February 2011

Appeals Court: free Internet porn isn't unfair competition to pay sites

One day in March of 2009, the proprietors of Redtube.com were minding their own business, streaming free pornographic videos to the public, when they received notice of a lawsuit against them in the mail.

"The ubiquitous distribution of free adult videos through redtube.com has had a massive negative impact on the business model of adult website proprietors," charged the complaint against Redtube owner Bright Imperial Limited of Hong Kong. "Now that consumers have the ability to watch high quality adult videos for free on redtube.com, fewer are making the choice to pay other adult website proprietors for the same content." Thus, Redtube.com has caused "many millions of dollars of damages to proprietors of adult entertainment websites," including those of the plaintiff in this instance, one Kevin Cammarata of Los Angeles, California. This, he charged, was a violation of California's Unfair Practices Act. Whatever you think about Internet porn, if you have any sympathy for online commerce you will be glad to know that this lawsuit failed. A California Appeals court has dismissed the case as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit—an action designed to censor free speech.

"The publication of a video on the Internet, whether it depicts teenagers playing football or adult entertainment qualifies as 'conduct in furtherance of... free speech," the court ruled last week. "...All of Cammarata's causes of action arise from Bright's conduct of placing speech on the Internet where it can be viewed for free by the public. This is the 'predatory pricing' that Cammarata complains of."

The judges also took a look at the Redtube business model, and after a fascinating review of the history of broadcasting and the Internet, rejected the plaintiffs unfair competition claims.

Fox News Editor Pushed Emphasis On Obama 'Socialism' Ahead Of 2008 Election

In late 2008, one of Fox News' top editors escalated his efforts to have the network portray then-Senator Barack Obama as a socialist and an anti-white racist during the waning days of the presidential election.

On October 27, 2008, then news-editor Bill Sammon emailed colleagues with references in Obama's first book Dreams From My Father to socialism, Marxism and Obama's past relationship with a white woman. This wasn't a new obsession for Sammon, but he did apparently succeed at injecting this supposed controversy into Fox's news programming. Indeed, an hour and a half after he sent his email, he appeared on Live Desk to discuss the quotes he highlighted in his email.

Introducing The Daily

The Daily -- a collaboration between Steve Jobs' company and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. -- will cost $0.99 per week, or at a small discount for $40 per year, and is promising to include over 100 pages of original news in each issue.

The daily newspaper for the iPad will be billed automatically, to customers iTunes accounts, on a weekly or annual basis. In terms of features, the newspaper features traditional text-based stories, video and interactive content -- and much was made of the 360-degree photos that'll let photojournalism go far beyond what's possible in a printed context. Embracing the social media phenomenon, you'll be able to share stories on Twitter, Facebook and via email, and the mechanism seems very Apple-esque -- you simply click to clip, save and press send to share the content you've chosen. This is a boon for some, who'd wondered if News Corp. would pull its habitual "linking is the enemy of news" stunt--and represents something of a reversal in attitude. Stories within The Daily will also link out to the Web, so it's not a completely closed ecosystem. However, the openness of the app is limited--though the presenters were wary about answering questions about "discoverability" it seems like you'll be able to share content with other readers of the Daily, and non-readers too--but the non-readers won't get any of the app's interactivity and there's nowhere on the Web they can link to it. This is almost in line with the comment that "hundreds of billions of people sharing content on the web, and we want to be a part of it." In terms of real-time "serious" journalism, the paper is hitting the ground running--and has a reporter, Josh Hearst, in place in Egypt to report on ongoing events there.

Apple iPhone games for children rack up shocking bills

Tap Zoo and other iPhone games such as Smurf Village have sparked outrage among parents, who question Apple policies that allow games aimed at children to sell pricey add-ons without adequate sales safeguards.

The games are part of category of free applications on Apple's iTunes store that let companies charge users for products and services when the application is launched. Those purchases for Tap Zoo include $19 for a bucket of stars or $99 for a bucket of coins to buy animals to build a safari. Apple said it tries to prevent episodes of bill shock from happening by requesting a password when making "in app purchases." And parents can change settings on iPhones, iPads and iPods to restrict downloading and in-app purchases, Apple spokeswoman Truly Muller said. But parents say changing those settings isn't so easy. And, once a password is entered, it doesn't have to be reentered for 15 minutes, allowing users to make additional purchases.

Joint Task Force for Text-based Mobile Marketing Programs

CTIA and the Mobile Marketing Association announced the creation of a joint task force that will streamline the process for Common Short Code (CSC)-based mobile marketing programs in the US. Led by executives from the two organizations and from the mobile marketing program ecosystem, this new group will focus on two areas: shortening time-to-market for mobile marketing programs and supporting those mobile marketers who best adhere to consumer protection guidelines.

These efforts will help businesses connect efficiently with millions of wireless customers, while helping to build increased consumer trust in mobile marketing campaigns. With more than six billion text messages sent and received daily in the US, many large and small businesses have deployed successful CSC-based mobile marketing programs. CSCs are five- or six-digit numbers that are used for text or multimedia messaging mobile marketing programs such as mobile giving, tele-voting and marketing promotions. According to an August 2010 Mobile Marketing Association “View from Madison Ave.” study, these CSC marketing campaigns are increasingly becoming a mainstay for many leading brands, non-profits and governments. The joint task force will work to create uniform guidelines across carrier networks. It will also carefully balance monitoring of the CSC-based mobile marketing programs to ensure consumers are protected and campaigns are appropriately functioning. Finally, the group will recommend mechanisms to reward consistently trustworthy performers and explore potential enforcement mechanisms to drive greater compliance.

Michael Weinberg, staff attorney for Public Knowledge, said: "We are encouraged that the wireless industry has at last recognized that there is a problem with the long time it takes to obtain a short code, and has set up a group to work on the issue. At the same time, we look forward to further explanations about who will be on the task force, how the new rules will be compiled and whether there will be a mechanism for those denied short codes to have a dispute resolved. The process would benefit from a lot more transparency and broader inclusion from all stakeholders. While the industry has been quick to boast about the importance of short codes in public safety, civic engagement, and commercial activity, they have failed to provide safeguards for the public that reflect the critical importance of short codes. In the larger sense, the fact that the industry continues to treat short codes as mere ‘marketing campaigns’ rather than a vital service similar to phone service underscores the reason why the Federal Communications Commission needs to act on our long-standing petition to recognize that texting is the 21st Century equivalent of a voice call — and deserves the same protection. They are increasingly integrated into everything from political action campaigns to evacuation alerts. No industry self-regulation, however well intentioned or well managed, can replace the safety net of FCC oversight consumers deserve."

February 2, 2011 (All About Content)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Apparently, Spring is Near! http://bit.ly/fFjPQL


AGENDA
   Agenda Set for FCC's Feb 8 Meeting
   Telecom doubleheader scheduled for Feb. 16
   Rep Rush To Reintroduce Privacy Bill Next Week
   With a quiet vote this year, Congress could irreparably damage public media

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Group Says Innovation Needed To Address Digital Divide

WIRELESS
   Devices allow mobility for deaf phone users
   Why Did The White House Support Reallocating D Block? It's Smart Politics.
   People Download Lots of Apps, But Many Get Discarded
   Apple hit with another suit alleging privacy violations
   Arbor: Mobile networks trail fixed line in security
   French Regulator Expands 3G in GSM Spectrum Use to Overseas Territories
   Among Mobile Phone Users, Hispanics, Asians are Most-Likely Smartphone Owners in the US
   Battling a Wireless Deluge

CONTENT
   Utility Commissioners Propose Resolution Favoring Content Neutrality
   Apple's book rule: 'I wouldn't be surprised if phones were ringing at the FTC,' analyst says
   Google says Microsoft's Bing is copying its search results
   Web Site That Rebroadcasts TV Should Be Allowed To Operate, Groups Tell NY Court
   Comcast, Time Warner Activate TV Everywhere
   Two Hints at Stepped-Up Media Rivalry in Online Streaming
   Cord Cutters Suffer the 'Paradox of Choice'
   Social media users grapple with information overload
   Google Takes Street View Into Art Museums
   Al Sharpton amplifies calls for FCC to regulate racism in broadcasting
   Feds Blitz Sports Piracy Websites Ahead Of Super Bowl XLV
   UK anti-piracy law faces further delay
   UK Begins E-Book Price Probe

OWNERSHIP
   Time Warner Cable To Buy NaviSite For $230M
   Dish To Buy Bankrupt Satellite Firm DBSD For $1 Billion
   Hopes High for Local TV Nonprofit Co-ops

HEALTH
   Pew: Health information remains high on the list of popular uses for the Internet
   AHIMA: Why HR 408 Matters
   Video games are good for girls -- if parents play along

POLICYMAKERS
   Sources: FCC snags ex-Boucher aide
   Baker Announces Staff Change

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   US judge dismisses lawsuit against Bush wiretap program
   Internet returns to Egypt
   Egypt Turns Off the Internet. Now What Happens?
   Netflix, Egypt, and the Case for Net Neutrality
   Agencies face problems with opening up government: report
   Web 3.0 Could Lead to E-Government That Anticipates Citizens’ Needs

MORE ONLINE
   NIST considers changes in federal role in standards development
   Tech program gets short-term fix
   US Firms, China Are Locked in Major War Over Technology
   Tech CEOs Meet With President
   The Smithsonian's lost integrity

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AGENDA

FCC AGENDA RELEASED
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting Tuesday, February 8 to consider:
1) an item to get broadband to all of rural America and spur infrastructure investment and job creation, by modernizing the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation (ICC) system while cutting waste and inefficiency,
2) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, initiated as part of the Commission's Data Innovation Initiative, to streamline and modernize the collection of data via Form 477, in order to ensure that the data the Commission collects enables informed policymaking while minimizing burdens on voice and broadband service providers,
3) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking initiated as part of the Commission's Data Innovation Initiative, to eliminate the legacy narrowband comparably efficient interconnection (CEI) and open network architecture (ONA) reporting requirements that currently apply to the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs), due to a lack of continuing relevance and utility.
benton.org/node/49368 | Federal Communications Commission
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HEARING AGENDA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
According to industry sources, House Republicans and Senate Democrats have scheduled the two biggest telecom hearings of the month on the same day. On Feb 16, the House Communications subcommittee and the Senate Commerce Committee will discuss network neutrality regulations and spectrum legislation, respectively. House Communications subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) wants to abolish the network neutrality regulations imposed by the Federal Communications Commission in December. Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) wants to discuss his comprehensive spectrum legislation.
benton.org/node/49331 | Hill, The
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CONGRESS AND THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC MEDIA
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Bill Kling]
[Commentary] In coming weeks, public media in this country could quietly cease to exist as we know it. It's up to us to make sure our audiences are aware of this threat, and that they have the opportunity to do something about it. True, CPB has weathered defunding efforts before and come through intact — though the federal appropriations lately haven't kept pace with inflation. But the challenge posed by the seating of the 112th Congress is much more dangerous than anything we have seen before. First, the financial strength of public television in the wake of the financial collapse of 2008­2009 is at an all-time low. Many stations were having a hard time staying viable even before the new Congress took office. Second, the Juan Williams affair at NPR has given opponents of public funding for public broadcasting a rallying point for advancing their cause. As we have seen, some in Congress are not afraid to exploit that single event to its fullest. Finally, an unprecedented federal deficit is forcing legislators to put all spending-reduction options on the table for discussion. Indeed, the chairs of the Obama administration's own bipartisan deficit-reduction commission cite CPB's appropriation as a possible target for elimination. [Kling is CEO of Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media]
benton.org/node/49311 | Current
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

INNOVATION AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Josh Smith]
In order to bridge the digital divide between those with access to new communications technology and those who lack it, communities will need to consider new business models, according to a new report by the New America Foundation. Telecommunications researchers discussed innovative ways that communities are providing modern communications systems to low-income users and underserved areas. The report highlights "global best practices" from the United States and Europe. "By leveraging local capacity, which can range from the technological smarts of community residents to antennae mounts on buildings, it is clear there are many alternative models cities can utilize to advance their communications infrastructure," the report concludes.
benton.org/node/49374 | National Journal | New America report
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WIRELESS

DEVICES FOR DEAF USERS
[SOURCE: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, AUTHOR: Driadonna Roland]
Two new products -- PC and ntouch Mobile -- will allow people who are hard of hearing or deaf to have the same mobile options as their hearing counterparts. They turn laptops and cellphones into videophones with the same Video Relay Service technology now used by deaf individuals to place calls. With ntouch PC, a computer or laptop can be turned into a videophone. The software is free and works with any Internet or wi-fi connection.
benton.org/node/49352 | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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D BLOCK UPDATE
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] The announcement by the White House that it would support reallocating the D Block – the 10 MHz of spectrum left over from big broadcast band auction of 2008 (the 700 MHz Auction) – to public safety use rather than auction it for commercial use defies conventional wisdom on two fronts. First, the National Broadband Plan called for an auction of D block to commercial providers as a means of providing critical spectrum for broadband, using the revenue to fund the construction of the public safety network, and giving public safety access to the rest of the 700 MHz band. Given that the Administration generally supported the FCC’s assessment that we have a looming “spectrum crisis” (although they took no position, until now, on D Block), why pull 10 MHz of prime spectrum ready for auction out of contention? Second, conventional wisdom holds that because of deficit concerns, lust for auction revenue will drive spectrum policy. But the White House not only endorses taking prime spectrum off the market, it wants to spend additionally billions on public safety infrastructure (under the FCC’s original plan, the auction of D Block would fund the build out of an interoperable national public safety network). So what happened? The short answer is, I believe, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.
benton.org/node/49394 | Public Knowledge
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MOST APPS DISCARDED
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Ryan Kim]
App makers are quick to talk about downloads. And why not? It’s the most obvious metric for usage and consumer adoption. But according to analytics firm Localytics, 26 percent of apps downloaded last year were only used once. That means those overall download stats often mask the fact that many apps fail to catch on with users. According to Localytics, which studied the thousands of Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 apps with its analytics service one-time usage is on the rise from quarter to quarter in 2010. While this news may be helpful for Localytics to help push its real-time analytics service, it also drives home the point that developers face increased pressure to nail the design of their apps, or face app abandonment.
benton.org/node/49325 | GigaOm
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APPLE PRIVACY SUIT
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Nancy Gohring]
Apple has been hit with another lawsuit accusing it of privacy violations for the way it shares information collected from iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users with advertisers. The suit was filed Jan 27 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of an Apple user in California and seeks class-action status. It charges Apple with sharing information about users' browsing history, application use and other personal details without their consent. "Apple's privacy policy is opaque and confusing but one thing is clear: it does not inform mobile device users that by providing application developers with their UDID, Apple enables them to put a name to highly personal and in many cases embarrassing information derived from app downloading activity and usage, and Internet browsing history, that would otherwise be anonymous," the suit reads. Apple gives each of its mobile devices a Unique Device Identifier, or UDID. Application developers have access to that number, which offers information about a user's browsing history every time the user clicks on an ad or an application, according to the suit. Developers sometimes sell the data to tracking companies, the suit alleges.
benton.org/node/49320 | IDG News Service
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MOBILE VS FIXED LINE SECURITY
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Jeremy Kirk]
Mobile network operators are trailing their fixed-line counterparts by several years in regards to security, with many experiencing outages and other problems due to the use of outdated security technology, according to a new report released by Arbor Networks. As demand for mobile Internet access has grown, mobile operators have focused on growing revenue rather than securing their infrastructure, said Paul Scanlon, a solutions architect for Arbor. Mobile operators are eight to 10 years behind their fixed-line counterparts when it comes to security, he said. Arbor surveyed 111 network operators for its Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report, which covers a period from October 2009 to September 2010. Forty-six percent of respondents said security-related outages on their networks had affected customers. Among the causes of the outages were denial-of-service attacks, where an attacker prevents legitimate users from accessing a service, either by crashing it or clogging up network access to it.
benton.org/node/49319 | IDG News Service
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WHO OWNS A SMARTPHONE?
[SOURCE: Nielsen Company, AUTHOR: Don Kellogg]
As of December 2010, nearly a third (31%) of all mobile consumers in the United States owned smartphones, cellphones with app-based, web-enabled operating systems. But smartphone penetration is even higher among mobile users who are part of ethnic and racial minorities in the U.S. ­ namely Asian/Pacific Islanders (45%), Hispanics (45%) and African-Americans (33%), populations that also tend to skew younger. Meanwhile, only 27 percent of White mobile users reported owning a smartphone. Although only 42 percent of Whites who purchased a mobile phone in the past six months chose a smartphone over a feature phone, 60 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders, 56 percent of Hispanics, and 44 of African Americans who recently bought cellphones chose smartphones. The competition between smartphone operating systems is a heated one. When it comes to the installed base, that is, U.S. mobile consumers who already own smartphones, it is a three-way tie between Blackberry RIM, the smartphone pioneer, Apple’s IOS, which revolutionized the smartphone and popularized mobile apps, and Android OS, the operating system created by Google which has been taking the market by storm.
benton.org/node/49304 | Nielsen Company
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CONTENT

NARUC AND NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has proposed a draft resolution that its members may vote on at its winter meeting later this month that would urge the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that all cable providers have equal access to content at a fair price. NARUC's draft resolution noted the need for small and mid-size cable providers to be able to have access to content at a reasonable price in order to provide "triple play" packages, which usually include video, Internet and voice services. The resolution also discusses the FCC's recent actions on network neutrality and conditions included with the commission's approval of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger that dealt with the issue of content neutrality. The resolution also referenced the potential impact of possible changes to the universal service fund on smaller providers and those who primarily serve rural areas. In response, the draft resolution "strongly urges the FCC to carefully examine the damage these pricing practices may inflict on the business opportunities of midsize and small LECs [local exchange carriers] and comparable small and medium-sized cable providers and take appropriate action to rebalance the 'competitive playing field' to assure the ability of residents in small and rural markets to obtain the benefit of robust broadband is not impaired."
benton.org/node/49360 | National Journal
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APPLE'S NEW RULES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Sarno, Alex Pham]
Sony sparked an outcry when it said the latest version of its e-reading app had been rejected by Apple which is changing the rules about how e-books can be sold and accessed via its iPhone and iPad devices -- a move that may get the attention of regulators, one analyst said. Apple said it was changing its rules to require any vendors who sell books to iPhone and iPad users through their websites to also allow users to buy books inside the app. Until now, companies such as Google and Amazon have routed iPhone app users to their own book sites to purchase books they could download into the app. But Apple is now probably going to force those booksellers to change their apps. "We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase," said a statement by Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller. James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research, saw the move by Apple as a way to force more transactions to be funneled through its app store, where Apple receives a 30% cut of any sale. “One way to look at this is that Apple is leveraging its monopoly power” over the iPad and iPhone platforms," McQuivey said. “One could argue that Apple is simply maximizing shareholder value by leveraging its platforms.” But McQuivey cited two potential drawbacks to Apple’s approach. By dictating where digital books can be sold and turning away developers such as Sony, Apple may be squelching innovation, he said. Secondly, such restrictions could be interpreted as restraint of trade, which is frowned upon by federal regulators such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. “I wouldn't be surprised if phones were ringing at the FTC today about this,” McQuivey said.
benton.org/node/49372 | Los Angeles Times
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GOOGLE-MICROSOFT SPAT
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Nathan Olivarez-Giles]
Google says it can prove that Bing has watched what people search for on Google and tailored its results to mirror the leader in Web search. Harry Shum, Bing's corporate vice president, addressed the story without denying that Bing monitors some Google user activity, but rather saying that it monitors all sorts of Web user habits to improve Bing's results.
benton.org/node/49371 | Los Angeles Times | fast Company | Bloomberg
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IVI CASE
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: ]
Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Media Access Project and Open Technology Initiative argue that a Federal Court should not shut down ivi, a Web site that rebroadcasts TV channels. The groups filed a brief with the U.S. District Court in New York City in a suit brought by a number of broadcasters against the site. In the brief, the groups noted that ivi is part of a new trend of Online Video Providers (OVD), which have been championed by both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and by the Justice Department (DoJ) in those agencies’ analysis of the Comcast takeover of NBCU. The groups said: “OVDs must be allowed to operate and innovate in this space if their promise is to be fulfilled. Issuing a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against ivi would frustrate this potential by effectively shutting down ivi’s business.” In addition, the groups said that ivi fits the definition of a cable system under the Copyright Act and that its actions are permissible under FCC rules. The groups also argued that no broadcasters are being harmed by ivi’s operation: “It seems doubtful that ivi’s continued operation would spur the cancellation of any programming during the pendency of this litigation.”
benton.org/node/49322 | Public Knowledge | B&C
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TV EVERYWHERE UPDATE
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Andrew Wallenstein]
It’s been approximately 18 months since Comcast and Time Warner first talked up TV Everywhere, but their authentication strategy has finally come to pass: a multi-year commitment to put hundreds of hours of Turner Broadcasting programming online for Comcast subscribers was announced. The free programming will be available shortly after initial airing via Comcast portal Xfinity.com, Comcast On Demand and Turner’s web sites, as well as any iPad, iPhone and Android-based tablets and phone applications. Turner Broadcasting includes TNT, TBS, CNN, HLN, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.
benton.org/node/49305 | paidContent.org | Multichannel News
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PARADOX OF CHOICE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Steve Smith]
What would happen if someone took your TV service provider away for a week and left behind one of the trendy Over The Top (OTT) boxes in its place? That is what Hill Holliday did recently with five Boston-area families. The company removed their standard cable boxes and gave them an Apple TV, a Roku, Boxee Box, Xbox 360 or Google TV. The results should give the MSOs a smile. Most of the families reacted negatively to the experience, feeling immediately the absence of the constant flow of automated TV choice. The biggest and most obvious shift for consumers was from passivity to lean-in involvement. Virtually all of the OTT boxes required that the user choose each and every TV experience. It turns out that for many people TV viewing is something of an experience that lives somewhere between lean-back passivity and on-demand super-choice. "I don't want to have to think about it," one subject said. In fact, as Hill Holliday synopsized at their site, "As with 'the paradox of choice' phenomenon that describes how broadening the range of options leads to a decrease in overall consumption, we saw how families gave up on watching TV altogether when they couldn't decide what it is that they wanted to watch." None of the OTT solutions seemed to have an answer to the problem of having to decide always what to watch next.
benton.org/node/49323 | MediaPost
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OWNERSHIP

TWC BUYS NAVISITE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Time Warner Cable has agreed to acquire computer services firm NaviSite for $5.50 per share in cash, a deal valued at about $230 million. NaviSite, based in Andover (MA) provides enterprise-class hosting, managed application, messaging and cloud services to the commercial services industry. The deal gives Time Warner Cable Business Class, the commercial services arm of the cable giant, an immediate presence in the managed services market with NaviSite's more than 1,200 enterprise customers. The purchase price represents a 33% premium to NaviSite's closing price of $4.13 per share on Feb. 1. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, and is subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Based in Andover, NaviSite has about 570 employees worldwide, operates 10 data centers in the United States and the United Kingdom and has operations centers in Gurgaon, India and Andover. Time Warner Cable is the second largest MSO in the country with about 12.3 million customers. Its commercial services revenue was about $1.1 billion in 2010, up 21% from the prior year.
benton.org/node/49363 | Multichannel News
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DISH BUYING DBSD
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Dish Network announced plans to acquire DBSD North America, a hybrid satellite and terrestrial communications company formerly known as ICO North America that filed for bankruptcy reorganization, for approximately $1 billion. DBSD North America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2009. Dish is a creditor to DBSD and had voted against the reorganization plan. In December 2010, a federal appeals court ruled against Dish after determining Dish's interest in blocking the bankruptcy proposal wasn't to maximize recovery as a creditor but to further its own strategic interest in DBSD, which is a subsidiary of holding company ICO Global Communications. The deal is subject to certain adjustments, including interest accruing on DBSD North America's existing debt. In connection with the transaction, Dish is committing to provide a debtor-in-possession credit facility, which remains subject to approval by the bankruptcy court and will consist of a non-revolving, multiple draw term loan in the aggregate principal amount of $87.5 million.
benton.org/node/49326 | Multichannel News
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LOCAL TV NONPROFIT CO-OPS
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Diana Marszalek]
Under the terms of the Federal Communications Commission order approving Comcast’s takeover of NBCU, at least half of NBC’s 10 own and operated TV stations have to find a nonprofit news center with which to work within the next year. The order cites the KNSD-VoiceOfSanDiego.org alliance as the model for what it would like to see in other NBC markets. Proponents of the growing nonprofit news movement are hoping that NBC’s FCC-mandated efforts will bear fruit and encourage other commercial TV stations to seek out nonprofit partners. “What it seems to be is a nod toward the idea that there are ways to uniquely cover the community, and get a voice, and be present in the community beyond where [TV stations] have been in the past,” says Al Tompkins, the Poynter Institute’s group leader for broadcasting. Once TV stations realize the benefit -- robust, investigative content many stations no longer do themselves -- they will seize the opportunity, he says. “This isn't work that is being done by some watchdog group, or special interest. It’s real journalism, and it’s important journalism. It is my opinion that 2010 was the beginning of a new birth in investigative journalism.” However, Tompkins cautions, models for the financial and creative side of the arrangements need to be worked out if nonprofits are going to be sustainable and true to their mission of public service journalism.
benton.org/node/49329 | TVNewsCheck
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HEALTH

NEW PEW SURVEY ON HEALTH TOPICS
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Susannah Fox]
Health information remains one of the most important subjects that Internet users research online. The Pew Internet Project and California HealthCare Foundation have added eight new topics to our national survey measuring Internet users’ interest in health information:
29% of Internet users look online for information about food safety or recalls.
24% of Internet users look online for information about drug safety or recalls.
19% of Internet users look online for information about pregnancy and childbirth.
17% of Internet users look online for information about memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s.
16% of Internet users look online for information about medical test results.
14% of Internet users look online for information about how to manage chronic pain.
12% of Internet users look online for information about long-term care for an elderly or disabled person.
7% of Internet users look online for information about end-of-life decisions.
benton.org/node/49292 | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project | WashPost
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

JUDGE DISMISSES WIRETAP SUIT
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Warren Richey]
US District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco dismissed a long-running lawsuit seeking to the hold the government accountable for secret, warrantless electronic surveillance conducted in the US for four years after the 9/11 attacks. Judge Walker ruled that the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and members of its staff lacked the necessary legal standing to bring such a suit. The lawsuit had asked the courts to declare the once-supersecret Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to be illegal and unconstitutional. But Judge Walker said the group had failed to offer proof that it had been targeted by the wiretap program. Under the program, Bush administration officials bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), in which Congress required the executive branch to obtain a court-authorized warrant from a special high-security court before engaging in surveillance that might include persons in the United States. President Bush authorized the secret surveillance program despite the legal requirements established under FISA. The lawsuit sought a court ruling declaring that the terror surveillance effort violated FISA. It also sought a decision that Mr. Bush’s actions amounted to an unconstitutional usurpation of legislative power by the White House.
benton.org/node/49406 | Christian Science Monitor, The
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INTERNET RETURNS TO EGYPT
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Tim Bradshaw]
Internet services returned to Egypt on the morning of Feb 2, with even previously blocked sites such as Twitter available. The move comes as the Egyptian army encouraged protesters against Hosni Mubarak’s regime to return to normal life. Reports from Cairo suggested that some mobile-phone services, such as text messaging, were still not functioning fully. Supporters of free expression outside Egypt have helped protesters to work around the authorities’ web restrictions, providing dial-up Internet services from abroad. Google created a tool that allowed people to use phone calls to post messages to Twitter. With Internet access back, Egyptians have begun again to stream live video from their mobiles to sites such as Bambuser, which was blocked last week. Live streaming has been seen by protesters as a way to ensure their images are distributed immediately, rather than risk having their phones taken away by police or opponents before they can upload their footage.
benton.org/node/49403 | Financial Times
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EGYPT TURNS OFF NET. WHAT NEXT?
[SOURCE: Technology Review, AUTHOR: Christopher Mims]
On Thursday January 27, the Egyptian government did something extraordinary -- it "turned off the Internet" within the country's own borders. There's no mystery about how this happened -- the Egyptian government owns the largest service provider in the country and had only to make a few phone calls to bring the remaining ISPs in line. The old fashioned nature of this technological shutdown -- human beings switching off Border Gateway Protocol routers at the point of a gun, more or less -- suggests that Egypt's leadership has yet to consider the consequences of such an act, economic and otherwise. Destruction of your own increasingly-vital communications infrastructure is known as the Dictator's Dilemma. It's a concept explored by economist and later secretary of state George Shultz, and was born in a very different era--the mid-80's ascent to power of Gorbachev, who is reported to have been directly influenced by the notion that an increasingly information-dependent economy could not thrive when information itself was prevented from flowing freely within and outside a country.
benton.org/node/49317 | Technology Review
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US judge dismisses lawsuit against Bush wiretap program

US District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco dismissed a long-running lawsuit seeking to the hold the government accountable for secret, warrantless electronic surveillance conducted in the US for four years after the 9/11 attacks.

Judge Walker ruled that the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and members of its staff lacked the necessary legal standing to bring such a suit. The lawsuit had asked the courts to declare the once-supersecret Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to be illegal and unconstitutional. But Judge Walker said the group had failed to offer proof that it had been targeted by the wiretap program. Under the program, Bush administration officials bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), in which Congress required the executive branch to obtain a court-authorized warrant from a special high-security court before engaging in surveillance that might include persons in the United States. President Bush authorized the secret surveillance program despite the legal requirements established under FISA. The lawsuit sought a court ruling declaring that the terror surveillance effort violated FISA. It also sought a decision that Mr. Bush’s actions amounted to an unconstitutional usurpation of legislative power by the White House.