June 2009

Health IT Part of Industry's Plan To Reduce Health Care Spending

On Monday, six health care industry groups provided the Obama administration with a 28-page proposal to reduce health care spending through a variety of efforts, including the use of health IT. The groups say their recommendations could save the U.S. $1 trillion to $1.73 trillion over 10 years.

Publishers look to music lessons on digital content

Publishers are learning from music labels' struggle to make online music profitable and combat piracy, but so-called e-books will only add value to the industry and not replace printed books, experts say. Amid a global economic downturn, the publishing industry is also trying to deal with a growing demand for online content driven by advances in technology with electronic readers like Amazon.com's Kindle and Sony Corp's Reader. But it is learning from music labels, who have seen a shift in fans to digital sales from physical sales. These labels have filed countless lawsuits to combat free online music-sharing sites, while trying to make digital distribution profitable.

TiVo prevails in long-running EchoStar patent case

US District Judge David Folsom awarded set-top box maker TiVo an additional $103 million in damages plus interest on Tuesday in a long-running patent infringement dispute with DISH Network and EchoStar. EchoStar has already paid TiVo a total of $104 million in damages and lost profits as the result of a 2006 jury award for infringing on patents for digital video recorder technology. The judge may impose additional damages later this summer stemming from his finding that EchoStar violated an injunction he put in place following the jury verdict by implementing new "work-around" technology that TiVo claimed still infringed.

MRC Says It Delivered 'Almost 400,000' Anti-Fairness Doctrine Petitions To Hill

According to a spokesperson for the Media Research Center and its Free Speech Alliance initiative, the group delivered almost 400,000 petitions to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to hold a floor vote on a stand-alone bill to prevent the FCC from re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine.

AT&T Asks FCC to Reconsider Dismissal in Cox Program Access Complaint

AT&T has asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its summary dismissal of a program access complaint against Cox in San Diego, citing the court's decision last week upholding the FCC ban on exclusive contracts between multichannel video programming providers and multiple dwelling units such as apartments and condos.

FCC Grants Waiver To Evolution's Low-Cost Set-Tops

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday granted a three-year waiver to Evolution Broadband for two low-cost set-top boxes that do not include CableCards -- a blanket exemption to the so-called "integration ban" that could pave the way for cable operators to deploy much less expensive set-tops. The sub-$50 devices from Evolution Broadband covered under the waiver are one-way "limited-capability devices" that provide integrated security, referred to in the industry as digital terminal adapters. The boxes convert digital signals to analog format and don't provide advanced functions like digital video recording. Under the waiver, Evolution Broadband is allowed to provide the set-top units to any cable operator. The FCC reached the decision May 28 and issued the order Tuesday.

New Twitter Research: Men Follow Men and Nobody Tweets

[Commentary] Twitter has attracted tremendous attention from the media and celebrities, but there is much uncertainty about Twitter's purpose. Is Twitter a communications service for friends and groups, a means of expressing yourself freely, or simply a marketing tool? The authors examined the activity of a random sample of 300,000 Twitter users in May 2009 to find out how people are using the service. They then compared their findings to activity on other social networks and online content production venues. The findings may be surprising. Although men and women follow a similar number of Twitter users, men have 15% more followers than women. The average man is almost twice more likely to follow another man than a woman. On a typical online social network, most of the activity is focused around women - men follow content produced by women they do and do not know, and women follow content produced by women they know. Among Twitter users, the median number of lifetime tweets per user is one. The top 10% of prolific Twitter users accounted for over 90% of tweets.

China -- Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts -- ChinaCCM adds new report

The Chinese telecommunications market is the largest in the world. With the mobile sector still expanding at over 15% going into 2009, and the long-awaited licensing of 3G services completed after finalizing the industry restructure, the market is poised for yet another boost amongst what is hoped to be a more level playing field. The importance of the regulatory regime must not be underestimated in a market like China, where political and commercial considerations are closely intertwined.

Facebook is king but Twitter makes waves

Users spend more time on Facebook than any other social network site. Much more. But other sites are growing quickly, and experts say no social network is safely on top of the market. According to a report released Tuesday by Nielsen, Facebook users logged 13.9 billion minutes on the site in April. That compares to 5 billion minutes on MySpace, 300 million on Twitter, and 202.4 million minutes on LinkedIn. Time spent on Facebook soared 699% since April 2008, compared to a 31% drop in time spent on MySpace, which is owned by media mogul Rupert Murchoch's NewsCorp.

June 2, 2009 (Baker to FCC?)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY JUNE 2, 2009

The 9th Annual WilmerHale Intellectual Property Conference began this morning. For all of this week's events see http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-06-02--P1W


FCC NEWS
   GOP Nominees for FCC Appear Set
   FCC Gives Sirius XM New Deadline

ADVERTISING
   Media Industry Feels pain of GM Bankruptcy
   Why Wont Traditional Media Outlets Innovate?

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Time Warner Changes to Terms of Service Could Allow Metering, Tiers
   NARUC Tells Feds: To Get BTOP Back on Track, Let States Lead
   Cable companies want cash from tiered service, remote DVRs
   On the Street and On Facebook: The Homeless Stay Wired
   New software, services help you manage passwords, protect online identity

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   China blocks Twitter service ahead of anniversary
   US military turns to Twitter for Afghan hard news

ED TECH
   Television a real conversation stopper for tots, parents
   Tech Company Helps South Korean Students Ace Entrance Tests

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Verizon, Frontier ask FCC to back license transfers

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FCC NEWS


GOP NOMINEES FOR FCC APPEAR SET
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Republicans appear to have settled on two people to fill the GOP seats on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, paving the way for a confirmation hearing in June. Senate Republicans have agreed on Meredith Attwell Baker, the former head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Commerce Department, and current FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. Baker is the daughter-in-law of former Secretary of State James Baker. On the Democratic side, the White House has already nominated Julius Genachowski to be chairman of the FCC and Mignon Clyburn, a South Carolina public utilities commissioner and daughter of House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina. Senate Democrats have expressed some frustration at the delay in the Genachowski confirmation. The agency is supposed to help administration officials decide how to hand out some $7 billion in broadband stimulus funds and must write a national broadband plan. Senate Republicans said they wanted to pair Genachowski's nomination with a Republican FCC member, but until recently they hadn't settled on anyone. The holdup has also prevented FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein from moving to the Agriculture Department where he has been nominated to head an agency with a spotty record of handing out grants. The agency now has $2.5 billion in broadband stimulus money it must distribute, but Adelstein must remain on the FCC until new commissioners are in place. The FCC is currently being run by interim Chairman Michael Copps, who's been focusing most of his time on the transition to digital-only television. Though he has mostly acted as a caretaker, Copps has teed up a few issues, including studies on increasing diversity in media ownership and a new national broadband plan.
http://benton.org/node/25630
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FCC GIVES SIRIUS XM NEW DEADLINE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commision]
The Federal Communications Commission has extended, until June 29, a deadline for Sirius XM to comply with a voluntary commitment to lease out 4% of its full-time audio channels. The condition of the merger of the two satellite radio companies requires the combined company to lease the channels to "qualified designated entities."
http://benton.org/node/25626
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ADVERTISING


MEDIA INDUSTRY FEELS PAIN OF GM BANKRUPTCY
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Gerald Magpily]
Advertising agencies, newspapers and magazines, television and radio stations, and Web sites will lose hundreds of millions in GM advertising dollars from the fallen American industrial icon. Those losses will likely translate into more corporate restructuring in the form of possible layoffs or divestments to protect the bottom lines of these media companies. In fact, GM's largest unsecured creditor claiming trade debt is not an auto parts maker, but an advertising company. Chicago-based diversified advertising group Starcom MediaVest Group Inc. is listed as the sixth-largest unsecured creditor with a claim of $121.5 million. Starcom's claim exceeds bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp.'s claim of $110 million. Meanwhile, Starcom is not the only advertising company making the top 50 list of unsecured creditors. Paris-based advertising agency Publicis Group SA is owed $25.2 million of unsecured debt, followed by $15.9 million to Interpublic Group of Cos. and $4.6 million to McCann Erickson of Calgary, Alberta. While the bankruptcy documents list advertising agencies, it doesn't elucidate the impact on the media companies. The advertising agencies are the intermediaries who deal with the media companies. In order to understand the impact on media companies, you must look at the crumbs left in news stories and SEC filings. Look for media stocks with heavy newspaper investments such as Gannett Co., E.W. Scripps & Co. and New York Times Co. to also feel more pain from a loss of GM auto advertising dollars in their already slowing ad revenues. In the first quarter, classified ad revenue fell 39% at Gannett, 42% at New York Times and 43% at E.W. Scripps. The GM bankruptcy is possibly going to force a shakeout in the industry with some smaller companies that relied on auto-related revenue to seek a merger to survive and bigger players to become more creative to fill the GM loss.
http://benton.org/node/25629
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WHY WON'T TRADITIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS INNOVATE?
[SOURCE: Forbes.com, AUTHOR: Scott Donaton]
[Commentary] The old ways of doing business in traditional media no longer apply. Media companies that resist change are doomed to fail. Legacy models have been overturned by digital technology. But traditional media companies are clinging ever more desperately to what they know. Just when they should be taking advantage of a chaotic marketplace to justify aggressive restructuring aimed at opening ancillary revenue streams, many are going the other way. They are huddled in the corner, trying to preserve old business models and protect their paychecks.
http://benton.org/node/25625
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INTERNET/BROADBAND


TIME WARNER CHANGES TO TERMS OF SERVICE COULD ALLOW METERING, TIERS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
Consumer advocacy groups are gearing up for another fight with Time Warner Cable after the Internet provider quietly updated its terms of service with language that critics have pounced on as a harbinger of future metering and usage caps. Time Warner subscribers received an updated copy of the terms of service on their most recent bills - which contained the changes. But the offending provisions came to light Monday after circulating through the blogosphere over the weekend. The new changes come only months after Time Warner scrapped plans to institute bandwidth caps on customers, reportedly after pressure from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). In addition to representing the company's home state, Sen Schumer sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission should investigate Time Warner's practices, Public Knowledge Founder Gigi Sohn said in a statement. Inquiries would determine "the extent to which [the policies] hamper the free flow of information online, and to which they are anticompetitive," she said.
http://benton.org/node/25636
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NARUC TELLS FEDS: TO GET BTOP BACK ON TRACK, LET STATES LEAD
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Ryan Womack]
The Broadband Technology Opportunity Program can be put back on a faster schedule if state governments are used as a main points of contact for grant applicants, National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners president Fred Butler of New Jersey and Communications Committee chairman Roy Baum of Oregon wrote Friday. The letter strongly reiterated NARUC's previously stated position, under which states would play a leading role in the screening process for grant applicants. The NARUC letter comes in response to the Obama administration's announcement last week of timelines for grant distribution that were later than expected. NARUC's approach will work faster, the group said: "Proceeding [with states in the lead] is likely to better position [NTIA and RUS] to release the funds months before the end of the year."
http://benton.org/node/25628
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CABLE COMPANIES WANT CASH FROM TIERED SERVICE, REMOTE DVRs
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Chris Foresman]
Cable companies are still worried about drops in revenue that may come as the economic pinch encourages subscribers to cut out premium TV services. That may be why, despite consumer backlash, they've made recent moves to adopt bandwidth caps and metered usage plans. But they may be getting another revenue option, as the Obama administration is backing Cablevision's attempts to sell a networked DVR service to its customers.
http://benton.org/node/25627
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ON THE STREET AND ON FACEBOOK: THE HOMELESS STAY WIRED
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Phred Dvorak]
In America today, even people without street addresses feel compelled to have Internet addresses. New York City has put 42 computers in five of the nine shelters it operates and plans to wire the other four this year. Roughly half of another 190 shelters in the city offer computer access. The executive director of a San Francisco nonprofit group, Central City Hospitality House, estimates that half the visitors to its new eight-computer drop-in center are homeless; demand for computer time is so great that users are limited to 30 minutes. Shelter attendants say the number of laptop-toting overnight visitors, while small, is growing. SF Homeless, a two-year-old Internet forum, has 140 members. It posts schedules for public-housing meetings and news from similar groups in New Mexico, Arizona and Connecticut. And it has a blog with online polls about shelter life. Cheap computers and free Internet access fuel the phenomenon. So does an increasingly computer-savvy population. Many job and housing applications must be submitted online. Some homeless advocates say the economic downturn is pushing more of the wired middle class on to the streets.
http://benton.org/node/25624
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NEW SOFTWARE, SERVICES HELP YOU MANAGE PASSWORDS, PROTECT IDENTITY ONLINE
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Brandon Bailey]
Most people who use the Internet know the difficulty of remembering all the passwords they need to check e-mail, chat online, download music and transfer funds. Experts advise against using the same password for multiple accounts, in case it falls into the wrong hands. But all those different sign-ons are hard to keep straight and, even with password-manager software to help, they can be hard to keep secure. Software makers have come up with several alternatives that you're likely to hear more about in coming months. Already, you can sign on to several sites with a single "OpenID" that you've registered with one provider. You can use your mobile phone to generate a digital "key" that you don't need to remember. You can even click on an encrypted "information card" that might one day replace your passwords altogether. The technology behind these alternatives has been around for a while. But security experts, programmers and industry groups have struggled to make them both convenient for consumers and secure enough to win acceptance from major banks, retailers and other Internet services.
http://benton.org/node/25631
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS


CHINA BLOCKS TWITTER SERVICE AHEAD OF ANNIVERSARY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lucy Hornby]
Access to the popular social networking service Twitter and email service Hotmail was blocked across mainland China late on Tuesday afternoon, two days before the twentieth anniversary of a bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square. Indignant users filled chatrooms with protest, after access to Twitter was denied. Thursday is the twentieth anniversary of June 4, 1989, when tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square before dawn to quell weeks of protest by students and workers. China has never released a death toll from the crackdown on what it classes as a "counter-revolutionary" conspiracy.
http://benton.org/node/25635
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US MILITARY TURNS TO TWITTER FOR AFGHAN HARD NEWS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Paul Tait]
"What are you doing?" For the US military in Afghanistan, the answer to the latest social networking craze seems to be: "Killing Taliban." US commanders launched their "social networking strategy" for Afghanistan Tuesday, using the hugely popular website Twitter to release information about some of their operations. The decision to use the latest Internet fad was meant to "engage non-traditional audiences directly with news, videos, pictures and other information from Operation Enduring Freedom," the U.S. military said, and to "preempt extremist propaganda." The military said it did not think using a site more commonly devoted to people talking about their social lives would trivialize the gravity of its operations in Afghanistan.
http://benton.org/node/25634
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ED TECH


TELEVISION A REAL CONVERSATION STOPPER FOR TOTS, PARENTS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Liz Szabo]
A study released Monday adds to the debate over whether television impairs children's language development. The study finds that parents and children virtually stop talking to each other when the TV is on, even if they're in the same room. For every hour in front of the TV, parents spoke 770 fewer words to children, according to a study of 329 children, ages 2 months to 4 years, in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Adults usually speak about 941 words an hour. Children vocalized less, too, says author Dimitri Christakis of the Seattle Children's Research Institute. In some cases, parents may have spoken less because they sat a child in front of a TV and left the room, he says. In others, parents simply zoned out themselves while watching TV with a child. Researchers didn't note the content of the TV shows. Parents may not realize how little they interact with children when a TV is on, Christakis says. A mother may think she's engaged with a baby because they're both on the floor playing blocks. But if a TV is on in the background, the two of them talk much less, he says. That may help explain earlier studies finding that babies who watch a lot of TV know fewer words, although they catch up to their peers by 16 months, Christakis says. "Babies learn language from hearing it spoken," he says.
http://benton.org/node/25633
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TECH COMPANY HELPS SOUTH KOREAN STUDENTS ACE ENTRANCE TESTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Choe Sang-Hun]
In 1999, while watching a home-shopping channel on television, Son Joo-eun came up with the idea for an online test preparatory school. As South Koreans were embracing broadband Internet, he thought: why not bring classes into the home, too? He turned to the Web to provide "an honest, inexpensive education available to everyone," and South Korea's multibillion-dollar test preparation industry has never been the same. Megastudy.net, the online tutoring service Mr. Son started in 2000, may be the perfect convergence of South Koreans' dual obsessions with educational credentials and the Internet. In this country, where people's status and income at 60 are largely determined by which college they entered at 18, South Korean parents' all-consuming task is to ensure that their children enter an elite university. And that requires a high score on the college entrance exam. By tapping into those anxieties, which deepen during recessions, Megastudy has become South Korea's fastest-growing technology company, with sales expected to grow 22.5 percent this year, to 245 billion won ($195 million), even as the country's economy is projected to contract.
http://benton.org/node/25632
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