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November 2010

Zoom Complaint Against Comcast is Reason For FCC To Act

Modem manufacturer Zoom Telephonics filed a complaint at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Comcast, setting out a string of facts which show that the media giant is restricting consumer access to innovative devices by controlling the approval process for cable modems.

According to the complaint, the requirements are “unreasonable, irrelevant, time-consuming and costly.” The requirements ranged from paying tens of thousands of dollars for duplicative testing and related expenses (including business class air fare and expensive hotels), to requiring the company to meet standards far in excess of normal consumer electronics needs which have no bearing on whether the cable network would be harmed (including weight, labeling, packaging, waxes to be applied) to “arbitrarily refusing” to test one of Zoom’s modems for distribution. With Comcast controlling about 40 percent of the national cable market, Zoom said, Comcast’s approval is necessary in order to sell their products. Comcast is the only cable operator of which Zoom is aware that charges manufacturers for independent testing. Zoom told the FCC that by its practices, Comcast was violating both the Communications Act and the FCC’s open Internet principles.

Public Knowledge, Free Press and MAP said that the complaint shows that Comcast is continuing its pattern of anti-competitive behavior that it showed in throttling the BitTorrent protocol, and that the proceedings show the need for binding open Internet policies that guarantee the right of consumers to attach devices which don't harm the network.

Small Cable Operators Seek 'Granite Strong' Comcast/NBCU Conditions

A group of 40 self-described "smaller" cable companies, all members of the American Cable Association (ACA), filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission arguing that the Comcast/NBCU deal would mean they would pay higher prices for so-called must-have content even though they do not compete head-to-head against Comcast in their markets.

They say that is because they do carry either a Comcast regional sports network (RSN) and NBCU cable networks, as well as an NBC station on some of the systems. "When multiple blocks of this 'must-have' programming are combined under single ownership, what little bargaining leverage we have to resist unjustified increases in carriage fees will be reduced materially. This is because Comcast-NBCU can then threaten to withdraw all of these blocks of 'must-have' programming simultaneously," they argued. "Even though none of these providers competes head-to-head with Comcast, they'll still need to negotiate with a single entity for both a Comcast RSN and NBCU's suite of national cable networks," said ACA President Matt Polka. "For ACA members, the default position in any dispute with Comcast-NBCU will be to pay more for all Comcast-NBCU programming."

Web companies close ranks to oppose merger of NBC Universal, Comcast

A group of leading Internet companies including Google, Yahoo!, Amazon.com and Wikipedia urged the government to reject Comcast's proposed acquisition of NBC Universal on the grounds that it will limit competition.

The firms are part of NetCoalition, an advocacy group that is also funded by Bloomberg, CNET Networks and IAC/Interactive Corp. Many of the firms have previously stated their opposition to the merger through the Coalition for Competition in Media. “The Internet remains one of the most dynamic forces in our economy, one that provides choice and access to millions of users worldwide. This merger puts too much of that resource in too few hands," said Markham Erickson, executive director of NetCoalition. Specifically, the group cites concerns with the merger's potential impact on diversity and competition in the media, as well as the lack of access for independent content creators and distributors. The group also warned of potential cost increases for consumers and reduced access to local sports broadcasts.

Don't let Comcast Reign Over Cable Industry

[Commentary] It's clearly in Comcast's interest to make this titanic, unprecedented merger between content and distribution seem inevitable. The company has done a smoothly professional job of hiring former government employees – almost 80 of them at last count – to help it ensure that the merger doesn't run up against any political obstacles.

Approval of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger would bless the creation of a vertically and horizontally integrated communications giant that would have crushing market power. With the addition of NBC programming – most importantly, NBC's category-killing cable channels USA and CNBC and NBC's rights to broadcast the Super Bowl and the Olympics – Comcast will be able to ensure that no other provider of broadband services will be able to compete with it effectively. There will be no real constraint on Comcast's ability to raise its cable subscription prices. And Comcast will be setting the "market prices" for programming content distributed by competing cable and satellite systems – as the owner of NBC's content, it will make this calculation based on how much it is willing to shift from one of its pockets to another.

One pipe to rule them all: Comcast's version of Mordor. It is this last piece of the puzzle, the looming cable monopoly, which makes the seemingly inevitable approval of the Comcast-NBC merger surprising. What's really going on here is a fight over the future of the Internet. The cable industry has a strong interest – as do the oligopolistic programmers – in avoiding the destruction of their business model by the advent of a decentralized, non-prioritized, commoditized fast connection to the Internet. That's why they're steadfastly maintaining that cord-cutting isn't happening. They need to make a high-priced, densely bundled, sole-source subscription model for all the information and entertainment we watch seem inevitable.

That's why Comcast wants this merger, and that's why it shouldn't happen, absent conditions that ensure Comcast cannot discriminate in favor of its own programming or raise the costs of doing business of its distribution rivals.

Should the government encourage broadband adoption?

[Commentary] Is it the role of government to encourage Americans to have broadband access to the Internet? I think not.

The broadband adoption rate in the US is about 65 percent, although about 92 percent could have access if they wanted it. This level of adoption disturbs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA believes that a lack of broadband Internet access cuts off Americans "from many educational and employment opportunities" and prevents them from competing "in the 21st century economy." It might be appropriate for government to ensure that Americans have the opportunity for broadband Internet access--but it is not, in my opinion, the role of government to encourage or promote such access on Americans. This is just another example of good old-fashioned technology push, which has been seen before.

Global fixed broadband connections to reach 720 million by 2015

The total number of fixed broadband connections worldwide will pass 500 million by the end of 2010 and will continue to grow to 720 million by the end of 2015, according to Analysys Mason.

Fixed broadband will account for just 62% of the 1.16 billion broadband connections available worldwide by the end of 2015. Developed regions (Central and Eastern Europe, developed Asia–Pacific, North America and Western Europe) offer limited growth opportunities in terms of new business. The report forecasts fixed broadband net line additions will grow at a CAGR of 3.9% during 2009–2015 in these regions. By contrast, fixed broadband net line additions will grow at a CAGR of 13.7% in emerging regions (Central and Latin America, emerging Asia–Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub–­Saharan Africa).

Central and Latin America will have the highest CAGR of all regions in terms of fixed broadband connections, at 15.4% between 2009 and 2015.

However, emerging Asia–Pacific will account for most of the net line additions, growing from 117 million lines at the end of 2009 to more than 250 million by the end of 2015.

The Middle East and North Africa’s fixed broadband market will achieve reasonable growth during the forecast period. As a result, it will account for an increasing – albeit small – proportion of worldwide fixed broadband revenue to 2015. Its share of worldwide access retail revenue will grow from 2.3% in 2009 to 3.4% in 2015.

In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile services are, and will continue to be, crucial to the development of the region’s broadband market. The number of mobile broadband connections in the region exceeded that of fixed broadband connections in 2009. By 2015, we expect that fixed broadband will account for only 9% of broadband connections in the region.

Government's Internet crackdown was timed to thwart 'Cyber Monday' crimes

Attorney General Eric Holder said Nov 29 the government crackdown on websites facilitating copyright infringement was timed to coincide with the holiday shopping season.

The government has shut down 82 websites in the past few days as part of "Operation In Our Sites II," an effort by the Justice and Homeland Security Departments and nine attorneys general offices to debilitate fraudulent Web domains. "As of today -- what is known as 'Cyber Monday' and billed as the busiest online shopping day of the year -- anyone attempting to access one of these websites using its domain name will no longer be able to make a purchase," Holder said Monday at a press conference. AG Holder said seizure orders for the domain names were obtained from U.S. magistrate judges.

The Unspoken Tension Between Public and Private Broadband

[Commentary] One of the most fundamental arguments given in support of public broadband projects is the potential they have for delivering higher speeds for lower prices than broadband delivered via private, market-driven, profit-maximizing means. But that cost savings comes directly from the bottom lines of private broadband providers. So when government agencies tout the savings they're helping America's anchor institutions realize, what they're also saying is that the private providers in those areas were charging too much for not enough bandwidth.

Australia splits its top telco in two

Fulfilling another promise of its ambitious national broadband program, Australia's Senate has passed a bill that will split the country's biggest telco into separate retail and wholesale operations.

Telstra will also sunset a big chunk of its copper wire operation, making way for Australia's massive nation-wide fiber project. "Ever since Telstra was privatized Australians have suffered," Communications Minister Stephen Conroy declared shortly after the vote. "They have suffered with high prices, less competition and less innovative services. Today is about celebrating a significant win for Australian consumers." The government let go of Telstra in the late 1990s. But, over the coming eight years, Australia's taxpayers will fork over AUS$43 billion (US$38 billion) to build a "world-class broadband infrastructure." The project will deliver fiber-to-the-home to 93 percent of all households. We're talking open access and wholesale only. Every ISP will be able to tap into the system. As for Telstra -- or as a government report put it, Australia's "highly profitable vertically integrated and horizontally integrated incumbent with a monopoly position in most fixed-line access in many backhaul routes" -- the bill is intended to keep the company from favoring its own retail offerings over those of other ISPs that buy access to its network.

November 29, 2010 (WikiLeaks)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2010


BROADBAND/INTERNET
   Rural-rural divide is the real broadband problem
   Free Press open to backing network neutrality proposal without Title II effort
   Despite seat at table, AT&T outed delicate network neutrality talks
   Do Monopolies Rule the Internet?
   Google satellite service sets 2013 take-off

CONTENT
   Comcast, NBC argue against sharing with Internet TV
   Website Closures Escalate US War on Piracy
   Sinking the online pirates
   EU Parliament Resolution Signals Support For ACTA

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   White House condemns latest WikiLeaks release
   To Publish Leaks Or Not to Publish?
   With better sharing of data comes danger
   The Internet's cyber radicals: heroes of the web changing the world

WIRELESS
   FCC Published Bill Shock Proceeding

DIGITAL LITERACY
   Dessert Before Spinach?! Yes. When Serving Digital Literacy, Start with Dessert

TELEVISION
   Affluent Viewers Love TV, Ads Reach Key Demo
   Cable groups suffer as viewers switch to video streaming

HEALTH
   Parties mull options after Rx privacy law struck

LABOR
   Google Grows, and Works to Retain Nimble Minds

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BROADBAND/INTERNET

RURAL-RURAL BROADBAND DIVIDE
[SOURCE: Des Moines Register, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] The real problem facing rural America is a rural-rural divide. Due to our outdated and inefficient Universal Service system, all telephone consumers subsidize certain phone companies for delivering the most expensive broadband service while those serving other rural areas receive nothing. Most of the money goes to a minority of rural lines, leaving up to 24 million Americans without any broadband service. The National Broadband Plan would reprioritize billions of dollars that were not being effectively used to assure that everyone gets a baseline service. Dave Duncan, of the Iowa Telecommunications Association says "the FCC does not believe all Iowans should have access to the same type of broadband speeds." This is misleading because for most Americans, markets - not government regulators - determine their broadband speeds. If Duncan really believes the government should subsidize rural areas so the speed any American receives, every American would receive, he should acknowledge that it would cost over $300 billion, adding $30 to the monthly bill of every telephone subscriber. The plan rejected this, as such a fee would put basic communications services out of reach for tens of millions of Americans, making a mockery of the Universal Service program. Further, there is no evidence the benefits of such expenditures would equal a small fraction of its cost. It is no accident Duncan never mentions his proposal's cost. He believes government should force consumers across the country to subsidize his members to build the most expensive networks possible, no matter the cost or benefits. It's time to end such policies. If his companies were using their own money, there would be no objection. But for America to have ubiquitous broadband networks, we need to make tough, fiscally responsible decisions and stop pretending that endless and limitless government subsidies to private companies are the right path forward.
benton.org/node/45473 | Des Moines Register
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FCC OPEN TO TITLE I REMEDY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Free Press is open to supporting a potential network neutrality proposal from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski even if its preferred legal framework is not chosen as the basis of the agency's authority. If a prospective network neutrality proposal is unveiled, it should be "judged on the merits of net neutrality," while "Title II is a broader" question, Free Press political adviser Joel Kelsey said. With Chairman Genachowski attempting what appears to be a renewed effort to create network neutrality rules, analysts are predicting he will use the weaker Title I, rather than Title II, to stake the agency's authority. Free Press is nevertheless open to backing the potential proposal, even if it is not accompanied by an attempt to place broadband services under Title II. "The most important component to get correct is the actual policy itself — the actual policy that will govern the rules of the road and determine if there's discrimination over the Internet," Kelsey said. He reiterated that Title II is Free Press's "preference" as a legal framework, and that its needed for agency initiatives beyond net neutrality, such as the National Broadband Plan. But he added that "we're open to looking at any theories the FCC has for its jurisdiction."
benton.org/node/45471 | Hill, The
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AT&T OUTS FCC TALKS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Seeking to weaken potential regulations, AT&T is actively working to complicate the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) renewed effort to broker a compromise on network neutrality. Industry and Hill sources said that an AT&T official made public last week that the agency has quietly undertaken a new round of negotiation. The sources stressed that they had obtained this information through AT&T channels. The delicate FCC effort is aimed at resolving one of the most fractious issues in tech policy. The hope was to quietly consult with industry and public interest stakeholders while insulating the negotiations from the noisy politicking the question stirs on both sides. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski invited industry and public interest sources to help shape a possible compromise, giving AT&T a major seat at the table. Public advocates are concerned about how much Genachowski appears to be listening to AT&T, with one saying he has practically given them "veto powers." Ex parte filings show that AT&T officials consulted frequently with the agency this month. Policy executive Jim Cicconi met with Genachowski's office the day before the new net neutrality effort became public.
benton.org/node/45470 | Hill, The
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DO MONOPOLIES RULE THE INTERNET?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: L Gordon Crovitz]
[Commentary] This will surprise consumers overwhelmed by choice on the Internet, but there's a growing claim that "monopolies" -- dominant firms such as Google and Facebook -- rule the Web. But as close students of economic history know, the greater threat to freedom on the Web would be for the government to decide which companies are good and which need to be broken up or punished. So long as government keeps out the way, the Internet can stay free.
benton.org/node/45479 | Wall Street Journal
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GOOGLE-BACKED SATELLITE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
O3b Networks, the Google-backed satellite venture seeking to provide Internet access to people in developing countries, is planning to launch services in 2013 after securing $1.2bn of funding. O3b has finalized $770m of debt financing and $410m of equity investments so that it can launch eight satellites in the first half of 2013. The satellites are due to provide “backhaul” connections between mobile operators’ base stations in emerging markets and the worldwide web. The satellites are supposed to be a cost-effective means of linking base stations to the web, given that fixed-line telecoms infrastructure does not exist in many developing countries. O3b stands for the “other three billion” people in the world who do not have regular access to broadband Internet.
benton.org/node/45476 | Financial Times
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CONTENT

COMCAST, NBC ARGUE AGAINST SHARING CONTENT ONLINE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Comcast and NBC Universal executives met with senior officials at the Federal Communications Commission, urging the agency against conditions to their proposed merger that would require the new company to provide shows and movies to Internet video distributors. Comcast executive vice president of content acquisition, Matt Bond, and Kathy Zachem, vice president of regulatory affairs, joined NBC general counsel Rick Cotton to argue against conditions. They met, according to an ex parte filing, with the FCC’s senior counsel on the merger, John Flynn, and Chairman Julius Genachowski’s chief counsel, Rick Kaplan. “The program access rules were designed to regulate traditional linear delivery of video programming, a market with an established business model,” Comcast and NBC wrote in their filing. “In the nascent, rapidly-evolving online video market where there is no established business model, it would be difficult as a practical matter to compare distributors for purposes of determining whether a programmer had unreasonably discriminated against a distributor.” The companies said the FCC needs to more clearly define what an online video distributor is if it were to establish program-access rules for the Internet.
benton.org/node/45472 | Washington Post
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WAR ON PIRACY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Don Clark]
A federal crackdown that shut more than 70 websites last week is the latest sign of an escalating war against counterfeit and pirated products, using legal tactics that may be closely scrutinized by civil-liberties groups. Domain names of the affected sites -- which offered such diverse goods as scarves, golf gear and rap music -- were seized by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security, under court-approved warrants. Owners of copyrights and trademarks commonly use civil procedures to try to stop sales of disputed goods on the Web. A law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, for example, established a procedure under which site owners are required to take down pirated media -- such as videos and music -- after being notified by the copyright holder. But the rapid proliferation of sites selling pirated goods -- many of them from outside the US -- has made that process unworkable, some U.S. companies and trade groups say. ICE's latest crackdown is based on procedures used in criminal cases, including seizing domains and assets of suspect websites without prior notification of their owners.
benton.org/node/45481 | Wall Street Journal
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SINKING ONLINE PIRATES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Imagine having a nemesis who assaults you daily (often mocking you as it does) yet somehow stays beyond the reach of the law. That's a rough approximation of the entertainment industry's view of online piracy — particularly the kind practiced by the likes of Sweden's The Pirate Bay, Latvia's mp3fiesta and a growing number of websites that stream bootlegged movies and TV shows from digital lockers. Such sites exist almost exclusively to promote illegal downloading or streaming of movies, music, video games and software, making money through advertisements or even by selling unauthorized copies of the works themselves. Copyright holders have shut down some offending sites through civil suits and federal investigations, but these cases have taken years to complete. Meanwhile, new sites and services have emerged to replace the shuttered ones, and the amount of copyright infringement has increased over the years as broadband connections have proliferated. Fed up, the entertainment industry has lobbied hard for a more powerful legal weapon against online piracy. It found a receptive audience in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which unanimously approved a bill this month that would speed the process of penalizing such sites. The goal of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (S 3804) is a good one — there's no defense for online businesses whose raison d'etre is infringement. But some of the methods employed by the bill could create significant problems of their own.
benton.org/node/45480 | Los Angeles Times
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EU SUPPORTS ACTA
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Share The European Parliament approved a resolution Nov 24 signaling its willingness to support a controversial trade agreement aimed at boosting international cooperation in combating counterfeiting and piracy. The resolution calls on the commission, the European Union's regulatory arm, to move forward with submitting the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to the European Council and parliament for a vote while stressing that the agreement "requires parliament's consent and, possibly, ratification by the member states in order to come into force." The parliament called on the commission "to confirm that ACTA's implementation will have no impact on fundamental rights and data protection, on the ongoing EU efforts to harmonize intellectual property rights enforcement measures, or on e-commerce," according to a parliament news release. Despite releasing a finalized text of the agreement last week, lower-level officials with the ACTA negotiating countries will meet next week in Sydney for a "legal scrub" of the document. The parliament's resolution reminded the commission that it must consult with the parliament before accepting or proposing any amendment to the current ACTA text.
benton.org/node/45464 | National Journal
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

LATEST WIKILEAKS RELEASE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Ross Colvin]
The White House condemned on Nov 28 WikiLeaks' "reckless and dangerous action" in releasing classified US diplomatic cables, saying it could endanger lives and risk hurting relations with friendly countries. State Department documents released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks provided candid views of foreign leaders and sensitive information on terrorism and nuclear proliferation. The documents show Saudi donors remain chief financiers of militant groups like al Qaeda and that Chinese government operatives have waged a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage targeting the United States and its allies. "These cables could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders, and when the substance of private conversations is printed on the front pages of newspapers across the world, it can deeply impact not only U.S. foreign policy interests, but those of our allies and friends around the world," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
benton.org/node/45469 | Reuters
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PUBLISH WIKILEAKS?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Russell Adams, Jessica Vascellaro]
An organization has obtained secret documents. They are newsworthy, but they could be damaging as well, to national interests and individuals. Do you publish? News organizations are confronting that question as aggressive tactics like those of WikiLeaks become more common in an age of fast-moving information. The roughly quarter-million cables released Sunday comprise a sampling of the traffic between the State Department and several hundred embassies and consulates. They include information about the conflict between the U.S. and Pakistan over nuclear fuel, Washington's discussions with South Korean officials about the future of North Korea, and bargaining with other countries over how to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison. Anthony E. Varona, professor and associate dean at American University-Washington College of Law, said the line is still unclear between "giving the public the news it has a First Amendment right to receive and serving as instruments of lawlessness." He added that the courts had ruled on both sides of the argument over the years. "The bottom line is whether publication by WikiLeaks, with amplification by the traditional news media, will advance the public interest and the First Amendment or threaten their very existence," Mr. Varona said. "The next several days will reveal much along these lines."
benton.org/node/45483 | Wall Street Journal
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BETTER SHARING RISKS LEAKS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
The release of a huge tranche of U.S. diplomatic cables has laid bare the primary risk associated with the U.S. government's attempt to encourage better information-sharing: Someone is bound to leak. The U.S. intelligence community came under heavy criticism after Sept. 11, 2001, for having failed to share data that could have prevented the attacks that day. In response, officials from across the government sought to make it easier for various agencies to share sensitive information - effectively giving more analysts wider access to government secrets. But on Nov 28, the Web site WikiLeaks, which had previously released sensitive U.S. documents about the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, once again proved that there's a downside to better information-sharing. In recent weeks, senior administration officials have warned that the WikiLeaks disclosures could affect the balance of weighing the "need to know" versus the need to protect sensitive material, sources and methods. The director of U.S. national intelligence, James Clapper, has said he believes the WikiLeaks releases will have a "chilling effect" on information-sharing. "We have to do a much better job of auditing what is going on on any [intelligence community] computer," he said this month. "And so if somebody's downloading a half-million documents . . . we find out about it contemporaneously, not after the fact." To prevent further breaches, the Pentagon announced Sunday it had ordered the disabling of a feature on its classified computer systems that allows material to be copied onto thumb drives or other removable devices.
benton.org/node/45482 | Washington Post
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CYBER RADICALS
[SOURCE: guardian.co.uk, AUTHOR: Aleks Krotoski]
[Commentary] There has been an explosion of technologies to circumvent censorship in countries where panic-stricken regimes have tried to stem dissident information.
What today's crop of cyber-radicals demonstrate is that power does reside in the hands of the people, thanks to the foundations laid by Tim Berners-Lee 20 years ago. And a new generation of social activists are exploiting the technological tools available to them for their own agendas.
benton.org/node/45475 | guardian.co.uk
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WIRELESS

BILL SHOCK PROCEEDING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission proposes rules that would require mobile service providers to provide usage alerts and information that will assist consumers in avoiding unexpected charges on their bills. The FCC believes its proposals will allow consumers to understand the costs associated with use of their mobile service plans and take advantage of safeguards against bill shock by providing them with timely information to better manage those costs and thereby avoid incurring unexpected charges on their bills. Comments are due on or before December 27, 2010. Reply comments are due on or before January 25, 2011.
benton.org/node/45468 | Federal Communications Commission
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DIGITAL LITERACY

SERVING DIGITAL LITERACY
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Blair Levin, Idit Harel Caperton]
[Commentary] When it comes to literacy, it may be time to force our children to eat their dessert with, or even before, their spinach. No one can doubt America has a literacy problem. Too many of us cannot read well. Fourteen percent of the United States' adult population, or 30 million people, read at a "below basic" literacy level while 63 million Americans are just at basic. For many children, the hard work of learning to read and write was like eating spinach -- evil-tasting drudgery one suffered through before being allowed to bite into the tasty dessert. In a way that may seem to make matters worse on the literacy front, some now argue that that with the pervasive use of digital media throughout our economy and culture, we also have to confront a digital literacy problem. If our people lack the skills for using digital tools, this complaint says, our economy and society will suffer. The response by some in the education community is that we shouldn't spend resources on digital literacy until we solve the literacy problem; the ABCs and the 123s must come first. Learn to read a book and do basic math before going on Google, joining Facebook, or playing a multi-player video game. Above all, they say, kids must know how to write to express ideas, and that means mastering the structure and grammar and spelling of their language. This, in our view, ignores the opportunity created by how children are now growing up. With today's social media, using literacy skills is like a dessert that can motivate kids to go on to the spinach. Why? Children today learn to read and write through games and social media before anything else. Their digital engagement is a reality we should leverage.
benton.org/node/45467 | Huffington Post, The
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TELEVISION

AFFLUENT VIEWERS LOVE TV
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: David Goetzl]
Even with all the media options and wired, frenetic lifestyles, affluent adults are watching the same amount of TV as they did a year ago, according to a new report. Research shows that individuals in homes with incomes of $100,000-plus watch an average of 17.6 hours a week this year, tied with 2009. However, Internet usage has shown a 12% bump, rising from an average of 22.6 hours a week in 2009 to 25.3 this year, according to the annual Mendelsohn Affluent Survey. The Ipsos Mendelsohn data was culled from surveys of 13,800 respondents -- male and female heads of household in homes with the $100,000-plus incomes. Ipsos estimates that 21% of U.S. homes have household incomes of $100,000-plus. The surveys showed that older, wealthy individuals watch more TV than their younger counterparts. Among the affluents in the 18-to-34 demo, there was an average of 15.4 hours a week, compared to 22.2 for ages 65-plus.
benton.org/node/45466 | MediaPost
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CABLE AND VIDEO STREAMING
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Matthew Garrahan]
Netflix, the DVD subscription service that also offers movies to be streamed online, has a share performance chart most companies would kill for. A year ago the stock was trading at $58; last week, after 12 months in which the company began to attract attention for its willingness to buy digital rights to Hollywood movies, the shares were hovering around $187. The company launched a $7.99 streaming-only subscription service last week, which fuelled a further jump in the shares. Yet its expansion, and the growth of rival online video services, such as Hulu, has come at a cost. Debate is raging in the US media industry about television viewers “cutting the cord” – abandoning traditional cable TV in favour of new, cheaper online video services. Recent data appear to support the theory that consumers are shifting online. Although the number of people subscribing to TV services offered by satellite or telecoms groups is growing, cable TV subscriptions have suffered their biggest drop in 30 years, according to figures compiled by SNL Kagan, the research firm. It is unclear how much of this decline can be attributed to online alternatives, although the high cost of TV services is clearly an issue, according to Spencer Wang, a media analyst with Credit Suisse.
benton.org/node/45478 | Financial Times
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HEALTH
   Parties mull options after Rx privacy law struck

PRESCRIPTION PRIVACY LAW STUCK
[SOURCE: ModernHealthcare.com, AUTHOR: Joseph Conn]
In a split decision, a federal appeals court in New York has overturned a Vermont law seeking to restrict the use of prescription drug data in the marketing of pharmaceuticals to physicians. The ruling by a majority of the three-judge panel in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came in favor of the appellants—IMS Health; Verispan; Source Healthcare Analytics, a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer Health; and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America -- and found that the 2007 Vermont law constituted "an impermissible restriction of commercial speech." The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston found in favor of similar state laws in Maine and New Hampshire. An appeal to the Supreme Court may not be the next step, according to Vermont Assistant Attorney General Bridget Asay, but it is one possibility.
benton.org/node/45465 | ModernHealthcare.com
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LABOR

GOOGLE AND LABOR
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
Google, which only 12 years ago was a scrappy start-up in a garage, now finds itself viewed in Silicon Valley as the big, lumbering incumbent. Inside the company some of its best engineers are chafing under the growing bureaucracy and are leaving to start or work at smaller, nimbler companies. Recent departures include low-level engineers, product managers and prominent managers like Lars Rasmussen, who helped create Google Maps and Wave before he left for Facebook, and Omar Hamoui, the founder of AdMob who was vice president for mobile ads at Google and is now looking for his next project. At least 142 of Facebook’s employees came from Google. Corporate sclerosis is a problem for all companies as they grow. But a hardening of the bureaucracy and a slower pace of work is even more perceptible in Silicon Valley, where companies grow at Internet speed and pride themselves on constant innovation -- and where the most talented people are often those with the most entrepreneurial drive. Much of Silicon Valley’s innovation comes about as engineers leave companies to start their own. For Google, which in five years has grown to 23,000 employees from 5,000 and to $23.7 billion in revenue from $3.2 billion, the risk is that it will miss the best people and the next great idea.
benton.org/node/45477 | New York Times
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