July 6, 2009 (Congress returns to full agenda)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY JULY 6, 2009
Radio Spectrum Inventory Act Markup later this week. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-07-05--P1W
AGENDA
Congress Shifts Into High Gear to Tackle Full Agenda
Calls Grow to Increase Stimulus Spending
NEWS FROM FCC MEETING
A New Signal from the FCC
Genachowski Presides Over First FCC Meeting as Chairman
FCC National Plan Aims for Data-Driven Approach to Broadband
FCC Broadband roadmap aims to bring order to stimulus chaos
FCC Considers DTV After-Action Report
THE STIMULUS
Broadband industry group says stimulus rules go too far
Administration Signals Change for Wireless Companies
Why The BTOP/BIP NOFA Definition of Broadband Is Inadequate
POLICYMAKERS
Electronic Outreach Tests House Rules
Sunstein's Ideas at Work in US Policy
Weitzner To Head NTIA Policy Shop
JOURNALISM
Smaller Newspapers Feel the Squeeze
Honduras new government is censoring journalists
Washington Post cancels lobbyist event amid uproar
Michael Jackson and Iran Grip the Blogosphere
INTERNET/BROADBAND
States fire shots in Internet sales tax war
The Stupidity of 'Smart' Phones
WIRELESS
Growing Presence in the Courtroom: Cellphone Data as Witness
BT cools on ad targeting software
AT&T's Designs for the Wireless Market
QUICKLY -- Europe tightens broadcasting rules; Free riding: a deeply embedded media tradition
AGENDA
CONGRESS SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR TO TACKLE FULL AGENDA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Naftali Bendavid, Greg Hitt]
Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday for a five-week blitz that will help determine the fate of President Barack Obama's agenda. The Senate will be occupied for much of the summer with confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, beginning July 13, followed by a floor debate on her nomination. Democratic leaders also hope to push health plans through the House and Senate before their summer break begins Aug. 8. It is a daunting schedule, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) are keeping lawmakers in Washington for five-day workweeks in July, rather than their usual Tuesday-through-Thursday routine. Several factors put pressure on Democrats to accomplish their major goals this year. President Obama outlined an ambitious agenda upon taking office, in addition to programs to tackle the financial crisis and the ailing economy. A president's political capital often dissipates over his tenure, and legislative compromise is harder in election years. In addition, the Democrats may lose seats in Congress in 2010, as a president's party often does in midterm elections. That means Democrats need to make big progress this month. Congress is pressing forward on the dozen must-pass spending bills for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, and Senate committees will tackle the climate-change bill recently passed by the House.
http://benton.org/node/26277
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CALLS GROW TO INCREASE STIMULUS SPENDING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Deborah Solomon]
Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was" and didn't foresee unemployment levels nearing double digits, in comments likely to intensify calls for the administration to do more to counter job losses. Some economists are pressing the White House to enact a second round of stimulus spending or find some other way to avert a prolonged job and wage slump. But the White House is in a tough spot. Officials want to give the $787 billion stimulus package passed in February time to work -- only 10% of the spending is out the door so far -- and there is little appetite in Congress, particularly among Republicans, for spending more money at a time of record deficits. The gloomy job picture threatens any economic recovery. The unemployment rate hit 9.5% last month, figures released last week show, and many now expect it to stay high for a long time, eventually reaching double digits. At the same time, wage growth is slumping. People facing unemployment or wage cuts are less able or willing to spend the money needed to stimulate the economy. Already, job losses are hindering recovery in the housing market as foreclosures among people with good credit who have been laid off compound the problems with risky mortgages that triggered the sector's implosion.
http://benton.org/node/26276
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NEWS FROM FCC MEETING
A NEW SIGNAL FROM THE FCC
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Tom Lowry]
After years of dealing with a regulator many considered an autocrat and ideologue, executives in media, telecom, and technology say they are encouraged by President Barack Obama's newly confirmed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Julius Genachowski, like most FCC chiefs, is a lawyer. But there the similarities with his predecessors end. Genachowski helped media mogul Barry Diller build his e-commerce empire and worked as a venture capitalist. Those experiences arguably give him a broad view of the industries he will regulate. Genachowski is also considered fair and pragmatic. Executives believe his ascension will be a welcome change from predecessor Kevin Martin, who they say targeted certain industries and turned an obsession with what he deemed smut on TV into a moral crusade. Here, say FCC insiders, are three of Genachowski's top priorities: Broadband Deployment; Network Neutrality; and media Ownership Diversity.
http://benton.org/node/26268
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GENACHOWSKI PRESIDES OVER FIRST FCC MEETING AS CHAIRMAN
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Cody Williams]
New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski presided over his first FCC meeting last week. Before presentations concerning the digital television transition and the FCC's federally-mandated national broadband plan, Commissioner Robert McDowell was sworn in to a new five-year term. The broadband plan, due to Congress by February 17, 2010, is the biggest task before the Commission. Chairman Genachowski said that the broadband plan was not about broadband but about making a difference in people's lives. The size of the task was driven home by Blair Levin, who is heading up the broadband plan effort. Levin laid out an ambitious timetable and delivery schedule. He said there would be some 20 staff workshops next month on various aspects of the plan including healthcare, e-government, education and job training. He also apologized for those used to taking August vacations but said it could not be helped. In addition to the plan, the FCC also has a regular report to Congress on broadband deployment that will be rolled into the effort, as well as broadband mapping requirements. Levin said the approach to the plan would be divided into four parts. First, assessing the current situation; second, identifying what could be done in the nearer term without a change in government policy (for example, he cited the cable industry's roll-out of Docsis 3.0); third, identifying where there are currently "demonstrable public interest harms"; fourth, identifying ways to lessen those public interest harms. He said that he didn't have the answers, but that a data-driven commission meant that they would not start with conclusions but with data, and that the data would not be accepted without being vetted.
http://benton.org/node/26267
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FCC NATIONAL PLAN AIMS FOR DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO BROADBAND
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Cody Williams]
Blair Levin, recently appointed to head up the national broadband strategy at the Federal Communications Commission, laid out the agency's framework for this plan due in 230 days at Thursday's open meeting. The agency's broadband plan will interact with other congressional mandates, including the Broadband Data Improvement Act, and an upcoming report on high-speed adoption, among others. The agency said it would merge the regulatory process for the regulatory process on high-speed adoption (also called the "Section 706" report after that portion of the 1996 Telecommunications Act) and the national broadband plan. Comments on the 706 report will be considered in the national broadband plan, and vice versa. This will help create ongoing institutional knowledge on broadband, Levin said, which can serve to inform ongoing policy deliberations. The plan will include input from each bureau at the FCC.
http://benton.org/node/26266
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FCC BROADBAND ROADMAP AIMS TO BRING ORDER TO STIMULUS CHAOS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Here's some critical dates as the Federal Communications Commission devises a National Broadband Plan: 1) July 21: deadline for public comments on the plan. 2) July 14 - November 7: As the FCC devises the plan, the Rural Utilities Service and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are deciding where to award grants to expand broadband deployment, improve public computing centers and encourage sustainable broadband use growth. 3) August 10 - September 2: The FCC will conduct a series of open meetings on its National Broadband Plan, to be streamed on the web. They're outlined on the FCC's new website, broadband.gov, and include gatherings about most every relevant subject, from job creation through public safety use. 4) December 2009: Blair Levin says, "By November I hope to be able to report on our core analysis of the key gaps" in broadband use in the United States, he told the Commissioners, and by December be able to summarize the "various approaches that different parties on the record have stated," and "to get your feedback as to where you would like us to take these." 5) December 8 through February 3: In addition to all this, the FCC has to complete its Sixth Report to Congress Examining the Availability of Advanced Telecommunications which will include international comparisons. 6) February 17: plan due to Congress.
http://benton.org/node/26275
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FCC CONSIDERS DTV AFTER-ACTION REPORT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission says the digital television transition continues to go well and it will likely issues a report on just what went right and what went wrong. There are still about two dozen stations, mostly VHFs, with reception issues that FCC engineers are working on, trying various solutions including power increases and consumer outreach about re-scanning TV's and converter boxes. But the vast majority of stations have made the transition successfully, said the FCC's Robert Ratcliffe, acting Media Bureau chief.
http://benton.org/node/26265
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THE STIMULUS
BROADBAND INDUSTRY GROUP SAYS STIMULUS RULES GO TOO FAR
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: John Poirier]
USTelecom, which represents the biggest US telephone companies Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T, says new government guidelines to spend $4 billion to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the United States may go beyond current laws. The lobbying group is still analyzing requirements to provide loans and grants to applicants that can include state and local governments as well as non- and for-profit organizations. USTelecom President Walter McCormick says the rules may lead to uncertainty and even delay President Barack Obama's plans to revive the US economy with job creation, partly, through the telecommunications industry.
http://benton.org/node/26264
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ADMINISTRATION SIGNALS CHANGE FOR WIRELESS COMPANIES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Some wireless companies may think twice about applying for some of the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funding, after Obama officials released rules last week that would effectively impose Network Neutrality restrictions on them. Under the rules, all grant winners will be required to follow the FCC's 2005 Internet Policy statement. That statement sets rules which effectively prevent broadband providers from deliberating slowing or blocking competitors' Internet traffic. Stimulus grant winners will "not favor any lawful Internet applications and content over others," according to the notice. That raises a slightly thorny issue for the wireless industry, because there's been some debate about whether the agency's Internet Policy rules actually apply to wireless phone companies. Grant recipients would also be required to "offer interconnection, where technically feasible without exceeding current or reasonably anticipated capacity limitations, on reasonable rates and terms to be negotiated with requesting parties." Administration officials allow a little wiggle room for future grant winners, saying that Internet providers could still portion off part of their network to offer "managed services" which use private network connections that offer a better quality of service. That's important because many Internet providers have been exploring the idea of offering more Internet services using such private networks. The wireless industry had hoped that administration officials would take a light touch when setting rules for the grants and loans.
http://benton.org/node/26263
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WHY THE BTOP/BIP NOFA DEFINITION OF BROADBAND IS INADEQUATE
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Daily doesn't like that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service picked 768Kbps down and 200Kbps up as the minimum speeds for broadband. As Vint Cerf has said: "The definition of broadband sucks so badly it should be used to sequester carbon dioxide." RUS and NTIA favor this broadband speed threshold because it leverages the FCC's expertise, utilizes an established standard, facilitates the use of many currently common broadband applications (e.g., web browsing, VOIP, and one-way video), allows for consideration of cost-effective solutions for difficult-to-serve areas, and is the most technology-neutral option (because it encompasses all major wired and wireless technologies). Daily reads this to mean that they don't want stick their necks out. He writes, "The biggest reason I find this definition inadequate is because of how unbelievably short-sighted it is. Any investment in broadband infrastructure needs to be considered with a horizon of at least five to ten years, and preferably longer. We don't want to have to subsidize the expensive and time-consuming process of deploying broadband again in a couple of years because we invested in inadequate technology today."
http://benton.org/node/26262
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POLICYMAKERS
ELECTRONIC OUTREACH TESTS HOUSE RULES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: John McKinnon, Greg Hitt]
House members are spending millions in taxpayer funds on email and other electronic outreach to voters, often in ways that avoid their traditional rules on constituent communications. During the nine months ended March 31, which included the run-up to the last election, House members spent about $3.5 million from their office accounts on electronic outreach, according to a Wall Street Journal review of expense records. Congressional rules bar lawmakers from using their free-mail privilege -- known as franking -- to send mass mailings through the U.S. Postal Service in the 90 days before an election. One goal of those limits is to curtail the advantage of incumbency and to discourage entrenched lawmakers from driving up taxpayer costs in a flurry of pre-election appeals to potential voters. But rules for email, congressional Web sites and social-media tools are far less restrictive, and in some cases nonexistent. Some rules regarding online communications exist in the House handbook. It says, for instance, that content of electronic outreach should abide by the strict rules governing franked mail. But unlike the franking rules, the handbook regulations are only guidelines, and members' online communications sometimes stray from them. For example, many lawmakers post self-promoting biographies on their official Web sites, although the franking rules prohibit mailing such materials.
http://benton.org/node/26274
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SUNSTEIN'S IDEAS AT WORK IN US POLICY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Neil King Jr]
A look at Cass Sunstein, head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the White House Office of Management and Budget. Created by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 to reduce paperwork and weigh the usefulness of new regulations, the office is the final clearinghouse for rules written by agencies government-wide. The office became an antiregulatory hub under President Ronald Reagan but faded in influence under President Bill Clinton. It regained its punch within the bureaucracy under President George W. Bush. President Obama now wants to reshape the office to dovetail with Mr. Sunstein's pioneering work in the school of "behavioral economics." The idea behind this approach is that rules work better if they are attuned to people's habits and predilections rather than simply to a desired outcome. In a significant, but little noticed, memo written 10 days after taking office, President Obama ordered up a rewrite of how OIRA goes about its work, the first such revision since 1993. "Far more is now known about regulation -- not only when it is justified, but also what works and what does not," the president wrote. A regulatory review would make use of new tools and would "clarify the role of the behavioral sciences in formulating regulatory policy."
http://benton.org/node/26273
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WEITZNER TO HEAD NTIA POLICY SHOP
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Winter Casey]
Apparently, Daniel Weitzner will be the next chief of the policy office at the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. He served as a technology advisor to President Obama's campaign for president. He has been involved in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-directs MIT's Decentralized Information Group with Internet expert Tim Berners-Lee. Weitzner was a founder and deputy director for the Center for Democracy and Technology and has also been a senior staff counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
http://benton.org/node/26261
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JOURNALISM
SMALLER NEWSPAPERS FEEL THE SQUEEZE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Erik Sass]
While they are still better off than their big-city counterparts on average, smaller newspapers are also feeling the effects of the economic downturn and Internet competition, according to a long-term study from the Inland Press Association. The study's findings temper the optimistic view evinced by many publishers in smaller markets, who take pains to distinguish their properties from the big metro dailies. Over five years ending in 2008, newspaper profitability fell across the board regardless of size, the Inland study found. This included large drops at newspapers with circulations of 25,000-50,000 -- one of the segments that was supposed to be faring better than the big metro dailies. If this trend continues, bankruptcy and sale or closure could follow for scores of newspapers, as the plague afflicting big metro dailies infects smaller markets. Their fate will largely be determined by indebtedness, which has proved the bane of big publishers, especially with the global credit crunch. Like any other small business, small newspapers without a lot of debt will be in a much better position to weather an extended downturn than those that borrowed extensively to replace printing presses, buy real estate, or acquire other newspapers.
http://benton.org/node/26259
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HONDURAS NEW GOVERNMENT IS CENSORING JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: Miami Herald, AUTHOR: Frances Robles]
The newly installed Honduran government kept several news outlets closed, detained international reporters, and periodically interrupted the signal of CNN en español. Reporters for The Associated Press were taken away in military vehicles and Venezuela's Telesur network -- and any other station supportive of toppled president Manuel Zelaya -- are still off the air. Stations that are broadcasting carry only news friendly to the new government. Several local papers have yet to publish information about Zelaya's international support in neighboring countries. The crackdown on the media began before dawn Sunday, when hooded soldiers entered the presidential palace by force and captured Zelaya, a leftist firebrand who had vowed to defy the supreme court, congress and the attorney general's office in a quest to hold a referendum. The nation's media went black while Zelaya was flown out of the country. When a new government presided by former head of Congress Roberto Micheletti was installed a few hours later, only the radio and TV stations loyal to the establishment were allowed to broadcast.
http://benton.org/node/26258
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WASHINGTON POST CANCELS LOBBYIST EVENT AMID UPROAR
[SOURCE: Politico.com, AUTHOR: Mike Allen, Michael Calderone]
Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said Friday she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper's own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated last week to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its "health care reporting and editorial staff." With the Post newsroom in an uproar after reports of the solicitation, Weymouth said in an email to the staff that "a flier went out that was prepared by the Marketing department and was never vetted by me or by the newsroom. Had it been, the flier would have been immediately killed, because it completely misrepresented what we were trying to do." Weymouth said the paper had planned a series of dinners with participation from the newsroom "but with parameters such that we did not in any way compromise our integrity. Sponsorship of events, like advertising in the newspaper, must be at arm's length and cannot imply control over the content or access to our journalists. At this juncture, we will not be holding the planned July dinner and we will not hold salon dinners involving the newsroom. "
http://benton.org/node/26257
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MICHAEL JACKSON AND IRAN GRIP THE BLOGOSPHERE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
For the week of June 22-26, discussion of Michael Jackson and Iran in general combined to make up almost half (47%) of the links on blogs and social media as measured in the New Media Index by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. Despite the fact that Jackson's death occurred late in the week, stories about the passing of the pop star led all linked-to topics, accounting for 27% of the links embedded in the social media sites tracked by the monitoring services Icerocket and Technorati. On the evening of his death, interest in Jackson was so high that many of sites with the most popular Jackson pages experienced outages and slowdowns. Accompanying comments from bloggers mostly expressed shock at the singer's death and offered moving accounts of his influence.
http://benton.org/node/26256
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
STATES FIRE SHOTS IN INTERNET SALES TAX WAR
[SOURCE: breakingviews.com, AUTHOR: Jeff Segal]
A battle is brewing over US state sales taxes on online purchases. Internet retailers Amazon.com and Overstock.com are scaling back their operations in states that demand they collect these taxes. While this won't dent their revenues much, it foreshadows a larger clash over the taxation of Internet commerce. Cash-strapped states are firing the first shots. Most online sales escape being taxed because Internet firms only collect them in states where they have a physical presence. (Buyers are legally bound to pay them, but many do not.) However, Amazon and Overstock allow independent companies to sell merchandise through their systems for a fee. This means the online giants have to collect taxes in any state where their independent partners have operations.
http://benton.org/node/26260
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BT COOLS ON TARGETING SOFTWARE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Tim Bradshaw]
Shares in Phorm fell by a quarter on Monday morning after British Telecommunications Group said it had no "immediate plans" to adopt its targeted advertising technology. BT had been expected to be the first UK broadband provider to launch Phorm's service to its customers after completing a trial of the technology - which matches online advertisements to consumers' interests - earlier this year. Phorm's technology has come under fire from privacy campaigners since it first announced agreements with BT, Carphone Warehouse and Virgin Media in February 2008. The European Commission has also voiced its concerns about BT's trials of Phorm's technology in 2006 and 2007 without informing customers. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, has also said he opposes so-called behavioral targeting technology at the ISP level, which he branded "snooping". But Ed Richards, chief executive of telecoms watchdog Ofcom, Lord Carter, the communications minister, and the Information Commissioner's Office have backed Phorm's technology, provided it complies with data protection laws.
http://benton.org/node/26270
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THE STUPIDITY OF 'SMART PHONES
[SOURCE: In These Times, AUTHOR: Megan Tady]
Commentary] Smart phones are setting the stage for the future of the mobile Internet. They are revolutionary because they free us from our home or office computers. We can catch breaking news, create and upload content, and navigate online social networks and movements from anywhere. It's the Internet -- some might say "the world" -- in our pockets. Or at least, it could be. But companies like AT&T and Verizon are getting in the way by shackling innovative devices like the iPhone and the BlackBerry Storm to closed networks. These exclusive deals limit consumer choice and stifle innovation. Rural residents who can't get cellular service from the wireless carriers holding exclusive rights to popular smart phones like the iPhone are left watching the commercials for them. If smaller, more local wireless carriers were allowed to service them, these phones could be available to rural America.
http://benton.org/node/26255
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WIRELESS
GROWING PRESENCE IN THE COURTROOM: CELLPHONE DATA AS WITNESS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Anne Barnard]
There's a surge in law enforcement's use of increasingly sophisticated cellular tracking techniques to keep tabs on suspects before they are arrested and build criminal cases against them by mapping their past movements. But cellphone tracking is raising concerns about civil liberties in a debate that pits public safety against privacy rights. Existing laws do not provide clear or uniform guidelines: Federal wiretap laws, outpaced by technological advances, do not explicitly cover the use of cellphone data to pinpoint a person's location, and local court rulings vary widely across the country. Civil libertarians do not oppose using cellphone surveillance to solve crimes or save people in emergencies, but they worry that the legal gray area is enabling it to happen without much scrutiny or discussion.
http://benton.org/node/26272
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AT&T'S DESIGNS FOR THE WIRELESS MARKET
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Roger Crockett]
Figuring out how to take advantage of mobile access to the Internet will be critical to AT&T's growth. In the future, AT&T plans to offer more advanced gadgets: digital cameras that link to the Net for sharing and printing photos; tools that help city agencies monitor parking meters from afar; and devices that alert businesses when they need to replace candy or soda in vending machines. "In three to four years it's not inconceivable a user may have four to five devices hooked onto a wireless plan," says mobile consultant Chetan Sharma.
http://benton.org/node/26271
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QUICKLY --
EUROPE TIGHTENS BROADCASTING RULES
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Ian Mundell]
European pubic broadcasters are unhappy with a rule that means new or significantly modified services must be evaluated in advance against criteria set in Brussels.
The rule is part of revised regulations on state-subsidized public service broadcasting finalized Thursday by the European Commission. Each year European pubcasters pull in €22 billion ($31 billion) in public coin. The evaluation is intended to ensure that new services comply with the broadcaster's overall public service mission, and that any impact on the market is balanced by public gain. European Broadcasting Union topper Jean-Paul Philippot argued that it would have been better to leave the choice of mechanism to national governments, which can respond to local social and cultural needs.
http://benton.org/node/26254
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FREE RIDING: A DEEPLY EMBEDDED MEDIA TRADITION
[SOURCE: Nieman Watchdog, AUTHOR: Jim Snider]
[Commentary] A large literature of media criticism suggests that free riding on the work of others is deeply embedded in the old media's DNA. Solving the problem of media parasitism is no easy task. The technology to solve the problem at minimal cost now exists, but the incentive of media outlets and journalists to take as much credit for others' work as they can plausibly get away with persists. Like the drives for power, money, and sex, the drive for credit taking can only be reigned in and channeled in socially beneficial ways by well designed institutions. One hope to solve this incentive problem may lie with the widely expected growth of non-profit journalism.
http://benton.org/node/26269
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