-button issues, political ads are making a stronger than expected showing in 2009. "We have issues," Tracey said of healthcare reform, Cap and Trade, and other divisive matters. "We have big issues."
http://benton.org/node/27788
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DIGITAL CONTENT

COPYRIGHT OFFICE ASSAILS GOOGLE'S SETTLEMENT ON DIGITAL BOOKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
The nation's top copyright official made a blistering attack Thursday on a controversial legal settlement that would let Google create a huge online library and bookstore. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Marybeth Peters, the United States register of copyrights, said the settlement between Google and groups representing authors and publishers amounted to an end-run around copyright law that would wrest control of books from authors and other right holders. Peters, the first government official to address the settlement in detail, said it would allow Google to profit from the work of others without prior consent and that it could put "diplomatic stress" on the United States because it affected foreign authors whose rights are protected by international treaties. But David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, who also testified at the hearing, defended the agreement saying it let authors retain control of their books and would expand access to millions of out-of-print books that are largely hidden in libraries. In a concession that appears intended to allay complaints that the class-action settlement would grant Google quasi-exclusive rights to profit from millions of books, Drummond said that Google would allow rivals like Amazon or Barnes & Noble to sell online digital copies of out-of-print books that Google has scanned from libraries.
http://benton.org/node/27804
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LOTS OF FEE IDEAS FOR MEDIA ONLINE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
Five months ago, a group of media executives including Steven Brill seemed to have the field to itself when it said it was building a system for newspapers to charge readers for access online. Now, that group appears have a lot of company, like the News Corporation, led by Rupert Murdoch, and the technology giants Google, Microsoft and IBM, whose interest was first reported this week. But publishing executives and analysts caution against concluding that this proves there is a robust competition to develop such systems, or even that newspapers will rush to join any of the projects. The contributions of Google and some others are little more than a set of ideas, written up at the request of the Newspaper Association of America, which inadvertently made them public on its Web site.
http://benton.org/node/27803
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JOURNALISM

HARVARD, HEAL THYSELF (WHY JOURNALISM MATTERS)
[SOURCE: The Nation, AUTHOR: Eric Alterman]
We all know that democracy relies on reporters to act as watchdogs on government. Most understand that business requires a close eye as well. Bloggers, foundations and displaced reporters are eager to do what they can to fill those respective voids. But what of a wholly private, ostensibly beneficent organization like Harvard Medical School? Though it receives massive government grants, it is not covered by the Freedom of Information Act. Its administration reveals information only as it sees fit. Do you think it will cooperate with some blogger? And consider the expense of a decently paid professional reporter spending more than a month on a single story unlikely to sell a single paper. Who is going to pay for that? Under such circumstances, who is going to think it worth investigating in the first place?
http://benton.org/node/27787
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AFGHANISTAN HOT TOPIC ONLINE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
For the first time since PEJ launched the New Media Index in January, the conflict in Afghanistan was a major topic in the blogosphere, dominating the conversation last week. For the week of August 31-September 4, the Afghanistan situation generated 26.3% of the links in blogs, and that discussion was almost entirely focused on an article by conservative columnist George Will advocating a U.S. pullout in Afghanistan. The bloggers seized on different elements of Will's column in their responses, but the prevailing reaction was critical. Last week's spike in online interest in the eight-year-old war corresponds with a recent uptick in coverage in the mainstream press. For the week of August 31-September 6, Afghanistan was among the top stories in the News Coverage Index, accounting for 9% of the newshole. Apart from that topic, the online and mainstream news agendas differed dramatically last week. The second-largest story in the blogs, at 16.9% of links, was about Disney buying Marvel Comics for $4 billion.
http://benton.org/node/27786
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WIRELESS

DON'T NEGLECT THE NETWORK
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Katie Fehrenbacher]
It's a less glamorous topic than the flashy unveiling of Motorola's first Android phone, the Cliq, but the reality behind what makes devices like the Cliq possible is the high-speed network that connects it. Rick Keith, senior director of Strategy for Broadband Access Solutions at Motorola, who sat on a panel discussing high-speed networks at our Mobilize conference following the Cliq unveiling, went as far as to call his panel "like following up Madonna." However, he pointed out, the network is doing the heavy lifting and will be a chief driver of innovation and new services.
http://benton.org/node/27785
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ORANGE AND T-MOBILE MAY BE FORCED TO GIVE UP SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: telegraph.co.uk, AUTHOR: ]
Orange and T-Mobile could be forced to give up rights to the radio waves that carry mobile phone calls and Internet traffic if their merger to create the UK's biggest mobile phone operator goes ahead. Analysts have warned that the combined group could be stripped of some of its valuable radio spectrum because the merged business would have twice as much as other operators.
http://benton.org/node/27784
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