January 2016

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

"We must rapidly begin...the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” -- Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr., "Beyond Vietnam"

INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
   FCC had “productive” net neutrality talks with Comcast, AT&T, T-Mobile
   Why Americans Should Pay Attention to What Facebook Is Doing in India - Motherboard/Vice analysis [links to Benton summary]
   HUD secretary touts broadband initiative in public housing called ConnectHome [links to Benton summary]
   Level 3 and Google Reach Settlement-Free Interconnection Agreement [links to telecompetitor]
   Frontier says it costs over $1B for carriers to provide rural voice services [links to Fierce]

OWNERSHIP
   Charter makes diversity pledge in Time Warner merger deal
   Time Warner Raises OTT Issues in Charter Deal
   Netflix's growth elicits fear in Hollywood [links to Benton summary]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Sprint Finalizes Plan to Trim Network Costs by Up to $1 Billion
   Cash-Strapped US Carriers May Bid Just $33 Billion on Airwaves [links to Benton summary]
   Charter CEO says unsure if cable company will bid in airwaves auction [links to Reuters]

ACCESSIBILITY
   Op-Ed: Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities -- An Opportunity for Telecoms that Benefit Everyone [links to International Telecommunication Union]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   Carriers warn FCC not to move too hastily in expanding emergency alerts [links to Benton summary]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   FBI Improperly Hid Info on Cellphone Surveillance Devices, Judge Rules [links to Vice]
   Jeb Bush Proposes Putting NSA in Charge of Civilian Data, Cybersecurity
   CBO Scores Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 - research [links to Benton summary]
   Our privacy is losing out to Internet-connected household devices - analysis
   The government wants Silicon Valley to build terrorist-spotting algorithms. But is it possible? - Fusion analysis [links to Benton summary]
   NSA claims to meet privacy safeguards [links to Benton summary]
   Should you be afraid of cyberattacks on nuclear power plants? [links to Washington Post]
   Obama Administration’s command performance in Silicon Valley: Was this trip really necessary? - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Amash bill would repeal new cybersecurity law [links to Hill, The]

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
   Donald Trump has nothing left to gain from media coverage - WaPo op-ed
   Network Newscasts Were All-Trump, All The Time In 2015 - Media Matters analysis [links to Benton summary]
   Donald Trump staffers kick New York Times reporter out of Iowa event [links to Politico]
   Donald Trump drives social media conversation post debate [links to Benton summary]
   Ted Cruz hates the media. But the media seems to admire Ted Cruz quite a bit. [links to Washington Post]

CONTENT
   Wikipedia turns 15
   How Twitter quietly banned hate speech in 2015 [links to Benton summary]
   Analyst: Sling TV to Reach 2 Million Subscribers in 2016 [links to Multichannel News]

TELEVISION
   Broadcast Affiliates to FCC: Leave Good Faith Test Alone [links to Benton summary]
   Law Professor: FCC Can Mandate Interim Carriage [links to Benton summary]
   Comcast Moves Several Smaller Networks to More Expensive Tier [links to Multichannel News]
   Op-Ed: Who Determines the Future of American TV? [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

PUBLIC MEDIA
   Op-Ed: Does 'Sesame Street' Still Matter? [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

LABOR
   AFL-CIO weighs in on T-Mobile's labor disputes [links to Fierce]
   VC funding in 2015 was highest since dot-com era despite valuation fears

JOURNALISM
   Why Al Jazeera America Was Destined to Fail - Slate analysis [links to Benton summary]
   Why Spin Is Good for Democracy - NYT op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   America’s Oldest Spanish-Language Newspaper Struggles For Survival [links to Huffington Post]
   Google treats reporters to taste of tech perks [links to Politico]

TRANSPORTATION
   Uber fined $7.6 million by California utilities commission for failing to meet data reporting requirements [links to Los Angeles Times]
   Auto Industry, US Reach Agreement on Cybersecurity, Safety [links to Bloomberg]

HEALTH
   Op-Ed: A Cancer ‘Moonshot’ Needs Big Data [links to Wall Street Journal]

DIVERSITY
   Charter makes diversity pledge in Time Warner merger deal

LOBBYING
   About half of retiring senators and a third of retiring House members register as lobbyists - Vox analysis [links to Benton summary]
   With Gridlock in Washington, Lobbyists Turn to Statehouses [links to Benton summary]

COMPANY NEWS
   Biggest ed tech investments are going to start-ups focused on higher education or job-related skills to promote career advancement [links to New York Times]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   FCC International Bureau Removes Cuba from the Exclusion List - press release
   Revitalizing Journalism in Brazil [links to Nieman]
   European Antitrust Chief Takes Swipe at Privacy Issue [links to New York Times]
   EU Antitrust Chief Suggests Big Data Could Be Next Target in Crosshairs [links to Revere Digital]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

FCC HAD "PRODUCTIVE" NET NEUTRALITY TALKS WITH COMCAST, AT&T, T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
The Federal Communications Commission says it has held "productive" meetings with Comcast, AT&T, and T-Mobile about whether data cap exemptions conflict with the goals of network neutrality. The FCC sent letters in Dec asking the three carriers to meet with commission staff by January 15, and all the meetings have happened. "FCC staff had productive discussions with company representatives as part of a larger policy examination of trends in the market. We cannot comment on the details of individual meetings," FCC spokesperson Kim Hart said. When asked if there will be any action taken against the companies, Hart said, "This is not an enforcement action or investigation, as the Chairman [Tom Wheeler] has made clear. Direct dialogue with companies is an important way in which the Commission can watch and learn, and consistent with our approach in the Open Internet Order."
benton.org/headlines/fcc-had-productive-net-neutrality-talks-comcast-att-t-mobile | Ars Technica
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OWNERSHIP

CHARTER MAKES DIVERSITY PLEDGE IN TIME WARNER MERGER DEAL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
Charter Communications says it would commit to appointing more minorities to its board of directors as it looks to regulators to approve its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. The St. Louis (MO)-based cable company will appoint an African-American director, an Asian-American director and a Hispanic director to its board within two years of the sale closing, it said. The company also committed to appointing a chief diversity officer and implementing unspecified other measures to improve diversity at the company and in its programming. "Charter strives to reflect the great diversity of the communities we serve in all our business practices as a key component of our continued success,” said CEO Tom Rutledge. The conditions are outlined in a memorandum of understanding the firm said it had drawn up with civil-rights groups, including the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza and Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
benton.org/headlines/charter-makes-diversity-pledge-time-warner-merger-deal | Hill, The
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TIME WARNER RAISES OTT ISSUES IN CHARTER DEAL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A meeting between Time Warner and Federal Communications Commission officials had analysts buzzing trying to divine the tea leaves as they pertained to the future of the Charter/Time Warner Cable/Bright House merger. According to an ex parte filing with the FCC about the meeting, FCC staffers invited former TWC parent Time Warner and its HBO subsidiary to a meeting with top FCC legal officials, including general counsel John Sallet. According to Time Warner, "the discussion focused on certain statements made by representatives of Charter, both in private interactions and in public forums, including analyst calls and television interviews. Some of these statements raise concerns because they suggest that a combined Charter/Time Warner Cable would be inclined to take action directed at programmers in response to the development of 'over the top,' (OTT) services with the purpose and/or effect of slowing down the development of OTT options to the detriment of consumers." The FCC is clearly focused on access to OTT content and the potential for anticompetitive behavior, including seeking input from the parties and Liberty (Liberty chairman John Malone has a 27% stake in Charter) about the issue. Analysts were not in agreement on what that might mean. One said the fact that the staffers had sought the meeting might be a troubling sign, while another said that they still expected the deal to be approved and that the meeting was more about the staffers doing their due diligence.
benton.org/headlines/time-warner-raises-ott-issues-charter-deal | Broadcasting&Cable
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

SPRINT FINALIZES PLAN TO TRIM NETWORK COSTS BY UP TO $1 BILLION
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Dawn Chmielewski]
Sprint has finalized plans for a radical overhaul of its cellular network that is expected to save the carrier up to $1 billion. The nation’s fourth-largest carrier has talked publicly about shaving $2 billion in overhead as it aims to revive its fortunes and end six straight years of losses. Apparently, Sprint plans to cut its network costs by relocating its radio equipment from tower space it has leased from Crown Castle and American Tower to spots on government-owned properties, which costs much less. This process could begin as soon as June or July. Tower leases are a major component of the carrier’s network cost. Some of that is the expense of buying and maintaining the cellular gear itself, while another big cost is renting the space on which it sits. The carrier also is seeking to reduce its dependency on AT&T’s and Verizon’s high-speed, fiber-optic cables that provide links to the cellular towers and mobile switches — known in networking parlance as the “backhaul.” These network changes are the latest in a series of belt-tightening moves outlined fall 2015 that would include layoffs. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure has said he would like to make the cuts by Jan 30 to allow employees to take advantage of a more generous severance plan that is being ended. Sources say Sprint plans to make significant numbers of the cuts on Jan 22.
benton.org/headlines/sprint-finalizes-plan-trim-network-costs-1-billion | Revere Digital | Revere Digital
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

JEB BUSH PROPOSES PUTTING NSA IN CHARGE OF CIVILIAN DATA, CYBERSECURITY
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Marcus Baram]
At the tail end of the Jan 14 Republican presidential debate, dominated by personal feuds and mutual condemnation of the Obama Administration and Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush made a stunning proposal: Put the National Security Agency in charge of civilian data and cybersecurity. The proposal, which represents a major expansion of the intelligence agency's role, shocked some observers on Twitter, with some calling it akin to a "police state." When asked by Fox Business moderator Neil Cavuto about Apple CEO Tim Cook's strong opposition to White House requests for a backdoor to encryption, Bush said that he would have meetings with executives in Silicon Valley to get them to change their minds. "What if Tim Cook is telling you ‘no, Mr. President’?" Cavuto asked. Jeb replied: "You keep asking." Bush also suggested offering tech companies "liability relief so that if they share data, they're not fearful of a lawsuit." And he went further, alarming some observers when he said about cybersecurity: "We should put the NSA in charge of the civilian side of this and we need much more cooperation with our private sector."
benton.org/headlines/jeb-bush-proposes-putting-nsa-charge-civilian-data-cybersecurity | Fast Company
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OUR PRIVACY IS LOSING OUT TO INTERNET-CONNECTED HOUSEHOLD DEVICES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Lazarus]
[Commentary] It's called the Internet of Things and, judging by all the connected gadgets and appliances unveiled at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, it's about to strip you of what little privacy you have left. Taken piecemeal, there's much to recommend about the idea of controlling household devices via voice control or smartphone apps. It's cool having your heater or clothes dryer monitor how much power you're using, or having your fridge alert you that you're low on milk. Put it all together, though, and you have a steady stream of data about your personal behavior that can be combined with other information to provide marketers, insurers and others with extremely intimate portraits of the life you lead when you think no one's watching.
benton.org/headlines/our-privacy-losing-out-internet-connected-household-devices | Los Angeles Times
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

DONALD TRUMP HAS NOTHING LEFT TO GAIN FROM MEDIA COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kevin Reuning, Nicholas Dietrich]
[Commentary] A number of pundits, political scientists, and politicians have attributed Donald Trump’s lead in the polls to the media’s incessant coverage of his candidacy. This claim undoubtedly has some truth. Had Trump’s candidacy been covered in only a perfunctory fashion, it seems unlikely that he would have soared so quickly to a lead in national polls and many state polls. But our new research suggests that we should not be too quick in attributing Trump’s success to his ability to dominate the news cycle. Moreover, the media may be more important to several other candidates than to Trump. What we find is striking: increases in Trump’s media coverage do drive Google searches, but not his poll numbers. And neither do his poll numbers appear to drive media coverage, as we might think it should if the media focuses on traditional horserace metrics. For other candidates, the story is much closer to our traditional expectations for candidate media coverage. This is particularly true for candidates who were not as well-known as Trump going into the race. We suspect that media coverage of Trump has outpaced his levels of support. The media continues covering Trump at very high rates, but there are no more sympathetic voters for him to reach. A bump in media coverage drives more interest for him in general, but does not seem to convert supporters. Contrast this with candidates like Dr Ben Carson, who does gain significantly from bumps in media coverage because he has not yet reached the same level of media saturation.
[Kevin Reuning and Nick Dietrich are PhD students in the Department of Political Science at Penn State University]
benton.org/headlines/donald-trump-has-nothing-left-gain-media-coverage | Washington Post
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CONTENT

WIKIPEDIA TURNS 15
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise]
Wikipedia, the online, crowd-sourced encyclopedia that has become the source of all facts for many, turns 15 on Jan 15. The free site was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. It was meant as a place where anyone with knowledge of a topic could write it up and make it available to the world, without ads or traditional gatekeepers. The site quickly caught on, to the detriment of traditional encyclopedias and other printed sources. Today it is often the first place online users go for information. Wikipedia’s brilliance was that it was non-profit and crowd-sourced. Eventually its editing model became a problem, as people with an axe to grind realized they could change entries and effectively re-write the truth for millions of readers This came to be known as “edit warring.” It could be as harmless as an ongoing debate over the proper spelling of Caesar Salad to back-and-forth changes to articles about President George W. Bush, circumcision and global warming, according to research by scientists at Oxford University. Wikipedia instituted stronger editing guidelines to curb some of the worst abuses, which also had the effect of limiting participation. "The controversy and excitement that surrounded the service in the early days has passed,” said Aleksi Aaltonen, a professor of information systems at Warwick University in Coventry, United Kingdom. "If Wikipedia can maintain its success, it will be remembered as a gift of an open internet that is now under attack from many directions. It may even turn out to be an example of a new type of social and perhaps more humane way of organizing production. We have already seen similar models of production used in open-source software development,” he said.
benton.org/headlines/wikipedia-turns-15 | USAToday | Washington Post
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LABOR

VC FUNDING IN 2015 WAS HIGHEST SINCE DOT-COM ERA DESPITE VALUATION FEARS
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: George Avalos]
Venture capitalists spent more money during 2015 on private companies than in any year since the dot-com era, but a slowdown in funding during the final three months of the year suggested that financiers have become a bit queasy about plunking down cash on startups, according to the latest Money Tree Report. The slowdown in funding could be due to worries about so-called technology "unicorns," a term used to refer to technology upstarts whose estimated private valuations have reached $1 billion or more. Some industry watchers fear that these unicorns have become overvalued. During 2015, venture capitalists spent $27.35 billion on private companies in the Bay Area, according to the Money Tree report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The venture financing during 2015 was the most that venture capitalists have spent since 2000, when they plunked down $33.42 billion on Bay Area private companies. The 2015 venture financing levels were 7.6 percent above the $25.43 billion investors spent in 2014.
benton.org/headlines/vc-funding-2015-was-highest-dot-com-era-despite-valuation-fears | San Jose Mercury News | Financial Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

FCC INTERNATIONAL BUREAU REMOVES CUBA FROM THE EXCLUSION LIST
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission removed Cuba from the FCC’s Exclusion List for International Section 214 Authorizations, also known as the Exclusion List. The Exclusion List identifies countries and facilities that are not covered by grant of a global facilities-based Section 214 application and require a separate international Section 214. By removing Cuba from the Exclusion list, the Commission opens the door for US telecommunication carriers to provide facilities-based telephone and Internet service to Cuba without separate approval from the Commission. Cuba was the last remaining country on the Commission’s Exclusion List. The Order becomes effective upon release. Removing Cuba from the Exclusion List benefits the public interest as it will likely alleviate administrative and cost burdens on both the applicant and the Commission, and will promote competition on the US-Cuba route.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-international-bureau-removes-cuba-exclusion-list | Federal Communications Commission | Press release
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