BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2009
Headlines will return Monday, Feb 23 (and we mean it this time). Shout out to Cincinnati where we'll be lecturing on the importance of good telecommunications in marriage and looking for tickets to a Reds game or two or three.
THE ECONOMY
From Broadband Market to Broadband Ecology
Setting the bar high
Duncan wants stimulus to transform schools
DIGITAL TELEVISION
DTV Switch: Early Reports Encouraging, But Look Out...
Nielsen: Five Million Homes Remain Unready for DTV Transition
GOP Leaders want FCC and NTIA to Prioritize Converter Coupons for Over-the-Air Homes
TRANSITION
Kansas Governor Seen as Top Choice in Health Post
Orszag emerges as key negotiator
As 2010 count nears, no Census chief
Top State Dept Telecom Official Moves On
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATION
On Transparency, CDT Waits for Obama to 'Show Us The Data'
WH glitch leaves some press in dark
The White House's missing documents
Open government rhetoric versus reality
White House provides portal for multimedia revolution
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Facebook Withdraws Changes in Data Use
Hollywood struggles to find wealth on the Web
BROADCASTING
What's next for white space broadband? Setting up databases
Obama Restates Opposition to Return of Fairness Doctrine
CABLE
As Earnings Drop 32%, Comcast Raises Dividend
FCC Extends Deadline for Cable Ops to Appeal Fines
NTIA: New Data-Collection on Competition is Unnecessary, Burdensome
QUICKLY -- Space Jam; Telecom Experts and State Regulators Ponder FCC Reform Agenda; Asia's shoppers go online as Internet barriers fall; Showbiz employment outlook troubling; Six ways to make Web 2.0 work; Sirius faces next challenge in May; Freedom 2 Connect: A Must-Attend Event March 30th in DC
THE ECONOMY
FROM BROADBAND MARKET TO BROADBAND ECOLOGY
[SOURCE: PublicKnowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] The team that worked on the broadband provisions of the stimulus law really put careful thought into how to create a package that would go to underserved or unserved urban and rural communities, would re-enforce community institutions, and would provide a boost for both competition and open networks. It is difficult to overstate the extent to which this represents a paradigm shift from the last 8 years, or even to the broadband efforts of the Clinton Administration. The old paradigm saw only traditional carriers and residential or enterprise customers. The regulatory arguments centered on what mixture of bribery, cajolery and compulsion would get large for-profit companies to do what policymakers in Washington wanted — provide "affordable" broadband. The broadband stimulus bill offers a much more sophisticated approach. The question is not "regulate" or "deregulate," nor is the goal so narrow as simply building infrastructure. The stimulus bill embraces the idea of a "broadband ecology" in which we — as a matter of public policy — value broadband for its transformative effect rather than for its consumer value and place it within the communities we hope to positively transform.
http://benton.org/node/22278
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
http://www.benton.org/node/20455
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SETTING THE BAR HIGH
[SOURCE: The White House]
Just looking at Recovery.gov, it might not be immediately clear what an enormous undertaking it will be to ensure that the transparency and accountability that the President expects will be upheld. It's going to require an unprecedented level of vigilance, a fundamental shift in the way the federal government spends your tax dollars, from the Oval Office down to every department and agency awarding funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That's why Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has sent a memo to the heads of those departments and agencies, explaining what's expected of them and offering advice for how to meet those high standards. According to the memo, agencies will be expected to provide data which demonstrates that: 1) Funds are awarded and distributed in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner; 2) The recipients and uses of all funds are transparent to the public, and the public benefits of these funds are reported clearly, accurately, and in a timely manner; 3) Funds are used for authorized purposes and instances of fraud, waste, error, and abuse are mitigated; 4) Projects funded under this Act avoid unnecessary delays and cost overruns; and 5) Program goals are achieved, including specific program outcomes and improved results on broader economic indicators.
http://benton.org/node/22310
Recommend this Headline
back to top
DUNCAN WANTS STIMULUS TO TRANSFORM SCHOOLS
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: ]
President Barack Obama and his Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, want to do more than save teachers' jobs or renovate classrooms with the new economic recovery law. They're hoping to reinvent education for the 21st century--while transforming the federal government's role in public education in the process. Public schools will get an unprecedented amount of money--nearly double the education budget of this past year--from the stimulus bill in the next two years. With those dollars, Obama and Duncan want schools to do better. To get the money, states will have to show they are making good progress in five areas: 1) Boosting teacher effectiveness and getting more good teachers into high-poverty, high-minority schools; 2) Setting up data systems to track how much a student has learned from one year to the next; 3) Improving academic standards and tests; 4) Supporting struggling schools; and 5) Partnerships with nonprofit groups. [MORE AT THE URL BELOW]
http://benton.org/node/22261
Recommend this Headline
back to top
DIGITAL TELEVISION
DTV SWITCH: EARLY REPORTS ENCOURAGING, BUT LOOK OUT ...
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
Initial reports from some of the 421 stations that yesterday switched to digital TV signals suggest the most dire predictions about the transition may have been overblown. Some DTV issues are surfacing, however, with antenna and other problems arising. Broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission and one mayor's office reported that calls coming in from the public are mostly technical in nature, asking how to hook up converter boxes or how to program the units. Having said that most of the recent calls it had gotten to its DTV hotline were from people who didn't know they had to re-scan for DTV channels, the FCC Wednesday released a consumer advisory on the subject. The National Association of Broadcasters says its early read on stations that pulled the plug on analog earlier in the day Tuesday (Feb. 17) was encouraging. According to Jonathan Collegio, NAB's VP for the DTV switch and point person for DTV education, there were relatively few viewer calls in markets in Virginia, Illinois and Kansas that had made the switch early enough for the association to get a read on them. NAB said stations were able to resolve most of the problems over the phone.
http://benton.org/node/22277
Digital TV switch goes smoothly in San Diego
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NIELSEN: FIVE MILLION HOMES REMAIN UNREADY FOR DTV TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Nielsen said Wednesday that more that five million homes, or about 4.4% of the total, remain unready for the digital television transition. That was down from 5.8 million homes (5.1%) that Nielsen concluded weren't ready at the beginning of the month, and from 6.5 million (5.7%) in mid-January. Albuquerque-Santa Fe is the least prepared, says Nielsen, with 12% completely unready. Nielsen defines completely unready as homes without cable or satellite service and without a TV with a digital tuner or a DTV-to-analog converter box hooked up. The ratings company concedes some of those homes could have the converter boxes, just not hooked up yet.
http://benton.org/node/22276
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BARTON AND STEARNS ASK FCC AND NTIA TO PRIORITIZE CONVERTER BOX COUPONS FOR ANALOG-ONLY HOMES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Reps Joe Barton (R-TX) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) have written the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications Administration asking that the NTIA prioritize homes that rely on over-the-air broadcasts for digital-to-analog converter box coupons. They also want the NTIA to giver priority to first-time requests from over-the-air homes over re-requests. They also urged the FCC and NTIA to make a list of the stations transitioning before the new June 12 hard date (641 stations have already pulled the plug) available to consumers on its Web sites-the FCC already has such a list-"and over your telephone lines" so that consumers know how the transition will affect them.
http://benton.org/node/22275
Recommend this Headline
back to top
TRANSITION
KANSAS GOVERNOR SEEN AS TOP CHOICE IN HEALTH POST
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Peter Baker, Robert Pear]
Apparently, Gov Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kansas), an early Obama ally with a record of working across party lines, is emerging as the president's top choice for secretary of health and human services. Should she be nominated, Gov Sebelius would bring eight years of experience as her state's insurance commissioner as well as six years as a governor running a state Medicaid program. But with President Obama about to begin a drive to expand health coverage, an issue on which the two parties have deep ideological divisions, her strongest asset in the view of the White House may be her record of navigating partisan politics as a Democrat in one of the country's most Republican states. Gov Sebelius resolved a state budget crisis on Tuesday and plans to be in Washington from Saturday through Tuesday for a meeting of the National Governors' Association. Asked about the health and human services job, her spokeswoman, Beth Martino, said the governor was "focused on the economic challenges currently facing Kansas, including our state budget and the impacts of the federal stimulus package." If she becomes health secretary, she will be the fourth woman in the 15-member cabinet, overseeing 65,000 employees and a $700 billion budget. But she is unlikely to also wear the second hat that Mr. Daschle negotiated for himself as White House health czar, a position that could be influential in setting health care policy. As Kansas insurance commissioner, Ms. Sebelius helped draft a proposed national bill of rights for patients and blocked the sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield to an out-of-state company because it would have raised premiums. She served as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and often testified before Congress.
http://benton.org/node/22312
Recommend this Headline
back to top
ORSZAG EMERGES AS KEY NEGOTIATOR
[SOURCE: Politico.com, AUTHOR: Ben Smith]
Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, emerged as a central figure and key negotiator in the Obama's economic policy team has come as a bit of a surprise to watchers of the administration. Orszag, at 40 the youngest member of the Obama cabinet, left a profound mark on the stimulus, which focused heavily on healthcare technology, a major focus of his research. He and his deputy, Rob Nabors, brokered a key, late deal on spending on school construction. And the bill spends more than $1 billion on Orszag's pet cause, research on the effectiveness of medical practices, which he sees as an opening to reforming American health care through sheer analytical will. Now Orszag is preparing for the biggest week of his career, with a "fiscal responsibility" summit Monday and the release of Obama's first budget Thursday. He's signaling that the moves in the stimulus package are just a hint of what to come in a budget that will begin in earnest the arduous process of health care reform. Though the budget's details have been closely held, Orszag revealed, in broad terms, two: A continued focus on healthcare policy; and a plan "to restore the nation to a sustainable fiscal trajectory over the five-to-ten year window."
http://benton.org/node/22311
Recommend this Headline
back to top
AS 2010 COUNT NEARS, NO CENSUS CHIEF
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Haya El Nasser]
The Census Bureau faces a leadership void less than 14 months before the 2010 Census rolls out. The agency is without a director and may not get one until someone is picked and confirmed to run the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau. The stakes are politically charged because the Census determines the allotment of seats in the House of Representatives, the drawing of political districts and the distribution of billions of federal dollars for schools, roads, hospitals and other programs. Groups such as the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights say that minorities and the poor have been undercounted in previous Censuses. Gregg's nomination reignited opposition by groups such as the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. To address their concern, the White House said it might have the Census director report to the White House rather than Commerce — a major shift.
http://benton.org/node/22268
Recommend this Headline
back to top
TOP STATE DEPT TELECOM OFFICIAL MOVES ON
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Winter Casey]
David Gross, the former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, is joining the communications practice of Wiley Rein in March. At the law firm, Gross will provide counseling on global telecommunications issues and assist US and foreign entities looking for international business opportunities. Gross believes the greatest challenges for US telecommunications and high-tech companies continue to be difficulties in dealing with governmental restrictions on doing business. Richard Beaird is currently serving in Gross's place at the State Department in an acting capacity.
http://benton.org/node/22267
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATION
ON TRANSPARENCY, ADVOCACY GROUP WAITS FOR OBAMA TO 'SHOW US THE DATA'
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
The new administration of President Barack Obama's has a limited window to fulfill its promise of transparency in government, Center for Democracy & Technology officials said Tuesday. CDT vice president Ari Schwartz praised the Obama White House for making open government - an issue on which the president made central to his campaign and his image - a theme "from day one." The administration seems to make "another open government announcement literally every day," Schwartz said. While transparency is a "keystone, signature issue" for the new administration, making good on its promises "is going to be an interesting challenge," said CDT president and CEO Leslie Harris. The toughest aspect of changing the culture of secrecy in Washington is "a bureaucracy created for closure - not openness," Harris said. The administration has let 30 days pass on its self-imposed 120 day deadline to for the GSA, OMB and a yet-to-be-named National Chief Technology Officer to create a national directive on open government, Schwartz said. And with the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and in launching the Recovery.gov web site, the Obama administration will face an early test.
http://benton.org/node/22272
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WH GLITCH LEAVES SOME PRESS IN DARK
[SOURCE: Politico.com, AUTHOR: Josh Gerstein]
So, here's how it goes: you plan a big event and speech and you release a copy of the speech and details of your new plan before you hit the stage. But a glitch at the White House Wednesday had some reporters getting their information nearly a hour before others. That may not seem like much of a delay, but to wire service reporters, whose stories can move markets, being even a few minutes behind the competition can be excruciating. Some writers were forced to work from faxed releases from the Treasury Department while they awaited the official version from the White House. White House aides told reporters a glitch regarding the e-mail lists led to the highly selective release.
http://benton.org/node/22271
Recommend this Headline
back to top
THE WHITE HOUSE'S MISSING DOCUMENTS
[SOURCE: Politico.com, AUTHOR: Josh Gerstein]
In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor's system for reviewing regulations, realigned and expanded two key White House policymaking bodies and extended economic sanctions against parties to the conflict in the African nation of Cote D'Ivoire. Despite the intense scrutiny a president gets just after the inauguration, Obama managed to take all these actions with nary a mention from the White House press corps. The moves escaped notice because they were never announced by the White House Press Office and were never placed on the White House web site. Most of the documents were posted to the White House web site Tuesday night, after Politico inquired about their absence. "It was a simple oversight," a spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said.
http://benton.org/node/22270
Obama Revokes Bush Executive Orders Concerning Regulatory Planning And Review
http://www.benton.org/node/22218
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OPEN GOVERNMENT RHETORIC VERSUS REALITY
[SOURCE: DC Examiner, AUTHOR: J.H. Snider]
[Commentary] Are Congress and President Barack Obama playing out this eternal logic? When the Democrats took power in 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to create "the most honest and open Congress in American history." When Obama won in 2008, he promised "to usher in a new era of open government." Yes, some progress has been made. But vividly illustrating the current discrepancy between promise and practice is the recent digital TV bill signed into law by the president on February 11. The bill was passed as an emergency measure ostensibly to prevent any households from losing access to over-the-air TV on February 17. The open government transgressions included: First, neither the House Commerce Committee nor the Senate Commerce Committee had a hearing, markup, or vote on the bill. Second, the House committee canceled two announced markups, the first less than an hour before it was scheduled. The announced reason for the cancellation made no sense, as it was based on information that was five days old. Third, by avoiding a committee vote, Congressional leaders could ask for a floor vote on the bill without the otherwise required Congressional Budget Office estimate of its cost to the private sector. Fourth, the Senate and first House vote on the bill took place without publicly releasing a copy of the bill. Fifth, the bill was introduced on the House Floor under a closed rule, allowing no amendments.
http://benton.org/node/22269
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WHITE HOUSE PROVIDES PORTAL FOR MULTIMEDIA REVOLUTION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
Four weeks after coming to power on the back of what was widely dubbed the first Internet election campaign, Barack Obama is establishing himself as the first truly multimedia president. The president's use of the full span of media - from network news to webcasts - has echoes of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fireside chats" in the radio age and the mastery of television shown by John F. Kennedy. While such use of new media devices has been highlighted, analysts and advertising executives have also been struck by the president's use of "old" media tools such as prime-time television. "He has revitalized the bully pulpit," said Harris Diamond, of Interpublic's constituency management group. "He is the first president who's using all the tools of communication." One medium seems to have eluded the president, however. Talk radio remained "the preserve of the right," Diamond said. Cracking that may be more challenging.
http://benton.org/node/22309
Recommend this Headline
back to top
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FACEBOOK WITHDRAWS CHANGES IN DATA USE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Alan Cowell]
After a wave of protests from its users, the Facebook social networking site said Wednesday that it would withdraw changes to its so-called terms of service concerning the data supplied by the tens of millions of people who use it. The about-face was made known to many users in a message posted on the Facebook home page saying : "Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised." The posting invited users to click on a link to get more details.
http://benton.org/node/22274
Recommend this Headline
back to top
HOLLYWOOD STRUGGLES TO FIND WEALTH ON THE WEB
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alex Dobuzinskis]
After more than a decade of hype about the Internet being the next great stage for mass entertainment, it remains dominated by amateurs with most Hollywood stars watching from the wings. Even as talent agencies like William Morris and television networks such as NBC push for more celebrities on websites and better quality programs, many actors and producers balk at Internet projects, saying they have meager revenue potential compared with TV and movies. The future of Web entertainment is front and center in fractious labor contract talks between the Screen Actors Guild and Hollywood's major studios that, after a nearly eight-month stalemate, begin again on Tuesday. Among major sticking points is a demand by SAG, the largest U.S. actors union representing some 120,000 actors, for payments when members' work goes online. But the studios argue they are making too little money on the Web now, and its future as an entertainment medium is uncertain. Still, they are pushing ahead because they see an audience of teens and young adults -- consumers of the future -- who are more often online than in front of the TV.
http://benton.org/node/22305
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BROADCASTING
WHAT'S NEXT FOR WHITE SPACE BROADBAND? SETTING UP DATABASES
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday gave the green light to the use of channels in the 700MHz band for fixed and portable unlicensed broadband, or "white space," devices (WSDs). The agency says that its rules will be effective on March 19. Although this decision was originally made in November 2008, it has just been published in the Federal Register. "Any step forward in this process is progress," Wireless Innovation Alliance spokesperson Jake Ward said. "It has always been our position that the Commission's process for testing, evaluation, and rulemaking is a necessary and worthwhile, and we are pleased that we have moved one step closer to a white space enabled world." But the circumspect quality of this comment is appropriate. As already noted, the Federal Register announcement says the decision doesn't apply until mid-March. But even then, not all of it. According to the Register document, the White House's Office of Management and Budget must still certify that various sections of the FCC's decision are in compliance with that law. What sections are those? The sections having to do with the TV bands database, the databases' administration fees, and the database administrator.
http://benton.org/node/22307
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OBAMA RESTATES OPPOSITION TO RETURN OF FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
President Barack Obama has reiterated his opposition to reimposing the Fairness Doctrine. That comes in the wake of various reports, commentary and speeches, including from Democrats, suggesting the doctrine, which required broadcasters to seek out the other side of controversial subjects, could be revived in an Obama administration. Also, the Federal Communications Commission has joined a spokesperson for the House Energy & Commerce Committee in flatly denying that any FCC staffers met with staffers of House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) last week about reviving the fairness doctrine or something like it.
http://benton.org/node/22273
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CABLE
AS EARNINGS DROP 32%, COMCAST RAISES DIVIDEND
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The Comcast Corporation, the nation's largest cable TV provider, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 32 percent, hampered by a $600 million write-down of its investment in the Clearwire Corporation, the wireless technology provider. Excluding items like the Clearwire charge, Comcast earned 27 cents a share, up 7 cents a share from the same quarter last year. Comcast's revenue and adjusted earnings beat Wall Street estimates, however, helped by growth in Comcast's video segment. Comcast also raised its annual dividend by 2 cents a share, to 27 cents. Comcast's video revenue rose 3 percent to $4.74 billion. The company lost 233,000 basic subscribers in the quarter but gained 247,000 digital customers, who pay more for service. Its average revenue per video customer rose 9 percent, to $113.80 a month, helped by customers adding to their cable channel lineup, even in the recession. Revenue from broadband Internet services rose 9 percent, to $1.86 billion. Comcast added 184,000 Internet subscribers during the quarter, down 46 percent from the 341,000 it added in the year-ago quarter. The company ended the period with 14.9 million broadband customers. Revenue from Comcast's digital phone segment rose 45 percent, to $731 million. However, the company's addition of 344,000 digital phone customers was down 44 percent from the amount added in the fourth quarter of 2007. For the year, Comcast earned $2.55 billion.
http://benton.org/node/22264
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FCC EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR CABLE OPS TO APPEAL MARTIN ERA FINES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission extended the deadline for cable operators to pay or appeal fines for failing to provide sufficient information to the commission in its investigation of the migration of channels from analog to digital, changing rates without sufficient notice, and more. The new deadline is now march 20. The initial FCC investigations were in response to complaints from Consumers Union and others that operators were migrating channels from analog to digital without lowering the price of the analog tier and in some cases raising it. Cable operators have been trying to get their customers to move to digital to free up bandwidth for advanced services, including migrating channels.
http://benton.org/node/22263
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CABLE OPERATORS SAY FCC'S NEW DATA-COLLECTION FORM ON COMPETITION IS UNNECESSARY, BURDENSOME
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Cable operators have told the Federal Communications Commission that its proposed new data-collection form on cable competition would be an un-necessarily burdensome route to the same destination, which is that cable has not reached the so-called 70/70 threshold that could trigger new government regulation of the industry. In a filing with the FCC Tuesday, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said that "No survey is necessary to prove that a variety of competitors have substantially eroded and continue to erode - the share of the video distribution marketplace that traditional cable operators serve." The FCC came to that same basic conclusion in January, releasing a long-overdue report that concluded that while cable does pass more than 70% of households-a fact cable readily concedes-it had not met the second part of that test, which is that 70% of those households subscribe to cable. The figure is something below 60%, said NCTA.
http://benton.org/node/22262
Recommend this Headline
back to top
QUICKLY
SPACE JAM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Clay Moltz]
[Commentary] Space is dangerous because there are precious few international agreements governing national actions in space. No rules of the road forced Russia to de-orbit its long-defunct Cosmos 2251 spacecraft, which would have prevented its collision last week with Iridium's communications satellite. Yet this event probably left at least 2,000 pieces of hazardous debris in orbit around the earth; all of this debris will have to be tracked and avoided by other spacecraft for decades. Instead of continuing to cling to the theory of "freedom of action" in space, all space-faring countries would be well advised to sit down and talk about mutual restraint and coordination. The alternative is unacceptable: we will lose our ability to operate in some of the most useful regions of orbital space, particularly those closest to the earth (60 to 1,000 miles up).
http://benton.org/node/22306
Recommend this Headline
back to top
TELECOM EXPERTS AND STATE REGULATORS PONDER FCC REFORM AGENDA
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
The day after the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners approved a resolution calling for reform of the Federal Communications Commission, a panel of former agency staffers, commissioners and state regulators debated Wednesday over what areas truly needed reform and how to achieve it.
http://benton.org/node/22304
Recommend this Headline
back to top
ASIA'S SHOPPERS GO ONLINE AS INTERNET BARRIERS FALL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Dhara Ranasinghe, Lee Chyen Yee]
Consumers in Asia are taking to Internet shopping like never before as the region becomes one of the world's fastest growing e-commerce markets. Internet retailing is increasingly making its presence felt in Asia because telecommunications infrastructure has improved, and payment modes, a major obstacle to online shopping, are now more secure. As more people in Asian countries such as China and India get hooked up to the Internet, online sales are expected to rise by an average of 20 percent a year. In some markets, such as Japan, they are expected to increase by as much as 40 percent annually.
http://benton.org/node/22266
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SHOWBIZ EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK TROUBLING
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Carl DiOrio]
Entertainment employment in the Los Angeles area will be flat in 2009 and post a modest uptick next year, but the long-term outlook remains worrisome. In a report to be circulated Wednesday, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., a private research organization, says the local motion picture and sound-recording industries will add about 1,000 jobs this year, while broadcasters and cable companies will cut 1,000 positions. In 2010, the local entertainment sector will add about 2,000 jobs, bringing film employment to 128,000 and TV employment to 19,000, the LAEDC estimates. But runaway film production -- in which producers base projects outside Southern California to take advantage of lower costs or financial incentives -- and small-staff reality TV programing remain threatening trends, according to LAEDC economist Jack Kyser.
http://benton.org/node/22265
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SIX WAYS TO MAKE WEB 2.O WORK
[SOURCE: McKinsey Quarterly, AUTHOR: Michael Chui, Andy Miller, Roger Roberts]
Technologies known collectively as Web 2.0 have spread widely among consumers over the past five years. Social-networking Web sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, now attract more than 100 million visitors a month. As the popularity of Web 2.0 has grown, companies have noted the intense consumer engagement and creativity surrounding these technologies. Many organizations, keen to harness Web 2.0 internally, are experimenting with the tools or deploying them on a trial basis. Over the past two years, McKinsey has studied more than 50 early adopters to garner insights into successful efforts to use Web 2.0 as a way of unlocking participation. The six critical factors that determine the outcome of efforts to implement these technologies: 1) The transformation to a bottom-up culture needs help from the top. 2) The best uses come from users—but they require help to scale. 3) What's in the workflow is what gets used. 4) Appeal to the participants' egos and needs—not just their wallets. 5) The right solution comes from the right participants. 6) Balance the top-down and self-management of risk.
http://benton.org/node/22260
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SIRIUS FACES NEXT CHALLENGE IN MAY
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: ]
Despite this week's help from Liberty Media, Sirius XM still has an overall debt load of $2.3 billion still to worry about. The company has an additional $350 million due in May. Creditors say they would move to fire CEO Mel Karmazin if Sirius entered bankruptcy
http://benton.org/node/22259
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FREEDOM 2 CONNECT: A MUST-ATTEND EVENT MARCH 30TH IN DC
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] One of Daily's favorite telecom-related events is Freedom 2 Connect. It dubs itself as "a meeting of people engaged with Internet connectivity and all that it enables" and that really only scratches the surface. While a smaller affair attendance-wise, it has an amazing concentration of big brains across a wide spectrum of expertises, from network guys, to community leaders, to public interest groups, to creative professionals, to financial types, and everything in between. In fact Daily argues that its percentage of total attendees relative to quality attendees is second to none.
http://benton.org/node/22258
Recommend this Headline
Freedom to Connect
http://www.benton.org/node/21619
back to top