BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2011
The CPB Board of Directors are in St Louis and FCC Chairman Genachowski has an announcement to kick-off the week. http://benton.org/calendar/2011-11-07/
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC, FEMA Want Help Publicizing EAS Test
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CIA Analysts Comb Social Media For Trouble Spots
Police GPS tracking case to be heard by Supreme Court
White House defends We the People petition responses
FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Sen Kerry urges colleagues not to scrap network neutrality rules
FCC's goal: An open and vibrant Internet - editorial
Sec. Clinton: No contradiction between Web freedom and IP rights
How the Telecom Lobby is Killing Municipal Broadband - analysis
Wait a Minute. Does Google Really Want to Be a Cable Guy? - analysis
Mall giant sues Indiana to tax Amazon sales
The Internet as Enlightenment 2.0
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
House discusses mobile telemarketing bill
Group Charges AT&T Ad Promoting Merger is Deceptive
AT&T delays expected close for T-Mobile takeover
FCC Grows Inpatient with C Spire
The Sprint Standing Skirmish: AT&T Loses Some Ground, DoJ Gets Road Map Forward. - analysis
AT&T, Rural Wireless Carriers Fight it Out at FCC Over Roaming
US Cellular: We turned down iPhone [links to web]
Sprint raising debt, may fund ailing Clearwire [links to web]
Verizon API To Give Apps 'Turbo' Bandwidth Boost [links to web]
ComScore: Android Powers 45% of U.S. Smartphones [links to web]
TELEVISION
Group Charges AT&T Ad Promoting Merger is Deceptive
PTC Blasts Networks Over Indecency [links to web]
‘NewsHour’ Changes Raise Questions at PBS
OWNERSHIP
Eric Schmidt: Google Does Not Dominate Search, Mobile
Apple spends lavishly on all stages of the manufacturing process, giving it a huge operations advantage
PRIVACY
Reps Barton and Markey Generally OK with Verizon's Targeted Ad Consent/Disclosure
CONTENT
Why Amazon lending worries me - analysis
New Questions, Concerns About Kindle’s Lending Library -- What About Authors? - analysis [links to web]
What happens to ownership as the world goes digital? - analysis [links to web]
Here’s the secret to Amazon’s, B&N’s tablet strategy - analysis
Social Media Fuels Digital Scene in Vermont [links to web]
Google mulls divorcing Chamber of Commerce
Disney and YouTube Make a Video Deal
Sirius’s Move to Bypass a Royalty Payment Clearinghouse Causes an Uproar
EDUCATION
Silicon Valley Wows Educators, and Woos Them
FCC REFORM
Rosenworcel and Pai Are Not Dead – Remaking the FCC Again - analysis
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Tech Firms Log On to San Francisco's Mayoral Race
Elections Will Turn on Which Candidates Use Social Sharing Most Effectively - op-ed [links to web]
NEWS FROM ABROAD
EU Commission probes Samsung, Apple over patents [links to web]
Pushing China’s Limits on Web, if Not on Paper
MORE ONLINE
Is Google helping journalists, or co-opting them? - analysis [links to web]
Ford to Send an Upgrade for Digital Dash Controls [links to web]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
EAS TEST
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
With the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System less than one week away, the leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sent an open letter to all stakeholders, including governors, federal legislators, broadcasters, news networks and other organizations, asking for their continued help in educating their respective communities about the test. Although the EAS is decades old and often tested and used at the local level, it has never before been tested on a nationwide scale. This first test will occur at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The test will occur simultaneously across the U.S. and its territories and will last approximately 30 seconds, after which regular programming will resume. The test will look and sound very similar to the local tests of the Emergency Alert System that occur frequently.
benton.org/node/104663 | TVNewsCheck
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CIA COMBS SOCIAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
In an anonymous industrial park, Central Intelligence Agency analysts who jokingly call themselves the "ninja librarians" are mining the mass of information people publish about themselves overseas, tracking everything from common public opinion to revolutions. The group's effort gives the White House a daily snapshot of the world built from tweets, newspaper articles and Facebook updates. The agency's Open Source Center sometimes looks at 5 million tweets a day. The analysts are also checking out TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms — anything overseas that people can access and contribute to openly. From Arabic to Mandarin, from an angry tweet to a thoughtful blog, the analysts gather the information, often in a native tongue. They cross-reference it with a local newspaper or a clandestinely intercepted phone conversation. From there, they build a picture sought by the highest levels at the White House.
benton.org/node/104674 | Associated Press
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GPS CASE TO SUPREME COURT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: James Vicini]
The Supreme Court for the first time will hear arguments on Nov 8 on whether police need a warrant to track a suspect's vehicle with a GPS device, another clash between new surveillance technology and basic privacy rights. It is the latest case involving constitutional privacy rights protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures of evidence, and police use of data from new technologies such as beepers, cellphones and computers. The Obama Administration defended the use of global positioning system (GPS) devices -- without a warrant and without a person's knowledge or consent -- as a legal way to monitor a vehicle on public streets and to fight crime. Civil liberties groups said GPS dramatically expanded the police's ability to track vehicles and expressed concern that large amounts of detailed personal data can be collected and stored about a person's movements.
benton.org/node/104673 | Reuters
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WH DEFENDS WE THE PEOPLE RESPONSES
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Joseph Marks]
The White House took umbrage with comments and blog posts claiming it hasn't taken its responses to petitions posted on its new We the People website seriously. "Every petition that reaches the threshold is put through a review process that begins with the policy experts who deal in the appropriate area," White House Digital Strategy Director Macon Phillips wrote in a blog post. "There has been some frustration with the answers from those who disagree with Administration policy, and that's fair," Phillips wrote. But "while people may not agree with a position, it's crucial to understand its rationale . . . If these petitions are fostering a debate that might not otherwise take place about the issues Americans care about, that's a positive thing." We the People is averaging about 20,000 new users and 31,000 new signatures each day, Phillips said.
benton.org/node/104652 | nextgov
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
KERRY PUSHES COLLEAGUES TO PRESERVE NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) wrote to his Senate colleagues, urging them to oppose a resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules. The House passed a resolution to repeal the rules in April, and the Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), is expected to come up for a vote next week. The FCC's network neutrality rules prevent Internet service providers from slowing down or speeding up access to websites. Wireless carriers are banned from blocking lawful websites or applications that compete with their services. Sen Kerry argued that if the resolution passes, it "will stifle innovation and discourage investment in the next Google or Amazon." He also said it would endanger other health and environmental regulations. "It will set the precedent that this Congress is prepared to deny independent regulators their ability to execute the law," he wrote. "That would put at risk health rules, environmental protections, worker rights and every other public protection that our agencies enforce that some in Congress do not like." Sen Kerry told his colleagues the network neutrality order has "brought certainty and predictability to the broadband economy and insures that anyone can create a website and deliver a service with the certainty that it will be made available to everyone else on the Internet." He argued that the rules do not regulate the Internet but rather regulate "the behavior of firms owning and operating the gateways to the Internet."
benton.org/node/104672 | Hill, The
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SUPPORT FOR FCC’S NET NEUTRALITY RULES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The fight over the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules is often billed as a battle over whether to regulate the Internet. In reality, it's more of a debate over how to preserve the Web's defining features. Opponents say the rules, which are slated to take effect Nov. 20, will stifle the investment and innovation that have characterized the Internet since its inception. Proponents say the opposite, arguing that the rules deter service providers from turning the innovative, vibrant online world into a cable-TV-like service dominated by powerful commercial interests. Because there have been only a few instances of ISPs improperly interfering with data, the commission's critics say the neutrality rules needlessly target a nonexistent problem. But a court ruling last year made it clear that without formal rules, the commission cannot stop ISPs from even egregious acts of favoritism and interference. As bandwidth-hogging video sites and services proliferate online, broadband providers will have a growing financial incentive to make sites pay more to reach their customers. And with most consumers having few options for broadband, there's not enough competition to hold ISPs in check. Those options will expand if Congress ever manages to provide spectrum for new wireless broadband services. Until then, however, the commission's rules would do more to preserve innovation and openness on the Internet than would a resolution that ties its hands.
benton.org/node/104683 | Los Angeles Times
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WEB FREEDOM AND PROTECTING IP RIGHTS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
There is no incongruity between enforcing intellectual property rights online and protecting freedom of expression on the Web, according to a letter from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA). "The State Department is strongly committed to advancing both Internet freedom and the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights on the Internet. Indeed the two priorities are consistent," Sec Clinton wrote Oct. 25. "There is no contradiction between intellectual property rights protection and enforcement of expression on the Internet," Sec Clinton said. Since taking office, she has been an outspoken critic of nations that censor the Web to suppress dissent, most notably with regard to the Arab Spring uprisings. Rep Berman wrote to Clinton in September asking her to affirm that U.S. foreign policy favors both Internet freedom and protecting copyright holders from digital piracy.
benton.org/node/104671 | Hill, The | B&C
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TELECOM LOBBY VS MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Emily Badger]
The city of Longmont (CO) built its own 17-mile, million dollar fiber-optic loop in the mid-1990s. The infrastructure was paid for by the local city-owned electric utility, though it offered promise for bringing broadband to local businesses, government offices and residents, too. For years, though, the network has been sitting largely unused. In 2005, Colorado passed a state law preventing local governments from essentially building and operating their own telecommunications infrastructure. Behind the law was, not surprisingly, the telecom lobby, which has approached the threat of municipal broadband all across the country with deep suspicion and even deeper pockets. Companies like Comcast understandably want to protect their corner on the market from competition with city-run non-profits. What’s less understandable is the route their interests have taken: Residents and state legislators from Colorado to North Carolina have been voting away the rights of cities to build their own broadband, with their own money, for the benefit of their own communities. This battle has largely pitted well-organized corporations against people who aren’t quite sure what they’re voting on. Such measures have now passed in 19 states. And in 2009, when Longmont put a referendum to the people asking to lift the state restrictions and return the city’s authority over its existing fiber loop, 56 percent of them said "no."
benton.org/node/104648 | Atlantic, The
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DOES GOOGLE WANT TO BE A CABLE GUY?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Kafka]
Before you envision the rollout of a nationwide Google pay TV service, consider: Building out and maintaining a cable TV (and broadband) service is enormously time-consuming, expensive and messy. So why does Larry Page think it makes sense for him? He doesn’t, according to Sanford Bernstein analysts Craig Moffett and Carlos Kirjner. Instead, they argue, Page and Google have to be thinking about Kansas City as an R&D experiment meant to accomplish three things:
First, it helps Google (slightly) on the public policy front as it promotes the agenda of faster broadband, and it potentially adds to their status in promoting net neutrality. Faster broadband means more Internet usage, more searches, and more ads. Of course, the real regulatory game is a few orders of magnitude more sophisticated, but every little arrow in the quiver helps.
Second, it is a laboratory for Google to learn about technology and consumer behavior, ranging from the impact of higher speed access on Internet usage to the potential and economics of different ad formats and models, on different platforms, particularly when it comes to advertising associated with video and TV.
Third, it is an opportunity for Google to learn about the economics of deploying and running infrastructure. And learn they will…
Analysts like to pull their punches, but Moffett and Kirjner are crystal clear here: There’s no way they think Google becomes the “world’s biggest cable company” or anything like that.
benton.org/node/104669 | Wall Street Journal
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MALL GIANT AND AMAZON
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Ken Kusmer]
Shopping mall giant Simon Property Group sued the Indiana Department of Revenue on to try to force it to collect taxes from Amazon for all sales made in the state.
The nation's biggest mall operator, whose Indianapolis headquarters are across the street from the Statehouse, said it was not seeking monetary damages in the lawsuit filed in Marion County courts. "This action is being filed to benefit all of Indiana's taxpayers and the state's bricks-and-mortar retailers," Simon said. Simon, which operates 27 Indiana shopping centers, said it requested the Revenue Department begin collecting sales taxes on sales made by Amazon.com within the state's borders as required by state law. Amazon operates three distribution warehouses in Indiana and announced in July it plans to open a fourth in the state. "Amazon.com is required by Indiana law to collect and remit sales and use taxes to the state, for sales made over the Internet, but has consistently refused to do so even though it is required by current Indiana laws ..." Simon said. "Main Street retailers are being harmed by this unequal playing field in Indiana and their existence is being jeopardized and threatens the employment of hundreds of thousands of retail employees in our state." The state levies a 7 percent sales tax on most goods, giving online retailers a sizable advantage.
benton.org/node/104666 | Associated Press
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INTERNET AS ENLIGHTENMENT
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Joseph Marks]
The Internet is proof that John Locke was right and Thomas Hobbes was wrong, says Bertrand de La Chapelle, program director of the International Diplomatic Academy in Paris and a board member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The Internet's relatively ungoverned space hasn't given way to a nasty and brutish "war of all against all" as the dour political philosopher Hobbes might have guessed. Rather, for the most part, it has brought together naturally social humans who have policed themselves and each other through a complex mesh of experience raters, Facebook group administrators and volunteer editors, he said. "The reality is that when you give them the tools, people are a pretty cooperative bunch," de La Chapelle said. "Things like Wikipedia, even the rules of dispute resolution on eBay and Tweeting recommendations show the incredible natural tendency of people to get along much better than you'd expect." Based on the available evidence, De la Chapelle said, he's willing to make the "bold bet" that Internet governance -- or the lack of it -- can and will remain largely an ad hoc process in which nations, corporations, civil society groups and ordinary citizens all have their say.
benton.org/node/104653 | nextgov
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
MOBILE INFORMATION CALL ACT HEARING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
The House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology discussed updating a bill prohibiting mobile telemarketing to allow businesses to make robo-calls to mobile phones in certain cases. In his opening statement at the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) said that the bill needed to evolve with current technology. Under the current law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), businesses are not allowed to use automatic dialing equipment and prerecorded messages for calls to wireless phones. Chairman Walden argued that the law is too prohibitive. The Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011 would define whether the law prohibits consumers from receiving important automated calls, offering the example of low-balance or fraud alerts from financial institutions. Still, it’s not clear if the bill would be able to distinguish between helpful alerts and other telemarketing calls. Lawmakers in the hearing were particularly concerned with what constituted “prior express consent” to receive the calls. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), who was influential in passing the TCPA, asked if businesses would be able to reach consumers who had, at some point, given their mobile numbers to companies such as pizza-delivery services. Consumer groups have said they opposed the measure.
benton.org/node/104668 | Washington Post | The Hill
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AT&T’S MERGER AD
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
Opening up a new front in the fight to stop AT&T's $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile, public interest law firm Media Access Project is going after AT&T's TV ad promoting the merger. In a letter to WUSA, Gannett's CBS affiliate, one of the Washington (DC) stations airing the ad, MAP charges the ad is deceptive and misleading, and therefore, the station has a public interest obligation to make sure the ad is accurate or pull it from the airwaves. AT&T’s TV ad claiming that it's proposed merger with T-Mobile will create 96,000 jobs and invest $8 billion, pushes all the right buttons in a strained economy. It's also hard to miss, airing frequently across all the major network affiliates and on cable news. Since MAP can't appeal to the Federal Trade Commission (AT&T isn't selling a product), it referred to the Federal Communications Commission's public interest programming rule from 1960 that states: "With respect to advertising material, the licensee has the additional responsibility to take all reasonable measures to eliminate any false, misleading or deceptive matter...." In a letter to WUSA general manager Alan Horlick, MAP argues that AT&T's jobs and investment claims are unsupported by the Economic Policy Institute study on which the claim relies, and that the math behind the $8 billion investment claim doesn't add up. At the very least, MAP wants WUSA to ask AT&T "to explain." Sending a letter to a TV station, may not accomplish much, said Scott Flick, a partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. "It's a long shot at best. I would be surprised if stations would stop airing it for the issues raised. This issue doesn't seem very clean cut and it would be a very awkward position for a station to take."
benton.org/node/104682 | AdWeek
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AT&T DELAYS EXPECTED CLOSE OF T-MOBILE DEAL
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Nathan Olivarez-Giles]
AT&T has delayed into the middle of next year the expected closing of its bid to take over T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. AT&T had originally planned to get regulatory approval and close the deal by about March 2012. AT&T said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to have everything completed "in the first half of 2012."
benton.org/node/104667 | Los Angeles Times
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FCC WANTS C SPIRE INFO
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Rick Kaplan]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has sent a letter to C Spire (formerly Cellular South) requesting (again) information pertinent to the FCC’s review of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. Since June 6, 2011, C Spire has refused to share information requested by the FCC for various reasons. In this letter, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Rick Kaplan again rejects C Spire’s objections and requires a reply within 10 days.
benton.org/node/104659 | Federal Communications Commission
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SPRINT AND AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
Any tactician knows that battles can be won or lost by defining the battlefield. Skirmishes like the fight over whether Sprint and C Spire (formerly Cell South) can go ahead with their private lawsuits against AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile help define the terrain for the bigger fights to come. By ruling on what constitutes a recognizable injury under the antitrust rules and making preliminary determinations about the nature of the market, the Order sets the boundaries of what arguments DoJ can make and what it will need to do to prove its case. Where AT&T manages to have certain market definitions locked in and certain potential injuries excluded as not cognizable under antitrust in these early rounds, it gains an advantage. By contrast, where the court rejects AT&T’s efforts to limit the scope of the review by adopting different market definitions or recognizing certain injuries as addressed by the antitrust law, DoJ gains an advantage.
benton.org/node/104650 | Public Knowledge
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AT&T AND RURAL CARRIERS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
AT&T and the Rural Telecommunications Group are trading accusations against each other related to roaming charges. Both organizations sent letters to the Federal Communications Commission outlining their positions.
The RTG is arguing that AT&T has taken “anticompetitive actions” against RTG’s members that are “contrary to the public interest” by preventing its customers from roaming onto rural carrier networks, even when the customers thereby end up without service in those areas.
AT&T argues that RTG’s claims are “baseless.” The carrier says it is just trying to save money and that it is not required to support “home-on-home roaming,” which refers to a situation in which Carrier A’s customers are able to roam on Carrier B’s network in an area where Carrier A (in this case, AT&T) has its own facilities.
benton.org/node/104649 | telecompetitor
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TELEVISION
NEWSHOUR
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Jensen]
It’s never good when a news organization loses its political editor just a year before a presidential election. But in the next two weeks, “The PBS NewsHour” will say goodbye not only to its political editor, David Chalian — he is becoming the Washington bureau chief for Yahoo News — but also its managing editor for digital news, Maureen Hoch, who is headed to the World Bank. They said separately that they were leaving for new professional challenges. But the departures, announced last week, come on top of other changes at the show’s parent, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, where in recent months both the president and the head of fund-raising and marketing left for other jobs. In addition, the show’s main corporate underwriter, Chevron, will bow out at the end of the year, leaving a hole of just over $2 million in the $27 million annual budget. A long-planned effort to raise money from wealthy supporters, which was to start last month, has been delayed until the new president of the production company starts in January. Even Jim Lehrer’s continuing role on the air with the show that he and Robert MacNeil began in 1975 has become a question.
benton.org/node/104680 | New York Times
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OWNERSHIP
GOOGLE RESPONDS TO CONGRESS
[SOURCE: PCMagazine, AUTHOR: Chloe Albanesius]
After hearing testimony from Google Chairman Eric Schmidt in September, several senators had additional questions for the company. The Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee released Schmidt's responses to those queries. Here’s some highlights:
Google Is Not Dominant in Search: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) asked Schmidt to explain why Google should not be characterized as a monopoly since it is "overwhelmingly dominant" and has only one rival. Schmidt said he disagrees that Google is dominant and said instead that the company has worked "very, very hard' and been blessed with some good luck. Stats released by the likes of comScore and Hitwise give Google about 65 percent of the search market, but that doesn't tell the whole story, he said. "I am confident that Google competes vigorously with a broad range of companies that go well beyond just Microsoft's Bing and Yahoo, and that Google has none of the characteristics that I associate with market power."
Mobile? Also Not Dominant: "Google does not have a dominant position in the smartphone market. According to comScore, Android operates on only 34.1 percent while Apple's iOS runs on 43.1 percent. Moreover, competition in the market for mobile software platforms is fierce," Schmidt said.
No Favoritism Here: Does Google give preference to its own services in search results? Schmidt argues that that's not really even possible. "The question of whether we 'favor' our 'products and services' is based on an inaccurate premise," Schmidt wrote. "These universal search results are our search service—they are not some separate 'Google content' that can be 'favored.'"
benton.org/node/104647 | PCMagazine | B&C
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APPLE’S OPERATIONS EDGE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Adam Satariano, Peter Burrows]
Apple’s massive competitive advantage is operations. This is the world of manufacturing, procurement, and logistics in which the new chief executive officer, Tim Cook, excelled, earning him the trust of Steve Jobs. Apple has built a closed ecosystem where it exerts control over nearly every piece of the supply chain, from design to retail store. Because of its volume -- and its occasional ruthlessness -- Apple gets big discounts on parts, manufacturing capacity, and air freight. “Operations expertise is as big an asset for Apple as product innovation or marketing,” says Mike Fawkes, the former supply-chain chief at Hewlett-Packard and now a venture capitalist with VantagePoint Capital Partners. “They’ve taken operational excellence to a level never seen before.” This operational edge is what enables Apple to handle massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories. It’s allowed a company often criticized for high prices to sell its iPad at a price that very few rivals can beat, while still earning a 25 percent margin on the device, according to the estimates of Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. And if the latest rumors are to be believed, Apple’s operational expertise is likely part of what gives the company enough confidence to enter the notoriously cutthroat television market by 2013 with a TV set that would tightly integrate with existing Apple software like iTunes. The widespread skepticism over Apple’s ability to compete in such a price-sensitive market, where margins are often in the single digits, is “exactly what people said when Apple got into cell phones,” says Munster.
benton.org/node/104661 | Bloomberg
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PRIVACY
REACTION TO VERIZON CONSENT/DISCLOSURE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) appear generally satisfied with how Verizon handled consent for and disclosure of consumer's online information for a new targeted advertising program, but said they still wished it were an opt in, rather than an opt-out regime. Verizon pointed out in the letters that they do not disclose individually identifying information. The company also argued that it took steps to notify customers individually, publicly disclose details of the program, and provided a "clear and easy way" for consumers to opt out. Reps Markey and Barton, co-chairs of the bipartisan privacy caucus, said the company "followed the law and exceeded common industry practices in this area." But they suggested that either the law or industry practice needed tweaking.
benton.org/node/104657 | Broadcasting&Cable | MediaPost
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CONTENT
AMAZON LENDING
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: JP Mangalindan]
[Commentary] The Kindle Owners Lending Library will let Kindle and Kindle Fire owners who are also Amazon Prime subscribers check out a book from a limited selection of 5,000 titles, far shy of the one million-plus available in the Kindle Store. There are a few other catches right now, too. Users can take out a book for however long they like, but they'll only be able to check out one title at a time, and then only one title a month. I've waited for a big digital book lending push like this, but it also got me thinking about what the program signifies. Like Netflix Instant, Spotify, and Amazon's own movie streaming service before it, we're seeing Internet companies inch towards an "all-you-can-eat" business model where users pay a flat fee for digital content. The benefits for consumers are obvious. Netflix Instant and Spotify subscribers are exposed to more content this way than if they paid for media a la carte. Why pay $1 a song on Apple's iTunes when you can pay $10 a month to listen to as many songs as you want? For users, there's a drawback that isn't nearly as obvious yet, largely because it's still early days. By subscribing to one of these services, they're relinquishing ownership over the content they consume. In Amazon's case, you pay a flat fee for Amazon Prime, but you don't actually own the digital books you are lent. It's renting versus owning in its most basic form. In one scenario, that money is going towards something that's yours. In the other, you're paying for temporary use of a good, service or property. Depending on how much media you consume, "renting" may actually be more cost-effective than "owning" in the short-term. In the long run however, your money arguably gets you less of a return.
benton.org/node/104645 | Fortune
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THE E-READER/TABLET STRATEGY
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Tofel]
It’s too bad other tablet-makers aren’t taking a cue from Barnes & Noble as well as from Amazon and its Kindle Fire tablet: Simplicity and reasonable prices, not specs, will win the tablet wars. Both Amazon’s and Barnes & Noble’s tablets share this idea of simplicity and relatively low cost, with each priced far below the typical $499 entry point for a larger tablet. But neither is meant to handle some of the heavier computer-like tasks of their bigger brethren. While some people have used an iPad or Android tablet to replace some — or in a few extreme cases, all — of the functions of a laptop, neither the Fire nor the Nook are computer replacements. And that allows both companies to focus on providing a great experience for the functions that consumers most want: reading digital media, browsing the web, consuming video content, checking email and running a handful of popular applications found in curated application stores.
benton.org/node/104655 | GigaOm
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GOOGLE AND THE CHAMBER
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Google is considering ditching the U.S. Chamber of Commerce out of frustration with its support for legislation that would force Internet companies to police websites that peddle pirated movies and fake Viagra. The rumblings of a defection — a potentially serious blow to one of Washington’s most powerful lobbies — come weeks after Yahoo left the Chamber in October, largely over its support of Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) online piracy bill, the PROTECT IP Act. Sources say is “frustrated” about paying dues to an organization promoting legislation that would “impose new liabilities” on Google. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce fired back at claims that Hollywood is leading the fight for legislation against so-called rogue sites. The anti-IP crowd is “tripping all over themselves trying to pretend (and convince others) that legislation against rogue sites is just for the benefit of Hollywood,” Steve Tepp, chief intellectual property counsel for the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center, wrote. Tepp argued that anti-piracy legislation enjoys backing from plenty of companies outside of Hollywood. He notes that large businesses— such as Caterpillar, Nike and Major League Baseball — as well as smaller companies want Congress to crack down on sites that peddle counterfeit software, fake pharmaceutical drugs, entertainment content and other American-produced goods.
benton.org/node/104651 | Politico | Politico – Chamber response
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DISNEY-YOUTUBE DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes]
Two powerful media companies, the Walt Disney Company and YouTube, are betting that a new partnership will help them surmount separate but equally worrisome hurdles as they each strive for greater Web dominance. The deal, set to be announced on Monday, is small on its surface: Disney Interactive Media and YouTube, a division of Google, will spend a combined $10 million to $15 million on original video series; those shorts will be produced by Disney and distributed on a co-branded channel on Disney.com and YouTube. The channel will also include amateur video culled from the torrent uploaded to YouTube daily. But the alliance is striking because of what it tacitly acknowledges about each company’s weaknesses. Disney, currently working on yet another overhaul of its Web site, is conceding that its own brand is not a powerful enough draw among children looking for video online; YouTube is viewed as being cooler. YouTube hopes to gain something from the Disney brand as well, namely credibility among parents, many of whom aren’t thrilled at setting their younger children loose on a site where the videos can be ragged and provocative and the comments even more so. The company wants to compete with cable television for ad dollars by adding more professional videos.
benton.org/node/104681 | New York Times
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SIRIUS AND MUSIC ROYALTIES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ben Sisario]
The flow of royalty payments, counted in pennies and nickels, may be the least glamorous part of the music industry. But because those royalties are the foundation of almost everyone’s paycheck, any change to the system can be controversial. Sirius XM Radio set off a flurry of complaints from trade groups and labor unions late last month. It was trying to bypass the standard method of paying for digital streams — through a royalty clearinghouse called SoundExchange — and negotiate directly with record labels. Sirius’s move was only the latest example of a gradual shift in the financial infrastructure of music. Many companies, from major labels to providers of background music, have been trying to reduce costs and gain control by circumventing the large organizations that have historically processed licenses and royalties. Such direct deals are perfectly legal. But opponents of the move by Sirius say that it could result in less money and more complications for artists. Mel Karmazin, the chief executive of Sirius, says that direct agreements with labels offer more flexibility than is available through the basic compulsory licenses processed by SoundExchange.
benton.org/node/104679 | New York Times
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EDUCATION
TECH AND EDUCATION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
The demand for technology in classrooms has given rise to a slick and fast-growing sales force. Makers of computers and other gear vigorously court educators as they vie for billions of dollars in school financing. Sometimes inviting criticism of their zealous marketing, they pitch via e-mail, make cold calls, arrange luncheons and hold community meetings. But Apple in particular woos the education market with a state-of-the art sales operation that educators say is unique, and that, public-interest watchdogs say, raises some concerns. Along with more traditional methods, Apple invites educators from around the country to “executive briefings,” which participants describe as equal parts conversation, seminar and backstage pass. Such events might seem unremarkable in the business world, where closing a deal can involve thinly veiled junkets, golf outings and lavish dinners. But the courtship of public school officials entrusted with tax dollars is a more sensitive matter. Some critics say the trips could cast doubt on the impartiality of the officials’ buying decisions, which shape the way millions of students learn.
benton.org/node/104670 | New York Times
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FCC REFORM
REMAKING THE FCC AGAIN
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
For some time, there have been efforts afoot to make changes at the Federal Communications Commission to restore the public’s confidence that it will meet its legal obligation to promote the “public interest, convenience and necessity.” The FCC normally has five commissioner, but currently only has four and could have as few as three after Congress goes into recess at the end of the year. So one might think this is a wonderful time to consider reform.
http://benton.org/node/104631
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MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Tech Firms Log On to San Francisco's Mayoral Race
SAN FRANCISCO MAYORAL RACE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Vauhini Vara]
In San Francisco, 16 candidates for mayor will battle in one of the most competitive contests in years. And to influence the race's outcome, Silicon Valley technology players are getting involved in the election to an unprecedented degree. In the past several weeks, founders of San Francisco-based Salesforce.com Inc., Twitter Inc., Zynga Inc. and Yelp Inc., along with several investors in those companies, have contributed thousands of dollars to try to keep interim mayor Ed Lee in office. They support Lee's policies that have shaved millions of dollars from some Web companies' tax liabilities in an effort to ensure they remain based in the city. One high-profile result of their effort is an online video that appeared last month and that has since gone viral. It features San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson and musician and Bay Area native MC Hammer singing to the latter's 1990s hit "2 Legit 2 Quit," with new lyrics that endorse Mayor Lee. The video, which also features cameos from other celebrities and Silicon Valley executives, was funded by an independent-expenditure committee made up of tech figures including start-up financier Ron Conway and entrepreneur Sean Parker of Napster and Facebook Inc. fame. Mayor Lee, a low-key bureaucrat who became interim mayor in January after predecessor Gavin Newsom was elected California's lieutenant governor, is attracting star-studded tech support because of two tax moves this year aimed at keeping tech companies in San Francisco. In April, Mayor Lee backed a payroll-tax break that benefited social-media firm Twitter. And in May, he helped pass a stock-option-tax break that helped game-maker Zynga.
benton.org/node/104678 | Wall Street Journal | see the video
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NEWS FROM ABROAD
MURONG XUECUN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wong]
Murong Xuecun (moo-rong shweh-tswen) is the pen name of Hao Qun. At 37, he is among the most famous of a wave of Chinese writers who have become publishing sensations in the past decade because of their canny use of the Internet. His books are racy and violent and nihilistic, with tales of businessmen and officials engaging in bribe-taking, brawling, drinking, gambling and cavorting with prostitutes in China’s booming cities. He is a laureate of corruption, and his friends have introduced him at dinner parties as a writer of pornography. That his books are published at all in China shows how the industry, once carefully controlled by the state, has become more market-driven. Murong’s prose inevitably runs up against censorship, which the Chinese Communist Party is intent on maintaining despite the publishing industry’s gradual changes. Murong says he is a “word criminal” in the eyes of the state, and a “coward” in his own eyes for engaging in self-censorship. His growing frustrations have pushed him to become one of the most vocal critics of censorship in China.
benton.org/node/104675 | New York Times
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