December 2010

"You would think that making sure the Internet isn't censored in any way would be an idea that's popular among Democrats and Republicans."
-- House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA)

"What will happen to advertising-supported Internet content? We need to be mindful not to enact [privacy] legislation that would hurt a recovering economy."
-- Rep Ed Whitfield (R-KY), ranking member House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2010 (You will be missed, Mr. Santo)

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Reports show violations of surveillance limits in US
   Amazon Cites Terms of Use in Expulsion of WikiLeaks

PRIVACY
   Do-Not-Track Hearing Recap
   It's too soon for a 'Do Not Track' law

NETWORK NEUTRALITY
   FCC Quietly Selling Net Neutrality on Capitol Hill
   FCC's New Net Neutrality Plan: Has Anything Changed?
   Broadband vs. Open Internet, Open Internet scores a point
   Waxman Still Mulling FCC's Open Internet Order
   Swing vote Copps reiterates Title II support
   FCC Basing Network Neutrality Authority, In Part, on Broadband Deployment Argument
   Time to Shut Down the FCC
   Groups oppose UK web traffic control

MORE ON INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Cyber Monday, Biggest Online Spending Day In History: Shopping Has Changed
   Sen Reid Backs Legalizing Web Poker

CYBERSECURITY
   It will soon be too late to stop the cyberwars
   Federal Cybersecurity Spending To Hit $13.3B By 2015

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
   Fashioning FCC Auction Rules to Favor Diversity
   Group Links Programming Dispute Problems To Comcast Merger
   Comcast Needs To Level With Consumers And Business Partners: Unlimited Media Content Will Cost More
   Google: Making Copyright Work Better Online
   Education Tech Advocates Eye Rupert Murdoch's Move Into K-12 Market
   Facebook: The Media Company That Could Have Been
   Groupon’s Biggest Deal Could Transform Chicago's Tech Start-Ups
   Viacom Set to Appeal in YouTube Case
   Google Deal in Japan Clears Bar

BROADCASTING
   A New Test Is Proposed in Licensing Radio and TV
   Congress Acts To Lower Volume On TV Ads
   FCC Plan Makes VHF a Very High Priority

ELECTIONS/POLICYMAKERS
   Telecom giants and campaign cash
   Former FTC official to join Public Interest Register

HEALTH
   Electronic Health Record Certification Final Rule Up for Review
   HHS calls for online apps competition to help meet 10-year health goals
   Transportation Studies Technology to Combat Distracted Driving

COMMUNITY MEDIA
These headlines presented in partnership with:

   LA County's Library System May Check Out
   Despite successful millage, Flint Public Library forced to cut hours
   Media Literacy Initiative Helps Young People Prepare for 2012 Presidential Election Campaign
   Government Money Woes Hit the California Museums

MORE ONLINE
   Bloggers Debate New Security Measures
   Outfoxed by Fox News? No way

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

SURVEILLANCE VIOLATIONS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Spencer Hsu]
The federal government has repeatedly violated legal limits governing the surveillance of U.S. citizens, according to previously secret internal documents obtained through a court battle by the American Civil Liberties Union. In releasing 900 pages of documents, U.S. government agencies refused to say how many Americans' telephone, e-mail or other communications have been intercepted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - or FISA - Amendments Act of 2008, or to discuss any specific abuses, the ACLU said. Most of the documents were heavily redacted. However, semiannual internal oversight reports by the offices of the attorney general and director of national intelligence identify ongoing breaches of legal requirements that limit when Americans are targeted and minimize the amount of data collected. The documents note that although oversight teams did not find evidence of "intentional or willful attempts to violate or circumvent the law . . . certain types of compliance incidents continue to occur," as a March 2009 report stated.
benton.org/node/45697 | Washington Post
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AMAZON EXPELS WIKILEAKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Charlie Savage]
Amazon expelled WikiLeaks from its Web site hosting service this week after an aide to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) called the company and asked about the relationship. Amazon — which rents server space to companies in addition to its better-known business of selling books, music and other products online — said that it had canceled its relationship with WikiLeaks not because of “a government inquiry,” but because it decided that the organization was violating the terms of service for the program. “When companies or people go about securing and storing large quantities of data that isn't rightfully theirs, and publishing this data without ensuring it won't injure others, it’s a violation of our terms of service, and folks need to go operate elsewhere,” the company said. WikiLeaks, which began making public the first of a cache of more than 250,000 leaked State Department cables this week, apparently moved its Web site to Amazon’s servers in recent weeks after “denial of service” attacks had sought to shut it down. On Tuesday, after reading about the move in media reports, a staff member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Sen Lieberman leads, called Amazon and asked several pointed questions, including, “ ‘If you are aware of this, do you have plans to take it down?’ ” according to Leslie Phillips, a spokeswoman for the committee. On Wednesday morning, Phillips said, an official at Amazon called back and said the company had “terminated the relationship because it was a violation of terms of use,” but offered no further details. She said Sen Lieberman found out about his aide’s inquiry only afterward, but strongly approved of it — and of Amazon’s decision.
benton.org/node/45713 | New York Times | Bloomberg
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PRIVACY

DO-NOT-TRACK RECAP
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a hearing on possible "Do-Not-Track" legislation on December 2. The aim of the hearing was to examine the feasibility of establishing a mechanism that provides Internet users a simple and universal method to opt-out from having their online activity tracked by data-gathering firms. Currently, no federal law specifically governs the online advertising industry or the practice of tracking Internet consumers to deliver behaviorally target ads. Nor are there any federal laws that comprehensively govern the collection, use, and dissemination of consumer information across the board. Specific federal laws, however, do address certain categories of personal information or specific entities.
Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush (D-IL) plans to introduce online privacy legislation next year and is considering including a do-not-track requirement. He indicated he was still undecided, but noted there were benefits to such a tool. “Through such a mechanism, consumers could advise would-be trackers unambiguously and persistently that they do not wish to be followed by digital snoopers and spies across websites and their various fixed and mobile computing devices," Chairman Rush said.
The Obama administration endorsed the idea of voluntary industry compliance with stronger consumer privacy protections, but has not backed the call for a broad do-not-track function, said Daniel J. Weitzner, associate administrator for the Office of Policy Analysis and Development at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The Commerce Department will soon publish a series of policy ideas and questions through a Department of Commerce “green paper,” which are intended to play a key role in our effort to close gaps in consumer protection, strengthen online trust, and bolster the Internet economy. The paper will contain both proposed recommendations for discussion and a further set of questions on topics about which we seek further input.
David Vladeck, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that while the FTC recognizes that consumers may benefit in certain ways from the practice of tracking consumers online to serve targeted advertising, the agency supports giving consumers a “Do Not Track” option because the practice is largely invisible to consumers, and they should have a simple, easy way to control it. The FTC proposes that Do Not Track would be a persistent setting on consumers’ Web browsers. He said the practice of tracking consumers’ activities online to target advertising, known as behavioral advertising, holds value for consumers because it supports content and services on the Web and delivers more personalized ads. He noted, however, that more transparency and consumer control regarding the practice are needed.
Republicans greeted the idea of Internet "do not track" proposal coolly, expressing concern that hindering advertiser access to consumers web browsing habits would slow innovation. Rep Ed Whitfield (R-KY), the ranking member on the subcommittee, expressed concern that the free services now financed by advertising would be hurt, and that consumers would lose access to ads they want to see. "What will happen to advertising-supported Internet content? We need to be mindful not to enact legislation that would hurt a recovering economy."
benton.org/node/45679 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | Briefing memo | NTIA's Weitzner | more from Weitzner | FTC's Vladeck | Reuters | LATimes | National Journal
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SJMERC: TOO SOON FOR DO-NOT-TRACK
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] A Federal Trade Commission plan and a congressional hearing this week have raised the intriguing notion of a "Do Not Track" feature on Web browsers, allowing consumers to block advertisers from collecting data on the sites they visit and the purchases they make. Several lawmakers say they'll introduce legislation to require it, even though the FTC didn't recommend that. It's too soon for government intervention. But the Internet industry is on notice: It must aggressively respond to legitimate privacy concerns or be prepared for Congress to step in, as it eventually did with "Do Not Call" legislation for phone solicitors. The industry should be responding better to privacy concerns. But given the abundance of nascent ideas, it's too soon for government intervention -- if only because of how quickly regulations would become obsolete. The FTC framework this week should serve as a warning to Internet companies that if they don't move quickly and aggressively, Congress will step in.
benton.org/node/45689 | San Jose Mercury News
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

FCC SELLING NET NEUTRALITY ON THE HILL
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
On Dec 3, the Federal Communications Commission will conduct bipartisan briefings for Senate and House staffers on the just-announced open Internet proposal, which would establish enforceable rules prohibiting anticompetitive behavior on the Internet. The outreach comes as Republican lawmakers express outrage that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has scheduled a Dec. 21 vote on the proposal despite their insistence that new rules are unnecessary and that only Congress should set policy in this area. Chairman Genachowski is widely expected to face what's shaping up to be a major backlash in next year's GOP-controlled House. At the invitation of the Senate Commerce Committee, FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick and top advisers from the chairman's office will brief bipartisan staffers Friday from noon to 1p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. On the House side, the commission will conduct a similar briefing at 2pm in room 2123 of the Rayburn building.
benton.org/node/45681 | National Journal
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HOW HAS NETWORK NEUTRALITY CHANGED?
[SOURCE: PCMagazine, AUTHOR: Chloe Albanesius]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled an updated network neutrality plan, but how is this different from the proposal the commission introduced in October 2009? For all intents and purposes, the main thrust of Wednesday's plan doesn't differ too greatly from the October 2009 proposal. move was really more of a legal argument. Genachowski's plan outlines the FCC's legal authority for addressing broadband, though it ditches plans to reclassify broadband as a telecom service. What did this week's presentation raise?
More Usage-Based Pricing Coming Soon?
Network Management OK, But No Specific Blocking
Wireless still part of the plan, but treated differently
No reclassification
benton.org/node/45677 | PCMagazine
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BROADBAND VS OPEN INTERNET
[SOURCE: dpr, AUTHOR: David Reed]
[Commentary] It is possible to read Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's statement very carefully and see a distinction between Internet and Broadband that *might* be there (or it might not). If it comes through in the rules, I will be happy, because the FCC at least got started on the right foot. For a while there it looked as if it was going to have two left feet (Broadband and InternetBroadband), and we know where that leads. I'm sure many will write that there are zillions of “loopholes” in that ruling allowing for all kinds of bad behavior by Broadband providers in the services they offer to customers. And I would tend to agree with those concerns. There is nothing that preserving a free and open internet can do, nothing at all, for many of the problems of telecom and information services in the broad sense of the term Broadband. But when those broadband providers offer a connection to the Internet, that is, when they offer the ability to access all of the services that are made available anywhere in the world from any other user or company that connects to the Internet, the rules the FCC proposes will apply. This is a good thing, in my opinion.
benton.org/node/45683 | dpr
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WAXMAN MULLING NETWORK NEUTRALITY PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said that while he is supportive of the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to protect the open Internet, he needs to take a closer look at the commission's proposed net neutrality order before he signs off on it. "You would think that making sure the Internet isn't censored in anyway would be an idea that's popular among Democrats and Republicans," Chairman Waxman said. So far reaction on Capitol Hill shows lawmakers splitting down party lines with Democrats supporting the FCC's proposal and Republicans opposing it.
benton.org/node/45675 | Hill, The
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BASING NET NEUTRALITY ON SEC 706
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The Federal Communications Commission has better arguments to shore up its authority to enforce network management rules than Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Really. Trust us. Section 706 requires the agency to make an annual report to Congress on whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely manner. In instances when the agency concludes "no," the act also empowers the FCC to move toward fixing that. But the notion that network neutrality rules would help spur deployment is overwhelmingly rejected by rules opponents, who say such regulations would actually hinder investment. Even the most ardent network neutrality proponents rarely cite deployment as a reason to enact such rules, preferring to wage arguments about promoting free expression and forestalling potential Internet fees. The argument that net-neutrality rules would promote deployment goes like this: the rules ensure that Internet companies can get their content to users and continue producing more content, increasing the bandwidth demands on broadband providers and spurring them to build out their networks. But when FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski used that logic, network neutrality-opponents balked. “It is possible that the FCC has new economic research to unveil, but the vast majority of economists, analysts and investors agree that new Internet regulations and policy uncertainty will deter investment, slow job creation and undermine broadband deployment,” Internet Innovation Alliance Co-Chairman Bruce Mehlman told The Hill at the time. It's not just industry that questions the use of Section 706. The public interest community, which wants the agency to use the most solid argument possible to underpin the rules, recoiled at the notion that Section 706 can be used to justify the commission's net-work neutrality actions. "This argument has procedural problems, legal problems, and no basis in the record. It would apply only to the 14-24 million Americans the FCC found lacked adequate access to broadband," said Harold Feld, legal director at Public Knowledge.
benton.org/node/45658 | Hill, The
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TIME TO SHUT DOWN FCC
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Andy Kessler]
[Commentary] It's time to close the Federal Communications Commission. This week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski gave a speech outlining his push for net neutrality, the absurd notion that the Internet should be "open and free" when in fact it's quite expensive to build. Net neutrality will straitjacket the U.S. economy's single most important driver of productivity and transformation. Besides the obvious question of whether the FCC even has the authority to regulate the Web, the agency has a long history of restraining trade. In place of the FCC, all we need is a policy framework that states that consumers and innovators have a right to one thing: real choice. Everyone should have the right to choose among many networks for communications services, and no state or municipality may restrict competition. That's it. Everything else -- faster networks, innovative services, a la carte programming, and yes, even privacy -- follows from this one rule. Pay a new provider $5 extra a month and no one tracks what websites you visit! The FCC can apply more Band-Aids to its broken scarcity-based regulatory model. Or we can close the agency and let consumers allocate capital efficiently.
benton.org/node/45703 | Wall Street Journal
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GROUPS OPPOSE UK NET PLAN
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Courtney Weaver]
A group of major Internet companies, including Ebay, Yahoo and Skype, have written to Ed Vaizey, UK communications minister, urging the British government not to impose regulation that would allow the country’s Internet service providers to favour traffic from one content provider over another. They cautioned the government not to manage data traffic by allowing operators to discriminate against certain content providers, such as video-streaming websites, by permitting them to charge for “fast lane” access.
benton.org/node/45693 | Financial Times
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MORE ON INTERNET/BROADBAND

SHOPPING HAS CHANGED
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Kit Eaton]
ComScore's just published its survey of consumer spending for the Cyber Monday that's just passed: It was the single biggest day ever for shopping online, the first to surpass a billion dollars in U.S. spending. It proves shopping has changed forever. According to ComScore's research, November 2010 saw $13.6 billion dollars of e-commerce from U.S. consumers, up 13% on the same figure for last year. Cyber Monday itself, which is largely an "invented" sales window, brought to us by the rise of the Internet, became the biggest online shopping day ever with $1.03 billion dollars being spent--the first day to beat the billion dollar-a-day figure. The Cyber Monday boom was possible since buyers spent more on average than they did last year (12% more) and the total number of buyers rose by 4%, to 9 million people. Consumers even spent more on average per transaction (up 10%) meaning that the sales figure wasn't being distorted by one or two particular special deals, and they performed more transactions--up 6% versus 2009. This means they're really embracing the idea of Cyber Monday itself. To put the figure in context, online spending on Black Friday -- the traditional sales holiday -- was around $648 million dollars, or about two thirds of Cyber Monday's total, and up only 9% versus last year. True, Black Friday is traditionally a day for in-store sales, but the trend is undeniable.
benton.org/node/45650 | Fast Company
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CYBERSECURITY

GEARING UP FOR CYBERWAY
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Bruce Schneier]
[Commentary] The world is gearing up for cyberwar. The US Cyber Command became operational in November. Nato has enshrined cyber security among its new strategic priorities. The head of Britain’s armed forces said recently that boosting cyber capability is now a huge priority for the UK. And we know China is already engaged in broad cyber espionage attacks against the west. So how can we control a burgeoning cyber arms race? We can set parameters. It is obviously not an act of war just to develop digital weapons targeting another country. Using cyber attacks to spy on another nation is a grey area, which gets greyer still when a country penetrates information networks, just to see if it can do so. Penetrating such networks and leaving a back door open, or even leaving logic bombs behind to be used later, is a harder case – yet the US and China are doing this to each other right now. And what about when one country deliberately damages the economy of another, as one of the WikiLeaks cables shows that a member of China’s politburo did against Google in January 2010? Definitions and rules are hard not just because the tools of war have changed, but because cyberspace puts them into the hands of a broader group of people. Previously only the military had weapons. Now anyone with sufficient computer skills can take matters into their own hands. There are more basic problems too. When a nation is attacked in a regular conflict, a variety of military and civil institutions respond. The legal framework for this depends on two things: the attacker and the motive. But when you’re attacked on the Internet, those are precisely the two things you don't know.
When you don't know, it’s easy to get it wrong; and to retaliate against the wrong target, or for the wrong reason.
benton.org/node/45691 | Financial Times
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP

DIVERSITY AND SPECTRUM AUCTIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
On October 14, 2010, the Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age formally recommended that the Federal Communications Commission undertake a notice of proposed rulemaking to consider how the Commission could design, adopt, and implement an additional new preference program in its competitive bidding process. Under the proposed preference, persons or entities who have overcome substantial disadvantage would be eligible for a bidding credit. The Advisory Committee explains that the new preference "would expand the pool of designated entities to include those qualified applicants who have overcome substantial disadvantage," noting that the proposed program is analogous in some respects to programs used by educational institutions in their admissions processes.
The Advisory Committee's Recommendation acknowledges that a number of issues concerning the design and implementation of its proposal would need to be refined and resolved by the Commission in a future rulemaking proceeding. Accordingly, the Media and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus seek information that will assist the Commission in considering whether to launch a proceeding to further examine the components of the recommended preference. The Bureaus seek comment on the proposal and are especially interested in comments on the following questions. Interested parties need not address all the questions presented, but are encouraged to respond to those about which they have particular knowledge or information.
benton.org/node/45673 | Federal Communications Commission | read the recommendation | B&C
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MORE OPPOSITION TO COMCAST DEAL
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
A coalition opposed to Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal is now arguing that the current broken federal process for resolving disputes between independent programmers and television distributors will not be able restrain the new combined company from discriminating against independent cable networks. In its latest letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on the merger, the Coalition for Competition in Media said the incentive Comcast already has to discriminate against independent content that competes with its own will only grow if the cable operator is allowed to merge with a major content provider like NBCU, which owns the NBC network, a major Hollywood Studio and several cable channels. The coalition includes a broad range of groups and companies such as the public interest group Free Press, financial news provider Bloomberg, the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association. "Unaffiliated networks often lack the leverage that larger integrated programmers use to secure fair pricing and channel placement--a lack of leverage Comcast has long viewed as a business opportunity," the coalition wrote. "This merger will only enhance those incentives, sharpen the ability and increase the universe of non-Comcast-owned programming that will suffer the consequences. The end result will be decreased consumer choice and less diversity of important content, such as news and information." The group also argued that the current process for resolving disputes between independent cable channels seeking carriage on cable systems has been unable to resolve some ongoing complaints filed against Comcast by the Tennis Channel and WealthTV.
benton.org/node/45655 | National Journal
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UNLIMITED MEDIA CONTENT WILL COST MORE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wayne Friedman]
Imagine if a cable network group -- Viacom, Discovery, or even an NBC Universal (that is, the company it is today in 2010) -- were to find a way to stuff scores of new cable networks into the slim cable spectrum that's currently available. This is probably how Comcast feels about Netflix as it continues to increase the number of movies, TV shows, and other content through Comcast's broadband service. All this seems to be part of the reason Level 3, Netflix's online video server partner, is complaining about extra charges from Comcast. This would seem to be an apples and oranges comparison between old-style cable networks and other content distributors. In the digital space, there are seemingly no limits. No shelf space. But in fact, there is. Comcast says Level 3 is pushing through twice as much content as other similar companies -- and that's not right. As a big cable operator, Comcast knows a thing or two about shelf space. But in the digital media landscape, that old-time retail business term gets fuzzy -- especially to consumers who still see the Internet, and growing digital platforms, in a different ways. In part, Comcast and other big media companies are to blame -- marketing to consumers about a brave new digital world where every possible variety of media content can be available in an unlimited playground. But there's little mention in all this marketing of how much more all this will cost.
benton.org/node/45654 | MediaPost
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GOOGLE COPYRIGHT POLICY
[SOURCE: Google, AUTHOR: Kent Walker]
Google is implementing four changes to better address online copyright infringement:
Reliable copyright takedown requests will be acted upon within 24 hours. We will build tools to improve the submission process to make it easier for rightsholders to submit DMCA takedown requests for Google products (starting with Blogger and web Search). And for copyright owners who use the tools responsibly, we'll reduce our average response time to 24 hours or less. At the same time, we'll improve our “counter-notice” tools for those who believe their content was wrongly removed and enable public searching of takedown requests.
The company will prevent terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in Autocomplete. While it’s hard to know for sure when search terms are being used to find infringing content, we'll do our best to prevent Autocomplete from displaying the terms most frequently used for that purpose.
The AdSense anti-piracy review will be improved. We have always prohibited the use of our AdSense program on web pages that provide infringing materials. Building on our existing DMCA takedown procedures, we will be working with rightsholders to identify, and, when appropriate, expel violators from the AdSense program.
Authorised preview content will be more readily accessible in search results. Not surprisingly, we’re big fans of making authorised content more accessible on the Internet. Most users want to access legitimate content and are interested in sites that make that content available to them (even if only on a preview basis). We'll be looking at ways to make this content easier to index and find.
benton.org/node/45649 | Google
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FACEBOOK AS MEDIA COMPANY
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Jared Keller]
In mid-April, Facebook launched a Facebook + Media initiative focused on helping news, television and music partners "drive referral traffic, increase engagement, and deepen user insights on your site," presumably with the intent of closely integrating Facebook with existing media properties and extending the reach of the already monstrous social network. But is Facebook just an accessory for media companies, or a media company in itself? At Business Insider's IGNITION conference, David Kirkpatrick -- author of The Facebook Effect -- talked with Wendy Harris Millard of MediaLink LLC and Mike Lazerow of Buddy Media about Facebook's odd evolution. The real question at hand is whether Facebook really is a media company -- that is, a company that produces and distributes attention-grabbing nuggets of content and makes money on them. By this definition, the answer is yes. At the same time, Facebook doesn't necessarily produce its own content. Perhaps that's because Facebook is a media company that's not trying to be a media company. It's more of a media infrastructure company; Facebook builds roads, pit stops, forums and other spaces on the Web that have become essential for virtually every business on the planet to reach its desired audience. But with the social network's ubiquity, it's as permanent a destination for content as CNN, Amazon or the iTunes store.
benton.org/node/45669 | Atlantic, The
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GROUPON AND CHICAGO
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Kirk]
Chicago has been home to far bigger transactions than the one being discussed between Google and Groupon. But few, if any, have had as much riding on it for the city as this $6 billion deal does. Groupon, a Chicago company coveted for its ability to mobilize millions of people online to buy local products, offers steep daily discounts to consumers on an array of products and services. If the Google-Groupon deal is completed, Groupon will be one of the country’s biggest start-up success stories and one likely to spur a frenzy of new investment in Internet-based companies, including more in sometimes-overlooked Chicago. For Google, the deal would be its biggest purchase, more than tripling what it paid for YouTube in 2006 and far richer than the $3.1 billion it spent in 2007 for DoubleClick, an online-advertising company. For Chicago, the deal would represent something bigger than the price tag, which has been the buzz of venture capitalists, technology entrepreneurs and Wall Street investors for several weeks. The deal, tech executives say, could represent a game-changing moment for Chicago’s economy — a chance for the city to establish itself as a major tech hub that can grow talent and keep it here.
benton.org/node/45711 | New York Times
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VIACOM TO APPEAL YOUTUBE CASE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sam Schechner]
Viacom says a new wave of digital piracy could threaten the US media business unless federal courts overturn its defeat in a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google's YouTube video-sharing site. The New York-based owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures is expected as early as Dec 3 to file its appeal of the June decision with the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. To add firepower to its case, Viacom has brought in former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson to argue.
Viacom argues, however, that establishing underlying legal precedents in its favor has become more crucial, as the Internet becomes a bigger vehicle for commerce. Broadband speeds are faster, and media companies are increasingly looking to the online distribution of video as a future of the business, its executives say.
benton.org/node/45701 | Wall Street Journal
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GOOGLE-YAHOO DEAL IN JAPAN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Daisuke Wakabayashi]
Japan's antitrust regulators approved a Web-search alliance between Google and Yahoo Japan, despite protests from rivals and calls from lawmakers for a closer look at the deal. The alliance, announced in July, calls for Yahoo Japan, the country's most-visited Internet portal and search site, to use Google's search-engine and search-advertising platforms. That will boost Google's share of searches in Japan to about 90%. Japan's Fair Trade Commission said the deal wouldn't "immediately" violate antitrust rules, explaining that it is limited to a sharing of technology. "We have not found any evidence that they are collaborating by sharing sensitive information such as ad pricing or any other problematic ways," said Takujiro Kono, head of the consultation and guidance office in the commission's trade-practices department. The commission said it will monitor the alliance to ensure rules aren't broken as it develops.
benton.org/node/45699 | Wall Street Journal
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BROADCASTING

COPPS ON LICENSE RENEWAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
Michael J. Copps, one of the five commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission, said Thursday that a “public value test” should replace the current licensing system for television and radio stations. The test, he said, “would get us back to the original licensing bargain between broadcasters and the people: in return for free use of airwaves that belong exclusively to the people, licensees agree to serve the public interest as good stewards of a precious national resource.” Commissioner Copps, who has long wanted to reform the license system, made the proposal in an address at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism on Thursday. It is his latest effort to draw attention to the public interest requirements of local stations at a time when he believes American journalism is in “grave peril.” In his prepared remarks, he criticized the casual nature of the current license renewals for stations and said his intent with the public value test was to foster “a renewed commitment to serious news and journalism.” There was no indication Thursday whether the other four FCC commissioners would consider his proposal.
benton.org/node/45709 | New York Times
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CALM ACT PASSES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The House gave final congressional approval to a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted. The bill's House sponsor, Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said it was her own "earsplitting experiences'' that got her involved, recalling how the ads "blew us out of the house'' when she watched television, already set at a high volume, with her parents. But she said her office also has gotten many messages of support and that at home people come up to her in restaurants and supermarkets to ask how the bill is doing. "TV programs use a variety of sound levels to build dramatic effect. But advertisements have been neither subtle nor nuanced,'' Eshoo said after the House passed the bill on a voice vote. When the law goes into effect, she said, "consumers will no longer have to experience being blasted at.'' Under the legislation, now heading to President Barack Obama for his signature, the Federal Communications Commission would be required within one year to adopt industry standards that coordinate ad decibel levels to those of the regular program. The new regulations, applying to all broadcast providers, including cable and satellite, would go into effect a year after that.
benton.org/node/45685 | Associated Press
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VHF IS VERY HIGH PRIORITY
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
As part of its plan to shift 120 MHz of spectrum from TV broadcasting to wireless broadband, the Federal Communications Commission wants to pack TV stations more tightly together in the remaining 180 MHz of spectrum to free up some for auction. To do that most efficiently, it must make the VHF portion of that remaining spectrum (channels. 2-13) more hospitable to broadcasting. The FCC has proposed increasing the power of VHF stations and imposing minimum performance standards on VHF receive antennas. It also called for other ideas for making VHF work better. The initiative is badly needed. After the final transition from analog to digital in June 2009, the VHF band, particularly the lower end (chs. 2-6), was exposed as a digital weakling. But improving the VHF service will not be easy. In the rulemaking, the FCC floats two ideas for reinvigorating VHF broadcasting.
First, it proposes to raise the maximum transmitted power (effective radiated power or ERP) of VHF stations in its heavily populated Zone 1 (the Northeast and Upper Midwest). Stations in the low-V band could up their power to 40 kW, while those operating in the high-V band could go to 120 kW. If the broadcast antennas are higher than 305 meters above average terrain, the power limits would be somewhat lower. The greater power “would help to compensate for some of the higher noise levels that tend to be present where consumers use indoor antennas,” the rulemaking says.
Second, the FCC proposes a standard for receive antenna performance, namely the ANSI/CEA-2032-A standard. It demands that antennas produce gain of at least -12 dBd on low-V channels and -8 dBd on high-V channels. The FCC also suggests that VHF stations looking to improve service add a vertically polarized element to their broadcast antenna if they don't already have one.
benton.org/node/45656 | TVNewsCheck
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ELECTIONS/POLICYMAKERS

TELECOM AND CAMPAIGN CASH
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Top telecom companies are hoping their early investments in the freshman congressional class of 2011 will pay much-sought dividends in the form of new Washington allies. Political action committees for big players like AT&T and Verizon each wrote a number of campaign checks this election season to neophyte political candidates — sometimes, even to opponents in the same race — as they sought to strengthen their political hands as hot debates over issues like Net neutrality begin to intensify.
Roughly one-third of newcomers this year can boast a contribution from either or both telecom giants. By contrast, other industry players spent far less on political newcomers this year. Google, for example, supported new, victorious 2010 candidates, but each already boasted some political experience. Many others, including Comcast, instead focused their attention on key veterans and big-ticket Senate candidates.
benton.org/node/45671 | Politico
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HEALTH

EHR CERTIFICATION
[SOURCE: HealthLeaders Media, AUTHOR: Dom Nicastro]
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has sent a final rule to establish a permanent certification program for EHR technology to the Office for Management and Budget (OMB). Review by the OMB is a required step in the process to publish a final rule. While there is no legislative deadline for the release of the rule, at the time the temporary certification program was finalized in June, ONC indicated it expected to publish the final rule for the permanent program this fall.
benton.org/node/45663 | HealthLeaders Media | View the Rule
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COMMUNITY MEDIA
These headlines presented in partnership with:

LA COUNTY's LIBRARY SYSTEM MAY CHECK OUT
[SOURCE: NBC , AUTHOR: Scott Weber]
The Los Angeles County Public Library system is facing tough financial straits in the next ten years and will either need to raise more funds through a special tax or reduce services to the community, according to a new report given to the Board of Supervisors. The Library Commission Report given to the Supervisors on Tuesday details how the library system has been hit hard during the recession. Despite several cost cutting measures including reduced hours, program cuts, and more efficient purchasing, it still faces a $22 million deficit in its $109.7 million budget over the next ten years. The County Public Library is "not exempt from the fallout of the economic crisis," the report said, as losses in tax revenue from declining property values and increased costs including health care have put tremendous pressure on the nations largest library system.
benton.org/node/45648 | NBC | The Signal
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DESPITE SUCCESSFUL MILLAGE, FLINT PUBLIC LIBRARY FORCED TO CUT HOURS
[SOURCE: NBC25]
Despite community support for the Flint Public Library millage request in August of this year, the library was hit by a larger than expected GM tax revaluation in September resulting in a permanent budget reduction of about $180,000 annually. This represents an additional reduction in millage funds than was projected during the millage campaign. The new millage, which is an increase of .5 mills, won't be collected until July of 2012, necessitating a 19-month transition, transformation and strategic planning period for the Library Board and staff. "Being a good fiduciary agent of the public's trust means making decisions to live within your means while providing the best possible service to the community," said Kay Schwartz, Interim Library Director.
benton.org/node/45647 | NBC25
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MEDIA LITERACY INITIATIVE HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE PREPARE FOR 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Ithaca College, AUTHOR: David Malley]
Though all of the votes from the 2010 midterm elections have yet to be counted, the political focus is already shifting to the 2012 presidential campaign. In fact, the first debate among potential Republican candidates, to be televised by NBC, is scheduled for next spring. To help young people prepare to sort through the overwhelming flood of information that will soon pour forth from the media about the campaign, a media literacy initiative at Ithaca College has published an update to its popular curriculum kit for teachers. Produced by Project Look Sharp, "Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns" is a free online teaching aid that uses examples from past campaigns to help students understand how the media cover elections and how candidates use the media.
benton.org/node/45646 | Ithaca College
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