April 29, 2009 (The First 100 Days)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for APRIL 29, 2009
MAPping Change -- The First 100 Days of the Obama Administration: DTV, Economic Stimulus, and Beyond
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mapping-change
TELEVISION
Supreme Court Upholds 'Fleeting Expletive' Rule for Now
HEALTH AND MEDIA
Senate Confirms Sebelius
CDC Official Draws on TV Skills for Flu Updates
Media Drumbeat Amplifies Coverage of Flu Outbreak
People mine Net for everything flu
Flu Crisis Underscores Need For Updated Telework Policies
THE STIMULUS
The Unintended Consequences of the Broadband Stimulus
Gov Patrick Files Broadband legislation to prepare MA for Access to Federal Stimulus Funds
HIMSS publishes 'meaningful use' definitions
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Metered Bandwidth Pricing Is Coming
Cablevision rolls out super-fast Internet access
Online gambling bill coming
EU reaches draft deal over Internet spat
CYBERSECURITY
Internet warfare: Is the focus on the wrong things?
Online Safety and Technology Working Group Announced
JOURNALISM
Newspaper Death Foretold by Warren Buffett -- in 1992
New York Times, guild in tentative pay cut deal
Let's not stop the presses
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Kundra: Gov't Working On Web Guidelines
Kundra wants data more available
Rep Towns Recommends IT Leadership for Recovery.gov
DIGITAL CONTENT
Justice Dept. Opens Antitrust Inquiry Into Google Books Deal
Authors can delay decision on online books-U.S. judge
Twitter Audience Does Not Stick
Some colleges checking out applicants' social networking posts
E-Libraries Miss Lots Of Books
COMPANIES
Is Verizon ready for the iPhone?
Microsoft and Verizon Plot an iPhone Rival
iPhone Users and Their Apps
Tribune's Wilson Squeezing Dollars, Looking at Local Programming
Murdoch: Obama Must Be Careful Not To Overregulate
Google Unveils New Tool To Dig for Public Data
Recent Comments on:
- Writing an Effective Public Interest Rule for NTIA Broadband Grant Eligibility by Craig Settles and others
- Proposal to deregulate could hike Florida phone bills by FloridaJoe,
- Fox Skipping Obama Press Conferences by RonDv,
- Let's get to Work on Criteria for NTIA Grant Awards by BroadbandGlobet
TELEVISION
SUPREMES OK 'FLEETING EXPLETIVE' RULE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Mark Sherman]
The Supreme Court ruled narrowly Tuesday in favor of a government policy that threatens broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on live television, yet stopped short of deciding whether the policy violates the Constitution. In six separate opinions totalling 68 pages, the justices signaled serious concerns about the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's "fleeting expletives" policy, but called on a federal appeals court to weigh whether it violates First Amendment guarantees of free speech. By a 5-4 vote, however, the court did throw out a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. That court had found in favor of a Fox Television-led challenge to the FCC policy and had returned the case to the agency for a "reasoned analysis" of its tougher line on indecency. The Commission appealed to the Supreme Court instead. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said the FCC policy, adopted in 2004, is "neither arbitrary nor capricious." The FCC changed its long-standing policy after it concluded that a one-free-expletive rule did not make sense in the context of keeping the air waves free of indecency when children are likely to be watching television. FCC Chairmen Copps called the decision "a big win for America's families." [much, much more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/24886
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HEALTH AND MEDIA
SENATE CONFIRMS SEBELIUS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Al Kamen]
President Barack Obama now has a complete Cabinet. On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Hours later, the former Kansas governor was sworn in an Oval Office ceremony. Democrats had sought a quick vote on Sebelius as Congress moves ahead with health-care reform this summer, but Republicans slowed her advancement because of her support for abortion rights. But GOP procedural objections faded with the recent outbreak of swine flu and the threat of a global pandemic. The Senate vote was 65 to 31.
http://benton.org/node/24917
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CDC OFFICIAL DRAWS ON TV SKILLS FOR FLU UPDATES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Gardiner Harris]
Dr. Richard E. Besser, one of the nation's top public health officials, has won raves for his televised swine flu updates. His parents said he had been calmly reassuring since childhood, but Dr. Besser said weekly stints in the 1990s as a television health reporter in San Diego helped. "It made me comfortable being around cameras," Dr. Besser said. After 13 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Besser, 49, was plucked from relative obscurity in January to become the agency's acting director. He has been reassuring. He has explained complicated issues simply. He has even acknowledged not knowing many answers.
http://benton.org/node/24916
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MEDIA DRUMBEAT AMPLIFIES COVERAGE OF FLU OUTBREAK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tim Arango, Brian Stelter]
Without the news media the public would be dangerously unaware of the swine flu outbreak, but perhaps without saturation coverage on cable news networks and the velocity of information on the Internet, the public would not be so hysterical, medical professionals said. "It's a fine line between educating people and frightening them," said Dr. Marvin J. Tenenbaum, the director of medicine at St. Francis Hospital on Long Island. He has been making the rounds of patients and responding to their concerns about the outbreak, concerns that he said had been amplified by patients' watching cable news in their hospital beds. Even as news anchors preach caution and pledge that they do not want to cause undue anxiety, the sheer demands of the 24-hour news cycle of cable news and the Internet have amplified the story. Typifying the sometimes overheated coverage, a Fox News Channel commercial on Wednesday exclaimed that "swine flu plagues the nation" and urged viewers to tune into prime-time coverage.
http://benton.org/node/24915
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PEOPLE MINE NET FOR EVERYTHING FLU
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jack Gillum]
Internet users have ramped up their searching, chatting and blogging of up-to-the-minute news on the symptoms and spread of swine flu since its sudden appearance this month. It's a trend health experts say is effective in rapidly pushing out public health information, using technology not available during the deadly, worldwide flu outbreaks of decades past. It's also creating a double-edged sword, they say, in having too many sources of data — some of which are not based in science, such as the sea of microblogging "tweets" on the social-networking site Twitter.
http://benton.org/node/24914
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FLU CRISIS UNDERSCORES NEED FOR UPDATED TELEWORK POLICIES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Joe Davidson]
Put simply, the mission of the federal government could suffer because federal workers might not go to the office if they, or people dependent on them, are ill. Or as Cindy Auten, general manager of Telework Exchange, a public-private partnership that promotes telecommuting, asks: "If Uncle Sam calls in sick, who will tend to America in a time of an emergency?" Part of the answer: federal workers at home. You don't always have to go to work to be at work. This swine flu outbreak reminds managers that they need to make sure their telework policies are up-to-date and well-tested.
http://benton.org/node/24913
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THE STIMULUS
THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE BROADBAND STIMULUS
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Daily's top two reasons the broadband stimulus is doing more harm than good: 1) the battles over funding are using oxygen and attention that should be devoted to creating a national broadband strategy and 2) waiting for stimulus dollars is actually slowing broadband deployment efforts. It would've been great if Congress would've been more prescriptive in its legislation. In lieu of that we need these agencies moving quickly and giving clear directives as to who's going to be eligible to get what. Otherwise if we ignore the reality of how this legislation is influencing the market, the stimulus could end up doing more harm than good.
http://benton.org/node/24905
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GOV PATRICK FILES BROADBAND LEGISLATION TO PREPARE MASSACHUSETTS FOR ACCESS TO FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS
[SOURCE: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Department, AUTHOR: Press release]
As part of his Massachusetts Recovery Plan to secure the state's economic future, Governor Deval Patrick has filed legislation to help leverage federal economic recovery funds to boost broadband services throughout Massachusetts. "This bill builds on our commitment to provide broadband access to all areas of the Commonwealth, and positions the state for long-term economic growth," said Governor Patrick. "This effort will also help streamline state zoning and permitting rules to expedite the availability of this enabling technology." Many of the provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act include "use it or lose it" deadlines that require states to use federal funds quickly or the funding will be reallocated to other states. Changes to current state law are necessary to meet these deadlines and other ARRA requirements. This bill proposes changes that will ensure that the Commonwealth takes full advantage of ARRA funding for deployment of broadband infrastructure. Specifically, the measure: 1) Authorizes the Massachusetts Broadband Institute ("MBI") to use funding to acquire indefeasible rights of use and federal-government (FCC) spectrum; 2) Clarifies that petitions relative to the zoning of a communications or cable facility will be reviewed by the Department of Telecommunications and Cable and petitions relative to all other types of public service facilities will be reviewed by the Department of Public Utilities consistent with the 2007 reorganization of the Department of Telecommunications and Energy; 3) Clarifies that the MBI may be exempt from local zoning by-laws or ordinances so long as the MBI is acting within the confines of its essential government function for the public good; and 4) Authorizes MassHighway to enter into long-term leases with the MBI so that fiber and conduit can be deployed along certain existing right-of-ways in parallel with certain MassHighway construction projects.
http://benton.org/node/24904
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HIMSS PUBLISHES 'MEANINGFUL USE' DEFINITIONS
[SOURCE: HealthcareITNews, AUTHOR: Molly Merrill]
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has published two definitions of "meaningful use" as it applies to certified electronic health record technologies and hospital's use. HIMSS officials announced the definitions Tuesday as the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics Executive Subcommittee began hearings to define "meaningful use." According to HIMSS officials, EHR technology is "meaningful" when it has capabilities including e-prescribing, exchanging electronic health information to improve the quality of care, having the capacity to provide clinical decision support to support practitioner order entry and submitting clinical quality measures - and other measures - as selected by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. HIMSS officials believe the mature definition of "meaningful use of certified EHR technology" includes at least four attributes: 1) A functional EHR certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT); 2) Electronic exchange of standardized patient data with clinical and administrative stakeholders using the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel's (HITSP) interoperability specifications and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise's (IHE) frameworks; 3) Clinical decision support providing clinicians with clinical knowledge and intelligently-filtered patient information to enhance patient care; and 4) Capabilities to support process and care measurement that drive improvements in patient safety, quality outcomes and cost reductions.
http://benton.org/node/24903
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
METERED BANDWIDTH PRICING IS COMING
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Metered bandwidth pricing for Internet service is coming, said cable executives gathered for the American Cable Association's annual summit. Such pricing will be a necessity going forward as cable operators become broadband companies rather than just television delivery companies and the demands for delivering high-bandwidth-consuming video and other services increases. ACA President Matt Polka said metered pricing is in the early stages of development, but that "the outcome is certain." He said there was no limit on the build-outs that his members have to do to meet customer demand, and with new services coming down the pike, his members won't be able to provide all that at $40 per month. He said he would like to pay the same price for heating bills all year round, but that he has to pay more in those Pittsburgh winters when he uses more.
http://benton.org/node/24902
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CABLEVISION ROLLS OUT SUPERFAST INTERNET ACCESS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Starting May 11, Cablevision broadband subscribers can pay $100/month for new high-speed Internet service, which will deliver download speeds of up to 101 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 15 megabits per second. Such speeds can enable the download of up to 750 digital photos or 150 songs in one minute. It remains to be seen how much customer demand there is for new super-fast Internet access, which cable companies charge premium prices for. Comcast Corp charges up to $139 a month for its 50 megabit Wideband service in certain markets, for instance. Cablevision will be the first of the major U.S. cable operators to roll out new super-fast speeds to its entire network using a new cable technology called DOCSIS 3.0. Other cable operators like Comcast and Charter Communications started trying out the super-fast access speed in some of their regions last year. The cable companies are increasing access speeds in response to the launch of advanced digital services from phone companies Verizon and AT&T Inc, and also encouraged by the popularity of Web video services like Google Inc's YouTube and Hulu, a venture of News Corp and NBC Universal. Faster speeds will make it easier to watch video programing over the Web, but there are industry concerns that they might also make it easier for customers to 'cut the cord' of traditional cable TV subscriptions. S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, asked why Cablevision can offer fast access with no caps or overage fees, when other Internet service providers claim such a plan would "cause the sky to fall and an exaflood to break the Internet."
http://benton.org/node/24901
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ONLINE GAMBLING BILL COMING
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kevin Drawbaugh]
House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank said on Tuesday he would introduce a bill next week to overturn a three-year-old US ban on Internet gambling. The legislation, likely to be opposed by anti-gambling Republicans, would overturn a law imposed during the Bush Administration that has hurt US trade ties with the European Union. The bill had been expected earlier, but Rep Frank said his committee has been busy with other measures addressing the credit crisis -- another Bush Administration accomplishment -- and proposals to reform financial regulation.
http://benton.org/node/24900
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EU REACHES DRAFT DEAL OVER INTERNET SPAT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Huw Jones]
Apparently, the European Union has reached a draft deal to resolve a spat holding up a sweeping reform of the bloc's telecom sector. The battle over handling copyright abuse has emerged as a final sticking point between EU states and the European Parliament, which have a joint say on the reform. Parliament appears to have won the battle with EU states by insisting that consumers should have the freedom to access the Internet enshrined in the body of the reform. Cutting off Internet access, such as for suspected illegal downloading of copyright material, could only be done with the agreement of an impartial and independent tribunal, as outlined under the European Convention of Human Rights. The compromise is seen as using broader language than previously and drops a reference to the need for a judicial ruling for cutting off Internet access.
http://benton.org/node/24899
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CYBERSECURITY
INTERNET WARFARE: IS THE FOCUS ON THE WRONG THINGS?
[SOURCE: Computerworld, AUTHOR: Jaikumar Vijayan]
More than seven years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there's widespread consensus that federal efforts to secure cyberinfrastructure are bogged down by a lack of vision, planning and leadership. While the government has struggled to come up with a cohesive national strategy for defending its interests on the Internet, threats in cyberspace have continued to grow and today pose a grave risk to national and economic security. The threat that has not going unnoticed. Earlier this month, Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced new legislation that would give the federal government sweeping new authority on the cybersecurity front. The legislation would give the government a more direct role in developing and enforcing baseline standards, not just for agencies but also on companies in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, utilities and health care. It would empower the president to declare a cyberemergency if needed and allow him to disconnect federal or private-sector networks in the interests of national security. The current Administration has also made cybersecurity a priority.
http://benton.org/node/24898
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ONLINE SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP ANNOUNCED
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced the Online Safety and Technology Working Group -- a working group dedicated to keeping children safe on the Internet. More than two dozen private sector and child and family advocacy leaders will help evaluate industry efforts to protect the privacy and safety of children and families online. The Working Group was established by the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act." Members will work with federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and Department of Education, to evaluate industry efforts and to make recommendations to promote online safety for children through education, labeling, and parental control technology. The Working Group will also evaluate and make recommendations on industry efforts toprevent and respond to criminal activity involving children and the Internet. The Working Group reports to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Congress. Within a year of convening its first meeting, the group will submit a report of its findings and make recommendations on how to increase online safety measures. Hemanshu Nigam and Anne Collier will act as Co-Chairs of the Group. The Group's first meeting will be on May 22, 2009, in Washington, DC.
http://benton.org/node/24892
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JOURNALISM
NEWSPAPER DEATH FORETOLD BY WARREN BUFFET
[SOURCE: , AUTHOR: Jack Shafer]
In a Feb. 28, 1992, letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, a good three or four years before www become part of the lingua franca, Buffett declared that "newspaper, television, and magazine properties" were losing their status as profit-spewing franchises. Expanding on a theme he'd introduced the year before, Buffett wrote: "An economic franchise arises from a product or service that: 1) is needed or desired; 2) is thought by its customers to have no close substitute and; 3) is not subject to price regulation. The existence of all three conditions will be demonstrated by a company's ability to regularly price its product or service aggressively and thereby to earn high rates of return on capital. Moreover, franchises can tolerate mis-management. Inept managers may diminish a franchise's profitability, but they cannot inflict mortal damage." In Buffett's view, a strong trademark (like Coca-Cola), or a broadcast license (as with radio and TV stations), or near-monopoly position in the market (as with the Washington Post or the Buffalo News, the latter of which Berkshire Hathaway owns) can convey franchise power on a company. Still, increased consumer choice for information and entertainment has reduced such media franchises from cash cornucopias to mere money-making businesses.
http://benton.org/node/24891
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NEW YOUR TIMES, GUILD IN TENTATIVE DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
The New York Times Co reached a tentative agreement with the Newspaper Guild of New York on Tuesday to cut union worker pay at its namesake newspaper by 5 percent to save $4.5 million. Under the agreement, which union members still must ratify for it to take effect, workers would get reduced pay through the end of the year. Non-union employees at the Times newspaper and other New York Times Co properties had their pay cut earlier this month. The Times's management rebuffed a Guild proposal to guarantee that there would be no layoffs during the period that the pay cut was in effect.
http://benton.org/node/24888
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LET'S NOT STOP THE PRESSES
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Philip Meyer]
[Commentary] Don't give up on newspapers just yet. Their transition from ink on paper to publishing online has begun to produce some interesting hybrids. Out of all this experimentation, natural selection could produce some winners. We should care because newspaper journalism has been a major factor in keeping our politicians honest and our democracy working. The Internet is great at moving information cheaply and swiftly, but we still need to figure out how to pay someone who is trusted and smart to originate it. [Philip Meyer is professor emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and author of The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age.]
http://benton.org/node/24910
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
KUNDRA: GOV WORKING ON WEB GUIDELINES
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra said the Federal CIO Council and the General Services Administration are working on a government-wide guidance for how agencies can more fully utilize social media applications like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. He warned the guidance could "take some time" to align with statutes like the Presidential Records Act and the Privacy Act, which were enacted in the 1970s, and seven-year-old Federal Information Security Management Act.
http://benton.org/node/24897
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KUNDRA WANTS DATA MORE AVAILABLE
[SOURCE: FederalComputerWeek, AUTHOR: Ben Bain]
Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra says the Obama administration wants a "context-driven government" with services accessible through people's regular daily activities that involve information technology. The government needs to re-examine how to use technology to interact with the public and provide services most useful to people. Kundra said the "context-driven government" could be powered by making the large amounts of data that agencies have available for the public to use. He calls that process "democratizing" data.
http://benton.org/node/24896
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REP TOWNS RECOMMENDS IT LEADERSHIP FOR RECOVERY.GOV
[SOURCE: House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
Rep Edolphus "Ed" Towns (D-NY), the Chairman of the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform, is asking Vice President Joseph Biden to consider appointing an IT professional to lead the implementation of best suggestions captured during the online Recovery.gov IT forum. Currently, the RAT Board is hosting a week-long national online dialogue on Recovery.gov to engage information technology (IT) leaders who can identify business models, best practices, proposals and solutions that can be applied to Recovery.gov in order to meet the transparency goals of the Recovery Act. The idea for an online IT forum was first suggested by Chairman Towns last month in a letter to Vice President Biden. Responding to the Vice President's decision to convene an online IT forum, Chairman Towns wrote Edward DeSeve, special adviser to Vice President Biden on the implementation of the Recovery Act, to commend the Vice President for acting upon his suggestion to convene an online high tech forum. Chairman Towns adds that equally important to hosting the IT forum is the RAT Board's ability to conduct an expeditious review, evaluation, and implementation of best suggestions. Therefore, Chairman Towns suggests the appointment of an IT leader to implement best practices captured during the online IT forum.
http://benton.org/node/24895
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DIGITAL CONTENT
JUSTICE DEPT OPENS ANTITRUST INQUIRY INTO GOOGLE BOOKS DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
The Justice Department has begun an inquiry into the antitrust implications of Google's settlement with authors and publishers over its Google Book Search service. Lawyers for the Justice Department have been in conversations in recent weeks with various groups opposed to the settlement, including the Internet Archive and Consumer Watchdog. More recently, Justice Department lawyers notified the parties to the settlement, including Google, and representatives for the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild, that they were looking into various antitrust issues related to the far-reaching agreement. The inquiry does not necessarily mean that the department will oppose the settlement, which is subject to a court review. But it suggests that some of the concerns raised by critics, who say the settlement would unfairly give Google an exclusive license to profit from millions of books, have resonated with the Justice Department.
http://benton.org/node/24911
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AUTHORS CAN DELAY DECISION ON ONLINE BOOKS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Christine Kearney]
US District Judge Denny Chin granted a four-month extension for a group of authors deciding whether they want to opt out or object to Google's settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. Under the proposed settlement agreed upon last October, Google will pay $125 million to create a Book Rights Registry, where authors and publishers can register works and receive compensation from institutional subscriptions or book sales. But a separate group of academic authors in Berkeley, California, had petitioned for a delay on deciding whether they should participate in the settlement that paves the way for readers to search through millions of copyrighted books online, browse passages and purchase copies. They no have until September 4 to decide.
http://benton.org/node/24889
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TWITTER AUDIENCE DOES NOT STICK
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Mike Shields]
Over 60 percent of people who sign up to use Twitter do not return to using it the following month, according to new data released by Nielsen Online. In other words, Twitter currently has just a 40 percent retention rate, up from just 30 percent in previous months -- indicating an "I don't get it factor" among new users.
http://benton.org/node/24887
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SOME COLLEGES CHECKING OUT APPLICANTS' SOCIAL NETWORKING POSTS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Larry Gordon]
According to a new report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, about a quarter of US colleges reported doing some research about applicants on social networking sites or through Internet search engines. The study, which included 10 California colleges, did not specify which schools acknowledged the practice or how often scholarships or enrollment offers might be nixed because of online postings. David Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the counselors group, said the moral is clear: "Don't post anything that you don't want your mother or father or college admission officer to see," he said. Colleges' use of such Internet sites raises ethical issues that need further study, including regarding whether online postings are genuine, Hawkins added.
http://benton.org/node/24909
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E-LIBRARIES MISS LOTS OF BOOKS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Hillel Italie]
Getting permission to release a book in electronic form can be as hard — or harder — than writing it. The reasons are legal, financial, technical and philosophical. 1) The author or author's estate simply refuses, like J.K. Rowling, who has expressed a preference for books on paper and a wariness of technology. 2) The book doesn't fit the e-book format. 3) The author, or the author's representative, is holding out for more money. Agents complain that e-book royalty rates, commonly 25 percent of net receipts, are far too low and should be doubled, saying that digital texts cost virtually nothing to produce and distribute.
http://benton.org/node/24908
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COMPANIES
IS VERIZON READY FOR THE IPHONE
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
[Commentary] If the rumors are true that Verizon Wireless is negotiating a deal with Apple for the iPhone, then I have two words of caution for Verizon: Be prepared. AT&T's launch of the iPhone last summer sent its data networks into a tizzy, spawning numerous complaints from customers about less-than-3G performance, extreme network congestion and in some cases 3G outages forcing customers onto the 2G network. At the time, Apple shouldered much of the blame for the capacity problems due to firmware issues on the device, but other studies have shown that AT&T also was a culprit, unable to handle the sudden flood of millions of devices all demanding high-capacity connections to the network. Ultimately those problems didn't hinder the iPhone 3G's rapid proliferation in the U.S. and around the world. Even though customer complaints still persist, AT&T activated 1.6 million iPhones in the first quarter alone. As the iPhone matures, though, customers may not be so tolerant of network problems.
http://benton.org/node/24894
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MICROSOFT AND VERIZON PLOT IPHONE RIVAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma, Nick Wingfield]
Apparently, Microsoft and Verizon Wireless are in talks to launch a touch-screen multimedia cellphone on the carrier's network early next year, in an ambitious effort to challenge Apple's iPhone. The discussions are a gambit by Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to energize a mobile business that has lost buzz among consumers and software developers to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. Microsoft is a major player in software for cellphones, but it is working hard to develop a new device that will rival Apple's. Verizon, meanwhile, is pushing on several fronts to extend its smart-phone offerings and compete with AT&T Inc., which is the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier. Verizon has also had discussions in recent months with Apple about partnering on devices other than the iPhone.
http://benton.org/node/24907
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IPHONE USERS AND THEIR APPS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma]
Greystripe, an ad network for mobile applications and games, has a new report showing how consumers are using free iPhone applications. Among the interesting findings: People use free apps an average of 20 times before getting bored and looking for something else. The average time they spend using/playing with the apps is 9.6 minutes. So-called "tailgate" ads, which are short flash videos or games users interact with before an app launches, are keeping people's attention for about 22 seconds — a positive development in the fledgling mobile ad space.
http://benton.org/node/24906
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TRIBUNE'S WILSON SQUEEZING DOLLARS, LOOKING AT LOCAL PROGRAMMING
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
A Q&A with Ed Wilson, president of Tribune Broadcasting (23 TV stations, WGN-AM Chicago and cable's WGN America) and chief revenue officer at all of Tribune Co's properties, which include the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun. Under protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Tribune's management is working hard to align revenues, costs and debt and demonstrate upside in a way that will appease the unhappy debt holders. Wilson has merged the Tribune CW affiliates in St. Louis (KPLR) and Denver (KWGN) with Fox affiliates there belonging to Local TV. He's also merged the operations of Tribune's newspaper (Sun-Sentinel) and TV station (WSFL) in South Florida and is in the process of doing the same with its paper (Hartford Courant) and TV stations (WTIC and WTXX) in Hartford (CT). But at the same time Tribune is squeezing dollars out of its operations though whatever efficiencies it can find, it is expanding news and other local programming at TV stations where it makes sense in hopes of putting them — and the company — on a path to long-term growth.
http://benton.org/node/24893
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MURDOCH: OBAMA MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERREGULATE
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Jessica Papini]
Rupert Murdoch said President Barack Obama and his aides may be trying to solve too many problems at once. While people "tend to panic and think everything must be fixed at once," Murdoch said, often times, "a lot of things will fix themselves if" left alone. Many of the president's economic measures are introducing permanent programs without much thought, he said. There is much "hyper-activity" going on right now, said Murdoch. While Americans like President Obama and "he is a great communicator ... I just pray he gets it right," Murdoch said. Murdoch said there is "absolutely" a healthy future for newspapers and television. But he said the Internet has made it "harder to make bigger profits in media as we know it." Newspapers will still be a source of information to people and they will want a brand they know and trust, Murdoch said. But people might get the news collected by newspapers on their BlackBerrys, computers or e-readers. Murdoch said the question remains how people will pay for the news.
http://benton.org/node/24890
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GOOGLE UNVEILS NEW TOOL TO DIG FOR PUBLIC DATA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Google launched a new search tool yesterday designed to help Web users find public data that is often buried in hard-to-navigate government Web sites. The tool, called Google Public Data, is the latest in the company's efforts to make information from federal, state and local governments accessible to citizens. It's a goal that many Washington public interest groups and government watchdogs share with President Obama, whose technology advisers are pushing to open up federal data to the public. The company plans to initially make available U.S. population and unemployment data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, respectively. Other data sets, such as emissions statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency, will roll out in the coming months. Google is one of a number of Internet properties, including Wikipedia and Amazon, that has been trying to make it easier to find government information on the Web.
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