Sept 18, 2008 (Palin Hacked)
"Broadband is not just an information source for news and civic matters, but it's also a pathway to participation."
-- John Horrigan, Pew Internet & American Life Project
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
ELECTION '08
Recent Obama Ads More Negative Than Rival's, Study Says
Hackers Access Palin's Personal E-Mail, Post Some Online
Obama, McCain and ed-tech investment
How Fact-Checking Took Center Stage in 2008 Campaign
DIGITAL TV
Nursing Homes OK'ed for DTV Converter Boxes
FCC Releases Digital Television PSAs
Commerce Bid For Extra $7 Million To Run DTV Coupon Plan Could Stall
MORE ON TELEVISION
McDowell Pans FCC Proposal for More Detailed Info
NCTA Warns Copyright Office on Distant Signals
Why Cable Will Survive the Meltdown
ADVERTISING
Fox and CBS say TV advertising holding up
Google CEO says he won't delay Yahoo ad deal any further
Google rebuts study predicting higher ad costs
INTERNET/BROADBAND
ESPN's ISP discrimination shakes Network Neutrality hornet's nest
Putting a Meter on the Computer for Internet Use
Bringing Broadband to Rural America
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Zell Calls Suit Claims 'Frivolous'
E-GOVERNMENT
Senate Passes E-Government Act Reauthorization
States with Superior use of Technology
NEW RESEARCH
More than 20 million homes have cut the cord on landline phones
GAO Report on Electronic Waste
Health Information Technology Privacy Principles and Challenges
QUICKLY -- Hearing: Privacy Issues Related to Broadband Service Providers; Sirius XM Is in a Serious Bind
ELECTION '08
RECENT OBAMA ADS MORE NEGATIVE THAN RIVAL'S, STUDY SAYS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
According to the Wisconsin Advertising Project, Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) aired more negative advertising last week than did Sen John McCain (R-AZ). During that week, 77% of Obama's ads were negative vs 56% of McCain's. Ken Goldstein, who directed the study, said the pattern was a reversal from earlier months, in which McCain's advertising was consistently more negative than Obama's. "It suggests that the Sarah Palin pick and the newfound aggressiveness by McCain got into Obama's head a little bit," Goldstein said. "He was under great pressure to show some spine, be aggressive, fire back." The study says the campaigns poured $15 million into the ad wars last week -- they were virtually even in total spending -- but the figures revealed an important distinction. Obama, who has rejected public financing in favor of private fundraising, paid for 97 percent of his spots. McCain, who is limited to an $84 million federal subsidy, financed 43 percent of his commercials, with the rest airing in conjunction with the Republican National Committee. These "hybrid" spots allow McCain to retain control while the party foots much of the bill.
http://benton.org/node/17029
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HACKERS ACCESS PALIN'S PERSONAL E-MAIL, POST SOME ONLINE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Michael D. Shear, Karl Vick]
A group of computer hackers said yesterday that they had accessed a Yahoo e-mail account of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, publishing some of her private communications to expose what appeared to be her use of a personal account for government business. The hackers posted what they said were personal photos, the contents of several messages, the subject lines of dozens of e-mails and Palin's e-mail contact list on a site called Wikileaks.org. That site said it received the electronic files from a group identifying itself only as "Anonymous." The episode focuses attention on Palin's use of her personal e-mail account as lawmakers in Alaska look into whether she fired the state's public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, because he refused to take action against her brother-in-law, a state trooper at the time. Palin has been criticized in recent days for using a personal e-mail account to conduct state business. An Alaska activist has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking disclosure of e-mails from another Yahoo account Palin used. Rick Davis, the campaign manager for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, responded: "This is a shocking invasion of the Governor's privacy and a violation of law," he said. "The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them. We will have no further comment."
http://benton.org/node/17028
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OBAMA, MCCAIN AND ED-TECH INVESTMENT
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Dennis Pierce]
Business leaders are intensifying their call for schools to retool their curriculum. A new report makes a strong economic case for why students must learn key 21st-century skills. And Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (IL) has highlighted an education plan that addresses the need to meet rising global challenges. Notably absent in these discussions has been any acknowledgment by Republican presidential candidate John McCain (AZ) of the need for schools to teach 21st-century skills, or the role technology can play in doing so. McCain's presidential platform does address educational technology, but only in the context of providing more choices for students and their parents.
http://benton.org/node/17023
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HOW FACT-CHECKING TOOK CENTER STAGE IN 2008 CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Samuel Chamberlain]
The fact-checkers have gone wild in the past two weeks, but even before Barack Obama and John McCain were officially selected for the final leg in the race for the White House, political editors and reporters had done some soul-searching, leading many to a new commitment to studying, and maybe correcting, the record when needed.
http://benton.org/node/17022
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DIGITAL TV
NURSING HOMES OK'ED FOR DTV CONVERTER BOXES
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez announced that residents of licensed nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, assisted living facilities and households that use a post office box for mail delivery will be eligible to request coupons from the TV Converter Box Coupon Program.
http://benton.org/node/17021
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FCC RELEASES DIGITAL TELEVISION PSAs
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
As part of its effort to provide Americans with the information they need to make a smooth transition to digital television, the Federal Communications Commission released television public service announcements (PSAs) and a long form educational video. The 30 and 60-second PSAs, produced in English and Spanish, convey basic information regarding the transition and steps consumers must take to prepare. Copies were distributed to 1,368 full powered commercial English broadcast stations as well as 100 Spanish broadcast stations.
http://benton.org/node/17020
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COMMERCE BID FOR EXTRA $7 MILLION TO RUN DTV COUPON PLAN COULD STALL
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Fawn Johnson]
The Commerce Department may encounter difficulty winning permission from Congress to divert up to $7 million from a digital TV converter box subsidy program for administrative activities. House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) said Tuesday that he is "deeply disappointed" that the department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration proposed using money designated for converter box coupons for administrative costs. "Each dollar spent to make up for NTIA's shortfall is a dollar taken away from the funds set aside to provide coupons to households that need them," he said. House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA) wants NTIA to give the committee a written plan detailing how much money can be used from other Commerce Department programs to make up for administrative shortfalls in the coupon program. "We're adjourning for the year next Friday so our time is of the essence," he said. NTIA may be faced with additional problems as the Feb. 17 digital transition date looms closer. Requests for converter box coupons are likely to escalate, and NTIA already is having difficulty meeting a requirement that coupons be issued 10 to 15 days after they are requested, according to a study released Tuesday from the Government Accountability Office.
http://benton.org/node/17019
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MORE ON TELEVISION
MCDOWELL PANS FCC PROPOSAL FOR MORE DETAILED INFO
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell took the opportunity of a National Religious Broadcasters media summit to try to drive a stake into the FCC's proposal to require broadcasters to provide more detailed information to the commission, including outlining in greater detail what types of programming they air. He said he just visited a small religious station in Alaska (on a digital-TV-education trip) that was operated mostly by volunteers. Why, he asked, should that station or any other broadcaster that "struggles to remain viable" be loaded down with regulatory baggage?
http://benton.org/node/17014
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NCTA WARNS COPYRIGHT OFFICE ON DISTANT SIGNALS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association put the Copyright Office on notice that it could have "a deleterious effect on the continuity of broadcast-signal carriage post-transition" if the office changes the way it determines what qualifies as a distant TV-station signal. Translation: If an in-market station a cable operator has carried free-of-charge is reclassified after the digital-TV transition as a distant signal for which cable operators have to pay for the privilege of carrying, those operators will be less inclined to carry them.
http://benton.org/node/17013
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WHY CABLE WILL SURVIVE THE MELTDOWN
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Betsy Schiffman]
Cable looks like a decent place to park your money in the event of a catastrophic market meltdown. The logic is this: People like TV. They don't want to give it up even if the economy is going to hell in a handbasket. Actually, they may be less willing to sacrifice it in a recession, according to some Wall Street analysts. And even if cable operators won't grow gangbusters, they may not bleed subscribers -- unlike other businesses. "Generally speaking, incumbent cable providers are better protected [from the economy] than other businesses for a couple reasons. The only competitive pressures they have are coming from Verizon and AT&T, and they don't have the scale to pose a serious threat yet," says Chris King, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus. "And as Americans, we would rather cut off our arms than cut off our TV service." In a major market downturn, there aren't many sectors that will escape unscathed. And there's some expectation that if people are forced to trim spending, they will give up premium cable TV services such as HBO. But generally speaking, cable providers have proven more resilient to the market downturn than telecom competitors. (Both AT&T and Verizon posted dismal broadband growth last quarter, before this little financial crisis really took hold of the market.)
http://benton.org/node/17012
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ADVERTISING
FOX AND CBS SAY TV ADVERTISING HOLDING UP
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Paul Thomasch, Robert MacMillan]
Advertisers are moving forward with deals they signed last spring for billions of dollars in television commercial time, and remain willing to pay top dollar for additional spots, two top media executives said on Wednesday. They were speaking at a closely watched media conference, which comes amid fears that a sharp downturn in local advertising due to cutbacks by auto and financial sectors could quickly spread to the national TV market. Those fears have only been heightened by this week's financial upheaval. CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves said political spending was heating up at the CBS-owned stations and stressed that it's historically a fourth-quarter event, not a third-quarter one. He predicted a $150 million political windfall at the stations -- particularly those in Pennsylvania, Florida and California, which is not a swing state but has a number of hot-button issues on the ballot.
http://benton.org/node/17017
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GOOGLE CEO SAYS WON'T DELAY YAHOO AD DEAL ANY FURTHER
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR:]
Google's chief executive said Wednesday the Internet search leader won't delay its proposed advertising partnership with rival Yahoo even if government regulators need more time to assess whether the alliance will diminish competition. After voluntarily delaying the start of the Yahoo deal three months ago to give antitrust regulators time to review the potential impact, CEO Eric Schmidt said he isn't willing to wait very much beyond an Oct. 11 deadline spelled out in the companies' contract. "Time is money in our business," Schmidt said. Schmidt blamed the backlash against the Yahoo partnership on Microsoft's lobbying and Google's own inability to explain the benefits more clearly.
http://benton.org/node/17024
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GOOGLE REBUTS STUDY PREDICTING HIGHER AD COSTS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephen Shankland]
Google's chief economist, Hal Varian, said Tuesday that "flawed assumptions" and "questionable methodology" undermine a SearchIgnite study that predicted a 22 percent ad price increase from Yahoo's search-ad deal with Google. Varian took issue with several elements of the study, but led off with this one: "ad prices are not set by Yahoo or Google, but by advertisers themselves," through the search-ad keyword bidding process. Varian also said the study assumed Yahoo will show Google ads for as many searches as possible, which indeed Yahoo has said isn't its intent.
http://benton.org/node/17016
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
ESPN'S ISP DISCRIMINATION SHAKES NETWORK NEUTRALITY HORNET'S NEST
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Chris Soghoian]
[Commentary] ESPN360.com bills itself as the premier destination for streaming access to live sports events. If the sport or team you love isn't important enough to be shown on cable TV, no fear, ESPN will stream it to you online for free. Well, that is if you a subscriber to the right Internet service provider. Customers of AT&T DSL and Verizon's Fios services, along with approximately 20 more ISPs, can have free, 24-hour per day access to ESPN's exclusive sports content. Customers of Comcast, Cox, and hundreds of other ISPs, both big and small, are left out in the cold--forbidden to access content that ESPN has, via exclusive contracts, guaranteed that you cannot obtain via any other means in the US. After telling out-of-luck users that their ISPs haven't coughed up funds for their customers to access ESPN360, the sports network informs them that AT&T customers do have access, and helpfully provides them with a toll-free number that they can call to make the switch to that ISP.
http://benton.org/node/17015
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PUTTING A METER ON THE COMPUTER FOR INTERNET USE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Peter Wayner]
In Beaumont (TX), Time Warner offers broadband plans with limits between 5 gigabytes and 40 gigabytes, amounts a spokesman estimated would cover 95 percent of their customers. What Time Warner is experimenting with in Beaumont may very well be the way phone companies and cable companies sell Internet service in the future. The company says it is not fair for average users to subsidize heavy users. The Federal Communications Commission recently voted to forbid Comcast to slow the service of its most voracious customers. Customers are reacting like patients whose doctor has put them on a strict diet. Some are looking for tools to restrain their Internet use; others are hoping to find another doctor with a more liberal attitude toward vanilla Swiss almond ice cream and prime rib. Some Internet service providers say they want to end their all-you-can-eat plans because a few customers with immense appetites for Web content are overwhelming the networks and slowing the delivery of news and entertainment for everyone else. Other providers blame pirates, who program their computers to crawl the Internet and suck down complete copies of CDs or DVDs.
http://benton.org/node/17027
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BRINGING BROADBAND TO RURAL AMERICA
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Arik Hesseldahl]
For the nation that pioneered the Internet, extending fast connections to small towns and rural areas has proved a daunting challenge. Carriers are loath to build networks where they can't sell service at a profit, and since 2003 more than $1.2 billion in federal loans aimed at helping private carriers serve remote areas has addressed only the most extreme cases. According to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, released in July, only 38% of rural American households have access to high-speed Internet connections. That's an improvement from 15% in 2005, but it pales in comparison with 57% and 60% for city and suburb dwellers, respectively. The lack of fast Web access is helping create a country of broadband haves and have-nots—a division that not only makes it harder for businesses to get work done, but also impedes workers' efforts to find jobs, puts students at a disadvantage, and generally leaves a wide swath of the country less connected to the growing storehouse of information on the Web—from health sites to news magazines to up-to-date information on Presidential candidates.
http://benton.org/node/17026
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
ZELL CALLS SUIT CLAIMS 'FRIVOLOUS'
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shira Ovide]
After one current and five former journalists of Tribune's Los Angeles Times filed a lawsuit accusing Sam Zell of mismanaging Tribune Co, Zell lashed back on Wednesday calling the lawsuit's allegations are "frivolous and unfounded" and saying the company won't be distracted from the "tremendous progress" made under his watch. ("Hasn't anyone noticed how well the Cubs are doing under my leadership," he asked.) In a note to employees Wednesday, he cast the lawsuit as an affront to that spirit of togetherness. "There is a difference between questioning authority or challenging the 'business as usual attitude,' and maligning the company in public," Mr. Zell said. "That's just bad judgment and does no one any good."
http://benton.org/node/17025
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E-GOVERNMENT
SENATE PASSES E-GOVERNMENT ACT REAUTHORIZATION
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology]
For five years, the E-Government Act has promoted improvements in the federal government's use of information technology, including increased transparency for government information. The Senate is expected to pass the E-Government Reauthorization Act of 2007 by unanimous consent later tonight. CDT believes that the reauthorization includes two key improvements to the E-Government Act in a call for the development of best practices for Privacy Impact Assessments, and to make online government information more accessible to search.
http://benton.org/node/17011
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STATES WITH SUPERIOR USE OF TECHNOLOGY
[SOURCE: e.Republic, AUTHOR: Press release]
The 10 most tech-savvy states in the nation have been announced by e.Republic's Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute focused on information technology (IT) policies, and best practices in state and local government. States with the most advanced use of technology were ranked as a result of the Center's 2008 Digital States Survey, a comprehensive biannual review of digital solutions and best practices among state governments. State chief information officers and senior executives from across the nation participated in the survey which benchmarks progression in digital government. It covered a wide range of areas from infrastructure to online applications and new Web 2.0 technologies provided to citizens. This year's survey also included a first-in-nation measure of sustainability efforts, especially in the area of green IT. Top Ten States: 1st Place Utah; 2nd Place Michigan; 3rd Place Virginia; 4th Place Arizona; 5th Place California; 6th Place Washington; 7th Place Kentucky; 8th Place South Dakota; 9th Place Maryland; 10th Place Tennessee (tie); 10th Place Pennsylvania (tie).
http://benton.org/node/17010
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NEW RESEARCH
MORE THAN 20 MILLION HOMES HAVE CUT THE CORD ON LANDLINE PHONES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
More than 20 million U.S. households -- 17% of all homes with phones -- use only a cellphone, according to Nielsen. That figure has quadrupled since late 2003, when only 4.2% of households were wireless only. "As wireless network quality improves and unlimited calling becomes increasingly pervasive, we expect the trend toward wireless substitution to continue," Alison LeBreton, vice president of client services for Nielsen Mobile, said in a news release. "In a tightening economy every dollar counts, and consumers are more and more comfortable with the idea of ditching their landline connection." Young people are more likely to use only a wireless phone. And the majority of people who have dropped their landline service are in lower income brackets, according to the Nielsen report. Cutting costs appears to be a big reason for cutting the cord. A landline phone costs an average of $40 a month. But going wireless-only doesn't mean you can pocket all those savings. "Wireless substitutors" use their cellphones more, paying an average of $6.69 a month more than people who also have a land line, Nielsen said. Those increased wireless charges are one of the reasons people give for returning to landline service. About 10% of households with a landline phone in the second quarter of this year relied only on a cellphone before.
http://benton.org/node/17018
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ELECTRONIC WASTE: EPA NEEDS TO BETTER CONTROL HARMFUL US EXPORTS THROUGH STRONGER ENFORCEMENT
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: John Stephenson]
Increasingly, US consumers are recycling their old electronics to prevent the environmental harm that can come from disposal. Concerns have grown, however, that some US companies are exporting these items to developing countries, where unsafe recycling practices can cause health and environmental problems. Items with cathode-ray tubes (CRT) are particularly harmful because they can contain 4 pounds of lead, a known toxin. To prevent this practice, since January 2007 EPA began regulating the export of CRTs under its CRT rule, which requires companies to notify EPA before exporting CRTs. In this context, GAO examined 1) the fate of exported used electronics, 2) the effectiveness of regulatory controls over the export of these devices, and 3) options to strengthen federal regulation of exported used electronics. Among other things, GAO reviewed waste management surveys in developing countries, monitored e-commerce Web sites, and posed as foreign buyers of broken CRTs. GAO recommends that EPA (1) develop a systematic plan to enforce the CRT rule and (2) develop options to broaden its regulatory authority to address the export of other potentially harmful used electronics. (GAO-08-1044)
http://benton.org/node/17009
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HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRIVACY PRINCIPLES AND CHALLENGES
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Valerie Melvin, Linda Koontz]
Although advances in information technology (IT) can improve the quality and other aspects of health care, the electronic storage and exchange of personal health information introduces risks to the privacy of that information. In January 2007, GAO reported on the status of efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure the privacy of personal health information exchanged within a nationwide health information network. GAO recommended that HHS define and implement an overall privacy approach for protecting that information. For this report, GAO was asked to provide an update on HHS's efforts to address the January 2007 recommendation. To do so, GAO analyzed relevant HHS documents that described the department's privacy-related health IT activities. GAO recommends that HHS include in its overall privacy approach a process for ensuring that key privacy principles and challenges are completely and adequately addressed. (GAO-08-1138)
http://benton.org/node/17008
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QUICKLY
HEARING: PRIVACY ISSUES RELATED TO BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDERS
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Broadband Providers and Consumer Privacy, scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.
http://benton.org/node/17007
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SIRIUS XM IS IN A SERIOUS BIND
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif]
Sirius XM Chief Executive Mel Karmazin says broadcast radio sucks. But when it comes to the bottom line, satellite radio isn't much better of an investment. Sirius expects to add 2 million subscribers next year, 10% fewer than analysts were expecting, and a decline from the projected 2.1 million new users this year. One cause is slower sales of autos, a big generator of new satellite-radio subscriptions. Some analysts say subscriber growth prospects aren't likely to get much brighter.
http://benton.org/node/17006
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