July 2016

RNC 2016

TRUMP SPEECHWRITER TAKES BLAME FOR MELANIA TRUMP 'PLAGIARISM'
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Philip Rucker, David Fahrenthold, Isaac Stanley-Becker]
After a tortured 24 hours in which Donald Trump’s campaign struggled to come up with a coherent explanation for how portions of a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama had reappeared in remarks delivered by Melania Trump at the Republican National Convention, a Trump staff writer said that she was responsible and apologized for the “confusion.” Meredith McIver said she was an “in-house staff writer” who had worked with Melania Trump on the speech. McIver took responsibility for including the passages from the first lady’s speech — though she said she had not revisited the earlier speech herself, only listened as Trump read parts of it that she liked to McIver over the phone. McIver said she had offered her resignation to Donald Trump and his family on July 19, but they declined to accept it. “Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences,” she said. Shortly before McIver’s statement was distributed by the campaign, Trump himself addressed the controversy on Twitter, though he did not weigh in on allegations that his wife had borrowed language from the first lady’s speech to the Democratic National Convention eight years ago. “Good news is Melania’s speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press!” he wrote in one message. And he attempted to shift blame onto his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, writing, “The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania’s speech than the FBI spent on Hillary’s emails.”
benton.org/headlines/trump-speechwriter-takes-blame-melania-trump-plagiarism | Washington Post | Vox
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

CITIES, TECH, NEXT GEN OF URBAND DEVELOPMENT, AND NEXT ADMINISTRATION, PART 2
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] The federal government should focus on how cities are likely to be the primary government jurisdictions on the leading edge of using new technology to transform the public sphere. The fall campaign should set an agenda for how the next administration can move the country forward by helping the cities that want to lead in this century’s city-led, global information economy. Some might argue that how cities use technology should not be a subject of a presidential election but rather be left to local campaigns. This argument is wrong for a number of reasons, including that the economic and social health of cities is the leading driver of the economic and social health of the nation. American leadership in many sectors requires world-class cities in which to work and live. Further, cities face a subtle economic barrier to adoption of new technologies. The history of technology cost curves predicts these investments will eventually pay for themselves in service improvements. Cities, however, unlike businesses, have a limited first-user advantage for such new infrastructure, making it more difficult to obtain the critical mass of users that lowers costs in ways that accelerate adoption. If wealthier communities like Austin (TX) can figure out how to use technology to improve how it delivers education, health, transportation, and social services, those practices can be adopted by lower-income communities like Detroit (MI). The federal government has a vital interest in accelerating the improvement of municipal public services by all cities. The best way to drive such improvements is to seed early efforts that provide replicable examples.
[Levin is a nonresident senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program. This is the second in a series of three blogs on cities, technology, the next generation of urban development, and the next administration.]
benton.org/headlines/cities-technology-next-generation-urban-development-and-next-administration-part-2 | Brookings | Part 1
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ROGER AILES

ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT, ROGER AILES IS NEGOTIATING EXIT FROM FOX
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Koblin, Jim Rutenberg]
Roger Ailes’s tenure as the head of Fox News appears to be over. Ailes and 21st Century Fox, Fox News’s parent company, are in the advanced stages of discussions that would lead to his departure as chairman, said Susan Estrich, one of Ailes’s lawyers. The development follows a sexual harassment suit filed on July 6 against Ailes by a former anchor, Gretchen Carlson. The suit prompted 21st Century Fox to conduct an internal review and it set off an intense round of speculation in the news media and the television industry about Ailes’s future at Fox News. On July 19, the sides were negotiating terms that could include Ailes’s staying on in a consulting role for Fox News. Estrich said nothing had been finalized about what sort of continuing role he could have at the network. “Roger is at work,” 21st Century Fox said. “The review is ongoing. And the only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement.” Ailes’s exit would be a humbling and startlingly sudden fall from power for a man who started Fox News from scratch 20 years ago and built it into a top-rated cable news network and a critical profit center for 21st Century Fox. Along the way, Ailes, a former Republican operative, established Fox News as the leading media platform for conservative politics. He also minted prime-time stars like Bill O’Reilly, Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren.
benton.org/headlines/accused-sexual-harassment-roger-ailes-negotiating-exit-fox | New York Times | Revere Digital | B&C | USA Today
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HOW THE FALL OF AILES COULD SAVE THE GOP
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Waldman]
[Commentary] Roger Ailes’ downfall is one of the most consequential events in years when it comes to the evolution of the conservative movement and even the fate of the Republican Party. This is the end of an era — and we might even look back and say that it was the best thing that’s happened to the GOP in a long time. So why is this so important? It’s because Fox News is the epicenter of the conservative media universe, and it in turn shapes the way every Republican from the loftiest elected official to the loneliest viewer sees the political world. Ailes, who had been both a TV producer and a Republican media consultant before Murdoch tapped him to create the channel two decades ago, was an undeniably brilliant executive, fashioning a network that perfectly balanced two goals: Making gobs of money, and serving the interests of the Republican Party as he saw them. There is almost no one who has been more influential in the last two decades in shaping how Republicans see themselves, Democrats, and the world. But during the Obama era, some people have begun to question whether Fox’s undeniable power is really serving the movement in the way they thought it was. For many years, Fox was seen as a source of nothing but benefit for the right: It offered a megaphone to disseminate conservative arguments and talking points, a forum for Republican politicians to get exposure, a means of uniting the right around common ideas (instructing everyone on what to be angry about and what to celebrate), and a way of pressuring the mainstream media into adopting a more conservative-friendly outlook.
benton.org/headlines/how-fall-godfather-conservative-media-could-save-gop | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

DIGITAL DIVIDE NARROWS FOR LATINOS
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center, AUTHOR: Anna Brown, Gustavo López, Mark Hugo Lopez]
The long-standing digital divide in Internet use between Latinos and whites is now at its narrowest point since 2009 as immigrant Latinos and Spanish-dominant Latinos make big strides in going online, according to newly released results from Pew Research Center’s 2015 National Survey of Latinos. Meanwhile, broadband use among Latinos is little changed since 2010. The story of technological adoption among Latinos has long been a unique one. While Latinos have lagged other groups in accessing the Internet and having broadband at home, they have been among the most likely to own a smartphone, to live in a household without a landline phone where only a cellphone is available and to access the Internet from a mobile device. Since 2009, the share of Latino adults who report using the Internet increased 20 percentage points, up from 64% then to 84% in 2015. Over the same period, Internet use among whites grew too, though at a slower rate, moving from 80% to 89%. As a result, the gap in Internet use between Latinos and whites declined from 16 percentage points in 2009 to 5 percentage points in 2015.
benton.org/headlines/digital-divide-narrows-latinos-more-spanish-speakers-and-immigrants-go-online | Pew Research Center
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SEN MARKEY FLOATS BILL BRINGING INTERNET TO DEVELOPING WORLD
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Joe Uchill]
Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) is pushing to increase Internet access in the developing world with new legislation. The Driving Innovation and Growth in Internet Technology And Launching Universal Access to the Global Economy Act (DIGITAL AGE) would provide the State Department a “Special Representative for the Global Connect Initiative,” a face for the Global Connect Initiative it announced in April. While 80% of the developed world has access to the Internet, less than 40% of the developing world has that access. The Global Connect Initiative aims to shepherd an additional 1,500,000,000 people online by 2020. The special representative would be an ambassador for the program to other nations, private business and US agencies. The president would appoint the special representative with approval from Congress. The bill would fund the position, three staff members and an additional $200,000 to be spent on the broader initiative. DIGITAL AGE further appropriates $5 million to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in furtherance of getting the developing world online and $1million to USAID to create “digital literacy” programs. It also directs the president to create a more comprehensive plan in bringing the internet to the developing world.
benton.org/headlines/sen-markey-floats-bill-bringing-internet-developing-world | Hill, The | Broadcasting&Cable
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AFTER NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Victor Pickard]
[Commentary] The DC Circuit Court’s decision to uphold the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 reclassification of broadband as a telecommunications service was a big deal. Going forward, there’s now a meaningful protection against the abuse of Internet monopoly power (complexities related to plans like “zero-rating“ notwithstanding). But we should be clear about what this decision does not do. While it establishes a crucial safeguard and changes the larger conversation about the role of digital communications in a democratic society, it doesn’t strike at the core problem: corporate capture of the Internet. The decision doesn’t weaken the stranglehold that a handful of Internet firms hold over broadband and it doesn’t significantly lessen the digital divide. In many ways, it was a defensive victory that undid past damage. The history of American media policy suggests there are three general ways to prevent commercial capture of a communication system:
1) Breaking up or preventing media monopolies and oligopolies (e.g., the FCC forcing NBC to divest itself of a major network in the 1940s, the establishment of media ownership restrictions, and antitrust action against AT&T in the 1980s).
2) Creating alternative public infrastructures (such as public broadcasting or community/municipal-owned broadband).
3) Mandating strong public interest protections (via the Equal Time Rule or restrictions on advertising).
Challenging corporate dominance of crucial infrastructure like the Internet will take long-term organizing and tremendous grassroots energy. What we know thus far about Hillary Clinton’s tech policy agenda suggests there’s room for improvement, especially in contesting corporate capture of the Internet. Confronting the structural roots of internet monopoly power will require the same commitment to democratic principles and the same activism that won net neutrality.
[Victor Pickard is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication]
benton.org/headlines/after-net-neutrality | Huffington Post
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

DEMOCRATIC REPS PROBE NIANTIC ON POKÉMON GO DATA USAGE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
Democratic Reps asked the the company that makes hit game "Pokemon Go" what they were doing to make sure players don’t run up high mobile data charges using the application. The letter to Niantic CEO John Hanke was signed by the House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), as well as Reps Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Diana DeGette (D-CO). "In addition to issues related to the game being played inappropriate locations, safety, and privacy, recent reports suggest that playing Pokemon Go could exhaust a consumer’s available monthly mobile data,” they wrote. The lawmakers specifically asked the company what practices it had in place “to minimize the amount of data consumers use when playing" the game and whether the company was working with wireless providers to make sure that customers aren’t running up huge data bills. The letter comes despite the fact that some have argued the program does not use up particularly large amounts of wireless data.
benton.org/headlines/democratic-reps-probe-niantic-pokemon-go-data-usage | Hill, The | Read the Letter | Los Angeles Times | B&C
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CONTENT

BREITBART EDITOR PERMANENTLY SUSPENDED FROM TWITTER
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Kurt Wagner]
Milo Yiannopoulos, the tech editor at conservative news site Breitbart and a pretty notorious Internet troll, has been suspended from Twitter for the final time. He’s now banned for good for repeatedly abusing other users, the company confirmed. Yiannopoulos crossed the line when he went after actress Leslie Jones on the microblogging site. Jones was harassed and taunted by users, many of them sending her racist images and slurs. She ultimately signed off “with tears and a very sad heart” after publicly pleading with Twitter to intervene. Yiannopoulos, who had 338,000 followers and a Twitter bio that called him “The most fabulous supervillain on the Internet,” was one of the main instigators. He tweeted that Jones was “barely literate” and also referred to her as a man. The permanent ban means that Twitter will essentially keep Yiannopoulos off its network in any way possible, including finding and suspended any new accounts he creates. It’s the same punishment Twitter has handed down to other repeat trolls, like rapper Azealia Banks and Gotnews founder Chuck Johnson.
benton.org/headlines/breitbart-editor-milo-yiannopoulos-has-been-permanently-suspended-twitter | Revere Digital
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POLICYMAKERS

REP MARK TAKAI (D-HI), 49, DIES AFTER BATTLE WITH PANCREATIC CANCER
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Elise Viebeck]
Rep Mark Takai (D-HI) died July 20 after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer, his office announced. Takai, 49, was elected to represent Hawaii’s Oahu-based first congressional district in 2014. In late October, he announced he had been diagnosed with a small tumor on his pancreas after experiencing stomach pains. At that time, Takai referred to his prognosis as “very good thanks to early detection.” He underwent surgery to remove the tumor in November. On May 20, he announced he would serve out the rest of his term but not seek reelection because the cancer had spread. Prior to his election, Rep Takai served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1994 to 2014, including two years as vice speaker. He leaves behind his wife, Sami, and two children.
benton.org/headlines/rep-mark-takai-d-hi-49-dies-after-battle-pancreatic-cancer | Washington Post
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EDUCATION

GOP PLATFORM ADDRESSES EDUCATION, NODS TO EDTECH
[SOURCE: EdSurge, AUTHOR: Blake Montgomery]
The Republican Party has released its official party platform in full. The 58-page document outlines issues the party will focus on during the home stretch to the election and after, though nominee Donald Trump has not officially endorsed it. The platform claims that, "After years of trial and error, we know the policies and methods that have actually made a difference in student advancement." Those things are school choice, STEM education, phonics, career/technical education, merit pay for teachers, parental involvement, "ending social promotions" and strong administrative leadership. Here is what the party had to say about edtech: "Because technology has become an essential tool of learning, it must be a key element in our efforts to provide every child equal access and opportunity." In the platform, Republicans praise the value of STEM education and the transformative effects of the "digital revolution" on everything from malls to schools. "Innovation" is high on conservative policymakers' minds—the word appears 22 times throughout the document. Rather than encouraging schools to look to the federal government for STEM education and innovation, the party urges them to make use of the expertise in their communities: "teaching talent in the business community, STEM fields, and the military, especially among our returning veterans."
benton.org/headlines/republican-party-platform-addresses-education-nods-edtech | EdSurge
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JOURNALISM

BLACK MEDIA HAS A PLAN TO STAY RELEVANT AS MAINSTREAM JOURNALISTS ENCROACH
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Carlett Spike]
Mainstream media—fueled by amateur videos showing tragic interactions between police and people of color, social-media activism, and wider awareness of racial discrimination—have flocked to cover black issues, with dedicated beat reporters, black-focused verticals, and graphic photos. Mainstream interest in the black story has put black media in a tricky position in the battle for audience attention, but they’re not giving up the mantle without a fight. Black media outlets both digital and analog are responding by finding new story angles, choosing to focus not only on the events themselves but also on the larger context, with honest analysis of what politics and police brutality mean for the future of black Americans, and how they cope with daily life. These outlets are striving for a level of authenticity and trust that still eludes mainstream players—many of which employ few people of color. The ultimate value of all black media is that it gives a true and full picture of black life and culture.
benton.org/headlines/black-media-has-plan-stay-relevant-mainstream-journalists-encroach | Columbia Journalism Review
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July 2016

Fox News Sues Charter Over Carriage Spat

The Fight Over Consumer Encryption Moves Into Strange New Phase

Facebook Over the Air Optical Technology Looks Promising

Dish posts record pay-TV subscriber drop, earnings beat estimates

Automakers join forces on hacking, cyber security threats

Video: Laura Ingraham to the news media: 'Do your job'

July 21, 2016 (RNC Day 3, Roger Ailes, Rep Takai)

Cities, technology, the next generation of urban development, and the next administration, Part 2

Accused of Sexual Harassment, Roger Ailes Is Negotiating Exit From Fox

Roger Ailes' Stunning Fall Marks the End of a Murdoch Era