June 2010

Treasury launches initiative to go paperless with federal benefits

The Treasury Department is kicking off an initiative to move recipients of federal benefits away from paper payments to direct deposit by March 2013. New enrollees receiving a range of benefits administered by the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs Department, Railroad Retirement Board and Office of Personnel Management will be required to receive payments beginning March 1, 2011, either through direct deposit into a bank account or through a Treasury-issued debit card. All existing check recipients will have to enroll to receive electronic payments by March 1, 2013. Treasury announced the initiative in April, saying that moving all recipients of these benefits to electronic payments would save more than $300 million in the first five years. Currently, 85 percent of federal benefit recipients receive their payments electronically. On Monday, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag said the shift to electronic payments will continue to save $120 million each year after the first five, and he painted the initiative as part of the administration's efforts to reduce wasteful spending in the federal government.

Blumenthal On Getting Doctors On Board With EHRs

A Q&A with National health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal. He discusses what's at stake as healthcare providers, especially smaller ones, start deploying and using EHRs.

Health IT ARRA Projects, Funding Moving Forward

[Commentary] Federal government agencies and departments are moving forward with implementing various health IT provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Public Meeting on Impact on Regulation of Converged Communications and Health Care Devices

Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration
July 26-27
See Public Notice:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-1071A1.doc

Pre-registration: Email registration by 5 p.m., July 19, to fcc-fdameeting@fcc.gov

Following up on the National Broadband Plan's recommendation to use the power of broadband to improve health care, the nation's lead agencies overseeing communications and medical devices have scheduled a joint meeting to discuss ways to promote investment and innovation in health technology by streamlining government processes.

The joint public meeting on July 26-27 between the Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration reflects a commitment by the two agencies to work even more closely to ensure the safety and reliability of wireless broadband-enabled medical devices while increasing their availability to consumers and health care providers. This collaboration is a critical step in the development and approval of new wireless medical devices and applications that hold great promise for improving the quality of health care and reducing costs.

Agenda

MONDAY, JULY 26, 2010

8:00 a.m. Check In & Vendor Showcase Begins

9:00 a.m. Welcome
Julius Knapp, Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission

9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks

  • Chairman Julius Genachowski, FCC
  • Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Food and Drug Administration

9:35 a.m. Session 1: Current State of Wireless Health & Lessons Learned

Panelists

  • Dale Wiggins, Philips
  • Charles S. Farlow, Medtronic
  • Jorge Valdes, DexCom
  • Elliot B. Sloane, Drexel University School of Biomedical Engineering

Roundtable

  • Jeffrey Shuren, FDA
  • Julius Knapp, FCC
  • Bernie Liebler, AdvaMed
  • Bonnie Norman, Intel
  • Kent Dicks, MedApps
  • Tom Watlington, Sotera Wireless

10:20 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. Session 2: Innovator Perspective

Panelists

  • Hillary Chen, Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House
  • Don Jones, Qualcomm Inc.
  • Tim Kottak, GE Healthcare
  • David L. Hankin, Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research

Roundtable

  • Steve Pollack, FDA
  • Julius Knapp, FCC
  • Bernie Liebler, AdvaMed
  • Jorge Valdes, DexCom
  • Elliot Sloane, Drexel University
  • Bonnie Norman, Intel
  • Kent Dicks, MedApps
  • Dale Wiggins, Philips
  • Tom Watlington, Sotera Wireless

12:15 p.m. Lunch

1:45 p.m. Session 3: Healthcare Provider, Clinician & Patient Perspective

Panelists

  • Adam Darkins, Veterans Affairs
  • Col. Ron Poropatich, TATRC, USAMRMC
  • Julian Goldman, Partners HealthCare and Massachusetts General Hospital

Roundtable

  • Bakul Patel, FDA
  • Kerry McDermott, FCC
  • Mike Tilkin, American College of Radiology
  • Chantal Worzala, American Hospital Association
  • Neal Sikka, George Washington University Medical Center
  • TBD, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
  • Bill Riley, National Institutes of Mental Health
  • Stephanie Bruce, Washington Hospital Center

3:00 p.m. Break

3:15 p.m. Session 4: Investor and Research & Development Perspective

Panelists

  • Darren Hite, Aberdare
  • Joseph Smith, West Wireless Health Institute
  • Kaveh Safavi, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group - Healthcare Practice

Roundtable

  • Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein
  • Phoebe Yang
  • Jeffrey Dygert, AT&T
  • Blair Levin, Aspen Institute
  • Nancy Kamei, Intel
  • Phillip Low, NeuroVigil, Inc.
  • John Maschenic, Verizon

4:30 p.m. Public Comments

5:15 p.m. Summary of Day 1 & Preview of Day 2

5:30 p.m. Adjournment

TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2010

9:00 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
Julius Knapp, FCC

9:10 a.m. Session 5: Reliability - How to Define Quality of Service
Panelists

  • Peter Koo, Ericsson
  • Neal Seidl, GE Healthcare
  • Tom Watlington, Sotera Wireless

Roundtable

  • Abiy Desta, FDA
  • Tom Peters, FCC
  • David Hankin, Alfred Mann Foundation
  • Jake Leach, DexCom
  • Audie Atienza, National Institutes of Health
  • Dale Wiggins, Philips
  • Dean Brenner, Qualcomm
  • Kevin Fu, University of Massachusetts

10:25 p.m. Break

10:40 a.m. Session 6: Electromagnetic Compatibility - How to Promote EMC
Panelists

  • Jim McCoy, InnerWireless
  • Rick Hampton, Partners Healthcare System
  • Terry Mahn, Fish & Richardson

Roundtable

  • Brian Beard, FDA
  • Rashmi Doshi, FCC
  • John Collin, American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the AHA
  • Troy Nagle, NC State U. & UNC Chapel Hill
  • Ken Fuchs, Draeger Medical Systems
  • Ted Osiniski, MET Labs

11:55 a.m. Public Comments

12:40 p.m. Summary, Areas for Focus & Next Steps

1:00 p.m. Adjournment

FDA and FCC are planning to focus the public meeting on the following topics:

A. Data integrity and reliability issues arising from the use of allocated spectrum, the use of unlicensed devices, and the use of commercial networks and applications, and needs, uses, and risks for 'medical-grade' wireless technology and communications.

B. Medical device and system security issues - inadvertent and intentional intrusion - nonfunction and malfunction.

C. Trends in medical devices using allocated spectrum and using unlicensed operation, and medical devices and applications using commercial networks. Consideration of various wireless networking scenarios and use cases.

D. Risks Management:
a. The need to define levels of "criticality" of device function that can be used for determining reliability requirements.
b. Environmental factors and delivery setting - hospitals, users, clinics, home, travel, etc.

E. Views on current FDA and FCC regulatory requirements:
a. Relationship between FDA approval/clearance and FCC certification of applications, post market and compliance requirements.

Each of the previous topics will cover
1. Defining topics and scope;
2. Identifying the needs, goals and stakeholders; and
3. Recommendations.

FCC and FDA are seeking comments on the topics and soliciting suggestions on alternate or additional topics that commenters deem closely related. All comments and suggestions will be considered with the constraint of completing the workshop in no more than two days. To be considered, topics proposed must be relevant to the objective and intent of the workshop.



June 15, 2010 (Rural Broadband)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JUNE 15

Today's busy agenda includes rural broadband, TV White Spaces, a FTC discussion on journalism, diversity at the FCC, and a new cybersecurity bill http://bit.ly/awvZZ0


NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   FCC plan 'relegates' rural areas to 'second class'
   Congress Looks to Borrow $2 Billion for Public Safety Net Grants
   Kerry, Snowe urge FCC to hurry up on freeing spectrum for wireless
   FCC, NTIA Hold Biannual Spectrum Meeting
   Looking Under the Hood: Technical Paper on Options for Broadcast Spectrum
   Wireless Spectrum Needs: What is the Best Way to Serve All of the American People?
   Universal Service Working Group
   Free Press backs FCC on data roaming rules

JOURNALISM
   Government can (help) save the news -- but maybe not newspapers
   Five Media Policies the FTC Should Support
   Let's subsidize open broadband, not journalists
   The Evolution of News and the Internet

CONTENT
   Now in Blogs, Product Placement
   Sports Fans Weigh In on Retrans Impasses
   A State May Pay for a Movie, if It Likes Its Message
   Using Social Networking as Legal Tool
   Guggenheim to pick 20 YouTube videos for museum display
   Video games to triple music market by 2014
   Video games based on new movies take a hit
   When the media's big story spills over from day to day
   Blame Game Intensifies in the Gulf Oil Saga

PRIVACY
   Silicon Valley readies for privacy battle
   Targeting Phone Security Flaws

OWNERSHIP
   Murdoch seeks full control of BSkyB, but meets resistance
   FCC Urged To Block Tribune TV Move
   In defence of Apple

TELEVISION
   Outlook for television providers is decidedly sunny

STORIES FROM ABROAD
This headline is presented in partnership with:

   Singapore Gets Wired for Speed
   Finland To Decriminalize The Use Of Open Wi-Fi Hotspots
   Broadband providers urged to end buffering
   Carlos Slim, America Movil get closer to telecom consolidation

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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

RURAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The National Broadband Plan relegates rural areas to "second class" broadband capacity and widens the so-called digital divide, a bipartisan group of 22 senators charged in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. Among those who signed last week's letter were Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Max Baucus (D-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Barrasso (R-WY). It follows a similar House effort last month in which a bipartisan group of 42 members expressed opposition to parts of the National Broadband Plan, the FCC's decade-long agenda for getting everyone in the U.S. online and boosting broadband speeds across the country. Both letters charged that the agency is not ambitious enough with its broadband goals for rural America, especially in comparison with its targets for cities.
benton.org/node/36871 | Hill, The
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$2 BILLION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY NET
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A draft bill the House Communications Subcommittee will consider June 17 proposes borrowing up to $2 billion from the Treasury to fund the construction of an interoperable public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band. For years, the Federal Communications Commission has been trying to establish the network but failed to draw a minimum when it auctioned the D Block of spectrum set aside for a public-private public safety network partnership. In its National Broadband Plan, the commission suggested Congress might want to step in to help fund the network rather than count on auctions alone. The National Telecommunications & Information Administration will administer the construction fund grants to public safety organizations and determine who should get them--much as it is doing with broadband stimulus grant money--while the FCC will establish an advisory board and handle a maintenance and operation fund, which will provide up to 50% of the ongoing costs of networks. Grantees will have to put up 20% of the cost of their networks. The networks' construction fund will also get money--up to $5.5 billion--from spectrum auctions of at least 25 MHz of contiguous spectrum and the D Block spectrum.
benton.org/node/36867 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WHITE SPACES LETTER
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Sens John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to free up unused spectrum, known as "white spaces," because it could help narrow the digital divide. Arguing the move would "empower manufacturers and consumers to construct multiple paths to the Internet," the senators said the proposal would help bring the Internet to the 14 million people in the United States who still lack access. "The 'white spaces' spectrum provides an opportunity to reach these Americans," Snowe said. The agency makes the same recommendation in its National Broadband Plan. In the plan, the agency says its must move "expeditiously" to unleash white spaces for wireless broadband, completing a proceeding it took up six years ago.
benton.org/node/36868 | Hill, The | B&C | TechDailyDose
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FCC, NTIA TALK SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Lawrence E. Strickling met on Friday, June 11, 2010 to discuss their agencies' complementary roles with respect to commercial and Federal spectrum. Federal law directs the agency heads to meet biannually to conduct joint spectrum planning. FCC Chairman Genachowski said, "I am very pleased with our discussion on spectrum transparency and other critical issues and look forward to our continued collaboration with NTIA. Working together we will find the means to maximize spectrum use, which in turn will create jobs, unleash investment, and promote economic growth." Assistant Secretary Strickling said, "Expanding access to broadband Internet is a key element of President Obama's strategy to create durable, sustainable economic growth. To do this, we must make the most efficient use of spectrum while protecting critical federal operations. The FCC is our partner in addressing this challenge, and we had a productive meeting. I am very optimistic about the progress NTIA and the FCC can make through our work together."
benton.org/node/36864 | Federal Communications Commission | B&C
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OPTIONS FOR BROADCAST SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Julius Knapp]
A new provides further details on the technical analyses that support the recommendations in the National Broadband Plan relative to repurposing the TV broadcast spectrum. The FCC strongly emphasizes two critical points that are the cornerstones of the paper. First, any contributions of spectrum by TV broadcasters to an incentive auction will be voluntary. Second, consumers will continue to have access to free over-the-air TV broadcasting service and every effort will be made to minimize any losses of service due to repacking of the TV broadcast band. This paper presents several new analyses and methodologies that are worth pointing out:
The paper offers more detail on how an incentive auction might work.
It presents the first, in-depth analysis and publication by the FCC of actual bandwidth requirements of various video streams. The analysis provides data to support the assertion that two television stations could voluntarily share a single six-megahertz channel and continue to broadcast their primary video streams in HD.
It provides an initial look at a new TV allotment optimization model being developed by the FCC. This model will help to maximize the efficiency and collective benefits of broadcast TV and broadband services in the band. For example, it will allow the FCC to optimize channel assignments to achieve various objectives within given constraints, such as minimizing disruption to over-the-air television viewers.
This paper represents the start of the process ­ not the conclusion. It offers provocative ideas that deserve to be fully vetted and considered. That is why Chairman Genachowski asked the Commission staff to hold the Broadcast Engineering Forum.
benton.org/node/36863 | Federal Communications Commission | read the paper
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CLYBURN ON SPECTRUM AND BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn]
Speaking at the annual convention of the Rainbow Push Coalition. Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn talked about the spectrum needs of the US. Noting that spectrum has always been considered scarce, wireless broadband services are driving today's spectrum conversation. Wireless broadband service requires more and better spectrum to deliver at the speeds and quality necessary to offer a quality broadband experience for consumers. Networks that are constrained limit the ability of the user to have a meaningful mobile experience. Moreover, additional spectrum could foster more competition in the wireless space, which in turn could yield more affordable prices. Commissioner Clyburn pointed to some critical issues to be addressed: Where does the broadcast spectrum fit in to the equation? How could voluntary spectrum auctions affect the diversity of broadcast ownership? Moreover, as more spectrum becomes available for auction, what role will minority businesses play? Are we going to continue to see spectrum go to the largest providers? Or are there meaningful opportunities to be had for small and underrepresented businesses in this high-growth field?
benton.org/node/36862 | Federal Communications Commission
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UNIVERSAL SERVICE WORKING GROUP
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has formed an internal Universal Service Working Group to provide a comprehensive, collaborative approach to the FCC's reform of universal service programs to better support broadband. The working group will be led by Sharon Gillett, Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, and will include participation by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the International Bureau, the Office of General Counsel, the Office of Managing Director, the Office of Strategic Planning, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and the Wireline Competition Bureau. In order to streamline the process for meeting with staff regarding Universal Service issues related to the broadband action agenda, the Commission has created a Webpage for requesting meetings. Parties who wish to request such meetings may do so by using an Internet form. Parties who lack Internet access may direct their requests to Alexander Minard, Wireline Competition Bureau, (202) 418-1500.
benton.org/node/36865 | Federal Communications Commission | Request for Ex Parte Meeting | Sharon Gillett blog | The Hill on Ex Parte requests
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FREE PRESS ON DATA ROAMING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Free Press is backing the Federal Communications Commission's proposed rule requiring carriers to sign agreements allowing out-of-network data roaming on cell phones for a reasonable price. The rule is aimed at protecting mobile and smartphone users that make use of wireless data networks for Web surfing and e-mail while out of network from being hit with high roaming charges. The FCC first put out a notice proposing the rule in April; initial comments on that proposal were due June 14. "The proposed data roaming rules will help smaller wireless companies offer affordable nationwide mobile broadband services, increasing competition and ultimately lowering prices for all wireless consumers," said Free Press policy counsel M. Chris Riley. "Data roaming is an essential component of reform for the mobile broadband market."
benton.org/node/36869 | Hill, The
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JOURNALISM

FOCUS ON NEWS, NOT NEWSPAPERS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: CW Anderson]
[Commentary] Public policy has a role to play in fostering an entrepreneurial, innovative, reinvented journalistic sphere that, in the language of the recent Knight Commission Report, sustains democracy in a digital age. Net neutrality is a good place start, and so is open data, but government might have additional roles to play in stabilizing precarious local news ecosystems -- as long as such support does not unfairly benefit monopolistic incumbents. Is it possible for large, unwieldy government bureaucracies like the Federal Trade Commission to strike this balance? Questions like this are really questions about whether it is possible to envision a meaningful public life that lies beyond both the market and our supposedly "unfettered" digital space (which is actually far from unfettered). In asking these questions, we're really inquiring about the viability of democracy itself.
benton.org/node/36858 | Ars Technica
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FIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR FTC
[SOURCE: SaveTheNews.org, AUTHOR: Josh Stearns]
Free Press is suggesting five policies we believe that the FTC should support in it's final report that would help build a media system that fosters innovation and supports a forward-thinking approach to the future of news.
1) Invest in Broadband deployment and Safeguard Net Neutrality: This recommendation was missing from the FTC's Discussion Draft, but is perhaps one of the most central media policy issues of our time. As more news and information moves online and employs innovative digital tools, it's essential for both journalists and citizens that we achieve universal Internet access. Equally important is ensuring that no news organization be censored by government or Internet service providers. Thus, even as we work to expand broadband, the future of news and innovation also depends on instituting strong Net Neutrality protections.
2) Expand America's Public Media System: We need to re-imagine the role of public and noncommercial media in America. For too long, our politics and policies have treated public media as a second-class alternative to the mainstream media. We only spend $1.35 per capita on public media in federal money, where leading nations spend 70 times as much.
3) Uphold and Enforce Antitrust Laws and Media Ownership Limits: Too often in debates over the future of news, people neglect to acknowledge the role media consolidation has played in creating the media crisis we face today.
4) Change Tax Policy to Encourage Innovation and Investment in Journalism: Who would have thought our tax code would have such a bearing on the future of news? Our tax code gives very little clarity about the IRS's view of news organizations as charitable entities, especially if they also want to accept ads, and gives even less guidance on the formation of hybrid organizations - newsrooms that have qualities of both for and nonprofit entities. If we want to foster innovative funding models and expand noncommercial news, we need clarity on some of the pressing questions raised during the FTC's inquiry over the last year. Tax changes could also directly encourage new investment in news through programs.
5) Encourage Government Transparency and Access to Government Data: The FTC Discussion Draft dedicates significant space to policies that could help journalists gain access to government information and lower the costs for access to that information. The use of government data has driven innovative journalism efforts from DocumentCloud and EveryBlock, to the data centers at the Texas Tribune and California Watch.
benton.org/node/36857 | SaveTheNews.org
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OPEN BROADBAND, NOT JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: Salon, AUTHOR: Dan Gillmor]
[Commentary] Advise to the Federal Trade Commission: First, direct subsidies for journalism are the wrong way to go, even dangerous. But we absolutely could use the kind of indirect help -- taxpayer-funded deployment of high-capacity, wide-open broadband networks -- that would be an analogue to the early American postal subsidies, and then some. This would be essential infrastructure, aimed at beefing up all 21st Century commerce and communications, including but not limited to journalism. Second, if we got serious about broadband in this way, entrepreneurs would almost certainly come up with the journalism, including a variety of business models to augment or replace today's, that would provide the public good we all agree comes with journalism and other trustworthy information. To be fair, some of the subsidy advocates say they don't want to prop up newspapers per se, though some of their remedies would do just that; others are less shy, and their explicit goal is to save newspapers. I love newspapers. I worked in them for almost 25 years. But I'm not itching to bail out a business that is failing in large part because it was so transcendentally greedy in its monopoly era that it passed on every opportunity to survive against real financial competition. With a few exceptions, the newspaper industry essentially deserves to die at this point.
benton.org/node/36856 | Salon.com
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OECD REPORT ON JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, AUTHOR: Sacha Wunsch-Vincent]
This study provides an in-depth treatment of the global newspaper publishing market and its evolution, with a particular view on the development of online news and related challenges.
It assesses online news consumption patterns and new online news value networks, compared with the traditional newspaper value chain. It shows that the economics of news production and distribution has been radically altered, in particular in the context of the economic crisis which has accelerated structural changes. After very profitable years, newspaper publishers in most OECD countries face declining advertising revenues and significant reductions in titles and circulation. The economic crisis has amplified this downward development. However, the data and the large country-by-country differences, for instance, currently do not lend themselves to make the case for "the death of the newspaper", in particular if non-OECD countries and potential positive effects of the economic recovery are taken into account.
Importantly, the study shows that many promising forms of news creation and distribution are being experimented with, some of which are empowered by increasing technological sophistication and resulting decentralized forms of content creation and broad-based participation. The rise of the Internet and other technologies radically changes how news is produced and diffused. It enables the entry of new intermediaries that create and distribute news, including online news aggregators, online news publishers, mobile news actors, citizen journalism and many more. Information providers with very different trajectories (TV, newspapers and Internet companies) are now competing head-on in a global online news environment. More recently newspaper websites have seen strong growth in their own pages, with large newspapers reporting several million unique visitors to their pages per month, increasingly including readers from abroad, a radical shift from national patterns of established newspapers.
benton.org/node/36855 | Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
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CONTENT

PRODUCT PLACEMENTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: J. David Goodman]
As blogs take their place alongside traditional media, their writers must grapple with how to take advantage of moneymaking opportunities, steer clear of federal regulations -- and remain their ornery independent selves. The promise of a blog lies in its unfiltered voice. Yet the lure of profit is no less powerful for the Web-only writer than for the print reporter. It's just that most print reporters operate with at least some institutional oversight. The federal government has recently stepped in to fill this role for bloggers, issuing new guidelines and stepping up enforcement to help ensure that any marketing campaigns are properly disclosed. Advertising remains within the bounds of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which outlaws deceptive marketing. For example, a blogger must be clear about any "material connections" with a sponsor, especially if these would not be expected by the reader.
benton.org/node/36870 | New York Times
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RETRANSMISSION AND SPORTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a June 14 filing, the Sports Fan Coalition urges the Federal Communications Commission to keep broadcasters from pulling signals during retransmission impasses, saying it is in the public's interest and pointing out that sports stadiums are often built with their tax money. "The record in this proceeding reveals a battle between broadcast media conglomerates and the pay-TV companies that distribute their programming. The Commission needs to protect a group of people who pay their bills and contribute to ratings but have become collateral damage in this corporate smack-down: sports fans," the coalition writes. The coalition includes former Bush and Clinton officials, a sports writer, a public advocacy executive and a couple thousand members, according to David Goodfriend, one of the driving forces behind the group and a former EchoStar executive. (Goodfriend is also a former Clinton administration and Hill staffer.)
benton.org/node/36866 | Broadcasting&Cable
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
This headline is presented in partnership with:


SINGAPORE FIBER NETWORK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop]
Singapore could soon be the first country blanketed with a fiber optic infrastructure so fast that it would enable the contents of a DVD to be downloaded in only a few seconds. The new network is expected to give a strong boost to the growth of services like online video and Internet telephony. Pyramid Research, which analyzes the telecommunications business, expects the revenue of Singapore telecommunication operators to rise to $5.1 billion by 2014 from $3.8 billion in 2009. The new network, stimulated by an investment of 1 billion Singapore dollars, or about $700 million, from the government, will help the country leap ahead in an international race to roll out faster broadband speeds, a competition in which several Asian countries are in leading positions. While policy makers in many places are still debating their high-speed broadband strategies, considering, for example, whether development should be led by the public or private sector, broadband users in some parts of Asia already have access to the next generation of high-speed networks.
benton.org/node/36854 | New York Times
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MORE ONLINE
   To Cut Kids' TV Time, Parents Need To Impose Limits Consistently

KIDS, PARENTS AND TV
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Chao Deng]
It's a constant struggle with kids. You know they shouldn't watch so much TV, but how do you unglue them from the screen? A recent study suggests that setting limits on screen time and being consistent about them can make a difference. Researchers interviewed thousands of kids aged 9 to 15 and their parents. Less than half the parents said they "always" or "very often" put a limit on television time for their kids. An important factor was whether the parents knew that the recommended limit for screen time is less than 2 hours a day. Kids under two shouldn't watch TV at all. About a quarter of parents thought the recommended limit on TV and video game time was 3 hours or more. Not surprisingly, their kids were more likely to end up watching more TV.
benton.org/node/36860 | National Public Radio
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   Advocates say poor need available free cell phones

WIRELESS LIFELINES
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer, AUTHOR: Alfred Lubrano]
Should the poor have cell phones? It's a question that has engaged both ends of the political spectrum since 2004, when the conservative Heritage Foundation published a controversial paper saying the poor enjoy "high living standards" and cited as proof that many have cell phones, among other things. In rebuttal, advocates for the poor have argued that cell phones are not luxuries but necessities, as basic to modern life as electricity. Complicating the debate these days is a new development: free cell phones for the poor and working poor distributed by a Miami wireless company. They're paid for, in part, by charges on phone bills that the federal government allows carriers to levy. It's a little-known collaboration between the federal government and phone carriers, devised by the Reagan administration 26 years ago.
benton.org/node/36859 | Philadelphia Inquirer
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   NPR, PBS, APM, PRI And PRX Band Together For Shared Digital Platform
benton.org/node/36861 | paidContent.org | www.broadcastingcable.com
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PRIVACY
   Silicon Valley readies for privacy battle
   Targeting Phone Security Flaws

PRIVACY BATTLE
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Mike Swift]
In the wake of a series of privacy missteps by Google, Facebook and other companies, a growing chorus on Capitol Hill is calling for major online privacy legislation and Silicon Valley companies are girding for the battle. Washington politicians say they are increasingly concerned about how Silicon Valley's treatment of personal data could infringe on constituents' online privacy. Even as Congress begins to debate a controversial bill intended to update online privacy rules, a constant drip of headlines this spring about privacy problems affecting Google, Facebook and, now, Apple, has caused several congressional committees, the Obama administration, and members of Congress from both political parties to home in on the issue. "While privacy concerns have ebbed and flowed, I think it is fair to say that they are at an all-time high now," said Jim Dempsey, vice president for public policy for the Center for Democracy & Technology.
benton.org/node/36875 | San Jose Mercury News
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OWNERSHIP

MURDOCH AND BSKYB
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Ben Fenton, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Kenneth Li]
Directors of British Sky Broadcasting have rebuffed an initial attempt by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to take full control of the UK satellite broadcaster he founded 21 years ago. Murdoch's approach for the 61 per cent he does not already control valued the company at 700p per share, or close to £12bn, compared with a closing price on Monday of 600.5p. That suggests a full bid could cost News Corp more than £7bn, or almost twice as much as its $5.8bn acquisition of Dow Jones in 2007. Regulatory hurdles to a formal bid from the majority shareholder could be the biggest obstacle to completing a formal bid. BSkyB's directors are understood to be pressing for a higher offer in part to compensate shareholders for the long wait they would face for a bid to clear.
benton.org/node/36876 | Financial Times | FT - counter bid | Bloomberg
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PETITION TO DENY
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
Groups opposed to media consolidation are asking to Federal Communications Commission to block the transfer of Tribune Co.'s TV stations to a group of creditors that is struggling to bring the financially beleaguered media company out of bankruptcy. "Many of the same creditors that contributed to the ill-advised transaction that buried the Tribune Company in debt now seek unprecedented waivers to allow them to complete their looting of the assets of one of the nation's major media companies," the advocacy groups said. "Their applications should be dismissed or denied." The petition to deny was filed Monday night by Free Press, Media Alliance, NABET/CWA, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ and the Benton Foundation. The Tribune creditors have asked the FCC for the extension of waivers of media ownership limits so that they can own newspapers and broadcast stations in five markets, including Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as two TV stations in one of those markets, Hartford (CT).
benton.org/node/36874 | TVNewsCheck
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IN DEFENSE OF APPLE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Apple long ago shed the image of precocious upstart. Now that its technology sets the pace for consumer gadgets, habits of secrecy and control are prompting competitors, collaborators and government to start ejecting toys from prams. There is, however, an important difference between self-interested business decisions and anti-competitive abuse of power. An early lead in an emergent market for apps is no monopoly. The iPhone is not even the most popular smartphone, let alone dominant in mobile phones generally. Apple can and should do what it likes with its own products, leaving consumers to decide if they like the outcome - and take the risk, as happened to Apple in the 1990s, that they end up coalescing around someone else's products. Indeed, the presence of a competitive market is what prompted authorities to approve Google's $750m purchase of Admob in the first place. Furthermore, given the privacy debates prompted by Facebook and Google's use of data, a backlash seems likely when the public notices advertisers tracking their mobile habits. Controlling that process is an exercise in brand protection for a maker of highly personal and personalized hardware. Apple could be less secretive about its plans and intentions, but there is no need to make it play nice.
benton.org/node/36877 | Financial Times
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TELEVISION

OUTLOOK FOR TV
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
Broadcast, cable and satellite providers will be doing just fine by 2014 as they find their footing in the digital world and the economy improves, consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says today in its annual "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook" — one of the media industry's most widely used resources. Television will continue to be "driven by the traditional (TV) companies and traditional content" as many people begin to watch videos on high-speed Internet-connected PCs and smartphones, says Stefanie Kane, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Entertainment & Media Practice. That's welcome news for conventional TV providers after last year, when their ad sales fell 11% to $60.4 billion, according to the report. They'll make up that lost ground by 2012 and generate $75.7 billion from advertising in 2014, the firm forecasts. That doesn't include a jump in sales for TV transmitted via broadband. Advertisers will spend $4.8 billion in 2014, up 177% from last year, on shows that the traditional TV companies will offer online and to mobile devices, according to the forecast. Consumers also will pay more for television.
benton.org/node/36880 | USAToday
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A State May Pay for a Movie, if It Likes Its Message

Among the states that began underwriting film and television production with heavy subsidies over the past half-decade — 44 states had some sort of incentives by last year, 28 of them involving tax credits — at least a handful are giving new scrutiny to a question that was politely overlooked in the early excitement: What kind of films are taxpayers paying for? Content requirements touch a hot button in Hollywood, where filmmakers are on alert for anything that reeks of censorship.

Targeting Phone Security Flaws

The exposure of prominent iPad users' email addresses and device IDs has underscored how security is becoming a bigger concern for mobile devices.

Consumers are snapping up gadgets like high-powered cellphones and Apple's tablet computer, and the cellphone industry is counting on them to drive its growth. Meanwhile, the list of holes computer researchers are finding in the devices and their software is growing. In 2009, security experts identified 30 security flaws in the software and operating systems of smartphones made by companies like Apple, Nokia Corp. and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., up from 16 the previous year, according to a review of records in the National Vulnerability Database, a repository created in 2005 by an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Submissions are vetted and rated according to their severity.

Using Social Networking as Legal Tool

Law firms, particularly those that represent plaintiffs, are increasingly devoting resources to developing a presence online, where consumers -- and potential clients -- congregate. And some of those firms are also creating news sites. The plaintiffs' sites disclose that they are affiliated with law firms, but many have the look of community forums or news boards. And they have recently begun to supplant some more traditional marketing methods, such as yellow-page ads and radio and television spots.

Guggenheim to pick 20 YouTube videos for museum display

The Guggenheim Museum has announced that a new exhibition will come from YouTube. YouTube Play, which launched Monday, is a partnership between the video site and the renowned art museum. It invites users to submit their short creative videos. The top 20, chosen by a jury of professional artists, will be on view this fall at Guggenheim museums around the world.

Outlook for television providers is decidedly sunny

Broadcast, cable and satellite providers will be doing just fine by 2014 as they find their footing in the digital world and the economy improves, consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says today in its annual "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook" -- one of the media industry's most widely used resources.

Television will continue to be "driven by the traditional (TV) companies and traditional content" as many people begin to watch videos on high-speed Internet-connected PCs and smartphones, says Stefanie Kane, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Entertainment & Media Practice. That's welcome news for conventional TV providers after last year, when their ad sales fell 11% to $60.4 billion, according to the report. They'll make up that lost ground by 2012 and generate $75.7 billion from advertising in 2014, the firm forecasts. That doesn't include a jump in sales for TV transmitted via broadband. Advertisers will spend $4.8 billion in 2014, up 177% from last year, on shows that the traditional TV companies will offer online and to mobile devices, according to the forecast. Consumers also will pay more for television.