September 2011

'Washington Post' Shuts Bureaus

In a bid to save money, the Washington Post is shuttering six of eight local bureaus, although the paper says the move won't lead to a reduction in headcount.

In a memo to staff explaining the decision to let leases on the bureaus expire, executive editor Marcus Brauchli said the paper decided it could use its office space more efficiently. He said the Post would maintain its staffing levels in the suburbs and that in some cases it plans to take smaller offices in the same communities. Savings from the move will free up money for technology that would let reporters file remotely, Brauchli said.

Lawsuit Magnet Sirius XM Wins One Ruling, Loses Another

A federal judge in New York dismissed one derivative action against Sirius XM while allowing a parallel one to proceed. Under this type of lawsuit, a shareholder asks to step into the shoes of the board of directors in order to sue someone when the board will not.

In the two New York cases, the plaintiffs sought the right to sue various directors and officers at the company for botching the merger process and for enriching themselves when the company was rescued by Liberty Media tycoon John Malone during its darkest days in 2009. Although the New York judge has yet to issue his reasons, he likely tossed out the first suit because the plaintiff did not hold shares in the company -- a standard requirement for derivative suits. In the other second suit, he permitted some but not all of the claims to go forward. Significantly, he allowed an unjust enrichment claim against Liberty’s Malone to go forward. If successful, the claim could force Malone to hand over profits he made as a result of acquiring 40% of the company at a bargain price. Meanwhile, in California federal court, Sirius XM moved to dismiss a class-action suit that claims it lied to consumers about prices for its 2 year Family Friendly plan. The suit is very similar to one Sirius settled last week for $180 million. The difference is that the California suit is based on state law not federal law. The company’s prospects look a little brighter this time around, however, as similar state law claims have failed in the past.

Internet Explorer will drop under 50 percent share by mid-2012

Microsoft's IE (Internet Explorer) will lose its place as the majority browser next summer, according to statistics published by Web metrics company Net Applications.

If the pace of IE's decline over the last 12 months continues, IE will drop under the 50 percent mark in June 2012. In August, IE lost about seven-tenths of a percentage point in usage share, falling to 55.3 percent, a new low for the once-dominant browser. In the last year, IE has dropped 6.9 points. But Microsoft continued today to stress the success of IE9, the edition launched last March, particularly on Windows 7. On that newer operating system, IE9 accounts for 20.4 percent of all browsers globally, and 27.7 percent on Windows 7 in the U.S., said Roger Capriotti, director of IE marketing.

Sen. Boxer urges Sprint, T-Mobile to beef up voicemail security

Sen Barbara Boxer (D-CA) wrote to Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA urging them to improve the security of their voicemail service in light of the ongoing phone-hacking scandal in the United Kingdom concerning News Corp.

Employees of British tabloid News of the World allegedly hacked into the voicemail accounts of numerous British citizens in the past decade, prompting investigations from authorities and the resignations of several top News Corp. executives. In her letter, Sen Boxer cites security experts that claim T-Mobile and Sprint customers may be vulnerable to similar attacks because they don't require users to enter their PIN number when accessing voicemail from their own device.

Brazil to cut tax to woo new telecoms investment

Brazil hopes to attract 70 billion reais ($44 billion) in investment in its telecoms sector in the next four years for the construction of fiber optic cable networks by exempting companies building them from certain taxes, Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo said.

The government would forfeit an estimated 4 billion in tax through the measure, Minister Bernardo said. President Dilma Rousseff has to decide whether to send the proposal to Congress or implement it immediately with a decree that would still require legislators' approval at a later date. The Communications Ministry will register companies seeking to obtain the reduction and only approve those willing to construct fiber optic cable networks in remote areas where existing communications networks are minimal.

New Media and the People-Powered Uprisings

Regimes survive mainly by creating a "collective action" problem for their citizenry and by playing "whack-a-protest" to prevent cascades of action. "Collective action problems" arise when a problem can be solved only through cooperation by many, but when there are strong disincentives for any one individual to participate, especially if victory is not guaranteed.

It is in this context Facebook "likes" of dissident pages such as "We are All Khaled Said," sharing of videos of regime brutality, online expressions of political anger, and acceptances of Facebook "invitations" to protest all matter as they help build a visible momentum which, itself, is a condition of success. A public is not created just because everyone individually holds an opinion but because there is multi-level awareness of other people's views leading to a spiral of action and protest. That is why the new media ecology is a game-changer.

Revolutions Aren't Built on Facebook Alone, Nuke Negotiator Says

The true believers who credit Facebook and Twitter with singlehandedly enabling regime-toppling revolts in Egypt and Tunisia and the Green Revolution in Iran give social media too much credit, Ambassador David J. Smith said. But those who say social media hasn't fundamentally changed the way democracy movements operate in repressive states are also off the mark, he added. "Social media are enablers -- more than tools but less than causes -- of unrest, which may or may not result in revolution," Smith said. "They interact with traditional social networks synergistically, possibly leading to new levels -- size, tempo and frequency -- but also possibly leading to confusion, backlash and reactive use."

Verizon Delaying Hurricane Irene Repairs To Punish Workers For Strike, Union Alleges

A union official alleged that Verizon is slowing post-Irene repairs for thousands of phone, internet and TV customers on Long Island and in upstate New York to put pressure on its workers during ongoing contract negotiations.

Verizon says those payback claims are baseless. Verizon employees are "ready, willing, and more than able" to work extra hours to fix the problems, said Communications Workers of America District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton, but he claims the company instead is intent on denying them overtime as punishment for their recently abandoned strike. "The customers who are out, they're leaving them out. They don't care," Shelton said. "They're just sitting there with thousands of repair jobs." John Bonomo, Verizon's director of media relations for the region, agreed that there were thousands still without landline service in New York State, but downplayed the importance of that service disruption and denied that the company was forgoing overtime. Bonomo said the company had not declared an emergency, which the union claims might help in restoring service to customers more quickly, because "the traditional landline phone is not as vital as it had been in past years."

White House Announces We the People

The White House announced We the People, a new online engagement feature.

Individuals will be able to create and sign petitions seeking action from the federal government on a range of issues. If a petition gathers enough signatures, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response. To create and build support for a petition, visitors will simply need to create an account and gather signatures by reaching out to friends, family and coworkers. If a petition reaches a certain threshold – the initial level will be 5,000 signatures within 30 days – it will be sent to the appropriate policy makers throughout the Administration, reviewed, and an official response will be published to WhiteHouse DOT gov and e-mailed to all signers of the petition.

The Fastest ISPs in the US 2011

Cox, Comcast, and Charter Communications are the fastest Internet service providers in the US. Each is a national provider that can be found in multiple states, and each has serious infrastructure installed to homes. All scored a fantastic average of 18+ Megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads; Cox had the best upload speed of the three, with an average of 4.8 Mbps. Given our weighting, they all got scores of over 15, with Charter at the low end because of the slower upload speed.

Benton

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