June 2009

Clear Channel lenders threaten refinancing plan

Some of the largest lenders to the private equity groups that led the $23.8 billion buy-out of Clear Channel Communications intend to turn down a proposed debt exchange, hoping to drive the radio and outdoor advertising company towards default. Agreed at the peak of the credit markets in 2006, the original Clear Channel buy-out would have seen Bain and TH Lee put up only 6 per cent of the total value, making the purchase one of the most leveraged deals on record. Bad feeling between the banks and the sponsors once credit markets turned spilled into the courts. It took until July 2008 for the two sides to complete a deal on revised terms. Banks swiftly wrote down the value of the loans, selling some to Bain, TH Lee and to hedge funds.

Network TV Drops 6% Last Season, NBC Improves

Looking at this year's nervous TV advertising upfront market, TV network executives should take some comfort in the recent past -- especially in contrast to other media. Last season, the five big English-language networks took in a collective $13.2 million from all dayparts from September 2008 to March 2009 -- a stiff 6% decline versus a year ago, according to TNS Media Intelligence. "Network TV is relatively better than other major media categories," says Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research for TNS Media Intelligence. Swallen notes that other media, especially local TV, national magazines, and local newspapers, have been stung with much greater ad revenue declines -- estimates of around 20% to 40% and more.

Opting out of targeted ads too hard, privacy advocates say

The online advertising industry and U.S. policy makers need to give online users more control over the collection of personal data and surfing habits beyond the traditional opt-out approach, some privacy advocates said Wednesday. Dozens of online ad networks allow users to opt out of being tracked as a way to deliver behavioral advertising, and in most cases, the opt-out is stored in a cookie that goes away every time the users clear their browser cookies, privacy advocates said during a discussion of online advertising at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference. Privacy advocate Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, called on the FTC and Congress to take action to protect U.S. consumers. Online ad companies are now researching neuroscience as a way to target users' on a subconscious level, he said.

A Political Message Amid the Movie Trailers

Coming to theaters are commercials that are intended to spell out the perils of frivolous lawsuits as told by "everyday Americans," including small-business owners who have been hit with costly lawsuits they believed were arbitrary and abusive. The series of two-minute trailers is the latest salvo in a long-running political battle over whether there should be curbs on bringing civil lawsuits. The United States Chamber of Commerce, which represents three million businesses, is hoping this "Faces of Lawsuit Abuse" ad campaign, from its Institute for Legal Reform, can revitalize interest in restricting litigation.

Small Businesses Are Taking Tentative Steps Toward Online Networking

By choice or necessity, successful small-business owners are earnest networkers, gladly shaking hands, handing out cards and attending local meetings to find and keep customers, solve problems, seek feedback or support and bolster their bottom lines. Now, the Internet is starting to upend those long-established methods; online networking on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and newer niche sites can be instantaneous and far-reaching. The sites are efficient and free, which is especially important in an economic downturn, as owners scramble for new customer.

National League of Cities TV, TV Mainstream and BroadbandCensus.com
Thursday, June 4, 2009
2:00 - 4:30 EDT
http://www.nlctv.org/events/broadbandstimulus_thm/090604/

With special introductory remarks by
Jim Kohlenberger, Chief of Staff, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

AGENDA

Hosts:

  • Drew Clark, Executive Director, BroadbandCensus.com
  • Marty Stern, Partner, K&L Gates

The Latest from NTIA
Mark Seifert, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary, NTIA*

The Latest from RUS
David Villano, Assistant Administrator, Telecommunications Program*

The Broadband Stimulus and Tribal Initiatives

  • Deswood Tome, Executive Director, Navajo Nation Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

Scoring Grants - The latest thinking on how projects will be evaluated. What we know and what we've learned from other grant programs that can be applied to the Broadband Stimulus:

  • Lisa Scalpone, Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs, WildBlue
  • Rich Wonders, VP Strategic Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent
  • Scott Wallstein, Vice President, Research, Technology Policy Institute
  • Joanne Hovis, Columbia Telecommunications Corporation

Show me the Money - What sources of private financing are available to help capitalize broadband stimulus projects

  • John Badal, CEO, Sacred Wind Communications
  • Richard S. Lukaj, Senior Managing Director, Bank Street Group
  • Tim Nulty, Chairman, ECFiberNet, the East Central Vermont Community Fiber-Optic Network

Public Private Partnerships - What are they expected to look like and how important will they be to a successful grant application (invited panelists):

  • Jim Baller, Baller Law Group
  • Francis Butler, President NARUC*
  • John Goodman, President and CEO, A-Vu Media
  • Jonathan Banks, Senior Vice President, Law and Policy, US Telecom


White House Leadership on Innovation Policy:
The Case for an Office of Innovation Policy

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
1101 K Street, NW, Suite 610
Washington, DC 20005
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
http://www.itif.org/rsvp/event.php?id=1

Innovation is central to economic growth and to solving a host of pressing societal challenges. It is therefore critical to ensure that the federal agencies' actions promote innovation, or at least pursue other social objectives in a manner that is least damaging to innovation. There is no formal process within the executive branch to ensure that this happens, however. In particular, the centralized cost-benefit review performed by OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs generally ignores the impact of agency actions on innovation.

In an ITIF report to be released, Duke Law School professors Stuart Benjamin and Arti Rai propose that the Obama administration (or Congress, if Congress is willing) create an Office of Innovation Policy that would draw upon, and feed into, existing regulatory review processes but would have the specific mission of being the "innovation champion" within these processes.

Please join us for a discussion of this new proposal to create an Office of Innovation Policy.

Moderator: Robert Atkinson (bio)
President, The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Presenters: Stuart M. Benjamin (bio)
Professor of Law, Duke Law School

Arti K. Rai (bio)
Professor of Law, Duke Law School

Respondent:
Stephen Merrill (bio)
Executive Director, Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP), The National Academies



Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
1101 K Street, NW, Suite 610
Washington, DC 20005
Monday, June 22, 2009
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
http://www.itif.org/rsvp/event.php?id=3

As the Obama Administration moves forward with plans to modernize health care by encouraging the use of electronic medical records (EMR), some parties continue to raise concerns about privacy. Strong privacy laws may help protect confidential patient information and encourage user acceptance. But strict privacy laws can also impose additional burdens on health care providers and may slow technology adoption. A new study recently published in Management Science attempts to quantify the effect of state privacy regulations on the diffusion of EMRs and finds that strict privacy regulations reduces aggregate EMR adoption by hospitals by almost one-quarter. However, organizations promoting stricter privacy regulations such as Patient Privacy Rights have dismissed the findings as "preposterous."

Join ITIF for a thoughtful debate between the authors and critics of the report to learn more about the impact of privacy laws on technology diffusion in health care.

Moderator:
Daniel Castro (bio)
Senior Analyst, The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Panelists:
Dr. Amalia Miller (bio)
Co-author of study and Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Virginia

Dr. Catherine Tucker (bio)
Co-author of study, Douglas Drane Career Development Professor in IT and Management, and Assistant Professor of Marketing and , MIT Sloan School of Management

Deven McGraw (bio)
Director of the Health Privacy Project, Center for Democracy and Technology



USC
http://bb2009.uscannenberg.org/

Since 2006, the annual Beyond Broadcast conference has explored the evolution of participatory digital public media. It has served as a lively forum for scholars, media-makers, policy experts and programmers interested in the intersection of media and democracy. The initial conference, "Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture," took place on the Harvard campus; the 2007 conference, "From Participatory Culture to Participatory Democracy," took place at MIT, and the 2008 Beyond Broadcast, "Mapping Public Media," was held at American University. Five academic institutions serve as founding partners: American University Center for Social Media, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, MIT's Comparative Media Studies program, NYU Center for Media, Culture and History and the USC Annenberg School for Communication.



New America Foundation
1899 L St NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.

The official launch of the Open Technology Initiative (OTI). Learn more about its current projects, including mLab, an open platform for researchers to deploy Internet measurement tools, and other ways OTI promotes affordable, universal, and ubiquituous communications networks through partnerships with communities, researchers, industry, and public interest groups.

(OTI) formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open source innovations and facilitates the development and implementation of open technologies and communications networks.

OTI is committed to maximizing the potentials of innovative open technologies by studying their social and economic impacts - particularly for poor, rural, and other underserved constituencies. As an independent non-profit initiative, OTI provides in-depth, objective research, analysis, and findings for policy decision-makers and the general public.

Featured speakers:

Rick Whitt
Washington Telecom and Media Counsel
Google

Christopher Libertelli
Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs
Skype

Ben Scott
Policy Director
Free Press

Helen Brunner
Director
Media and Democracy Fund

Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation

More Speakers to Be Announced Soon.

To RSVP for the event
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2009/open_technology_initiative_launch

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net