January 2010

The White House's James S. Brady Press Briefing Room has turned into a regular skirmish zone, not just on specifics like the scuttled C-SPAN/healthcare promise but on the larger suspicion by the media that the "change" president has settled into the same cloak-and-swagger habits as some of his predecessors.

It's an age-old dance -- reporters push for information, even some they know they'll never receive. Politicians push back -- with descriptions of how much they've done and all the reasons they can't do more. Tension between the press and the Obama administration has peaked in part because of the candidate's bold promises about being more open. As the president's popularity has declined, some reporters have sensed the already reserved leader pulling back even more. President Obama hasn't held a full-fledged news conference in half a year. One press-freedom advocate -- saying Obama has been more talk than action -- gave the president a C-plus on freedom of information issues.

Don't be fooled by the latest round of price cuts by Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

The two biggest U.S. mobile-phone companies said on Jan. 15 they'll cut monthly prices on unlimited voice calling packages by $30. While the decreases make voice calling cheaper, they and other price moves announced the same day are designed to get subscribers to opt for data plans that typically carry higher price tags and fatter margins for mobile-phone service providers. So the net effect may be increased revenue, analysts say. "We could see a move upwards rather than downwards," says Jennifer Fritzsche, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities in Chicago, who recommends buying shares of AT&T and Verizon Communications. "Any kind of voice pricing is very much a commodity," Fritzsche tells Bloomberg News. "Data is the future." Verizon Wireless, for example, may sacrifice $540 million in voice revenue while generating an additional $630 million in data plan sales, according to Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin. That suggests a net gain of $90 million. Only about 2% of wireless subscribers will see lower bills as a result of the price changes, according to estimates by JPMorgan. Effective Jan. 18, Verizon Wireless and AT&T will charge about $70 apiece for unlimited voice calls.

The fourth quarter largely saw a continuation of newteevee trends from the third quarter and before: growing consumption of online video, further development of TV Everywhere initiatives, villanization of Redbox by the Hollywood studios, and funding on the rise.

One of the biggest news items for the quarter was the announcement of Comcast's acquisition of NBC from GE. The joint venture was officially announced in early December after the parties agreed upon a price of $30 billion for a 51 percent stake in NBC. Hardware manufacturers were gearing up for holiday shopping and cashing in during the fourth quarter. HDTVs were the big consumer electronics item for the holiday shopping season. According to research from Retrevo, 30 percent of Black Friday shoppers were looking to buy a new TV, compared to 22 percent buying a computer and 14 percent buying GPS and Blu-ray devices.

Roku also rocked Black Friday shopping with a half-off sale on its high-end HD-XR (regularly priced $129.99, discounted to $64.99 for Black Friday). Only 500 devices were available at the low price point and Roku sold out of the discounted boxes within 20 minutes of opening sales on Black Friday. The success of the Roku Black Friday sale, aside from being an excellent deal on a newly launched product, is an indicator of the growing popularity of online video viewing.

President Barack Obama has announced his intent to nominate the following:

• John Coppola, Member, National Museum and Library Services Board, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
• Carla D. Hayden, Member, National Museum and Library Services Board, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
• Winston Tabb, Member, National Museum and Library Services Board, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
• Robert Wedgeworth, Member, National Museum and Library Services Board, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities

John Coppola has consulted on strategic planning and professional training for museums throughout Latin America and the Middle East since 1996. Previously, he served as the Director of the Office of Exhibits Central at the Smithsonian Institution; as Chief of the Bureau of International Expositions and Exhibitions Program Manager, Arts America, for the U.S. Information Agency; and as a Foreign Service Officer. Mr. Coppola has organized and managed exhibitions for the Museum of Latin American Art, Smithsonian Latino Center, National Museum of Women in the Arts at St. Thomas University, and Stonewall Library & Archives.

A veteran of the Chicago public library system, Dr. Carla Hayden is a past president of the American Library Association and the current Chief Executive Officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Librarian of the Chicago Public Library, Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh, and Library Services Coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry, one of Chicago's leading cultural institutions. Dr. Hayden began her career with the Chicago Public Library in 1973 as a library associate and children's librarian and then as a young adult services coordinator with the Chicago system, one of the largest in the United States.

Winston Tabb is the Sheridan Dean of University Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University where he leads and coordinates the university's entire system of libraries, directs the Sheridan Libraries, and oversees the Homewood Museum and the Evergreen Museum & Library. Prior to joining Hopkins, Mr. Tabb served at the Library of Congress for over 30 years, ultimately serving as associate librarian. He holds a degree in library science from Simmons College, a master's degree from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Baptist University.

Robert Wedgeworth was the founding President of ProLiteracy Worldwide, the largest non-governmental adult literacy training organization in the world, until his retirement in June 2007. He previously served as University Librarian, Professor of Library Administration, and Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also served as the Dean of the School of Library Service at Columbia University, the Executive Director of the American Library Association, and as President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. In 1975 President Gerald R. Ford appointed Mr. Wedgeworth to the National Commission on New Uses of Copyrighted Works. He is a life member of the American Library Association, a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a member of the Board of Trustees of Wabash College, the Board of Trustees of the Newberry Library, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Poetry Foundation.