May 26, 2009 (NTIA Delivers Broadband Stimulus Update to Congress)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY MAY 26, 2009
NetSquared meets in San Jose and tomorrow, GWU hosts From Gatekeeper to Information Valet: Workplans for Sustaining Journalism. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-05-24--P1W
BROADBAND
NTIA Delivers Broadband Stimulus Update to Congress
Aided by Poker Devotees, Barney Frank Pushes to End the Ban on Online Gambling
CYBERSECURITY
Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
RNC chair: Media didn't vet Obama because of race
POLICYMAKERS
Chopra, Kerry and Blank Confirmed
Economy Is FCC's Top Job
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Showdown Looming On 'State Secrets'
Data.gov
JOURNALISM
Newspapers' future
Amazon's next revolution
BROADCASTING
55k Consumers Call FCC's Help Line for Assistance in Response to DTV "Soft Test"
Local TV stations hit hard by ad declines
KIDS & MEDIA
CCFC Says It Urged Congress To Require FCC Bus Report
CDT Joins Brief Urging Court to Correct Errors on Section 230
Texting May Be Taking a Toll
BROADBAND
NTIA DELIVERS BROADBAND STIMULUS UPDATE TO CONGRESS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
On May 18, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) delivered Congress an update on the In light of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In light of BTOP's nascence, the report focuses on initial procedural and administrative steps taken by NTIA to launch BTOP in accordance with the Act's requirements. In addition to a tentative timeline, this report sets forth NTIA's key activities over the past 90 days aimed at ensuring a prompt and effective implementation of the grant program: (i) program kickoff in cooperation with other Federal agencies and the States; (ii) public outreach and participation; and (iii) enhancing transparency and accountability. The content and format of subsequent reports may differ to reflect new developments and phases in the program, particularly once NTIA begins to receive and act on grant applications. NTIA currently intends to conduct three rounds of grants. NTIA's goal is to open the first grant application window in the summer of 2009, following publication of a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) that will establish more specific eligibility criteria and funding conditions in accordance with the Act's requirements. After its review of the initial grant applications, NTIA anticipates making grant awards beginning in the final quarter of calendar year 2009. Two more rounds of grants will follow, each commencing with its own NOFA that will allow NTIA to make any appropriate changes to the program based on its previous experience. In addition, NTIA intends to release a separate NOFA with respect to the broadband map.
http://www.benton.org/node/25500
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AIDED BY POKER DEVOTEES, BARNEY FRANK PUSHES TO END THE BAN ON ONLINE GAMBLING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bernie Becker]
House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank (D-MA) has again introduced legislation that would roll back a ban on Internet gambling enacted when Republicans led Congress. The legislation would allow the Treasury Department to license and regulate online gambling companies that serve American customers. Under the current law, approved by Congress in September 2006, financial institutions are banned from handling transactions made to and from Internet gambling sites. Chairman Frank points out that the federal government could collect increased tax revenues if Internet gambling was regulated. But he said online gambling should be legal as a matter of personal liberty, calling it an activity the government should neither encourage nor prohibit.
http://benton.org/node/25511
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CYBERSECURITY
OBAMA SET TO CREATE A CYBERSECURITY CZAR WITH BROAD MANDATE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
President Obama is expected to announce late this week that he will create a "cyber czar," a senior White House official who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation's government-run and private computer networks, according to people who have been briefed on the plan. The adviser will have the most comprehensive mandate granted to such an official to date and will probably be a member of the National Security Council but will report to the national security adviser as well as the senior White House economic adviser, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations are not final. The announcement will coincide with the long-anticipated release of a 40-page report that evaluates the government's cybersecurity initiatives and policies. The report is intended to outline a "strategic vision" and the range of issues the new adviser must handle, but it will not delve into details. The document will not resolve the politically charged issue of what role the National Security Agency, the premier electronic surveillance agency, will have in protecting private-sector networks. The issue is a key concern in policy circles, and experts say it requires a full and open debate over legal authorities and the protection of citizens' e-mails and phone calls.
http://benton.org/node/25512
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
RNC CHAIR: MEDIA DIDN'T VET OBAMA BECAUSE OF RACE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Reid Wilson]
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that President Obama has not been vetted thanks to a complicit media that wanted to see a black man become president. Steele, who is also African-American, said Obama's political philosophy and principles remain largely unknown. He was not vetted, folks," Steele said. "He was not vetted because the press fell in love with the black man running for the office. 'Oh, gee, wouldn't it be neat to do that? Gee, wouldn't it make all of our liberal guilt just go away? We can continue to ride around in our limousines and feel so lucky to live in an America with a black president,' " Steele said, mocking what he sees as a biased media. Steele went on to suggest the media should have examined the influence the Rev Jeremiah Wright had on Obama. Think Progress posted a 2005 interview between Steele and C-SPAN host Brian Lamb in which Steele pushed back against claims made by the Baltimore Sun that all he brought to the gubernatorial ticket was the color of his skin. Steele called the claim, made in an editorial when he and ex-Gov Bob Ehrlich (R) ran together in 2002, "pure ignorance," adding that he had been the victim of racist treatment.
http://benton.org/node/25501
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POLICYMAKERS
CHOPRA, KERRY AND BLANK CONFIRMED
[SOURCE: US Senate, AUTHOR:]
On May 21, the Senate confirmed Aneesh Chopra as the nation's first chief technology officer. Also confirmed were 1) Cameron Kerry to be General Counsel of the Department of Commerce and 2) Rebecca Blank to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs. Notably absent from the list of confirmations is Larry Strickling, nominated to head up the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. The Senate Commerce Committee endorsed his nomination, by he still awaits a vote on the Senate floor.
http://benton.org/node/25506
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ECONOMY IS FCC'S TOP JOB
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell who believes that in the coming year, job one for the Commission should be economic stimulus. How? By "creating a regulatory environment that is hospitable to new investment" which means "creating windows of investment that are opportunities to create real value and not merely regulatory arbitrage schemes. In other words, not just taking away from one market player to give to another. That doesn't create value or wealth." More on the digital television transition, his possible renomination, the broadcaster-newspaper crossownership ban, public interest obligations, and, of course, the Fairness Doctrine.
http://benton.org/node/25505
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
SHOWDOWN LOOMING ON 'STATE SECRETS'
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Carrie Johnson]
President Obama vowed last week to rein in the use of a legal privilege that allows the administration to discard lawsuits that involve "state secrets," promising that a new policy is in the works that will quell criticism by civil libertarians. But hours after Obama's speech laid out a "delicate balance" on national security, his Justice Department was criticized by a federal judge in California overseeing a case that has delved deeper than any other into one of the government's most highly classified data-gathering programs. The Obama administration has invoked the state-secrets privilege in resisting a lawsuit filed by an Oregon charity whose attorneys may have been subjected to warrantless wiretapping. Late Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker issued a terse order that raised the prospect of "sanctions" for government lawyers who have not responded to his order for a plan for how the case should proceed. The sanctions may include awarding monetary damages to the charity, the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. The document amounts to "Judge Walker's enough-is-enough order," said Jon Eisenberg, an attorney for the now-defunct charity.
http://benton.org/node/25514
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DATA.GOV
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] With little fanfare, the Obama administration has begun its first agency feeds onto Data.gov, a new Web site. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra promises to release vast amounts of raw data there, so taxpayers can see what's going on more instantly and clearly, and, ideally, come back with suggestions on how to fix government problems. The White House budget director, Peter Orszag, says the goal is to have "a one-stop shop for free access to data generated across all federal agencies." Taxpayers should insist on "all." This won't be easy. The government has more than 10,000 major internal information systems. The bureaucratic psyche may be an even bigger obstacle. For far too many officials, the default setting is always to deny the public's right to know. The public will also need to do its part, watching closely and responding creatively. The Sunlight Foundation, an independent watchdog group, is already starting a contest to invent Web applications that capitalize on Data dot gov's offerings. CIO Kundra says he cannot wait for the first "democratized" feedback.
http://benton.org/node/25513
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JOURNALISM
NEWSPAPERS' FUTURE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The degree to which the travails of papers are a threat to an informed democracy can be exaggerated, particularly by journalists. The Internet has made print less profitable but has also made new forms of information-gathering and commentary possible. Bloggers get a bad press but low-cost publishing helps new sources to emerge. The profitability of papers in the late 20th century, when they had a monopoly of classified advertising, was an anomaly. Before that, newspaper barons owned them more to wield power than nurture democracy, while the 18th-century press was as partisan and rambunctious as any bunch of bloggers. Perhaps some of the reporting done up to now by for-profit papers will in future be funded by foundations or trusts. But the industry should not lose faith in the free market. When people really want or need something, they will pay for it, one way or another. If today's publishers cannot convince their readers to do so, they will be overtaken by others that can.
http://benton.org/node/25510
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AMAZON'S NEXT REVOLUTION
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Jeffrey O'Brien]
Amazon's Kindle is sometimes referred to as an e-book reader. But that's a bit of a misnomer, because even the original Kindle was designed with all types of long-form narrative in mind. Newspaper subscriptions were available at launch, and they quickly rose to the top of the bestseller list, where they remain today. The willingness of Kindle owners to purchase daily content should be an obvious lesson - the business is news, not paper - and further expose the foolishness of giving everything away on the web. "I don't want to oversimplify what's happening in media. It's very complicated," says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "But I find it hard to believe that the primary way of reading newspapers 10-plus years from now is going to be on printed paper." What's Amazon's interest in hastening the move to digital? "The math is compelling," he says. "There is a genuine opportunity to make the cost structure of printing and distribution much more attractive."
http://benton.org/node/25509
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BROADCASTING
55K CONSUMERS CALL FCC'S HELP LINE FOR ASSISTANCE IS RESPONSE TO DTV "SOFT TEST"
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
A coordinated nationwide "soft test" designed to encourage consumers to take immediate action to prepare for the June 12 digital television (DTV) transition prompted a single-day record of 55,000 calls to the Federal Communications Commission's national help line Thursday. Prior to the soft test, on average the Commission's help line had received approximately 15,000 calls per day since May 1. More than 125 of the nation's broadcast markets participated in the soft test, including at least one station in each of the top 30 broadcast markets. During the test, affected viewers were directed to call the FCC's national toll-free help line, 1-888-CALL-FCC, if they needed assistance in preparing for the impending termination of analog service. The most common issues raised by consumers who spoke with an agent included the following: 1) Seeking information about the government's program providing $40 coupons for the purchase of DTV converter boxes (51%); 2) Expressing concern about reception issues in their area (15%); and 3) Needing instructions to install a digital converter box (10%). Apparently, Chicago, where we prefer to listen to the game on radio over watching it on TV, is one of the least-prepared big cities for the nationwide switch.
http://benton.org/node/25504
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LOCAL TV STATIONS HIT HARD BY AD DECLINES
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Pete Carey]
San Francisco Bay Area television stations were already competing for shrinking advertising dollars amid an explosion of new ways a tech-savvy audience was getting its news and entertainment — and then the recession hit. It's been rough sledding ever since. Revenue for the Bay Area stations is down nearly 15 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the first quarter of 2008, according to analysts. Stations have laid off workers in the past year, both on-air and off. To compensate for shrinking ad revenue, local stations are running more hours of news, with broadcasts starting as early as 4 a.m. This spreads the smaller news teams thin, but dropping news is not an option, since half or more of revenues come from the newscasts.
http://benton.org/node/25507
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KIDS & MEDIA
CCFC SAYS IT URGED CONGRESS TO REQUIRE FCC BUS REPORT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) says it worked with Sen Byron Dorgan (D-SD) to insert language inserted in the Federal Communications Commission's 2009 appropriation that resulted in a request for comment for broadcasting radio or television programs for reception onboard specially-equipped school buses operated by, or under contract with, local public educational agencies. The appropriations bill directs the commission to produce a report within six months on "the nature of the material proposed to be broadcast and whether it is age appropriate for the passengers; the amount and nature of commercial advertising to be broadcast; and whether such broadcasts for reception by public school buses are in the public interest." Public comment in the proceeding is due June 15; reply comments are due June 29.
http://benton.org/node/25503
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CDT JOINS BRIEF URGING COURT TO CORRECT ERRORS ON SECTION 230
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology, AUTHOR: ]
The Center for Democracy and Technology has join Public Citizen and other groups on a "friend of the court" brief urging a U.S. Appeals Court to correct a point in a recent decision regarding "Section 230," a provision which enhances free speech online by protecting service providers from liability for content posted by their users. Section 230 is vital because without it, private sites such as Yahoo! or YouTube could not risk allowing Internet users to freely post content. In its recent decision in Barnes v. Yahoo!, the court incorrectly limited the ability of service providers to assert the protection of Section 230. The brief supports Yahoo's request to remove the incorrect section of the decision.
http://benton.org/node/25502
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TEXTING MAY BE TAKING A TOLL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
Spurred by the unlimited texting plans offered by carriers, teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company — almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier. The phenomenon is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists, who say it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation. The rise in texting is too recent to have produced any conclusive data on health effects. But Sherry Turkle, a psychologist who is director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and who has studied texting among teenagers in the Boston area for three years, said it might be causing a shift in the way adolescents develop. "Among the jobs of adolescence are to separate from your parents, and to find the peace and quiet to become the person you decide you want to be," she said. "Texting hits directly at both those jobs."
http://benton.org/node/25508
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