Digital Beat

A Gift to the Nation

Charles Benton — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:07:37 -0800

We have just a few days left in 2008, but there's still time for the Federal Communications Commission to give us a gift and correct a great error made on Election Day. There's overwhelming consensus that we should be moving to universal, affordable broadband. Here's how the FCC could set us on that course.

Your Turn: Call for Broadband Action

Charles Benton — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:57:17 -0800

Now it is your turn. Will you ask President-elect Obama to get started on a National Broadband Strategy?

Another DTV Opportunity Missed by the FCC

Charles Benton — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:03:45 -0800

Last Friday, with about just two months left until the digital television (DTV) transition is completed, Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin a letter asking him to confine his last FCC actions to smoothing the DTV transition and matters that "require action under the law." In response, Chairman Martin canceled the FCC's scheduled monthly meeting on December 18. That's a bad idea and another lost opportunity for digital television.

A Broadband Action Plan for America

Charles Benton — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:08:37 -0800

In the Digital Age, universal, affordable, and robust broadband is the key to our nation's citizens reaching for - and achieving - the American Dream.

Putting the Public Interest Back Into Communications Part II: Broadband for Everyone, Everywhere

Charles Benton — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:26:25 -0700

An invitation to speak at the annual conference of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, has Charles Benton thinking about defining our communications goals for the next Administration.

Putting the Public Interest Back Into Communications Part I: The Civil Rights Imperative

Charles Benton — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:11:00 -0700

On September 18, Charles Benton was invited to speak at the annual conference of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Benton was asked to appear on a panel titled "The Future of Communications: What is Coming in a New Administration and Beyond?" In these uncertain times, however, maybe it is too much for anyone or any one panel, to predict what our telecommunications future will look like. We can - and we should - however, take this moment to define our communications goals.

Children Now: The stakes are too high to sell children's needs short

Benton Foundation — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:04:35 -0700

September 23, 2008 Children Now's Patti Miller testified before the US Senate on food marketing to children. She said that because there is no uniform nutrition standard; because unhealthy products creatively labeled as "better for you" are being passed off as healthy food for children; and because the media companies refuse to play a role in protecting children from the advertising of unhealthy food products, current voluntary industry initiatives to curb unhealthy food marketing to kids are not enough.

Why Broadband Matters

Charles Benton — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:05:06 -0700

The Senate Commerce Committee meets September 16 to hear testimony on the consumer benefits of broadband service. The question of the day is Why Broadband Matters? Charles benton could offer a long list of reasons why broadband matters, but the list of reasons is too long to enumerate here because it is over 305 million names long. Broadband matters for every American.

"This" Is Our Digital Future?

Charles Benton — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:22:04 -0700

Chicago has a rich media history, having been the center of the emerging broadcast industry in the early 1920's, home to the first radio station to broadcast the World Series, the "Chicago School of Television," and the city that pioneered the daytime-talk show format. Chicago has been an innovator and provider of high-quality content when new capacity demands new content. The question now is: As broadcast television migrates toward digital technology is Chicago media situated to be an innovative leader again? Unfortunately, the answer is "no." As the capacity of television broadcasters multiples with the migration to digital technology, far from acting as a model in creating new content and services, Chicago broadcasters are failing the community, mostly looking to the past for quick and cheap "solutions."

Saving Red Lion

Charles Benton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:39:46 -0700

I was troubled to read over the weekend that the major broadcast television networks have filed briefs at the Supreme Court challenging Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission, one of the seminal cases in the history of US broadcasting and a decision that strikes the correct balance of rights between broadcasters and citizens.