Feb 17, 2009 (DTV Transition)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2009
TELEVISION
421 TV Stations To Pull Analog Plug on Feb. 17
Backlog still large for TV converter box coupons
Early converts to digital TV are fuzzy about benefits
With shift to digital TV, how long can VCRs stay afloat?
The greater reality of minorities on TV
MMTC Wants Ad Nondiscrimination Rule To Apply To Cable
INTERNET/TELECOM
Crafting the broadband provision of the stimulus involved plenty of networking
With Stimulus Fight Complete, Advocates Shift Focus to Universal Service
Frontier CEO: Broadband Access is Critical for Rural Economy
The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives
Verizon May Offer Landline Plan for $5
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Facebook's Users Ask Who Owns Information
Sirius XM's Fate at Stake in a Radio Cliffhanger
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Justice Dept. defends secrecy over wiretaps, interrogation
Raids on federal computer data soar
Obama taps cybersecurity expert to assess U.S. defenses
Republicans get their tech groove on at GOP Tech Summit
QUICKLY -- Fairness Doctrine: Better Off Dead or Alien Resurrection?; For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power and Risk
TELEVISION
421 STATIONS TO PULL ANALOG PLUG ON FEB 17
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission released its latest digital television figures. 421 stations will terminate their analog signals as of midnight on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Adding in the 220 stations that have already shut off their analog signals, or will on Monday, a total of 641 stations--or 36% of the country--will have made the switch by the original Feb. 17 hard date. Congress moved the date to June 12 at the urging of the then Obama transition team. The FCC says it has sent staffers to the 72 markets with higher analog penetration where they expect the impact from tomorrow's shut-off to be the greatest. The commission has also boosted its call-center staffing for its DTV help line, 1-888-CALL-FCC, and has a new DTV reception map at http://www.dtv.gov/fixreception.html to help viewers figure out what kind of DTV reception they should be getting.
http://benton.org/node/22188
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BACKLOG STILL LARGE FOR TV CONVERTER BOX COUPONS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
Though hundreds of TV stations are turning off their analog signals, households in line for their $40 coupons for digital converter boxes are likely to have to wait at least several weeks longer. The fund that subsidizes the coupons has reached its authorized limit. It's still sending out around 100,000 coupons a day as older coupons expire unused, but there's a wait list of 4 million coupons. At that rate, it would take the National Telecommunications and Information Administration about two months to process coupon requests made today. The stimulus bill in Congress contains added funding for the program. When it takes effect, the NTIA will be able to clear the backlog in two weeks, said spokesman Bart Forbes. Mindful of the funding shortfall, Congress extended the deadline for cutting analog broadcasts to June 12 from Feb. 17. But about a third of all full-power stations have either already turned off their analog signal or have applied to stick to Tuesday's date.
http://benton.org/node/22187
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EARLY CONVERTS TO DIGITAL ARE FUZZY ABOUT BENEFITS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
The new world of digital TV isn't a pretty picture. Hilly terrain, especially in cities such as Los Angeles, and key differences between the two transmission formats have made their over-the-air TV reception worse. In some cities, households with old sets need to be prepared by Wednesday. To save money, about a quarter of the nation's 1,749 full-power stations have applied for permission to turn off their analog signals on the originally scheduled date. Nearly 9 out of 10 stations will increase the number of viewers who can tune in to their signals, according to federal officials and broadcasters. But the Federal Communications Commission estimates that 11% of full-power TV stations will reach at least 2% fewer people with their digital signals. Simple fixes, such as buying a new antenna or manually entering station numbers instead of automatically scanning for them, can also improve reception. But there are no guarantees.
http://benton.org/node/22186
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WITH SHIFT TO DIGITAL TV, HOW LONG CAN VCRs STAY AFLOAT?
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Troy Wolverton]
The venerable VCR is one of the unsung casualties of the move to digital television. Consumers who have used the devices for years to record over-the-air or cable channels will soon be losing key features as both systems go from analog to digital transmissions. They will be left to choose from a few jerry-built or pricey solutions. "What we're witnessing is that the VCR is becoming a little bit more obsolete," said Amina Fazlullah, a legislative counsel at the U.S. Public Interest Resource Group who has focused on the transition to digital television. VCRs have been on the way out for years, of course. DVDs replaced video tapes long ago at video rental stores. More recently, cutting-edge consumers have moved on to DVRs or to watching video directly downloaded or streamed from the Internet. But the VCR is still a prized piece of equipment for many Americans. Some 72 percent of U.S. households with a TV also have a VCR, according to research group Nielsen. While the number of homes with a VCR has been declining, it's still much larger than the number of homes with DVRs. Just 24 percent of TV-owning households have one of the newer recording devices.
http://benton.org/node/22185
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THE GREATER REALITY OF MINORITIES ON TV
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Greg Braxton]
The much-maligned world of reality television is winning praise these days for "keeping it real" in an unexpectedly relevant way -- reflecting a more diverse America than its more highbrow cousins in scripted prime-time shows. Despite decades of public pressure on the major networks to diversify, the lead characters in all but a few of prime-time scripted shows this season are still white -- and usually young and affluent. In contrast, reality programs consistently feature a much broader range of people when it comes to race, age, class and sexual orientation. A report released last year by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, titled "Out of Focus -- Out of Sync," accused the networks of perpetuating a view of the nation that recalls "America's segregated past." The 40-page report charged that non-whites are underrepresented in almost every aspect of the television industry -- except for reality programming. That's no accident, according to reality TV producers and creators.
http://benton.org/node/22184
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MMTC WANTS AD NONDISCRIMINATION RULE TO APPLY TO CABLE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council wants the Federal Communications Commission to extend its broadcast advertising nondiscrimination rule to cable, satellite and telcos as well. In a filing Monday, the group asked the FCC to launch a rulemaking to "ensure an equal footing for a services in the fight against advertising discrimination." In its March 5, 2009, order adopting a dozen initiatives to boost minority media, the FCC required broadcasters to certify their ad contracts do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender. Minority media had long complained of so-called "no urban" and "no Spanish" dictates in ad contracts that effectively excluded a large swath of minority-targeted media.
http://benton.org/node/22172
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INTERNET/TELECOM
CRAFTING THE BROADBAND PROVISION OF THE STIMULUS INVOLVED PLENTY OF NETWORKING
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Tom Hamburger, Jim Puzzanghera]
A $7.2-billion provision in the economic stimulus bill to extend high-speed Internet service to the rural U.S. and other underserved areas has been hailed in Congress as the 21st century equivalent of government programs that brought electricity and modern highways to every corner of the country. The Internet access provision was the subject of a furious lobbying campaign as interest groups, industries and individual companies sought to bend the details to their advantage. A large pile of government money attracts a lot of attention. In Congress, committee chairs fought turf battles for jurisdiction over the spending. And rural lawmakers squared off against their urban counterparts, quarreling over which Cabinet department should get control of the purse strings. Such lobbying is business as usual in Washington, but the stakes were particularly high with the stimulus bill. It's the biggest spending bill in memory and is considered pivotal in reviving the moribund economy.
http://benton.org/node/22183
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WITH STIMULUS FIGHT COMPLETE, ADVOCATES SHIFT FOCUS TO UNIVERSAL SERVICE
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
Consumer advocates and some state regulators are supporting a proposal to fund broadband for low income households by tapping into the Universal Service Fund. Thus far, the USF established by the Federal Communications Commission principally funds universal telephone service (and Internet connections for schools and libraries), although there are numerous concerted efforts to extend USF monies to broadband. The USF is funded by assessments on voice telephone service and administered by a Federal-State board of regulatory commissioners. Last November, the FCC sought comment on a proposal supported by then-Chairman Kevin Martin for a pilot program that would subsidize broadband Internet to low-income households.
http://benton.org/node/22182
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FRONTIER CEO: BROADBAND ACCESS IS CRITICAL FOR RURAL ECONOMY
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
The CEO of Frontier Communications, America's second largest rural telecommunications, provider told state utility commissioners Monday that quality broadband Internet service is the key to shoring up a rapidly evolving rural economy. Frontier Communications chairman and CEO Maggie Wilderotter addressed the growing demand for advanced services in rural Americans during a keynote presentation to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners committee on telecommunications. Frontier, provides telephone, television, broadband and wireless services to some 2.4 million customers, and is for many the only option for those services, Wilderotter said. From her company's vantage point, it is easy to comprehend the importance of "full, fair, and affordable communications... to the unserved and the underserved, " Wilderotter said. Wilderotter explained that rather than farming, most rural Americans own or work for small businesses. And those small businesses "deserve better" than what many telecommunications companies have offered them, Wilderotter said. The rural economy can best be strengthened by bridging the digital divide, Wilderotter said. Rural customers don't want broadband service just for watching videos, she explained, but instead need it "for commerce and education - and creating and finding jobs."
http://benton.org/node/22181
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THE CELLPHONE, NAVIGATING OUR LIVES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
The cellphone is the world's most ubiquitous computer. The four billion cellphones in use around the globe carry personal information, provide access to the Web and are being used more and more to navigate the real world. And as cellphones change how we live, computer scientists say, they are also changing how we think about information. With the dominance of the cellphone, a new metaphor is emerging for how we organize, find and use information. New in one sense, that is. It is also as ancient as humanity itself. That metaphor is the map. As this metaphor takes over, it will change the way we behave, the way we think and the way we find our way around new neighborhoods. As researchers and businesses learn how to use all the information about a user's location that phones can provide, new privacy issues will emerge. You may use your phone to find friends and restaurants, but somebody else may be using your phone to find you and find out about you.
http://benton.org/node/22180
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VERIZON MAY OFFER LANDLINE PLAN FOR $5
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma]
In a sign that the recession is forcing phone companies to take bold measures to hold onto landline customers, Verizon Communications Inc. is considering a $5 monthly voice plan that would let customers receive calls but dial only 911 and Verizon customer service. Verizon believes the plan could help slow the rate of landline customers cutting the cord, so to speak. The company lost 3.7 million access lines, or 9.3% of its base, in 2008. Phone companies are concerned that consumers who are already tempted to switch to cable phone service or drop their landlines altogether and rely only on their cellphones will be pushed over the edge as the recession crimps household budgets. The telecom provider could begin offering the new $5 plan by summer, along with a second, $10 monthly plan that would allow some limited local calling. Only customers with high-speed Web access from Verizon would qualify for the new plans.
http://benton.org/node/22176
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FACEBOOK'S USERS ASK WHO OWNS INFORMATION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
Reacting to an online swell of suspicion about changes to Facebook's terms of service, the company's chief executive moved to reassure users on Monday that the users, not the Web site, "own and control their information." The online exchanges reflected the uneasy and evolving balance between sharing information and retaining control over that information on the Internet. The subject arose when a consumer advocate's blog shined an unflattering light onto the pages of legal language that many users accept without reading when they use a Web site. The pages, called terms of service, generally outline appropriate conduct and grant a license to companies to store users' data. Unknown to many users, the terms frequently give broad power to Web site operators.
http://benton.org/node/22179
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SIRIUS XM'S FATE AT STAKE IN A RADIO CLIFFHANGER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
Charles Ergen of EchoStar Communications, the owner of Dish Network, had cleverly bought up $175 million of Sirius XM's debt, knowing full well that the satellite radio company couldn't afford the payments, so he could turn around and try to take control of the company. And the due date is today. But Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin is coaxing John Malone of Liberty Media, which owns DirecTV — and who is a fierce rival of Ergen's — to be his white knight and agree to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the company in exchange for several board seats and a minority stake for just under half the company. Even more extraordinary is that Mr. Malone's investment, which could end up costing as much as $450 million, or possibly more depending on how you calculate it, is more than the company's market capitalization — and Mr. Malone isn't getting control.
http://benton.org/node/22178
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
JUSTICE DEPT DEFENDS SECRECY OVER WIRETAPS, INTERROGATION
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Michael Sniffen]
Despite President Obama's vow for transparency in government, the Justice Department is defending Bush administration decisions to keep secret documents about domestic wiretapping, data on travelers and U.S. citizens, and interrogation of suspected terrorists. In several lawsuits, Justice lawyers have opposed formal motions or spurned out-of-court offers to delay court action until the new administration rewrites Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines. "The signs in the last few days are not entirely encouraging," said Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed several lawsuits seeking the Bush administration's rationales for warrantless domestic wiretapping and for its treatment of terrorism detainees. The documents sought in these lawsuits "are in many cases the documents that the public most needs to see," Jaffer said.
http://benton.org/node/22173
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RAIDS ON FEDERAL COMPUTER DATA SOAR
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Peter Eisler]
Reported cyberattacks on U.S. government computer networks climbed 40% last year, federal records show, and more infiltrators are trying to plant malicious software they could use to control or steal sensitive data. Federally tracked accounts of unauthorized access to government computers and installations of hostile programs rose from a combined 3,928 incidents in 2007 to 5,488 in 2008, based on data provided to USA TODAY by the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT). "Government systems are under constant attack," says Joel Brenner, counterintelligence chief in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "We're seeing ... a dramatic, consistent increase in cybercrime (and) intelligence activities." The government does not publicly detail the number or types of attacks that succeed. A commission of government officials and private experts reported in December that the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security and Commerce all have suffered "major intrusions" in which sensitive data were stolen or compromised.
http://benton.org/node/22175
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OBAMA TAPS CYBERSECURITY EXPERT TO ASSESS US DEFENSES
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Byron Acohido]
The White House has engaged a hard-charging consultant for an unprecedented review of U.S. cybersecurity policy to determine whether the government needs to be more pro-active in slowing cybercrime attacks on individuals and businesses. Melissa Hathaway, named by President Obama to conduct a 60-day review of the nation's cyberdefense policies, faces a tall order. She must assess the effectiveness of former president George W. Bush's $30 billion cyberdefense plan that emphasized tighter lockdowns on government data. And she must advise Obama on calls for him to get more directly involved in securing the Internet, say security experts and administration officials. "We can't afford to lose momentum right now, because the threats aren't slowing down, they're continuing to evolve and become much more sophisticated," says Tiffany Jones, director of public policy and government relations for security company Symantec.
http://benton.org/node/22174
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REPUBLICANS GET THEIR TECH GROOVE ON AT GOP TECH SUMMIT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Julian Sanchez]
Forget necessity: last Friday's inaugural GOP Tech Summit proved that panic is the mother of invention. How else to account for the stunningly rapid convocation—Friday's event at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, was only announced Monday—of a pow-wow session that drew activists and e-campaign strategists from around the country, and thousands more via a live webcast, replete with simultaneous online discussion, companion Ning and Facebook groups, and a welter of associated Twitter hashtags? Newly-minted RNC Chair Michael Steele announced the sea change in signally un-conservative terms: the two sure ways to get "kicked off the team," he declared, were to reject an idea because it hadn't been tried before, or to justify a practice on the grounds that "we've always done it this way." Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich—who apparently learned of the summit on Twitter, to which he is a recent convert—had some characteristically big-picture remarks of his own, invoking the revolutionary power of 18th century pamphlets like Common Sense and The Federalist, and touting the potential of many-to-many communications to cultivate a more inclusive politics.
http://benton.org/node/22171
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QUICKLY -- Fairness Doctrine: Better Off Dead or Alien Resurrection?; For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power and Risk
FAIRNESS DOCTRINE: BETTER OFF DEAD OR ALIEN RESURRECTION
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
The Great Fairness Doctrine Panic of 2009 continues, hurling gigabytes of fear, loathing, and speculation across the blogosphere like so much digital flotsam. But a Thomas Guide search continues to draw a blank on pro-Doctrine proposed laws with the phrases "Fairness Doctrine" or "Fairness Standard" in them. Three bills that would permanently bar the FCC from ever bringing it back have been introduced, though, by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK).
http://benton.org/node/22170
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FOR EDUCATION CHIEF, STIMULUS MEANS POWER AND RISK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sam Dillon]
The $100 billion in emergency aid for public schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill could transform Arne Duncan into an exceptional figure in the history of federal education policy: a secretary of education loaded with money and the power to spend large chunks of it as he sees fit. But the money also poses challenges and risks for Sec Duncan, the 44-year-old former Chicago schools chief who now heads the Department of Education. Sec Duncan must develop procedures on the fly for disbursing a budget that has, overnight, more than doubled, and communicate the rules quickly to all 50 states and the nation's 14,000 school districts. And he faces thousands of tricky decisions about how much money to give to whom and for what.
http://benton.org/node/22177
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