August 4, 2011 (Frustration with Media)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2011
FCC Chairman Genachowski is in Indiana today to discuss jobs http://benton.org/node/85163
JOURNALISM
Senate Democrats’ frustration with media begins to show in FAA fight with House
Top Political Newsmakers of 2011 - research
US seriously probing News Corp 9/11 hacking report [links to web]
Murdoch’s Cleanup Effort Draws Criticism
Suits Against News Corp. Rise as Probe Goes On [links to web]
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
FCC refereeing airwaves fight
AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: More Market Concentration, Less Choice, Higher Prices
Priciest mobile Internet in the world: US
Public Knowledge Issues Consumer Warning on "4G" Wireless Service - press release
The Future of Spectrum - research
ACLU Probing Government Use of Cell Phone Location Data
Public Safety Officials Turning Up The Heat On Congress
LightSquared Transitions Public Safety Officials to New Satellite
The Connected Planet ‘4G Scorecard’
As the 4G road forks, Clearwire chooses both paths [links to web]
Smartphones Replacing Old-Fashioned Library Cards [links to web]
California may OK donations via text [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Consumers wary of metered plans
Network Solutions Fetches $560 Million
CONTENT
Facebook Explores Changes to News Feed
Germany Investigating Facebook Tagging Feature
How Publishers Are Dealing With Apple’s In-App Subscription Policies
Web tracking has become a privacy time bomb [links to web]
FCC REFORM
Chairman Walden Statement on FCC Process - press release
RESEARCH
Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation - press release
Multiplying Media Make It Harder To Manage Kids' Screen Time
Study: Industry's Found Sneaky Way to Keep Advertising Junk Food to Kids
LOBBYING
The AT&T/T-Mobile Lobbyist Army
SEE YA IN COURT
Google Slams Patent Foes’ ‘Hostile, Organized Campaign Against Android'
Verizon Ordered To Pay $115M In Damages After Patent Loss
ADVERTISING
Study: Industry's Found Sneaky Way to Keep Advertising Junk Food to Kids
POLICYMAKERS
White House Names a New Chief of Information Technology
OWNERSHIP
Fashion for focus may cast its gaze on media giants - analysis
TELEVISION
ABC Family, the CW tops in gay inclusive shows [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Comcast Reports Solid Quarter, Thanks in Part to NBCU [links to web]
Frontier is now Dish Network’s biggest customer [links to web]
UNIVERSAL SERVICE
FCC SEEKS USF/ICC INPUT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
In the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund/Intercarrier Compensation reform proceeding, a number of parties have offered specific proposals for reform, including a proposal by the State Members of the Federal-State Universal Service Joint Board (State Members), the “RLEC Plan” put forward by the Joint Rural Associations, and the “America’s Broadband Connectivity Plan” filed by six Price Cap Companies (“ABC Plan”). The FCC now seeks comment on how these proposals comport with the FCC’s articulated objectives and statutory requirements. The FCC invites comment on specific aspects of the proposals and on additional issues that are not fully developed in the record.
Issues include: Separate support for mobile broadband, Elimination of rural/non-rural carrier distinctions, Connect America Fund (CAF) support for price cap areas, Reforms for Rate-of-Return carriers, Consumer equity, High-cost areas, CAF Support for Alaska, Hawaii, Tribal lands, U.S. Territories and Other Areas, Interim Reforms for Price Cap Carriers.
Comments due August 24, 2011. Reply comments are due August 31, 2011.
benton.org/node/85305 | Federal Communications Commission
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JOURNALISM
FRUSTRATION WITH MEDIA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Alexander Bolton]
After an acrimonious, months-long debate over raising the national debt limit, a battle many Democrats think the Republicans won, Senate Democratic leaders are becoming increasingly frustrated over how the media reports on the bold tactics of Tea Party Republicans. This frustration boiled over during a press conference on the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration and what Democrats call the GOP’s extortionist tactics. The FAA had to temporarily lay off 4,000 workers because Senate Democrats and Republicans cannot agree to a reauthorization of the agency. Democrats are angry that members of the media appear to be accepting the GOP argument that Democrats are to blame for the temporary shutdown. Democratic senators believe reporters are failing to call out Republicans for using extreme legislative tactics, such as pushing debt-limit negotiations to the brink of a national default and threatening a government shutdown in April.
When Jonathan Karl, a correspondent for ABC News, asked why Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) had blocked a short-term FAA extension offered by Republicans on the Senate floor, Democrats lost their patience. “There’s a certain naivety that comes with your question,” said Sen Barbara Boxer. “The story here today is the fact that our leader is reaching out to [House Speaker John] Boehner [R-Ohio] to say, ‘If we want to resolve a particular issue, whatever it might be, let’s talk about it,' but not have one side say, ‘Take it or leave it or people will be out of work.' And the essence of your question doesn't understand that.” House Republicans have offered Senate Democrats a short-term extension of the FAA authorization that would close several small rural airports in the home states of Democratic senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen Rockefeller. Chairman Rockefeller objected to the House GOP’s bill on the Senate floor and proposed instead a clean short-term extension of the reauthorization that would not have closed small airports, which Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) blocked.
benton.org/node/85244 | Hill, The
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POLITICAL NEWSMAKERS
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
Seven months after she was shot in the head and gravely wounded during an assassination attempt, Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords made an emotional return to the House floor on August 1 to cast her vote in support of the controversial debt-limit bill. Attention to the January 8 shooting rampage that took six lives and Giffords’ arduous journey to recovery has made the Tucson Democrat the second most covered political figure in 2011 to date. She has been a dominant figure in 328 stories in 2011. The only politician to appear more frequently as a dominant news maker is President Barack Obama who has been a newsmaker in 2046 stories. (To be considered a dominant newsmaker someone has to be featured in at least 50% of a story.) The No. 3 political newsmaker this year was the subject of a good deal of unwelcome media attention. He is former New York Representative Anthony Weiner (234 stories) who resigned in June following a sexting scandal. The next six leading newsmakers are all Republicans.
benton.org/node/85242 | Project for Excellence in Journalism
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NEWS CORP CLEANUP
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Brett Pulley, Alex Sherman]
News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch told British lawmakers he’s the “best person” to clean up the company after a phone-hacking scandal. Fifteen days later, it isn't clear how he'll accomplish that. The committee the New York-based media company set up to address the allegations isn't sufficiently independent and lacks a clear mandate to investigate wrongdoing, said corporate governance experts and investors. News Corp., led by Murdoch, has structured the new “management and standards committee” around too many insiders, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at Yale University’s School of Management. “There really should be outside investigators doing all of this,” Sonnenfeld said in an interview. “News Corp. has a history, obviously, of disappointing internal reviews.” Two members were executives at News International, the unit that included the tabloid where the hacking took place, until they resigned to work on the committee. Though attorney Anthony Grabiner was hired as independent chairman to oversee the committee’s work, he reports to Joel Klein, a News Corp. executive vice president and board member.
benton.org/node/85317 | Bloomberg
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
FCC REFEREEING SPECTRUM FIGHTS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kim Hart, Brooks Boliek]
New lobbying battles at the Federal Communications Commission are increasingly forcing regulators to determine “property rights” in the sky, as more business sectors rely on mobile technologies that are crowding the nation’s limited airwaves. The battles now before the FCC pit oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico against educational TV programmers on shore, makers of wireless patient devices against military test-flight centers, and automobile collision avoidance radar against scientists listening for life in the universe. “Battles that were put off years ago are going to come to a head,” said Paul Sinderbrand, a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer who represents the Wireless Communications Service Coalition, which includes companies like AT&T and NextWave. The nation’s airwaves are a hot commodity these days, and more and more companies are coming to Washington to make sure they get their fair share. The fight for the valuable spectrum — which powers everything from over-the-air TV stations to sophisticated smartphones — has largely been framed as a battle between broadcasters and wireless companies, as Congress makes plans for the FCC to auction off some spectrum to the highest bidder. But new skirmishes are developing on the spectrum front as more companies try to elbow their way into an increasingly crowded space — and the FCC has to play referee.
benton.org/node/85323 | Politico
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YANKEE GROUP REPORT
[SOURCE: Yankee Group, AUTHOR: Gigi Wang, Carl Howe]
From a spectrum perspective, the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile appears to expand network coverage and improve performance for AT&T customers. From a market perspective, Yankee Group believes the merger will increase market concentration, reduce consumer choice, and open the door for price increases in the most heavily populated U.S. wireless markets. Yankee Group believes the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile will have a negative impact on consumers and competition in the U.S. wireless marketplace. To counteract this negative impact, and to increase competition in moderately and highly concentrated markets, we recommend the FCC not allow this merger to proceed unless it is also prepared to maintain a stronger regulatory stance to avoid domination by the two largest carriers. Such a stance might include actions such as:
Thinking creatively about divesture remedies.
Enforcing mandatory, reasonable data roaming rates to facilitate competition
Regulating unbundled wireless tariffs
benton.org/node/85238 | Yankee Group
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MOBILE BROADBAND
[SOURCE: MSNBC, AUTHOR: Athima Chansanchai]
Japan is the cheapest place to have a smartphone with a data plan, while the U.S. ranks highest in mobile Internet costs per month. U.S. users pay more than $40 a month for 2GB of data (the going threshold for new capped data plans). On the other end of the scale, Japanese mobile phone callers pay just a touch over $10 a month for the same plan. Both were priced at 4G LTE speeds. Verizon's rates spiked the U.S. to the most expensive, but the current plans on its website show a price of $30 for 2GB, on both smartphones and mobile broadband devices like tablets. At $30, the U.S. would be more in line with the middle of the pack, with China -- if Verizon was its only carrier. But others can be interpreted as being over the $40 marker, such as T-Mobile's Unlimited Plus Value Plan for families, with an entry point of $39.99 per line for two lines of 1,000 minutes, unlimited text and data (2GB of high-speed, then throttled down over that).
benton.org/node/85223 | msnbc
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PK 4G PAPER
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Press release]
Consumers should be wary of pitches by telecommunications companies for their newer, faster “4G” wireless service, according to a new report from Public Knowledge. The report, “4G + Data Caps = Magic Beans,” finds that consumers will find their experiences with the faster services severely hampered by the rationing techniques the carriers impose on customers who use lots data — such as watching video. The report found: “These data caps actively discourage the types of activities that 4G enables. Activities that are made possible by 4G, such as watching movies or uploading video to the Internet, are made impossible by the data caps. As a result most users will avoid taking advantage of these new services out of fear of incurring large overage fees. That makes capped 4G little more than a bait and switch, like being sold a handful of magic beans.” While the report notes that 4G can be a useful technology because it could provide faster and better service, the report concluded: “The imposition of data caps on 4G networks marks an unfortunate milestone in the history of network innovation. For the perhaps first time, the introduction of a generationally faster technology will not have a widespread impact on online behavior. As long as there are low data caps, most users will be better off staying with a (cheaper and slower) 3G connection than paying a premium for 4G.”
benton.org/node/85186 | Public Knowledge | read the report | PK blog | see video
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THE FUTURE OF SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Brookings Institution, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Rosen]
In recent years, growth in demand for wireless services has sparked a boom in the mobile phone and wireless data sector. During the past four years, the number of mobile phone subscribers tripled, and the number of jobs in the telecommunications field has nearly quintupled. New, better, and faster mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, have created multi-billion dollar industries of their own, such as Google Android and the Apple iOS “app stores.” And those technologies have contributed to the dawning of an always-on, always-connected culture. But this growing demand for mobile Internet access requires a growing amount of wireless radio spectrum, portending serious problems for the future. At the moment, the United States has designated 547 MHz of spectrum to wireless broadband services, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) predicts a need for 637 MHz of spectrum by 2013, and 822 MHz of spectrum by 2014. Without more spectrum allocated to wireless Internet connectivity, America risks short-circuiting the mobile broadband revolution.
The National Broadband Plan proposes a solution. It sets forth a detailed plan to make 300 MHz of spectrum available for wireless broadband use within the next five years, and another 200 MHz in the five years after that.[vi] It seeks to achieve this freeing of spectrum by auctioning unused spectrum, lifting burdensome regulations to enable wireless broadband service in certain spectrum ranges, and reallocating spectrum from other services notably broadcast television to enable such spectrum to be used for wireless broadband. Though many of these provisions are controversial, the FCC has already done serious work to achieve these goals. If the FCC can achieve its goals to enable the growth of wireless broadband, America will be able to unlock the full potential of the wireless broadband revolution and realize the potential of a new wave of American innovation.
benton.org/node/85184 | Brookings Institution
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ACLU AND CELL PHONE LOCATION DATA
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The American Civil Liberties Union announced a new effort to uncover details on how local law enforcement agencies use location data stored on cell phones to track or provide evidence on private citizens. Last month a top lawyer at the National Security Agency, Matthew Olsen, suggested the Patriot Act may have given the federal government powers to use cell phone data to track Americans inside the United States, a comment that alarmed privacy advocates and civil libertarians. Now 34 ACLU affiliates across the country cited Olsen's remarks and announced they had filed requests under government transparency laws for documents that could reveal how authorities use location data on cell phones for law enforcement. The ACLU groups want to know if agencies provide citizens the appropriate protections when they access this data; for instance, they want to know if officers tend to obtain a warrant first. They are also seeking statistics on how often authorities use this data and how much funding these efforts receive.
benton.org/node/85226 | National Journal
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PUBLIC SAFETY TURNS UP HEAT
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
After losing out on a chance to include legislation in a bill raising the nation's debt ceiling, public safety officials are increasing pressure on Congress to act on their top priority: creating a national broadband network for them. "While the debt bill, which was enacted last night, monopolized a great deal of congressional time and energy, it is imperative that the House and Senate make passing legislation allocating the D-block and funding to public safety their top priority," the Public Safety Alliance said in a statement Wednesday. "With just six weeks remaining before the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, no issue is more vital to the safety of every American along with those men and women who protect our nation." The alliance is a coalition made up of groups representing fire and police chiefs, sheriffs and others that has been lobbying Congress heavily on the issue for the last year. The alliance conducted a "fly-in" in Washington last week during which its members met with lawmakers to make another push on the issue.
benton.org/node/85298 | National Journal
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LIGHTSQUARED'S NEW SATELLITE
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
LightSquared, a wireless startup that has faced a slew of setbacks this year, had a somewhat rare piece of good news to report. The company said it had successfully transitioned 50,000 public safety officials onto its new satellite from an older satellite.LightSquared says the news shows the transition can be seamless for customers. "Providing reliable communications for the public safety community is LightSquared's highest priority. With the transition to LightSquared's new satellite, first responders will continue to have the critical communication capabilities they have come to rely on in times of crisis,'' Sanjiv Ahuja, LightSquared chairman and chief executive officer, said.
benton.org/node/85296 | National Journal
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4G SCORECARD
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
Connected Planet examined each of the five networks billed as 4G in the U.S. to find how they stacked up. Using both data from the operators and independent measurements from RootMetrics, we've compiled detailed profiles of each operator’s network. Some pack quite a punch when it comes to sheer connection speed to the device. Others have built in loads of capacity to ensure they can scale as they add millions of subscribers. Some operators have focused on coverage, expanding their mobile broadband footprints to hundreds of millions of subscribers. Per our evaluations, here are the operators that scored highest in those categories:
Fastest downlink speeds: Verizon Wireless
Fastest uplink speeds: Verizon Wireless
Most extensive Footprint: T-Mobile
Highest capacity network: Clearwire/Sprint
benton.org/node/85295 | Connected Planet
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
METERED INTERNET
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
As broadband providers scrap unlimited data plans in favor of pricing based on consumption, the Federal Communications Commission is under growing pressure to decipher whether Internet service providers are reasonably managing their networks — or snuffing out competitors like Netflix. It’s a problem partly of the FCC’s own making — and one lawmakers could soon hear about. When the FCC adopted network neutrality rules in December, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski publicly embraced metered pricing. He was signaling his sincerity that ISPs should be allowed to manage their networks in a reasonable way, even as the commission moved to impose net neutrality rules that would force providers to treat all traffic equally. But the rush by Internet providers in recent months to end all-you-can-eat data is producing a dangerous side effect, critics say: potentially crippling the booming market for so-called over-the-top video and other data-rich services from Netflix and other providers. Now consumer groups are calling on the FCC to investigate the practice of metered pricing, arguing that there isn't any justification for it. Rationing capacity on the Internet this way is “a means for Internet service providers to charge more for less,” said Harold Feld, legal director of the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge. He claimed that no one knows the effect of data usage on networks. “It is all one big black box,” Feld said.
benton.org/node/85324 | Politico
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NETWORK SOLUTIONS SALE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anupreeta Das]
Web.com Group Inc., a provider of online marketing and website services to small and medium-sized business, has agreed to acquire Network Solutions, one of the largest Internet domain-name registrars, for about $560 million in cash and stock. Network Solutions competes with GoDaddy Group Inc., which agreed last month to sell itself to private-equity firms KKR & Co., Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures for $2.25 billion, including debt. GoDaddy.com, the company's flagship Web property, is the world's largest registrar of domain names. Including debt, the Web.com deal is valued at about $764 million. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Web.com will pay $405 million in cash and issue 18 million shares, valued at about $155 million as of Wednesday's closing price of $8.65 per share, to private-equity firm General Atlantic LLC, the majority owner of Network Solutions. General Atlantic and other Network Solutions shareholders will own 37% of Web.com's stock after the transaction is completed. The acquisition will give Web.com access to around two million small businesses that are registered with Network Solutions, Web.com Chief Executive David Brown said in an interview Wednesday. Web.com hopes to sell website-building, online marketing, e-commerce and related services to these new customers, Mr. Brown said. Small and medium-sized businesses are using local online search, social networks such as Facebook and smartphone applications in an effort to reach more customers, he added. Web.com already reaches about one million businesses. In addition to domain names, GoDaddy.com sells e-commerce, security and other services to individuals and businesses looking to manage their online presence. Web.com, however, focuses purely on businesses.
benton.org/node/85321 | Wall Street Journal
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CONTENT
CHANGES AT FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shayndi Raice, Emily Steel]
In moves that would change how consumers, developers and marketers use Facebook, the social network is exploring an expansion of the information users see on its home page. The changes are designed to address some of the biggest frustrations by third-party developers and marketers on Facebook: standing out in the News Feed. The News Feed is a stream of information that users see on Facebook's home page; the information is currently filtered by the social network. While advertisers have created online campaigns with the intention that consumers would share their messages in the News Feed, Facebook's algorithms don't display every piece of content that is shared, limiting the impact of the campaigns, said Ian Schafer, chief executive of New York-based digital marketing firm Deep Focus. "It's wasted potential," he said. Now Facebook engineers are working to create an unfiltered News Feed that would open the floodgates of information about users and the games they win, the companies they "Like" and the actions their friends take.
benton.org/node/85314 | Wall Street Journal
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GERMAN PROBE OF FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Kevin O'Brien]
A German regulator said that he had asked Facebook to disable its new photo-tagging software, saying he was concerned that its facial recognition feature amounted to the unauthorized collection of data on individuals. Johannes Caspar, the data protection supervisor in Hamburg, who has been aggressive in investigating the online practices of companies like Google and Apple, warned that the feature could violate European privacy laws. The software, called “suggested automatic tagging,” lets Facebook users assign digital name tags to people in their photographs. Photos that are uploaded later are scanned for physical features and can be tagged and stored. Caspar said he had asked Facebook to disable the feature in Germany and respond in two weeks to his concerns. Under German law, the regulator could fine Facebook up to 300,000 euros ($429,000).
benton.org/node/85312 | New York Times | CSM
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APPLE'S IN-APP SUBSCRIPTION POLICY
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Robert Andrews, Tom Krazit]
Apple’s deadline for app owners to run content subscriptions through iTunes or not at all may have passed on June 30, but compliance is emerging unevenly - or not at all. A month after the deadline elapsed, e-book vendors and The Wall Street Journal last week became compliant by sending subscription transactions within their own apps or through links to web-based sign-ups and, in Google Books’ case, by exiting the App Store entirely before returning with a compliant app. Publishers on iOS are no longer allowed to sell subscriptions within their apps using the in-app purchasing technology unless they give Apple a 30 percent cut of the transaction, and they also have to allow Apple control the personal data of subscribers. But others remain in breach and, in one case we heard, have not even yet been asked directly to comply. It all suggests ongoing negotiations between operators and Apple over the thorny issue. Here’s a brief list of how some major publishers have dealt with the deadline.
benton.org/node/85240 | paidContent.org
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FCC REFORM
FCC PROCESS
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR)]
In a single week the FCC has demonstrated both good and bad process. The process leading to the FCC's report on ‘Measuring Broadband America’ was exemplary. The Commission selected a commercial vendor through open, competitive bids; used a transparent process to partner with stakeholders; and leveraged its technical expertise. As a result, the Commission and its partners designed and completed a path-breaking study helpful to all broadband consumers. Just as important, the Commission recognized the limits of its work and declined to make conclusions where its data were too limited.
In contrast, the process leading to the FCC’s decision to adopt standstill rules for program-carriage complaints leaves much to be desired. The FCC based these rules on a four-year-old Notice of Proposed Rule Making that did not provide the text of a single proposed rule and did not clearly indicate a standstill rule was on the table. Regardless of one's position on the merits of the ruling, this needlessly opens the order to challenge and weakens the FCC’s credibility. The fact that this comes on the heels of the Third Circuit’s recent procedural rebuke in the Prometheus decision makes it all the more puzzling. To avoid these types of controversies and improve the quality of decision-making, the Communications and Technology Subcommittee is considering legislation that would require the FCC to publish the text of a proposed rule before adoption. The Commission has come a long way on process recently, but I am afraid it still has a ways to go.
benton.org/node/85228 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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RESEARCH
STEM STUDY
[SOURCE: Department of Commerce, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Department of Commerce's Economic and Statistics Administration released the second in a series of reports on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This report looked at women and STEM. The results offer an opportunity and an imperative for women and America. The results showed that women are vastly underrepresented in STEM jobs and among STEM degree holders despite making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce and half of the college-educated workforce. That leaves an untapped opportunity to expand STEM employment in the United States, even as there is wide agreement that the nation must do more to improve its competitiveness.
Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. This has been the case throughout the past decade, even as college-educated women have increased their share of the overall workforce.
Women with STEM jobs earned 33 percent more than comparable women in non-STEM jobsconsiderably higher than the STEM premium for men. As a result, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs.
Women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM undergraduate degrees, particularly in engineering.
Women with a STEM degree are less likely than their male counterparts to work in a STEM occupation; they are more likely to work in education or healthcare
benton.org/node/85229 | Department of Commerce | read the report | The Hill
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KIDS SCREEN TIME
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Nancy Shute]
Watching a lot of TV makes for fatter kids, but media multitasking has taken the place of television in most kids' lives. So parents and pediatricians might want to rethink how they manage children's screen time. That the word from Russell Jago, an exercise scientist at the University of Bristol in England. "We've known for a number of years that kids are watching a large amount of TV, and it's not good for their health," Jago told Shots. "But the way technology is changing, we thought TV watching might not be quite as important as it was." Jago and his colleagues asked 63 10- and 11-year-olds how they use screen devices in a series of focus groups, held at school. Almost all the kids had a TV at home; 75 percent had access to a game console; 71 percent a laptop; 62 percent a desktop computer; and 51 percent a smart phone. Most of the children used more than one device at a time. "They're watching TV while on a laptop IMing a friend," Jago says. The study is published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
benton.org/node/85288 | National Public Radio
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LOBBYING
AT&T LOBBYING
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: Simon Maloy]
As the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission review the proposed merger of telecom giants AT&T and T-Mobile, the two companies are sinking millions of dollars into their lobbying shops. Recently filed disclosure reports show that AT&T spent $4.9 million on lobbying in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 58 percent from the same time period last year. Similarly, T-Mobile increased its lobbying expenditures from $602,000 in the second quarter of 2010 to $1 million in second quarter of 2011. All told, the two telecom companies have spent about $14 million on lobbying this year alone. These numbers, however, offer an incomplete look at the AT&T/T-Mobile lobbying blitz. In the second quarter of this year the two companies spent about $1.3 million on outside lobbying firms that worked to boost government support for the merger. And those outside firms boast some heavy hitters who are going to bat for the increasingly controversial telecom deal. All told, AT&T and T-Mobile have no fewer than six former members of Congress, and a bevy of former congressional staffers, lobbying the federal government to approve the merger.
benton.org/node/85182 | Media Matters for America
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SEE YA IN COURT
GOOGLE SLAMS RIVALS
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Tom Krazit]
Google spoke out in uncharacteristically harsh terms regarding the mobile patent proxy wars that Chairman Eric Schmidt proclaimed just weeks ago were not a worry. In a blog post, Google decried the efforts of its competitors in the mobile space to attack Android with “bogus” patents and promised to fight back. After pointing out the growth of the Android mobile operating system over the past few years, David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, wrote that “Android’s success has yielded something else: a hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.” Drummond pointed out the various patent cases that are pending against Google and its Android partners as well as the licensing discussions that are taking place daily in the mobile industry to avoid the threat of legal action. The blog post is Google’s strongest response yet to the aftermath of the Nortel patent auction, in which a consortium including Microsoft, Apple, and Research in Motion outbid Google in acquiring around 6,000 patents for $4.5 billion.
benton.org/node/85291 | paidContent.org | Google blog | The Hill
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VERIZON'S PATENT LOSS
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Joe Mullin]
Certain smartphone companies may want to take note of this one: using patents aggressively can produce pushback from unexpected places. Verizon is on the hook for $115 million after a major loss in court -- one that, unless it’s overturned on appeal, could threaten the company’s FiOS Internet service. Cloud-video provider ActiveVideo filed suit against Verizon not long after Verizon used patents to attack Cablevision, ActiveVideo’s largest U.S. customer. ActiveVideo sued Verizon back in May 2010, saying that Verizon’s FiOS system infringed on four ActiveVideo patents related to video-on-demand and interactive TV services. The verdict follows a three-week jury trial in Alexandria, Virginia. Now that it has won its court case against Verizon, ActiveVideo’s lawyers are going to pursue an injunction that would force Verizon to either alter its FiOS system or shut it down. But winning an injunction will require additional argument, and can be difficult even for patent plaintiffs who score a big win. Courts have imposed stricter rules for getting patent injunctions in recent years, so there are many steps to go before FiOS would be under any serious threat of being shut down.
benton.org/node/85290 | paidContent.org
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ADVERTISING
Study: Industry's Found Sneaky Way to Keep Advertising Junk Food to Kids
MARKETING JUNK FOOD TO KIDS
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
Food and beverage advertisers may have found a handy way to dodge their own guidelines restricting the marketing of junk food to children, according to a new study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. While companies have cut back on TV ads aimed at children, and in some cases cut out TV ads for candy altogether, they've also upped the use of product placement, the study found. That's a loophole that the Council of Better Business Bureaus' Children's Food and Beverage Initiative, the industry's self-regulatory program, should close, the study concluded. "We want to recognize the food industry has changed how they market to children. We just want to make sure there isn't other stuff going under the radar," said Marlene Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center and one of the authors of the study.
The study comes at a rotten time for food and beverage advertisers, which are in a heated battle over the federal government's new proposed voluntary guidelines on marketing to children, which, if followed, would affect every marketing tactic from advertising to packaging to sponsorships.
benton.org/node/85180 | AdWeek
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POLICYMAKERS
NEW FEDERAL CIO
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
Steven VanRoekel, a former Microsoft executive, will become the next chief information officer for the federal government — a bigger, more policy-oriented technology job than any he held at the software giant. VanRoekel, 41, who joined the Obama administration from Microsoft in 2009 as managing director of the Federal Communications Commission, will succeed Vivek Kundra, the White House plans to announce on August 4. VanRoekel worked for Microsoft for 15 years, including a stint as an assistant to Bill Gates, the co-founder. VanRoekel was a supporter of President Obama, attended the inauguration, and after a conversation with Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, went to work for him. As the government’s chief information officer, VanRoekel said he planned to move ahead with the work Vivek Kundra began. “We’re trying to make sure that the pace of innovation in the private sector can be applied to the model that is government,” VanRoekel said.
benton.org/node/85326 | New York Times
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OWNERSHIP
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
[Commentary] Activist investors’ sudden interest in McGraw-Hill, home to local television stations, textbook publishers, aviation trade publications and the Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency, has revived the question of whether the diversified media conglomerate’s days are numbered. So, too, should Rupert Murdoch’s troubles with the News of the World, which he told members of the British parliament accounted for less than 1 per cent of the wider News Corp group. This implied that he had been too thinly spread thinking about other arms of the business such as Fox News, Avatar, HarperCollins and Dow Jones to keep on top of the crisis brewing at a single UK tabloid. The question is not a novel one. The great US conglomerates of the 1960s and 1970s are now memories preserved by architectural relics. History and the cycles of corporate fashion suggest that new media conglomerates will soon emerge – some, perhaps, by buying the assets McGraw-Hill looks likely to shed. Old conglomerates that see the sense in focusing their energies might have to put up with smaller skyscrapers in future but they will be on firmer foundations.
benton.org/node/85318 | Financial Times
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