BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009
The FCC's Indian Telecommunications Initiatives Regional Workshop and Discussion kicks off a busy telecom week... see http://benton.org/calendar/2009-07-26--P1W
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Warrantless Surveillance: Lawful, Effective and Necessary
Federal Websites: Cookie Policy
E-government 2.0
Cybersecurity Panel Enters New Phase
White House eases stimulus lobbyist restrictions
POLICYMAKERS
Senate Confirms FCC Nominees
Antitrust Chief Hits Resistance in Crackdown
BROADCASTING
An Open Letter to the FCC's New Chairman: Save Broadcast TV Before it is Too Late
Conyers Requests Probe Of Arbitron
Government Exceeds Original Converter Box Coupon Funding Limit
FCC Engineers To Take Closer Look At DTV Problem Areas
Lawmakers Seek to Curb Drug Commercials
Health-Care Debate Is Tonic for Local TV
Talk Radio Rules Blue Dog States
Want a better spot on the dial in New York City? Open up your wallet.
'Nightline' Is Thriving in Late Night
BROADBAND/INTERNET
Ireland's largest ISP to start 'throttling' illegal downloaders
BIP/BTOP Frequently Asked Questions
MORE ONLINE
Media moguls rethink Web advertising in downturn
Lab Watches Web Surfers to See Which Ads Work
Start-Up Plans to Make Journalism Pirates Pay Up
Apple joins forces with record labels
Experts Debate Information, Privacy
Verizon's Overtures To Policy Makers Recognize New Era
Experts split on 'Kindle in Every Backpack'
Millions in Colorado phone subsidies doled out in error
The New Joblessness
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE: LAWFUL, EFFECTIVE AND NECESSARY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Hayden]
[Commentary] The recent report of inspectors general on the President's Surveillance Program operated by the National Security Agency has led some to make hasty and deeply flawed judgments about the value and legality of what was a critical part of protecting America from further attack after Sept. 11. The program was crucial in addressing one of the most stinging criticisms of the 9/11 commission — the need to reduce the gap between foreign intelligence and domestic security. This was an especially difficult task, which helps explain both the program's importance and its sensitivity. The program was lawful, effective and necessary. The reflexive judgments to the contrary seem hasty at best.
http://benton.org/node/26660
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FEDERAL WEBSITES: COOKIE POLICY
[SOURCE: Office of Science and Technology Policy, AUTHOR: Michael Fitzpatrick, Vivek Kundra]
During the Open Government Initiative outreach, Federal employees and the public have asked the Office of Science and Technology Policy questions about the federal government's policy on cookies. As part of efforts to create a more open and innovative government, the office is working on a new cookie policy and will want your input. The White House Office of Management and Budget is considering a three-tiered approach to the use of web tracking technologies on Federal Government websites: 1st - Single-session technologies, which track users over a single session and do not maintain tracking data over multiple sessions or visits; 2nd - Multi-session technologies for use in analytics, which track users over multiple sessions purely to gather data to analyze web traffic statistics; and 3rd - Multi-session technologies for use as persistent identifiers, which track users over multiple visits with the intent of remembering data, settings, or preferences unique to that visitor for purposes beyond what is needed for web analytics.
http://benton.org/node/26647
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E-GOVERNMENT 2.0
[SOURCE: McKinsey Quarterly, AUTHOR: Jason Baumgarten, Michael Chui]
Despite spending enormous amounts on Web-based initiatives, government agencies often fail to meet users' needs online. By employing new governance models, investing in Web capabilities, and embracing user participation, agencies can raise the effectiveness of their online presence.
http://benton.org/node/26646
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CYBERSECURITY PANEL ENTERS NEW PHASE
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
A blue ribbon panel of high-tech and security experts whose December report spurred a flurry of cybersecurity hearings and legislation is entering a new phase that its co-chairs hope will inform and influence the Obama administration. The Center for Strategic and International Studies' Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency has begun examining "foundational problems" that are key to fixing the nation's security vulnerabilities with the goal of releasing recommendations this year, Microsoft Vice President Scott Charney said.
http://benton.org/node/26643
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WHITE HOUSE EASES STIMULUS LOBBYIST RESTRICTIONS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Roxana Tiron]
In a significant change, the Obama administration will now allow lobbyists to meet and have telephonic discussions with government officials regarding economic recovery projects. The lifting of the ban comes after K Street has cried foul for months and has challenged the White House on its restrictions. The revised rules will allow government personnel to accept meetings and calls from federally registered lobbyists on the implementation of stimulus projects. The head of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, issued a new guidance late Friday regarding the administration's communications with registered lobbyists about economic recovery funds. Lobbyists can make their cases -- and agency officials can listen to them -- at "widely attended gatherings." Government officials have to ask whether the person they are talking to at such events is a federally registered lobbyist speaking on behalf of a client. Agency officials are required to promptly disclose on the Internet all oral and written communications with lobbyists concerning policy or projects funded under the recovery act. They also have to disclose any written communications with lobbyists regarding pending applications for competitive funding. The one caveat, however, is that lobbyists can talk to agency representatives only about logistical issues or general questions regarding stimulus grants. Agency officials have to document any discussion with a lobbyist that veers toward advocacy of stimulus policy or a particular project.
http://benton.org/node/26637
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POLICYMAKERS
SENATE CONFIRMS FCC NOMINEES
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
On Friday, the Senate confirmed the nominations of Mignon L. Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker to serve as members of the Federal Communications Commission. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller said, "I am incredibly pleased to see the President's nominees, Ms. Mignon L. Clyburn and Ms. Meredith Attwell Baker, confirmed by the United States Senate. As a seasoned state regulator, Ms. Clyburn brings with her a strong understanding of the telecommunications challenges rural Americans face everyday. With Ms. Baker, I look forward to an insider's perspective of someone who has toiled in the trenches at the NTIA. I challenge both of these devoted public servants to show us that the FCC can put consumers first. And I challenge both to show us that the American people can have access to first class communications, no matter who they are or where they live." The Senate also confirmed former-FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein to head the Rural Utilities Service at the Department of Agriculture.
http://benton.org/node/26651
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ANTITRUST CHIEF HITS RESISTANCE IN CRACKDOWN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
President Obama's top antitrust official and some senior Democratic lawmakers are preparing to rein in a host of major industries, including airline and railroad giants, moving so aggressively that they are finding some resistance from officials within the administration. The official, Christine A. Varney, the antitrust chief at the Justice Department, has begun examining complaints by the phone companies Verizon and AT&T that their rivals — major cable operators like Cablevision and Cox Communications — improperly prevent them from buying sports shows and other programs that the cable companies produce. Varney has also challenged agreements that the Federal Trade Commission and consumer groups say discourage pharmaceutical companies from marketing more generic drugs. And she is examining a settlement between Google and book publishers and authors to make more books available online. The more aggressive antitrust policy was described in interviews with officials at the White House, the Justice Department, other agencies and Congress. It is a major policy reversal from the Bush administration, which did not prosecute cases in which some dominant companies engaged in potentially anticompetitive behavior, often because those officials maintained such behavior was not harmful to consumers. Democrats have spent years trying to gain the support of businesses, and the policy changes under way may have long-term political implications for their party. Some companies would like to see more aggressive antitrust enforcement against their rivals, while others could be hurt by it.
http://benton.org/node/26649
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BROADCASTING
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FCC'S NEW CHAIRMAN
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Jessell writes Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski saying that the television station business is the victim of economic troubles, cutbacks in advertising and relentless and increasing competition for audience from cable and now the Internet. If nothing is done, he warns, broadcasting service will inevitably degrade and trigger a downward ratings spiral from which stations may not be able to recover. To insure that doesn't happen, FCC needs to immediately address the troubles of TV broadcasting and take steps to bolster the financial health of the industry. What's to be done? 1) Place a moratorium on the adoption of rules and regulations that would impose additional burdens on broadcasters. 2) Relax the local ownership rules. 3) Eliminate the newspaper-broadcast crossownership ban in all markets. 4) Eliminate the FCC policy prohibiting a security interest in FCC licenses. 5) Signal a willingness to grant waivers of the 25 percent limit on alien ownership of holding companies with stations. 6) Expand the must-carry obligations so that cable systems have to carry all a TV station's digital channels offered free to the public. 7) Recommend to Congress that it pass no law weakening the ability of TV stations to negotiate freely for retransmission consent fees. 8) Recommend to Congress that it amend the All-Channel Receiver Act to require that all cell phones sold in the US be equipped with a mobile DTV tuner. 9) Recommend to Congress that it amend the compulsory copyright license so that Web sites can stream local TV signals in their entirety on the condition that the signals cannot be received outside their local markets. 10) Reverse and clarify FCC indecency rules to relieve broadcasters of liability for so-called "fleeting expletives" and other incidental use of "indecent" language. 11) Open a notice of inquiry to examine whether TV stations operating in the VHF band will have sufficient power to provide effective mobile DTV service. 12) Announce promptly the FCC's interest to at least consider some or all of the above recommendation to reassure bankers and investors that the industry may soon get some regulatory relief.
http://benton.org/node/26659
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CONYERS REQUESTS PROBE OF ARBITRON
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and a number of colleagues on Friday asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Arbitron ratings company's use of so-called portable people meters and their impact on radio station revenue streams. Many minority-owned broadcasters have expressed concerns about the validity of data collected by the machines and National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters Executive Director James Winston complained about the devices at a hearing earlier this month. Chairman Conyers wants the report finished by April 2010. Other members signing on to the letter include: House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Edolphus Towns and ranking member Darrell Issa, R-Calif.; Rick Boucher, D-Calif., Hank Johnson, D-Ga., Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Pedro Pierluisi, D-P.I., and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
http://benton.org/node/26645
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GOVERNMENT EXCEEDS ORIGINAL CONVERTER BOX COUPON FUNDING LIMIT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The government has officially redeemed more coupons than it could have paid for with the original funds set aside for the DTV-to-analog converter box coupon program, though there will likely be some funds left over from the larger allocation. According to the most recent figures from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (as of July 22), the government has redeemed 33,578,000 of the $40 coupons that allow viewers to continue to receive a digital TV signal on an analog set. The original $1.34 billion in funding for the program would have covered 33.5 million of the $40 coupons. Democrats had long argued the program was underfunded.
http://benton.org/node/26642
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FCC ENGINEERS TO TAKE CLOSER LOOK AT DTV PROBLEM AREAS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission is likely to send out engineers to do "a more thorough examination" of continuing digital television reception issues in some top markets, including the top two. FCC engineers are likely to do more extensive testing in markets -- including New York and Chicago -- where there were reception issues, particularly with VHF stations.
http://benton.org/node/26641
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LAWMAKERS SEEK TO CURB DRUG COMMERCIALS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Natasha Singer]
In the 1980s, Nancy Reagan told Americans to "Just Say No" to recreational drugs. Now a handful of legislators are just saying no to TV commercials for prescription drugs. The politicians are taking aim at the 60-second spots that have made viewers familiar with maladies like male urinary urgency and deficient eyelashes. Rep James Moran (D-VA) is sponsoring a House bill that would ban ads for prescription sexual aids like Viagra and Levitra from prime-time television, on decency grounds. Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) has said he favors empowering the Food and Drug Administration to bar consumer advertisements for new drugs for an initial period after the FDA approves them — until there has been more real-world experience with the medications. Meanwhile, Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has introduced a bill called the Say No to Drug Ads Act. It would amend the federal tax code to prevent pharmaceutical companies from deducting the cost of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements as a business expense.
http://benton.org/node/26655
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HEALTH-CARE DEBATE IS TONIC FOR LOCAL TV
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Suzanne Vranica, Alicia Mundy]
Local television stations, suffering from steep declines in ad spending, are getting a much-needed shot in the arm from lobbying groups trying to sway the national debate over health care. Altogether, groups on various sides of the debate have spent an average of about $1 million a day in recent weeks, analysts say. Some ads from conservative groups say Democrats want to bring Canadian-style, government-run health care to the US. Supporters of health-care overhaul, meanwhile, have resurrected "Harry and Louise," the fictional couple whose on-screen fretting about government involvement in their medical decisions helped sink the Clinton administration's effort to revamp the health-care system. This time, the couple are singing a different tune, calling for legislation to guarantee coverage for Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.
http://benton.org/node/26654
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TALK RADIO RULES BLUE DOG STATES
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Sue Wilson]
[Commentary] Seven Blue Dog Democrat members of the House Commerce Committee are banding together, and if they don't get their way, they can gun down the health care bill. Drive across the seven states they represent: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Utah, turn on your car radio, and you'll know why public support for health care reform has waned. In the Blue Dog Seven states, just three stations broadcast any kind of progressive talk. Three progressive radio stations in seven entire states. But Sean Hannity "freely" prevaricates on dozens of radio stations; Rush Limbaugh deceives people on 98 in those seven states alone. 98 publicly owned frequencies where public debate comes second to selling ads for Snapple.
http://benton.org/node/26639
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WANT A BETTER SPOT ON THE DIAL IN NYC? OPEN UP YOUR WALLET
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
The price of real estate is rising in New York — at least on the TV dial. Time Warner Cable just rejiggered its lineup of channels in the Big Apple on its cable systems, and the cost of moving to a better neighborhood is pretty steep. According to people familiar with this dance, it is not unheard of for a cable network to pay Time Warner Cable as much as $5 million annually for what it considers to be a good channel position in New York City, which is the nation's No. 1 TV market and home to all the top advertising agencies. Although it may seem anachronistic in the age of digital video recorders and remote controls, channel position still matters. Being lower on the dial is better than being higher, and being adjacent to other similarly themed channels beats being banished to cable Siberia.
http://benton.org/node/26638
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'NIGHTLINE' IS THRIVING IN LATE NIGHT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
While most of the attention, starting in June, has focused on the fight between the new host of NBC's "Tonight Show," Conan O'Brien, and his CBS rival, David Letterman, ABC's venerable news program "Nightline" has managed mostly to fly under the radar — in an upward trajectory. Viewership for the news show is up 14 percent in the last six weeks compared with the same week a year ago, and, in the most recent two weeks, the program has frequently grabbed the most viewers of the three shows. "'Nightline' is a rare example of the broadcast networks' counterprogramming; it almost never happens outside of prime time," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president for research at Horizon Media.
http://benton.org/node/26658
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BROADBAND/INTERNET
IRELAND'S LARGEST ISP TO START 'THROTTLING' ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: John Hearne]
As record companies across the world continue to fight a largely losing battle to protect their copyrights, they are looking to a voluntary agreement with Eircom, Ireland's largest Internet service provider (ISP), as a possible new model. Next month, Eircom will be rolling out the trial phase of the strategy promised in the agreement, testing a new "three strikes and you're out" approach to first delay, and then deny, Internet service to people who use filesharing networks to illegally download music. First-time offenders will get a warning on their bill; a second offense will see service "throttled," which means that download speeds will be reduced to a snail's pace, and a third offense will cause disconnection.
http://benton.org/node/26652
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BIP/BTOP FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
[SOURCE: BroadbandUSA.gov, AUTHOR: ]
Thirteen pages of questions and answers on 1) applying for broadband stimulus funds, 2) infrastructure issues, 3) public computers centers and sustainable adoption, 4) eligibility and matching, 5) the review and award process and 6) award terms and conditions. Perfect for the beach!
http://benton.org/node/26650
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