March 31, 2009 (Journalism)
"This is the future of media. Whether in print, over the air, or online — the delivery mechanism isn't as important as the unique, rich nature of the content provided."
-- Randy Michaels, Tribune's chief operating officer
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY MARCH 31, 2009
Additions to this week's calendar: 1) the Izzy awards, 2) the Recovery Act's Impact on Rural America, 3) a witness list for Oversight of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Broadband, and 4) eChicago 2009: Cybernavigating our Cultures. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-03-29--P1W
JOURNALISM
Decline of newspapers harming civic engagement, study finds
Democracy's Cheat Sheet? It's time to kill the idea that newspapers are essential for democracy
Newspapers' self-inflicted blows
Newspapers missed Bingham's warnings
Aggregation Forces Journalistic Evolution
Online Journalists Optimistic About Revenue and Technology, Concerned About Changing Values
A philanthropic push to rescue San Francisco Chronicle
Detroit's Daily Papers Are Now Not So Daily
Ethnic press stung by recession, advertising drop
Tribune merges Hartford paper, TV stations
THE ECONOMY
Emerging technologies need regulatory reform, experts say
Municipal Networks Offer Reachable Challenge of Serving the Unserved
Spending on Internet Advertising Starts to Cool
Dialing Down Faith in Wireless
Credit crunch impairs theaters' digital vision
Report says online crime surging in recession
TELEVISION
Cable operators, networks brace for an online world
'ER' calls its time of death
Affiliate Associations Warn Legislators Against Allowing Imported Signals from In-State, Distant Markets
SNL Kagan Report: TV Revenues To Continue Slide, Rebound in 2010
Does interactive TV need a new interface?
TELECOM
EU agrees to draft deal on big telecoms reform
USAC's 2008 Annual Report
CONTENT
FTC: Digital Rights Management Software Use Requires Disclosure
EU threatens action to defend Web users' privacy
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Blagojevich had contact with Tribune, records show
China rejects computer spy claims as "ghost of Cold War"
China web users turn keen eye back on government
QUICKLY -- A Champion for the Census?; If Microsoft Supports Broadband, Why Support Connected Nation?; Mobile Marketing Association Brokers Best Practices Deal; Groups say stimulus lobbying rules are too strict; Google forms $100 million venture fund; College applications now an open (Face)book; Foundation Giving in '08 Defied Huge Asset Decline
JOURNALISM
DECLINE OF NEWSPAPERS HARMING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, STUDY FINDS
[SOURCE: Daily Princetonian, AUTHOR: Omar Carrillo]
Political involvement among citizens is adversely affected by the decline of newspapers, according to a new study by Wilson School researchers on how voting patterns are influenced by news coverage. In their study "Do Newspapers Matter? Evidence from the Closure of The Cincinnati Post," economics and public affairs professor Samuel Schulhofer-Wohl and economics concentrator Miguel Garrido '10 examined the decrease in civic participation in suburban counties after The Cincinnati Post published its last edition on Dec. 31, 2007. In the study, conducted in the year following the end of the paper's publication, Schulhofer-Wohl and Garrido found that fewer citizens ran for political office at the municipal level and fewer voters participated in elections. The two said that, based on their results, newspapers "can have a substantial and measurable impact on public life." The study compared voter turnout; the number of candidates for city council, city commission and school board; and incumbency advantage in 48 municipalities before and after the closing of The Cincinnati Post. The research focused on northern Kentucky suburbs, where the Post dominated circulation and provided the most local news.
http://benton.org/node/23932
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DEMOCRACY'S CHEAT SHEET?
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Jack Shafer]
Adrian Monck rejects the idea that newspapers play an irreplaceable role in the institution's well-being. Indeed, American democracy survived its first century without much in the way of the investigative and accountability journalism we associate with newspapers. That kind of journalism didn't start to spread until the end of the 19th century. When Thomas Jefferson said he preferred newspapers without government to government without newspapers, he wasn't referring to anything we'd recognize as our local paper, says Stephen Bates, professor of journalism at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The pre-modern press was captive of political parties, and their pages were filled with partisan fodder. What Jefferson was applauding was the newspapers' capacity as a forum for debate (and sometimes slander), not exposé. Monck and Shafer can imagine citizens acquiring sufficient information to vote or poke their legislators with pitchforks even if all the newspapers in the country fell into a bottomless recycling bin tomorrow.
http://benton.org/node/23931
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NEWSPAPERS' SELF-INFLICTED BLOWS
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: David Sirota]
[Commentary] While technological and economic forces certainly battered newspapers, journalism also delivered a one-two punch to its own jaw. First, financially strapped newspapers undermined their comparative advantage by replacing audience-attracting local exclusives with cheaper national content. Then, the providers of that national content diverted resources from tough-to-report investigative journalism that builds loyal readership and into paparazzi-like birdcage liner that unconvincingly portrays politicians, CEOs and their minions as celebrities. The most preventable tragedy was the deterioration of quality. Downsized local publications were all but forced to rely on more national content, but that content didn't have to become so vapid.
http://benton.org/node/23930
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NEWSPAPERS MISSED BINGHAM'S WARNINGS
[SOURCE: Newsweek, AUTHOR: Emily Bingham]
Addressing his classmates at their 25th college reunion, Barry Bingham Jr. predicted that by the time they met for their 50th, "most of what we read will be transmitted into our homes or offices electronically." This was a strange thing to say in 1981, when the revolution in personal computers had scarcely begun and no one had heard the words "World Wide Web." Unlike almost everyone else in the media industry back then, Bingham anticipated the coming era of electronic news, and he was genuinely excited about it. He believed newspapers could save themselves from extinction -- but only if they adapted early and intelligently to new technology. but newspaper people are a crusty lot, and Gutenberg's technology, with a few tweaks over the centuries, had held up well enough for most. Bingham would buttonhole colleagues at meetings, where they grumbled that he was distracting from what they considered their business: getting news onto paper and into a reader's hands.
http://benton.org/node/23929
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AGGREGATION FORCES JOURNALISTIC EVOLUTION
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Michael Learmonth, Nat Ives]
Most of the many, many sites aggregating other people's content can't deliver much traffic, and some don't even try. What's more, a vast swath of readers couldn't care less about anything deeper than a headline [are you calling headlines shallow?], which is a problem for the nation's beleaguered journalistic institutions as they try to find a sustainable model for newsgathering on the web. The old model was supported by the newspaper's near-monopoly on local advertising and its ability to package all of its stories in a print product -- whether they were wanted or not. On the web, readers won't even "pay" for the content by clicking through to a free, theoretically ad-supported site. And the slump in online display advertising isn't helping.
http://benton.org/node/23928
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ONLINE JOURNALISTS OPTIMISTIC
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
Journalists who work online are more optimistic about the future of their profession than are news people tied to more traditional media platforms, but at best their optimism is an uneasy one. These online news people also believe that the Internet is changing the fundamental values of journalism—and more often than not for the worse. They are worried about declining accuracy, in part due to the emphasis online that news organizations are putting on speed and breaking news. But not all of the changes were considered worrisome. Some journalists praised the growing diversity of voices, the potential of technology, and in some cases, even the move toward more overtly ideological points of view at news sites.
http://benton.org/node/23927
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A PHILANTHROPIC PUSH TO RESCUE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: James Temple]
Amid growing community concern over the future of The Chronicle, San Francisco financier Warren Hellman gathered a group of local powerbrokers this week, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, to discuss the idea of restructuring the newspaper as a primarily philanthropic venture. Any changes to the paper would require the involvement of the owner, Hearst Corp, which hasn't indicated any interest. Among ideas floated at the meeting were converting the newspaper into a nonprofit or into what's known as an L3C, a low-profit limited liability company whose main role is helping society rather than making money, according to several attendees. There also was some talk of using existing newsroom staff and resources to form a separate, nonprofit online media operation covering the area.
http://benton.org/node/23926
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DETROIT'S DAILY PAPERS ARE NOW NOT SO DAILY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
Maybe once a year, a city has a news day as heavy as the one that just hit Detroit: The White House forced out the chairman of General Motors, word leaked that the administration wanted Chrysler to hitch its fortunes to Fiat, and Michigan State University's men's basketball team reached the Final Four, which will be held in Detroit. All of this news would have landed on hundreds of thousands of Motor City doorsteps and driveways on Monday morning, in the form of The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. Would have, that is, except that Monday — of all days — was the long-planned first day of the newspapers' new strategy for surviving the economic crisis by ending home delivery on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Instead, on those days, they are directing readers to their Web sites and offering a truncated print version at stores, newsstands and street boxes.
http://benton.org/node/23933
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ETHNIC PRESS STUNG BY RECESSION, ADVERTISING DROP
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Terence Chea]
The sinking economy is threatening the ethnic publications that immigrant communities rely upon to stay informed and navigate American life. Although the ethnic press once seemed immune to the forces hurting mainstream newspapers across the country, a growing number of publications that serve immigrant and minority communities are laying off staff, closing print editions or shutting down altogether. Unlike mainstream newspapers, which have seen circulation decline over the decades, most ethnic publications have been retaining or expanding their print readership base, thanks to the growth of immigrant populations with strong newspaper reading habits. But a severe recession has led to a steep drop in advertising from small businesses, including many owned by immigrants, that have come to rely on the ethnic press to reach these communities. As a result, ethnic or racial groups in some communities might lose the only media organizations that cover issues important to them, and businesses and government agencies will have more trouble reaching groups that speak little or no English.
http://benton.org/node/23925
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TRIBUNE MERGES HARTFORD PAPER, TV STATIONS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Tribune Co., the newspaper publisher and television station owner operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said Monday that it has combined a newspaper and two TV operations in Hartford, Connecticut in a bid to become more efficient and cut costs. The move puts the operations of The Hartford Courant and WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV in Hartford under one roof, an unusual pairing, and places a TV executive in charge of both. The company said Monday that Richard Graziano, the general manager of the two TV stations, will become the publisher of Courant. He replaces Steve Carver who has been publisher of the Pulitzer Prize-winning paper since November 2006. The Courant is the nation's oldest continuously published newspaper with a weekday circulation of about 165,000 and Sundays at 235,000. The TV stations, the only two local stations in Hartford, will broadcast news from a new studio to be constructed in the paper's newsroom.
http://benton.org/node/23924
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THE ECONOMY
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES NEED REGULATORY REFORM, EXPERTS SAY
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
If the United States wants to lead the next technological revolutions, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman and others said at the Freedom to Connect conference here, the right leaders are needed to establish the proper incentives, along with smart regulations. Now is the time for regulatory reform, they said at the two-day conference about the emerging Internet economy. The recent collapse of the financial sector has seriously challenged the Chicago economic school of thought, which advocates for minimal government intervention in the market, giving policymakers a rare opportunity to institute regulations that favor consumers over business interests, said Chris Savage, an attorney for Davis Wright Tremaine who specializes in Internet and telecommunications.
http://benton.org/node/23942
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MUNICIPAL NETWORKS OFFER REACHABLE CHALLENGE OF SERVING THE UNSERVED
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Jesse Masai]
At Freedom to Connect, one session probed the status and conditions of broadband quality and access in municipal America. Tim Nulty of East Central Vermont Fiber said that there might, finally, be a consensus on "a reasonable model" for municipal telecom in the United States right now. Nulty castigated those dismissing the need to develop and deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, saying their rationale was intellectually dishonest. The idea that broadband for such areas was "infeasible" was mistaken, he said. It would be easier and cheaper to deploy fiber networks for the new technology much in the same was as it was to deploy copper lines for electricity countrywide. Nulty said opposition to broadband development was coming from incumbent telecommunications companies with so much financially invested in the status quo.
http://benton.org/node/23941
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SPENDING ON INTERNET ADVERTISING STARTS TO COOL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel]
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, US online-ad spending grew 10.6% in 2008, its slowest rate since 2002. The data suggest the recession is having a significant impact on one of the few drivers of robust growth in media and advertising. The 2008 figure, $23.4 billion, compares with $21.2 billion in 2007, when online-ad revenue surged 26% from the year before. In the fourth quarter of 2008, growth from a year earlier slowed to a relative trickle, 2.6%, to $6.1 billion. In the same period in 2007, online-ad revenue had jumped 24%. The slowdown has sobering implications for the future. Research firm eMarketer halved its 2009 growth forecast based on the new data, estimating that online-ad spending will grow 4.5%, to $24.5 billion, compared with a previous prediction of 8.9%.
http://benton.org/node/23936
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DIALING DOWN FAITH IN WIRELESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Martin Peers]
Stocks of both AT&T and Verizon have outperformed the broader market in recent months. Investors are betting that growth in wireless offsets the continuing secular decline of the wireline businesses. That's always been a risky play, given near-saturation of the wireless market combined with the recession-time appeal of cut-price deals introduced by rivals like Sprint. Now comes a sign that the downturn may be biting. A mostly positive report from J.P. Morgan Thursday, based on investor meetings with AT&T management, noted that AT&T had "seen some subscribers pricing down plans" in wireless. The report also added that "data growth has more than offset macro pressures." Data revenue increases have long offset weakness in wireless voice.
http://benton.org/node/23923
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CREDIT CRUNCH IMPAIRS THEATERS' DIGITAL VISION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alex Ben Block]
Even as the recession has caused a spike in theater attendance, a fear that more moviegoers are passing on $5 tubs of popcorn and sodas is just one of several concerns on exhibitors' minds as they flock to their annual ShoWest confab in Las Vegas this week. Overall, the exhibition business, despite years of predictions of doom, is doing just fine. Ticket sales rose 13.1% in January and February compared with last year, and North American box office receipts hit a record $9.8 billion last year, up 1.5% from 2007, according to the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO). But these bullish numbers obscure some ominous signs. Admissions -- the number of tickets sold -- declined 2.5% in 2008, and ticket prices last year shot up from $6.88 in 2007 to $7.18. At the same time, conversions of theaters to digital and 3-D projection -- which many believe represents the future of the exhibition business -- have slowed due to the recession.
http://benton.org/node/23922
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REPORT SAYS ONLINE CRIME SURGING IN RECESSION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jason Szep]
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center, run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center, reports that fraud on the Internet reported to US authorities increased by 33 percent last year, rising for the first time in three years, and is surging this year as the recession deepens. Internet fraud losses reported in the United States reached a record high $264.6 million in 2008. Online scams originating from across the globe -- mostly from the United States, Canada, Britain, Nigeria and China -- are gathering steam this year with a nearly 50 percent increase in complaints reported to U.S. authorities in March alone.
http://benton.org/node/23921
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TELEVISION
CABLE OPERATORS, NETWORKS BRACE FOR ONLINE WORLD
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
When U.S. cable operators and networks gather at their biggest annual industry event this week, both sides will seek to preserve and enhance a long-term partnership now under threat as more and more consumers choose to watch their favorite shows online. In past years, cable companies employed the National Cable Telecommunications Association Show to showcase technologies and tout the diversification of their business, showing off faster broadband speeds, advanced digital phone services and new wireless services. But this year will mark a return to basics in Washington (DC), for the operators who own the distribution pipes and the networks whose video content brings those pipes alive. Both sets of companies will be brainstorming on how to cope with or benefit from disintermediation: consumers can now watch decent-quality video online whenever they want, and often for free.
http://benton.org/node/23939
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'ER' CALLS ITS TIME OF DEATH
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Scott Collins]
After 15 seasons, "ER" will leave behind a splintered prime-time landscape as the networks struggle to compete in a digital world. "ER's" life span has coincided with a deep commercial and cultural decline for the broadcast networks. Cable outlets stole market share and media attention with gritty dramas such as "The Sopranos" and "The Shield." Increasing numbers of viewers are watching programming on the Internet or on a time-delayed basis using digital video recorders. Pressured by low ratings and rising production costs, broadcasters are turning to relatively inexpensive reality series and talk shows. Next season, in a dramatic symbol of the networks' ebbing fortunes, "ER's" slot -- where it had the longest reign in the same one-hour time period of any scripted drama in network history -- will be occupied by Jay Leno's Monday-to-Friday talk show. Leno's program is reportedly expected to cost less than $2 million for a week's worth of shows; for this season, NBC has paid Warner Bros. Television, the studio that produces "ER," an estimated license fee that is nearly twice that figure for each episode of the hospital drama.
http://benton.org/node/23919
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SHVERA UPDATE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The heads of the NBC and CBS affiliate associations wrote top legislators Monday to warn against allowing cable and satellite operators to import TV station signals from in-state, distant, markets, which they say could "threaten the viability of local news, weather and sports" and tip the retransmission consent negotiation balance toward cable in some places. As part of its consideration of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA), Congress is also considering modifying the distant signal rules to allow satellite, and potentially cable, to import signals from adjacent markets in certain cases, including so-called "split markets" where the market crosses state lines and viewers in part of the market are getting stations from the neighboring state. Broadcasters argue that cable operators can already negotiate for carriage of the local news and sports on adjacent-market stations to rectify that problem, but that changing the law to allow them to import network and syndicated programming duplicates programming already in the market.
http://benton.org/node/23918
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SNL KAGAN REPORT: TV REVENUES TO CONTINUE SLIDE, REBOUND IN 2010
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
SNL Kagan TV and radio outlook predicts TV revenues will continue to slide through the rest of this year, but will rebound somewhat in 2010. The report predicts that national and spot TV advertising will drop another 15.7% percent in 2009 after dropping 6.9% to $20.1 billion in 2008. But it forecasts a break in the clouds for 2010, continuing through 2013, which it predicts should offset some of the declines in 2008-2009. That will put the five-year revenue drop between 2008 and 2013 at 2%.
http://benton.org/node/23917
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DOES INTERACTIVE TV NEED A NEW INTERFACE?
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Carol Wilson]
One of the bigger concerns about interactive TV is the user interface, and specifically how to enable consumers to navigate a growing volume of content and to interact with that content without making the process so complex that it generates more frustration than satisfaction. Efforts to add keyboards to the TV viewing experience have generally failed remember WebTV? and service providers such as Verizon and Cox Communications have specifically designed their interactive services so consumers only need their TV remote's four navigation buttons - -up, down, left, right and the "okay" or "select" button generally found at the center of the remote. That's an approach that frustrates Dan Simpkins, founder and chief executive officer of Hillcrest Labs, which specifically designed a free-space mouse for interactive TV similar to the Nintendo Wii device that it preceded and against which Hillcrest has filed patent infringement claims to enable a new breed of TV services.
http://benton.org/node/23916
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TELECOM
EU AGREES TO DRAFT DEAL ON BIG TELECOMS REFORM
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Huw Jones]
The European Union reached a draft deal on a sweeping reform of the bloc's telecoms rules on Monday to increase competition and drive down prices for consumers. The European Parliament and the bloc's member states, who have joint say, reached agreement after weeks of talks. The reform, which was authored by EU Telecoms Commissioner, Viviane Reding, will be formally adopted by parliament in April or May. It sets up a new pan-EU telecoms body, the body of European regulators in electronic communications (BEREC) taking decisions by majority vote instead of the consensual approach adopted when national regulators in the EU discuss policy jointly. But BEREC is still a watered down version of the powerful pan-EU body that telecoms regulator Reding had envisioned but member states found too threatening to national regulatory sovereignty. The reform clarifies rules on investment in new next-generation networks so that access for competitors to a dominant network for a fee is maintained. A new "last resort" measure also is given to national regulators to increase competition by "functionally" separating an operator's network from its retail arm, a step that was bitterly opposed by telecom giants. The reform also beefs up consumer rights by making it easier to change a provider, including a requirement to be able to switch within one working day.
http://benton.org/node/23915
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USAC'S ANNUAL REPORT
[SOURCE: Universal Service Administration Company]
The Universal Service Administration Company, the administrator of the federal Universal Service Fund, has released its annual report for 2008. In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission challenged USAC to make its operations more transparent, to be more accountable to USF stakeholders and the FCC itself, and to assess its performance and progress in delivering effective and efficient services in its role as USF administrator. In all instances, USAC quickly executed administrative actions designed to promote useful oversight and enhanced program operations. From retraining or hiring staff to reprogramming automated systems to responding to customers' needs to developing and implementing new procedures, USAC fulfilled its many and wide-ranging operational duties throughout the year.
http://benton.org/node/23914
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CONTENT
FTC: DRM SOFTWARE USE REQUIRES DISCLOSURE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
Companies that bundle music, movies and games with digital rights management software must prominently disclose information about such software to consumers, a Federal Trade Commission official warned last week. "Hard to notice, mouse-print-type disclosures using cryptic terminology is not sufficient," said Mary Engle, acting deputy director at the FTC. "As a market for digital media evolves, it becomes even more important for consumers to know and understand the nature of what they are paying for." The FTC convened the town hall meeting, held in Seattle last week, to explore how digital rights management technology affects consumers. Engle said the FTC wasn't trying to weigh in on the merits of the software, which limits consumers' ability to make copies and, in some cases, play media on their choice of devices. But many of the speakers were anything but neutral about such technology. Corynne McSherry, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the FTC that digital rights management software threatens consumers' ability to use media. "Fair use means that you can do things like buy a CD and take it home and play it on various different devices and play it in the background in your kitchen and your toddler can dance to it and then you can put a video of the toddler dancing up on YouTube," McSherry said. "Unfortunately, DRM (digital rights management) can interfere with those expectations."
http://benton.org/node/23913
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EU THREATENS ACTION TO DEFEND WEB USERS' PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Bate Felix]
The European Union's Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva says some Internet companies are abusing consumers' personal data and this cannot be allowed to continue. In an upcoming speech, she'll threaten EU intervention to set tougher rules on how Internet users' personal data is collected, analyzed and shared by search engines and service providers. "The current situation with regard to privacy, profiling and targeting is not satisfactory. Basic consumer rights in terms of transparency, control and risk are being violated and this cannot continue." Kuneva warns that if the industry fails to offer adequate responses on data collection and profiling, the European Commission will not hesitate to intervene. "We must establish the principles of transparency, clear language, opt-in or opt-out options that are meaningful and easy to use."
http://benton.org/node/23912
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Blagojevich had contact with Tribune, records show
China rejects computer spy claims as "ghost of Cold War"
China web users turn keen eye back on government
BLAGOJEVICH HAD CONTACT WITH TRIBUNE, RECORDS SHOW
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Todd Lighty, Robert Becker]
Illinois state records outline a series of private contacts between Tribune Co and since-ousted Gov Rod Blagojevich even as investigators prepared to arrest him on federal corruption charges late last year. The ex-governor's e-mails, telephone logs and calendars, recently released to the Chicago Tribune under the state's Freedom of Information Act, provide new details about the urgency of Tribune Co.'s efforts to get a financial bailout by selling Wrigley Field to the state. Tribune Co also owns the Cubs, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. The documents leave much unsaid, and most of the people who could fill in the blanks would not comment. The records indicate that Tribune Chief Executive Sam Zell and Blagojevich spoke but do not show what they discussed. Around late October, authorities began secretly recording Blagojevich's phone calls. They were listening Nov. 3 when Blagojevich allegedly discussed pressuring Tribune Co. into firing editorial writers. At one point, Blagojevich wonders whether he should talk directly to Zell, adding that he would tell Zell the state can't help with the Wrigley deal because "your own newspaper is going to argue to impeach."
http://benton.org/node/23943
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CHINA REJECTS COMPUTER SPY CLAIMS AS "GHOST OF COLD WAR"
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Chris Buckley]
China on Tuesday rejected a report suggesting it may be involved in using computer networks to spy on exiled Tibetans and foreign governments, accusing its authors of being possessed by "the ghost of the Cold War." China has been repeatedly accused of using the Internet to secretly enter computer networks abroad to carry out sabotage and gather intelligence, and it has repeatedly denied such claims. A report from the Toronto-based Munk Center for International Studies in Toronto said at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries were breached by the spying, which it said was based in China but could not be definitively linked to the government. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry dismissed such claims as rumor and said his government was committed to protecting Internet security.
http://benton.org/node/23938
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CHINA WEB USERS TURN KEEN EYE BACK ON GOVERNMENT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
Already under pressure to create jobs and growth while clinging to absolute power, China's Communist Party faces a growing headache from Internet users keen to expose its members' sometimes questionable habits.
http://benton.org/node/23937
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QUICKLY
A CHAMPION FOR THE CENSUS?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Confirmed by the Senate last week, Gary Locke, the new commerce secretary, is off to a good start. For his first official act, he attended a Census 2010 kick-off rally. His attendance raises hope that the Obama administration is now truly focused on the upcoming census, which was largely mismanaged and undermined during the Bush years. As a result of those policies, the census is widely acknowledged to be at high risk of failure unless emergency remedial action is taken. Inclusiveness and accuracy are essential to an honest, robust count. After years of neglect, it will take a heroic effort to pull off a worthy 2010 census.
http://benton.org/node/23944
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IF MICROSOFT SUPPORTS BROADBAND, WHY SUPPORT CONNECTED NATION?
[SOURCE: DSLReports.com, AUTHOR: Karl Bode]
In January, Microsoft joined Connected Nation's National Advisory Council, and last December, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $7 million to the group. Just a suggestion, but if Microsoft really wants to help improve the nation's broadband fortunes, they might want to start by understanding exactly what they're investing in. Not that "hey guys, schools and libraries need broadband" isn't a really helpful contribution to the broader discourse.
http://benton.org/node/23911
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MOBILE MARKETING ASSOCIATION BROKERS BEST PRACTICES DEAL
[SOURCE: Mobile Marketing Association, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) announced that the four largest U.S. wireless service providers Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile USA have agreed to incorporate their mobile marketing guidelines within the MMA's best practices. The MMA will work with each carrier, as well as other industry partners, to craft the unified best practices, which will have five key benefits: 1) Promote a consistent consumer experience including standardizing key consumer disclosures, 2) Enhance efficiencies in running short code programs, 3) Accelerate the time to market for mobile campaigns, 4) Ensure monitoring programs and audit results are more consistent, and 5) Reduce operational costs across the mobile marketing ecosystem.
http://benton.org/node/23910
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GROUPS SAY STIMULUS LOBBYING RULES ARE TOO STRICT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kevin Bogardus]
Two prominent watchdog groups are joining with a lobbyists trade association in asking the Obama administration to rescind lobbying restrictions surrounding stimulus funds. On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the American League of Lobbyists will release a letter they are sending to White House Counsel Gregory Craig asking him to rewrite new rules for the stimulus package. The Administration's rules, adopted March 20, say "An executive department or agency official shall not consider the view of a lobbyist ... concerning particular projects, applications, or applicants for funding under the Recovery Act unless such views are in writing." Lobbyists contends the new rules are far too restrictive and may impinge on their First Amendment right to petition their government.
http://benton.org/node/23920
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GOOGLE FORMS $100 MILLION VENTURE FUND
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alexei Oreskovic]
Google Inc is forming a $100 million fund to invest in early-stage start-up firms. The fund, to be called Google Ventures, will be wholly owned by Google, but will operate as a separate entity and will seek investment opportunities to maximize returns rather than looking for investments that strictly fit with Google's strategic vision. Rich Miner, a co-founder of Android smart phone software that Google acquired in 2005, and Bill Maris are the fund's two managing partners.
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COLLEGE APPLICATIONS NOW AN OPEN (FACE)BOOK
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:]
For a generation of students who share every detail of their personal lives in text messages, MySpace pages and other online postings, the college admissions chase is offering a lesson that some things are best kept private. Should you post your good fortune on your home page before learning whether your best friend got in? Or check your iPhone for online decisions, with everyone watching? If you put your college wish list online, will you be humiliated if the rejections come thick and fast?
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FOUNDATION GIVING IN 08 DEFIED HUGE ASSET DECLINE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephanie Strom]
The nation's foundations lost nearly $150 billion in assets last year, or almost as much as they have given away over the last four years, a new study has found. The study, by the Foundation Center, a chief authority on American philanthropy, determined that foundation giving for the year nonetheless held steady at an estimated $45.6 billion, falling by just 1 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis. Still, without the $2.8 billion given away by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the nation's largest, the decline would have been almost 3 percent. Moreover, the center cautioned that because the steep loss of asset value happened so late in 2008, giving in the current year was likely to drop much more.
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Out like a lamb.