1. Monthly archive
  2. August 2009

August 2009

On Fox News, opponents of health care reform outnumber supporters by 6-to-1 margin

A review of Fox News guests in segments discussing health care reform on August 10 and 11 found a substantial disparity in favor of opponents of progressive efforts to reform health care. Over the two days, Fox News hosted 63 opponents and only 10 supporters.

US Telephone Penetration Reaches Highest Level Ever

The Federal Communications Commission released its latest report on telephone subscribership levels in the United States. The report presents subscribership statistics based on the Current Population Survey conducted by the Census Bureau in March 2009. The report also shows subscribership levels by state, income level, race, age, household size, and employment status. Inside you will find: 1) The telephone subscribership penetration rate in the US was 95.6%, an increase of 0.4% over the rate from March 2008. This is the highest reported rate since the CPS began collecting this data in November 1983. 2) The telephone penetration rate for households in income categories below $15,000 was at or below 92.7%, while the rate for households in income categories over $40,000 was at least 97.9%. 3) Penetration rates ranged from 91.5% for households headed by a person under 25 to at least 96.5% for households headed by a person over 55. 4) The penetration rate for unemployed adults was 94.9%, while the rate for employed adults was 96.6%.

FCC Continues 2009 Equal Employment Opportunity Audits

On August 11, 2009, the Federal Communications Commission mailed the second of its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) audit letters for 2009 to randomly selected radio stations. Each year, approximately five percent of all radio and television stations and of all multi-channel video programming distributors are selected for these EEO audits.

Recovery.gov Posts Excel Template for Stimulus Reporting

Recovery.gov is linking to the Excel spreadsheet template that funding recipients of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) can use to upload mandatory data to yet-to-be-launched FederalReporting.gov. The spreadsheet is the final version, Ed Pound of the Recovery Board said Wednesday. Recipients may also manually upload the data via keystrokes or submit in the XML format; an updated XML schema also was posted this week to Recovery.gov. FederalReporting.gov, the Web site to which state and local governments will upload spending data from the economic stimulus, will go live Monday, Aug. 17, according to a blog post on Recovery.gov. Recipients of funding from ARRA will be able to register through Sept. 30. Reporting will begin the next day and continue until Oct. 10 -- the first deadline of what will be several quarterly reports sent to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

FCC Moves on DTV Channel Changes

The Federal Communications Commission is requesting public input on several digital television (DTV) channel changes as broadcasters and the FCC continue to attempt to improve reception post June 12. In the past week the FCC has released two Notices of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) and one Report and Order for VHF-to-UHF channel changes.

Americans, this is your future -- and it relies on broadband

[Commentary] With significant support in President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, broadband stands to be vital to our nation's economic recovery and future prosperity. To fully understand why, it's important to understand not just what's in store for our nation - but also what's in store for us as individuals. What does this new essential infrastructure and broadband access mean to you? In each scenario that follows, the technologies needed for transformation already exist, and new ultra high speed broadband network capacity would simply enable these applications to become commonplace.

The Myth of "Expensive Online Video" - $1-2 Per Gigabyte Vastly Inflates Actual Costs

[Commentary] Myth #1: Hulu is costing broadband providers a ton of money - at least $1-2 per gigabyte. Truth #1: Hulu, and other online video services like it, do generate a considerable amount of broadband traffic in the United States. But since ISPs are actively seeking a way into the online video marketplace themselves, the solution seems to be system upgrades. Myth #2: Online video is such a problem, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand adopted usage allowances to limit customers watching Hulu and other online video services "like from the BBC." Truth #2: Hulu restricts access to the majority of its content outside of the United States. If you are watching from Canada, Australia, or South Africa, you're more likely to encounter an error message telling you this content is not licensed for your area.

Thursday, September 24, 2009, 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center
Washington D.C.

Join fellow government and industry executive for the Fall 2009 Town Hall Meeting on September 24, 2009 in Washington D.C. The Fall Town Hall Meeting will provide the opportunity for attendees to participate in open dialogue with prominent telework leaders to discuss best practices in telework as well as building and expanding telework programs within the Federal government.

Consisting of two tracks, the event program will explore telework policies, performance, management, and technology for executive management, HR, and IT departments. The luncheon keynote, titled "A Breath of Fresh Air" will feature Janice Nolen, Assistant Vice President, National Policy and Advocacy at the American Lung Association.

Speaker faculty includes:

  • Jennifer Alcott, Telework!VA
  • Janie Bowen, Virginia Department of Taxation
  • Kenneth Buckeye, Minnesota Department of Transportation
  • Pamela Budda, U.S. Department of Defense
  • Danette Campbell, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • David Clifton, U.S. Marine Corps
  • Joseph Ganci, Department of Labor
  • Cynthia Heckmann, Government Accountability Office
  • Mary HorseChief, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
  • Bill McAlpin, Defense Information Systems Agency
  • Greg Najjar, Sprint
  • Noah Nason, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
  • Theresa Noll, U.S. General Services Administration
  • John Palguta, Partnership for Public Service
  • Josh Sawislak, U.S. General Services Administration
  • Lisa Schlosser, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Matthew Scholl, National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Ari Schwartz, Center for Democracy and Technology
  • Tomas Soderstrom, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Allison Tanner, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Tom Temin, Federal News Radio
  • Kimberly Wells, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Forum on Communications and Society
Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program
August 16-19
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/communications-society/program...

The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program is pleased to announce this year's FOCAS, , which will be streamed live online at www.aspeninstitute.tv. Tune in Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. eastern time and join the dialogue.


Alert: NTIA-RUS Extend BTOP/BIP Deadline

UPDATE: The application closing deadline for the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is extended until 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on August 20, 2009, for any electronic applications pending as of 5 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009. There are no changes to the filing instructions for paper applications.

To take advantage of the extension, an applicant must, by 5 pm on August 14, 2009, take the following steps:

Log into the Easygrants® System at www.broadbandusa.gov
Select "Start a new application" under "Apply for a new grant/loan;"
Select one of the two choices for available funding opportunities;
Select "Continue;" and
Select "ok" when prompted "Are you sure you want to apply for the program."

All other requirements for electronic submissions set forth in the NOFA remain unchanged. There are no changes to the filing instructions, requirements, or application deadline for paper submissions.

www.broadbandusa.gov

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