September 2008

'Connect ME' is Maine's Mantra For 90 Percent Broadband by 2010

When it comes to broadband, the state of Maine is doing a lot with a little in order to keep a big promise. In 2005, Gov. John Baldacci announced the Connect Maine initiative and said that by focused on investing in broadband infrastructure in unserved areas, it would "ensure that 90% of Maine communities have broadband access by 2010." When Gov. Baldacci made this promise in 2005, the state pieced together data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the state Public Utilities Commission and estimated that, only 74% of Maine households had access to broadband. The Connect ME authority is still the state's smallest agency. It continues to be tasked with connecting the rest of Maine where, according to Connect ME Executive Director Phillip Lindley, "the private sector won't get the job done."

Charges Dropped Against Reporters Arrested During RNC

Charges will be dropped against journalists who were arrested during the Republican National Convention protests and cited with unlawful assembly. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said Friday that the city attorney's office recommended against prosecuting reporters for the misdemeanor charge. "This decision reflects the values we have in St. Paul to protect and promote our First Amendment rights to freedom of the press," Mayor Coleman said. He added, "At the scene, the police did their duty in protecting public safety. In this decision, we are serving the public's interest to maintain the integrity of our democracy, system of justice and freedom of the press." He said the city doesn't know yet how many cases the decision will affect, and he said the city will use a broad definition of journalists caught up in mass arrests. The Society of Professional Journalists applauded the decision.

The 2008 Campaign, Now Even More Interesting

The historic nature of the 2008 presidential campaign has stimulated a great deal of interest among voters all year, but now they are now even more focused on the process of electing a new president. In the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, 63 percent of voters said they were paying a lot of attention to the campaign, up from 51 percent before the parties held their conventions. In September 2004, 52 percent said they were concentrating a lot on Senator John Kerry's campaign to defeat President Bush. The findings are borne out by television ratings: Nielsen estimates nearly two-thirds of the country's households -- more than 120 million people -- watched at least one of the conventions. The 15 percent of homes that tuned in only to the Republican National Convention was comparable to the 16 percent that watched just the Democratic National Convention, while 34 percent tuned in to both. The poll also found that ideology is not driving interest.

Despite attacks on media by McCain campaign, disparate coverage in McCain's favor

The media have for months reported complaints by the McCain campaign that they have favored his opponent in their coverage of the presidential race, while making little attempt to assess the accuracy of those complaints or to confirm or refute them. But in a review of the media's coverage of two stories negatively affecting or reflecting on Sen. Barack Obama and two stories negatively affecting or reflecting on Sen. John McCain -- specifically Obama's ties to Bill Ayers and Antoin Rezko, and McCain's dealings with donors whom he reportedly benefited and his association with G. Gordon Liddy -- Media Matters found that the five major newspapers and the three evening network news broadcasts have frequently mentioned Obama's ties to Ayers and Rezko, but have rarely mentioned McCain's dealings with donors and have ignored his association with Liddy.

The Demise of the Washington News Bureau

[Commentary] The Washington-based Newhouse News Service announced last month it would shut down after Election Day. Newhouse's demise is, of course, part of the terrible implosion underway in the newspaper business, and it shows how the depth and breadth of Washington coverage is shrinking as newspapers focus dwindling resources on local news. Hardly a week goes by without some regional newspaper announcing the layoff or recall of its Washington correspondent, and those covering national beats are similarly endangered. As we approach the end of the Bush 43 era, the federal government is more opaque and arguably more mistrusted than at any recent time. Just from the standpoint of brute journalistic force, multiple layoffs mean fewer knowledgeable eyes on the day-to-day business of Congress and the federal government, so more political and bureaucratic shenanigans will go unnoticed -- a win for opacity. There are some promising alternatives emerging but not -- yet anyway -- at the rate at which newspapers are laying off reporters.

Build your own echo chamber

[Commentary] How can journalists help their work stand out in a media marketplace that's become stuffed with competition from thousands of blogs, websites and social networks? Not to mention umpteen cable networks, satellite radio channels and time-sucking iPhone and Crackberry applications? The easy answer is for journalists to provide sharper, more engaging work that's, well, even louder than what we've offered our readers back when most newspapers had monopolies in their local markets. Fortunately, as the Internet slams us with new competition, it offers journalists new opportunities as well. Specifically, today I'd like to write about the opportunity the Internet provides us to build relationships with our readers that will help amplify our reporting and its influence in society.

Hill Keeps DTV on Front Burner

One thing about the debate over the progress of the digital television (DTV) transition is becoming abundantly clear: If it doesn't go well, blame will be passed around a whole lot swifter than converter box coupons. The House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, which is hoping to wrap up its business this week, is trying to press the point that primary stakeholders in the transition must do everything possible to prevent viewer -- and voter -- backlash. Simply calling a DTV oversight hearing prompted a flurry of activity, including the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding fault with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a letter from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to electronics retailers asking where all those vaunted $40 DTV converter boxes are, and the decision finally to allow nursing-home residents and post-office-box owners to get converter box subsidies.

McSlarrow: Lean On Stations

Congress needs to pressure TV-station owners to postpone cable carriage disputes until after the government-mandated digital television transition in February, according to National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow. Thousands of carriage contracts between cable operators and local TV stations expire at the end of the year. Failure to reach new deals could result in TV stations' pulling signals from cable systems in January, confusing consumers a few weeks before TV stations need to turn off their analog signals on Feb 17, 2009. "I would urge this committee to make clear in unmistakable terms to broadcasters around the country that the digital transition is not business as usual," McSlarrow said in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet Sept 16.

Senators Express Concerns About PPM Rollout

Sens Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have written to Arbitron Chairman/President/CEO Steve Morris to express their concern about Arbitron's plan to expand the commercialization of the Portable People Meter. They wrote, "We encourage you to take all steps available, prior to rolling out the PPM system in additional markets, to ensure that the system accurately measures the listening behavior in a market and no station is unfairly harmed." Arbitron Chairman/President/CEO Steve Morris said, "We are pleased that Senator Inouye and Senator Leahy recognize the pre-eminent role of the Media Rating Council process as the driving force for quality improvements in the ratings services that the media industry counts on."

Nothing's fair about forcing broadcasters to air content

[Commentary] The Fairness Doctrine mandated that broadcasters provide balanced coverage of controversial issues. To avoid federal second-guessing and expensive lawsuits, most broadcasters chose to say nothing. In effect, while trying to mandate "fairness," the government instead stifled broadcast discussion. Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission discarded the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. Broadcasting and democracy have done just fine ever since, with nearly 2,000 radio stations now providing the conversation of democracy in talk formats, compared to about 200 back then. Harry Truman once said, "You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper." That applies to the broadcasting world, too. It is up to citizens to get information from multiple sources, and Congress has no role in ensuring that happens.

(McCall is a professor of communication at DePauw University.)

Benton

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