June 2010

The absence of a modern communication network made it virtually impossible last week to quickly warn campers of an approaching downpour, which led to flash floods that tore through the Albert Pike campground in Arkansas, killing at least 19. Now, some have begun to rethink the value of being unplugged in this remote area about 75 miles west of Little Rock.

Looking for the federal government to come to the rescue of newspapers? Don't hold your breath.

The Federal Trade Commission has set out on the somewhat quixotic journey of trying to identify ways to save journalism as we know it from possible extinction. Through a series of public forums, the last of which will take place in Washington on Tuesday, the commission has been gathering and analyzing an array of suggestions to help make the business of gathering and reporting news profitable again. A broad range of ideas — loosening antitrust statutes to allow news organizations to start charging for online content all at once; imposing a tax on iPads and other electronic devices to subsidize the cost of reporting; creating a public fund akin to AmeriCorps to pay young journalists — have been suggested. But the commission could easily sidestep making any recommendations to Congress or invoking its regulatory powers, and instead issue something along the lines of an analysis of its findings.

The commission is expected to produce a final study late this year.

When a group of computer experts last week disclosed a flaw in AT&T's website that made iPad owners' email addresses public, some security researchers accused the group of criminal behavior and the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into the incident. The backlash surprised the experts, who collectively go by the moniker Goatse Security.

"We tried to be the good guys," said Escher Auernheimer, a member of the group. Drawing attention to the flaw, he said, "was the only way to get public notification." For its part, AT&T reached out to iPad users bv email Sunday, blaming the incident on "computer hackers" who "maliciously exploited" an attempt by the carrier to speed the process of logging in to its website. The comments were the harshest yet by the carrier, which apologized for the security lapse and said it would cooperate with any efforts to investigate or prosecute the breach. Goatse couldn't immediately be reached for comment on AT&T's remarks. The incident -- along with another episode last week where a Google researcher went public with a security flaw in some Microsoft software before the company fixed it -- have revived debate in the technology industry over how exactly people should go about disclosing security problems.

Comcast and NBC Universal tried last week to ford the stream on what some are calling a diversity divide related to their vaunted deal. While some critics applauded their proposed advances in promoting the diversity issue, others found the new promises not quite good enough.

The companies' new and expanded pledges came in advance of a House Judiciary Committee field hearing in Los Angeles that focused on diversity. "It's a step in the right direction," says Samuel Kang, managing attorney for advocacy group The Greenlining Institute, who testified at the hearing in opposition to the deal. But he said Comcast would need to do much more "to approach adequate representation of the diverse demographics in the country." And Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a prominent figure in the hearing who has been pushing the FCC to keep diversity front and center in its review, had more to say about the motivation of the announcement than its substance, while adding she still needed to review the proposals. According to an aide, Waters doubted that the new pledges would have been made save for the big stick of a hearing.

Said Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice, "We've been working with diversity groups, members of Congress and other interested parties since the deal announcement on additional commitments."