November 1, 2011
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for NOVEMBER 1, 2011
Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee meets today http://benton.org/calendar/2011-11-01/
POLICYMAKERS
Rosenworcel and Pai Nominated for FCC Seats - press release
JOURNALISM
Shaping 21st Century Journalism - research
Local News is Driver for NBC O&O Revival
OWNERSHIP
Judge rejects both reorganization plans for Tribune
HarperCollins’ Acquisition Of Thomas Nelson Is An Investment In Digital [links to web]
Tech groups say online piracy bill would create 'nightmare' for Web and social media firms
FTC OK With Scripps/McGraw-Hill [links to web]
CONTENT
Home entertainment spending rises for the first time since 2008 [links to web]
Reinventing online ads [links to web]
WIRELESS/BROADBAND
MetroPCS May Be No Answer for U.S. Concerns With AT&T Deal - analysis
Job Cuts to Cost Motorola Mobility $31 Million
Mobile and the rise of the smart buyer - analysis [links to web]
Kantar: Android Was The Only OS Whose Sales Grew In All Markets It Surveys [links to web]
Sprint, Clearwire may help drive LTE convergence [links to web]
LightSquared’s foes assemble lobbying force over GPS issue
Rep Graves Asks FCC to Hold Off on Approving LightSquared Wireless Network
How Competitive Is the Wireless Industry? - op-ed
Your phone company is selling your personal data
Government apps for mobile devices could be on the way [links to web]
Why Texting Turns Us Back Into Teenagers [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Why Does Louisiana Hate Broadband? - analysis
TELEVISION
FCC cracks down on religious broadcasters
Fox scores most-watched World Series game in years [links to web]
Schedule Released for ’12 Presidential Debates [links to web]
RESEARCH
Next Steps to Ensuring Scientific Integrity - press release [links to web]
Big Data, Speed and the Future of Computing [links to web]
Do we need a line between big data and big brother? - analysis [links to web]
HEALTH
Kids And Teens See More Ads For Sugary Drinks
EHR Privacy Rule Threatens Research, Federal Advisers Say
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Officials look at ways to alert public in emergencies
STORIES FROM ABROAD
EU Countries Must Devote 800MHz Band to Wireless Broadband by 2013
Rebuilding The Internet In A War Zone
UNESCO aid cut off by United States
In China, Political Outsiders Turn to Microblog Campaigns
Activists Denounce Film Deal in China [links to web]
PBS Launches Channel in the UK [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Ex Parte and the FCC’s Emergency Access Advisory Committee [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
FCC NOMINATIONS
[SOURCE: The White House]
President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Jessica Rosenworcel -- Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
Ajit Varadaraj Pai -- Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
Rebecca Blank – Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce
Jessica Rosenworcel is the Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, working for Senator Jay Rockefeller IV since 2009, and previously for Senator Daniel K. Inouye from 2007 to 2008. Before joining the Committee, she worked at the Federal Communications Commission from 1999 to 2007, serving as Legal Advisor and then Senior Legal Advisor to Commissioner Michael J. Copps (2003-2007), Legal Counsel to the Bureau Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau (2002-2003), and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Policy Division of the Common Carrier Bureau (1999-2002). From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Rosenworcel was a communications associate at Drinker Biddle and Reath. Ms. Rosenworcel received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Ajit Varadaraj Pai is a Partner in the Litigation Department of Jenner & Block LLP. Immediately prior to joining Jenner & Block, Mr. Pai worked in the Office of the General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, where he served as Deputy General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Special Advisor to the General Counsel. Previously, he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights and as Senior Counsel at the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Pai also served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, and as Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc. Mr. Pai began his career as a law clerk to Judge Martin L.C. Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and then as an Honors Program trial attorney in the Telecommunications Task Force at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. Mr. Pai holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Rebecca M. Blank is the Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce. In May 2009, Dr. Blank was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs. As Under Secretary, Dr. Blank runs the Economic and Statistics Administration and is responsible for managing the two top statistical agencies in the United States, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. She was designated Acting Deputy Secretary on November 18, 2010 and subsequently Acting Secretary on August 1, 2011, a position she held until the confirmation of John Bryson as Secretary of Commerce. Prior to joining the Obama administration, she was dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and co-director of the National Poverty Center. Dr. Blank served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Prior to her service in the Clinton Administration, Dr. Blank taught economics at Northwestern University and Princeton. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Lifetime Associate at the National Academies of Science. Dr. Blank holds a degree in Economics from the University of Minnesota, summa cum laude, and a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT.
benton.org/node/102033 | White House, The | Pai nomination | The Hill
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JOURNALISM
SHAPING 21ST CENTURY JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: CW Anderson, Tom Glaisyer, Jason Smith]
Journalism schools need to adopt an attitude of active experimentation such that journalism (and journalism education) can emerge successfully in this changing media landscape. For that reason we have sought out examples of innovation from all schools – big and small, well known and more obscure. The report is divided into four parts and an appendix. The first section consists of a brief outline of the demography of journalism schools and a discussion of the role played by journalism programs and education in the history of the field. We then move on to a broader overview of the state of journalism education circa Spring 2011. Following this overview, we zero in on current examples of journalism programs becoming community information providers and the capabilities of other schools to follow those who have already made this transition. We also consider curriculum revisions, joint degree programs, and intra-university partnerships with other professional schools with an eye to how these partnerships can support schools becoming community information providers. Third, we consider the potential for journalism schools to serve as centers for communication research, including development of the actual platforms for communication. We also examine the role of journalism schools in encouraging increased media literacy in general. We conclude with some recommendations as to ways that journalism education can navigate the shifting news ecosystem.
benton.org/node/101877 | New America Foundation
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LOCAL NEWS AT NBC
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
Last year when Comcast was trying to convince regulators to allow it to acquire a controlling interest in NBCUniversal, executives insisted that they were committed to broadcasting and restoring NBC to its former place atop the Nielsen charts. They have not accomplished that yet (they’ve been in charge only 10 months), but they are trying, most certainly at NBC’s string of 10 big-market TV stations whose ratings and reputation have fallen along with those of NBC primetime. Valari Staab, a longtime ABC local broadcaster who was hired away to lead the NBC Owned Television Stations, is reinventing the group through a four-pronged strategy of bigger budgets and staff for better, stronger newscasts; better promoting those newscasts and stories; increased local autonomy; and otherwise recharging the non-network daytime schedule.
benton.org/node/101867 | TVNewsCheck
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OWNERSHIP
JUDGE REJECTS TRIB PLAN
[SOURCE: Crain’s Chicago Business, AUTHOR: Lynne Marek]
The federal judge overseeing the Tribune Company bankruptcy case shot down a reorganization plan submitted by the Chicago-based media company, but also rejected a competing plan from a group of creditors. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22. The decision was issued Monday by Judge Kevin Carey of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The Chicago-based media company has attempted to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy status after nearly three years of wrangling. It's one of the longest-running cases since bankruptcy rules were revised about six years ago to give creditors more leeway to shape reorganizations.
benton.org/node/102029 | Crain’s Chicago Business | LATimes
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TECH GROUPS VS STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
A new online piracy bill unveiled in the House last week would stifle innovation and create a regulatory nightmare for Web and social media firms, according to three prominent technology industry advocacy groups. NetCoalition, the Consumer Electronics Association and the Computer and Communications Industry Association sent a letter to members of Congress voicing their opposition to the Stop Online Privacy Act, which was unveiled last week by members of the House Judiciary Committee. The bill authorizes the Justice Department to seek injunctions against "rogue" websites that dedicated to providing access to pirated goods or content. Controversially, the legislation would allow the government and rights holders to demand that third parties, including payment processors and online ad networks, cut ties with such sites. "As currently drafted, we believe SOPA is an alarming step backwards in Internet policy creating a thicket of Internet regulations containing 16 new legal definitions for evolving Internet technology," the groups argue. The groups argue the bill would undermine the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and create new risk of litigation for cloud service providers, social networks, and other new technologies that merely have the potential of being misused by customers.
benton.org/node/101891 | Hill, The
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WIRELESS/BROADBAND
METROPCS AND AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif, Scott Moritz]
MetroPCS Communications, a wireless carrier looking to expand, may struggle to become a viable replacement for T-Mobile USA as AT&T tries to win government approval to buy the company from Deutsche Telekom AG. MetroPCS has less than one-third the customers of T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, and covers less than half the US population. The company would need to spend as much as $10 billion for wireless spectrum and customers to compete with Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and AT&T, said Michael Mahoney, senior managing director and portfolio manager at San Francisco-based Falcon Point Capital LLC. That is probably beyond its capability, he said. “They are a very niche player right now, with a specific brand image,” Mahoney said. “They need to be more than that to be a credible nationwide player.” MetroPCS had 9.1 million wireless subscribers at the end of June, compared with 33.6 million subscribers for T-Mobile. Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint had 107.7 million, 100.7 million and 53.3 million, respectively, at the end of September. MetroPCS probably needs 25 million users to compete with the industry giants, Mahoney said. That means it has to acquire the equivalent of about half the subscribers at T-Mobile, which AT&T has agreed to buy from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion.
benton.org/node/101866 | Bloomberg
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MOTOROLA MOBILITY JOBS CUTS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif]
Motorola Mobility expects to incur $31 million in costs as it cuts 800 jobs. The pretax costs include $27 million in severance and $4 million for closing facilities and will be recorded this quarter. The moves were approved Oct. 24, the company said. Motorola Mobility is reining in costs as it prepares to complete its acquisition by Google.
benton.org/node/101864 | Bloomberg
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GPS LOBBYING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Catherine Ho]
With the showdown heating up between wireless broadband firm LightSquared and a broad coalition of players in the global positioning system industry, both sides are lining up lobbyists to sway lawmakers. LightSquared hired four new firms to lobby on its behalf. Trimble, Garmin and John Deere (registered as Deere & Company, which uses GPS in agriculture and construction equipment) are pouring resources into their own army of lobbyists. Since January, Trimble has spent $840,000 in lobbying fees related to the LightSquared spectrum issue — including nearly $330,000 in the third quarter alone — according to records filed with the Senate. Most of Trimble’s lobbying on spectrum interference is through one of K Street’s leading firms, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, to whom Trimble has shelled out $620,000 this year. Garmin has retained Dow Lohnes, paying the firm $70,000 since March on GPS interference issues; John Deere has spent $964,000 on in-house lobbyists.
benton.org/node/101873 | Washington Post
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MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SEEK LIGHTSQUARED DELAY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, House Small Business Committee Republicans, led by Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) have asked the FCC not to approve LightSquared's wholesale national 4G wireless network until it has ensured that it will not interfere with GPS devices. The FCC originally conditioned its waiver for the service, which uses satellite spectrum for terrestrial service, on resolving interference issues, and has reiterated that in putting the service on hold until more testing is done, which is slated to be completed by the end of November. But the Republicans want to make sure they are on the same page as the commission as what would qualify as a clean bill of health for LightSquared's service, which in their view means no interference, period.
benton.org/node/101871 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WIRELESS COMPETITION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Largent, Parul Desai]
[Commentary] The New York Times published dueling Letters to the Editor concerning an Oct 26 editorial “How to Fix the Wireless Market.” (see http://benton.org/node/95804)
Steve Largent, President of CTIA-The Wireless Association, writes that he disagrees with the editorial “because the evidence shows that this industry is competitive and innovative.” He points to CTIA’s new usage alert initiative to argue that regulation of the industry is unnecessary. “It’s the light, effective regulatory touch imposed since Bill Clinton’s presidency that encourages the wireless industry to innovate and create products and services that Americans love. The competitive wireless ecosystem means that our members are responsive to their customers, since consumers can — and do — switch providers, devices and apps. Compared with countries like Japan, Britain or South Korea, we have more subscribers who use more voice minutes yet pay less for those minutes than any of these countries’ customers.”
Consumer Union Policy Counsel Parul Desai argues that the editorial was right on the money. “As a consumer group, we think that alerting customers before they exceed their wireless limits is a great step, and we stood up with the Federal Communications Commission and wireless companies to support that. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. There isn’t robust competition in the industry, and consumers are paying a steep price. Consumers have little power to negotiate or shop around when choosing a wireless plan. That’s because a handful of companies control the game, saddling customers with long-term contracts, exorbitant rates, hefty penalties for switching companies and devices that are wedded to one service. To increase competition and promote better choices for consumers, policy makers should crack down on early termination fees and make it easier for consumers to take their phones to another service.”
benton.org/node/102323 | New York Times
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WIRELESS AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: CNNMoney, AUTHOR: David Goldman]
Your phone company knows where you live, what websites you visit, what apps you download, what videos you like to watch, and even where you are. Now, some have begun selling that valuable information to the highest bidder. In mid-October, Verizon Wireless changed its privacy policy to allow the company to record customers' location data and Web browsing history, combine it with other personal information like age and gender, aggregate it with millions of other customers' data, and sell it on an anonymized basis. That kind of data could be very useful -- and lucrative -- to third-party companies. For instance, if a small business owner wanted to figure out the best place to open a new pet store, the owner could buy a marketing report from Verizon about a designated area. The report might reveal which city blocks get the most foot or car traffic from people whose Web browsing history reveals that they own pets.
benton.org/node/102305 | CNNMoney
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
LOUISIANA BTOP GRANT
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] I've been watching a train wreck in slow motion the past few weeks as the state I now call home fumbles away $80 million of federal money to bring broadband to connect the unconnected. The story is that the Louisiana State University Board of Regents was awarded an $80 million broadband stimulus grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to extend LONI, Louisiana's statewide research fiber network, primarily into the northeast part of the state. In particular the LONI extension was going to bring affordable 100Mbps service to rural high schools across wide swathes of Louisiana. Only now those schools won't be getting these connections. Why? Public details are sparse at this point, but NTIA's justification for pulling the funding is that there were serious doubts about whether the project would be able to spend its money fast enough to meet programmatic goals. The other thing we know is that at some point in the process the Board of Regents asked the Governor's Office to get involved in helping get things back on track. Only instead of focusing on how to execute more efficiently the plan as originally conceived, LA Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater appears to have shifted gears and tried to radically change the plan.
benton.org/node/101863 | App-Rising.com
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TELEVISION
CLOSED CAPTIONING
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Brooks Boliek]
If a church broadcasts the word of God on TV without closed captions, it risks incurring the wrath of the Federal Communications Commission. Some 300 small- to medium-sized churches can expect letters from the commission within the next few days explaining why their closed captioning exemptions were lifted for TV shows like “Power in the Word” and “Producing Kingdom Citizens.” The FCC has been mailing the letters for the past few days to churches from Maine to California, explaining that the hundreds of exemptions are now rescinded and giving the programmers 90 days to reapply. The churches were granted FCC exemptions from the closed captioning requirement under a 2006 commission decision known as the “Anglers Order” for the Anglers for Christ Ministries program that had argued for exemption from the rules. While the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau used the Anglers Order as the model to grant at least 298 other exemptions, the full commission overturned that decision Oct. 20 after objections were raised from a coalition of organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing. The churches may still be eligible to win an exemption from the rules if they can prove they can’t afford closed captioning, but they now have to make their case individually.
benton.org/node/102309 | Politico
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HEALTH
SODA ADS AND KIDS
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Allison Aubrey]
From 2008 to 2010, children's and teens' exposure to television ads for soda doubled, according to a new report from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. And beverage companies targeted black and Hispanic kids more than others in recent ads, the report found. Commercials for Coke and Dr. Pepper products led the increase. Pepsi actually showed young audiences 22 percent fewer commercials for its products in that same time period. Under a voluntary agreement, beverage companies have pledged to improve advertising directed to kids. But "our results clearly show that the beverage industry's self-regulatory pledges are not working," says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center.
benton.org/node/102031 | National Public Radio
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EHR, RESEARCH AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: InformationWeek, AUTHOR: Ken Terry]
The federal Health Information Technology Policy committee has recommended that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) not require patient consent for the use of electronic health record (EHR) data in research on improving the delivery of healthcare services. At the same time, however, the federal advisory body urged HHS to require healthcare organizations to follow "fair information practices" designed to protect patient privacy. In a letter to national coordinator of health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD, the committee addressed issues involving the secondary use of EHR data that were raised by HHS' recently proposed rules on the protection of human subjects in medical research. In its advance notice of proposed rulemaking, HHS said that patient consent should be required for any secondary use of patient-identifiable EHR data in healthcare services research. Following the lead of its security and privacy workgroup, known as the Tiger Team, the Health IT Policy Committee noted that the use of EHR data in this kind of research is essential for healthcare reform, including quality improvement and population health management. To facilitate this work, it said, physicians should be allowed to use individually identifiable data without patient consent to improve healthcare delivery. However, the data would have to remain under the control of the physician or institution.
benton.org/node/101852 | InformationWeek
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
NOAA REPORT ON JOPLIN
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Marty Roney]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in its final assessment report on the May 22 tornado which struck Joplin (MO), killing 162 people and injuring more than 1,000, said the majority of Joplin residents ignored the first round of severe-weather warnings put out before the powerful twister struck the city. The NOAA report on the Joplin tornado made several recommendations to raise public awareness of severe-weather threats. Among them:
Improve warning communication to convey a sense of urgency for extreme events. This will compel people to take immediate life-saving action.
Collaborate with partners who communicate weather warnings to develop GPS-based warning communications, including the use of text messaging, smart phone apps, mobile communications technologies in addition to upgrades to the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio.
Collaborate more throughout the weather enterprise to ensure that weather warning messages sent via television, radio, NOAA Weather Radio and local warnings such as sirens are consistent to reduce confusion and stress the seriousness of the threat.
benton.org/node/102028 | USAToday
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
EU SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Jennifer Baker]
Europe's Council of Ministers has said that all European Union countries must make the 800MHz band available for wireless broadband services by Jan. 1, 2013 as part of an ambitious deal agreed to on October 28. The "Radio Spectrum Policy Program" is designed to stimulate growth in the mobile broadband market by using the radio spectrum freed up by the switchover from analog to digital TV -- the so-called "digital dividend." The move was first proposed by the European Commission, but now both the Parliament and the Council have approved the plans. In addition, the new text calls for at least 1200MHz to be allocated to mobile data traffic after 2013 but before 2015. The Commission also must assess, no later 2015, whether there is a need to harmonize additional spectrum bands in order to manage the exponential growth in wireless data traffic. The Council also endorsed an amendment by parliamentarians to widen the scope of an inventory of the existing spectrum between 400MHz and 6GHz in order to identify where efficiency could be improved and ensure that the exponential growth in wireless data traffic can be met by future reallocations.
benton.org/node/101856 | IDG News Service
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BRINGING THE NET TO SIRTE
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Neal Ungerleider]
Sirte, Libya, was destroyed by three separate militaries. Nearly the entire population fled. Now European and Libyan professionals are using equipment donated by French non-profit Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) to rebuild Sirte's telecommunications infrastructure. During the Libyan Civil War, the city was caught in the crossfire between Qadaffi loyalists, NATO, and the rebels, creating destruction of World War II-like proportions. The city's isolation from the rest of Libya during the war has created urgent infrastructure problems; these issues have become especially acute for the operation of local hospitals and clinics. Two other NGOs, the International Medical Corps and the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, are providing the manpower and know-how to develop the emergency network. Creating and rebuilding rudimentary telephone and internet services is as important a priority for Sirte as restoring electricity and water service. In the 21st century, having the Internet is an urgent necessity for medical professionals working in any sort of urban environment. Aid workers simply can't bring enough satellite phones to help bring facilities back to operating status--supplies need to be ordered, out-of-region experts need to be consulted, and electricity/clean water secured. Without reliable communications to secure the local infrastructure, the city is at risk of lacking the resources to treat many likely health emergencies.
benton.org/node/101859 | Fast Company
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US CUTS UNESCO FUNDING
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jonathan Allen]
The United States will stop paying $80 million in dues and voluntary contributions to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in response to the body’s vote to grant membership to the Palestinian Authority, but the fight over U.S. funding policy may not be over yet. UNESCO voted 107-14 in favor of granting status to the Palestinians, triggering existing U.S. laws that prohibit American support of U.N. agencies that give the Palestinian Authority membership. Still, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland suggested the Administration could look for a way to rewrite or work around the law. It’s a tough bind for the administration: The White House and State Department support UNESCO’s mission, but there’s little chance that Congress will rewrite a law that is supported by the large bloc of pro-Israel lawmakers. Indeed, there seems to be a split at State between those who are mortified by the prospect of cutting off funding for UNESCO and those who understand the political peril of angering pro-Israel forces.
[Editor’s note: William Benton, father of Benton Foundation Chairman Charles Benton, led U. S. participation in organizing UNESCO, which he later served as representative under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.]
benton.org/node/102308 | Politico
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MICROBLOG CAMPAIGNS IN CHINA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sharon LaFraniere]
For at least some candidates seeking parliamentary seats in local Chinese elections this year, the winning formula is the very antithesis of what works in the United States. They keep their heads down and elucidate no platform. And if they campaign at all, their politicking is discreetly low-key. “The last thing you want to do is gather people together,” Yao Bo, a well-known social commentator aiming for a legislative seat in a Beijing district, said in October. That is because Mr. Yao is running as an independent in an election that is ostensibly open to all comers, but in fact is stacked in favor of the Communist Party’s handpicked candidates. To have any hope of cracking the system, some candidates argue, an outsider must either be so famous that he or she cannot be blocked from running without an outcry, or so anonymous that the authorities are caught off guard. In past years, no strategy has worked. But in a turnabout, this year’s push by outsiders to infiltrate China’s local political process is creating ripples, partly because of the momentum and visibility they are building via Twitter-like services on the Chinese Internet. Not only are there more candidates — estimates range from more than 100 to thousands — but they are also no longer faceless challengers who can be shoved aside without a whimper.
benton.org/node/102321 | New York Times
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