December 2014

Doubling down on state government coverage

The Associated Press is creating a team of state government specialists. The specialists will collaborate with statehouse reporters, as well as on their own projects and stories focused on government accountability and strong explanatory reporting as part of an over-arching goal to show how state government is impacting the lives of people across the country. The team will complement what AP's state government correspondents do every day across the country and allow us to bring extra reporting firepower in on the most important stories. We’re also going to be putting more resources into social media newsgathering, and especially user-generated content, in each of the four US regions.

Rep Patrick Meehan, rising congressional star on cybersecurity

[Commentary] Rep Patrick Meehan (R-PA) played an important role in advancing three new pieces of bipartisan legislation that will become law.

Two of the bills he supported are aimed at preventing cyberattacks -- the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014 and the Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act -- and another bill, the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Acts Act of 2014, seeks to enhance physical and cyber protection for chemical facilities. As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, he serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies. It is very reassuring to have a person of Rep Meehan's capabilities leading the charge on countering the potentially catastrophic challenges we are all facing in cybersecurity and homeland security.

[Chuck Brooks serves as Vice President/Client Executive at Xerox]

Incoming House Oversight Committee Chairman creates new Information Technology Subpanel

Incoming Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), announced the creation of an information technology subpanel.

Rep Chaffetz vowed to reorganize the entire subcommittee structure when he takes over the gavel from Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) in 2015. The information technology subcommittee will focus on cybersecurity, intellectual property, energy technologies, IT infrastructure and federal IT procurement.

5 Ways Television Changed Dramatically in 2014

[Commentary] Here are a few ways the television industry is changing, and what it means for 2015:

1) Ratings went crazy. It's harder to track viewing habits on mobile devices.
2) Reality TV lost its mojo. There are still reality shows that do OK on broadcast, of course, but everything not called MasterChef Jr. is down.
3) Data brokers came out of the shadows. Third parties like Acxiom and Experian have an incredible amount of information, and the CEO of Acxiom told us consumers should have to pay to prevent their financial data from circulating among anybody who wants to buy it.
4) We saw the first crop of streaming shows as good as premium cable.
5) TV learned to love programmatic. TV subscriptions are getting sold differently as consumers express their displeasure with the ever-pricier cable subscription model. That means more and more inventory is delivered in apps and through browsers. And that means programmatic sales, for sure.

How Coca-Cola's 'American Idol' Deal Transformed TV Advertising

[Commentary] When Coca-Cola signed on as an initial sponsor for Fox's "American Idol" back in 2002 for $10 million, it was considered a huge coup.

"American Idol" far exceeded expectations, averaging 12.7 million viewers in that first season when it aired during the sleepy summer months, prompting Fox to move it to its regular season. What made this such a pioneering deal was Coke's ability to get in on the ground floor and discover a hit in a genre that up until that point hadn't really existed. It also allowed Coca-Cola and other sponsors the opportunity to extend their brand beyond the TV screen, through merchandise, national tours and music sales. Coca-Cola's decision to end its partnership with "American Idol" signals another blow to the sagging TV show and closes a significant chapter in the cola wars.

Activist group sues San Diego Police Department over “stingray” records

A legal advocacy group has sued the San Diego Police Department and the city of San Diego (CA) in an attempt to force the release of public records relating to stingrays, also known as cell-site simulators.

Google goes to court for antitrust claims over Android apps

Google will try to persuade a federal judge in San Jose (CA) that its Android agreements, which require Samsung and other phone makers to include products like Google Search and Maps as default apps, are not anti-competitive.

In its motion to dismiss the claim, Google points out that, while the Mobile Application Distribution Agreements require its own apps to be installed as a default choice, consumers are still free to add other apps, such as Bing Search. Google also rebuts claims the lawsuit’s claims that its MADA contracts are akin to a famous anti-trust case in the 1990’s in which Microsoft required computer makers to install its Internet Explorer browser.

Behind Time Warner Cable/Boingo Seamless Wi-Fi Roaming

Time Warner Cable and Boingo have implemented what they said is the wireless industry’s first Passpoint roaming integration. Customers of either company will be able to seamlessly roam onto the other company’s Wi-Fi hotspots, with some caveats. Initially Time Warner Cable customers wanting to use Boingo hotspots will have to have an iOS device that supports the Passpoint standard. Customers also will have to download the appropriate app. TWC and Boingo had a previous roaming agreement, but it was not seamless. Customers had to go through a log-in process to use hotspots operated by the partner company.

2015: The year of video, or of video regulation?

[Commentary] 2015 will be the year in which video regulation catches up, or at least tries to, with the changing video marketplace. When individual videos are streamed on an as-needed basis, streaming video defies scarcity, which is why Internet-based streaming video is so powerful. With the loss of scarcity goes the basic justification for most video regulation. With the exception of supporting certain functions -- emergency alerts, for instance -- it is increasingly difficult to justify regulatory intervention in the video marketplace.

[Hurwitz is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law]

Cell phones bring new leverage for farm workers

[Commentary] In Washington’s Yakima Valley, growers and workers alike say cell phones have helped to spread information faster than ever, tightening the labor market and spurring on competition for the best harvesters.

Cell phones are the place where farmworkers find out who is hiring and what they are paying. You ask a few questions about the job, get the foreman’s number, and if it seems promising, make the trip out to the orchard. Cell phones have reduced the “transaction costs” of looking for farmwork. It’s basic economics: free-flowing information leads to a freer market. For low wage workers without much clout, cell phones have brought a bit of leverage.

Benton

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