September 2009

FTC Seeks Public Comments on the Future of the News Media in the Internet Age

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comments in advance of upcoming workshops that will explore the Internet's impact on the news media, including the new avenues for innovation and the financial challenges that it has created for the industry. The FTC is asking for input on a series of questions to be addressed in the workshops, including: How is the Internet changing the way consumers access news and how advertising dollars are spent? What economic challenges do news organizations face today? What cost-cutting measures have news organizations considered? Which have they adopted, and how have they affected the provision of news to consumers? What collaborations are news organizations undertaking or considering to deal with financial challenges brought about by the Internet? How is the Internet changing the way news organizations and others research, write, edit, produce, and distribute news? What innovative forms of journalism have emerged due to the Internet? What are the business models, including the revenue sources, for journalism on the Internet? How are news organizations likely to compete for audience and advertising in the future? Are new or changed government policies needed to support optimal amounts and types of journalism, including public affairs coverage? Should the tax code be modified to provide special status or tax breaks to all or certain types of news organizations? Do current U.S. copyright protections provide enough incentive to create news content? Should the federal government provide additional funding for news organizations? Comments are due November 6.

Nielsen Adds Internet Speed, Usage, Gaming To TV Ratings Characteristics

In another step toward the integration of online and television, TV ratings researcher Nielsen Co. has informed its clients that it is adding new sample characteristics to its ratings software that will enable advertisers, agencies and media companies to identify the composition of TV audiences based on their household Internet connection speed, persons Internet usage, whether the households are "telephone-capable," and whether the households play video games. Nielsen said the data, which will be available alongside conventional demographic sample characteristic descriptors as age, gender, and ethnicity, would be used by clients to "better understand who is viewing in order to optimize advertising campaigns." Nielsen said it has been collecting the Internet and gaming characteristics data in its national people meter sample, but had not provided them in its regular reporting until now, because some clients have requested that they be made available.

DVRs in 36% of households

Digital video recorders (DVRs) are now in 36% of all U.S. homes, four times more than the penetration of just four years ago, according to a study from Leichtman Research Group. But even with the deployment of all those time-shifting devices, more than 90% of TV viewing in the country remains the traditional, live-linear type. The study also says that at least 65% of those owning DVRs begin their TV-watching experience by watching live television, then switch to their recorded programming after determining there's nothing that interests them there. Despite the proliferation of TV shows on Web sites like Hulu, at least 98% of television video is viewed on TV screens.

Distracted driving blamed for 5,800 US deaths

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Wednesday called distracted driving a serious epidemic with more than 5,800 annual U.S. traffic deaths tied to motorists who failed to keep their eyes on the road. The proportion of deadly accidents tied to distracted driving climbed from 11 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in 2008, according to the figures culled from police reports. By comparison, drunken driving accounted for roughly 30 percent of all fatalities. The figures were significant but may not show the full problem since identifying distraction as a cause of crashes, especially in fatal accidents, can be difficult, transportation officials and safety experts acknowledged. A separate survey released Wednesday by the Transportation Department showed 6 percent of drivers, or 812,000 people at any one time, used hand-held cellphones while driving in 2007. One percent used other hand-held devices to send text messages or read.

Tate: Deregulation We Can All Agree On

[Commentary] Here's the top ten suggestions for what both the public and private sector can do to promote diversity:

1. Bring back the Tax Certificate Policy.

2. Hold access to capital hearings on a regular basis in financial and media centers like Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas.

3. Investors must make diversity a priority in their overall portfolios.

4. Venture capital firms should create leadership development programs to better prepare women and minorities to lead fast-growth businesses, whether high-tech or not.

5. Major corporations and trade associations should encourage and sponsor additional research to examine the process by which men, women-, and minority-led ventures are screened by angel and venture capital firms, to determine if there are any differences; and based on that research, establish blind review processes where necessary.

6. Trade associations should enlist marketing experts and corporate coaches, as well as PR and image consultants to donate their time to assist borrowers and buyers to present their best-case scenarios to financial institutions and investors.

7. Companies should track investments and performance of investments by gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as geographic location, and sponsor research to examine the extent to which venture capitalists, angels, and limited partners (pension funds, endowments, and insurance companies) perceive investments in women and minority-led ventures as more risky investments.

8. States and large corporations should set aside funds for small, disadvantaged, women and minority investments.

9. Companies should establish internships and structured mentoring programs to help women and minorities get into the pipeline so they can eventually be considered for leadership and ownership positions.

10. The Federal Communications Commission -- and indeed all government agencies -- should launch a review of all of agency rules and repeal the ones that impede diversity while serving no critical purpose.

Progress still slow on electronic health record adoption

Adopting standards for electronic health records (EHRs) is being slowed by the issues of deciding who controls the patient health data and how that control should be exercised, panelists at an industry forum said. "This is one of the thorniest issues in pursuing EHRs," Joel Slackman, managing director for policy for Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, said at "Health IT: Improving the Health System with Information Technology," an event held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "It has been debated for years and years. ...There are strong partisans on both sides." The debate centers on how much control patients should have to segregate and mask their records to protect their privacy. For example, some patients do not want their dermatologists to see their records for substance abuse treatment. Also, some doctors don't like the idea that they may be denied access to critical information about patients' health when treating them.

Americans Optimistic On Healthcare IT's Potential

With proposed legislation for healthcare reform dividing the country, a surprising consensus is emerging on healthcare IT: Most Americans like its promise for improving health care, holding down costs, and increasing access. Those are some of the conclusions revealed in a broad survey of the US population conducted by Harris Interactive for TechAmerica and the Career College Association. Most survey respondents--62%--said there's a shortage of educated healthcare workers to use HIT properly. Nearly 45% of the respondents said they're familiar with HIT applications through their doctor, while nearly 60% said they had seen electronic medical records in use.

iPhone's share of the smartphone market hits a record 40%

Apple now has a substantial — if not the largest — share of the smartphone market in every region of the world except Asia and Africa, according to a report issued Wednesday by AdMob. Overall, the iPhone's worldwide share grew to 40% from 33% over the last six months. In North America, its share of the smartphone market is 52%, as measured by hits on AdMob's ads.

Patton Boggs Lands Former FCC Chair Kevin Martin

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has joined the Patton Boggs telecommunications practice. He will oversee the firm's technology and communications practice with Jennifer L. Richter.

Northeastern University
Boston, MA
October 16 & 17

This year we have wide array of workshops that focus on social media and organizing work for both beginners and experts. Topics include: creating websites, building rapid response networks, using databases and e-mail lists, fundraising and "micro" donations, community art, virtual worlds, and more. Rather than offering a blind "techno-lust," the conference engages in levelheaded thinking about using the latest technologies towards the strategic objectives of activists and organizations for both problem solving and empowerment.

Organized in tandem with the National Writers Union's Digital Media Conference, it will feature programming that looks at the implications of digital tech for content creation. We are looking forward to a diverse turnout from immigrants, communities of color, labor organizations, and peace movement groups and will also act as a platform for regional work on the Detroit 2010 US Social Forum!

Please join us and take action!
1) Register on the Conference Website: http://www.GrassrootsTech.org
2) Facebook - Network for the Event: http://tinyurl.com/yaljehe
3) Facebook - Become a Fan of our mission: http://tinyurl.com/y9da62n

Read more about Grassroots Use of Technology Conference

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