Nov 20, 2009 (LPFM Bill in Senate)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2009
Digital citizenship, distracted driving... sure, it's Friday, but it's still a busy day. http://bit.ly/253RWH
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
In Obama Interview, Signs of China's Heavy Hand
Obama Airs Cuba Views in Answers to Blogger
UK government plans for next file-share crackdown
China Defense Ministry Site Fends off Hackers
Senate Judiciary Punts Again On Shield Law
Why does the FCC keep using old data?
Obama Administration Defends Its Data Quality
NEWS FROM THE HILL
Senate Commerce Committee Approves Low Power Radio and Satellite Bills
THE STIMULUS
Subcommittee Examines Federal Rural Broadband Program Implementation
Second Round Of Broadband Stimulus Already Headed For Disaster
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
Sinclair Counters Cash-For-Spectrum Plan
Levin Seeks More Clarification From NAB
Television last frontier of innovation?
Research Recommendations for the Broadband Task Force
OWNERSHIP
Small cable, online video companies warn of anticompetition in Comcast, NBC merger
How To Revive NBC? Comcast Actually Knows The Way
Vivendi Wants to Exit NBC, Deal Is Complex
Malone: DirecTV would be "compatible" with a telco
ACA Calls On FCC To Probe TV Duopolies
DIGITAL CONTENT
Judge backs revised Google Books deal
Study Explores How Much Consumers Will Pay for Online News
PRIVACY
Policy Makers' Privacy Concerns Spread Beyond the Internet
HEALTH
Health IT panel to heed calls for simpler EHR standards
Meaningful use rule 'on target' for end of year
Meaningful Silence Deafening for Health IT Industry
House Passes Bill To Create EHR Loan Program for Physicians
Health Care and Fort Hood Dominate the Blogs
MORE ONLINE ...
The Trouble With iPhones
Report: Internet Broadband Use Grows In European Union
Academe and the Decline of News Media
Media Agencies to Nielsen: Do Not Make Your Scheduled Change in Local TV Measurement
AT&T loses first legal battle against Verizon ads
Knight Center of Digital Excellence Closed
Wikipedia, iPhone among decade's top 10 Internet moments
Tech Awards recognize innovation
Justice Says FCC Video Service For Deaf Defrauded Out Of $60M
To Build a Smart Grid, Start With Smart Meters
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
IN OBAMA INTERVIEW, SIGNS OF CHINA'S HEAVY HAND
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sharon LaFraniere, Jonathan Ansfield]
President Obama spent part of his last morning in Beijing giving an interview to Southern Weekly, a newspaper in Guangdong Province sometimes known for its push-the-envelope approach to the government's ever-present censorship. But if the White House expected a hard-hitting article that showcased the United States' commitment to press freedom, it must have been disappointed when the newspaper hit the stands on Thursday. President Obama was quoted talking about basketball. His other comments — about trade, bilateral relations and China's rise — added virtually nothing to what he had previously said on his three-day visit. Yet, as they did throughout the president's visit, the government authorities appeared to monitor carefully how his words were transmitted to China's public. They were especially vigilant about Southern Weekly's report, by some accounts, because President Obama had turned down an interview request from CCTV, China's main national television network.
benton.org/node/29928 | New York Times
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OBAMA AIRS CUBA VIEWS IN ANSWERS TO BLOGGER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: José de Córdoba]
President Barack Obama reached out to one of Cuba's most prominent dissidents, blogger Yoani Sánchez, and, in an interview posted on her popular blog, challenged the island's ruling gerontocracy to permit freedom of speech. Obama's move is sure to rile the Castro regime, which appears unsure how to handle a growing movement of bloggers who use the Internet to openly criticize the government. Internet access is restricted in Cuba, but growing numbers of Cubans get some information over the Web. This month, Sánchez says she and two other Cuban bloggers were picked up by Cuban secret police, stuffed into the back of a car, and beaten. Undaunted, Sánchez soon wrote about the event on her blog. Days later, Sánchez turned a camera on Cuban secret police agents posted outside her house and put them on the blog.
benton.org/node/29927 | Wall Street Journal
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UK GOV PLANS FILE-SHARE CRACKDOWN
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Tim Bradshaw]
The UK government has made a last-minute attempt to lay the ground for upgrades to its measures to tackle piracy, ahead of the publication of its digital economy bill on Friday. Lord Mandelson, business secretary, has made an amendment to the bill that would grant ministers the ability to update the 1988Copyright, Designs and Patents Act in response to new technologies that enable unauthorized access to music, movies and other protected works. The government believes that online content businesses will only be able to flourish if file-sharing is radically reduced.
benton.org/node/29926 | Financial Times
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CHINA DEFENDS AGAINST CYBERATTACKS
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Owen Fletcher]
The Web site of China's defense ministry was attacked 2.3 million times in its first month online, Chinese state media said Wednesday. The report is a reminder that Chinese government and military bodies, often accused of cyberespionage against the U.S. and other countries, are also frequently attacked online. The Chinese defense ministry Web site has been under "non-stop" attack since it launched in August as a gesture of transparency, said the People's Daily, the official paper of China's ruling Communist party, citing the Web site's head editor. Both invasive and "jamming" attacks have targeted the site and come in higher volume at times of major military events, the report said. None of the attacks have succeeded against the Web site, which uses protection measures including intrusion monitoring and data backup, the report said.
benton.org/node/29897 | IDG News Service
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JUDICIARY PUNTS SHIELD LAW AGAIN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Judiciary Committee once again failed to bring a federal shield law bill to a vote, in its 16th attempt over the past seven months to do so. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recessed the markup hearing Thursday after Republicans had numerous amendments lined up that would have to be introduced and debated and voted on, but he warned that unless a manageable list of amendments could be produced, the bill might be sent directly to the floor, bypassing the committee approval process. While the current version is a compromise, Republican Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who opposes the bill as currently constituted, said it was only a compromise between parties that already supported the bill -- the Administration, committee Democrats, and journalists -- not with Republicans like him with continuing issues about the balance of protections for journalists vs. law enforcement. He said that the administration had not worked with him on his issues, and that he still had problems with the bill. Leahy urged Republicans to address those concerns and come to him with a limited number of amendments.
benton.org/node/29901 | Broadcasting&Cable | RTDNA press release
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WHY DOES THE FCC KEEP USING OLD DATA?
[SOURCE: Nieman Watchdog, AUTHOR: Bruce Kushnick]
[Commentary] If the Federal Communications Commission is going to be "data-driven in its decision-making process," and "as the nation's expert agency on communications, the FCC must have access to, and base its decisions on, data that are robust, reliable, and relevant" why is it relying on old data when deciding open Internet, network neutrality rules? The FCC doesn't have to supply obsolete data. Current information is available to it. The agency is in charge of wireless spectrum licenses and transfers, so commissioners and staff have up-to-date records of what has happened since 1997 to the small wireless competitors. By doing a search on the Web, the FCC could have found much later data from the Census Bureau and Small Business Administration on Internet providers and all other small business competitors. The FCC is required by the "Regulatory Flexibility Act" to create an analysis, essentially an impact study, on how the FCC's regulations will affect small business competitors. Such an analysis is in every FCC proceeding that creates a new rule. However, over the last decade, instead of actually doing an analysis, the FCC has taken boilerplate the 1997 data and thrown it into the back of each rule making.
benton.org/node/29894 | Nieman Watchdog
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OBAMA ADMIN DEFENDS DATA
[SOURCE: InformationWeek, AUTHOR: J. Nicholas Hoover]
The data on the federal government's stimulus-tracking Web site has been criticized for being inaccurate, including inflated job creation numbers and Congressional districts that don't exist. But the White House is refusing to back down, championing the effort as a "huge success" and noting that the data will get better. "When you consider the sheer number of reports that had to be filed, processed, and posted; the fact that this had never been done before; and the very short time to check reports and make sure they were right -- the data collected and posted is very impressive," said Ed DeSeve, special advisor to the president and to the OMB Director for implementation of the Recovery Act.
benton.org/node/29893 | InformationWeek
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NEWS FROM THE HILL
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE APPROVES LPFM, SATELLITE BILLS
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Commerce favorably reported out 1) Local Community Radio Act (S. 592) and 2) the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (S. 2764). By repealing restrictions placed on the Federal Communications Commission in 2000, the Local Community Radio Act would allow hundreds of new licenses for low power FM stations. Because low power radio stations broadcast at less than 100 watts, they can run from generators during power outages-sometimes even operating on a car battery. Non-commercial, locally based, and volunteer-run low power radio stations respond to community needs in ways that larger stations cannot. The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) extends satellite operators' license to carry distant out-of-market network TV station signals for viewers who can't received a viewable signal from their in-market station. The bill updates the language to reflect the switch to digital TV, like the Senate Judiciary version requires the FCC to study whether the license should be phased out in favor of marketplace negotiations. It does not mandate or incentivize local service in smaller markets where local stations aren't delivered, but Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-Va.) said that was not the end of the story. "I have heard from colleagues about their desire to incentivize satellite carriers to provide more local programming in rural markets and I agree with that. As we merge the Commerce Committee bill with the judiciary's part of the reauthorization, I will make this one of my highest priorities."
benton.org/node/29892 | US Senate Commerce Committee | Prometheus Radio Project | Broadcasting&Cable | Rockefeller
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THE STIMULUS
BTOP/BIP OVERSIGHT HEARING
[SOURCE: House Agriculture Committee]
On Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing to review the progress made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce to award grants to expand broadband access in rural areas. "Broadband funding provided in the Recovery Act has the potential to set the stage for many years of broadband deployment in unserved and underserved rural areas. Today's hearing was another step to make sure that the policies and regulations work with and for the needs of Rural America," Subcommittee Chairman Mike McIntyre (D-NC) said. "This is an investment that can create jobs, improve communities, and change lives. Working together, we must get this right." National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Larry Strickling testified that Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grant announcements for the $1.6 billion available in the first funding round will begin by mid-December and will continue into early 2010. RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein said, "We are now in the process of evaluating First Round applications and expect to begin issuing awards shortly. The first NOFA made available up to $2.4 billion in program level (loans and grants) funding. Well over half of the total investment projected under the BIP program has been reserved for subsequent funding rounds. There have been previous conversations regarding plans for subsequent funding. One suggestion, which we have now implemented, is to compress the planned-for second and third rounds into a single round to give applicants additional time to develop strong proposals and to ensure that we are able to meet the goal of obligating all funds by September 2010. RUS and NTIA announced this change on November 10. Subsequent funding may also include enhancements to eligibility and scoring criteria used in Round One."
benton.org/node/29923 | House Agriculture Committee | Lawrence Strickling | Jonathan Adelstein
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SECOND ROUND OF BROADBAND STIMULUS HEADED FOR DISASTER
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service are asking for suggestions on how they can improve the process for the second round of broadband stimulus funding. So far, the vast majority of the discussion around what needs to be improved in this process relates to one of three things: 1. Eligibility criteria that were too narrow. 2. Applications that were too complicated. 3. Not enough time for applications to be completed. What no one seems to be acknowledging is that if the only tweaks that are made to this process are incremental steps to allow more people more time to more easily apply, then there's going to be a lot more applications to review in round two. It wouldn't surprise me if the total topped 5,000; I don't think 10,000 is even out of the realm of possibility.
benton.org/node/29903 | App-Rising.com
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
SINCLAIR COUNTERS CASH-FOR-SPECTRUM PLAN
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
The Federal Communications Commission's "cash-for-spectrum" trial balloon has stirred up broadcasters as little else has over the past several years. It has also brought them together in opposition to the proposal, despite its promise that stations would share in the proceeds from the auctioning of the spectrum to wireless operators. Among those rising in protest is Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Baltimore-based group with 58 TV stations in 35 markets. Sinclair was part of a coalition of station groups along with LIN, Nexstar and others that dutifully expressed its objections in formal comments on the FCC's proposal. A Q&A with Mark Aitken, Sinclair's director of advanced technology, hits on why Sinclair isn't interested in giving up any of its spectrum: mobile DTV.
benton.org/node/29906 | TVNewsCheck
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MORE CLARIFICATION, PLEASE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Blair Levin, the head of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan team, continued his back and forth with broadcasters on issues related to the impact of spectrum allocations on retransmission consent negotiations. In a letter expected to be sent to National Association of Broadcasters Thursday, Levin asks the association for a response, to be filed publicly, clarifying points made in a response to his initial inquiry. He wants the NAB to 1) explain what studies or other support NAB had for asserting that over-the-air signals were a governor on cable and satellite pricing, and 2) provide a reaction to the alternate view that retransmission fees increase the cost of cable and satellite service to consumers because it boosts costs, which are then passed along to the customer.
benton.org/node/29918 | Broadcasting&Cable
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TELEVISION LAST FRONTIER FOR INNOVATION?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
In just one year, the hottest cell phones went from the flip Motorola Razor to mobile computers like the iPhone. Lightening-fast innovations are taking place throughout technology, except for one area: the television. That was a concern voiced by officials at the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, who identified a lack of competition and innovation in the television set-top-box market as a key hurdle to the adoption of broadband Internet. In its charge to blanket the country with affordable Internet access, the FCC is looking broadly at problems throughout the communications industry. It's already upsetting telecom and cable companies whose businesses are being scrutinized as it reviews a federal fund for phone service and the potential use of broadcast spectrum for mobile Internet use. Yesterday, they got under the skin of the cable and satellite industries with a critique of their use of set top boxes, which the agency said are not embracing the convergence of online video with regular old television models.
benton.org/node/29908 | Washington Post
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RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NBP
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The current state of broadband research and how research can help bolster U.S. competitiveness and technology innovation will be the subject of a staff workshop Monday. Open to the public, the workshop is intended to gather data and information for the development of a National Broadband Plan, including a set of research recommendations that Congress could consider to enable the U.S. to be a global leader in broadband networking in the years 2020 and beyond and to further broadband deployment in the US over the next decade. FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker will participate with comments on the second panel.
benton.org/node/29904 | Federal Communications Commission
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OWNERSHIP
CONCERNS ABOUT COMCAST-NBC
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
What worries cable and online video companies most about the expected merger between Comcast and NBC Universal? They say the combined entertainment giant would have too much control over a wide body of content. And it could make it difficult for competitors to offer NBC broadcast and cable shows and Universal movies in the same way Comcast subscribers would receive it. RCN, a smaller cable operator based in Herndon, Va., says a merger between Comcast and NBC Universal would be "bad for competition and therefore bad for consumers." The company said it fears that such an entertainment Goliath could hurt smaller cable competitors who already struggle getting good programming to their consumers. Even with federal rules that ensure choice programming held by Comcast is available to competing cable operators, it says Comcast doesn't always do so easily.
benton.org/node/29907 | Washington Post
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MAKE NBC A CABLE CHANNEL
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wayne Friedman]
[Commentary] If Comcast is really serious about avoiding future derogatory adjectives -- like "dumber" pipe -- it should take a page out of a business it has long been associated with: Build NBC up as a cable network. Forget about all the digital/online distribution of content for the moment -- and even the issue about whether Jeff Zucker should hang around after the deal is completed. Holding onto the NBC network and giving it a new financial model is the real key. Getting a dollar a subscriber as a cable network will give NBC around $1.2 billion a year to play with, added to the two billion or so it already gets from national TV advertising per year. NBC's brand, while diminished, still has value. It still speaks of quality writing -- especially when looking at "30 Rock" or "The Office" or "Community." But it needs a lot more -- things only a cable entity can provide.
benton.org/node/29896 | MediaPost
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VIVENDI WANTS OUT
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Paul Tobin]
Vivendi SA would like to sell its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal and has to make a decision in the next three weeks on a transaction that could be "complex," Chief Financial Officer Philippe Capron said. Vivendi's decision is key to plans by General Electric Co., owner of the rest of NBC Universal, to form a venture with Comcast Corp., which would own a majority of a new entity combining NBC Universal assets with its own. Under terms agreed to when Vivendi and NBC combined assets in 2004, Vivendi can choose to sell between Nov. 15 and Dec. 10 each year to 2016. Vivendi Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy has called the NBC Universal stake "non-core" and has said he wants to expand in emerging markets. Vivendi may still walk away from a possible sale of the stake this year as the GE-Comcast transaction complicates matters, Capron said today.
benton.org/node/29895 | Bloomberg | B&C
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MALONE: DIRECTV AND TELCO
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Liberty Media's chairman John Malone said on Thursday that DirecTV Group would be "compatible" with a telephone company if either of its current partners showed an interest in buying it. Malone was speaking to shareholders at a special meeting where the split-off of DirecTV was approved. The split-off of DirecTV to combine it with some of its Liberty Entertainment assets will create a new, larger independent DirecTV. This has led to Wall Street expectation that DirecTV will eventually be bought by either AT&T or Verizon Communications. DirecTV, the No. 1 U.S. satellite TV operator, has long-term marketing relationships with both phone companies to offer customers bundles of video, phone and Internet services.
benton.org/node/29922 | Reuters
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ACA CALLS ON FCC TO PROBE TV DUOPOLIES
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
The American Cable Association called on the Federal Communications Commission to open a proceeding to examine local marketing agreements (LMAs) used by broadcasters to, in its words, "attain even more bargaining power over small, independent cable operators in negotiations for signal carriage through retransmission consent." ACA said LMAs enable one broadcaster to negotiate retransmission consent on behalf of two or more broadcasters within the same local market, despite FCC duopoly rules that generally prohibit common ownership of two TV stations in the same local market to protect consumers and advertisers from anti-competitive conduct by broadcasters.
benton.org/node/29920 | TVNewsCheck
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DIGITAL CONTENT
JUDGE BACKS REVISED GOOGLE BOOKS DEAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin of the Southern District of New York granted preliminary approval Thursday to a revised settlement between Google and authors and publishers over the Internet giant's effort to create a vast digital library. The Justice Department and the public will have until Feb. 4 to comment on the new settlement and a hearing will be held Feb 18.
benton.org/node/29925 | Washington Post
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WILL THEY PAY FOR IT?
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Mark Dolliver]
Are consumers willing to pay for news content online? A survey released this week by Boston Consulting Group suggests many of them would, as long as they're not obliged to pay much. Conducted online in October, the survey asked people how much per month they are "willing to spend to get online news on your PC or mobile." Among the U.S. respondents, the answers averaged out to $3 per month. The figure was higher -- though scarcely lavish -- at $6 per month among those who identified themselves as heavy consumers of print newspapers. In all, 48 percent of the U.S. respondents said they'd be willing to pay at least something to get news online. The survey also looked at the kinds of news people would be interested in accessing online. The highest votes went to "special coverage/breaking news/investigative reporting" (73 percent) and "local and community-specific news" (72 percent). Sixty-one percent expressed interest in a "continuous news-alert service (e.g., real-time delivery of breaking news)." The figures were somewhat lower for "news archives" (57 percent), "subject-specific in-depth editorial" (54 percent) or a "personalized online newspaper from different sources" (53 percent). There were fewer takers for "sports news" or "business/financial news" (43 percent each). When respondents were given a list of news providers and asked to pick the ones from which they'd be inclined to buy online content, "regional/local newspaper Web sites" scored best.
benton.org/node/29917 | Editor&Publisher
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PRIVACY
PRIVACY BEYOND THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel]
Washington policy makers, long concerned about how marketers use consumers' personal data to their guide sales pitches on the Internet, have stepped up scrutiny of the increasingly sophisticated ad-targeting techniques used in other media, ranging from mobile phones to TV commercials to the ads consumers get in their mail boxes. In recent years, marketers have grown more adept at culling consumer data from an array of online and offline sources -- including real-estate and motor-vehicle records, consumer surveys, credit-card data and logs of Web visitors' online behavior -- to identify the most receptive audiences for their ads. At a hearing Thursday, a House subcommittee plans to explore the impact of these practices on consumer privacy, and will hear from witnesses including advertising giant WPP, database-marketing company Acxiom, privacy advocates and others. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission, which has taken a more active role in policing online privacy this year, is preparing to take a wider look at data-collection practices at a roundtable meeting in December with representatives of the ad, media and technology industries and consumer groups.
benton.org/node/29909 | Wall Street Journal
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