September 2013

Mignon Clyburn, the first woman to head the Federal Communications Commission and the first black woman to serve on the panel, is determined to make her time in the top spot count.

Since the departure of Chairman Julius Genachowski in May, Chairwoman Clyburn has pushed through rules to lower the cost of prison phone calls, engineered a deal that allows the wireless gadgets used by smaller carriers to operate on the larger carriers’ networks in a critical set of frequencies, set an auction for a valuable slice of the airwaves and approved a major merger. “We made a commitment not only to keep the trains moving but ensuring that we complete the tasks and the missions the American public expect of us,” she said. “You know, especially in August, it’s usually a sleepy time in D.C. — but we did not have that luxury.” The job of an acting chair can be a balancing act with certain unwritten rules, said former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who took on the role of acting chairman in 2009. “There are constraints,” Copps said. “You know you’re not setting long-term policy, but you can set stuff in motion.” That doesn’t mean the job is inconsequential. “You don’t run out of things to do, and the commission is responsive to you,” Copps said. “They don’t say, ‘To hell with you; you’re only going to be a chairman for little bit.’” Chairwoman Clyburn said she knows the rules — but also that she believes government officials need to speak for the voiceless whether it is lowering the cost for prison phone calls, making it possible for small wireless operators to get fancy new gadgets or ensuring that phone calls reach rural customers.

What do you get when you replace the original dialogue from classic Peanuts comic strips with lyrics from songs by the beloved British indie-rock band The Smiths? A wry and clever blog that a major record company tries to shut down.

The case of This Charming Charlie, a blog that features Peanuts characters uttering lines by The Smiths, is a good example of the collateral damage caused by copyright holders struggling to protect their works against the onslaught of piracy online. The problem for the music and movie industries and their artists is so vast, they've had to speed up and automate the process of detecting infringement and bringing enforcement actions. That haste has led them to challenge some creative uses of their works that are wholly legitimate. It's been 15 years since Congress set up rules for the use of copyrighted material online; it's past time for lawmakers to overhaul them so that they work better for both copyright holders and those who make fair use of their works.

In Silicon Valley where readers are more apt to download an e-book than pick a paperback off the shelf, voters still overwhelmingly agreed to fund public libraries for another two decades even as some question the centuries-old institution's future in the digital age.

On the heels of the Santa Clara County public library system's successful parcel tax renewal, San Jose leaders are now preparing to ask voters to renew theirs as well, anywhere from 10 to 20 years. Critics wonder whether libraries will outlive their new taxes and bonds in a world where paper books are fast giving way to versions you can download to a Kindle or iPad. Jill Bourne, San Jose's new head librarian who was hired earlier this year from San Francisco, isn't worried about libraries' relevance in the digital age. "Libraries are about connecting information to people," Bourne said. "The book is just a technology. At the time it came out it was radical. Before that, it was scrolls, and before then, stone tablets."