Sept 16, 2009 (White House Seeks Renewal of Surveillance Laws)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
The CPB Board of Directors meets today. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-09-16/
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
White House Seeks Renewal of Surveillance Laws
TV Blitz Will Test Obama's Star Power
Apps.gov Launched
CYBERWARFARE & CYBERSECURITY
Blair sets intel goals, ranks cybersecurity high
Pressure builds on Obama to appoint cybersecurity coordinator
Lawmakers join forces on cybersecurity legislation
Trade groups outline cybersecurity bill concerns
Who's Afraid of A Terrorist Haven?
Cyber-criminals breaching trusted websites
Security Pros Are Focused on the Wrong Threats
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
To Count New Stimulus Jobs, Help Really Wanted
The Problem With America's Do-Nothing Broadband Attitudes/Policies
Hey NTIA: Why Can't You Be More Transparent?
Report of the US Broadband Coalition on a National Broadband Strategy
FCC Sends Staffers To Asia To Discuss Broadband
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Recession hasn't slowed global Internet traffic
Australian Government says Telstra has to break up
France passes harsh anti-P2P three-strikes law (again)
TELEVISION
FCC To Further Investigate Janet Jackson Super Bowl Reveal
FCC Calls Comcast, Cablevision Assertion About Ending Ban On Exclusive Contracts 'Baseless'
SHVERA Draft Bill Ties Local-Into-Local Service To Short-Market Fix
Cable Clicks on Interactive Ads Again
JOURNALISM
Let's debate real issues
Media Coverage of Obama Grows More Negative
HEALTH AND MEDIA
Federal panel okays EHR security, privacy standards
Stimulus Spending Boosts Healthcare IT Budgets
PRIVACY
FTC to Host Public Roundtables to Address Evolving Consumer Privacy Issues
MORE ONLINE
What Consumers Want From Mobile Communications
Traditional Media's Revenge
3-D video coming to education
A Popular Plant Is Quietly Spreading Across TV Screens
USAC Changes Address For Filing Forms
Obama, Kanye West and the trouble with Twitter
Recent Comments on:
Broadband Adoption Barriers
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
WHITE HOUSE SEEKS RENEWAL OF SURVEILLANCE LAWS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Carrie Johnson, Ellen Nakashima]
The Obama administration has for the first time set out its views on the controversial USA Patriot Act, telling lawmakers this week that legal approval of government surveillance methods scheduled to expire in December should be renewed, but leaving room to tweak the law to protect Americans' privacy. In a letter from Justice Department officials to key members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the administration recommended that Congress move swiftly with legislation that would protect the government's ability to collect a variety of business and credit card records and to monitor terrorism suspects with roving wiretaps. But Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich also told Democrats that the administration is "willing to consider" additional privacy safeguards advocated by lawmakers, so long as the provisions do not "undermine the effectiveness of these important authorities." Obama's approach to electronic surveillance has been closely watched since he shifted positions during the presidential campaign last year, casting a vote to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act over the objections of liberals in his party. That law granted telecommunication companies immunity from lawsuits by Americans who argued that their privacy had been violated in an electronic data collection program.
http://benton.org/node/27925
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TV BLITZ WILL TEST OBAMA'S STAR POWER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Williamson]
President Barack Obama will appear on five news programs on Sunday, followed by a comedy show Monday night, in what is turning into a wall-to-wall bid for support of his embattled effort to overhaul the US health-care system. The president's heavy media schedule raises questions about whether his ubiquitous presence will dilute his effectiveness as a pitchman. Previous administrations have reserved presidential appearances for big occasions, compared with the current White House, which views President Obama as its strongest policy advocate. "I don't dismiss this idea that if at some point you fire your best weapon and it doesn't work, what do you do next? But you come to the point in a debate where you're not worried about the next battle," said former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart. President Obama has granted 117 media interviews since he took office, 66 on television, according to Mark Knoller of CBS Radio, a veteran White House correspondent who has tallied presidential TV appearances over the past 15 years. White House officials said they aren't worried that voters may be turned off, or that any break in the appearances might suggest the president is backing off.
http://benton.org/node/27924
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APPS.GOV LAUNCHED
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra]
Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra has launched Apps.gov to help continue the President's initiative to lower the cost of government operations while driving innovation within government. Apps.gov is an online storefront for federal agencies to quickly browse and purchase cloud-based IT services, for productivity, collaboration, and efficiency. Cloud computing is the next generation of IT in which data and applications will be housed centrally and accessible anywhere and anytime by a various devices (this is opposed to the current model where applications and most data is housed on individual devices). By consolidating available services, Apps.gov is a one-stop source for cloud services an innovation that not only can change how IT operates, but also save taxpayer dollars in the process.
http://benton.org/node/27913
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CYBERWARFARE & CYBERSECURITY
BLAIR SETS INTEL GOALS, CYBERSECURITY HIGH
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Chris Strohm]
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair today unveiled an overarching strategy for the nation's intelligence agencies, which for the first time lists cybersecurity and counterintelligence as top mission priorities. The 24-page National Intelligence Strategy identifies the intelligence community's goals and objectives for the next four years. Blair said in a conference call with reporters that the intelligence community has developed "a good understanding" of the complexities and dynamics of the international environment, from nation-states such as Iran and Russia to transnational criminal and terrorist groups. Therefore, the strategy does not contain language that looks backward, such as referring to the international community in "post-Cold War" terms. Blair said the language is intended to look forward.
http://benton.org/node/27914
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PRESSURE BUILDS ON OBAMA TO APPOINT CYBERSECURITY COORDINATOR
[SOURCE: FederalComputerWeek, AUTHOR: Ben Bain]
The co-chairmen of the House Cybersecurity Caucus are urging President Barack Obama to quickly make good on his pledge to appoint a cybersecurity coordinator. Reps James Langevin (D-RI) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a recent letter to the president that they were pleased to see progress on creating a comprehensive national security strategy for cyberspace. However, they said they were "deeply concerned by the delay" in coordinating the strategy from the White House. On May 29, President Obama said he would set up a new White House cybersecurity office to be led by a coordinator whom he will select and depend on for all matters relating to cybersecurity. In December, the influential Center for Strategic and International Studies' Cybersecurity Commission, of which Reps Langevin and McCaul also serve as co-chairmen, recommended creating a White House cybersecurity office. The congressman said in their letter that it's time to establish the office "with the proper authorities to manage the complex and critical mission of securing our nation's networks."
http://benton.org/node/27916
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LAWMAKERS JOIN FORCES ON CYBERSECURITY LEGISLATION
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Senators from several committees are working together to craft comprehensive cybersecurity legislation by the end of the year, the head of a key oversight committee said on Monday. Lawmakers are open to a range of legislative options aimed at better protecting Web sites against hackers and improving cooperation between the federal government and private sector, said Sen Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Possibilities include introducing cybersecurity requirements for private sector firms, he said. The Homeland Security Department "has not done well," Chairman Lieberman said after a hearing. "They are not doing enough on cybersecurity in my opinion." Movement toward a comprehensive bill comes after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asked lawmakers to combine efforts, according to Chairman Lieberman. Several senators --including Sens Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Delaware) -- have introduced their own cybersecurity bills. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will work with the Armed Services, Commerce, Intelligence and Judiciary panels on the legislation, according to Chairman Lieberman.
http://benton.org/node/27918
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TRADE GROUPS OUTLINE CYBERSECURITY BILL CONCERNS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Technology trade groups and a prominent high-tech watchdog are worried that recent tweaks to a broad cybersecurity bill introduced in April by Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) do not alleviate concerns about proposed government standard-setting powers, which they say could impede innovation. The Business Software Alliance and TechAmerica, which represent Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and more than 1,000 other firms, joined the Center for Democracy and Technology in urging Rockefeller's staff to alter language that would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology a major role in how IT systems are designed. The original bill called for NIST to formulate standards for measuring software security for IT components commonly used in critical networks and create common configurations of security settings for operating system software. Under that version, the Commerce Department, which houses NIST, would be required to enforce manufacturers' compliance with those standards. A retooled draft softens the language by requiring of NIST "measurable and audit" risk metrics and best practices. Each operator of a critical network would have to report the results of audits that evaluate compliance, which critics believe would allow NIST to impose software and network standards on companies. CDT senior counsel Greg Nojeim said today the text could result in guidance that is "much too granular."
http://benton.org/node/27917
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WHO'S AFRAID OF A TERRORIST HAVEN?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Pillar]
[Commentary] In the past couple of decades, international terrorist groups have thrived by exploiting globalization and information technology, which has lessened their dependence on physical havens. By utilizing networks such as the Internet, terrorists' organizations have become more network-like, not beholden to any one headquarters. A significant jihadist terrorist threat to the United States persists, but that does not mean it will consist of attacks instigated and commanded from a South Asian haven, or that it will require a haven at all. Al-Qaeda's role in that threat is now less one of commander than of ideological lodestar, and for that role a haven is almost meaningless.
http://benton.org/node/27920
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CYBER-CRIMINALS BREACHING TRUSTED WEBSITES
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Menn]
Cyber-criminals are increasingly targeting trusted websites to infect the computers of people viewing those sites, a successful strategy newly illustrated by a high-profile security lapse at the top US newspaper site. Thousands of visitors to The New York Times website last weekend had their screens fill with what appeared to be an automated scan for computer viruses, followed by warnings the scan had uncovered infections and a recommendation that the PC owners buy protection. Clicking on the offer probably installed a program designed to badger the consumer into buying worthless "scareware" in the future. Website attacks have replaced deceptive emails as the preferred method for financially motivated attacks, said Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer at security firm Qualys. Using websites makes it easier to fool consumers and also to evade company firewalls and related defensive systems.
http://benton.org/node/27919
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SECURITY PROS ARE FOCUSED ON THE WRONG THREATS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Riva Richmond]
Corporate information technology departments are prioritizing the wrong threats to their computer systems, focusing on old problems and leaving their companies open to a raft of new cyberattacks aiming at private customer and corporate information. That is the finding of a new biannual report from the SANS Institute, a training organization for computer security professionals, whose senior staff weighed two sets of data that have not been rigorously compared to date: data on the most common attacks hitting corporate networks and data on which vulnerabilities are most prevalent on company networks. TippingPoint, an intrusion-prevention technology company, provided the attack data, collected during its defense of 6,000 organizations during the first six months of the year, while Qualys, a vulnerability-management company, provided data on the most common security holes based on its analysis of nine million customer computers. The less critical risks are flaws in the Windows operating system. While these bugs were the No. 1 problem for everyone on the Internet not long ago, times have changed.
http://benton.org/node/27915
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
TO COUNT NEW STIMULUS JOBS, HELP REALLY WANTED
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Carl Bialik]
[Commentary] As the $787 billion federal stimulus package was being deliberated by Congress in February, the White House estimated that the legislation would increase employment by 3.5 million jobs, including 24,000 combined in New Hampshire and Wyoming. So far, though, those states say the stimulus has added fewer than 1,000 jobs. Less than a month from now, when every state receiving stimulus funds will be required to make such a report, the numbers will fall far short of White House projections -- whether it's the original 3.5 million job projection or the latest estimate, issued by the White House last week, that one million jobs have been created thus far by the Recovery Act. The enormous spread between the states and the White House reflects how difficult it is to measure job creation and attribute it to a specific cause. The result, a hodge-podge of numbers, could accelerate criticism that the stimulus isn't doing enough to reduce unemployment.
http://benton.org/node/27923
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THE PROBLEM WITH AMERICA'S DO-NOTHING ATTITUDES/POLICIES
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Our central challenge to crafting effective broadband policies is the do-nothing attitudes of most of America's broadband players. On one side you have incumbents, private operators with existing network assets that for the most part are hugely profitable in today's broadband paradigm. Their do-nothing attitude stems logically from the perspective of not wanting to disrupt the good thing that they've got going. The only changes they seek are those that improve their bottom line, and they'll fight anything that they perceive as potentially harming their profitability. On the other side you have public interest groups, organizations dedicated to making sure America's broadband infrastructure supports the needs of its citizens. These entities tend to not be satisfied with the state of today's broadband, instead wanting bold, aspirational goals to be set, the kind that can help America recapture its position among the world's broadband leaders. But while they want to see lots of action happen, their do-nothing attitude stems from the fact that the big goals they espouse rarely come with specific plans for how to achieve them. Also, they resist any changes that are perceived to increase the profitability of incumbent providers since they consider them at fault of America's current broadband plight.
http://benton.org/node/27911
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HEY NTIA: WHY CAN'T YOU BE MORE TRANSPARENT?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Why can't the National telecommunications and Information Administration's handling of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program be more transparent? Why can't we know who the reviewers are so the public can vet them for conflicts of interest and competency? Why can't we know what's going on and where things are at in the process? Officially we have no idea how many reviewers have been vetted, nor if they've even started the initial vetting of applications. Apparently, 600 reviewers have made it past the initial vetting and that 400 applications have been paneled so far. The thing they seem to not be realizing from a PR perspective is that by not saying anything all of us out in the public that have concerns about how things are going will assume the worst. Without NTIA supplying a narrative about their progress, they leave open their actions to interpretation.
http://benton.org/node/27912
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REPORT OF THE US BROADBAND COALITION ON A NATIONAL BROADBAND STRATEGY
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation]
On September 24, the US Broadband Coalition - a broad and diverse array of 160 organizations - will issue a report that identifies the key issues and a range of policy options that the U.S. should consider in determining its broadband future. The report is especially relevant and timely because the Federal Communications Commission must submit a national broadband plan to Congress by February 2010. The Coalition's membership includes representatives of many prominent communications providers, high technology companies, manufacturers, consumers, labor unions, public interest groups, educators, state and local governments, utilities, content providers and other groups concerned about America's broadband future.
http://www.benton.org/node/27891
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FCC SENDS STAFFERS TO ASIA TO DISCUSS BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has dispatched two members of the team drafting a National Broadband Plan to talk to regulators, academics, think tanks and private entities overseas. The first of what might be more than one trip took the team to Tokyo, Korea, and now Singapore, according to an FCC spokesperson.
http://benton.org/node/27909
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
RECESSION HASN'T SLOWED GLOBAL INTERNET TRAFFIC
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Stephen Lawson]
Not even the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression could slow the ongoing explosion of traffic over international Internet connections, and service providers are still building to accommodate it. The world economy slid into crisis about a year ago, crippled by key events such as the bankruptcy filing by investment bank Lehman Brothers, which occurred one year ago Tuesday. But between mid-2008 and mid-2009, the volume of Internet traffic between countries has actually grown faster than the prior year, according to research company Telegeography. International Internet traffic has grown at 79 percent since last year, up from 61% in 2008, a study released Monday found, according to a Telegeography press release. The study focused on links between, rather than within, countries.
http://benton.org/node/27908
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AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS TELSTRA HAS TO BREAK UP
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Peter Smith]
Telstra has been warned by the Australian government that it must separate its retail and wholesale businesses or its ability to expand its wireless broadband operations will be curtailed and competitors will gain greater access to its networks. Senator Stephen Conroy, communications minister, on Tuesday highlighted concerns about Telstra's market dominance. He said the group was one of the world's most integrated telecoms companies, with fixed-line copper, cable and mobile platforms. Conroy, who is overseeing plans for a public-private initiative to create an ambitious A$43bn ($37bn) nationwide broadband network (NBN), said other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, had overhauled their telecoms sectors to promote competition and Australia also needed reform. Lurking amid the bad news is a potential opportunity for Telstra to trade up, swapping a chunk of its existing fixed-line network for part of a faster, more modern, broadband network.
http://benton.org/node/27907
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FRANCE PASSES HARSH ANTI-P2P THREE-STRIKES LAW 9AGAIN)
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
The French legislature has passed its controversial anti-P2P "three strikes and you're off the Internet" law for a second time, after a constitutional court found the first version unacceptable. Prepare for a crackdown.
http://benton.org/node/27906
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TELEVISION
FCC TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE JANET JACKSON SUPER BOWL REVEAL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has reasserted its power to regulate fleeting nudity and says it wants to further investigate "whether CBS' indecency violation [in the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl reveal] was willful." "The evidence in this case strongly suggests that CBS had access to video delay technology at the time of the 2004 Super Bowl," the commission said Tuesday in a brief to the Third Circuit Appeals Court in the Janet Jackson Super Bowl reveal case. The FCC asked the court to remand the decision back to the FCC so it could investigate further its assertion that the violation was "willful." The Third Circuit, in reversing the FCC's fine against the broadcast, said the evidence that delay technology was available at the time was "scant." The FCC disagrees and wants the chance to determine "whether CBS was reckless not to use video delay technology for this broadcast." The commission also reasserted that the reveal was off limits for broadcast TV between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
http://benton.org/node/27905
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FCC CALLS COMCAST, CABLEVISION ASSERTION BASELESS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has come out strongly in defense of retaining its program access rules. The FCC called "baseless" Cablevision and Comcast's assertion that a federal court's ruling vacating the commission's 30% cap on national subs should also doom the ban on exclusive contracts. The FCC told the D.C. U.S. Court of Appeals that the competition in the video marketplace "has not eliminated the need for the exclusivity prohibition," which the FCC under former Chairman Kevin Martin renewed for another five years--until 1012--back in 2007. It is the same court that three weeks ago threw out the FCC's 30% cap as unjustified.
http://benton.org/node/27904
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SHVERA DRAFT BILL TIES LOCAL-INTO-LOCAL SERVICE TO SHORT-MARKET FIX
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Judiciary Committee has drafted the Satellite Home Viewer Digital Television Act which ties local-into-local service to all 210 DMAs to a short-market fix and does not create an opt-out of the compulsory license for stations with single-source licenses. A new draft of the House version of the bill reauthorizing satellite operators' compulsory license to deliver distant network signals still contains language that would allow Dish Network back into the distant-signal business in exchange for delivering local TV station signals in all 210 Nielsen markets. The new draft also no longer contains a provision that would allow stations to opt out of the compulsory license if they secured a single-source license for all the programming on their air.
http://benton.org/node/27903
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CABLE CLICKS ON INTERACTIVE ADS AGAIN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Nat Worden]
The traditional TV ad is losing luster as viewers get savvier about skipping commercials and some advertisers shift to the Internet to save money and target specific audiences. Cable providers have helped undermine the 30-second spot by supplying digital video recorders to their subscribers and offering ad-free video-on-demand services. Now they are promising to help marketers reach TV watchers with new interactive advertising that seeks to engage viewers and borrows techniques from the Internet. "It's about making the TV a more lean-forward medium than a strictly lean-back medium," said Bob Ivins, vice president of research and data products with Comcast. It's a goal that has long eluded the industry. While the Internet has blossomed as a medium that can deliver targeted audiences and accountable results, the cable industry has promised interactive advertising for years only to leave advertisers and investors disappointed with the progress.
http://benton.org/node/27922
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JOURNALISM
LET'S DEBATE REAL ISSUES
[SOURCE: Politico.com, AUTHOR: Wade Henderson]
[Commentary] In a more sensible world, media firestorms would be doused by the cold water of common sense. Fresh from successfully targeting then-White House green-jobs adviser Van Jones, right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck Twittered his followers to "find everything you can on Cass Sunstein (the regulatory czar), Mark Lloyd (Federal Communications Commission diversity czar) and Carol Browner (energy czar)." He later added White House science adviser John Holdren to the lengthening list of Obama administration staffers whom he calls "radical" or "revolutionary." Far from being bomb throwers, Browner was the longest-serving Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Sunstein is a professor at Harvard Law School, Holdren has taught at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Lloyd was an attorney at a leading communications law firm and Jones authored a best-selling book about how to create high-skill, high-wage jobs in environmentally friendly industries. Perhaps the most incendiary action that all five of these leading academics, attorneys and career public servants could take would be to burn their lengthy résumés. "Personnel is policy," Beck has declared to defend demonizing obscure officeholders. Well, policy really is policy. So let's debate health care, energy, economics and education, not some broadcaster's boogeymen.
http://benton.org/node/27899
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MEDIA COVERAGE OF OBAMA GROWS MORE NEGATIVE
[SOURCE: US News and World Report, AUTHOR: Nikki Schwab]
What happened to the media's crush on President Obama? In the second 100 days of his administration, the majority of press coverage was bad, with the president's policy proposals receiving more criticism than praise from reporters. According to a study by researchers at George Mason and Chapman universities, 59 percent of press coverage was positive during Obama's first 100 days in office, but then it dipped to 43 percent from May through mid-August. Especially tough on Obama was Fox News. Researchers analyzed portions of "Special Report with Bret Baier" because it most resembled a network newscast and found that 25 percent of the show's coverage of the president was positive. That's actually a little higher than the 21 percent positive coverage Obama garnered from the Fox News Channel show during his first 100 days.
http://benton.org/node/27898
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HEALTH AND MEDIA
FEDERAL PANEL OKAYS EHR SECURITY, PRIVACY STANDARDS
[SOURCE: GovernemntHealthIT, AUTHOR: Mary Mosquera]
On Tuesday, the Health IT Standards Committee endorsed a set of security and privacy standards for electronic health record systems that it said would get progressively tougher without holding back wider health information sharing. The committee's security and privacy workgroup clarified requirements that electronic health record systems must meet so both vendors and healthcare providers could use a number of access controls in their electronic health record systems and practices by 2011. The presentation to the Committee was made by workgroup member David McCallie, vice president for medical informatics at Cerner Corp. McCallie said the standards were designed to ensure that the security of health IT systems is powerful enough to protect health information in a variety of private and public sector settings while at the same time promoting the sharing of records.
http://benton.org/node/27897
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STIMULUS SPENDING BOOSTS HEALTHCARE IT BUDGETS
[SOURCE: InformationWeek, AUTHOR: Marianne Kolbasuk McGee]
It's an exciting and challenging time for healthcare companies as they take on new projects spurred by the federal government's $20 billion health IT stimulus program. Though stimulus money doesn't start flowing until 2011, nearly 70% of healthcare companies in the InformationWeek 500 survey expect their technology spending in 2009 to exceed their 2008 spending. The percentage of healthcare companies ramping up spending is more than in any other industry surveyed. Healthcare companies surveyed say they're allocating 30% of their IT budgets to new initiatives, while 70% is earmarked for ongoing IT operations.
http://benton.org/node/27896
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PRIVACY
FTC TO HOST PRIVACY ROUNDTABLES
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Trade Commission will host a series of day-long public roundtable discussions to explore the privacy challenges posed by the vast array of 21st century technology and business practices that collect and use consumer data. Such practices include social networking, cloud computing, online behavioral advertising, mobile marketing, and the collection and use of information by retailers, data brokers, third-party applications, and other diverse businesses. The goal of the roundtables is to determine how best to protect consumer privacy while supporting beneficial uses of the information and technological innovation. The roundtable discussions will consider the risks and benefits of information collection and use in online and offline contexts, consumer expectations surrounding various information management practices, and the adequacy of existing legal and self-regulatory regimes to address privacy interests. Roundtable participants will include stakeholders representing a wide range of views and experiences, such as academics, privacy experts, consumer advocates, industry participants and associations, technology experts, legislators, international representatives, and others. The Privacy Roundtables are free and open to the public. The first will be held Monday, December 7, 2009, at the FTC Conference Center at 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. Pre-registration is not required. Members of the public and press who wish to participate but who cannot attend can view a live Webcast at FTC.gov. The Commission plans to convene additional roundtables in subsequent months, and will post information regarding these events at a later date.
http://benton.org/node/27894
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