Create your Benton.org account today. Registration is quick and easy. Creating an account gives you access to special features, click to learn more.
Los Angeles Times
A compromise on surveillance
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 23, 2008 - 8:16amThe House compromise represents a major step forward from the Senate's last effort, which included fewer restrictions on surveillance. The House measure won't impede legitimate intelligence operations, and it brings oversight to a program that has operated for too long with too little of it.
California cellphone law may be more costly than the $20 fine
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 19, 2008 - 9:50amThe threat of a $20 fine may not sway every California driver from using a hand-held cellphone when a state ban takes effect July 1, but a motorist who ignores the law and causes an accident could face huge civil judgments or even jail if fatalities result.
Your boss shouldn't read your text or e-mail messages without an OK, court says
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 19, 2008 - 9:49amA federal appeals court Wednesday sharply limited the ability of employers to obtain e-mails and text messages sent by employees on company-financed accounts. The text message portion of the ruling, issued by the U.S.
LinkedIn valued at $1 billion
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 18, 2008 - 7:49amLinkedIn has made a big connection with investors, who are valuing the professional networking company at more than $1 billion. LinkedIn said Tuesday that it had received $53 million in venture capital funding from Bain Capital Ventures and three existing investors in exchange for a 5% stake in the company.
In campaigns, as in basketball, the refs get worked
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 12, 2008 - 8:19amBasketball is not a bad primer, it turns out, on how our political ballclubs carry on. Team McCain has been complaining no end about how easy that lanky young rookie, Barack Obama, has it with the press, while their scrappy veteran suffers "fiction" at worst and inattention at best.
The iPhone's limits
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 11, 2008 - 8:42amApple has cut the price for the iPhone, so many more people may soon own it. They'll soon find that the iPhone doesn't deliver everything that the Web has to offer.
Blogger's Silicon Valley clout gets politicians talking
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 10, 2008 - 7:28amSilicon Valley has long represented the land of opportunity for politicians. Its citizens have deep pockets, and the technology it produces increasingly transforms the way political battles are waged. But the region's ability to engage Washington in a meaningful dialogue on the issues important to Silicon Valley has been hit or miss despite a dramatic increase in political lobbying.
ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW sell nearly $9.2 billion in 'upfront' advertising
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 10, 2008 - 7:27amDespite lower prime-time ratings and a weak economy, the broadcast networks dodged a bullet as they wrapped up their advance advertising sales for the coming season Monday. When final sales are tabulated, the five major broadcasters -- ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW -- should bring in nearly $9.2 billion in prime-time business, about the same total as last year.
The FCC's free Internet plan
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 9, 2008 - 6:52amFree wireless Internet service is such a compelling idea, even waves of failure can't seem to kill it. The latest proposal comes from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who wants to auction off a band of airwaves with a couple of potentially strangling strings attached: The winner must use part of the band to provide Internet access at no charge, and traffic on the free service must be filtered to block pornography.
Study places a high cost on Hollywood writers strike
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 6, 2008 - 9:56amFallout from the Hollywood writers strike will cost California's already struggling economy an estimated $2.1 billion, a new report concludes. Although the writers strike ended four months ago, effects of the three-month walkout continue to ripple across the state's economy, causing a projected net loss this year of 37,700 jobs directly and indirectly tied to the entertainment industry, according a study released Thursday by the Milken Institute.
