October 25, 2010 (Fox-Cablevision deadline)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010
Today: The Internet's Mid-Life Crisis http://bit.ly/dm3Dcj and the agenda for the rest of the week http://bit.ly/cEsjqo
TELEVISION
FCC Asks Fox and Cablevision to Defend Negotiations
Genachowski's Retransmission Approach a Winner
Fox to Cablevision Subs: Get Thee to an Antenna
FAIR vs PBS, Again
What the World (Really) Needs Now
CONTENT
Online Spats Mean less Free TV On Web
Public Knowledge Says TV Networks Wrong To Block Google TV
The Real Reason the Networks Are Blocking Goggle TV
How Google TV Could Hand Netflix The Entire Streaming Universe
There is No New Media: It's All New Consumption
IP Enforcement Policies Stir Censorship Debate
Parents Television Council Is on the Defensive
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Time to reboot our push for global Internet freedom
Administration's weather satellite plan opposed globally
Considering the Broadband Stimulus Efforts and Evaluating its Impact [Video]
Motley: Tea Party, aided by Internet, is natural opponent of Internet regulations [Video]
Texas sends Amazon.com a $269 million tax bill
POLICYMAKERS
For Steve Jobs, meeting with Obama comes as Apple faces increased scrutiny from Washington
JOURNALISM
Press Freedom Index 2010: U.S. ranks No. 20, Eritrea worst
NPR vs. Fox News: Juan Williams firing reveals deeper media fight
US public broadcasters share resources
Emerging Ethical Questions for Journalists
NBC Florida Station Produces Newscasts For Fox Rival
PRIVACY
White House Council Launches Interagency Subcommittee on Privacy & Internet Policy
A Web Pioneer Profiles Users by Name
Politicians Tap Sophisticated Online Tracking Tools
Tools for maintaining privacy on the Web
Google Adopts More Stringent Privacy Policies After Wi-Fi Snafu
2010 Privacy Report Card
Google faces fresh Street View inquiry in UK
Italy orders Google to mark Street View cars
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
TV wedding
Tribune Company files reorganization plan
Tribune CEO Michaels resigns, four-member council to run company
LABOR
Silicon Valley gains jobs year over year for the first time in almost two years
MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
Liberal groups hope $35M blitz can counter conservative groups' ads
In a reversal, Google money goes to GOP over Democrats
Political Ads Inundate Media Markets
Candidates Running Against, and With, Cable News
Pro-Republican Groups Prepare Big Push at End of Races
Politicians Tap Sophisticated Online Tracking Tools
HEALTH
About To HIT The Fan
Comment Sought on Provider-Entity Authentication for the Electronic Exchange of Protected Health Information
COMMUNITY MEDIA
New Library Technologies Dispense With Librarians
TELEVISION
FCC ENTERS RETRANSMISSION FRAY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has asked both Cablevision and Fox to explain -- by Monday, Oct. 25 -- how their negotiations square with the law that requires them to be "in good faith." The FCC also wants each side to provide any evidence against the other side if they have it. In a letter to News Corp. President Chase Carey and Cablevision President James Dolan, FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake said that the FCC has defined good faith bargaining as "conducted in an atmosphere of honesty, purpose and clarity of process." Lake wants each to describe how they are satisfying that requirement in the context of their retransmission consent battle. "In particular, we request that you describe with specificity what has transpired since you initially began your negotiations, and detail the efforts your company is making to end the current impasse. "As you know," he concluded, "your contract dispute extends beyond just Fox and Cablevision. Indeed, it affects millions of innocent consumers who expect to watch their preferred broadcast programming without interruption. We urge you to place the interests of these consumers first and conclude your negotiations promptly."
benton.org/node/43952 | Broadcasting&Cable | read the letter | The Hill | TechDailyDose
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DO NOTHING APPROACH APPLAUDED
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski should get an award for doing nothing in the Fox-Cablevision retransmission dispute. Don't laugh. Doing nothing is not so easy for policymakers and politicians in Washington. Most think it's their job fix everything that goes wrong in America, even something as trivial as viewers in New York and Philadelphia losing a handful of their 500 TV channels. Congress and the FCC got it right on retrans in early 1990s. They created a market where the buyers (cable and satellite operators) and sellers (the broadcasters) have more or less equal leverage. Sure, broadcasters have been able to squeeze fees out of the operators, but it has only been lately (the last five years) and it hasn't been much relative to the fees that some cable networks with a fraction of the ratings get. According to SNL Kagan, the average station is getting only 25 cents per subscriber. And when broadcasters and cable fail to reach an agreement as in the case of Fox and Cablevision, both suffer. All broadcasters should be rooting for Fox. If it gets what it's asking -- 95 cents for its two stations in New York, according to an SNL Kagan analysis -- it will set a new benchmark for broadcasters to shoot for. It will give them hope that they might eventually get their fair share of the $26 billion that cable and satellite operators now set aside for payments to programmers.
benton.org/node/43951 | TVNewsCheck
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FAIR VS PBS
[SOURCE: Public Broadcasting Service, AUTHOR: Michael Getler]
The PBS ombudsman responds to the recent Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting study finding PBS news and public affairs programming lacking in diversity -- especially concerning the guests on these shows. Getler notes that while numbers are important, and a useful measure, they do not always add up to providing real diversity that is useful both to the news organization and its readers or viewers. Getler focuses first on the diversity of the shows' hosts and correspondents saying PBS "presents perhaps the most diverse public face of any major network." Getler thinks PBS can still do better on the diversity front and that everybody will be better off, especially the viewers, if this is done properly. The FAIR analysis is a good reminder and renewable challenge, especially about the need for more public interest guests.
benton.org/node/43936 | Public Broadcasting Service
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WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW
[SOURCE: Oprah Magazine, AUTHOR: Donna Brazile]
[Commentary] If political consultant Donna Brazile were in charge, she'd make a few changes:
1. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine, which required holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance in an honest, equitable, and balanced fashion.
2. Eliminate pundits from TV. I know -- this sounds weird coming from me, a political commentator, but I've seen the way pundits erode intelligent discussion of issues until all that remains is a he said, she said fight between hired guns of the Right and Left. Remove punditry and you'd bring back civility.
benton.org/node/43929 | Oprah Magazine | The Huffington Post
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CONTENT
LESS FREE TV ON WEB
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Ryan Nakashima]
Broadcasters took a big step toward eliminating free TV shows on the Web after they blocked access to their programming online this month to enforce their demands to be paid. Recent actions by Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS in two separate fee disputes suggest that after a few years of experimenting with free, ad-supported viewing, broadcasters believe they can make more money from cable TV providers if they hold back some programming online. That could mean new limits on online viewing are coming: Broadcasters might make fewer of their shows available to begin with, or delay when they become available -- say, a month after an episode is broadcast, rather than the few hours it typically takes now. It would make it tougher for viewers to drop their cable TV subscriptions and watch shows online instead. If cable and satellite TV providers can hang on to more subscribers, broadcasters can then demand more money from them to carry their stations on the lineups.
benton.org/node/43965 | Associated Press
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PK OPPOSES GOOGLE TV BLOCKING
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
Broadcasters hold a public trust, whether they like it or not. They receive billions of dollars in free publicly owned spectrum to distribute their programming. It is truly disappointing that broadcasters would leverage their programming to deny access to viewers who watch the shows over another medium -- on cable or online. When a broadcaster exercises its market power in pursuit of maintaining a business model while stifling competition by blocking Hulu, Fox.com (or Google TV), the broadcaster violates that public trust and harms consumers. It is time to bring a rational structure to the rules and laws governing the retransmission of TV programming. If online video is to emerge as an independent medium, it must be free from the power that broadcasters bring to bear.
benton.org/node/43949 | Public Knowledge | The Hill
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WHY IS TV BLOCKING GOOGLE?
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Michael Learmonth]
The major broadcast television networks are blocking their content on Google TV. They are blocking Google TV because it is putting a web TV show, with web TV show economics, on a TV, which would be incredibly disruptive to their business. The reason the networks are blocking Google TV and Boxee (and Hulu is still PC-only) is about ad revenue: they don't get enough of it from the web. And letting you watch "Glee" on your TV, but via the web and Google TV, means substituting high broadcast revenue for lower digital revenue. Ultimately, the networks would like to either normalize the number of ads on the web and TV or increase the revenue per viewer-minute on the web through new, targeted or interactive ads. So far, networks like ABC, CBS and The CW have been increasing ad loads slowly, as the market and viewers will support it. Nielsen and others have systems in the works where the networks could measure or sell audiences across both TV and the web -- if the ad loads were the same. Once there is parity on the revenue per viewer per minute, then you will see web shows on Google TV or Boxee, and Hulu on your TV set. Until then, though, the networks will do everything in their power to keep TV shows distributed on the web on PCs and TV shows sold for TV on the big screen. No conspiracy of old media to stop technology or thwart user choice here; it's a rational business strategy, pure and simple.
benton.org/node/43948 | AdAge
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CUBAN ON GOOGLE TV
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Mark Cuban]
[Commentary] I personally can't think of anything stupider for the big broadcast networks to do than give their shows to Google for free. Why? Because they are finally getting BILLIONS of dollars in retransmission fees from their distributors. This is new money. It is found money. It is money they are fighting for. Now if Google were to go to those networks and offer them money per month for every buyer of a Google enabled device or TV, that would be different. Then they would be a TV provider competing with the rest and they should take their money. Think Google will ever do that? I don't. So giving the same content they not only charge their distributors for, but also charge their local affiliates for to Google for nothing or for a share of revenue? STUPID.
benton.org/node/43947 | paidContent.org
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NEW CONSUMPTION
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Om Malik]
[Commentary] So, now television broadcasters are blocking Google TV from getting access to the content they're putting online. They want to make sure they don't lose their advertising dollars. News flash: The cat is out of the bag. All information (including your precious television shows) are nothing more than bits on one network to rule them all -- the Internet. The knee-jerk response from the television industry and media to services like Google, Apple, Amazon and Netflix is a typical reaction from institutions of the past century, and a result of limited and short-term thinking. The broadcasters aren't the only ones. When I look at these industries and the failure -- or impending failure — of these institutions, I see a fundamental mistake on their part to understand their own core businesses. They fail to see the world in a larger context, and instead, choose to focus on maintaining the status quo. If they took their cue from Apple (everywhere computing) or Amazon (any content anywhere), they could have found answers to their problems.
benton.org/node/43946 | GigaOm
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PIRACY AND CENSORSHIP
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
Efforts to ramp up intellectual property enforcement in the digital marketplace are bumping up against free speech advocacy in an international treaty nearing completion and a pending Senate bill. Rights holders and many government leaders are determined to crack down on Internet piracy through stricter enforcement, but public-interest groups argue that such rules can jeopardize free speech, particularly in countries without the types of safeguard measures found in American law.
benton.org/node/43942 | CongressDaily
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PTC ON DEFENSIVE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes]
The Parents Television Council spent most of the last decade as a conservative superstar in the culture wars. By pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on racy programming, the council was responsible for record-setting fines against media giants like CBS and the News Corporation. But the organization now finds itself damaged, defanged by court challenges to the FCC's hard-line position, by its own dwindling finances and by internal troubles that resulted in its accusing a former senior employee of extortion. Meanwhile, the entertainment industry -- once so afraid of the council's wrath that Fox blurred the naked behind of an animated character -- is pushing the boundaries of taste with renewed intensity. Forget cartoon nudity. One of CBS's new fall sitcoms is called "$#*! My Dad Says." A catchy song with a highly vulgar title and chorus by the Warner Music Group singer Cee Lo Green has burned up the Web. Miley Cyrus, the 17-year-old Disney star, writhes on a bed in black underwear in her new music video. The council has tried to focus public indignation on such programming, but the efforts have mostly failed to gain serious traction.
benton.org/node/43959 | New York Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
TIME TO REBOOT GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jackson Diehl]
[Commentary] The Bush Administration received the first $15 million put in the Department of State's budget for firewall-breaching technology through the efforts of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), among others. It gave most of the money to a company that specializes in training journalists. The next appropriation, of $5 million, was inherited by the Obama Administration; it took more than 18 months to dispose of it. Of that funding, $1.5 million was given in August to the Broadcasting Board of Governors for distribution to the Global Internet Freedom Consortium. But the BBG has yet to turn over the funds. Meanwhile, State has not even begun the process of distributing the $30 million in its budget for fiscal 2010, which ended three weeks ago. Assistant Secretary Michael Posner says that's because State has been busy developing a detailed strategy for implementing Sec of State Clinton's Internet freedom goals. It will, he said, be aimed not just at busting Internet firewalls but also at heading off governments' moves to regulate the Internet. So while funding for circumvention "will be an important piece" of the program, so will research into technologies and training, including of State's own personnel. Posner told me, "the money should follow the strategy." That sounds reasonable. Yet while State is polishing its policy and preparing yet more training programs, Iranians and people from dozens of other countries are trying to get free access to the Internet. The technology exists to give it to them. State has the money in hand to pay for it. Yet after years of delay, the agency still hesitates to act. Posner says this has nothing to do with fear of offending China; but last year The Post quoted an unidentified State Department official saying the opposite. Either way, it's a poor record.
benton.org/node/43968 | Washington Post
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NTIA SPECTRUM PLANNED OPPOSED
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Bob Brewin]
A host of weather-related groups around the globe strongly oppose the Obama Administration's plans to reallocate spectrum weather satellites use to commercial cellular carriers in support of the National Broadband Plan. The groups include the World Meteorological Organization, weather agencies in countries such as Canada and Vietnam, state and local agencies, and commercial weather service providers in the United States. WMO said the plan could end up threatening the operation of a global constellation of 20 weather satellites, including four geostationary operational environmental satellites and four polar-orbiting satellites the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates. Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of WMO, a United Nations agency, said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission that a spectrum sharing plan for weather satellites in the United States could influence other countries to try the same thing, which "would put at risk meteorological and hydrological activities worldwide" and jeopardize a global system whose operation costs run between $2 billion and $3 billion annually. "There is no alternative to spectrum for METSAT [meteorological satellite operations], and no alternative frequency band that can provide similar reliable and available service," Jarraud wrote. Weather balloons also rely on the 1675-1710 MHz band, and while NOAA launches only two balloons per day, Jarraud said 100,000 weather balloons are launched around the world each year, carrying radiosondes which collect data necessary to fine tune weather forecasts.
benton.org/node/43945 | nextgov
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EVALUATING THE BROADBAND STIMULUS
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Rahul Gaitonde]
Now that all of the broadband stimulus funding has been distributed, its effectiveness can now be evaluated. That was the message at the Broadband Breakfast Club on Tuesday, October 19. While the long term value of the stimulus is still unknown, panelists were able to gauge the way in which the funds were distributed. Overall, panelists felt that the program was well established. the program a grade of B+. Benton Foundation Chairman Charles Benton praised the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service for their hard work given their limited resources. He gave the program process an "A." He also highlighted the fact that it was a very convivial process with very few points of contention.
benton.org/node/43944 | BroadbandBreakfast.com | see the event
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TEA PARTY OPPOSITION TO NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Tea Party activists should oppose network neutrality rules because their movement has strongly benefited from the Internet, said Seton Motley, president of the free-market group Less Government. The democratizing nature of the Internet, which gives unknown activists a voice, has been crucial in helping the movement organize, according to Motley. "Everything the Tea Party has done — virtually everything — all the conversations, all the meetings, all the organizing, has been online," he said, calling the Web "their No. 1 weapon." "Nothing has made free speech and political organization more horizontal than the Internet," he said. "Leftists," Motley said, are aware of this. It has prompted them to favor network neutrality policies that would prevent Internet access providers from discriminating on how fast they deliver the apps and content that run over their networks. "They want to plant their flag and snatch up control of it now before it gets any bigger than it is," he said.
benton.org/node/43943 | Hill, The | see the video
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POLICYMAKERS
JOBS, OBAMA MEET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
It seemed only natural for President Barack Obama to meet with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs during his Silicon Valley visit. After all, President Obama has held dozens of similar meetings with corporate chieftains over the past two years and Jobs runs the nation's most-valuable tech company. For the notoriously private Jobs, however, the nearly hour-long get-together marked a significant departure. Unlike his main rivals in Silicon Valley, including Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Jobs has expressed little interest in the affairs of Washington -- except when government regulations mess with his business, particularly patents, trade, and taxes. The sit-down highlights a growing tension for Apple, a once-forgotten relic that has transformed the music, publishing, mobile phone and television industries over the past ten years with must-have mobile devices. Apple's expanding influence in the marketplace and its soaring market value, which hit $280 billion as of Friday, have brought it closer scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers. So far, Apple still only has a small, low-key lobbying staff in Washington. Analysts say that the company risks following in the footsteps of other high-tech firms that ignored political pressure until they were hit with antitrust investigations and regulatory complaints.
benton.org/node/43939 | Washington Post
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JOURNALISM
PRESS FREEDOM REPORT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Melissa bell]
Reporters Without Borders, the journalism watchdog group, released its Press Freedom Index for 2010, tracking media freedom across 178 countries. The report measures the violations of press freedom in the world, taking into account murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats as well as censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment. The United States remained in the same position as it occupied last year: No. 20 on the list, behind most of the Northern European countries, New Zealand, Japan and Estonia. Although Europe does have 13 countries in the top 20, 14 countries in the E.U. rated much lower in the rankings. The announcement made it clear that economic development does not ensure press freedom. Despite similar economic growth, Brazil and India vastly differed in media rights. Brazil rose 12 places in the past year to No. 58, while India fell 17 places to No. 122. The 10 worst countries for journalism are Rwanda, Yemen, China, Sudan, Syria, Burma, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea. These countries are "marked by persecution of the media and a complete lack of news and information," the report reads.
benton.org/node/43954 | Washington Post
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NPR VS FOX NEWS
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Brad Knickerbocker]
National Public radio's firing of news analyst Juan Williams couldn't come at a worse time for public radio. Not only did it occur in the midst of on-air fund-raising by many public radio stations, it also happened just as controversial figures connected to NPR and Fox News -- liberal philanthropist George Soros and conservative commentator Glenn Beck -- are engaged in a harsh rhetorical fight. Fox News is Mr. Williams' other employer and the place where he made his controversial statement about Muslims. Mr. Soros recently donated $1.8 million to NPR, seen by conservative critics (and certainly by Mr. Beck) as proof (a) that NPR is a liberal mouthpiece and (b) that billionaire Soros pressured NPR to get rid of Williams. "Up until then, opinions by NPR correspondents and analysts had been expressed in abundance, but Williams' statement on Fox, because it was expressed on Fox, amounted to apostasy," editorializes Investor's Business Daily. "The firing sends a message that Fox is beyond the pale and must be silenced." The fall-out from William's dismissal has been sharp and swift, and it's likely to continue.
benton.org/node/43964 | Christian Science Monitor, The | CSM - commentary
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PRIVACY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND INTERNET POLICY
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Cameron Kerry, Christopher Schroeder]
As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to promoting the vast economic opportunity of the Internet and protecting individual privacy, the National Science and Technology Council has launched a new Subcommittee on Privacy and Internet Policy. Populated by representatives from more than a dozen Departments, agencies and Federal offices, and co-chaired by the two of us, the subcommittee will develop principles and strategic directions with the goal of fostering consensus in legislative, regulatory, and international Internet policy realms. The public policy direction developed by the Subcommittee will be closely synchronized to privacy practices in federal Departments and agencies, resulting in a comprehensive and forward-looking commitment to a common set of Internet policy principles across government. These core principles include facilitating transparency, promoting cooperation, empowering individuals to make informed and intelligent choices, strengthening multi-stakeholder governance models, and building trust in online environments.
At the same time, the Subcommittee will work closely with private stakeholders to identify Internet policy principles that promote innovation and economic expansion, while also protecting the rule of law and individual privacy. Throughout this process, the Subcommittee will endeavor to strike the appropriate balance between the privacy expectations of consumers and the needs of industry, law enforcement and other public-safety governmental entities, and other Internet stakeholders. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/43963 | White House, The
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GOOGLE PRIVACY POLICIES
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Brian Womack]
Google is strengthening internal privacy controls after its mapping service mistakenly gathered personal e-mails and passwords from unsecured wireless networks. The company is improving training for workers, including engineers, in areas such as product management and legal affairs, and strengthening compliance procedures. In addition, the company appointed Alma Whitten, the company's engineering leader on privacy, as director of policy for engineering and product management. Starting next month, Google will also require all employees to go through an information security awareness program.
benton.org/node/43933 | Bloomberg | Google
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PRIVACY REPORT CARD
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center, AUTHOR: ]
The Obama Administration scores a grade of C in Consumer Privacy, B in Medical Privacy, D in Civil Liberties, and B in Cybersecurity. Concerning civil liberties, EPIC found that the Administration has aggressively asserted the "state secrets" doctrine, expanded Fusion Centers and watch lists, and subjected all American air travelers to unconstitutional body searches in airports. Incredibly, the White House allowed the President's Civil Liberties and Privacy Oversight Board to languish. Even the Bush Administration made this a priority.
benton.org/node/43953 | Electronic Privacy Information Center
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POLITICIANS AND WEB TRACKING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel, Peter Wallsten]
Politicians are deploying sophisticated new technologies to track Internet users -- sometimes by name -- and identify their political leanings. Officials and consultants with both major parties are using the techniques ahead of next month's election, which include matching voter names from registration rolls with online profiles and studying voters' online "body language." "As political professionals, the more data we have, the happier we are," said Kristen Luidhardt, a Republican consultant in Indianapolis. "We'd love to know absolutely everything about you." Technology can be key in close elections. Republicans in 2004 used their Voter Vault database -- which combined voter registrations with consumer marketing data -- to help George W. Bush win reelection. Four years later, Barack Obama used social-networking tools.
benton.org/node/43971 | Wall Street Journal
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
TV WEDDING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission are expected to weigh in on the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal before year's end. Regulators should scrutinize the proposed merger but should be skeptical of the critics' claims. Comcast-NBCU could be forced as a condition of approval to agree to mandatory arbitration. FCC officials should resist calls by some merger opponents to impose "network neutrality" principles on Comcast's Internet component. Comcast and GE, which will retain a 49 percent stake in NBCU, should be allowed to proceed, and regulators should do their jobs and watch the newly formed company carefully. (Disclosure: The Washington Post Co. has interests in broadcast and cable television, including NBC affiliates, and businesses that depend on the Internet.)
benton.org/node/43969 | Washington Post
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NEW TRIBUNE PLAN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kenneth Li]
Tribune Company filed a reorganization plan Oct 22 that will turn over control of the bankrupt newspaper publisher to its leading creditors including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Angelo Gordon & Co and Oaktree Capital Management. The plan signals an important step toward the recovery of the media company -- which owns the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune -- from what Sam Zell, the real estate developer and architect of the 2007 leveraged buyout, called "the deal from hell." The new agreement combines two previously announced settlement offers from leading lenders and a group of unsecured creditors. Some bondholders would receive $420 million, or 32.73 cents to the dollar, and interest in a litigation trust. The plan requires the approval of the court and creditors. Daniel Golden, an attorney representing hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management LP, said on Friday they planned to file a rival plan next week. Aurelius is among the largest holders with $1.3 billion of senior Tribune bonds.
benton.org/node/43931 | Reuters
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HEALTH
ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Sarah Larcker]
Big change over the next few years for the healthcare system and its participants in no small part because of the rising power of the online patient advocate, the impending widespread adoption of health information technologies (HIT), and (of course) the power of social media. The impact social media has had on all industries has been profound, but HIT and new regulation encouraging (or even mandating) its use is about to amplify this shift within the pharmaceutical industry in particular. For the first time, networked electronic medical records (EMR) will make patient-outcomes data available on a large scale. At stake is comparative data and real results, not proxies like surveys and self-reported patient data. Not only will health care professionals, managed care organizations, and countless other institutions finally have information on which to make data-driven decisions, but patients will have unparalleled access to their personal medical history, along with how their health and treatments compare to the mean. Combined with information available online and access to communities of peers with similar data, this new access will facilitate a sea-change in how medicine will be practiced and managed in the very near future.
benton.org/node/43941 | MediaPost
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PROTECTING HEALTH INFORMATION
[SOURCE: Department of Health and Human Services, AUTHOR: Deven McGraw, Paul Egerman]
The Privacy & Security Tiger Team is currently considering policy recommendations to ensure that authentication "trust" rules are in place for information exchange between provider-entities (or organizations). We are currently evaluating these trust rules at the organizational level, and as such, our scope here does not include authentication of individual users of electronic health record (EHR) systems. For purposes of this discussion, authentication is the verification that a provider entity (such as a hospital or physician practice) seeking access to electronic protected health information is the one claimed, and the level of assurance is the degree of confidence in the results of an authentication attempt. Comments are due by October 29, 2010 on the following questions:
What strength of provider-entity authentication (level of assurance) might be recommended to ensure trust in health information exchange (regardless of what technology may be used to meet the strength requirement)?
Which provider-entities can receive digital credentials, and what are the requirements to receive those credentials?
What is the process for issuing digital credentials (e.g., certificates), including evaluating whether initial conditions are met and re-evaluation on a periodic basis?
Who has the authority to issue digital credentials?
Should ONC select an established technology standard for digital credentials and should EHR certification include criteria that tests capabilities to communicate using that standard for entity-level credentials?
What type of transactions must be authenticated, and is it expected that all transactions will have a common level of assurance?
benton.org/node/43940 | Department of Health and Human Services
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LABOR
MORE JOBS IN SILICON VALLEY
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Mike Swift]
For the first time in nearly two years, Silicon Valley in September had more jobs than at the same time in the previous year, a potential turning point for the local economy. Even as the new monthly jobs data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department portrayed the California economy as still mired in a deep jobs recession, a boost in hiring at large valley tech companies like Google, Apple and Facebook, along with continued gains in the manufacturing and transportation sectors, means those sectors of the local economy have shown consistent strength for several months. Silicon Valley, particularly Santa Clara County and -- to a lesser degree -- San Mateo County, was a standout performer in a state where the new employment data showed continued job losses in the Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland and Riverside-San Bernardino metro areas. The EDD said the state lost 63,600 jobs over the past month and has 43,700 fewer jobs than in September 2009.
benton.org/node/43966 | San Jose Mercury News | SJM - fighting for talent | Bloomberg - mobile talent
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