Sept 2, 2008 (Back to School)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY SEPT 2, 2008
See a recap of last week's stories at http://benton.org/node/16386
HURRICANE GUSTAV
FCC Ramps up for Gustav Response
Gustav Takes News Watch Off RNC
Convention vs. Storm Coverage
Phone companies prepare backup plans for Gustav
New Orleans Stations Gear Up
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
The Candidates Are Monitoring Your Mouse
Political Ads: TV's Last Bonanza
Obama acceptance speech believed to set TV record
Election Presents Challenge to Fall's New Syndicated Series
Few tech tracks for Gov Palin
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Comcast's Usage Cap: What Does It Mean?
Cable Operators Eye Net Management Makeovers
TV Needs to Join Network Neutrality Fight
Microsoft Faces New Browser Foe in Google
New Mexico Infrastructure Report Fails to Incorporate Broadband Access
Colorado Innovation Council Seeks to Make Good on State's Promise of Better Broadband
DIGITAL TELEVISION
On Sept 8 Wilmington, North Carolina Goes Cold-Turkey Digital
Hurricane Hannah May Impact Wilmington Test
Changes in the NTIA's Low-Power TV Digital-to-Analog Conversion Program
CABLE
Martin Has Eye On Cable Networks
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Report Faults Handling of Wiretap Notes
QUICKLY -- Three Top Florida Papers To Share Content Starting Monday; FCC Releases New Telephone Reports; Television Keeps a Hand in the Online Game With Serialized Shows; At Movies, Fewer Eyes, Bigger Haul; Republicans, Obama ask supporters to send hurricane relief; Tales From the Cellphone Tour
HURRICANE GUSTAV
FCC RAMPS UP FOR GUSTAV RESPONSE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) has announced the activation of the
Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Hurricane Gustav. DIRS is a voluntary, efficient, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, and cable providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crises. The FCC also reminded communications providers of contact information to obtain emergency Special Temporary Authorizations (STAs).
http://benton.org/node/16405
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GUSTAV TAKES NEWS WATCH OFF RNC
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: ]
With Hurricane Gustav hitting the Gulf Coast, cable news networks on Labor Day morning diverted their attention from coverage of the opening night of the Republican National Convention. Rather than focusing on the GOP gathering in St. Paul, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel had their cameras and correspondents on the ground in the region and in New Orleans, which was still recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Naturally, The Weather Channel was all over the developing story. Weather maps depicting the storm's swirling bands of rain/wind, meteorologists talking about Gustav's path and rising tides and correspondents assessing the strength of levees and how their performance could impact the city's future replaced what figured to be wall-to-wall commentary about presumptive GOP Presidential nominee and Sarah Palin, the Alaska Governor selected as his running mate. Appearances by President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in St. Paul were canceled and the GOP indicated that only "procedural" matters would occur at the RNC Monday. The news nets were forced to redeploy personnel and resources from St. Paul, after a quick tournaround from Denver, the site of last week's Democratic National Convention, to the Gulf Coast. http://benton.org/node/16404
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Convention vs. Storm Coverage
http://benton.org/node/16403
PHONE COMPANIES PREPARE BACKUP PLANS FOR GUSTAV
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
The hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast could be a test for the country's wireless carriers, which faced criticism and a regulatory push after Hurricane Katrina took out networks. Gustav slammed Jamaica on Friday, and forecasters said it could hit the Louisiana coast at the beginning of next week as a major hurricane. If so, wireless networks would have two main vulnerabilities. The cell towers may be unhurt by the buffeting winds of a hurricane, but to keep working, each one needs electrical power and a connection to the larger network, usually via landline. After Katrina, the Federal Communications Commission seized on the power issue, and sought to mandate that almost all cell sites in the U.S. have at least eight hours of backup power in the event main power fails. But that requirement has been held up by court challenges from wireless industry association CTIA, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA. The carriers said the FCC failed to follow federal guidelines for creating new mandates and went far beyond its authority in creating the requirement. Requiring each cell site, even in areas that aren't disaster-prone, to have its own backup power is expensive and robs them of the flexibility to deploy generators in more sensitive areas, they said.
http://benton.org/node/16402
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NEW ORLEANS STATIONS GEAR UP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
The stations in the New Orleans market are activating the emergency plans they've been regularly rehearsing since Katrina's devastation three years before.
http://benton.org/node/16401
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
THE CANDIDATES ARE MONITORING YOUR MOUSE
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Heather Green]
Sens Barack Obama and John McCain are tracking what you do online. The Presidential candidates are so eager for votes this November that their campaign staffs are turning to behavioral targeting, a sophisticated though controversial strategy to pinpoint voters and volunteers online with advertising tailored to their interests. It's the first election in which White House hopefuls are using the approach. Behavioral targeting gives campaigns a potentially powerful new way to slice up the electorate. In the past, politicians used surveys and demographics to target voters with mailings and local TV ads. But much of the effort was wasted. Campaigns had to assume that individuals shared the values of a large group—say, the National Rifle Assn. or a Zip Code on Chicago's West Side. Now the advertising arms of Yahoo!, Microsoft, and others help politicians uncover people's interests by tracking their Web surfing and searches. By mixing these profiles with data such as age or gender, they can build thousands of voter profiles, each a target for a customized pitch.
http://benton.org/node/16413
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POLITICAL ADS: TV's LAST BONANZA
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Joe Fine]
Brace yourself for attack ads by the boatload. Shadowy advocacy groups will crawl out of the woodwork solely to fund vicious takedowns. The starting guns have just sounded for marathons of spin and counterspin on crucial issues, like how much the candidates' houses are worth. Soon, most pundits will express outrage. Soon, most citizens will express exhaustion. Just about the only happy folk, besides seriously degenerate political junkies, will be the owners of local TV stations. They stand poised to grab 70%, or more, of the $2 billion that could be spent between Labor Day and Election Day. But it has been such a lousy year for local TV that not even a billion bucks will stop stations from scoring less revenue than they did in '07. A down '08 will follow a revenue decline in '07. Politics is the last major ad category that slavishly worships TV, and this raises its own issues. "The calendar could run out before the money does," says Evan Tracey, who tracks political ads for TNS. "If you're going to try to get a TV spot in central Florida or Ohio, be prepared to pay through the nose to get [an ad on] the equivalent of Wayne's World." There are some situations, though, that not even a roller-coaster, cash-crazed election cycle can salvage. The viewers, as always, will suffer deeply throughout all of it. But this year, once the election's over, the station owners will, too.
http://benton.org/node/16396
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OBAMA ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BELIEVED TO SET TV RECORD
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Steve Gorman]
Over 38 million Americans tuned in for television coverage of Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) accepting the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday in what is believed to be the most watched convention speech ever. Obama's TV audience, reaching nearly a fourth of all US households, was by far the largest of the four-day Democratic National Convention, surpassing the addresses by his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del) and his onetime rival for the nomination, Sen Hillary Clinton (D-NY). It also easily eclipsed the acceptance speeches of either of Obama's two immediate Democratic predecessors or the 27.6 million viewers President George W. Bush drew on the fourth night of the Republican National Convention in 2004, when he was nominated for a second term. Obama's historic address, by the first African American chosen to lead a major political party in the race for the White House, averaged 38.4 million US viewers across all major networks, Nielsen Media Research reported on Friday. That figure is the highest for any single night of any major party convention going back to 1996, the last election cycle for which Nielsen keeps night-by-night data.
http://benton.org/node/16400
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ELECTION PRESENTS CHALLENGE TO FALL'S NEW SYNDICATED SERIES
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Chris Pursell]
On the eve of the 2008-09 television syndication season, distributors are facing the prospect of a heated election that's likely to wilt initial ratings for daytime shows. Election season typically produces not only bolstered ratings for cable and broadcast news coverage, but fewer opportunities to place promotional spots for the new syndicated shows, as commercial time instead goes toward revenue-generating political ads.
http://benton.org/node/16398
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FEW TECH TRACKS FOR MCCAIN'S VP PICK
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stefanie Olsen]
Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) is a little-known quantity when it comes to tech policy. She has almost no record on issues such as Network Neutrality, data privacy, and wiretapping. But there's one exception that's sure to pique the interest of privacy advocates: on May 28, Gov Palin signed a bill that would make Alaska the ninth state to not comply with the Real ID Act, a federal law requiring national identification cards.
http://benton.org/node/16397
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
COMCAST'S USAGE CAP: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif]
[Commentary] Comcast has posted a change to its broadband user policy today. It's now limiting subscribers to 250 Gigabytes of monthly usage, which can include e-mailing friends or uploading photos. Near term, the limit may not do much to curtain the average consumer's Web usage. After all, 250 Gigabytes is a lot: You could download 100 HD movies over the Web, and still have some of that capacity left. Chances are, 99% of consumers will not even notice the change — for now. But the decision carries weighty implications for the future. As Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett pointed out in his Aug. 29 note, "While the usage level specified is high, it is now finite.... A line has been crossed." This is the end of unlimited broadband use as we know it. The end of an era. Chances are, other broadband service providers will follow suit and institute similar — or even lower — limits. In the coming years, as users start to download HD movies en masse, and to watch a ton of Web video, even the Comcast cap — a cap that seems ample today — may not seem so high. A growing percentage of users may have to curb their online activities. And that's bad news for Web businesses such as those pushing bandwidth-thirsty videos.
http://benton.org/node/16412
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CABLE OPERATORS EYE NETWORK MANAGEMENT MAKEOVERS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Cable-company engineers and lawyers are huddling to determine whether to change the way they treat Internet traffic that traverses their pipes. Virtually all large operators are re-examining their broadband network management practices, according to industry executives, after the Federal Communications Commission formally declared Comcast's practice of tearing down P2P links "unreasonable." The FCC's Aug. 20 order directed Comcast to stop interfering with peer-to-peer Internet applications, and gave the company a 30-day deadline to submit a compliance plan describing how it intends to end the practice. The order does not impose any fines or damages. Comcast has said it's evaluating its options, but at the same time continues to test out three different bandwidth-management platforms to find the optimal way of curbing network congestion. Behind the scenes, the entire cable industry is busy figuring out how to adapt to the FCC's ruling, said Randy Fuller, vice president business development for Camiant, which sells equipment for applying policies to cable modem termination systems.
http://benton.org/node/16395
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TV NEEDS TO JOIN NET NEUTRALITY FIGHT
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Broadcasters are beginning to see themselves as more than just broadcasters. They are now online publishers, competing not only with the sites of the local newspapers and other TV and radio stations, but also the Yellow Pages and other local online directories and search engines. Broadcasters need to follow the local audiences and advertisers as they gradually migrate to the Web. Today, Web revenue is nice addition to broadcasters' top line that helps offset loses in spot advertising. Tomorrow, it could equal or exceed the spot advertising. So, if broadcasters are Web publishers, they need to start acting like it in Washington. There are a myriad of issues surrounding the Internet and the Web, but the big one is what's come to be called Network Neutrality. The last thing that a station needs to discover is that its Web site is not loading as quickly or looking as good as that of the local Yellow Pages publisher because the directory publisher cut some kind of deal with the cable company. Or worse, the station Web site is functioning slower because the local cable company has its own competitive site.
http://benton.org/node/16394
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MICROSOFT FACES NEW BROWSER FOE IN GOOGLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
On Tuesday, Google will release a free Web browser called Chrome that the company said would challenge Microsoft's Internet Explorer, as well as the Firefox browser. The browser is a universal doorway to the Internet, and the use of Internet software and services is rapidly growing. Increasingly, the browser is also the doorway to the Web on cellphones and other mobile devices, widening the utility of the Web and Web advertising. Google, analysts say, cannot let Microsoft's dominant share of the browser market go without a direct challenge. Google already competes with Microsoft in online search and Internet advertising. They both make operating software for cellphones. Google is increasingly competing with Microsoft head-on in software that handles basic productivity like word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and e-mail programs. Google has Web-based software in these markets that are low-cost or free alternatives to Microsoft's lucrative desktop software. Despite the frequent clashes with Microsoft -- including the role Google played in thwarting an attempted acquisition of Yahoo -- Google has come out on top only in search and search advertising. But Google does not have to win the browser war. Strategically, opening yet another front against Microsoft forces it to divert resources to defend franchises.
http://benton.org/node/16411
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NEW MEXICO INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT FAILS TO INCORPORATE BROADBAND ACCESS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Bennett]
As with other states seeking to promote the availability of high-speed Internet access in a broadband-centered world, New Mexico is struggling just to keep up. Despite boasting one of the world's premier centers for science and research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and experiencing a recent population boom, New Mexico remains far behind the rest of the country in broadband and digital deployment. According to a report by the Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the state ranks 46th in percentage of Internet users, 49th in e-government, and 36th in broadband telecommunications. New Mexico's deficit in broadband infrastructure is particularly glaring. According to Federal Communications Commission statistics, only 78% of New Mexicans have access to digital subscriber line (DSL) service and only 77% have access to cable modem service well below the national averages of 82% and 96%, respectively. And the quality of service received when broadband connectivity is available is 15% slower than the national average, according to the Communications Workers of America's Speed Matters web site.
http://benton.org/node/16393
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COLORADO INNOVATION COUNCIL SEEKS TO MAKE GOOD ON STATE'S PROMISE OF BETTER BROADBAND
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
The state of Colorado likes to see itself as an emerging technology hub. The Rocky Mountain state, which is currently hosting the Democratic National Convention in Denver, placed ninth in a recent "New Economy Index" that sought to benchmark indices of a knowledge-based economy. Many of the leading players in the cable and satellite industries hail from the state, which is home to its industry technology consortium CableLabs. Reinforced by its winter skiing and its cool summers, the state's high quality of life makes it a natural locale for many of industry-leading telecommunications conferences by the Aspen Institute, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and Silicon Flatirons. If there is a dark cloud on the future of Colorado's technological progress, however, it is the limitation of rural broadband access. The same report that said Colorado was ninth for its tech economy ranked it 21st among states for its broadband telecommunications. (It was published by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation.) Another report, published in December 2005 by Broadband Properties Magazine, put Colorado in 20th place in broadband deployment, behind rural neighbors Nebraska and Kansas. State officials now say they are determined to do something about these low broadband rankings.
http://benton.org/node/16392
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DIGITAL TELEVISION
ON SEPT 8 WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA GOES COLD-TURKEY DIGITAL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
At high noon on Sept 8, TV stations in Wilmington (NC) will pull the plug on full-power analog TV broadcasts. And while question marks remain, the principal players, from broadcasters to the FCC, to the Bush administration's chief telecom advisers and right down to the mayor of Wilmington, appear confident that they, and the market, are ready for a relatively pain-free switch. But for others, that very smoothness is cause for concern. No pain, no gain, they argue. A hassle-free switch to digital in Wilmington will not reveal the problems that could face the nation next February when analog shuts down and digital signals take over. So the question remains: Is this test really a test? Barry Goodstadt, senior VP of market research firm Centris, which will analyze what worked and what didn't in the coastal city of Wilmington, agrees with the chorus of constituencies believing there will be a relatively smooth transition. But that is not altogether a good thing. "Wilmington is not a high-risk area in terms of reception. It is very flat," he says, which means the test is a "softball" rather than one that would provide more useful information. "Sure, awareness is going to be very high. I'm sure of that. There is probably nobody there who hasn't heard about this," he says. Wilmington has a high penetration of cable and satellite viewing—about 93%. That left only about 10,000-15,000 viewers out of a market of 175,000 or so who relied only on analog over-the air broadcasting and would be most affected by the switch. And, since they are making the switch early, and voluntarily, the participating Wilmington stations involved -- WWAY (ABC), WSFX-TV (Fox), WECT (NBC), WILM-LP (CBS) and W51CW (Trinity Broadcasting) -- will still be allowed to air an analog signal for at least a few weeks to give a heads-up to viewers who may not have gotten the message. The market also has a bad-weather bailout plan that could delay the shutoff if Hurricane Gustav, or any other storm, is threatening the region.
http://benton.org/node/16391
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HURRICANE HANNAH MAY IMPACT WILMINGTON TEST
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
As Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast Monday, meteorologists have projected that recently upgraded Hurricane Hannah will hit North Carolina just as full-power stations in the Wilmington market prepare to shut off their analog signals and complete the transition to all digital broadcasting. According The Weather Channel, Hannah, with winds currently at 80 m.p.h., is on course to hit southern North Carolina sometime between Friday and Saturday, just two days ahead of the Sept 8 switch to digital. The FCC has said that stations can continue to air in analog if a hurricane, hits, however.
http://benton.org/node/16410
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CHANGES IN THE NTIA'S LOW-POWER TELEVISION AND TRANSLATOR DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION PROGRAM
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
On October 29, 2007, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the establishment of the Low-Power Television and Translator Digital-to-Analog Conversion Program (Conversion Program) and announcing $8 million in funds available for grants. NTIA has determined that the full funding amount is not necessary for the Conversion Program and herein announces the funds available for these grants to be $3.5 million. NTIA also announced certain changes in the application submission deadlines. The deadline for applications is February 17, 2009. However, NTIA will not be able to guarantee the availability of funds for those applications submitted (postmarked) after November 17, 2008.
http://benton.org/node/16390
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CABLE
Martin Has Eye On Cable Networks
MARTIN HAS EYE ON CABLE NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Egged on by consumer groups and small cable operators, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has the agency studying whether to prevent cable programmers from grouping channels in packages and then requiring their pay TV distributors to license either an entire package or nothing at all. Wholesale a la carte or bundling would mean, for example, that the industry's major programmers -- The Walt Disney Co., Viacom, Time Warner Inc., News Corp., NBC Universal -- would have to let cable operators and satellite providers purchase each channel on a standalone basis. Chairman Martin has said that wholesale bundling leads to higher retail cable rates because operators are required to license channels that they would prefer not to distribute -- a point repeatedly made by the American Cable Association, a trade group for small cable companies. At the same time, Chairman Martin has said that no one at the agency is working to develop wholesale a la carte rules. But few people believe that because Martin's staff continues to meet with proponents of new regulation.
http://benton.org/node/16389
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Report Faults Handling of Wiretap Notes
REPORT FAULTS HANDLING OF WIRETAP NOTES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Carrie Johnson]
Former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales improperly handled classified information about some of the government's most sensitive national security programs, but authorities will not recommend that he face criminal sanctions, according to officials familiar with an investigative report to be released today. The Justice Department's inspector general has concluded that Gonzales should have taken precautions to safeguard the materials, related to the government's warrantless wiretapping program and other eavesdropping initiatives, when he became the nation's top law enforcement official more than three years ago. Investigators did not find any evidence that the information had been shared with or accessed by people who lacked the proper clearance to review it. At issue are notes that Gonzales took during a March 2004 meeting between President Bush and congressional leaders in the White House Situation Room, as a program that allowed authorities to secretly monitor communications for evidence of terrorist plots was set to expire. When Gonzales, then White House counsel, moved to become the Justice Department's top official in early 2005, he failed to secure the notes in a sensitive compartmentalized facility, the inspector general has concluded. Gonzales kept the notes in a safe in his office and at times took them to and from work in a briefcase -- practices that violated protocols for the handling of classified materials, according to people familiar with the report.
http://benton.org/node/16414
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QUICKLY
THREE TOP FLORIDA PAPERS TO SHARE CONTENT STARTING MONDAY
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: ]
The Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post announced content sharing plans. Editors will exchange routine news stories and feature articles starting on Monday -- while continuing to compete in most ways.
http://benton.org/node/16388
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FCC RELEASES NEW TELEPHONE REPORTS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Late last month, the Federal Communications Commission released five new reports on the telephone industry. Now you can impress friends, family and colleagues with your knowledge of telephone trends, subscribership, revenue, prices, and numbering utilization. As of March 2008, the telephone subscribership penetration rate in the US was 95.2%, an increase of 0.6% over the rate from March 2007; the penetration rate for households in income categories below $20,000 was at or below 94.2%, while the rate for households in income categories over $60,000 was at least 98.3%; and penetration rates ranged from a low of 91% in South Carolina to a high of 98.4% in Colorado.
http://benton.org/node/16387
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TELEVISION KEEPS HAND IN ONLINE GAME WITH SERIALIZED SHOWS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mike Hale]
Serialized Web shows are popping up faster than ever, partly as a result of the recent writers' strike. And the television industry, hedging its bets, is heavily involved in the format, even if the most notable results so far -- remember "quarterlife"? -- won't remind anyone of "Seinfeld" or "Lou Grant." Many "original" series on network Web sites are simply marketing tools for television shows. And a look at a few current, more truly original Web series with television connections demonstrates that if you're not packaging "Big Brother" outtakes, it helps to have an independent revenue stream. Nielsen isn't covering these things yet.
http://benton.org/node/16409
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AT MOVIES, FEWER EYES, BIGGER HAUL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes]
Fewer people went to the movies this summer than last, confirming Hollywood's fears that this year's slate of pictures would not match the crowd pleasers of 2007. But luckily for an industry that cares mostly about the money, higher ticket prices and a Batman sequel delivered near-record revenue to the major studios. For the crucial summer season, a period from the first weekend in May to Labor Day, when studios record about 40 percent of their annual box office revenue, domestic ticket sales totaled an estimated $4.2 billion, according to movie tracking firms. Despite attendance falling 4 percent (to 586.6 million moviegoers), according to Media by Numbers, that performance still surpassed last year's $4.18 billion. Factoring in inflation, the summer of 2002 still holds the industry record with $4.63 billion.
http://benton.org/node/16408
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REPUBLICANS, OBAMA ASK SUPPORTERS TO TEXT HURRICANE RELIEF
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
Sens John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are asking supporters to contribute to Hurricane Gustav relief efforts. On Monday, Sen McCain's campaign was directing supporters to CauseGreater.com, a site that lists contact information for the disaster relief funds in each of the Gulf Coast states. The Republican party canceled nearly all scheduled events for the Republican National Convention Monday, save official business, out of respect for those impacted by Hurricane Gustav. However, a few special guests remained on the docket of speakers at the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center here, including Cindy McCain and first lady Laura Bush. Sen Obama contacted his supporters who receive text messages from the campaign, with a text that read, "Barack asks that you give to the Red Cross: give 5 dollars by texting GIVE to 24357 or give more by calling 1-800-435-7669 or at redcross.org/donate. Please fwd." The Obama campaign also sent an e-mail to supporters, urging them to donate to the Red Cross.
http://benton.org/node/16407
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TALES FROM THE CELLPHONE TOUR
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
Cyriac Roeding -- a mobile technology expert and enthusiast -- took a 'round-the-world odyssey to see how the rest of the world uses cellphones. He saw parking meters that talk to phones in New Zealand, teenage text-messaging monks in a Himalayan monastery and cellphone charging stations along the Ganges River in India, right next to a raging funeral pyre.
http://benton.org/node/16406
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