October 2008

China urged to extend media freedoms domestically

China should extend media freedoms it now offers foreign reporters to domestic journalists too, rights groups said, but added that the signs were not encouraging this would happen. China on Friday made a last minute extension of media freedoms for foreign reporters, enshrining rights originally granted only for the Olympics. Foreign journalists will be allowed to travel freely across most of the country for reporting, though access to restive Tibet remains tightly controlled. But domestic Chinese media has been excluded.

Want Palin's e-mails? That'll be $15 million

Gov Sarah Palin's office says it will cost $15 million for copies of state e-mails requested by news organizations and citizens. When the Associated Press asked for all state e-mails sent to the governor's husband, Todd Palin, her office said it would take up to six hours of a programmer's time to assemble the e-mail of just a single state employee, then another two hours for "security" checks, and finally five hours to search the e-mail for whatever word or topic the requester is seeking. At $73.87 an hour, that's $960.31 for a single e-mail account. And there are 16,000 full-time state employees. The cost quoted to the AP: $15,364,960. And that's not including the copying costs. The e-mails need to be printed so that they can black out, or "redact," private or exempted information. E-mail sent between the governor's staff and their private Yahoo e-mail accounts won't be collected until Oct. 31. Searches will take an additional two weeks, until Nov. 14. And then the legal review of each e-mail will begin. There's no telling how long that will take, because no one knows how many e-mails there are.

Obama TV Advertising: More Spots, Longer Spots

As Sen Barack Obama's campaign continues to expand its purchases on national network and cable TV -- including time on NFL football and MLB baseball broadcasts -- it has bought more 60-second spots on local stations and local cable. Sen Obama (D-IL) has started buying 120-second ads as well. That's in addition to the 30-minute infomercials he has purchased on CBS, NBC and Fox to air Oct. 29. As of last week, the Obama campaign had spent $154.5 million to air spots 292,463 times, versus the $94 million Sen John McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee have spent to air spots 217,384 times. None of Sen McCain's (R-AZ) spots are for more than 30 seconds. "You don't do this if you are on public financing," said Evan Tracey, TNSMI Media Analysis Group's COO. "You don't drop this much money. They have the quantity, and now in the long form, you can say they have the quality." Jim Margolis, the executive at political advertising consultancy GMMB who manages the Obama ad team, said the longer-form ads offer some unique opportunities. "We think that every time Barack has an opportunity to talk to people and give them a sense of what he wants to do, it helps," Margolis said. "The longer format allows detail, gives him a chance to deal with issues and proposals in a deeper way." The longer format also helps the ads break through the clutter of campaign commercials, Margolis said.

GOP Strategists Say McCain Using Right Tactic, Wrong Ads

With poll numbers suggesting that Sen John McCain's attack advertising on his rival Sen Barack Obama is backfiring, some Republican advertising people and strategists on and off Madison Avenue are wondering if the McCain campaign is using the right tactic but the wrong attack ads. While all defend the effectiveness of negative ads, the critics say the McCain campaign may be off target in focusing the last two weeks on one-time terrorist Bill Ayers and some other issues, instead of on whether Sen Obama has sufficient experience and knowledge to lead the country at a time when terror threats remain.

Obama dominating race in cyberspace

Sen Barack Obama's website received 2.6 million unique visitors for the first week in October. McCain's website had a little more than 1.3 million unique visitors. And according to data compiled by Nielsen, Obama had 7.9 million unique viewers in September, an increase of 31 percent from August and 156 percent since June. Meanwhile, McCain had an even more drastic increase: His campaign website had 4.9 million unique hits in September, up 56 percent from the previous month and a 239 percent bump from June. "Obama comes from the culture of the Internet," said Andrew Rasiej, one of the founders of Techpresident, a website that tracks the presidential candidates' use of the Web and how campaigns use technology. "He is recognized by Internet users as their own," said Rasiej, adding that Obama has been mining the power of the Internet for much longer than McCain has. McCain's campaign earlier this year struggled to stay afloat. "The McCain campaign is still playing catch-up. His campaign almost died, but if you give him another year I am sure he would catch up," Rasiej said.

Yes, Newspaper Endorsements Matter -- Here is 'Proof'

[Commentary] The common belief is that newspaper picks for president are meaningless; they influence no one, especially in an era when media approval ratings in polls rival the paltry numbers for lawyers. But Mitchell says he can predict presidential elections based solely on newspaper editorials -- in battleground states.

Palin Helps SNL Soar to Best Ratings in 14 Years

Boosted by an appearance by Vice Presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, NBC's veteran Saturday Night Live soared to its highest metered market average since the March 12, 1994 telecast (hosted by Nancy Kerrigan).

Upcoming FCC Meeting Holds Huge Competitive Implications

Decisions made at the upcoming FCC meeting on November 4th could significantly impact telecom's competitive landscape. The tentative agenda includes two huge wireless merger approvals, a vote on the "whitespace" unlicensed spectrum order, and revamping of the intercarrier compensation system used among telecom carriers. The wireless merger decisions include the Verizon - Alltell and Clearwire-Sprint sprint deals. Implications from the Verizon-Alltel deal include: 1) a combined Verizon-Alltel will create the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., surpassing the current number one carrier AT&T, and 2) as a condition of the merger, the new entity will have to shed numerous rural markets (approx 100 at last count), opening the door for potentially new competitors in those markets. Implications of the Sprint-Clearwire deal include formation of a true nationwide WiMAX operator, who could potentially offer a third broadband pipe option into the home. Implications of the "whitespace" initiative include: 1) The potential empowerment of numerous competitors who can offer yet another broadband wireless option, who some call Wi-Fi on steroids and 2) a plethora of new wireless devices and applications that are designed to take advantage of the new connectivity.

Broadcasters challenge FCC 'white space' report

The National Association of Broadcasters has filed an emergency petition with the Federal Communications Commission in an effort to change the agency's mind about supporting the use of "white space" spectrum. The NAB, which has opposed the use of "white space" spectrum, said in a statement that it has filed a request for the commission to take public comments on a report that the FCC issued earlier this week stating that this spectrum could be opened up for unlicensed use without interfering with licensed spectrum holders. The report said that geolocation and sensing technologies were adequate in preventing interference. The FCC is set to vote on a proposal to open up this spectrum during its November 4 open meeting. Incumbent spectrum license holders, such as TV broadcasters and cell phone operators, say wireless devices that access this unlicensed spectrum will cause interference in the neighboring spectrum bands. The NAB said that the FCC's own report contradicts claims that devices using white space spectrum do not interfere with services using adjacent spectrum channels.

The Federal Communications Commission says it will consider a broadcaster plea to delay its November 4 vote on whether to authorize unlicensed white space devices (WSDs). But judging from the Commission's initial response, the agency doesn't sound crazy about the idea.

Any lawful device: 40 years after the Carterfone decision

Forty years ago the Federal Communications Commission issued one of the most important Orders in its history, a ruling that went unnoticed by most news sources at the time. It involved an application manufactured and distributed by one Mr. Thomas Carter of Texas. The "Carterfone" allowed users to attach a two-way radio transmitter/receiver to their telephone, extending its reach across sprawling Texas oil fields where managers and supervisors needed to stay in touch. Between 1955 and 1966, Carter's company sold about 3,500 of these applications around the United States and well beyond. In the end, however, Carterfone's significance extends far beyond the convenience that Thomas Carter's machine provided its users over a decade. It is no exaggeration to say that the our current telecommunications world was created, in good part, by the legal battle between Carter, AT&T, and the FCC's resolution of that fight—its Carterfone decision. The Carterfone saga starts as the appealing tale of one developer's willingness to stick to his guns. But it is really about the victory of two indispensable values: creativity and sharing.

Benton

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