Op-Ed

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission estimated in 2017 that to deploy high-speed broadband to 98 percent of American homes, it would cost $40 billion. For 100 percent, the cost doubles. Which is why greater broadband infrastructure funding — both public and private — is urgently needed in remote areas, where the cost of connectivity infrastructure remains extreme.

[Commentary] Is President Donald Trump losing his war on the media? There’s the conservative information bubble. President Trump wants his people to retreat further inside of it, so they’ll never hear a discouraging word about him and his greatness. So how is that working out for him? Is it keeping his approval ratings from being the lowest of any president in history at this point in his term? Does it enable him to win arguments over things like whether he referred to “shithole” countries?

[Commentary] An intensified search for philanthropy by the UK-based Guardian Media Group has touched off an experiment that could provide a new revenue source for American newspapers. A newly created U.S. nonprofit, theguardian.org, has already raised $2.4 million in foundation gifts and pledges, and has sent some of that money to the Guardian news operations to finance five journalism initiatives. The Guardian differs from most American newspapers in that it is owned by a trust that returns all profits to the news organization.

[Commentary] The past month has made it quite clear that Fox News plays an outsized role in President Donald Trump’s information diet. Compared to 2017, the president has built in more unstructured time to watch television in 2018. And President Trump, like most Republicans, watches and trusts Fox News far more than any other outlet. Just as President Trump has paid more attention to Fox News, the channel has lavished more favorable attention on the president.  Just as the CNN effect is subject to debate, it is worth pointing out the limits of any Fox News effect.

[Commentary] All across the US, rural communities’ residents are being left out of modern society and the 21st century economy. I’ve traveled to Kansas, Maine, Texas and other states studying internet access and use – and I hear all the time from people with a crucial need still unmet. Rural Americans want faster, cheaper internet like their city-dwelling compatriots have, letting them work remotely and use online services, to access shopping, news, information and government data.

[Commentary] President Ronald Reagan recognized that as leader of the free world, his words carried enormous weight, and he used them to inspire the unprecedented spread of democracy around the world. President Donald Trump does not seem to understand that his rhetoric and actions reverberate in the same way. He has threatened to continue his attempt to discredit the free press by bestowing “fake news awards” upon reporters and news outlets whose coverage he disagrees with.

[Commentary] While the repeal of network neutrality threatens democracy, by putting free expression at the discretion of a few large companies that can slow down or block what you see or read, the Federal Communications Commission order added a little-noticed but much more direct attack on our ability to make democratic choices about internet access: The agency invoked its power to preempt state laws to block states from setting their own rules about net neutrality. Legislators and governors in several large states are exploring whether there are ways to get around that preemption, and expe

[Commentary] Recently, President Donald Trump delivered an unexpected outburst about changing the nation’s libel laws. He said, "Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace, and do not represent American values or American fairness. So we’re going to take a strong look at that. We want fairness. You can’t say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account … I think what the American people want to see is fairness." 

[Commentary] The local news business is in serious trouble. So what can be done? As someone who once ran news coverage for both a major group and a major cable news network this is what I would do:

Imagine a metropolitan area in which every single home and business was connected to a municipal fiber-optic network and the internet was a public utility as accessible as electricity or water. That's exactly what San Francisco (CA) has pledged to do, making it the first major city in America to commit to such a project. Ten Forbes Technology Council members shared their thoughts on whether the city's massive tech undertaking will sink or swim, and what roadblocks they might encounter along the way.