The Federal Trade Commission today announced it will hold a series of workshops titled "Can News Media Survive the Internet Age? Competition, Consumer Protection, and First Amendment Perspectives." The first workshop will be held on September 15, 2009. The workshops will consider a wide range of issues, including possible business and non-profit models for news organizations, the role of targeted behavioral and other online advertising, whether additional, limited antitrust exemptions may be necessary under these unique circumstances, and the implications of online news for both copyright protection and the availability of broadband access. Witnesses will include journalists and other representatives of news organizations, privacy experts, direct marketers, online advertisers, academics, new media representatives (such as bloggers and local news Web sites), and consumer advocates. An agenda for the September 15, 2009 workshop will be circulated at a later time.
