October 2009

Fox Newsman to Speak at Events of Group Opposed to Health Care Plan

John Stossel, the newest star of the Fox Business Network, is also starring this week at a series of events orchestrated by opponents of health care reform. He expected to speak at three forums hosted by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group, in three Arkansas cities. The group's Web site says Stossel and others will "debate solutions and discuss the dangers of government-forced health care" at the forums. The unusual appearances come at a time when the sister network to Fox Business, the Fox News Channel, is facing fierce criticism from the White House and its allies. In recent days critics have leaped on Stossel's speaking engagements as the latest evidence of conservative bias on the part of Fox, a unit of the News Corporation. The Obama administration has cast the network as a part of the political opposition. Most news organizations discourage participation at partisan political events. In its publicity material for the forums, Americans for Prosperity identifies Mr. Stossel a "veteran journalist." But Fox says Stossel is not a part of its hard news division; rather, he is an analyst and host.

Broadcasters Seek Cable-TV Fees

Television-network owners News Corp. and CBS Corp. are pushing cable operators to pay monthly fees to carry their broadcast TV stations. Traditionally, over-the-air broadcast networks haven't received cash fees from cable-TV providers. But broadcasters, struggling through an advertising slump, see a potential new stream of revenue by following the path of cable channels, which supplement ad sales with billions of dollars in fees paid by the companies that pipe news and entertainment content into homes. News Corp., which owns the Fox network, is asking cable operator Time Warner Cable Inc. for cash payments of as much as $1 per household per month, according to people familiar with the matter. The battle between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable is notable because it pits one of the most-watched U.S. networks against one of the biggest TV distributors. Their current contract expires at the end of this year, say people familiar with the matter. If an agreement isn't reached by then, News Corp. could opt to pull the Fox TV stations it owns from Time Warner Cable's lineup. That would affect millions of households in markets including New York and Los Angeles.

Media executives should let local news lead the way

[Commentary] Thomas Jefferson famously said that if he had to choose between having a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, he wouldn't hesitate to choose the latter. Jefferson was right, but I'd rather have a government without newspapers than newspapers that depend on government for economic survival. Publishers and news executives face perilous challenges, but they don't need, nor should they accept, help from government at any level. They have to save themselves. They should start with this premise: Their future lies in local news and analysis that have monetary value, no matter how they're delivered. Some newspapers have accepted the first part of that premise by shrinking their circulation areas and ending or curbing coverage of Washington and state capitols. But they are more reluctant to accept the second.

Operator of 'Private' Web Sales Is Acquired

The idea of holding private sales of premium merchandise on the Web suddenly seems to be in vogue. GSI Commerce, which manages the Web sites for major retailers like Toys "R" Us and Zales, announced on Tuesday that it was buying Retail Convergence, operator of the Web site Rue La La, in a deal valued at as much as $350 million. Sites like Rue La La, and its major American rival, Gilt.com, take the exclusivity of designer sample sales onto the Web. Only current members can invite new participants. Every day there may be new items to buy. For example, a Rue La La member might log on to find 50 percent off items like Prada bags or Marc Jacobs shoes in a two-day sale. Retail Convergence also operates Smartbargains.com, a site aimed at selling excess inventory of major brands. Since it started operations at the beginning of last year, Rue La La has signed up 1.2 million members. It produced revenue of $28 million in the third quarter of this year, up from $5.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. GSI's purchase includes a $180 million payment at the closing of the deal, half in cash and half in stock. Rue La La's shareholders would earn an additional $170 million if the company's revenue reached certain goals.

Russian Professors Chafe at Scholarly Screening

Word spread this month among the faculty members of St. Petersburg State University: According to a document signed on Oct. 1, they have to submit their work to administrators for permission before publishing it abroad or presenting it at overseas conferences. The order, which was circulated internally and made its way onto a popular Internet forum, says professors must provide their academic department with copies of texts to be made public outside Russia, so that they can be reviewed for violation of intellectual property laws or potential danger to national security. Administrators say they are simply bringing the university into line with Russia's 1999 law on export control, passed after a decade in which some impoverished scientists sold strategic technology to foreign customers. But some professors are protesting, saying such a system is unheard of in Russian universities — and could be a step toward broader academic censorship.

California Would Lose Seats Under Census Change

Sen David Vitter's proposal to count only United States citizens when reapportioning Congress would cost California five seats and New York and Illinois one each, according to an independent analysis of census data released Tuesday. Texas, which is projected to gain three seats after the 2010 census, would get only one. The proposed change would spare Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania the expected loss of one seat each. Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina would each gain a seat. If every resident — citizens and noncitizens alike — is counted in 2010, as the Census Bureau usually does, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah would gain one seat each and Texas would get three, the analysis found. Losing one seat each would be Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the analysis of census data through 2008 by demographers at Queens College of the City University of New York. Appealing to his colleagues in states with fewer noncitizens, Sen Vitter (R-LA) warned this month that a vote against his proposal would "strip these states of their proper representation in Congress," while including noncitizens would "artificially increase the population count" in other states. Vitter's proposal, which would generally benefit nonurban areas where Republicans tend to dominate, could also affect reapportionment within each state.

NTIA, RUS To Delay Announcement Of Broadband Bid Winners

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Services' (RUS) broadband stimulus grant and loan programs under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program will delay by at least a month announcements of winners of broadband stimulus grants. "We're going to take a few more weeks here to get this right," said NTIA head Larry Strickling. "I will not fund a bad application." NTIA had been preparing in the next couple of weeks to announce the first winners in what will now be a two-step process of handing out billions in stimulus money for broadband mapping, adoption and service to unserved and underserved areas. That will now be pushed to early December. At a Senate oversight hearing, Sen John Kerry (D-MA) asked what NTIA's approach would be to anchor institutions. The NTIA's Strickling said that those institutions may be where the government should be concentrating much of its money, particularly in the initial round of funding. Strickling said he expected NTIA to be awarding grants for speeds substantially higher than 768 kbps, which he said was just a floor for applying (it is also the FCC's definition of high speed). He pointed out that applicants got extra points for higher speeds.

Lawmakers Want Stimulus Funds Getting To Rural America; 'Remoteness' Definition Raises Concerns

Members of the Senate Commerce Committee raised concerns Tuesday about getting broadband stimulus funds out to remote areas and how these areas should be defined. Committee Chairman John "Jay" Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen John Kerry (D-MA) both raised concerns about defining remote areas and making sure the funding is getting to the underserved areas in need. Jonathan Adelstein, administrator of the Rural Utilities Service at the Department of Agriculture, outlined the problem in his prepared testimony. "[W]e have seen applicants struggle to comply with the requirements of the "remote" definition for last-mile rural remote programs," Adelstein said."We are contemplating major revisions that will continue to target highly-rural areas that are difficult to serve while making it easier for applicants to comply with any new definition we may establish." He added that they have seen "some applicants encounter challenges with our program's rural definition" and "some applicants have found it difficult to comply with the loan requirement for middle mile and last mile non-remote projects." Adelstein said "It continues to be our belief that we should move to compress the planned-for second and third [funding] rounds [to applicants] into a single round in order to give applicants additional time to create strong proposals and to ensure that we are able to meet the goal of obligating all funds by Sept. 20, 2010." RUS and the National Telecommunications and Information administration plan to seek formal written comments on ways to better meet the requirements of the Recovery Act and will be releasing a request for information soon, he added. "We will make necessary changes based on these suggestions and our experience."

Grants for Broadband Mapping and Planning in Arkansas, DC, and New York

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that it has awarded grants to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, and New York under NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. NTIA has awarded Connect Arkansas approximately $1.6 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and almost $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period for the state of Arkansas, bringing the total grant award to nearly $2.1 million. Connect Arkansas, the designated entity for the state of Arkansas, is a private nonprofit organization based in that state. NTIA has awarded the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Technology Officer (DC OCTO) approximately $993,000 for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period for the District of Columbia, bringing the total grant award to nearly $1.5 million. DC OCTO is the designated entity for the District of Columbia. In addition, NTIA has awarded the New York State Office of Cyber Security & Critical Infrastructure (OCSCI) approximately $2 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period for New York, bringing the total grant award to approximately $2.5 million. OCSCI is the designated entity for the state of New York.

Atlanta seeks to add 500 surveillance cameras with BTOP funding

Atlanta is applying to the Department of Commerce for a slice of $4.7 billion in federal stimulus funding available through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. the city aims to expand a rather modest video surveillance -- a few dozen cameras monitoring select locations in the city every second -- to a network of more than 500 cameras on city streets. Atlanta officials envision their project spurring companies to expand broadband Internet services in certain parts of the city. Atlanta's application did not make the list of 22 Georgia recommended to the Commerce Department on Oct. 14 for $129.2 million in grants and loans. But that doesn't mean the city won't get the money it wants. In addition to Atlanta, the Worcester Housing Authority in Massachusetts; the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Union City, Calif.; and Dallas County Schools Inc. in Texas have all applied for the funding for surveillance and other purposes.

Benton

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