April 8, 2013 (Coming Down from Denver)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013
A quick look at this week’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2013-04-07--P1W/
POLICYMAKERS
Susan Crawford: Country and FCC at Crisis Point
Ex-Commissioner Copps, public advocates push for liberal FCC chief
Next FCC chairman will impact journalism - op-ed
Awesome Questions for FCC’s Genachowski - editorial
CYBERSECURITY
Interest groups protest CISPA secrecy
Intel panel hopes to avoid new cybersecurity fight with President Obama
House Democrat to push for privacy change to cyber bill
INTERNET/BROADBAND
House Subcommittee to Mark Up Global Internet Freedom Bill
Google Fiber coming to Austin [links to web]
JOURNALISM
Sponsors Now Pay for Online Articles, Not Just Ads
Next FCC chairman will impact journalism - op-ed
Digital subscriptions boost newspaper circulation revenue in 2012 [links to web]
Reuters accused of favoring clients
TELEVISION/RADIO
No TV? No Subscription? No Problem - analysis
Former FCC officials claim calling team 'Redskins' on airwaves is illegal [links to web]
Chernin makes $500 million move for Hulu [links to web]
Cable Awaits the Final Four
CONTENT
Instagram beauty contests worry parents, child privacy advocates
Digital streaming boosts music industry [links to web]
We need a data democracy, not a data dictatorship - analysis [links to web]
WIRELESS
Laws against driving and cellphone use aren't working, study finds [links to web]
California Court: Even Checking Maps on Phone While Driving Not Okay [links to web]
Unless Apple changes its rules, Facebook won’t have a Home on iOS - analysis [links to web]
Why Facebook Home bothers me: It destroys any notion of privacy - analysis [links to web]
Showdown Looms Over LightSquared Wireless Venture [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Google Fights U.S. National Security Probe Data Demand
White House criticizes ban on technology products from China [links to web]
US industry rallies against ban on Chinese tech products [links to web]
An Illegal Cellphone Search - editorial [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Myanmar opens up new telecoms frontier [links to web]
Plan to run phone networks along train lines in UK [links to web]
France Telecom CEO Says Frugal Buyers Threaten IPhone Sales [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
SUSAN CRAWFORS AT NCMR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
At the National Conference for Media Reform, former Obama White House aide Susan Crawford called on the audience to let the White House know what they want in next Federal Communications Commission chair, including regulatory intervention in the broadcast and broadband markets. She echoed the criticisms of conference organizer Free Press that high-speed broadband has been deregulated to the detriment of the American public, particularly the poor and minorities, and that, globally, the U.S. is no more than middle of the pack in terms of making sure that "industrial policy that makes sure that everyone gets a reasonably-priced fiber to the home connection." She said the country had "no federal plan for the future" and that the market lacked both competition and oversight. The FCC under Chairman Julius Genachowski has spent that past couple of years focused on what it thinks is a federal plan, the National Broadband Plan, which has included migrating phone subsidies to broadband. Crawford said that the regulatory ideal that needs to be "recaptured" is that "regulation of infrastructure, government intervention, makes free markets and free speech possible."
benton.org/node/149071 | Broadcasting&Cable | read the speech
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MICHAEL COPPS AT NCMR
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Public interest advocates are urging President Barack Obama to choose a chairman of the Federal Communications Commission who will fight for liberal causes such as increased competition, media diversity and network neutrality regulations. Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner and acting chairman, along with dozens of public advocacy groups, laid out their priorities in a letter to President Obama. Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, Free Press, the New America Foundation, the Benton Foundation, disability advocacy groups and Common Cause, where Copps now works, all signed on to the letter. The groups pointed to past statements by President Obama voicing support for strong media ownership rules, and urged him to pick a new chairman who will combat media consolidation and push for more media ownership by minority groups. They called for a chairman who will critically review media mergers, expand broadband services and ensure that people who are blind or deaf have access to communications services.
benton.org/node/149069 | Hill, The | read the letter
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FCC AND JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: Columbia School of Journalism, AUTHOR: Tracie Powell]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is stepping down, and journalism advocates have been lining up to voice opinions on what Genachowski’s successor should do differently in dealing with media. They want an FCC chief who will put an end to further media consolidation, make political ads more transparent, and increase diversity of media ownership and coverage. Journalists should care who the next FCC chief is because:
That person will likely decide whether Rupert Murdoch and other big media owners will be allowed to own both newspapers and TV or radio stations in large markets.
With more newspapers reducing print schedules and relying solely on digital, the next FCC chair will determine ways to either make broadband more accessible and cheaper or whether to maintain the status quo, with rising prices and a limited number of competitors in the marketplace.
The FCC is the only agency with a mandate to make the media more diverse, local, and accountable. A new chief could choose to use its enforcement powers to ensure diversity is reflected in the voices, perspectives, and owners in media.
The new chairperson could also determine whether to make political advertising more transparent in TV ads and online.
benton.org/node/149020 | Columbia School of Journalism
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QUESTIONS FOR GENACHOWSKI
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Jessell offers suggestions for National Association of Broadcasters’ Joint Board Chairman Paul Karpowicz’s interview of outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski at the upcoming NAB convention:
Why do you and Barry Diller hate broadcast television?
Cam you get Diller to back off Aereo?
Do you feel bad that you didn't do anything positive for commercial TV broadcasting during your chairmanship?
Don't you think it is an affront to the First Amendment to keep the newspaper-broadcast crossownership rule in place simply because Democrats don't like Murdoch's politics and don't want him to own the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times?
Aren’t the stations that are most likely to sell spectrum in incentive auctions the best opportunity for small and minority-owned operators to get into the broadcast business?
In retrospect, do you think it was smart to require TV stations to post their political files online?
How can you justify the ban on small-market duopolies and your current effort to ban shared services and joint sales agreements?
In an emergency, what would you rather have in your survival kit: 1) An Apple iPad third-generation tablet with built-in Wi-Fi and 9.7-inch Retina display; 2) a Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II with virtual and physical keyboards and S Beam sharing; or 3) a 30-year-old, portable AM-FM radio with a pile of batteries?
Smartphones might actually be of value when the cell networks go down in emergencies if wireless carriers would allow phone makers to enable the FM receive chips embedded in them. Do you think you could twist some arms and make that happen before you leave?
What, exactly, are “egregious cases” of broadcast indecency?
Is there any chance that in our lifetimes the FCC will get out of the business of policing broadcast indecency so that TV stations will have the same freedom as cable networks?
Tom Wheeler or Jessica Rosenworcel for next FCC chair?
benton.org/node/149028 | TVNewsCheck
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CYBERSECURITY
CISPA ON THE AGENDA
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Dan Mitchell]
The House Intelligence Committee will discuss the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) for the second time. And for the second time, it will do so behind closed doors. The bill is designed to make it easier for private companies to share the personal information of their customers (otherwise known as American citizens) with the government in the interest of protecting the security of computer networks. In part, it would exempt companies from existing privacy laws. The "markup" session, where proposed amendments are debated, doesn't yet appear on the committee's schedule, but members are reportedly assuming it will be held next week. Interest groups devoted to privacy and transparency are bristling at the secrecy, just as they did a year ago, before an earlier version of the bill passed the House and was rejected by the Senate. "The committee should consider CISPA in the light of day," says the Sunlight Foundation. "CISPA has the potential to affect the lives of every American and has drawn criticism from numerous privacy groups as well as the White House. Legislation this critical, and with this much potential to hinder the public's ability to hold their government accountable, deserves to be debated in full public view, not hidden behind closed doors." The foundation joined about 40 other groups including the American Civil Liberties Union to sign a letter to the committee demanding an open markup hearing.
benton.org/node/149066 | Fortune
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HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE AND CISPA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
The leaders of the House Intelligence Committee are seeking to avoid another fight with the White House on cybersecurity this year. The House Intelligence panel will mark up the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, known as CISPA, by House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) on April 10. The two lawmakers argue the bill is desperately needed to give companies the ability to receive valuable threat intelligence from the government so they can thwart the rising number of cyberattacks against their computer systems in real time. Heading into next week’s markup, the two Intelligence committee leaders are expected to propose changes to the bill that are aimed at tamping down the concerns that civil liberties and privacy advocates have raised in recent weeks. In doing so, the two are also likely aiming to avoid another repeat of last year, when the White House issued a veto threat against CISPA a day before the bill went to the House floor for a vote.
benton.org/node/149064 | Hill, The
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PRIVACY AND CISPA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) will propose an amendment to a controversial cybersecurity bill that aims to address one of the top concerns privacy advocates have with the cyber threat-sharing measure. Rep Schiff plans to offer the amendment during the House Intelligence Committee's closed-door markup of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). If the amendment is adopted, companies would be required to "make reasonable efforts" to strip personally identifiable information from cyber threat data prior to sharing it with the government or other businesses. The bill's authors, Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), say CISPA is aimed at removing the legal hurdles that prevent companies and government from sharing information about malicious source code and other cyber threats with one another in real time, so cyberattacks can be thwarted more quickly. But the bill has sparked fierce pushback from privacy advocates that say the bill lacks sufficient protections for people's private information and would allow this information to flow directly to the National Security Agency.
benton.org/node/149062 | Hill, The
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Beginning on Wednesday, April 10, and continuing on Thursday, April 11, the House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will begin a markup of legislation making it the policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control. The bill contains the same language that unanimously passed the House and Senate last year, elevating it to official U.S policy rather than merely a sense of the Congress in light of continued international efforts to regulate the Internet. The bill says that given the Administration's "strong commitment" to the multistakeholder model of Internet governance, and given that there have been and likely will be further attempts to alter that model, "it is the policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control and to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet."
benton.org/node/149038 | Broadcasting&Cable
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JOURNALISM
SPONSORED CONTENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tanzina Vega]
Advertisers and publishers have many names for this a form of marketing — including branded content, sponsored content and native advertising. Regardless of the name, the strategy of having advertisers sponsor or create content that looks like traditional editorial content has become increasingly common as publishers try to create more sources of revenue. Calculating what advertisers spend on such content industrywide is difficult because of the many ways the content is defined and sold. A banner ad on one home page may be comparable in price with a similar banner ad on a different site, but a series of customized articles on one Web site and a series of social media posts on another are harder to compare. Well-known online publications like The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed and Business Insider all use some form of branded content. A result is a media universe where it is increasingly difficult for readers to tell editorial content from advertising.
benton.org/node/149059 | New York Times
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REUTERS FAVORS CLIENTS?
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Arash Massoudi, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
A former Thomson Reuters employee has claimed he was wrongfully dismissed after telling a US federal agent that the financial news and data provider had given certain clients sensitive information ahead of its wider release. Mark Rosenblum said in a complaint filed in a New York federal court that he was sacked weeks after he alerted the FBI that certain customers received a two-second advantage over others in the bimonthly release of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The survey can influence bond and equity markets on release.
benton.org/node/149052 | Financial Times
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TELEVISION/RADIO
SUBSCRIPTION SHARING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jenna Wortham]
[Commentary] Sharing password information to Internet streaming sites and services appears increasingly prevalent among Web-savvy people who don’t own televisions or subscribe to cable. It’s hard to know exactly how common it is: traditional analytics firms like Nielsen and comScore can’t track it, and cultural research organizations like Pew haven’t done extensive surveying about it. An informal BuzzFeed survey, which was a partial inspiration for this column, found that several dozen people in its office used someone else’s account information for HBO Go. And based on countless anecdotes, conversations, tweets and text messages, such behavior seems to be on the rise. “It also seems like a pretty serious problem,” wrote John Herrman, a senior editor at BuzzFeed and author of the polling report. “While our office is fairly young and not representative of HBO’s broader customer base, it is representative of a rising generation of people who 1) like watching HBO shows and 2) cannot fathom paying for them.” Do the companies, particularly HBO, view this as especially problematic? I hesitated before asking, worried that any inquiries would prompt a crackdown, with the result that I’d become the most-hated person on the Internet. But to the collective relief of nearly everyone I know, the companies with whom I spoke seemed to have little to no interest in curbing our sharing behavior — in part because they can’t. They have little ability to track and curtail their customers who are sharing account information, according to Jeff Cusson, senior vice president for corporate affairs at HBO. And, he said, the network doesn’t view the sharing “as a pervasive problem at this time.”
benton.org/node/149034 | New York Times
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CABLE AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma]
On April 8, millions of college-basketball fans are expected to tune into the men's NCAA final on the CBS broadcast network, as they have done annually for more than three decades. Next year, they could be watching on a cable channel for the first time. Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting, whose TNT, TBS and truTV cable channels already televise games from the tournament's first three rounds, is discussing a possible arrangement with CBS under which it would broadcast the later rounds in 2014, including the widely viewed Final Four semifinal contests and national championship game, people familiar with the matter say. In a joint statement, Turner and CBS said they haven't made a decision on the matter and don't have a timetable. Such a move—part of a broader shift of sports from broadcast to cable—would come two years earlier than initially planned under a 14-year, joint National Collegiate Athletic Association broadcast deal struck between the two companies three years ago. And it would provide a big boost for Time Warner as it enters a round of negotiations next year with pay-television operators that carry its channels, analysts say. The company has said it expects Turner's fee revenue from pay-TV providers to increase at a double-digit annual pace between 2013 and 2016.
benton.org/node/149058 | Wall Street Journal
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CONTENT
INSTAGRAM AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The photo-sharing site Instagram has become wildly popular as a way to trade pictures of pets and friends. But a new trend on the site is making parents cringe: beauty pageants, in which thousands of young girls — many appearing no older than 12 or 13 — submit photographs of themselves for others to judge. Any of Instagram’s 30 million users can vote on the appearance of the girls in a comments section of the post. Once a girl’s photo receives a certain number of negative remarks, the pageant host, who can remain anonymous, can update it with a big red X or the word “OUT” scratched across her face. “U.G.L.Y,” wrote one user about a girl, who submitted her photo to one of the pageants identified on Instagram by the keyword “#beautycontest.” The phenomenon has sparked concern among parents and child safety advocates who fear that young girls are making themselves vulnerable to adult strangers and participating in often cruel social interactions at a sensitive period of development. But the contests are the latest example of how technology is pervading the lives of children in ways that parents and teachers struggle to understand or monitor.
benton.org/node/149029 | Washington Post
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
NATIONAL SECURITY DATA DEMAND
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Karen Gullo]
Google is challenging a demand by the U.S. government for private user information in a national security probe, according to a court filing. It “appears” to be the first time a major communications company is pushing back after getting a so-called National Security Letter, said the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet privacy group. The challenge comes three weeks after a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that NSLs, which are issued without a warrant, are unconstitutional. “The people who are in the best position to challenge the practice are people like Google,” said EFF attorney Matt Zimmerman, who represented an unidentified service provider that won the March 14 ruling. “So far no one has really stood up for their users” among large Internet service providers.
benton.org/node/149026 | Bloomberg
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