BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2010
Interested in the National broadband Plan? We're tracking implementation http://bit.ly/d7ccNU
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC questions inclusion of wireless in redefinition of broadband
Republican House members protest FCC broadband proposal in force
They don't speak for all minorities on Network Neutrality
Broadband Mapping Extension, Funds for Additional Broadband Efforts
Be Wary Of FCC Spectrum Invite
Cities should stay out of broadband
PRIVACY
Conyers Looking For Answers on Privacy
Broadband Has Turned Our Homes Into Glass Houses
FTC Extends Enforcement Deadline for Identity Theft Red Flags Rule
Compromise offer by Google on data
Yahoo to turn subscribers' e-mail contact lists into social networking base
NEWS FROM THE HILL
House Approves COMPETES Act
House Backs Tax Increase for Venture Capital
House cybersecurity overhaul included in Defense authorization bill
CONTENT
Facebook is the most popular website in the world, Google says
Pakistan Court Orders Facebook Ban to Be Lifted
Internet democracy at stake in Google/Viacom lawsuit?
TELEVISION
Political ads are tough sell for image-conscious corporations
Advertisers like new fall TV schedule
FCC ups the ante for children's TV commercial overages
Apple TV to fight Google
TV makers think outside the box
OWNERSHIP
Google Seals AdMob Deal to Sell Mobile Ads on Android Smartphones
Tribune fails again to get Bankruptcy Court OK to begin plan vote
WIRELESS
The Pending Obsolescence of Handset Penetration Rates
Regional Projects Could be Models for National Public-Safety Information Sharing
JOURNALISM
FTC Circles Wagons Around Newspapers
MORE ONLINE
June 12 Deadline for Wireless Microphones
Under Obama, Agencies Step Up Rule-Making
Health IT panel gets an earful on plan
Reform for the Next Census
Google ditches Windows on security concerns
911 program could ease ER problems
INTERNET/BROADBAND
RECLASSIFYING WIRELESS BROADBAND, TOO?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
When the Federal Communications Commission begins its push for clearer authority over broadband services, one area of the fast-growing industry may not be included: wireless. Free Press, a public interest group, raised concerns that mobile broadband services may not be included, saying consumers need protection from the FCC as more people access the Web on their mobile phones. "All of the reasons that consumers need protection in the wired broadband market apply equally to wireless," said Derek Turner, policy director at Free Press. "We are concerned that the FCC's own policy goals for broadband cannot be realized if wireless broadband is left by the wayside." The chairman's staff, when announcing a proposal for reclassification, said they are still exploring if, how and to what extent wireless services should be included in broadband.
benton.org/node/36456 | Washington Post
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GOP OPPOSES FCC PLANS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Nearly every Republican member of the House signed a letter to the Federal Communications Commission protesting a plan to redefine broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service. The FCC plans to start reviewing that plan at its June 17 meeting. The letter sent to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on May 28, urged the agency to instead to leave it up to Congress to deal with the agency's quagmire over its authority to regulate broadband service providers. "The FCC concluded on a number of occasions, under both Democrat- and Republican-led commissions, that broadband is not a telecommunications service but an information service outside the reach of the Title II common carrier rules," the lawmakers wrote. Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member of the commerce committee, and Cliff Stearns (R-FL), ranking member of the communications subcommittee, were the lead signatures on the letter. "We write to encourage you not to proceed down your announced path to reclassify broadband service as a phone service," they wrote. "Such a significant interpretive change to the Communications Act should be made by Congress." Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said, "In signing these letters, the members of Congress from both parties are signaling they would rather be captives of industry than see our country try to regain its leadership, protect consumers and defend the vitality and health of the 'innovation without permission' culture that produced today's Internet."
benton.org/node/36455 | Washington Post | read the letter | Public Knowledge | The Hill
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NET NEUTRALITY AND MINORITIES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] In the Network Neutrality debate, several leading civil rights organizations have come down heavily against net neutrality, as have some members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Do not assume that they speak for all people of color or for all low-income individuals in urban or rural areas. I do not belittle or demonize those champions of many noble battles past and yet to come. However, I vigorously disagree with their position on this particular issue, and adamantly reject the assumption that it's in minority constituents' best interests for Congress to oppose net neutrality. As a minority business owner who also specializes in broadband strategy, and has spent years assessing the efforts of people working directly with those abandoned across the digital divide, I have a valid perspective. Organizations that have lined up against net neutrality are entitled to their opinions. But as with most other communities in America, there are those of us within minority communities who stand firmly on the side of rules that ensure everyone has equal access and equal voice on the Information highway.
benton.org/node/36454 | Hill, The
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NTIA EXTENDS BROADBAND MAPPING
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that state governments and other existing awardees in its State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program may seek funding for various initiatives to help their communities compete in the digital economy and for up to three additional years of broadband mapping work. Launched in 2009, NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). One of the primary purposes of the grant program is to assist states in gathering data on the availability, speed, and location of broadband services. The data they compile and display will also be used to create the comprehensive, interactive national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to produce and make publicly available by February 17, 2011. The map, which NTIA plans to update every six months, will assist consumers with better information on the broadband services available to them and inform policymakers' efforts to increase broadband availability nationwide. To be fiscally prudent, NTIA originally funded state data collection efforts for a two-year period, allowing the agency to assess initial state activities before awarding funding for the remainder of this five-year initiative. With the program well underway, states (or their designees) can now apply for funding under the existing program rules for three additional years of mapping and data collection work. Of significance, states may also seek funding for other activities that support BDIA's goals, including state broadband task forces or advisory boards, technical assistance programs, local or regional technology planning efforts, and programs to promote increased computer ownership and Internet usage. The Recovery Act provided up to $350 million for implementation of the BDIA and to develop and maintain a broadband inventory map. All 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia (or their designated entities) are eligible for funding through NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program to support these goals. NTIA has thus far awarded more than $100 million in grants to 54 of the 56 eligible entities to carry out the first two years of broadband data collection and mapping efforts, and for broadband planning activities. NTIA is directly informing the eligible entities that they may submit amended and supplemental applications until July 1, 2010 for additional broadband improvement and mapping activities.
benton.org/node/36453 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration | B&C
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BE WARY OF FCC SPECTRUM INVITE
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission is inviting broadcasters and others to FCC headquarters in Washington on June 25 for a daylong Broadcast Engineering Forum to discuss a proposal to take back a large swatch of TV spectrum and its implications for broadcasters. This could be a great opportunity. If the broadcasters can get some of their best engineering talent into the room, they can explain their technical objections to the proposal, slow down or perhaps derail FCC's drive to get at their spectrum. That's the hope of David Donovan, president of the Association of Maximum Service Television, who has been a vocal opponent to spectrum tampering. "We can lay out the engineering on a factual and rational basis," he says. "Some of the assumptions [of the task force] are not technically correct." I'm guessing that the broadband task force has no solid idea how it would repack the band to free up six channels at the top of the band. If it did, it would have already released its repacking analysis as it promised in the National Broadband Plan. Instead of showing the FCC the way, broadcasters must use the forum to make the case for preserving broadcasting for what it has always been — free, universal and over the air. Their task ultimately is to convince three commissioners to oppose Chairman Julius Genachowski, preferably this fall when he tries to launch a spectrum-reallocation rulemaking. Remember, broadcasters, if you don't have much spectrum, you don't have much future.
benton.org/node/36452 | TVNewsCheck
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CITIES SHOULD STAY OUT OF BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Jacksonville Daily News, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Cities shouldn't be getting into the Internet and cable-TV business. A proposal being pushed in the state Senate to require municipalities to get voter approval if they borrow money to pay for broadband infrastructure doesn't seem like an unreasonable demand. Cities shouldn't be in the business of competing with private industry. There are a number of options available for people who want to purchase high-speed Internet service. Providers offer broadband through cable connections, DSL, wireless cards that plug into our computers, and satellite connections. They vary in quality, cost, speed and dependability. Not all neighborhoods have the same options. Predictably, rural and less-densely populated areas may have fewer options than central city business districts and urban neighborhoods. Private providers, such as cable companies or telephone companies, provide broadband service to a significant portion of North Carolina's population, but they don't reach into every neighborhood or go down every road in the state. For cities to get deeper into the business of providing broadband connections, they have to take risks that the private providers have decided not to take, either because they haven't had time to extend the service or because they don't see enough profit to warrant the infrastructure investment. Cities take a big risk if they must borrow money to pay to run fiber-optic cable lines. If cities decide to take those risks, the people of those cities, who will eventually pay the bills, should at least be asked whether or not such risk is worth it. An effort to require a referendum for such borrowing is a wise one, and we hope his colleagues in the General Assembly see that wisdom.
benton.org/node/36451 | Jacksonville Daily News
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PRIVACY
CONYERS LOOKING FOR PRIVACY ANSWERS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:]
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) has sent letters to Google and Facebook expressing concern about whether the two companies are doing enough to protect users' privacy. Chairman Conyers said he wants Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to explain his company's privacy practices and he wants Google CEO Eric Schmidt to retain the records related to the Wi-Fi data collection and to cooperate with state and federal agencies. The House Judiciary Committee is considering hearings and legislation. "Companies such as Facebook and Google provide innovative services that enrich and expand the constantly evolving Internet," Chairman Conyers said. "I want to ensure that privacy concerns are as paramount as creativity to these and all Internet companies, and I look forward to hearing about ways they can ensure this is the case."
benton.org/node/36450 | Los Angeles Times
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BROADBAND HAS TURNED HOMES INTO GLASS HOUSES
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
We're adding broadband connections to our televisions, our phones, our reading devices and our game consoles these days, to the point that we expect such connections in almost everything we own. But while connectivity is awesome 90 percent of the time, it's also scary because it can turn what were once private habits such as reading a book or answering email into something social — in some cases, without us knowing. It also allows advertisers to better track our activities and to offer up personalized ads. Thanks to more gadgets with a web connection, we all live in glass houses where friends, neighbors, advertisers and potentially the government can see what we're up to. What's worse is that the records of our daily activities aren't a transitory blip; they're kept for months on end and can be searched, resold or shared.
benton.org/node/36449 | GigaOm
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FCC EXTENDS RED FLAG RULE
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
At the request of several Members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission is further delaying enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule through December 31, 2010, while Congress considers legislation that would affect the scope of entities covered by the Rule. The announcement and the release of an Enforcement Policy Statement do not affect other federal agencies' enforcement of the original November 1, 2008 deadline for institutions subject to their oversight to be in compliance. "Congress needs to fix the unintended consequences of the legislation establishing the Red Flags Rule and to fix this problem quickly. We appreciate the efforts of Congressmen Barney Frank and John Adler for getting a clarifying measure passed in the House, and hope action in the Senate will be swift," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. "As an agency we're charged with enforcing the law, and endless extensions delay enforcement." The Rule was developed under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the FTC and other agencies to develop regulations requiring "creditors" and "financial institutions" to address the risk of identity theft. The resulting Red Flags Rule requires all such entities that have "covered accounts" to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to help identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, or specific activities known as "red flags" that could indicate identity theft.
benton.org/node/36440 | Federal Trade Commission
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GOOGLE WI-FI DATA COMPROMISE?
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Maija Palmer]
Google will this week offer a compromise with European data protection authorities, which are demanding that the Internet company hand over data it intercepted from private WiFi connections. The search company is facing a dilemma over the handling of the data, which it intercepted while taking photographs for its Street View service. Data protection authorities in Germany, France and Spain have asked Google to hand over the hard drives containing the "payload" data - which could contain anything from e-mails to website addresses being visited by individuals - for an investigation. However, other data protection authorities and privacy campaigners, such as the US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, fear that handing over the hard drives would harm privacy further. Google said its external lawyers had advised the company not to hand over the data. Google is expected to propose a compromise solution this week, but did not outline what this would be.
benton.org/node/36462 | Financial Times
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YAHOO MAKING E-MAIL SOCIAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Yahoo plans to announce Tuesday that it is jumping into social networking by using its massive population of e-mail subscribers as a base for sharing information on the Web. Over the next few weeks, its 280 million e-mail users will be able to exchange comments, pictures and news articles with others in their address books. The program won't expose a user's contact list to the public, as was done by Google through its social networking application, Buzz. But unless a user proactively opts out of the program, those Yahoo e-mail subscribers will automatically be part of a sweeping rollout of features that will incorporate the kinds of sharing done on sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The plan could spark criticism from Yahoo e-mail users, who signed up for the free service perhaps never imagining the people they e-mailed would become friends for sharing vacation videos, political causes and random thoughts throughout the day.
benton.org/node/36460 | Washington Post
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NEWS FROM THE HILL
HOUSE PASSES COMPETES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The House approved -- by a 262 to 150 vote -- the COMPETES Reauthorization Act to provide $85.6 billion over five years for science research and education. Although the measure had the support of major industry lobbies, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, it failed twice in May.
benton.org/node/36448 | Hill, The
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HOUSE BACKS VENTURE CAPITAL TAX INCREASE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would raise the taxes that venture capitalists and other investment managers pay on carried interest — their share of the profits from a successful start-up investment. The Senate will vote on the bill after the Memorial Day recess. The bill, which is called the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, would extend unemployment benefits and lending and tax relief for small businesses. But venture capitalists are upset about the provision that would raise taxes on their carried interest. A typical venture capital firm collects carried interest of 20 percent of the profits when a start-up company goes public or is acquired. Today, that is taxed at the capital gains rate of 15 percent. But the bill would require that 75 percent of investors' carried interest be taxed as ordinary income. Opponents of the change in taxation say that the capital gains tax rate rewards taking big, long-term risks on young companies. Proponents of the change say that because venture capitalists mostly invest other people's money, they do not need to be rewarded for taking investment risks.
benton.org/node/36447 | New York Times
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CYBERSECURITY IN DEFENSE BILL
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Jill Aitoro]
An amendment to the Defense authorization bill, expected to pass in the House on Friday, would push through committee efforts to update information security requirements for agencies and establish a separate cybersecurity office in the White House. The fiscal 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, which moved to the House floor on Thursday, includes an amendment that would speed passage of existing measures from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to overhaul federal cybersecurity. "It was appropriate to attach this amendment to the Defense authorization bill because properly securing our cyber infrastructure is a national security issue," said Joy Fox, spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), who offered the amendment with Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA). The amendment would mandate agency use of automated monitoring to assess cyber threats. It would involve a major overhaul of the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act, which often is criticized for forcing IT staffs to spend too much time and too many resources reporting about compliance with certain security procedures. Agencies also would be expected to incorporate security requirements into contracts from the start. Other provisions in the amendment would establish a National Office of Cyberspace in the White House with budget authority over cybersecurity spending and governmentwide coordinating responsibilities, and codify posts of the federal cybersecurity coordinator, held by Howard Schmidt, and chief technology officer, who is Aneesh Chopra.
benton.org/node/36446 | nextgov
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CONTENT
FACEBOOK IS TOP INTERNET DESTINATION
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Don Reisinger]
More people visited Facebook than any other website, Google announced this week after releasing its findings on the top 1,000 sites in the world. Google ranked the sites based on unique visitors. Facebook welcomed 540 million unique visitors to its site in April, helping it reach a whopping 35% of all Web users. The company served 570 billion page views during the month, easily besting every other site on the Web. Google, which didn't include its own page views in the study, said Yahoo was the second-most-visited site in April. It captured 490 million unique visitors and served over 70 billion page views. In third place, Microsoft's Live.com domain welcomed 370 million unique visitors and served 39 billion page views. Wikipedia came in fourth with 310 million unique visitors and 7.9 billion page views. China-based search engine Baidu captured the eighth spot with 230 million unique visitors and 27 billion page views.
benton.org/node/36445 | Los Angeles Times
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PAKISTAN COURT LIFTS FACEBOOK BAN
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Khurrum Anis]
A Pakistani court ordered the government to lift a ban on Facebook, the world's No. 1 social networking service, 12 days after it blocked access to the website, according to a lawyer. "Facebook assured the court no blasphemous material will be available to users in Pakistan," Chaudhry Zulfiqar, the lawyer who asked the court to block Facebook. The Lahore High Court ordered the ban on Facebook on May 20 and blocked Google Inc.'s YouTube video service a day later. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority also blocked 450 Web links for carrying objectionable material. The ban began after a Facebook user started a competition asking participants to draw sketches of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. Creating images of the Prophet is prohibited in Islam. Managers at Facebook had corresponded with U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Zulfiqar said, without providing details of the correspondence.
benton.org/node/36442 | Bloomberg
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GOOGLE VS VIACOM
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
eBay, Facebook, Yahoo, and Ask.com owner IAC/Interactive may compete with Google for users, views and ad clicks, but the four know which side their bread is buttered on when it comes to digital copyright law. That's why they've rushed to Google's side this week to defend their rival in a massive copyright infringement lawsuit launched by Viacom. Viacom's interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) "would slow development of the Internet by making the hosting of user generated content an activity fraught with legal peril," eBay et al warned the court hearing the case in an amici brief. "The threat of ruinous liability would mean that other companies and services might never get off the ground in the first place." And that, in turn, would "retard the development of the Internet and electronic commerce and inhibit the growth and development of user-centric online models that, day after day, make the Internet and the world more democratic."
benton.org/node/36439 | Ars Technica
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TELEVISION
CORPORATIONS AND POLITICAL ADS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Carol Leonnig]
All over the country, corporate CEOs and trade groups are asking their lawyers the same question: How can we get our companies involved in this political election season without leaving tracks? After a landmark Supreme Court ruling this year freed executives to spend unlimited corporate cash on campaigns, some predicted that businesses would flood television airwaves with pro-industry political ads -- but that just hasn't happened yet. Image-sensitive corporations are still trying to make sure that, if they jump into 2010 politicking, they do so as anonymously as possible, according to Republican political operatives and trade group leaders. Many corporate executives don't want to wade into partisan political campaigns. But other companies have told their advisers and GOP fundraisers that they are interested in helping finance ads to spotlight proposed regulations and lawmakers they don't like. These companies include firms on Wall Street and in the energy sector opposed to stricter regulations as well as fast-food franchise owners fearful of being forced to unionize their shops. They just don't want to be singled out -- or have their corporate logo attached.
benton.org/node/36465 | Washington Post
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ADVERTISERS LIKE TV SCHEDULE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James]
Advertisers in the coming days will make billion-dollar bets on the TV networks' new fall schedules — and this time around, they actually like the script. In recent years, with production costs soaring and profits falling, the broadcast networks scaled back prime-time comedies and dramas. To the dismay of advertisers hoping to place their products in a classier environment, the networks instead added cheaper reality shows and tried cost-saving gambits like shifting Jay Leno to prime time. But when the broadcast networks unveiled their new fall lineups to advertisers in New York recently, expensive scripted dramas and comedies were back in vogue. "There is more emphasis on scripted shows," said David Scardino, entertainment specialist at RPA, a Santa Monica advertising agency. "Networks are feeling a little more confident that there's money in the marketplace, and their schedules reflect that." Call it post-recession programming. Only three of the 38 new programs introduced by ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and the small CW network are unscripted, the industry term for contest and so-called reality shows. That signals a sharp retrenchment from last year, when the networks introduced eight unscripted shows, expanding the genre to fully one-third of prime-time programming, excluding football.
benton.org/node/36464 | Los Angeles Times
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KID VID FINES
[SOURCE: Radio Business Report, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission has ratcheted up the fines for broadcast television stations that violate limits on advertising during programming aimed at children. The FCC said that the base fine for this violation was $8K, but noted it had leeway in adjusting the fine upward or downward according to "the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice may require." It explained, "This represents an increase over the forfeiture assessed for comparable violations in previous renewal cycles. Given the numerous violations of the children's TV commercial limits in recent years, it appears that the forfeiture amounts assessed previously have not had a sufficient deterrent effect. Thus, where, as here, a case presents violations that are comparable to violations reported in an earlier renewal cycle, we are raising the forfeiture levels to strengthen the deterrent effect."
benton.org/node/36459 | Radio Business Report
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APPLE TV VS GOOGLE TV
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jessica Guynn, David Sarno]
One week after Google announced its bid for the hearts and eyes of America's TV viewers with Internet-based Google TV, its Silicon Valley rival is reportedly poised to overhaul its own offering, Apple TV. The stakes are high. Whoever wins could play a leading role in one of the great technological transformations of recent memory by piping limitless video and other content from the Internet and television to the small screen. Americans spend several hours a day in front of their televisions, creating what some analysts estimate to be a $150-billion advertising market. "A generation from now, people simply won't believe how limited the world of linear programming was, the same way people under 30 today can't relate to 12 channels and a knob," said Jim Lanzone, chief executive of Clicker.com, an Internet TV programming guide. Nearly 40% of consumers said they wanted to connect their computers to their televisions to watch online video, according to a recent survey by Frank N. Magid Associates. Yet Internet television has remained largely a pipe dream for the brightest, richest technology companies, including Microsoft.
benton.org/node/36444 | Los Angeles Times
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TV MAKERS THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Chris Nuttall]
With Google and Intel leading a charge by technology companies to change the face of television, the slow-moving industry is being forced into a radical rethink of its business model. That could mean that TV sets end up being given away, with a shift towards selling services instead. "You can't just put a TV out there with five to six services and think that will last seven to 11 years," said Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist with Rovi, the TV guide and digital content protection company. "We are going to have to look at other models like software, service and application updates, add-on sales and recurring revenues. It's an incredibly exciting opportunity compared to waiting for someone to replace a large television." The industry could even go the way of the mobile phone sector, with TVs being sold at subsidized prices to sell the subscription content services with which they come loaded. "We are witnessing the demise of television, new technologies are going to take over, television is being replaced by the entertainment display," said Ken Lowe, Vizio co-founder.
benton.org/node/36463 | Financial Times
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OWNERSHIP
GOOGLE CLOSES ADMOB DEAL
[SOURCE: eWeek.com, AUTHOR: Clint Boulton]
Google May 27 closed its purchase of mobile advertising network AdMob, setting up a battle with Apple for digital ads served in applications on smartphones. The search engine will commence integrating its AdSense for mobile programs with AdMob's mobile ad software. Google also gains the AdMob team, whose expertise made Apple come calling with an offer of $600 million before Google swooped in with a sweeter $750 million deal. Most attractive to Google is AdMob's leading position in in-application ads, those ads sitting in applications users purchase and download from stores such as Apple's iPhone App Store and Google's own Android Market. AdMob has created a number of ad units for iPhone and Android applications, including interactive video ad units and expandable rich media ads.
benton.org/node/36435 | eWeek.com
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TRIBUNE FAILS IN BANKRUPTCY COURT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
On May 28, Tribune Company failed for a second time to get court approval to begin polling creditors on its bankruptcy plan as lenders objected to the way the media company describes the reorganization. The owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times newspapers and radio and television stations has proposed turning over its operations to holders of $8.7 billion dollars in senior loans, leaving little for other creditors who hold more than $3.6 billion in claims. Bankrupt companies must have court approval of a disclosure statement that is sent to creditors and describes the plan of reorganization they vote on.
benton.org/node/36443 | Reuters
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WIRELESS
CELLPHONE PENETRATION
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Colin Gibbs]
With the U.S. mobile penetration rate nearing 100 percent, it's no surprise that we're seeing plenty of stories about how we're approaching (or already at) a saturation point. But I'm beginning to wonder exactly where that saturation point is -- and how much longer "handset penetration" matters at all as the mobile industry expands to a wide variety of gadgets that aren't phones. So instead of arguing about what kind of handset penetration rates we should expect to see in the U.S., we should be talking about the penetration rate of connected devices — and how much higher that will be than mere phone usage.
benton.org/node/36438 | GigaOm
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REGIONAL MODELS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Andy Opsahl]
Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have created amazing opportunities for law enforcement professionals at local, state and federal levels to collect, categorize, cross-reference and share data and intelligence in a way that often results in a wealth of actionable knowledge. To take advantage of the opportunities these tools create, criminal justice agencies have formed multijurisdictional and regional relationships designed to combine, cross-match and share data from a wide variety of sources. Here are a few examples.
benton.org/node/36437 | Government Technology
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JOURNALISM
FTC CIRCLES WAGON AROUND NEWSPAPERS
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Jeff Jarvis]
[Commentary] The Federal Trade Commission has been nosing around how to save journalism and in its just-posted "staff discussion draft" on "potential policy recommendations to support the reinvention of journalism," it makes its bias clear: The FTC defines journalism as what newspapers do and aligns itself with protecting the old power structure of media. If the FTC truly wanted to reinvent journalism, the agency would instead align itself with journalism's disruptors.
benton.org/node/36436 | Huffington Post, The | FTC draft | Alexander Howard
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