September 2012

The Internet's Role in the Democratic Platform

With many of president Obama's top financial contributors in Silicon Valley—Microsoft and Google PACs are the second and third biggest contributors, per Open Secrets, a website that tracks political contributions—it was a given that the party's platform would devote several points to the Internet.

Much the same as the Republican platform released last week, the Democratic platform was long on philosophy and short on details. Both parties have plenty of wiggle room when it comes to actual execution. But with both giving the Internet plenty of play, one message is clear: The Internet is now part of the political discussion. Internet freedom was a big talking point for Democrats and the GOP and both threw their party's support behind the current multi-stakeholder governance approach, vowing to fight off any power grab by the United Nations or any other intergovernmental organization to control the Internet. "The Obama administration has led the world to recognize and defend Internet freedom, the freedom of expression, assembly, and association online for people everywhere, through coalitions of countries and by empowering individuals with innovative technologies. The administration has built partnerships to support an Internet that is secure and reliable and that is respectful of U.S. Intellectual property, free flow of information, and privacy," the DNC platform said.

The DNC also reiterated its goal to expand wired and wireless broadband, perhaps the single biggest focus of the Federal Communications Commission under this administration.

MPAA's Chris Dodd Praises Democrats for Anti-Piracy Language in Party Platform

Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Chris Dodd praised the Democratic Party for recognizing the danger of online piracy in its party platform language on intellectual property.

“I am extremely pleased that the Democratic Party’s platform language reinforces the critical importance of protecting America’s intellectual property while ensuring the free flow of information on the Internet," Dodd said. "The Internet is a nearly unparalleled source of creativity and innovation, not just in the entertainment community, but across nearly every sector of the U.S. economy. Protecting that source of creativity, as well as protecting the rights of the people behind that creativity, is integral not just to our economy, but to who we are as a nation."

FCC Okays Journal Request for Green Bay Duopoly Waiver

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Journal Broadcasting a failing station waiver of its duopoly rule so the broadcasters can buy independent WACY-TV Appleton (WI), which is licensed to the same market (Green Bay) as Journal's WGBA.

Journal has already been providing all of WACY's programming under a grandfathered local marketing agreement -- dating back almost two decades -- and argued in seeking the license transfer. Ordinarily, since Journal's purchase of WACY would not leave eight independently-owned stations in the Green Bay market, it would be prevented from owning both stations. But the FCC also has a waiver for so-called "failed stations," which are stations that are either dark or in financial straits (bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings) or that it concludes would be without the financial help of a new owner.

Web Surveillance Companies Pitch Their Tools to Police

Internet-based intelligence gathering could get a boost from companies that are touting sophisticated software that can analyze vast amounts of data. Police departments are being pitched about various tools that could narrow down their search for criminals online and provide better insight into nefarious Internet practices.

Some Web surveillance tools search through not only social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, but also blogs, online forums and chat rooms. This provides deeper insight into someone’s online interactions than simply searching Twitter. for example, for uses of the word “bomb.” California Watch, a reporting initiative launched by the Center for Investigative Reporting, reported that random keyword searches won’t produce actionable intelligence. "Twitter's, like, 90 percent noise — bots that are producing erroneous or extraneous tweets," Tim Gasper, product manager for Infochimps, a company that seeks to make meaning from large amounts of data, told California Watch. "So you'd be scrolling through all of that just to see if anything caught your eye. Obviously, that's not a very efficient use of people."

For 18-34s, Social Media Can Jump-Start TV Viewing

A new study says social media "disproportionately impacts the viewing behaviors of younger consumers," according to Horowitz Associates. The study says 24% of 18- to-34-year-old adults and 30% of 15- to-17-year-olds have started watching a show on TV because of something they saw online or through social media. All this compares to a 16% for all adult viewers 18 years and older.

Cable’s Walls Are Coming Down

Everybody hates the cable company. The big cable carriers constantly score among the lowest in customer satisfaction among all industries. Yet the cable operators continue to thrive largely because they operate as natural monopolies — the upfront capital costs of laying new cable keep potential competitors at bay. The satellite services don’t fare much better in terms of consumer love, and they too enjoy similar barriers to entry (satellites!). But get ready for a sea change. Even if you’re tied to a subscription television service today, there’s a great chance you’ll become a cord-cutter in short order. Everything we know about cable and satellite service is rapidly mutating. Both content delivery platforms are finally facing competition, and it’s coming from a hundred different directions. YouTube is muscling in on traditional cable channels with live broadcasting and by producing its own content. Hulu, Netflix and Amazon are all experimenting with original programming, too. On-demand content from the mainstream outlets is also everywhere — Apple, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Microsoft and Sony are all happy to take your money to deliver programming that once was exclusively distributed by cable and satellite providers.

Troost is where east/west divide trips up Google

[Commentary] Google is poised to stumble into Kansas City’s racial past, entangled in the historic boundary between black and white that is Troost Avenue. Sept. 10 is the day of reckoning. That’s the day after Google’s deadline for people to pre-register for its ultra-fast Internet service. Predictions of a backlash that Google neither fathomed nor intended are being voiced this week in community meetings with company representatives. “The collateral damage for Google is going to be devastating,” said Kansas City school board member Joseph Jackson. More positively, the fears are accompanied by strategies and commitments to stave off what some see as inevitable.

“If only” keeps creeping into the conversation If only Google had hired local high school students to help push the possibilities of Google fiber in their schools and neighborhoods. If only Google hadn’t put its office space at State Line and Westport Road, not very accessible for many east of Troost who depend on bus service. If only Google had anticipated the many elderly people east of Troost who are bound to bundled service providers now and hesitate to sign up for anything new that doesn’t include a land line phone. And the big one: If only Google had realized just how quickly the racial wounds associated with Troost as a division between black and white people can boil up. If Google runs afoul here, we all lose.

Visiting the White House, "Anytime, Anywhere, and on Any Device"

The Obama administration has revamped the mobile version of WhiteHouse.gov, giving it a new look and making more than 99% of the site available to mobile users. We've also released new versions of the White House apps for the iPhone and Android, rebuilding them from the ground up and adding several new features. For the first time, these apps are also fully compatible with the iPad and Android tablets.

House Commerce Committee Launches New Website

House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) unveiled a new website to provide visitors with easy access to the most up-to-date information on the committee’s important work.

The new website has many user-friendly features to help the public access timely information related to the issues under the committee’s jurisdiction. The new Subcommittee section aggregates all the information and resources about the committee’s work on pages organized by issue. The Hearings and Votes section will provide details about hearings and markups, and the Committee Calendar conveniently displays event dates, times, and locations on the homepage. The Issues in Focus section will allow visitors to access specialized publications, Powering the Future and The Exam Room, as well as committee reports and analyses. Digital and social media features, including committee videos, can be accessed in the E&C Studio section.

Reform: The Everett Parker Way

[Commentary] I have written in this space before about the obstacles facing telecommunications and media reformers, about the crushing influence of big money in all things political, and the stubborn resistance of our leaders to harness the winds of social and technology change to the enhancement of American democracy in the Twenty-first century. At the same time, I have expressed hope, even optimism, that we are capable of changing course. Changing course demands three things:
1) smart and totally committed leaders who know how to build and who are possessed of the courage to persist against whatever is thrown against them;
2) like-minded individuals and organizations pulling together on a common agenda; and,
3) a media environment that lays out the issues citizens need to understand if they are successfully to practice the demanding art of self-government during this time of grave national peril.

Benton

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