[Commentary] The crackling, often angry debate over health-care reform has severely tested the media's ability to untangle a story of immense complexity. In many ways, news organizations have risen to the occasion; in others they have become agents of distortion. But even when they report the facts, they have had trouble influencing public opinion.
The Federal trade Commission is planning two days of workshops in December — titled "From Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?" — to examine the state of the news industry. A report will be issued after the workshops that may make recommendations to lawmakers on changes in policies on anything ranging from taxation of news organizations to copyright issues, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. He said no specific issues had been chosen. Though some may be uncomfortable with government oversight of any aspect of journalism, the FTC seems to be "attempting to play a facilitating and public educational role in gathering together various disciplines and perspectives to talk about the crisis in mainstream journalism," said Neil Henry, a professor and dean at the graduate school of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. "The government's willingness to raise the profile of this issue, and to help explain why it is important for a national conversation, I think in general is welcome."
Is no one reading the papers anymore? Slate is retiring "Today's Papers," one of the original aggregators of the Web, 12 years after it started its beloved once-a-day summary of the nation's news pages. In its place comes a new recap of the news, one that acknowledges that the news cycle has, well, sped up quite considerably since "Today's Papers" started in 1997. That is why the "Slatest," the name of the new feature that comes online Monday morning, will collect the world's news three times a day. Jack Shafer, the media columnist for Slate, observed that the news cycle had three distinct parts: an overnight shift led by newspapers, a daytime phase when other news media entities react to the overnight news, and an afternoon phase when "the day's news events break and are digested."
[Commentary] The digital apocalypse continues to blight the lives of television producers, music-industry executives and newspaper publishers, all of whom are scrambling to figure out how to reconfigure their business models in such a way as to allow them to make an honest buck. They're trying to second-guess the future—so why not look back at the past? Today's new-media revolution, after all, is not the first time that technological change has laid waste to the best-laid plans of the old media. The same thing was happening 60 years ago. Everybody in America was talking about TV early in 1949, though comparatively few Americans owned a set of their own. Network radio was still the dominant mass entertainment medium. If you wanted to listen to Bing Crosby or "The Quiz Kids," you tuned in to their radio programs. While there were roughly 85 million radios in use throughout America, there were 1.3 million TV sets, 750,000 of which were on the East Coast. Television was still a pricey toy. A console set with a 16-inch picture tube cost $695 in 1949—half the price of a new car. Every TV station in the country was operating in the red, and NBC ran its fledgling TV network at a loss of $13,000 a day, $116,000 in today's dollars. But on Jan. 11 of that year, television in America turned a technological corner when eight stations on the East Coast and seven Midwestern stations were linked via the first long-distance coaxial cable. All at once it was possible for a significant slice of the American public to watch network TV programs live.
President Theodore Roosevelt campaigned as a trust-busting reformer, but was embarrassed by revelations that his 1904 campaign had received secret contributions from New York insurance companies. At his urging, Congress passed a law to keep corporate money out of political races. Now, that century-old ban stands in danger of being overturned by the Supreme Court's conservative majority, on the basis of an equally venerable principle: free speech in politics. The justices signaled the prospect of a profound shift in election law by scheduling an unusual special argument for Sept. 9. At issue will be whether to overturn two rulings that limit corporate spending in elections.
A diverse coalition including retailers, real estate firms and state governments this fall is set to renew its decade-long push to require collection of online sales tax on out-of-state purchases. Aides to Sen Michael Enzi (R-WY) and Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) said they are working on revamped versions of measures they introduced in the 110th and previous Congresses, although there is no timeline for introduction. Sources said they expect the "Main Street Fairness Act" to be unveiled as early as September.
Medical technologists and lobbyists say a number of challenges stand in the way of the healthcare industry's move toward widespread use of electronic medical records, despite a billion-dollar commitment from President Obama for the effort. Policy makers must figure out the standards by which doctors and hospitals will be eligible for the money, as well as how to protect the privacy of patients as sensitive data is shared between facilities. The grants, which were announced Thursday, include $598 million to set up around 70 health information technology centers to help healthcare institutions purchase electronic record systems. Another $564 million will go toward developing a nationwide system of health information networks.
For the first time, digital media use exceeds that of radio, newspaper, television and other traditional media among small and medium-sized businesses. BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor study shows 77% of local businesses are doing some form of digital marketing. At the same time, traditional media usage slips to 69%.
When AT&T cut the deal that made it the exclusive US distributor of Apple's iPhone, the carrier bet correctly it would attract millions of new subscribers. What it didn't bargain for: the huge demands the device would impose on AT&T's network. Thanks largely to the iPhone's ability to surf the Web, play videos, and run all manner of software-based tools called apps, by some estimates AT&T now handles more than twice as much smartphone traffic as any other U.S. carrier. Or mishandles, as the case may be. In areas where the devices are most common, such as San Francisco and New York, the iPhone often drops calls or fails to deliver Web access at speeds implied in Apple ads. The shortcomings leave AT&T under pressure to make its network iPhone-ready or risk losing its edge in smartphones.
The terms in AT&T's exclusive US contract to provide connections for Apple's iPhone give the telecommunications giant the power to veto online store applications that use AT&T to launch cheap calls through the Internet, the companies disclosed late Friday. So far, the alliance has limited the use of approved Voice over Internet Protocol applications, including Skype's, to WiFi hotspots, so as not to undercut AT&T's model of charging for calls. But AT&T said "We plan to take a fresh look at possibly authorizing VoIP capabilities on the iPhone for use on AT&T's 3G networks." As it had previously, AT&T told the FCC the company had no general authority over applications in the App store. But it can and has become involved over a couple of other issues, including the use customer information and where "there were concerns that the application might create significant network congestion." That's why some applications that would stream live video have been limited to WiFi locations, AT&T's filing said, and why the Pandora music streaming service required some changes to the streaming technology being employed.
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