October 2012

Delayed Viewing Brightens the Outlook for Some TV Series

The biggest takeaway in the television business from the season’s first week is that first impressions of a new show’s success may mean next to nothing now. With about 20 percent of viewers watching episodes of network series on a delayed basis, the initial ratings have to be seasoned with much larger quantities of salt.

In taking stock of the first three nights of premiere week, each of the networks on Monday pointed to bumps in viewership reported by Nielsen based on three days of playback. All of last week’s shows — from Monday through Wednesday night — got updated on Monday, and the results in many cases were eye-popping. NBC, for example, had reason to promote one new drama, “Revolution,” as the season’s first potential breakout hit. The show added 3.7 million viewers (or 41 percent) to its original total and climbed to a 5.2 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old audience that counts most in ad sales, from a promising 3.4 rating. That represented a record-setting jump (for any new series) of 1.74 rating points, or 53 percent. “Revolution” was the biggest gainer, but the general trend was positive across the board, with an average gain of 26 percent in that 18-49 category. That kind of bounce is so significant that at least one network on Monday was contemplating not releasing or commenting on its ratings in the future until the three-day results were released.

Hey, @SeattlePD: What’s the Latest?

The Seattle Police Department, which presides over one of the nation’s more tech-savvy — if not saturated — cities, began a project last week with 51 hyper-local neighborhood Twitter accounts providing moment-to-moment crime reports. The project, called Tweets-by-beat, is the most ambitious effort of its kind in the nation, authorities in law enforcement and social media say, transforming the pen and ink of the old police blotter into the bits and bytes of the digital age. It allows residents — including, presumably, criminals — to know in almost real time about many of the large and small transgressions, crises, emergencies and downright weirdness in their neighborhoods.

Connectivity as a Given

Flight time is work time as airlines increasingly offer Wi-Fi connections on their planes. Wi-Fi Internet access has expanded to 153 million passengers in 2011 from 153,000 in 2009, according to Gogo Wireless, a Wi-Fi provider for airlines.

According to a report this year from the Chaddick Institute, the percentage of air travelers using technology at “random selected points” on a flight was 28.4 percent in 2011, up from 23.2 percent in 2010 and 17.6 percent in 2009. The report found that more travelers were bringing their own devices, including tablets and e-readers, with them on planes. One in 12 airline passengers is now using a tablet, and that number continues to grow. Tablets account for almost 30 percent of all technology use on commercial flights, and that share is also likely to grow. The use of tablets and technology, in general, tends to be “significantly higher on business-oriented flights,” the report said.

Web Rivals Want What Google Got

To entice Google to build its ultra-high-speed fiber network there, Kansas City (KS) and Kansas City (MO) offered the Internet company sweeteners including several free or discounted city services. Now, Time Warner Cable and AT&T the incumbent Internet and TV providers in town, are angling to get the same deal.

Among the sweeteners granted Google by both cities are free office space and free power for Google's equipment, according to the agreement on file with the cities. The company also gets the use of all the cities' "assets and infrastructure"—including fiber, buildings, land and computer tools, for no charge. Both cities are even providing Google a team of government employees "dedicated to the project." For the past few months, Time Warner Cable has been negotiating with Kansas City (KS) to get a "parity agreement" granting it the same concessions as Google got, the city and the company says. Time Warner Cable has already signed such a deal with Kansas City (MO).

Judge Koh Ends Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

A federal judge ended a sales ban on the Samsung Galaxy 10.1. Judge Lucy Koh had issued the injunction in June based on the likelihood that a jury would find that a specific Apple design patent had been infringed. Although the jury largely sided with Apple in the case and awarded more than $1 billion in damages, the jury didn’t find Samsung’s tablet infringed on that particular product. “The Court agrees with Samsung that the sole basis for the June 26 Preliminary Injunction was the Court’s finding that Samsung likely infringed the D’889 Patent,” Judge Koh said in her ruling. “The jury has found otherwise. Thus, the sole basis for the June 26 Preliminary Injunction no longer exists.”

Samsung files lawsuit over iPhone 5

Samsung Electronics has filed court papers accusing Apple’s iPhone 5 of infringing its patents, as it seeks to regain ground following a $1 billion US court defeat in August.

The South Korean company said that it had added Apple’s flagship smartphone to the list of devices that allegedly misuse its wireless data technology, according to a complaint filed at a California court in April. Samsung had indicated its intention to make the amendment shortly after Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 on September 12. A person close to Samsung said that it could not rule out pushing for a sales ban on the new iPhone, although it was not clear when its complaint would be heard in court.

Mainstream media biased against 'flailing' Romney? Four points to consider.

Many supporters of Mitt Romney argue that his potential path toward the White House has been made a lot steeper by the media, which have piled on about the Republican's alleged gaffes and policy flaws. Is that perception true? Is media bias against Romney rampant, while the press scrutinizes President Barack Obama through a less skeptical lens?

With a high-stakes election drawing near, here are some of the main arguments pro and con.

How the news business works
Who's doing the reporting and editing?
Public opinion polls
Is there empirical evidence?

'Obama phone' video puts spotlight on FCC

Conservatives have seized on a viral video of a woman saying she plans to vote for President Barack Obama because he gave her a free phone, arguing it highlights a wasteful government handout.

The conservative Drudge Report displayed the video at the top of its website last week, and radio host Rush Limbaugh pointed to the video to argue that President Obama is making people dependent on the government. Although there is no such thing as an "Obama phone," there is a federal program to help low-income people get access to phones. The program, called Lifeline, is managed by the Federal Communications Commission and began long before President Obama took office. Congress first enacted the Lifeline program in 1985, during the Reagan administration. In 2005, under President George W. Bush, the FCC expanded the program to cover low-cost cellular service. The program pays for phone service, not the phones themselves. But many companies that receive funding through the program offer free and low-cost phones to their subscribers. The discounts average $9.25 per month for qualifying households, and the program is funded through fees that the telephone companies pass on to consumers on their monthly bills. The point of the program is to ensure that everyone has access to basic communications services, especially during emergencies.

Surprise Grants Transforming 23 More Lives

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation revealed the 23 MacArthur Fellows for 2012. The fellowships are the stuff of fantasy. Besides the imprimatur of outstanding achievement, they come with a no-strings-attached $100,000 a year for five years.

The 13 men and 10 women named fellows this year range in age from 31 to 66 and, as in years past, are a diverse group. They include an astronomer, a stringed instrument bow maker, two photographers and a marine ecologist. This year the boldface names belong to writers and musicians: Junot Díaz, 43, the writer and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Chris Thile, 31, a mandolinist and composer in New York City; David Finkel 56, a Washington Post reporter; Dinaw Mengestu, 34, a novelist and journalist in Washington; and Claire Chase, 34, a flutist and arts entrepreneur in Brooklyn.

Distress Deepening, Postal Service Defaults on $5.6 Billion Benefits Payment

The Postal Service sank deeper into debt after the agency defaulted on a $5.6 billion payment due at the end of September, the second time it has missed a deadline this year to set aside money for its future retiree health benefits.

The agency said it expected net operating losses to be $15 billion for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That loss includes the two missed payments totaling $11.1 billion for the agency’s future retiree funds. This month, the Postal Service also faces a $1.5 billion workers’ compensation insurance payment to the Labor Department. It said that it would most likely make that payment, but that it would be left with a cash shortage of about $100 million. Postal Service officials said they expected the shipping of holiday packages and election mailings to help offset some of the losses. Patrick R. Donahoe, the postmaster general, said there would be no disruptions in post office operations. Mail will continue to be delivered on time, and employees and vendors will continue to be paid, he said.

Benton

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