September 2009

Chipping Away At Free Speech

[Commentary] In different ways, the Russian government, the Chinese government and unnamed Islamic terrorists are now capable of placing de facto controls on American companies -- something that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. In a world that seems more dangerous and less profitable than it did in the past, either greed or fear proved stronger than these companies' commitment to free speech. By caving to pressure, they have not made the world a safer place, however, either for themselves or for anyone else. In fact, each time an American company caves to illiberal pressure, the atmosphere is worse for everyone else. Each alteration made in the name of placating an illiberal group or government makes that group or government stronger. What seems a small lapse of integrity now might well loom larger in the future. All of these companies are making it much harder for everyone else to continue speaking and publishing freely around the world. There is no law or edict that can force these companies, or any American company, to abide by the principles of free speech abroad. But at least it is possible to embarrass them at home.

Chinese schools quietly discard controversial Web filter

Schools in Beijing are quietly removing the Green Dam filter, which was required for all school computers in July, due to complaints over problems with the software. China last month formally backed down on a plan to preinstall the Internet filter software on all new computers sold in the country after July 1 after an international and domestic outcry. But schools were still ordered by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to install the web filter, which Chinese officials said would block pornography and other unhealthy content. Critics said it could be used to spy on Internet users and block politically sensitive sites. Nonetheless, some schools have chosen to uninstall it.

Texting to Death

[Commentary] A leading road safety group, the Governors Highway Safety Association, has reversed field and announced its support for state laws banning drivers from sending and receiving text messages. The move is a welcome response to growing evidence that texting creates a greater risk of crashing than even drunken driving. While stronger state laws are essential, texting at the wheel is a national hazard that calls for a firm federal response. One answer would be to condition federal highway money on state compliance with reasonable safety standards. This has helped produce stronger laws against drunken driving.

Experts urge more study of cellphone radiation, especially on kids

More research is needed to determine whether cellphone radiation is harmful to humans, especially children, a panel of scientists and cancer researchers told a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Monday. Scientists to date have not been able to establish a hard link between cellphone radiation and cancer. But that doesn't mean that wireless devices aren't harmful, Dariusz Leszczynski, a radiation expert at the University of Helsinki, told the subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. To say that cellphones are "safe is premature," he said. Recent studies have suggested that people who use cellphones for 10 years or more are most at risk, Siegal Sadetzki, director of the cancer and radiation epidemiology unit of the Gertner Institute in Israel, told the committee. Cellphones have become commonplace only in the past decade or so. One thing most panelists agreed on: Children, because of their thinner skulls, are far more susceptible to radiation than adults. Radiation is emitted each time a cellphone call is made. Sen Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) promised to probe deeply into any potential links between cellphone use and cancer. Sen Harkin -- the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee -- said he was concerned no one has been able to prove cellphones do not cause cancer.

Fewer wireless carriers could rein in price cuts

How many wireless carriers do we need? It's a question that's popping up again as T-Mobile USA is said to be looking at buying Sprint Nextel Corp. Now that most people have a cell phone and once-heady growth in the industry is slowing, analysts say carriers are going to be looking at buying each other to increase their scale and to avoid competing too much on price. Consumers have been benefiting from relentless price-cutting on cell phone service in the past few years. Verizon Wireless and AT&T, No. 1 and No. 2 in the industry, have been grabbing most of the remaining customers who are willing and able to sign two-year contracts — Verizon because it has the best network, AT&T because it has the iPhone. That leaves No. 3 Sprint and No. 4 T-Mobile USA scrambling for lower-paying prepaid customers, where they are also competing with smaller carriers like MetroPCS and Leap.

The Case Against Buying Sprint Nextel

Deutsche Telekom's decision to merge its British division, T-Mobile U.K., with the local affiliate of Orange in early September fueled speculation a similar overhaul may be in the offing in the US. Although Sprint has become cheaper in recent years amid dimming financial prospects, Deutsche Telekom may still struggle to finance the purchase. Sprint Nextel may hold out for as much as $5.50 a share, or $15.84 billion, says Michael Nelson, an analyst at Nelson Alpha Research. But in an effort to avoid overextending itself, Deutsche Telekom may not be able raise more than $14.6 billion, says Phil Cusick, an analyst at Macquarie Research. But US antitrust regulators may not quickly green-light a merger. The U.S. wireless industry is already highly concentrated, with two players -- Verizon Wireless and AT&T -- controlling 62% of all wireless subscribers. Together, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile would have about 30% of the total. From 1996 to 2005, the Federal Trade Commission blocked 16 of 20 mergers in cases where industry concentration was at comparable levels.

Blumenthal calls for more study on uses of health IT

Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health IT, anticipates an enormous amount of research will be needed to determine the effectiveness of health information technology at the same time as it is widely deployed under the stimulus. In remarks at a conference sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Blumenthal said more documented research will help providers put their systems into practice and use it effectively. Until now, research about health IT has been limited, he said. Public and private organizations have conducted research to identify the value of electronic health records and other health IT systems in specific situations and institutions, like a single hospital, practice or health care network, Blumenthal told the AHRQ audience. But the stimulus will establish EHRs in many settings that have not been studied. So research will have to be ramped up to learn the best approaches of using health in those areas, he said.

FCC may finally act on WWOR-TV license renewal

They changed their web site. They changed their slogan. But it's the content that matters. WWOR-TV, which is located in Secaucus, is still fighting to keep its broadcast license nearly two years after Sen. Frank Lautenberg held a public forum with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to determine whether the station is living up to its mandate to serve the needs of Northern New Jersey. The FCC has required WWOR-TV Channel 9 to "perform a higher degree of service to its Grade B coverage area than is normally required of a broadcast licensee. At renewal time, WWOR-TV will be judged by how it has met the obligation to serve the greater service needs of Northern New Jersey." This requirement was first imposed on the station in 1984 when it made the move from New York City to Secaucus. Since then, some critics have charged that the station continues to be too-New York-centric in its news coverage, branding, and marketing. When the station's license came up for renewal in 2007, these critics used the opportunity to flag what they saw as problems with the station's coverage.

A Speech and a Shout Drive Health Care Coverage

The debate over how and if to reform the American health care system re-intensified and dominated the news agenda last week. That was fueled by a much anticipated Presidential speech and an unanticipated outburst from a South Carolina Congressman. For the week of September 7-13, the battle over health care reform accounted for 32% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. That equals the previous high-water mark in PEJ's News Coverage Index, which monitors the agenda of the mainstream media. That occurred during the week of August 10-16, when angry town hall confrontations were driving the press narrative. Last week, the event fueling media attention was President Obama's September 9 prime time address to Congress. In much of the coverage, the speech was depicted as a crucial attempt to regain momentum after a month when Obama opponents seemed to assume the upper hand in the message/political wars. But as it turned out, Obama had to share the media's post-speech post-mortems with Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, who heckled the President with the now famous "you lie" shout.

Google Releases News-Reading Service

Google, long seen as an enemy by many in the news industry, is making a bold attempt to be seen as a friend with a new service it hopes will make it easier for readers to read newspaper and magazine articles. On Monday, the company introduced an experimental news hub called Fast Flip that allows users to view news articles from dozens of major publishers and flip through them as quickly as they would the pages of a magazine. Google will place ads around the news articles and share resulting revenue with publishers.

Benton

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