July 2014

Rallying for The Salt Lake Tribune as a City Changes

Some members of gay and minority groups in Utah say The Salt Lake Tribune represents their concerns in culturally and ethnically changing Salt Lake City better than the competing paper, The Deseret News, which is owned by the Mormon Church.

And they say that changes made last fall in the joint operating agreement between the publications -- which include cutting The Tribune’s profits in half in exchange for cash and other benefits -- are certain to spell The Tribune’s demise.

Activists like State Senator Jim Dabakis (D-UT), a longtime gay rights advocate, are campaigning to save The Tribune -- though it remains unclear whether The Tribune needs saving.

Women, minorities make newsroom gains

The latest Radio Television Digital News Association/Hofstra University Annual Survey finds the minority workforce in TV news, at 22.4%, the highest it's been in 13 years and the second highest level ever.

The minority workforce in radio rose to the highest level since in the mid-1990s. In TV, women news directors rose to the highest percentage ever, and women in the workforce rose to the second-highest level ever. The picture for women in radio news was more mixed. Still, as far as minorities are concerned, the bigger picture remains unchanged.

In the last 24 years, the minority population in the US has risen 11 points; but the minority workforce in TV news is up less than half that (4.6), and the minority workforce in radio is up 2.2%.

8 LA-area Members of Congress ask FCC to umpire baseball television fight

A group of California Democrats is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to help resolve a dispute between cable companies over showing Los Angeles Dodgers games on television.

Key Principles For Coordination Of Internet Unique Identifiers

These key principles and mechanisms should be embedded into the structure of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) through the multistakeholder accountability process:

Community of Stakeholders as Ultimate Authority: he community of ICANN stakeholders should be the ultimate overseer of the DNS, responsible for: promoting a single, decentralized, open, and interoperable Internet; preserving the integrity, transparency and accountability of IP numbers and their assignments; managing domain names, and protocol number assignments; maintaining the security, stability and resiliency of the DNS; and meeting the needs and expectations of global customers and partners of the DNS.
Separation of Functions: policy making, dispute resolution and implementation.
Policy Making Function: : ICANN’s existing structure of Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs), which provide technical and policy guidance and which comprise its bottom-up, consensus multi-stakeholder model, should continue to be responsible for policy making.
Dispute Resolution Function: Expansion of ICANN’s Independent Review Panel
Implementation Function
Protection from Government Capture: neither the CEO nor the members of either Board of Directors should be a member of a government or government-controlled organization.
Transparency
Specific Rights and Responsibilities Appropriate for Each Function:
Consensus: a significant supermajority for final action on all policy decisions.
Budget and Revenue Limitation
Equitable Agreements
Prior Adoption: These principles and their assured implementation should be adopted and made effective prior to the transfer of the IANA contract to ICANN, or to any other party that replaces the US as contract counterparty; should be embedded in ICANN’s Articles of Incorporation & By-Laws.

States, stand down! Let community broadband innovate.

[Commentary] Creating “Smart Cities” is a concept taking hold in rural and urban communities. An IDC report states these are cities investing in technology such as broadband networks and analytics software to enable people to be more productive, use city infrastructure more efficiently, and receive better government services.

Innovation for them is defined by quality of life improvements that attract and retain individuals and businesses while making a positive impact on local government budgets. Another type of innovation that’s drawing people to fight states’ intrusion into local broadband decisions is creating new innovative companies. Broadband advocates expect the drive to prevent state intrusion into local decisions to increase.

[Settles is a consultant who helps organizations develop broadband strategies ]

Who Should Decide? States' Rights, Local Authority and the Future of the Internet

[Commentary] In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, 60 Republicans insisted that the federal government shouldn't interfere with the 20 state laws that either prohibit or severely inhibit municipally owned broadband networks.

The debate about whether to build a muni broadband network has proven to be one of the most considered, transparent and democratic of all policy debates, certainly far more considered than those made in Washington and state capitols. Republicans and private telecoms maintain that cities lack the capacity to build and manage broadband networks.

They're empirically wrong. Of the 160 municipally owned broadband networks, the successes vastly outnumber the failures. Muni networks, not Google, offered the first gigabit service. Muni networks have saved their communities hundreds of millions of dollars, created tens of thousands of jobs, and become a firm foundation for economic-development initiatives.

[Morris is Director, The Public Good Initiative, Institute for Local Self-Reliance]

Roanoke Valley localities disagree on open access broadband initiative

Three years after local governments first came together to try to bring faster, cheaper Internet to the Roanoke Valley, the localities considering a plan to build an open access fiber-optic cable network aren’t on the same page, elected officials said.

The cities of Roanoke and Salem are ready to pay their share of the $8.2 million project, while representatives from Roanoke and Botetourt counties have expressed hesitation.

Startup claims it will build fiber network in LA and wireless throughout US

A Dutch company called Angie Communications told Los Angeles city officials that it wants to build a citywide fiber-to-the-home broadband network and that it also hopes to build nationwide Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

The proposal sounds unlikely to succeed, but it's certainly ambitious. It comes in response to a Los Angeles city government request for information (RFI) regarding a plan to build a fiber and Wi-Fi network.

Comcast's charity extends to friends and potential foes

Comcast is proud of its philanthropy. But as the company funds worthy causes, it also gives to groups with high-powered supporters who can help, or hurt, its ambitious business plans.

Over the last two years, Comcast has given $1.64 million to charities affiliated with lawmakers or executive-branch officials, according to its lobbying disclosures. Comcast donated $16.8 million from its charitable foundation in 2013, along with $415 million in corporate cash and other aid, such as public service announcements, Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said.

Proposed merger of cable giants could pose threat to public access

[Commentary] Community access media programs like New York City’s Community Access Organizations provide unique local resources are at great risk as a result of market changes such as those inherent to the proposed merger of Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

As the New York State Public Service Commission and other government entities review the Time Warner and Comcast merger, we must ensure they hold the newly merged companies accountable to the needs of New Yorkers and ensure their newfound market power will not cause them to forget the spirit and letter of their commitments to New Yorkers.

[Coughlin is the president and CEO of Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Schultz is the president of BRIC]

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