October 2010

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010

A number of telecom policy events on today's agenda http://bit.ly/9PNcjA


WIRELESS
   The FCC's new "bill shock" rule for cell phones doesn't go far enough
   Genachowski Enters FCC In 12-Step Program To Stop Enabling Consumer Abuse
   Rural phone companies: Blame big carriers for 'bill shock'
   Will Apple's Culture Hurt the iPhone?

TELEVISION
   In Cable TV Fights, Consumers Wait to See Who Blinks
   See also: Elected Officials Call for Fox/Cablevision Arbitration
   Fox to restore Internet videos to Cablevision customers
   Comcast-NBCU merger review expected to go into 2011
   Why Cable May Let the Google Fox Into the Henhouse

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   US Ranks 15th, South Korea No. 1 in Cisco Broadband Rankings
   See also:What would you do with gigabit Internet speeds?
   Scientific American's Flawed Broadband Analysis
   Telecom industry protests University of Wisconsin's broadband plan

MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
   Groups Push Legal Limits in Advertising
   Murdoch says News Corp. donations were in interest of "shareholders and the country"
   Rupert Murdoch grilled about donations
   How Republicans Are Using Social Media to Win Mid-term Elections

CONTENT
   For Rupert Murdoch, The Internet is So Over
   ESPN to Web Simulcast, Make Pay TV Online Gatekeeper
   Did Borders' New Self-Publishing Tool Make Blogs Smarter or Books Dumber?

POLICYMAKERS
   Joe Barton makes play for House Commerce Committee gavel
   Pam Gregory and Jamal Mazrui to Lead Accessibility and Innovation Initiative

SECURITY
   Facebook in Privacy Breach
   Internet security plan reviewed

JOURNALISM
   With Grant, NPR to Step Up State Government Reporting
   Fox News Insinuates, but Investor Shrugs It Off

COMMUNITY MEDIA
   Key Factors for Successful Community Media Initiatives

MORE ONLINE
   Cyber czar: Threat protection is a shared responsibility
   Army is evaluating full-color flexible displays that can be worn on the wrist
   The Era Of Newspaper Bankruptcies

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WIRELESS

BILL SHOCK PROPOSAL DOES NOT GO FAR ENOUGH
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Timothy Noah]
On Oct. 14, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a rule compelling mobile service providers to alert customers on the verge of exceeding monthly usage limits and incurring overage charges. These would be in the form of text or voice alerts on the phone itself, not unlike the conspicuous emergency message you're liable to receive if you're late paying your cell phone bill. Mobile carriers would similarly have to alert consumers if they were about to incur roaming charges. They would also have to give customers better and more conspicuous tools to keep track of how close they were to reaching a usage limit, and perhaps provide them with a tool to cap usage automatically so that exceeding usage limits became impossible. This regulation, if made final after the required 60-day comment period, would be a big improvement over the status quo. Even so, it doesn't go far enough. It starts from the wrong premise. The FCC rule shouldn't just compel cell phone companies to give consumers conspicuous warnings before they rack up big overages. They should make such overages impossible. Rather than give consumers a tool that could cap usage and prevent overages (something Verizon, incidentally, claims it already provides), the mobile carriers should cap usage themselves, either when overages begin or when some noncatastrophic overage level has been reached. At that point, consumers should receive a text or voice message alerting them that if they want to keep running up overages they must affirmatively tell the mobile carrier that they want to by dialing in some word or number. They must, in other words, leave the mobile carrier with absolutely no doubt that they have given this weighty question the attention it deserves. In the few instances where consumers signal that they understand the stakes and want to keep racking up overages anyway, they should of course be permitted to do so.
benton.org/node/43646 | Slate
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STOPPING CONSUMER ABUSE
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. For regulatory agencies, the first step is admitting that industry has a problem and that the wonderful happy world of the unregulated market ­ no matter how wildly competitive it might or might not be ­ doesn't always protect consumers and that in fact, sometimes, free market dogma to the contrary, you actually reach the best result for everyone by having government set basic rules of disclosure and enforcement. This week, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski started taking the FCC in the welcome direction of consumer protection. The agenda is to have the FCC empower consumers by requiring clear disclosure of things like billing terms and possible fees. In addition, require businesses to give consumers tools to avoid hidden fees and set some standard definitions for things like "download speed" that ensure that customers can easily understand the terms of an agreement before signing and can verify that they get what they pay for. These things may seem so common sense that one might mistake Genachowski's initiative for something trivial rather than a dramatic 180-degree turn over the last ten years.
benton.org/node/43645 | Public Knowledge
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RURAL CARRIERS BLAME BIG CARRIERS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Rural phone companies said they should not have to follow "bill shock" regulations just because bigger phone companies are failing their customers. "Rural and regional carriers should not be subjected to a bill shock mandate as a result of the largest national carriers' inability to provide quality and informative customer service," said Steven Berry, president and chief executive of the Rural Cellular Association (RCA). He said that if the FCC adopts regulations to force wireless companies to notify customers before and when they have reached limits in their monthly payment plans, it should be careful to make them "flexible" enough so they do not cripple rural carriers. "Automatic bill shock alerts will impose an undue and burdensome cost, which will ultimately be borne by the rural consumer, for rural and regional carriers to implement," said the RCA.
benton.org/node/43644 | Hill, The
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APPLE HURTING IPHONE?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
If you want a smartphone powered by Google's Android software, you could get Motorola's Droid 2 or its cousin, the Droid X. Then there is the Droid Incredible from HTC, the Fascinate from Samsung and the Ally from LG. That's just on Verizon Wireless. An additional 20 or so phones running Android are available in the United States, and there are about 90 worldwide. But if your preference is an Apple-powered phone, you can buy -- an iPhone. That very short list explains in part why, for all its success in the phone business, Apple suddenly has a real fight on its hands. Americans now are buying more Android phones than iPhones. If that trend continues, analysts say that in little more than a year, Android will have erased the iPhone's once enormous lead in the high end of the smartphone market.
benton.org/node/43653 | New York Times
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TELEVISION

CABLE TV FIGHT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter, Bill Carter]
A few minutes into the early hours of Saturday, when three million Cablevision customers in the New York area were blocked from watching Fox because of a contract dispute, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission issued a statement expressing disappointment with both Cablevision and the owner of Fox, the News Corporation. "Each year, thousands of agreements between broadcasters and pay-TV providers are reached without interruption of customer viewing," the chairman, Julius Genachowski, wrote. "I remain hopeful that these two companies will do what is in the best interest of consumers and find a way quickly to resolve their differences." The quick federal response underscores the seriousness of this latest spat over retransmission consent, which allows distributors like Cablevision to transmit local stations like WNYW, Channel 5 in New York. Local stations, straining to stay profitable, are determined to earn more money from distributors, money that eventually gets tacked onto monthly bills for TV service. When the two sides cannot agree, viewers sometimes see channels go dark, an action that has become a familiar threat in the negotiations in recent years between networks and the large cable providers. Upping the ante, Fox briefly blocked Cablevision customers from viewing Fox shows on its Web site or on Hulu Saturday afternoon, drawing complaints from public interest groups.
benton.org/node/43666 | New York Times | FCC Chairman Genachowski | Advisory on getting Fox TV stations
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FOX RESTORES INTERNET CONTENT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Fox plans to restore video delivery to Cablevision Internet subscribers after blocking that content earlier in the day.
On Oct 16, Cablevision Internet subscribers were blocked from viewing Fox content online, a move that extends the companies' television retransmission fees dispute to the Web. Fox, owned by News Corp., blocked Cablevision users from viewing Fox shows on Hulu.com (partly owned by News Corp.). Earlier in the day, Fox pulled its channel signal from Cablevision cable subscribers as the two sides failed to reached an agreement on carriage fees. It was the sixth time in one year that television disputes between broadcasters and cable/satellite providers ended in television blackouts. But public interest groups said that by blocking users from online Fox content, News Corp. sparked bigger concerns about media consolidation. "Fox's actions raise important questions about the future of the online video market and the public interest obligation of broadcasters," said Derek Turner, policy director at public interest group Free Press. "Consumers should have the right to watch online content, and this access should not be tied to a dispute over cable television carriage arrangements." Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, said the incident highlights the need for regulators to heavily scrutinize Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal. "This case shows the dangers of unchecked media consolidation and of a retransmission consent regime badly in need of reform," Sohn said.
benton.org/node/43665 | Washington Post | Public Knowledge | Free Press | B&C
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COMCAST REVIEW INTO 2011?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The federal reviews of Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal will likely extend into early 2011, according to Stifel Nicholaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast. One increasingly thorny part of the merger is Comcast's tangle of relationships with broadcasters and competitors. Those ties get even more complicated as Comcast seeks to acquire a vastly larger library of channels and content from NBC, analysts say. In a research note to investors, Arbogast noted the Federal Communications Commission recently made additional requests to Comcast and NBCU for extensive information and documents on programming deals. That information is due Oct. 18. Among dozens of questions, the FCC asked for information related to Comcast's agreement to distribute its regional sports network programs and other channels like E! and Sprout to competitors Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish and others. "We believe the detailed information requests are consistent with the broad and deep probing that both the FCC and DOJ have been doing in their reviews, and are a further sign of the complexity of the policy issues raised by a major industry transaction combining video distribution, content, and broadband/Internet assets," Arbogast wrote in an earlier note on Oct. 4. "We also do not believe such second requests for information in big, complicated deals are uncommon, but we do believe this one increases the likelihood the government's review will not be completed until early next year."
benton.org/node/43643 | Washington Post | CongressDaily
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LETTING GOOGLE INTO CABLE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Michael Wolf]
[Commentary] The most interesting Google news this past week wasn't hardware-related; it was the partnership Google struck with DISH Network, a sign that one of the biggest pay-TV providers just let the fox into the henhouse. Cable operators like Comcast are a different story: They're notorious control freaks when it comes to consumer experience and content, and they're not hobbled like satellite operators are when it comes to interactive services and video on demand. Still, this hasn't stopped Google; news indicates the company is pursuing integration deals with cable companies. But will cable companies bite? A Google TV platform will be a tough sell, but I think after a decade-plus journey through the interactive TV desert with OCAP/Tru2Way, many cable operators are too tired and thirsty to resist what Google could offer in the form of applications and interactive services.
benton.org/node/43642 | GigaOm
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

NEW BROADBAND RANKING
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Jonathan Browning]
South Korea extended its worldwide fixed-line broadband Internet leadership and the U.S. held onto joint 15th place as the technology's speed and availability expanded, according to a poll carried out by Cisco. The broadband-quality rankings measure the proportion of households and businesses with access to broadband, combined with Internet-connection speeds. South Korea, which has 100 percent broadband penetration, topped Cisco's list for the third year in a row. Fixed-line customers' broadband access in the U.S., which shared its ranking with four nations, rose to 75 percent this year from 69 percent in 2009, Cisco said. Internet-download speeds in South Korea increased by 55 percent from a year earlier, said Cisco, the largest maker of routers and switches that direct Web traffic over networks. While the U.S. improved its broadband quality, it won't be fully prepared for technologies such as high-definition Internet television being developed by Apple Inc. and Google Inc. until next year, Fernando Gil de Bernabe, senior director at Cisco, said.
benton.org/node/43656 | Bloomberg
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SCIENTIFIC AMERICA'S FLAWED ANALYSIS
[SOURCE: Technology Policy Institute, AUTHOR: Scott Wallsten]
[Commentary] Scientific American's editors declare in its October 2010 issue that broadband prices in the United States are too high and speeds are too low. As a result, the editors implicitly assert, the U.S. has fallen to 40th place in "progressing towards a knowledge-based economy." They conclude that remedying the situation requires unbundling access to local loops, mandating net neutrality, and classifying broadband under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Scientific American has the right concerns and objectives: ensuring that the United States remains a technological leader and that its broadband market is competitive. However, a closer look at the facts, as explained, for example, by the National Broadband Plan, reveals a more nuanced story that does not support their confident policy proposals. Editorials like Scientific American's help to keep us mired in the seemingly endless debate over net neutrality and infrastructure sharing as the broadband world moves on. The best thing policymakers could do to improve U.S. broadband is to move spectrum into the market to make it easier for existing carriers to offer better services, and cheaper for new competitors to enter the market. Eliminating barriers to wireless broadband growth is far more relevant to the future of broadband and national competitiveness than is the availability or price of 100 Mbps residential broadband. [TPI is an industry-supported think tank.]
benton.org/node/43639 | Technology Policy Institute
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PROTEST OVER WISCONSIN BROADBAND STIMULUS PROJECT
[SOURCE: Capital Times, AUTHOR: Todd Finkelmeyer]
The University of Wisconsin System is coming under fire from the state's largest association of telecommunications providers for planning to use millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds to expand high-capacity broadband Internet services in communities across Wisconsin. Bill Esbeck, the executive director of the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association, argues the project will duplicate an existing network and take revenues out of the pockets of local Internet providers. The group is asking for a state review of the plan and is considering legal action, says Esbeck. But those backing the undertaking argue it will bring faster and more reliable Internet service to public safety agencies, health care providers, schools and community organizations in Platteville, Superior, Wausau and the Chippewa Valley (Eau Claire) area. The project would expand Community Area Networks, which essentially are regional co-ops for owning and managing broadband fiber. Critics say it would duplicate and compete with BadgerNet, an already existing network that is provided by local telephone companies to municipalities and other public entities under a deal with the Wisconsin Department of Administration. "This grant seems like a bizarre thing to fight, but if you look carefully at who is pushing this, it's the same not-so-invisible hand of AT&T," says UW-Madison professor and telecommunications expert Barry Orton. "This is an industry protecting its own nest. It's the equivalent of the railroad industry 50 years ago saying, 'You don't need to put money into airports and please don't put any federal funding into highways.'"
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/university/article_65394...
Broadband needs public-private help (editorial)
benton.org/node/43637 | Capital Times | editorial
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MEDIA AND ELECTIONS

CAMPAIGN ADS AND THE LAW
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Luo]
A recent television commercial sponsored by an Iowa-based nonprofit group, American Future Fund, attacking Representative Bobby Bright, an Alabama Democrat, could hardly have been more explicit in its closing: "On Election Day," the narrator said, "take the right path. Vote against Bobby Bright." Such a direct appeal to voters might seem unremarkable, but actually it is an example of an important new tool afforded to outside interest groups that is reshaping the contours of this year's midterm elections. Before the Supreme Court's landmark campaign finance ruling in January, nonprofit groups like American Future Fund, able to accept unrestricted contributions from individuals and corporations, had been limited to broadcasting "issue ads" and barred from "express advocacy," advertisements that directly urge voters to elect or defeat specific candidates. Now, in the aftermath of the court's ruling in the Citizens United case, third-party groups in growing numbers have been flocking to this sharper form of messaging in the closing weeks of the campaign. In the process, however, the groups are, as never before, pushing the legal limits that enable them to preserve the anonymity of their donors. They are doing so just as Democratic officials and campaign finance watchdogs -- alarmed by the gushers of secret money pouring into races, largely in favor of Republicans — have stepped up their calls for investigations by regulators.
benton.org/node/43663 | New York Times
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DONATIONS BENEFIT COMPANY AND THE COUNTRY
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: Sarah Pavlus]
Responding to shareholder questions regarding News Corp.'s controversial $1 million contributions to the Chamber of Commerce and the Republican Governors Association, Rupert Murdoch said the donations were "unusual" and "in the interest of our shareholders and the country." Murdoch also said that it is "in the interest of the country and of all the shareholders ... that there be a fair amount of change in Washington." According to Murdoch and the board of directors -- who took questions from shareholders during the News Corp. annual meeting in New York this morning -- the payments were reviewed by the general counsel. Sir Roderick Eddington, chairman of the audit committee, said he understood shareholders' calls for transparency and Murdoch indicated the company would consider some type of disclosure. Murdoch also indicated that shareholders would not be engaged in selecting recipients of donations, and that if shareholders disagreed with directors' decisions, "you have the right to vote us off the board." When asked specifically about his widely reported comment that News Corp.'s donation to the RGA was a result of his friendship with former Fox News employee and current GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, Murdoch said "I didn't say it had nothing to do with News. Corp. I did make a foolish throwaway line saying -- I was trying to -- candidate Kasich who used to work for us for a number of years."
In June, Fox News' parent company News Corporation gave a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association. This evening, IRS disclosures reveal that News Corporation gave another check, time for $250,000, bringing his total donation amount to $1,250,000. Other donors include Bill Koch, who donated $100,000, Swift Boat-funder Bob Perry, who gave $3.5 million, and right-wing casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who gave $1 million to the Republican campaign group.
benton.org/node/43662 | Media Matters for America | Think Progress - new donation
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MURDOCH GRILLED ON CAMPAIGN DONATIONS
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Georg Szalai]
Questions about two $1 million political donations to groups with ties to the Republican Party took over a good portion of the News Corp. annual shareholder meeting Oct 15. Faced with criticism that the donations had political motivations and no business benefits, chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said "a fair amount of change" in Washington was "in the interest of the country and all the shareholders." He also argued that they have "nothing to do with the editorial policies or the journalism" that the company provides. Sir Rod Eddington, News Corp.'s audit committee head who came under pressure ahead of the meeting due to the donations, also told shareholders that the donations decisions were made with shareholder interests in mind after input from executives and the general counsel. "I understand the concerns and the calls for transparency," he said. Asked if the company will provide disclosures on political donations in the future, he said "that's something the board will consider."
benton.org/node/43634 | Hollywood Reporter
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GOP WINNING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Austin Carr]
Matt Lira, digital communications director for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, spends his days making social media a core ingredient of conservative strategy, and it's already beginning to show signs of success. Republicans have passed Democrats in social media use. Mid-term candidates, a central focus of Cantor's position as House Whip, are crushing their left-leaning opponents in Facebook fans and Twitter followers. "We've been very enthusiastic about spreading the good word about social media," Lira says. "Television changed not just how politics and government worked, but it changed who was in government--social media is doing the exact same thing." But Lira has a different, more important goal in mind for social media that goes beyond partisan politics: policy. What goes on behind the closed-off doors of Congress has pushed legislation out of the public's grab, surrounded by all-too-high walls of insular Washington culture. Lira hopes social media will help begin tearing those barriers down.
benton.org/node/43638 | Fast Company
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CONTENT

THE INTERNET IS OVER
[SOURCE: Press Gazette, AUTHOR: Dominic Ponsford]
[Commentary] The Times' all-or-nothing paywall was a shock to the system - but the News of the World's paywall move was even more extreme. Both are examples of the fact that, for Rupert Murdoch the Internet is so over. Without any inbound or outbound links, and invisible to Google and other search engines, the NotW, Times and Sunday Times don't really have Internet sites - but digitally delivered editions. Readers can now see barely a word beyond the homepage of the second biggest selling newspaper in the UK without handing over their credit or debit card details. It suddenly feels like the age of ubiquitous free online news really is coming to an end. With The Times and Sunday Times there was at least a month's grace where registered readers could sample the site. But this time even to claim a £2 credit for two 24-hour passes, readers need to provide their payment details. The "top people" who read The Times might get their credit cards out online, but will the mass-market readers of the News of the World? And shouldn't a newspaper which sells advertising based on a huge readership as possible be trying to reach as many eyeballs as possible?
benton.org/node/43660 | Press Gazette
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ESPN TO THE WEB
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Adam Satariano, Andy Fixmer]
Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN will begin streaming its sports channels online to Time Warner Cable Inc. customers as soon as Oct. 25, part of the pay-TV industry's strategy to fend off Internet competitors. Time Warner Cable customers with ESPN will be able to watch on computers with Web access, John Kosner, general manager of digital media at the Bristol, Connecticut-based sports network, said in an interview. Service on mobile devices is also planned. With the move, ESPN gives Time Warner Cable subscribers online access to its channels at no additional cost. ESPN is backing the cable industry's push to extend programs to the Web and combat the loss of viewers to companies such as Netflix Inc. As the network shifts to "TV Everywhere," ESPN.com will make fewer videos available to users of its services who don't subscribe to Time Warner Cable, Kosner said. "We believe this 'TV Everywhere' model is going to be what the industry at large is going to pursue," Kosner said. "We're going to make similar deals with lots of distributors."
benton.org/node/43654 | Bloomberg
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BOOKBREWER
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Kit Eaton]
Borders is trying a new experiment to combat Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the e-book wars: It's partnered with BookBrewer, which will bring self-publishing powers to its platform. And the intriguing chance to turn blogs into e-books. Self-publishing is something other players in the e-reader game are trying too, so Borders probably had to make a similar move in order to keep its e-publishing service relevant. Its clever choice, rather than building its own system, is to partner with BookBrewer--a relatively new company that's already offering some self-publishing. The basic deal costs just $90 to authors, but this includes proper ISBN coverage for the publication (which usually costs more than $90, all by itself). The advanced deal is a serious-sounding $200, but this does include creation of a full ePub edition of the publication, with the authors themselves retaining ownership of this file so it can be distributed on other platforms (including the iPad). BookBrewer's other selling point is its speed and simplicity--it is essentially a one-click "create book" affair, once you've uploaded the text and chosen a cover graphic. BookBrewer's other offering is more intriguing: Its service allows a blog (via an RSS feed) to be quickly transformed into an e-book format, so it can also be sold through the same channels as more traditional texts. It's a kind of reversal of thinking about digital publishing, almost like printing out your Facebook friend pages as a paper-and-ink book. Yet it's also strangely powerful: Popular blogs can sell their back editions for off-line perusal on e-readers, with little overhead charge. This will appeal to folks off on long vacations who're looking for a different kind of reading experience to the usual glossy-covered airport novel. benton.org/node/43636 | Fast Company | GigaOm
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POLICYMAKERS

BARTON VIES FOR COMMERCE CHAIR
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jake Sherman, Robin Bravender]
Republicans don't even have the House majority yet, but Rep. Joe Barton is already making a play for a chairmanship his leadership is highly unlikely to give him. In his quest to lead the Commerce Committee, the Texas Republican is petitioning the Steering Committee that awards chairmanships to "clarify" whether the party's six-year term limits for the position apply to time served in the minority. He's already talking about investigations he'd like to launch and asserts that he's got a "very good" shot at the chairmanship. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton is talked about by Hill insiders and K Street sources as having the upper hand in the chairmanship battle. Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns and Illinois Rep. John Shimkus are also in the mix. Why so much maneuvering for a chairmanship before the election? The panel, under a Republican majority, could become the launching pad for ideological battles that would define a GOP House digging in on global warming, cap and trade, energy bills, health care repeals and a wide range of business regulations.
benton.org/node/43633 | Politico
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ACCESSIBILITY AND INNOVATION TEAM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Joel Gurin, Karen Peltz Strauss]
Pam Gregory will be the Director, and Jamal Mazrui will be the Deputy Director, of the Commission's new Accessibility and Innovation Initiative. Gregory has been working on disability issues at the Federal Communications Commission since 1996 and was the first chief of the Disability Rights Office. Mazrui will be providing leadership to the Accessibility and Innovation Initiative. He has been working as a technology specialist and on disability issues at the FCC since 1999. The mission of the Accessibility and Innovation Initiative is to promote collaborative problem-solving among stakeholders to ensure that people with disabilities reap the full benefits of communications technology.
benton.org/node/43632 | Federal Communications Commission
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SECURITY

FACEBOOK PRIVACY BREACH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel, Geoffrey Fowler]
Many of the most popular applications, or "apps," on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information -- in effect, providing access to people's names and, in some cases, their friends' names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found. The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to Facebook's strictest privacy settings. The practice breaks Facebook's rules, and renews questions about its ability to keep identifiable information about its users' activities secure. The problem has ties to the growing field of companies that build detailed databases on people in order to track them online—a practice the Journal has been examining in its What They Know series. It's unclear how long the breach was in place. On Sunday, a Facebook spokesman said it is taking steps to "dramatically limit" the exposure of users' personal information.
benton.org/node/43658 | Wall Street Journal
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INTERNET SECURITY PLAN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lolita Baldor]
The government is reviewing an Australian program that will allow Internet service providers to alert customers if their computers are taken over by hackers and could limit online access if people don't fix the problem. Obama Administration officials have met with industry leaders and experts to find ways to increase online safety while trying to balance securing the Internet and guarding people's privacy and civil liberties. Experts and U.S. officials are interested in portions of the plan, set to go into effect in Australia in December. But any move toward Internet regulation or monitoring by the U.S. government or industry could trigger fierce opposition from the public. The discussions come as private, corporate and government computers across the U.S. are increasingly being taken over and exploited by hackers and other computer criminals.
benton.org/node/43657 | Washington Post
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JOURNALISM

STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Jemsen]
National Public Radio has received a $1.8 million grant from the Open Society Foundations to begin a project called Impact of Government that is intended to add at least 100 journalists at NPR member radio stations in all 50 states over the next three years. The reporters, editors and analysts will cover state governments and how their actions affect people. The project "creates capacity for local stations to hire reporters and to cover issues that matter that other places aren't doing," said Vivian Schiller, NPR's president and chief executive. "Everything that we're doing as relates to member stations comes down to two things: building local news capacity and making sure the content we create is available to all people across all platforms." Schiller said the journalists would not be part of typical statehouse coverage, but instead would work on enterprise journalism that looks at how state government decisions play out over years, and extend beyond a single state's borders. The program, one of a number of new public media reporting projects meant to counter some of the cutbacks in profit-making journalism, will begin with an eight-state pilot phase in March 2011. Eventually, NPR and local stations hope to raise about $17 million to expand the program, and $18 million to $19 million annually to sustain it, said Ron Schiller, president of the NPR Foundation and NPR's senior vice president for development.
benton.org/node/43659 | New York Times
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FOX VS PRINCE WALID BIN TALAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tim Arango]
Some critics of the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, including commentators on Fox News, have linked the project to terrorism by seizing on a Saudi prince's past financial backing of the imam at the center of the controversy. Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is also the second-largest shareholder of Fox News's parent, the News Corporation, with a stake worth more than $2 billion, which was not always disclosed on Fox News. In fact, Prince Walid, in his first public comments about the matter, says he is actually opposed to the Islamic center's being built in downtown Manhattan. He has long been an investor in the News Corporation and a supporter of its leader, Rupert Murdoch. Several years ago, he increased his voting stake in the company in a show of support for Mr. Murdoch, who holds the largest stake but was at the time facing a challenge from John C. Malone, another media mogul. This year, the relationship was cemented in a new way: Mr. Murdoch invested about $70 million in Prince Walid's media company, Rotana.
benton.org/node/43661 | New York Times
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COMMUNITY MEDIA

SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY MEDIA
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Cameo Brown]
The ongoing need for community media programs has much to do with the dearth of diverse voices and representation within mainstream media outlets. Immigrants, communities of color, and other marginalized groups are thus limited in their ability to address local community concerns, to tell their stories, and ultimately create a "communication infrastructure that can foster effective community." Nevertheless, there are communities throughout the United States that have been successful at developing and sustaining local media projects: community media centers, local newspapers, Internet-based tools, television and radio stations. In the ongoing effort to bolster established as well as newly established community media projects, it is important to highlight and share these projects' experiences, insights, and lessons learned between and among practitioners in the field. Factors that practitioners have described as essential to the success of community media projects:
Community participation and ownership, Leadership development, Partnerships and collaborations between local media producers and community-based organizations, Capacity building and training, and Project management expertise.
benton.org/node/43652 | Benton Foundation
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