Create your Benton.org account today. Registration is quick and easy. Creating an account allows you to rate content like our Headlines.
Headlines
Can the Feds enforce Network Neutrality? Maybe not
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:08amFederal regulators may be probing Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent filesharing traffic, but can they actually take action, if they choose, against the company or any other broadband provider on Net neutrality grounds? The answer may not be simple.
Universal Service Deadline Changed
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:08amThe Federal Communications Commission just improved a lot of people's weekend. The FCC decided to change the deadline for Reply Comments three Notices of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking comment regarding the high-cost universal service support program.
Microsoft Joins Effort for Laptops for Children
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:07amAfter a years-long dispute, Microsoft and the computing and education project One Laptop Per Child said Thursday that they had reached an agreement to offer Windows on the organization’s computers.
It's No Gossip, Ratings Slip Threatens CW Network
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:06amTime may be running out for the CW network. Two years after CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. combined their second-tier networks UPN and WB into the youth-oriented CW to pool young viewers prized by advertisers, the network's hopes of surviving are looking increasingly bleak.
Icahn's bid may force Yahoo back into Microsoft's arms
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:06amCarl Icahn's audacious bid to overthrow Yahoo's board could bring Microsoft back to the bargaining table and revive the tech megamerger. On Thursday, the billionaire investor instigated a plan to expel Yahoo's board of directors for "irresponsible" and "unconscionable" acts that prompted Microsoft to drop a $47.5 billion bid to buy Yahoo.
FCC OKs Sale of Bankrupt Philly Station
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:05amThe Federal Communications Commission has approved the sale of bankrupt WTVE Philadelphia to WRNN-TV Associates for $13.5 million. WRNN-TV currently operates WRNN New York, an independent TV station serving the Hudson Valley north of Manhattan.
Senate Votes to Block FCC's Media Ownership Rule Change
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 9:21pmLast updated: May 16, 2008 - 1:27pm
On Thursday night, the US Senate voted, without debate, to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission's Dec. 18 decision to loosen the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. The measure passed on a voice vote.
Senators must oppose media consolidation
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 4:45pmLast updated: May 15, 2008 - 4:49pm
Congress is considering a resolution expressing formal disapproval of the Federal Communications Commission's new media ownership rule. Rolling back the FCC's heavy-handed rule change is good for journalism, which is threatened by the moves of big-media companies to consolidate newsrooms.
Cox Blocking P2P, Too
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 4:44pmCox Communications appears to be impeding peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic in the same way Comcast has, according to a study released Thursday by a German research group. Germany’s Max Planck Institute, a science and technology research organization, analyzed a test of 8,175 Internet volunteers around the world and found that both Comcast and Cox are blocking peer-to-peer traffic over their networks during all hours of the day.
One in Five U.S. Households Has Never Used E-mail
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 4:43pmRoughly one-fifth of all U.S. heads-of-household have never used e-mail, according to National Technology Scan, a forthcoming study from Parks Associates. This annual phone survey of U.S. households found 20 million households are without Internet access, approximately 18% of all U.S.
