February 2012

Senators question Twitter's censorship

Sens Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) demanded answers from Twitter CEO Dick Costolo about his company's new policy to allow governments to censor some tweets.

"We understand that Twitter has an obligation to comply with legal requests that do not violate human rights, and we appreciate that you are taking steps to minimize the impact of censorship," the lawmakers wrote. "However, your announcement leaves important questions unanswered." The lawmakers asked Twitter how it determines whether it must comply with a government's request to censor a tweet and whether it considers if the request violates international human-rights law. The lawmakers also asked for more information about Twitter's privacy policy and whether it would turn over private user information to the police. They urged Twitter to join the Global Network Initiative, a voluntary code for tech companies to protect human rights.

Sec Napolitano: 'We aren't sitting there monitoring social media'

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said agency officials do not weed through the tweets of incoming foreign travelers in an attempt to spot potential terrorists.

“We aren’t sitting there monitoring social media looking for stuff, that’s not what we do,” said Sec Napolitano at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. Her comments were in reference to a recent incident in which Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials detained and questioned two British travelers at the Los Angeles airport after one tweeted their intent to “destroy America.” Sec Napolitano said that the tweet was taken into account when deciding whether to deport the two British nationals, but that officials were made aware of the tweet from a tip. She said that more information, which was top-secret, was considered before making an ultimate decision.

Broadcast Nets Ponder Shift Towards Cable Programming Model – As Should Advertisers

Turner Broadcasting is a cable network owner that wants to play in the broadcast network arena, and little by little, it is getting there in terms of ratings for its original drama series lineup and with the advertising dollars those shows take in. It also has a programming development model more conducive to producing profits, something the broadcast networks continue to struggle with. If there was ever a time when advertisers might have a say in what direction the broadcast networks go on this, it is now. The broadcast networks know the system is broke and for the first time they have publicly said that something closer to a cable system might be a direction they would consider going in. If the ad community and their media agencies agree, now is the time to speak up and weigh in.

Sprint May Have to Return $65 Million to LightSquared

Sprint Nextel said it would have to return $65 million to Philip Falcone's LightSquared if the hedge-fund manager's wireless venture fails to get final Federal Communications Commission approval by a mid-March deadline between the two companies.

LightSquared made the payments to Sprint last year as part of the companies' 15-year agreement to share network buildout expenses and wireless airwaves. Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse said in January that the carrier had put its investment in LightSquared on hold as it worked to resolve concerns its network interferes with global positioning systems. LightSquared agreed to pay Sprint $9 billion for access to the carrier's network equipment and services, as well as about $4.5 billion in credits Sprint could use to buy capacity from LightSquared once its network was built. LightSquared said the agreement would help it save about $13 billion through the end of the decade.

Cybersecurity bill headed straight to Senate floor

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to bring a cybersecurity bill straight to the Senate floor in the coming weeks, skipping any committee markups, according to Democratic aides. The move ignores the pleas from seven GOP senators to slow down the process and allow for multiple committees to hold hearings and markups of the legislation. Speaking at a briefing for reporters, the Democratic aides emphasized that Congress has been working on cybersecurity legislation for several years.

Cybersecurity requires buy-in from the top

[Commentary] Successfully securing networks against cyber threats requires support from the top -- not only from the IT staff, but from C-level executives as well. Network monitoring, patching or purging outdated software and hardware, communications, and coordination are essential for good risk management policies and practices.

[Wilkinson is senior manager of cybersecurity technologies with immixGroup]

Indie Bookseller On E-Books: ‘I Don’t Think We’ll Ever Make Money On Them’

Independent bookstore are unlikely to ever make money from e-books, in the opinion of Praveen Madar of Menlo Park independent bookstore Kepler’s 2020. But he says stores like his have to embrace technology – even if it means giving away Kindles. At an O’Reilly Tools of Change panel this week, Madar told moderator Thad McIlroy that independent bookstores like Kepler’s 2020 have to diversify their revenue models and move away from relying solely on selling print books – but they also can’t depend on e-book sales to pick up the slack.

TV network aims for new viewing audience: dogs

Nielsen isn't tracking the network's ratings and broadcasters aren't copying its programs -- not yet, anyway. But a new cable TV channel has a fresh audience in its backyard and tails are wagging excitedly. DogTV, a cable network for dogs, launched in San Diego aimed at stay-at-home canines and their workaday owners who want to feel better about time apart. Free at launch, people will eventually pay $4.99 a month for the channel, but that may seem a small for sum for fido's peace of mind.

New America Foundation
Friday, February 24, 2012
12:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Mudslinging isn't pretty. But research - and conventional wisdom - says negative political ad campaigns work. Indeed, the tone early on in the 2012 contest suggests that accentuating the positive will not be the hallmark of this election cycle. Should that be of concern to us all? Are negative ads corrosive to our political discourse, or are they, in fact, a vital means of informing the electorate? Join us to consider how political messaging has evolved to its current state, as well as its impact on our broader culture. (And yes, we'll be airing many past and current commercials.)

Agenda

12 p.m. - Welcoming Remarks

Andrés Martinez
Vice President and Editorial Director, New America Foundation
Former Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor

12:05 p.m. -Tainted Ice Cream Cones, a Furloughed Willie and Swift Boats: The Evolution of Negativity

Robert Mann
Author, "Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds"
Manship Chair and Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication, Co-Director of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University

Moderator
Michael Duffy
Washington Bureau Chief
TIME magazine

12:30 p.m. - Will This Be the Most Negative Campaign Cycle in History?

Ken Goldstein
President, Campaign Media Analysis Group

Moderator
Michael Duffy
Washington Bureau Chief
TIME magazine

12:45 - Can Clashing Negatives Be Positive?

Jane Mayer
Staff Writer
The New Yorker

Garance Franke-Ruta
Senior Editor
The Atlantic

Ken Goldstein
President
Campaign Media Analysis Group

Robert Mann
Author, "Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds"
Manship Chair and Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication and Co-Director of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University

Moderator
Michael Duffy
Washington Bureau Chief
TIME magazine

1:45 p.m. - The Art of Dirt-Digging

Michael Rejebian
Co-author, "We're With Nobody"
Partner, Huffman & Rejebian

Alan Huffman
Co-author, "We're With Nobody"
Partner, Huffman & Rejebian

Moderator
Andrés Martinez
Vice President and Editorial Director of the New America Foundation
Former Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor

2:15 p.m. - So Why Doesn't Coke Do To Pepsi What Mitt Romney Did to Newt Gingrich?

Greg DiNoto
Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Deutsch New York
Clients include Microsoft, Kodak and Volkswagen

Mike Hughes
President, The Martin Agency
Clients include GEICO, Comcast and Walmart

Moderator
Andrés Martinez
Vice President and Editorial Director of the New America Foundation
Former Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor

To RSVP for the event:
http://newamerica.net/events/2012/negative_advertising

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at New America at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net

Read more about Daisy and the Art of Going Nuclear: Negative Advertising in Our Politics

Apple Became Top Smartphone Maker in 2011, Gartner Says

Record sales of the iPhone last year made Apple the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world, according to Gartner, a research company. That makes Apple the third biggest vendor of cellphones over all, behind Nokia and Samsung. Apple got a big lift during the holiday season of 2011, in which it sold 37 million iPhones, the most it has sold in a single quarter. Since the smartphone’s debut in 2007, Apple has sold 183 million of the devices. In 2011, manufacturers shipped 472 million smartphones, which accounted for 31 percent of overall mobile device sales, according to Gartner.

Benton

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