November 2010

New Political Muscle, in Whatever Language

A look at the ballooning political power of the Spanish language news media, and in particular Univision, which owns the biggest Spanish-language television and radio outlets in the United States.

Because there are relatively few Spanish-language outlets in the United States, Univision wields a more influential megaphone than its English-language counterparts. Univision says it does not favor any political party. Regardless, analysts say that the company is exerting significant influence both on local elections and on the national debate about immigration -- in part by encouraging Hispanics to cast a ballot. César Conde, president of Univision Networks, said Spanish-language outlets had been focusing on the importance of voting because they had a responsibility to "make sure that our community in the U.S. maximizes its potential." Federico Subervi, a communications professor at Texas State University and the author of "The Mass Media and Latino Politics," said that Univision bulked up its election coverage in 2008 -- that year, it sponsored two presidential primary debates -- and again in 2010. Univision's chief (but much smaller) competitor, Telemundo, has done the same, with a get-out-the-vote campaign.

Qualms Arise Over Outsourcing Of Electronic Medical Records

Indian technology companies are eyeing a coming wave of US spending to digitize health-care records. But sensitivity over outsourcing and resistance by American hospitals to sending medical information overseas could thwart efforts to win big contracts.

The US government next year will begin to dole out billions of dollars to health-care providers who adopt electronic medical records. Doctors also face a federal mandate to upgrade software as the US switches to a new system of insurance billing codes. For Indian companies with experience in software outsourcing, the flurry of health-related tech spending in the US is "like another Y2K opportunity," says Pradep Nair, head of the health-care practice at New Delhi's HCL Technologies Ltd., referring to the turn-of-the-millennium computer glitch that provided work for Indian tech firms. But cashing in on what Forrester Research expects to be a nearly $50 billion US health-information market in the next two years won't be straightforward for Indian companies. While they have had success handling outsourced work for pharmaceutical companies and insurers, Indian companies have struggled to win business from U.S. hospitals, which will do the bulk of new health-tech spending.

Google Reposts Barred Turkish Videos

Google appeared to be set for a renewed clash with Turkey's government, when it reposted videos that a court had ruled insulting to the republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, effectively rejecting an attempt to end a ban on YouTube in Turkey.

The four videos, which have kept YouTube banned here since May 2008, were taken off the Web late last week by a Turkish group of self-described "volunteers," working closely with the government. The group used Google's automatic copyright protection system to have the clips removed. Turks were able to access YouTube directly for the first time in more than two years last weekend, after a court on Saturday lifted the ban, noting that the offending clips were now gone. Google, however, said Monday it was restoring the videos, while critics described the volunteers' copyright plan as an enabler for censorship. The head of Turkey's Telecommunications Transmission Directorate, which is responsible for enforcing Internet bans, said he would meet with YouTube officials "in the coming days." Serhat Ozeren, who heads the semi-independent Internet Board of Turkey, said in an interview that the YouTube statement was being treated as unofficial, but that if it proved correct "it would make it more difficult for our board to defend YouTube" and the ban could easily resume.

Times reveals digital subscriber numbers

The first official figures on the impact of Rupert Murdoch's paywall around The Times and The Sunday Times have been published by News International, giving an early indication of the scale of audience that is prepared to pay to read general news content online. News International, the UK newspaper arm of Mr Murdoch's News Corp, said that 105,000 customers had so far paid for a monthly subscription, single copy or for pay-as-you-go access to The Times or Sunday Times content online. Coupled with the 100,000 print subscribers to The Times who had activated their free digital accounts, the publisher said that its total paid audience for digital products was close to 200,000. The long-awaited figures will be closely analyzed by other newspaper proprietors and publishers, who have seen their revenues suffer as readers and advertisers have migrated to the web. However, analysts said a lack of detail in the numbers -- for instance, there is no breakdown of how many readers bought the iPad app rather than a website subscription -- would limit the conclusions that could be made about the paywall strategy in general. Times readers are charged £1 for a day's digital access - the same price as the weekday newspaper - or £2 for a week's subscription to the Times and Sunday Times sites. Print subscribers gain free access, while international visitors face charges of $2/€1.50 a day or $4/€3 a week. The Times iPad app costs £9.99 a month.

Mobile group abandons legal threat to UK broadband plan

Everything Everywhere, the UK's largest mobile phone operator, is abandoning legal action that could have derailed a central plank of the government's efforts to improve Britain's digital infrastructure.

Ed Vaizey, communications minister, welcomed Everything Everywhere's decision not to sue the government, and said the coalition was now ready to support major improvements to the UK's broadband networks. Britain's fixed-line download speeds lag behind some industrialized nations and the UK has also missed the opportunity to be an early adopter of super-fast mobile networks based on fourth generation wireless technology. Ministers are therefore making a priority of overhauling broadband infrastructure, in the belief it should improve productivity and nurture innovation.

The government's plans were rocked in August when Everything Everywhere threatened legal action if ministers proceeded with legislation which is meant to ensure that mobile operators have sufficient radio spectrum to cope with booming consumer demand for smartphones such as Apple's iPhone. However, Tom Alexander, Everything Everywhere's chief executive, has agreed to drop the threat of legal action following intensive discussions with the government.

Hugo Chávez celebrates accruing 1 million Twitter followers

In less than seven months, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has racked up more than 1 million followers on Twitter, using the medium to denounce an uprising in Ecuador, congratulate the election of new leftist president of Brazil, and announce business deals.

In May, he reportedly opened a special government department with 200 employees to handle his Twitter account. Since then, he's accrued an average of 4,600 new Twitter followers daily. Venezuela's opposition parties are also catching on to the power of social media. From their account @unidadvenezuela, they "waged a Twitter battle for influence" in September's legislative elections, as Agence France-Presse put it. It seems unlikely that Chávez was paying attention to their tweets. Perhaps signaling how important he thinks others' words are, he follows only 20 people on Twitter.

Jon Stewart vs. the Perpetual Panic Conflictinator

[Commentary] Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," which packed the National Mall in Washington on Saturday, wasn't exactly what I anticipated. I came expecting laughs and mockery -- and, sure, that was part of it -- but instead found myself in the middle of a massive media-criticism seminar.

One might hope such a clever and clear-headed critique would serve as something of a wake-up call for the mainstream media. But, alas, their reaction was far more predictable. First, they downplayed the event as little more than a celebrity sideshow -- unworthy of the kind of coverage and column inches they'd give to, say, a much smaller Tea Party rally or Glenn Beck-a-Palooza (which made the front-pages despite being about a third the size of the Comedy Central event). Then the media got awfully defensive about Stewart's jabs. The thin-skinned media should be less defensive about Stewart and more attentive to what their dwindling audience is trying to tell them. They don't really hate the media. They just want them to do their job.

The Media Roar into the Midterms

The final stretch of campaigning before the Nov. 2 elections resulted in the biggest week yet for midterm coverage, with political controversy and turmoil emerging as key themes. For the week of October 25-31, the midterms accounted for 42% of the newshole, up from 38% the week before, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Coverage of this story almost equaled that of the biggest weekly story of the year, when passage of the health care reform bill filled 45% of the newshole from March 22-28. Certain aspects of the media's campaign narrative carried over from previous weeks, including attention to close U.S. Senate races and negative campaign tactics. But also present this week was a focus on specific races where tea party candidates faced potentially damaging controversies. In addition, the coverage homed in on two cases in which Democratic candidates bucked their party leadership. As evidence of the dominance of the campaign in the news agenda, the No. 2 story for the week (the economy at 6%) accounted for only about one-seventh as much coverage as the midterms. While there was no overriding economic theme last week, the press continued to cover the questionable foreclosure practices that had been exposed around the country.

And iPhone Makes Three: Marriage In The Digital Age

Put spouses and their digital devices all in the same room and, well -- marriage therapists say they're hearing an earful about friction.

"The digital age hasn't introduced this problem, it simply gives us a more convenient means of checking out," says Tara Fritsch, a marriage counselor in Edmond (OK). Fritsch is hearing more and more clients complain about a spouse whose body may be right there but whose mind is off in cyberspace. Some say the best way to get their spouse's attention is to send a text -- from the next room! Others complain that a spouse's late-night e-mailing cuts into their sex life. "Closeness depends upon this rapidly disappearing phenomenon of undivided attention spread over time," says Edward Hallowell, a psychiatrist and co-author of Married to Distraction. Just think how hard it is to complete a work project amid a stream of interruptions, he says. "What you give up at work is depth. And what you give up in relationships is intimacy," Hallowell says.

Experts expect tech policy gridlock in contest for control of Commerce Committee chairmanship

What does it mean if Reps Joe Barton (R-TX), Cliff Stearns (R-FL) or Fred Upton (R-MI) lead the House Commerce Committee? Gridlock on telecommunications and technology policy, analysts say.

Observers say there is little to distinguish the three on their approach to tech and telecom policy. All three will strongly oppose legislation on network neutrality and may even threaten to take away funding from the Federal Communications Commission if FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski pushes through on his proposed broadband reclassification. We believe Republican mid-term election gains would generally strengthen the hand of the Bells, cable, and broadcasters over their telecom, media and tech rivals" such as Dish Network and Google, wrote Rebecca Arbogast, analyst at Stifel Nicolaus. Broadcasters would be emboldened by Republican gains, helping them ward off legislation expected to be introduced by Sen John Kerry (D-MA) to allow the FCC to take a more aggressive role in television retransmission disputes. And while the idea of getting more airwaves out for mobile broadband is embraced by Republican and Democrats, Arbogast wrote that broadcasters will have a stronger voice against any legislation that makes them give up airwaves. What will get done? Privacy and tax reforms. And as telecom and cable firms start digging ground for broadband stimulus projects, Republicans are expected to scrutinize the projects in hearings over how well the grants have helped stimulate the economy.

Benton

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