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February 2009

Sirius XM's Fate at Stake in a Radio Cliffhanger

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.

For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power and Risk

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.

Verizon May Offer Landline Plan for $5

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.

Raids on federal computer data soar

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.

Obama taps cybersecurity expert to assess U.S. defenses

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.

Justice Dept. defends secrecy over wiretaps, interrogation

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.

MMTC Wants Ad Nondiscrimination Rule To Apply To Cable

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.

Republicans get their tech groove on at GOP Tech Summit

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.

Fairness Doctrine: Better Off Dead or Alien Resurrection?

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).

Feb 16, 2009 (For some DTV deadline is now)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2009 (President's Day)

NARUC huddles in DC this week, the Knight Foundation discusses The Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, and, now that we have it, we can talk about Implementing the Broadband Stimulus. For these events and more see http://benton.org/calendar/2009-02-15--P1W

DIGITAL TV
   For Millions, DTV Deadline is Now
   FCC Says 53 Analog 'At Risk' Stations Can Go Digital Feb. 17

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Stimulus 1st step in Obama's broadband goals-aide
   Stimulus Stirs Debate Over Rural Broadband Access
   State Regulators Could Ask FCC to Fund Broadband for Low Income Households
   Do We Need a New Internet?
   Web Tax Guidelines Bill for States Re-Introduced in House

HEALTH
   Online Health Data in Remission
   Web-based program improves diabetics' self care

FCC REFORM
   FCC, Meet "Change"
   Resolution on FCC Reform Divides NARUC Committee
   Copps Taps Michele Ellison to be Acting General Counsel

WIRELESS
   Broadcasters, Sprint Nextel Ask FCC for More Time in Spectrum Relocation Effort
   Convergence Will Complicate Regulation, Definition of '4G,' State Regulators Told
   Satellite Diss
   Cell phone demand to stay strong despite downturn: U.N.

QUICKLY -- In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update; Carlos Slim Helú: The Reticent Media Baron; Fairness Doctrine Returns to Front Burner; The Stimulus Debate and Daschle Debacle Dominate the Blogosphere; The First Telecom President; The Future of Music Policy

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DIGITAL TV


FOR MILLIONS, DTV DEADLINE IS NOW
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Although the government delayed the mandatory shutdown of analog TV signals by four months to give people with older TVs more time to prepare, that's small comfort to people who live in cities where some broadcasters are switching to all-digital broadcasts Tuesday, as they had originally planned. Because it is costly to keep broadcasting analog signals, nearly 500 stations said they would make the transition on Tuesday or one of the nearby days, rather than June 12. After last-minute prodding by the Federal Communications Commission, 43 of them backed off. But still there will be an odd patchwork of programming for millions of Americans who rely on analog TV signals. To deal with the change, they need a digital converter box or a new TV with a digital tuner, or cable or satellite service.
http://benton.org/node/22145
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FCC SAYS 53 ANALOG 'AT RISK' STATIONS CAN GO FEB 17
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the Federal Communications Commission, exactly half of the 106 stations that had to comply with various FCC conditions to pull the plug on analog Feb. 17 will actually be doing so. Initially, the FCC had identified 123 stations that would need to self-certify that they would comply with the conditions, but the number was actually 106, it said Friday (some stations had been misclassified). Of those 53 that agreed to the conditions, 10 said they had extenuating circumstances for why they wanted to pull the plug but couldn't comply, and 43 decided to stay on the air in analog past Feb. 17.
http://benton.org/node/22144
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INTERNET/BROADBAND


STIMULUS 1ST STEP IN OBAMA'S BROADBAND GOALS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
The $7.2 billion in funding to promote high-speed Internet in the stimulus package is just the first step in the Obama administration's effort to fuel expansion of telecommunications services, says Blair Levin, an adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama on telecom matters during the transition and now an informal adviser. "Despite new federal money, the amount is but a fraction of what is needed" to establish the United States in terms of broadband versus other developed countries. "You've got to take a long view," said Blair, who recently returned to his position as an investment adviser at investment banking firm Stifel Nicolaus and spoke to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Gerald Granovsky, a senior analyst at Moody's, said a key area to watch is reform of the universal service fund, which provides nationwide telephone service. There is an effort to use some of the money collected from that fund for broadband, which is currently not technically allowed in the law.
http://benton.org/node/22143
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STIMULUS STIRS DEBATE OVER RURAL BROADBAND ACCESS
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Howard Berkes]
Michael Katz bashed rural life last week when he addressed an American Enterprise Institute panel discussion on the broadband elements of President Obama's economic stimulus bill. "The notion that we should be helping people who live in rural areas avoid the costs that they impose on society ... is misguided," Katz said, "from an efficiency point of view and an equity one." Katz listed ways that the $7.2 billion could be put to better use, including an effort to combat infant deaths. But he also spoke of rural places as environmentally hostile, energy inefficient and even weak in innovation, simply because rural people are spread out across the landscape.
http://benton.org/node/22136
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STATE REGULATORS COULD ASK FCC TO FUND BROADBAND FOR LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
State utility commissioners are considering a resolution to "strongly encourage" Federal Communications Commission implementation of a pilot program to make broadband Internet access service eligible for subsidies drawn from the Universal Service Fund. The measure is entitled "Resolution on Lifeline and Link-Up Program Support for Broadband Internet Access Services and Devices." Sponsored by District of Columbia Public Service Commissioner Betty Ann Kane, it was introduced at the winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners here on Friday afternoon. The Lifeline Assistance program has provided discounted rates on local phone service to low income consumers since 1985. The Link-Up America program began in 1987, and covers the cost of initial connection charges for phone service. Both programs are administered jointly by federal and state regulators and funded by assessments on all telecommunications services, as part of the Universal Service Fund.
http://benton.org/node/22138
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DO WE NEED A NEW INTERNET?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
[Commentary] There is a growing belief among engineers and security experts that Internet security and privacy have become so maddeningly elusive that the only way to fix the problem is to start over. What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a "gated community" where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety. Today that is already the case for many corporate and government Internet users. As a new and more secure network becomes widely adopted, the current Internet might end up as the bad neighborhood of cyberspace. You would enter at your own risk and keep an eye over your shoulder while you were there. "Unless we're willing to rethink today's Internet," says Nick McKeown, a Stanford engineer involved in building a new Internet, "we're just waiting for a series of public catastrophes."
http://benton.org/node/22142
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WEB TAX GUIDELINES BILL FOR STATES RE-INTRODUCES IN HOUSE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) have reintroduced a bill that would raise the bar for states that want to tax Web sites. The goal of the bill, The Business Activity Tax Simplification Act, is to "clarify the confusion surrounding when states can levy business activity taxes on out-of-state businesses," the legislators said. Specifically it will provide guidelines for when an out-of-state business can be taxed for doing business in a state.
http://benton.org/node/22129
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HEALTH


ONLINE HEALTH DATA IN REMISSION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Anita Huslin]
The $19 billion prescribed in Congress's economic stimulus package to bring America's health-care records into the electronic age is a welcome opportunity for information technology firms seeking to build market share in a still-young industry. Although the federal government set a goal five years ago of creating an electronic health record for every American by 2014, the effort has lagged for several reasons. Roadblocks include concerns over lack of universal protocols for collecting data as well as rules that establish how, with whom and under what circumstances the data can be shared. Many health-care providers -- physician practices, testing facilities, hospitals and clinics -- fear liability if private information gets into the wrong hands. Embedded in all these issues is the cost, an estimated $150 billion, which has proven to be a significant barrier to that 2014 target.
http://benton.org/node/22141
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WEB-BASED PROGRAM IMPROVES DIABETICS' SELF-CARE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
Giving people with type 2 diabetes the opportunity to help manage their care online can substantially improve their long-term blood sugar control, new research suggests. Clinic visits alone aren't enough for many people with diabetes, Dr. James D. Ralston of the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and colleagues note in the journal Diabetes Care. The researchers tested whether an Internet-based program might help patients to manage their care more effectively. The intervention gave patients access to the same medical records used by their primary care doctor, as well as the ability to e-mail health care providers. The program also provided feedback on blood sugar readings, a website with educational information on diabetes, and an interactive diary that allowed users to record information on diet, exercise and medications.
http://benton.org/node/22140
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FCC REFORM


FCC, MEET "CHANGE"
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Eric Alterman, George Zornick]
[Commentary] Perhaps the first image that pops into your mind when recalling President Bush's Federal Communications Commission is Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during 2004's Super Bowl half-time show. But many of the commission's other policy positions—from media consolidation, net neutrality, and spectrum auctions—were far more consequential for the public good, and in many cases decidedly more damaging to free and democratic debate. What will President Obama's FCC be like? President Obama is expected to tap Julius Genachowski as head of the FCC. One of Genachowski's biggest tasks will be simply to provide the kind of competent leadership that inspires respect in the integrity of the commissions decisions themselves. Former-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was surely lacking in this respect. Restoring competent leadership, addressing media consolidation, making sure public airwaves can still be used for the public good, and easing obscenity restrictions that infringe upon freedom of speech are all tall tasks. Yet they represent only the tip of what undoubtedly is a decidedly dirty iceberg that lies beneath. Mr. Genachowski and his colleagues—particularly the estimable Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein—will have their work cut out for them in restoring this crucial agency to the side of the citizens and consumers it was originally intended to serve.
http://benton.org/node/22131
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RESOLUTION ON FCC REFORM DIVIDES NARUC COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
State regulatory commissioners are split on how strongly to express longstanding grievances with Federal Communications Commission processes. A resolution on reform of FCC management and practices dominated the agenda as the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners continued its winter meeting Sunday. The original draft resolution was a straightforward, one-page document which welcomed changes at the commission by the new Obama administration, while calling attention to often-cited criticisms of the lack of transparency in operations, the slow pace of action on dockets and delay in open opening new ones, as well as barriers to intra-agency cooperation. A revised draft included language praising FCC Chairman Copps for his reform effort, with the caveat that many of the changes had been employed by previous chairmen and suggested by the other two sitting commissioners. The subcommittee draft went on to specify in detail other NARUC concerns, including problems in the operation of Federal-State Joint Boards and a "lack of definitive action by the Commission on important issues both at a federal and state level" that results in many orders being "deemed granted" through "excessive" use of the forbearance process. Recent rulemakings and orders made it "apparent that the Commission needs to enhance its capabilities in...economics, engineering, and administrative law," read one clause.
http://benton.org/node/22139
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COPPS TAPS MICHELE ELLISON TO BE ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps has picked Michele Ellison to be the FCC's Acting General Counsel. For the last twelve years, Ellison has served as the Deputy General Counsel. She currently oversees the transactions and merger review functions of the Office as well as the bankruptcy and fraud litigation portfolios. She joined the FCC in 1995 and since that time has provided leadership in many areas, including co-chairing the Commission's Localism Task Force, leading a Task Force on expanding communications opportunities to small businesses and developing countries, and serving as senior advisor to former Chairman Kennard on a variety of agency-wide operational matters. Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Ellison was a Partner at Williams and Connolly in Washington, D.C. She clerked for the Honorable Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for the Honorable Paul R. Webber, III of the D.C. Superior Court. She received her J.D., cum laude from Howard University School of Law, and her B.A. from Duke University. She is a member of the communications and District of Columbia bars.
http://benton.org/node/22128
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WIRELESS


BROADCASTERS, SPRINT NEXTEL ASK FCC FOR MORE TIME IN SPECTRUM RELOCATION EFFORT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Citing the impacts of weather, broadcaster bankruptcies, delays in the DTV transition and the general complexity of the project, broadcasters and Sprint Nextel have jointly asked the FCC for more time to complete the relocation of electronic-newsgathering spectrum from current channel assignments to new ones to make room for advanced wireless services. They want until Feb. 7, 2010. If granted, it would be the latest extension in a years-long effort by the government to allow new services to share the 2-gigahertz band with broadcasters, which use it to transmit news, sports and other programming from the field to the TV studio for editing. That relocation is possible because broadcasters will need less of the band when broadcasting in more spectrum-efficient digital. Last March the FCC agreed to extend the deadline for the move to March 5, 2009.
http://benton.org/node/22132
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CONVERGENCE WILL COMPLICATE REGULATION, DEFINITION OF '4G', STATE REGULATORS TOLD
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
With $7.2 billion in stimulus funds soon to be available for broadband service - and with the transition to digital television freeing huge swaths of spectrum - wireless communication could be poised for some technological advances. Wireless providers are engaged in a rush to deploy next-generation mobile networks as more Americans "cut the cord" from their wired phone and Internet services, posing unique challenges for state regulators. For state regulatory commissioners gathered for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions winter meeting, defining and regulating the so-called "4G" networks will pose unique challenges. The convergence of mobile devices and the Internet has made the definition of 4G services "nebulous at best," Fierce Markets strategic advisor Carl Ford told the group during a presentation on Saturday morning. Showing a slide of a Wikipedia definition of 4G, Ford took issue with the common assumption that the term is simply an extension of current wireless technology. Internet protocol-based applications and services will dominate the next generation of wireless, regardless of the frequencies or underlying technology used, Ford said.
http://benton.org/node/22137
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SATELLITE DISS
[SOURCE: The Big Money, AUTHOR: Farhad Manjoo]
[Commentary] Sirius XM bet on a losing technology. Here's how the company can save itself. If the company can get its debt in order, it might find that the network can be its savior. Manjoo's advice: Forget the satellites, the special radios, and the huge customer acquisition costs. Instead, focus on content -- and figure out a way to get it to the largest possible audience at very low prices. Sirius XM should make sure that Howard Stern and Oprah and Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour and the NFL and Major League Baseball are available on every Internet-connected device on the market. At the moment, the company charges $13 per month for Web access to non-satellite-radio subscribers. If Sirius XM slashed that price dramatically—which it could afford if it stopped paying off automakers—it would see a huge rise in online subscribers. These people would pay to get Sirius not only on the Web but on their phones.
http://benton.org/node/22124
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CELL PHONE DEMAND TO STAY STRONG DESPITE DOWNTURN: U.N.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Laura MacInnis]
Mobile telephones are seen as "a basic necessity" around the world and should enjoy persistent strong demand throughout an economic downturn, a United Nations agency said in a report published on Monday. "With or without a recession," millions of people in India, China, Nigeria, and other emerging markets will seek out mobile phones, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Increasingly cost-conscious households in Europe and North America are also expected to keep up their mobile use, and many will drop their fixed-line telephones as a way to save money, the ITU said in a report released for the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.
http://benton.org/node/22135
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QUICKLY -- In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update; Carlos Slim Helú: The Reticent Media Baron; Fairness Doctrine Returns to Front Burner; The Stimulus Debate and Daschle Debacle Dominate the Blogosphere; The First Telecom President; The Future of Music Policy


IN WEB AGE, LIBRARY JOB GETS UPDATE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Motoko Rich]
A growing cadre of 21st-century multimedia specialists help guide students through the digital ocean of information that confronts them on a daily basis. These new librarians believe that literacy includes, but also exceeds, books. Some of these new librarians teach children how to develop PowerPoint presentations or create online videos. Others get students to use social networking sites to debate topics from history or comment on classmates' creative writing. Yet as school librarians increasingly teach students crucial skills needed not only in school, but also on the job and in daily life, they are often the first casualties of school budget crunches.
http://benton.org/node/22134
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CARLOS SLIM HELU: THE RETICENT MEDIA BARON
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Marc Lacey]
Carlos Slim Helú, Mexico's richest man and now a major shareholder in and lender to The New York Times, has a complex relationship with the news media. He invests money in an array of television and newspaper companies and says he sees a bright future for those media companies that adapt. But when the news media focus their spotlight on him, he sometimes gives the impression that he wants to be left alone to make more money in peace.
http://benton.org/node/22133
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FAIRNESS DOCTRINE RETURNS TO FRONT BURNER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Members of Congress are still discussing the return of the Fairness Doctrine, either in its previous incarnation or in a new form. And all the talk is fanning the flames of broadcaster concerns. Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell helped ignite a new round of debate with a lengthy speech on the topic two weeks ago. The doctrine, which was scrapped by the FCC in 1987, required broadcasters to air both sides of controversial issues. White House senior adviser David Axelrod would not comment on the possible reintroduction of the FCC's fairness doctrine Sunday, saying that would be up to the president and his new FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski.
http://benton.org/node/22130
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THE STIMULUS DEBATE AND DASCHLE DEBACLE DOMINATE BLOGOSPHERE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism]
Blogs and social media largely agreed with the more traditional press about the two dominant topics in last week's news - President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package and the taxing problems with some of his Cabinet nominees. But the new media turned next to an event outside the U.S., which, if somewhat less weighty, demonstrated the more global reach of Internet news. Bloggers, talk show hosts and other media pundits all saw high stakes in the battle over the stimulus bill. But the new media, rather than grading the political maneuverings of the new President, focused more on the economic value of elements in the plan itself.
http://benton.org/node/22127
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THE FIRST TELECOM PRESIDENT
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Brad Adgate]
President Abraham Lincoln was also the first President to grasp the benefits and power of telecommunications. Originally considered an unsophisticated westerner, Lincoln was fascinated with new technology (Lincoln is the only President to be granted a patent), whether it was the latest in weaponry, hot air balloons, railroads (he had paved the way for the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869) or the telegraph, which was first used in 1844. Lincoln almost immediately saw the advantages of the telegraph. His historic debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858 crystallized his position on slavery and were carried almost instantly around the nation, paving the way for his Presidential run two years later. Lincoln used and understood the telegraph as a powerful communications vehicle in the 19th century. In all likelihood, if Lincoln were campaigning and elected President in the 21st century, he would recognize the assets that modern technology would bring to him and to the country.
http://benton.org/node/22126
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THE FUTURE OF MUSIC POLICY
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Mary Madden]
While the Internet can often be viewed as an unfriendly place for musicians' pockets, online radio has proven to be one of more lucrative digital channels for artists. Online radio stations are currently required to pay a performance royalty to musicians every time their song is played. Terrestrial radio, on the other hand, still benefits from an exemption that allows them to avoid paying performance royalties to musicians. The U.S. stands out in this regard, as many other parts of the world do not provide this exemption to broadcasters.
http://benton.org/node/22125
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