October 2010

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2010

Become a Benton Foundation friend on Facebook!

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
   Washington Post Endorses Comcast-NBC: Ironically Proves Dangers of Mega-Merger
   Rep Waters Uses Fox/Cablevision Hook to Talk Comcast/NBCU
   Copps Talks Comcast/NBCU On Visit To Allbritton Facilities
   Cablevision Makes Its Case Against Fox
   Fox Declines to Point Finger at Cablevision
   World Series at Risk for Cablevision as FCC May Not Help in Spat
   Travel Sites Ally to Block Google Deal
   Vatican to rich countries: stop "excessive zeal" for IP rights
   China Telecom Giant Makes Push for US Market
   NAB ready to pay the piper

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Three FCC Members Pan Latest Broadband Compromise
   The National Broadband Plan and Small Business
   Taking another stab at home networking over power lines
   100 Mbps DSL is Here & 800 Mbps is Around the Corner
   Researchers Warn of Newly Discovered Cyber-Threat
   Directors blame filmmaking crisis on Internet

JOURNALISM
   Why the White House Struggles to Be Heard
   Newspaper Circulation Decline Slows
   Noncommercial Stations Defend Government Funding As Crucial
   Fox's news shakeup not as dire as some feared

MEDIA & ELECTIONS
   Political Ads: Get Ready for the "Google Blasts"
   2010 Midterm Coverage Hits a New High

PRIVACY
   Social and Online Media Need Privacy Plan Now
   Thousands of Web Users Delete Profiles From RapLeaf

EDUCATION
   To Save Students Money, Colleges May Force a Switch to E-Textbooks

WHAT NEWS WAS
   Who "ruled the air" in 1910? (and who rules it now?)

MORE ONLINE
   Commission on Government Technology Opportunity in the 21st Century Releases Action Plan for Improving Federal IT
   Fed Health Information Tech Chief Talks About E-Medical Records
   Mobile DTV: A technology in search of a business model

back to top

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

ANSWER TO WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Josh Silver]
[Commentary] The Washington Post published a piece of unabashed corporate advocacy, arguing that the pending mega-merger of cable giant Comcast and NBC-Universal should be swiftly approved by regulators. The editorial claims that media concentration is not a problem, and that "advocacy groups (opposing consolidation) have been poor prognosticators of the effects of large media mergers." The great irony of the Post's endorsement is that the editorial itself is a poignant example of why the Comcast-NBC merger is so dangerous. When media companies control too much, their own interests -- and opinions -- directly conflict with the public's desperate need for sound policy and diverse, independent, critical viewpoints. The Post is not a disinterested or neutral observer in this case. The Washington Post Company owns Cable One, provider of television, Internet and phone services to several states. They own six television stations, a long list of print publications, plus Slate.com, Foreign Policy and other online sites. Yes, the op-ed technically discloses this, but fails to disclose how greatly these interests influence the Post's position on this issue.
benton.org/node/44004 | Huffington Post, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top

COPPS AT ALLBRITTON
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps got a tour of Allbritton's Washington (DC) operations (WJLA-TV, Politico and Newschannel 8) last week, where executives for all three talked about the "grave" implications of the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger on competition in the Washington market. Allbritton Chairman Robert Allbritton, company President Fred Ryan and station manager Bill Lord focused on reports that NBC's WRC was planning to launch a local news channel in competition to NewsChannel 8. Allbritton has been pushing for divestiture and programming nondiscrimination conditions on the deal. The executives also talked about the combination of Comcast's Spotlight sales team with WRC-TV given that Spotlight currently also represents Cox Cable in Fairfax (VA) as well.
benton.org/node/43985 | Broadcasting&Cable | National Journal | The Hill
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CABLEVISION RESPONDS TO FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In response to a letter from the Federal Communications Commission concerning the retransmission impasse, Cablevision said it was documenting "clear" evidence of bad faith negotiations by Fox parent News Corp., and wants the FCC to step in ASAP. Cablevision says News Corp. has demanded a "take it or leave it" rate, that it timed the deadline to deny access to baseball playoffs, and that it has benefited from FCC waivers to allow it to own multiple outlets in the New York market, power it is attempting to leverage against Cablevision. Cablevision also argues that Fox is "hiding behind" a most favored nation clause and has refused arbitration that would determine the true value of its TV station signals. Cablevision asked the FCC to require Fox to reinstate its TV station signals and submit to outside arbitration.
benton.org/node/44002 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FOX ANSWERS FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Fox says it has "carefully complied" with its statutory duty to conduct its retransmission consent negotiations in good faith, but it made no characterizations about Cablevision's negotiations. While Cablevision said Fox was not bargaining in good faith, Fox did not make the same accusation.
Fox did not say it lacked that evidence, only that it was not offering it up: "We respectfully decline to do so at this time. We remain hopeful that negotiations will continue and ultimately result in a retransmission consent agreement acceptable to both parties." Fox said it had been able to reach deals with others, but was discouraged by its failure to do so in this case. Fox said it recognized its approach to retransmission had changed from seeking to launch cable networks to getting cash, but that today it was imperative to tap a second revenue stream or it would not be able to acquire the major sports events. Fox says it did not present its offers as take it or leave it, but Cablevision' made it clear that its preferred path was to continue to seek political or regulatory relief. Fox suggested that appeals for help from Washington have helped prevent a deal. "[T]he specter of a politically imposed arbitration or heightened regulation has become an impediment to reaching a business solution." In an interesting twist, Fox says that on Monday, Oct. 18, two days after the stations went dark on Cablevision, the cable operator "suggested it might be willing to purchase WWOR-TV from Fox." Fox said it did not think outside binding arbitration would be an "effective path" to the resolution of this or other retransmission disputes.
benton.org/node/44015 | Broadcasting&Cable | read the letter
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FCC MAY HAVE LITTLE AUTHORITY
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Todd Shields, Kelly Riddell]
The Federal Communications Commission may lack the powers to do anything to resolve the Fox-Cablevision impasse, said Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. "It would be extraordinary for them to order Fox to put programming back on," she said. The FCC would need to find a lack of so-called good faith in the talks before acting, and even then the law probably doesn't let it order arbitration, Arbogast said. Examples of a "good faith violation," as defined in the 1992 Cable Act, include one party refusing to put forth more than a single, unilateral proposal to the other party, a company trying to "unreasonably delay" negotiations, and failing to respond to a proposal, among others. "It's going to be tough to find a lack of good faith in negotiating," Arbogast said. "What they're fighting over is the money."
benton.org/node/44014 | Bloomberg
Recommend this Headline
back to top

ATTEMPT TO BLOCK GOOGLE-ITA DEAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Thomas Catan]
Several popular online travel companies are joining forces to oppose Google Inc.'s proposed $700 million purchase of ITA Software, the leading provider of flight data, saying the deal would give it too much sway over the travel sector. Expedia Inc., Kayak.com, Sabre Holdings and Farelogix Inc. -- which operate half-a-dozen leading online travel sites -- are forming a coalition called FairSearch.org to persuade the Justice Department to block Google's latest deal. The companies are also launching a lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill, making the case to members of Congress that the deal would allow Google to dominate the online air-travel market by giving it control over the software that powers many of its rivals in the travel search business. Google responds that buying the service will help it provide more useful information to consumers when they search for flight data. But opponents of the deal worry that Google could limit access to ITA's software, which is used by many of the flight-comparison sites operated by the members of the newly formed coalition. Expedia also runs Hotwire and TripAdvisor. Sabre runs Travelocity, while Kayak runs also SideStep.
benton.org/node/44013 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

EXCESSIVE ZEAL FOR IP RIGHTS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
On September 21, the Vatican observer at the United Nations, Mons. Silvano Maria Tomasi, addressed the 48th general assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. He let the group know that the Vatican supports intellectual property rights (IPR) because such protection "recognizes the dignity of man and his work" and because it contributes to "the growth of the individual personality and to the common good." But Tomasi then went on to make a point we've harped on repeatedly here at Ars: supporting IP rights in general does not always mean supporting tougher patent and copyright rules; "better" does not always mean "stronger." "A stronger system of protection could either enhance or limit economic growth," Tomasi said. "While strengthening IPRs has potential for enhancing growth and development in the proper circumstances, it might also raise difficult economic and social costs. Indeed, developing economies could experience net welfare losses in the short run because many of the costs of protection could emerge earlier than the dynamic benefits."As for the argument that companies will invest more development money in poorer countries that boost their IP protections, Tomasi notes that "improved IPRs by itself is highly unlikely to produce such benefits." What's needed is education, financial markets, and better technical training -- "human capital" and social infrastructure. Simply demanding that all countries adopt the tough IP standards of wealthy nations won't help anyone.
benton.org/node/44010 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top

RADIO ROYALTIES
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Ted Johnson]
The radio board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters gave the greenlight to a plan in which stations would start paying performers for playing their songs over the air, but they placed a series of conditions on their support that raise doubts if a compromise with the music industry reached last summer will go forward.
Tom Matzzie -- spokesman for MusicFirst Coalition, an org of performers, musicians and record labels -- said they were "disappointed that (the NAB board) failed to vote on the deal both parties agreed upon in July." Last summer, after months of negotiations under pressure from congressional leaders, both sides announced they had come up with a compromise in which, among other things, the music industry would seek to collect lower fees and the Copyright Royalty Board would no longer set the royalty rates for broadcast and Internet streamed music. At the time, the NAB said it still needed to gather input from its members and the compromise needed the approval of its board. The most provocative aspect of the compromise was that each side would agree to push for a congressionally mandated requirement that mobile devices include a radio chip so users could access station broadcasts. That immediately triggered opposition from the Consumer Electronics Association, among other tech groups.
The NAB's conditions spell out in detail what the revised legislation should contain:
If the legislative mandate for the radio chips "becomes initially unattainable," radio broadcasters would agree to an initial performance fee payment of 0.25% of net industry revenue, matching the current percentage of radio activated mobile devices in the U.S.
Once market penetration of mobile devices with radio chips reached 75%, the broadcasters would agree to pay the full 1% of net industry revenue.
Reducing the streaming rates that broadcasters already pay for simulcasts and webcasts. If the mandate for a radio chip does not pass, that rate reduction would not take place until 50% of mobile phones have the radio chip.
Resolving outside the legislative process a dispute with the American Federation of Radio Television Artists over the simulcast of over-the-air radio commercials on the Internet.
MusicFirst would recognize "the unparalleled promotional value of terrestrial radio airplay."
benton.org/node/44008 | Variety
Recommend this Headline
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

RECLASSIFICATION PLAN AT FCC
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
With a Republican Congress potentially on the way, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is running out of options -- and time -- to find a strategy for regulating broadband that his fellow commissioners will accept and the courts will allow. Without it, he and his top advisers believe, Chairman Genachowski may be stymied in his drive to preserve the Internet's openness and extend affordable broadband to most Americans within 10 years. After a court challenge prevented the chairman from implementing key tenets of his national broadband plan, a last-ditch compromise that might have elicited bipartisan support from the other FCC members has, instead, drawn resistance from three of the four. Republican commissioners are urging Chairman Genachowski to scrap his original fix, which involves regulating broadband under a different provision, and instead defer to Congress -- or else face a backlash. But Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps wants Chairman Genachowski to stop stalling and put the remedy up for a commission vote while he still can -- and the clock is running down. "I would've liked to have taken that vote some time ago," Commissioner Copps said.
benton.org/node/43986 | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

NBP AND SMALL BUSINESS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Genachowski]
On April 27, Sen Mary Landrieu, the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski question as a follow-up to a hearing on federal efforts to expand small business Internet access. Questions include: 1) how the National Broadband Plan will advance opportunities for small businesses, including women and minority-owned small businesses, 2) the role of municipal broadband, 3) allowing placement of wireless towers on federal buildings, 4) broadband competition, and 5) broadband reclassification.
On October 15, Chairman Genachowski wrote back to the Small Business Committee saying that the National Broadband Plan contains a number of strong
recommendations to advance opportunities for small businesses, including women and minority-owned small businesses. To improve availability of broadband infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, the Plan proposes a once in a generation transformation of the Universal Service Fund, shifting support from plain old telephone service to broadband communications. The Plan also lays out a strategy for unleashing additional spectrum for wireless broadband; enabling incentive auctions and market-based solutions for driving spectrum to its highest, best and most efficient use and promoting flexible and unlicensed spectrum use -- such as the FCC's recent effort to free up white spaces for unlicensed use to unleash a host of new technologies such as "Super Wi-Fi" and other diverse applications. To bring more broadband choices to small businesses, and improve affordability, the Plan recommends taking steps to promote competition, including the development of an effective framework to ensure that small businesses benefit from robust, healthy competition in the marketplace.
benton.org/node/44001 | Federal Communications Commission | Small Business Committee
Recommend this Headline
back to top

JOURNALISM

WHY THE WHITE HOUSE STRUGGLES TO BE HEARD
[SOURCE: Daily Beast, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
[Commentary] The White House message machine has been rather clunky. President Barack Obama basically saved the auto industry, and the feds will likely turn a profit on the banking bailout that began at the end of the Bush era -- but these points have all but vanished into the ether. And President Obama might have found a way to publicize that he cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans in the much-derided stimulus bill -- a fact that fewer than one in 10 people realizes, according to a CBS/New York Times poll. A conflict-hungry news business that rarely reflects on success is partially to blame, but that's life in the big leagues. You go to war with the media you have. Despite Obama's sky-high profile, White House advisers scoff at suggestions of overexposure, saying that shrinking viewership requires the president to make multiple appearances to reach the same audience that Reagan could with a single network interview.
benton.org/node/43988 | Daily Beast
Recommend this Headline
back to top

NEWSPAPER CIRC DECLINE
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Lucia Moses]
US newspaper publishers slowed their circulation declines in the most recent reporting period, although they continue to face the long-term reality of a shrinking industry. In the April-September reporting period, average daily newspaper circulation declined 5 percent, while average Sunday circulation declined 4.5 percent year-over-year, according to just-released Audit Bureau of Circulation figures. That's not as bad as the previous two six-month reporting periods, when circulation accelerated its long-term decline as consumers tightened their purse strings and publishers cut back their circulation to reduce distribution costs during the ad recession.
benton.org/node/43998 | MediaWeek
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FOX BROADCAST NEWS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Paul Bond]
Local news is losing viewers at an alarming rate, so News Corp. executives during the summer directed the company-owned stations to try something different: roundtable discussions, guests, analysis -- the sort of thing Fox News Channel does. Left-wing bloggers reacted immediately, saying that the directive -- from Fox Stations Group president Dennis Swanson -- was a nefarious attempt to demand that the stations mimic the likes of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck on a local level. Keith Olbermann at MSNBC led the charge, crowning Swanson his Worst Person in the World. But fast-forward three months, and it's hard to find progressive politicos who even remember the controversy, let alone care about it anymore. That's because the news broadcasts of the Fox stations are following the directive, but audiences haven't noticed any sort of new political slant to their local news.
benton.org/node/43999 | Reuters
Recommend this Headline
back to top

MEDIA & ELECTIONS

GOOGLE BLASTS
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: EB Boyd]
If you're sick of political advertisements, you're probably planning on turning off the boob tube this coming weekend, since the final days before an election is historically when campaigns flood television programming with last-minute appeals. But if you want to completely avoid the new mud-slinging, you might need to stay off the Web too. And maybe your cellphone as well. Campaigns across the country have a new weapon in their armory -- online advertising network blasts, also called "Google blasts." And we're not talking about the AdWords text-based messages that appear next to your results on Google Search. We're talking full-color display ads (banners, videos, and others) that appear on the millions of sites--on both computers and mobile devices -- that get their ads from the Google display ad network.
benton.org/node/43987 | Fast Company
Recommend this Headline
back to top

PRIVACY

SOCIAL MEDIA NEEDS A PRIVACY PLAN
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: David Card]
Privacy isn't just Facebook's problem. In fact, the whole consumer Internet and media industry had better get its collective act together on the privacy front or get ready to face serious consumer backlash and, perhaps worse, government regulation. Regardless of their behavior as consumers, many people say they care about privacy. Social media companies should be wary of potential government regulation. If legislators were to impose strict rules on information sharing or opt-in practices, the usefulness for consumers and companies of social graphs could be drastically reduced. The online media industry needs to rev up its lobbyists (Google spent $1.2 million on lobbying this quarter; Facebook $120,000), explain what's going on to legislators and to the public, and seriously consider self-regulation. Additionally, social media companies should:
Explain what they're already doing with consumer information, and not on developer blogs. These stories need to be on home pages and in ad campaigns.
Go after real bad guys publicly. Facebook, for instance, is suing spammers.
Use the publicized information outlined in the first two points to create a set of best practices and an audited seal of approval.
Use an organization like the Online Publisher's Association — rather than the Internet Advertising Bureau or the Direct Marketing Association — as a hub for public campaigns. It would be better PR coming from the publishers, who shouldn't be afraid to play the "democracy needs a viable press, and the press needs viable advertising" card.
benton.org/node/43984 | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

THOUSANDS DELETE RAPLEAF RECORDS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel]
Thousands of people opted to delete their profiles from Internet tracking firm RapLeaf Inc. on Oct 25, briefly causing some delays in the company's systems. The rush followed a Wall Street Journal article on RapLeaf that investigated the San Francisco firm's role in gathering and selling personal details about individuals to marketers and political campaigns. The article, part of the paper's What They Know investigation into online privacy, reported how the company takes a step beyond traditional online trackers by collecting real names and email addresses of Internet users to build detailed dossiers on them. The company allows consumers to permanently opt out of its tracking at RapLeaf.com. A "few thousand" people opted out of RapLeaf's services on Monday, causing some delays in sending confirmation emails, said Joel Jewitt, RapLeaf's vice president of business development. Mr. Jewitt said the systems are "working now and we're making sure everyone is notified."
benton.org/node/44012 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

EDUCATION

A FORCED SWITCH TO E-TEXTBOOKS?
[SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Young]
For a real disruption in the textbook market, students may have to be forced to change. That's exactly what some companies and college leaders are now proposing. They're saying that e-textbooks should be required reading and that colleges should be the ones charging for them. It is the best way to control skyrocketing costs and may actually save the textbook industry from digital piracy, they claim. Major players like the McGraw-Hill Companies, Pearson, and John Wiley & Sons are getting involved. To understand what a radical shift that would be, think about the current textbook model. Every professor expects students to have ready access to required texts, but technically, purchasing them is optional. So over the years students have improvised a range of ways to dodge buying a new copy—picking up a used textbook, borrowing a copy from the library, sharing with a roommate, renting one, downloading an illegal version, or simply going without. Publishers collect a fee only when students buy new books, giving the companies a financial impetus to crank out updated editions whether the content needs refreshing or not. Here's the new plan: Colleges require students to pay a course-materials fee, which would be used to buy e-books for all of them (whatever text the professor recommends, just as in the old model). Why electronic copies? Well, they're far cheaper to produce than printed texts, making a bulk purchase more feasible. By ordering books by the hundreds or thousands, colleges can negotiate a much better rate than students were able to get on their own, even for used books. And publishers could eliminate the used-book market and reduce incentives for students to illegally download copies as well.
benton.org/node/44009 | Chronicle of Higher Education
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WHAT NEWS WAS

WHO RULES THE AIR?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
A century ago, the insurgent phone company of the time -- American Telephone and Telegraph -- found itself swimming in a sea of public worry. Consumers and independent providers feared (rightly as it turned out) that the corporation would prevail in its ultimate goal, the acquisition of almost all of the nation's phone lines. And so AT&T launched the Progressive Era equivalent of Verizon's current "Rule the Air" campaign. In terms of policy objectives, the historian Roland Marchand thought that AT&T's crusade worked. When the Federal Communications Commission launched its first probe into the company's aggressive practices in the mid-1930s, AT&T emerged "virtually unscathed" from the ordeal. "When observers asked why investigations of the telephone monopoly had elicited almost no public support during the perilous mid-1930s, corporate analysts almost unanimously gave credit to AT&T's thirty-year campaign of coordinated institutional advertising and public relations," his study concluded.
benton.org/node/43982 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top