January 2006

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers
Nagin Praises, Pans Katrina Coverage
Gulf Coast Stations Prep for Next Big Storm

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATION
After Subpoenas, Internet Searches Give Some Pause
China Shuts Down Influential Newspaper
Version of Google in China Won't Offer E-Mail or Blogs
BBC says Iranian Web site blocked

OWNERSHIP
With Focus on Youth, 2 Small TV Networks Unite
Disney Agrees to Acquire Pixar in a $7.4 Billion Deal
Hill Raises Flag Again

POLICYMAKERS
FCC Nominee Candidate Draws Mixed Reactions
Stevens Supports McDowell for FCC Post
NAB To Employ "Key Vote" Strategy

TELECOM
Lawmakers Moving To Overhaul USF
2 Largest U.S. Wireless Carriers Add Many Subscribers

QUICKLY -- New Anti-'Badware' Site; Most spam still coming from US;
Online Privacy; TV Marti to Continue Another Year; FCC Updates
Auction Rules; Whistleblower Blasts Public Broadcasting Official;
Lifetime: Sports, Porn, Not Us?; K-12 Podcasts

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

WHITE HOUSE DECLINES TO PROVIDE STORM PAPERS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Lipton]
The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive
branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over
certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make senior White House
officials available for sworn testimony before two Congressional
committees investigating the storm response.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/politics/25katrina.html?hp&ex=11382516...
(requires registration)

NAGIN PRAISES, PANS KATRINA COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
Embattled New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin took aim at what he said were
the news media's errors and exaggerations covering Hurricane Katrina,
giving props to local media and panning the national coverage as
a "reality TV" take on the tragedy. In a panel on Katrina coverage
at the NATPE Convention in New Orleans Tuesday, Nagin didn't offer
details of those errors or exaggerations. But in addition to the
stark pictures and stories of actual misery and looting were
electrifying, lurid -- and largely unsubstantiated -- tales of
murders among displaced residents seeking shelter at the New Orleans
Convention Center, children getting raped at the Superdome, and
people taking shots at rescue helicopters.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6301638?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

GULF COAST STATIONS PREP FOR NEXT BIG STORM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
Executives from Gulf Coast media gathered Tuesday in Las Vegas, at
the annual NATPE convention, to discuss lessons learned from
Hurricane Katrina. When the next big hurricane hits, local
broadcasters ravaged by Hurricane Katrina said they will lock up
fuel, supplies and housing in an effort to avoid the scrambling and
shortages that plagued them after the ferocious storm devastated the
Gulf Coast last August.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6301678?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATION

AFTER SUBPOENAS, INTERNET SEARCHES GIVE SOME PAUSE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
A noticeable chilling effect? After reading reports about Department
of Justice subpoenas of Internet search records, people are getting
nervous about the terms they search on the World Wide Web. The
government and the cooperating companies say the search queries
cannot be traced to their source, and therefore no personal
information about users is being given up. But the government's move
is one of several recent episodes that have caused some people to
think twice about the information they type into a search engine, or
the opinions they express in an e-mail message. The government has
been more aggressive recently in its efforts to obtain data on
Internet activity, invoking the fight against terrorism and the
prosecution of online crime. A surveillance program in which the
National Security Agency intercepted certain international phone
calls and e-mail in the United States without court-approved warrants
prompted an outcry among civil libertarians. And under the
antiterrorism USA Patriot Act, the Justice Department has demanded
records on library patrons' Internet use. Those actions have put some
Internet users on edge, as they confront the complications and
contradictions of online life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/national/25privacy.html?hp&ex=11382516...
(requires registration)

CHINA SHUTS DOWN INFLUENTIAL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER IN CRACKDOWN ON MEDIA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Kahn]
China's Propaganda Department on Tuesday ordered the closing of Bing
Dian, an influential weekly newspaper that often tackled touchy
political and social subjects, as the authorities stepped up efforts
to curb the spread of information and views the Communist Party
considers unfavorable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/international/asia/25china.html?pagewa...
(requires registration)
* Leading Publication Shut Down In China
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR200601...
(requires registration)

VERSION OF GOOGLE IN CHINA WON'T OFFER E-MAIL OR BLOGS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Barboza]
Information wants to be free -- except if it speaks Chinese, of
course. Google is bringing a special version of its powerful search
engine to China, leaving behind two of its most popular features in
the United States. In an effort to cope with China's increasingly
pervasive Internet controls, Google said Tuesday that it would
introduce a search engine here this week that excludes e-mail
messaging and the ability to create blogs. Google officials said the
new search engine, Google.cn, was created partly as a way to avoid
potential legal conflicts with the Chinese government, which has
become much more sophisticated at policing and monitoring material
appearing on the Internet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/technology/25google.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)
* Google to Censor Results On New Chinese Search Site
Google has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the
country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the
Internet's fastest growing major market. Because of government
barriers set up to suppress information, Google users in China have
been blocked from using the search engine or encountered lengthy
delays in response time. The troubles have frustrated many Chinese
users, hobbling Google's efforts to expand its market share. China
already has more than 100 million Web surfers, and the audience is
expected to swell substantially.To obtain the Chinese license, Google
agreed to omit content that the country's government finds
objectionable. Google will base its censorship decisions on guidance
from Chinese government officials. Google officials characterized the
concessions as an excruciating decision but said they consider it a
worthwhile sacrifice.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR200601...
(requires registration)
* After refusing to turn records over to U.S. officials, Internet
giant accepts self-censorship to set up in China
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13706565.htm

BBC SAYS IRANIAN WEB SITE BLOCKED
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The BBC accused Tehran on Tuesday of blocking its Farsi-language Web
site, which it describes as one of the most influential sources of
news in Iran. BBCpersian.com normally receives 30 million page views
a month, making it the British broadcaster's most popular
foreign-language site. An Iranian culture ministry official, who
asked not to be identified, told Reuters in Tehran the Web Site had
been "filtered since two days ago" but did not give a reason behind the move.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

OWNERSHIP

WITH FOCUS ON YOUTH, 2 SMALL TV NETWORKS UNITE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
Two small television networks became a large one yesterday when CBS
and the Warner Brothers Entertainment unit of Time Warner joined
forces to form a new, youth-oriented network out of the programs on
UPN and WB. The new venture, called CW, will take the most popular
shows from UPN and WB, each of which has struggled to turn a profit.
Several executives on both sides of the venture said the combination
of the two networks would greatly increase the opportunity to create
such hits. The move underscored the expanding power in the television
industry of the CBS chief executive, Leslie Moonves, just a few weeks
into his tenure atop a stand-alone media company. He will now oversee
not only CBS, the most-watched of the broadcast networks, but also an
enhanced part-time network aimed at viewers under 35 years old - the
audience that CBS reaches least well. CBS and Warner Brothers will be
50-50 owners of the venture, which will broadcast 30 hours a week,
including prime time, some daytime shows, and the Kids' WB children's
block. Among the programs highlighted in the announcement yesterday
were "America's Top Model," "Veronica Mars" and "Everybody Hates
Chris" from UPN and "Gilmore Girls," "Smallville" and "Beauty and the
Geek" from WB.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25network.html?_r=1
(requires registration)
* Three Tribune Stations Lose Affiliations
When the WB and UPN are folded in favor of a new CW network next
fall, Tribune Broadcasting will convert 16 of its WB stations to the
new network, but have to program three outlets as independents in
markets where Tribune and CBS both own stations. The network merger,
announced Tuesday morning, untangles Tribune from its ownership stake
in the WB network. Tribune owns a 22% stake in The WB but will not
have any equity stake in the new network. But Tribune also will not
be responsible for any of the shutdown costs at The WB and gets
affiliations for CW in plum markets such as New York, Los Angeles and
Chicago. But Tribune will now have to program three of its WB
stations--Philadelphia, Seattle and Atlanta--as independents.
FitzSimons said that will result in higher prime time programming
costs but that the stations will now have more inventory to sell to
advertisers.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6301680?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Tribune to Act as Lead Affiliate Group for The CW
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10018...
* Can 2 Network Lineups Learn to Live Together?
What could CW's program look like? Can it compete with Fox?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25notes.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)
* CBS, Warner Bros. Form New Network
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6301540.html?display=Breaking...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* UPN and The WB Hope One Network Is Stronger Than Two
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113811973028954909.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
* CBS, Warner to Shut Down 2 Networks and Form Hybrid
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-cw25jan25,0,5522531...
(requires registration)
* 2 weak links join for survival
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060125/1b_cwcov25.art.htm
* Creating CW Shrinks Field for Bad TV
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fi-critical25jan25,...
(requires registration)

DISNEY AGREES TO ACQUIRE PIXAR IN $7.4 BILLION DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Laura Holson]
The Walt Disney Company said Tuesday that it would acquire Pixar
Animation Studios for $7.4 billion in a stock deal that not only
gives Pixar's chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, a powerful role in
Hollywood but also stirs hopes for rekindling the animated
storytelling tradition at Disney. As part of the deal, Mr. Jobs will
become a nonindependent director at Disney as well as its largest
individual shareholder, ahead of Mr. Iger's predecessor, Michael D. Eisner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25disney.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)
* Disney Sets $7.4 Billion Pixar Deal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113813740822755125.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
* Disney to Buy Pixar Studios In Its Move to A Digital Era
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR200601...
(requires registration)
* Disney Pins Its Digital Future on Pixar Deal
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-pixar25jan25,0,7764...
(requires registration)
* Disney, Pixar merge in $7.5B deal
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060125/1b_disney25.art.htm

HILL RAISES FLAG AGAIN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Broadcasters and content providers told the Senate Commerce Committee
Tuesday that they need the FCC to establish rules for
content-protection technology or piracy will wreak havoc with their
business models, preventing them from distributing the broadcast
content that will allow stations to compete in a world where other
multichannel providers can encrypt their channels. But Fair Use
advocates counter that the technology could crimp creativity and
prevent the fair redistribution of such content for home use -- home
networking, for instance -- or educational purposes, including
distance learning. Fox tech chief Andy Setos said that the flag and
fair use were not incompatible, that the flag would not supercede
existing copyright exemptions, and added that he would not oppose
writing the law to make that clear. Setos has a rooting interest in
the flag, since he is one of its co-inventors.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6301709?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Link to hearing: http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1704
* Broadcast Flag praised, panned in Senate hearing
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/broadcast-flag.ars
* Public Knowledge Asks Congress Not To Enact 'Broadcast Flag' Controls
http://www.publicknowledge.org/pressroom/releases/pressrelease.2006-01-2...
* CDT Urges Caution on Broadcast Flag at Senate Hearing
The Center for Democracy and Technology warned lawmakers that
imposing a "broadcast flag" regime to protect copyrighted video
content would involve significant government regulation of technology
design and would carry risks to both technology innovation and legal
consumer uses of digital television. Testifying before the Senate
Commerce Committee, CDT Executive Director Leslie Harris said that if
Congress opts to impose a flag regime despite those concerns, such
legislation would have to include carefully crafted safeguards and
limitations, rather than giving the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) a blank check.
http://www.cdt.org/testimony/20060124harrisflag.pdf
* Video and ''Audio Flag'' Proposals Could Harm Innovation and
Rollback Consumer Rights, Says CEA's Shapiro
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060124/20060124005720.html?.v=1
* NAB Witness Dan Halyburton, Susquehanna Radio
http://www.nab.org/newsroom/pressrel/testimonies/012406_Halyburton_bcstf...

POLICYMAKERS

FCC NOMINEE CANDIDATE DRAWS MIXED REACTION
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
The possibility of the White House nominating Republican lobbyist
Robert McDowell to fill a remaining vacancy at the five-member FCC is
drawing mixed reactions from the regional Bell firms. Company
executives officially insist they would support McDowell, a lobbyist
for an association representing competitors to the Bells, if
appointed. But privately, some within the Bell community are
grumbling that his sympathies do not lie with them. "We would expect
Mr. McDowell to be sympathetic to CLEC (competitive local exchange
carrier) causes as the FCC attempts to address various telecom
issues," concluded the investment firm Stifel Nicolaus in a Jan. 24
advisory. "That has to be a concern for the Bells, though we suspect
Mr. McDowell would come under pressure to demonstrate some degree of
even-handedness as a commissioner." A wild card for McDowell is his
industry experience and the possibility that he might have to recuse
himself from key rulemakings. Generally speaking, a commissioner
cannot participate in a proceeding that he has been personally
involved with in the private sector. For example, McDowell might be
permanently recused from regulating on matters on which he has
authored FCC comments. An ethics team in the FCC's Office of General
Counsel would decide on a case-by-case basis whether a recusal is
required, weighing factors such as how active McDowell was on a given
issue. Even if McDowell was not directly involved in a regulatory
matter, he could be subject to a one-year recusal if the association
has a related adjudication pending before the FCC, such as an
enforcement action. The agency can make an exception to these rules
if there is a compelling government need or mitigating circumstances,
but a source said exceptions are "rare."
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-TCUC1138136024706.html

STEVENS SUPPORTS MCDOWELL FOR FCC POST
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) told
supporters that he would support CompTel's Robert McDowell, if
President Bush nominates him for an open seat at the FCC. Mr.
McDowell has never worked for Sen. Stevens, unlike the previous two
candidates the lawmaker has promoted for the FCC post during the past
year. However Mr. McDowell is said to be a friend of Earl Comstock, a
former aide to Sen. Stevens who dropped out of the running for a
Republican seat at the FCC last year. Mr. Comstock is CompTel's
president and CEO. "If [Sen. Stevens] can't get one of his guys, he
gets one of his guy's guys," said an industry attorney. CompTel
represents competitors to the Baby Bells.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9262
(requires free registration)
* Senate Commerce chief backs lawyer for FCC slot
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID...

NAB TO EMPLOY "KEY VOTE" STRATEGY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Despite some initial unhappiness from ruffled Democratic feathers,
look for the National Association of Broadcasters to use a so-called
"key vote" strategy as it lobbies for its various key interests,
including at the committee level. New NAB President David Rehr used
the strategy at his former digs, the National Beer Wholesalers, and
apparently plans to do so at NAB. The strategy is to send a letter to
legislators declaring a certain vote as a "key vote" with association
members, including pointing out that the association will let its
members know who voted for or against the bill. NAB sent out such a
letter in December on a budget-reconciliation bill that included the
hard date and a subsidy for digital converter boxes.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6301557?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

TELECOM

LAWMAKERS MOVING TO OVERHAUL USF
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Sens. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) are in
the late stages of drafting legislation overhauling the $7.1 billion
universal service fund. Sen Burns wants to introduce the measure by
the end of January but may hold off until February -- when the Senate
Commerce Committee has two hearings scheduled on the issue. The bill
seeks to strengthen the federal program -- which is designed to lower
the cost of phone service in rural and low-income areas -- by
expanding the program's funding base and permitting the FCC to
subsidize broadband. Sources cautioned that the latest
Burns-Rockefeller draft is still being negotiated and could change
before introduction. The measure is expected to play a role in
helping Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) shape related
universal service legislation that he has promised to offer. However,
a spokesman said only that Sen Stevens would review this and other
pending bills. Apparently the bill will: broaden the base of
contributors to universal service, tasks the FCC with determining a
new methodology for gauging carrier payments to the universal service
fund, addresses the problem of so-called "phantom traffic" -- which
often plagues small, rural telecom carriers -- and maintains the E-rate.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-FBCH1138137505290.html

2 LARGEST US WIRELESS CARRIERS ADD MANY SUBSCRIBERS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ken Belson & Matt Richtell]
Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless, the nation's two biggest
cellphone carriers, said yesterday that they had added record numbers
of new subscribers in the fourth quarter, surprising analysts and
underscoring the success of their new handsets and more generous
service plans. The two carriers have attracted customers largely by
offering more minutes each month and aggressively marketing family
plans that include second and third phones at discounted
rates. Verizon Wireless, which is 45 percent owned by the Vodafone
Group of Britain, added 2 million new customers in the quarter, an
industry record. For all of 2005, it added 7.5 million new customers,
19.5 percent more than the year before. Verizon Wireless now has 51.3
million customers over all. Cingular held on to the top spot in the
$100 billion cellphone market, adding 1.85 million new customers and
bringing its total to 54.1 million.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/technology/25tele.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

INTERNET COALITION SETS UP ANTI-'BADWARE' SITE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Arshad Mohammed]
A group including Google Inc. and institutes at Harvard and Oxford
universities plans to unveil a campaign today against spyware and
other malicious computer programs that can steal personal
information, snoop on your Web surfing and bombard you with pop-up
ads. The coalition, which is receiving unpaid advice from Consumer
Reports WebWatch, is launching a Web site --
http://www.stopbadware.org/ -- to catalogue programs that infect
unsuspecting users and to let them check whether something is
dangerous before downloading it. The group also will spotlight firms
that make the software in an effort to shame them and will gather
data that could lay the groundwork for class-action lawsuits against them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR200601...
(requires registration)

MOST SPAM STILL COMING FROM THE US
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: John Evers]
Almost a quarter of the world's spam in the last three months of 2005
was sent from computers in the United States. The U.S. is closely
followed by China, with 22.3 percent. South Korea rounds out the top
three with 9.7 percent, according to Sophos, a UK antivirus company,
which said the level of non-English language spam is rising. The
company bases its numbers on a scan of all junk mail caught by its
spam traps. While the U.S. still tops the chart, the latest figures
mark the first time the country accounts for less than one quarter of
all spam relayed, Sophos said. The decrease is a continuing trend.
Last October, 26.3 percent of all spam sent from April through
September last year was sent from the U.S., a significant drop from
41.5 percent a year earlier, Sophos said. The decline in U.S.-sourced
spam is thanks in part to the crackdown against fraudulent e-mail,
Sophos said. In particular, the company pointed to monetary damages
that spammers have been ordered to pay as well as jail sentences,
tighter legislation and improved coordination among Internet service
providers. The numbers do suggest, however, that Microsoft Chairman
Bill Gates' prediction two years ago that the spam problem would be
solved by now has not come true.
http://news.com.com/Most+spam+still+coming+from+the+U.S./2100-1029_3-603...

PRIVACY FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T SHOW THEIR NAVELS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Glater]
Interest in software that allows people to send e-mail messages that
cannot be traced to their source or to maintain anonymous blogs has
quietly increased over the last few years, say experts who monitor
Internet security and privacy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/technology/techspecial2/25privacy.html
(requires registration)

TV MARTI TO CONTINUE ANOTHER YEAR
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Although reports just last week called into question its
effectiveness, the FCC has extended for one year the authorization
for TV Marti to broadcast television programming to Cuba.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-135A1.doc
Related story:
* BROADCASTING A VISION OF DEMOCRACY INTO A VOID
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times 1/20/06, AUTHOR: Carol J. Williams]
The U.S. has sunk nearly $200 million into TV Marti's programming
aimed at Cuba. But one scholar estimates it has 'nearly zero viewership.'
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-marti20jan20,0,6...
(requires registration)

FCC UPDATES COMPETITIVE BIDDING RULES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
New spectrum auction rules.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-4A1.doc

WHISTLEBLOWER BLASTS PUBLIC BROADCASTING OFFICIAL
[SOURCE: Accuracy in Media, a conservative media watchdog AUTHOR:
Cliff Kincaid]
A look at the controversy surrounding Beth Courtney, a member of the
board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the head of
Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
http://www.aim.org/aim_column/4325_0_3_0_C/

LIFETIME: SPORTS, PORN, NOT US?
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
Is EchoStar anti-women? That's the new spin from Lifetime
transmission dispute that may mean the network is unavailable on the
satellite system. As part of an ongoing ad campaign, Lifetime ran a
second full-page ad in The New York Times. The latest ad's headline
pointed out that while EchoStar's Dish Network has spots for various
sports and porn services on its lineup, Lifetime and Lifetime Movie
Network "can't make the cut." The ad charged, "It's obvious that Dish
doesn't value women."
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6301725.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, FROM K TO 12, HIT THE PODCASTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Selingo]
Podcasting - posting an audio recording online that can be heard
through a computer or downloaded to a mobile device like an iPod - is
following blogs and online classes as yet another interactive
technology catching on as a teaching tool. Currently, iTunes lists
more than 400 podcasts from kindergarten through 12th-grade classes,
while Yahoo has nearly 900 education-related podcasts. Some are
produced by teachers wanting to reach other educators with teaching
tips, while many are created by students.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/technology/techspecial2/25podcast.html
(requires registration)
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary
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Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important
industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone
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Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we
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