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April 2015

The 2016 Election Will Be Live-Streamed: 'We're All C-SPAN Now'

"[Meerkat and Periscope] are achieving the dream of consumers being able to watch live political events themselves without delay or commentary,” said Mark Halperin, the managing editor of Bloomberg Politics. “We are all C-SPAN now.” Welcome to the new frontier of campaign journalism, a never-ceasing stream of political events that anyone can broadcast or access with nothing but a smartphone.

Just how much value live video adds to the already frenzied political process is anyone's guess. As with past technological shifts in political reporting, there's a mix of excitement and anxiety. Journalists’ obsession with the second-by-second Twitter conversation in 2012 played into some of the worst instincts of pack journalism, with fairly mundane moments blown up into mini-scandals and "gaffes." So there’s an understandable fear that the ability to easily broadcast live all day in 2016 will only add to the noise level, with lots more content, but not necessarily context. But Twitter has also had a democratizing effect, allowing the public into the campaign trail in new ways and giving journalists a platform to immediately offer information, analysis and snark outside the traditional structures of the outlets employing them. The question now facing news organizations is whether they can incorporate live video in a way that distinctly enhances coverage, or whether they will end up offering viewers and voters more distractions.

Internet searches are convincing us we’re smarter than we really are

Is Google creating the next generation of office blowhards? A clever psychological study by Yale University researchers suggests the answer is yes. It seems that as we look things up on the Web, we become convinced that the information remains in our brains. It doesn't. But we behave as if it does, and we're not shy about claiming that it's there. "This huge database is leading people to believe this information is in their heads, when in fact it’s not," Matthew Fisher, the Yale graduate psychology student who led the study, said. Is that a bad thing? Merely an annoyance? Or no harm at all? It depends on whom you ask. Fisher's paper, published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, concludes that by "erroneously situating external knowledge within their own heads, people may unwittingly exaggerate how much intellectual work they can do in situations where they are truly on their own."

Santorum: ISIS better journalism than New York Times?

Rick Santorum is impressed with the Islamic State’s journalism. The perennial presidential candidate is overlooked by most American pollsters and pundits, but the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is taking him seriously. The group singled out Santorum as a crusader, along with a little-known Virginia state senator Richard H. Black (R-VA) and former CIA officer Gary Bernsten, in an Islamic State magazine, quoting them verbatim in a feature called “In the Words of the Enemy.” Asked about his new star power on Fox News, Santorum had only praise for the group’s journalistic standards. “Well the difference is ISIS actually quoted me accurately compared to the New York Times, which is sort of a remarkable comment on the state of the media today,” he said.

How Yahoo News ruins journalism

[Commentary] The new issue of the Baffler, titled “Venus in Fur” (No. 27), is the left-wing journal’s first issue focused on clothing -- from mom jeans to phallic neckties. But the best essay is a tale about an emperor with no clothes. In “Purple Reign,” Baffler senior editor Chris Lehmann reports on his stint as managing editor of Yahoo News’s news blog -- a “Beckett-like simulacrum of a journalism shop." Much of this, delivered with Lehmann’s acerbic scorn, is hilarious, but his diagnosis is brutally serious: “When editorial knowledge is deployed to elevate advertising, it stops being either editorial, or knowledge; it’s hackery, sold out to the highest, or just the bare middling bidder...Under [Yahoo CEO Marissa] Mayer’s leadership, the company has brought this ugly art form to sophisticated new heights -- and in the process blown through all the basic rudiments of journalistic ethics.” If you’re lucky enough to have a media job in this stormy climate, keep an eye out for the danger signs that Lehmann identifies:
"The callow corporate rhetoric of disruptive genius.”
"The witless embrace of a nonsensical array of platforms and formats in a sequence seeming adapted from a Mad Libs game book.”
"The airy dismissal of content-production as though it were simply a species of hireling grunt work.”

YouTube 3, Mainstream Media 0. Welcome to President Obama’s new media reality.

So far in 2015, President Barack Obama has sat down for interviews with three YouTube stars, Vox, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Vice News and Jimmy Kimmel. President Obama has not granted interviews to (among others) The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press or USA Today. Those decisions on who to talk to -- and, as importantly, who not to talk to -- reflect a broader President Obama media strategy, employed throughout his time in office but accelerated in his second term. And that is, to put a priority on sitting down with newer outlets with younger and/or less politically minded viewers.

Legacy news organization are not exactly a prime emphasis of the Obama White House these days. That's in no small part due to the realities of the fracturing of the media -- declining circulation for print, the rise of social and so and so forth. But make no mistake: The decisions made by the White House are accelerating those sometimes subtle but deeply meaningful changes in how the White House (and politicians more generally) are interacting with the media and, by extension, you.

The interesting problem with Periscope and Meerkat

[Commentary] Periscope and Meerkat are mobile livestreaming apps. Lots of tech people are talking about these apps, and using them feels like exploring a new frontier. Livestreaming isn’t new, but broadcasting video from a smartphone to your Twitter feed is, and maybe that experiences will capture lots of people’s attention and become huge. (Or not.) Stranger things have happened. But while running a test on Periscope and Meerkat’s data consumption, I discovered a different, but significant, problem that may hamper these apps’ growth: namely, the difficulty of keeping up with a flood of real-time comments. My point is this: The one-to-many broadcast model on the livestreaming apps works fine. But the one-to-many communication model just does not scale. I’m sure anyone who broadcasts a lot would get much better at dealing with the inputs and outputs, but I think there are real limits to how good anyone can get at this kind of task.

Meerkat and Periscope: Are Privacy Pros Ready for the Consequences of Live Streaming?

[Commentary] I’m not saying that Periscope is a bad, privacy-invading social network; but Periscope, and its less fortunate cousin, Meerkat, can easily become a bad, privacy-invading social network. I mean, just look at Periscope's logo: It’s an eyeball within a location sign. These are services that can easily be manipulated for creepy purposes, or allow users to unwittingly compromise their privacy, or of the privacy of those around them.

Believe it: These live-video services will be nearly ubiquitously built into all kinds of apps and services soon, and could affect privacy pros in unexpected ways. Periscope, much like its parent company, Twitter, posts broadcast data to the public by default. “This includes the metadata provided with your broadcast, such as when and where you broadcast,” Periscope’s privacy policy states. And though the aim of the service is to provide live streaming, users can upload the video to their Twitter streams for others to watch within 24 hours of the recording, or until the user deletes the archived broadcast. Maybe TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez is right, maybe our cultural mindset has changed enough to embrace this public performance—but are privacy pros or regulatory authorities prepared for everything else that comes with it?

New ARM-powered chip aims for battery life measured in decades

The number of things getting plugged into the "Internet of Things" has already reached the point of satire. But there's a new, extremely low power technology that's being prepared for market that could put computing power and network access into a whole new class of sensors, wearables, and practically disposable devices. That's because it can run off a battery charge for over over 10 years. Atmel, the San Jose (CA)-based microcontroller maker, released samples of a new type of ultra-low power, ARM based microcontroller that could radically extend the battery life of small low-power intelligent devices. The new SAM L21 32-bit ARM family of microcontroller (MCUs) consume less than 35 microamps of power per megahertz of processing speed while active, and less than 200 nanoamps of power overall when in deep sleep mode -- with varying states in between. The chip is so low power that it can be powered off energy capture from the body, as Andreas Eieland, Atmel's Director of Product Marketing for low-power products, demonstrated at CES earlier in 2015.

Thoughts on shaping the Information Age military: Hackers cannot be mass produced

[Commentary] The US Army Signal Corps is designed according to a traditional military recruiting, training, and manning structure. A foundational assumption is that most Signal work can be performed by semi-skilled Privates, under the supervision of skilled Sergeants, and that the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), Signal Officer, and Warrant Officer plans and supervises operations from the Battalion and Brigade-level. Most Signal tasks are at “Skill Level 1” and can be satisfactorily taught to anyone during Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Gordon, Georgia. I challenge these assumptions. Preparing, planning, designing, implementing, operating, and optimizing secure systems and networks requires aptitude, training, and experience. Most Signal Corps tasks are not “Skill Level 1,” and doctrine trails far behind an ever-evolving industry. The Army’s personnel development strategy is best suited to stable, long-lived technologies with minor incremental updates, such as an M-16 or UH-60. Nothing lives long in the tech industry, and we don’t do minor incremental updates. Remember Blackberry? That was before your new Platoon Sergeant went to Drill Sergeant School a few years ago. Everyone talks about the dreaded “Cyber Pearl Harbor.” What can be done to prevent it? What will the response be if it happens? If I may borrow two “truths” from the Special Operations community:
-- “hackers cannot be mass-produced”
-- “competent hackers cannot be created after emergencies occur.”
[William John Holden is a US Army Signal Warrant Officer at Fort Bragg (NC)]

April 1, 2015 (IP Transition; #NetNeutrality Complaint; Mergers)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015

Today’s busy agenda https://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-04-01


INTERNET/BROADBAND
   The Legal Underpinnings of the IP Transition - Andrew Jay Schwartzman analysis
   US Internet users pay more and have fewer choices than Europeans
   First Network Neutrality Complaint Filed
   FCC Explains Decisions on Broadband, Net Neutrality
   Network neutrality e-mails raise suspicions
   Latest Assault on Net Neutrality Launched at Telecommunications Industry-Funded Think Tank
   New ideas for how the Congress should protect the Internet - analysis
   Citing Muni Broadband Dispute, Chattanooga Secedes
   'Trust me' is a bad model for Internet governance - Daniel Castro/ITIF op-ed [links to web]
   Google reopens Fiber signup in KC [links to web]
   Map could help Columbus ramp up broadband [links to web]
   Introducing dial-up mode - Google press release [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   AT&T to Merge with Comcast in $172 Billion Transaction - press release
   Charter Communications to Buy Bright House Networks in $10 Billion Deal
   Charter CEO: Bright House Buy Could Help Comcast-TWC [links to web]
   Charter/ Bright House Deal: Cable Industry Looks More and More Like Telecom - telecompetitor analysis [links to web]
   Bright House Deal Advances Malone’s Cable Ambitions [links to web]
   Newhouse family enters cable’s top tier [links to web]
   Comcast, CFO Pledge $4.1 Billion to Fund New Investment and Operating Company

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Verizon Wireless Customers Can Now Opt Out of ‘Supercookies’
   Analysts: Deutsche Telekom won't support T-Mobile financially in 600 MHz incentive auction [links to web]

CONTENT
   Media Mischief On April Fools' Day [links to web]
   Sales from Apple and Google App Stores Seen Doubling by 2018, In-App Advertising to Triple [links to web]
   Young People Watch More Than 22 Hours of Online Video a Week [links to web]
   The Critical Need for Video Literacy - op-ed [links to web]
   National Baseball Hall of Fame's App Pings You With Location-Based Facts [links to web]

TELEVISION
   ACA to FCC: Deny NAB/PK Effective Competition Petition [links to web]
   The DC issues keeping advertisers up at night - analysis [links to web]
   Publishers and adblockers are in a battle for online advertising [links to web]

SECURITY
   US to establish sanctions program to combat cyberattacks, cyberspying
   DARPA’s plan for US military superiority in cyberspace [links to web]
   Jeb Bush ‘nervous’ about NSA attacks [links to web]

LABOR
   Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty will help neither workers nor consumers - op-ed [links to web]

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
   Copyright Office Needs To Develop Plans that Address Technical and Organizational Challenges - research [links to web]
   Strong Leadership Needed to Address Serious Information Technology Management Weaknesses at Library of Congress - research [links to web]

OPEN GOVERNMENT
   Access denied: Reporters say federal officials, data increasingly off limits
   Clinton also used iPad for e-mail; mixed personal, work chats [links to web]

LOBBYING
   Tech investors help start new DC think tank, the Economic Innovation Group [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   Spotlight on Commerce: Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of USPTO - press release [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Man who sued Comcast now wants over $5M, says ISP shouldn’t have smeared him [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Facebook 'tracks all visitors, breaching EU law'

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

THE LEGAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE IP TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Andrew Jay Schwartzman]
[Commentary] Our telecommunications networks are only part way through the transition from traditional “time-division multiplexing” (“TDM”) to “Internet Protocol” (“IP) based digital technology. In some industries, technological transition is relatively easy; as new technology develops, the economy assimilates it. However, when it comes to telecommunications, the transition of our traditional networks, originally deployed for voice telephony, is fraught with complicated regulatory and legal questions.
https://www.benton.org/blog/legal-underpinnings-ip-transition
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US BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, AUTHOR: Allan Holmes, Chris Zubak-Skees]
More than a quarter of Americans cannot go online at home to check their children’s grades at school, apply for jobs, pay bills or research health issues. They don’t have what has become a crucial service for participation in modern society: Internet service at home. The proportion of households with Internet service had been rising steadily for decades, according to the Pew Research Center, until the past few years when the adoption rate slowed. One reason? The high cost of broadband and the lack of competition that leads to those high prices. A Center for Public Integrity analysis of Internet prices in five U.S. cities and five comparable French cities found that prices in the US were as much as 3 1/2 times higher than those in France for similar service. The analysis shows that consumers in France have a choice between a far greater number of providers -- seven on average -- than those in the US, where most residents can get service from no more than two companies. The Center’s analysis echoes the findings of several studies on Internet pricing disparities worldwide. By mapping the service areas of US providers, The Center for Public Integrity also found that telecommunications companies appear to carve up territory to avoid competing with more than one other provider.
benton.org/headlines/us-internet-users-pay-more-and-have-fewer-choices-europeans | Center for Public Integrity
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FIRST NETWORK NEUTRALITY COMPLAINT FILED
[SOURCE: arts and technical stuff, AUTHOR: West Anderson]
Just over a month after the Federal Communications Commission adopted strong new network neutrality rules, the agency has received its first complaint against an Internet service provider. In a new filing from American rock band Pearl Jam, the musicians claim AT&T broadband customers received edited versions of Meerkat and Periscope streams of the group’s live performance in Seattle (WA). Pearl Jam's performance of their big 1990's hit "Daughter" morphed into the melody from Pink Floyd's "The Wall," and lead singer Eddie Vedder served up a pair of anti-Jeb Bush lyrics to the tune. "Jeb Bush, leave Terri Schiavo alone," he sang. "Jeb Bush, find yourself another home." Fans at the event got to hear the words in all their glory, but the lines were censored for AT&T U-verse customers. AT&T made the decision to silence the lyrics, apparently believing that they would prove offensive to listeners – or, at least, those old enough to understand them. When Pearl Jam found out about the censorship, the band decided to file a formal complaint with the FCC. "This, of course, troubles us as artists but also as citizens concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly consolidated control of the media," wrote the musicians. "What happened to us this weekend was a wake-up call, and it's about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band."
benton.org/headlines/first-network-neutrality-complaint-filed | arts and technical stuff
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FCC EXPLAINS DECISIONS ON BROADBAND, NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Brian Heaton]
The Federal Communications Commission explained its recent rulings on municipal broadband and network neutrality in a specialized briefing for state and local governments on Monday, March 30. The hour-long presentation detailed the FCC’s rationale and authority in vacating state restrictions on broadband and its controversial decision to regulate Internet access using Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Focus was placed on how those decisions could potentially affect local regions in the country. Daniel Kahn, deputy chief of the Commission’s Competition Policy Division, noted that the FCC’s Feb. 26 decision to vacate state laws that restricted muni-broadband expansion only applied to North Carolina and Tennessee. The FCC relies on Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act for its authority to pre-empt state laws that enact barriers to broadband infrastructure investment and competition. If cities and counties want to offer their own Internet service, but are prevented from doing so because of state restrictions, they need to file their own petitions with the FCC, Kahn said. Gregory Vadas, chief of the Intergovernmental Affairs Office of the Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, echoed Kahn’s comments, emphasizing the need for local governments to come forward if they feel they are unjustly blocked from expanding Internet access.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-explains-decisions-broadband-net-neutrality | Government Technology
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SUSPICIOUS E-MAILS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
A number of messages to lawmakers purporting to be from average constituents who oppose the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules don’t appear to have come from people within their districts, according to the company that manages the technology for some House members. The notes have identical wording to those organized by a group called American Commitment, which is led by Phil Kerpen, a former top aide at the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity. The flood of traffic seemed to raise some lawmakers’ eyebrows, including Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), whose office soon determined some of the messages had come from constituents who didn’t recall sending them. Her aides pointed to a memo sent to members’ staff by Lockheed Martin, which manages the technology behind some lawmakers’ “contact me” Web pages. Lockheed initially said it had “some concerns regarding the messages,” including the fact that “a vast majority of the e-mails do not appear to have a valid in-district address.” In some cases, Lockheed also questioned the “legitimacy of the e-mail address contact associated with the incoming message[s].” “The idea that an outside group could use consumer data to impersonate constituents suggests an attempt to hijack the important feedback members of Congress need to truly represent their districts,” Rep Speier said. Kerpen said that American Commitment hadn’t impersonated members’ constituents. But he said that other groups had mounted similar campaigns, and borrowed the pre-written text available on his website.
benton.org/headlines/network-neutrality-e-mails-raise-suspicions | Politico
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LATEST ASSAULT ON NET NEUTRALITY LAUNCHED AT TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY-FUNDED THINK TANK
[SOURCE: The Intercept, AUTHOR: Lee Fang]
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) addressed the Free State Foundation to announce his new plan to undermine recently enacted network neutrality rules by going after the funding of the Federal Communications Commission, the agency behind the decision. The FCC’s approach to net neutrality represents “potential untenable rules and regulatory overreach that will hurt consumers,” said Chairman Walden, speaking at the foundation’s annual Telecom Policy Conference. Chairman Walden outlined a plan to limit FCC appropriations, cap its other revenue sources, and change the hiring process for the FCC’s inspector general. David Segal, co-founder of Demand Progress, a pro-net neutrality group, said Chairman Walden’s remarks “underscore his allegiance to corporate interests.” Chairman Walden’s choice of venue is telling. According to tax filings by two cable and wireless trade associations, the Free State Foundation has received nearly half a million dollars from the trade associations over the last five years. CTIA-The Wireless Association -- representing Verizon, AT&T and Motorola, among others -- gave the foundation $213,750. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the trade group for Comcast and other major cable companies, provided $280,000 to the foundation. The two trade groups intend to file a lawsuit to block the FCC’s net neutrality rules.
benton.org/headlines/latest-assault-net-neutrality-launched-telecommunications-industry-funded-think-tank | Intercept, The
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NEW IDEAS FOR HOW THE CONGRESS SHOULD PROTECT THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Joshua Bleiberg, Darrel West]
[Commentary] There is widespread bipartisan agreement that Congress should play a larger role in regulations issues in the communications sector. The Communications Act outlines what actions the Federal Communications Commission may and may not take. These restrictions make it difficult for the FCC to craft optimal policies. But, Congress operates under far fewer restrictions. Nonresident Senior Fellow Stuart Brotman discussed three ideas for improving the stale law:
Legislative history: The original Communications Act of 1934 requires that broadcasters operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity”. Congress failed to fully define the enigmatic term. If Congress devoted itself to thinking critically and developing a well-thought-out standard, then it would make it easier for the FCC to regulate future communications technologies.
Sunset clause: Sunset clauses in a reauthorized Communications Act would require FCC to reconsider whether regulations made sense after a set period of time. If a section of a law seemed hopelessly antiquated, then it could expire. This would place political pressure on Congress to update the law.
Jurisdictional issues: Congress can help companies that cross jurisdictional boarders by redefining the responsibilities of agencies. This will help to reduce uncertainty for businesses and ensure that bad actors are caught rather than slipping through cracks of the system.
benton.org/headlines/new-ideas-how-congress-should-protect-internet | Brookings
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CHATTANOOGA SECEDES
[SOURCE: The Tennessean, AUTHOR: Vicky Travis]
After a marathon, emotional meeting, the Chattanooga City Council voted early on April 1 to secede from the state of Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, the city was joined in the action by surrounding Bledsoe, Bradley, Marion, Rhea and Sequatchie counties. "This is a matter involving a claim of state preemption by court action and Chattanooga's right to determine the authority and market area of our subdivisions organized under home rule," said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. “We're trying to serve people without access to broadband service in our region, which we think will help our entire area to grow and prosper,” Mayor Berke said. “That's our priority. But faced with the uncertainties created by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s suit to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s recent decision, we see no alternative than to join up with our friends in North Georgia.” "Hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans face economic and educational disadvantages because they have little or no Internet access," said Harold DePriest, president and CEO of Chattanooga’s EPB, a non-profit agency of the city. "We respect both state and federal authority on this issue, and are working at all levels to remove regulations that prevent more Tennesseans from gaining access to broadband." There was immediate confusion if EPB still exists since it was created by the Tennessee legislature. But DePriest put an end to any speculation: “If your lights are still on and you’re still updating your Facebook status, the EPB still exists,” he said.
benton.org/headlines/citing-muni-broadband-dispute-chattanooga-secedes | Tennessean, The
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OWNERSHIP

AT&T TO MERGE WITH COMCAST IN $72 BILLION TRANSACTION
[SOURCE: Comcast, AUTHOR: Press release]
AT&T and Comcast announced that their Boards of Directors approved a definitive agreement to combine AT&T with Comcast in a transaction that values AT&T at $172 billion. The transaction will create the world's pre-eminent broadband services company and is expected to be tax-free to shareowners. The new company, to be called AComcast&t Corporation, will be one of the leading and most powerful communications, media and entertainment companies in the world. It will have approximately 40 million U.S. broadband subscribers and a major presence in most of largest metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco-Oakland. It will be the world's leading provider of broadband video, voice and data services with annual pro forma revenue of approximately $201 billion. The combined company will have a presence in 49 states (sorry Indiana). A Comcast&t Corporation will begin life with a clear mandate to aggressively expand the availability of those services throughout its service areas, including plans to bring a choice in local telephone service to more than 98 million homes passed by its cable systems. The new company's telephony footprint will have national reach and its scale will allow it to develop and deploy new broadband applications such as video-on-demand and interactive television. AT&T's decision, which received unanimous approval and full support by its Board of Directors, culminates a rigorous process that began last July when the AT&T Board directed management to assess strategic and financial alternatives for all its units to create long-term shareowner value.
benton.org/headlines/att-merge-comcast-172-billion-transaction | Comcast
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CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS TO BUY BRIGHT HOUSE NETWORKS IN $10 BILLION DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Gelles]
Charter Communications said that it had agreed to acquire Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion, in the latest consolidation of cable television operators to reshape the media landscape. The deal will further enlarge Charter, which is involved in the huge merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the two biggest cable operators in the country. If that deal is approved, Charter will acquire some markets and subscribers from the enlarged Comcast. But much hinges on the approval of Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable, including Charter’s acquisition of Bright House. If Charter is not able to acquire the disposed assets from Comcast, it will not go ahead with this deal. Bright House is the sixth-largest cable operator in the country, with about two million subscribers in Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and California. The structure of the deal will have Charter own 73.7 percent of a new company and Advance/Newhouse, the parent company of Bright House, own 26.3 percent. Charter will pay Advance/Newhouse a mix of $5.9 billion worth of common stock, $2.5 billion worth convertible preferred shares that pay a 6 percent coupon and $2 billion in cash. ”Bright House Networks provides Charter with important operating, financial and tax benefits, as well as strategic flexibility,” said Thomas M. Rutledge, Charter’s chief executive. “Bright House has built outstanding cable systems in attractive markets that are either complete, or contiguous with the New Charter footprint. This acquisition enhances our scale, and solidifies New Charter as the second largest cable operator in the US.” The Bright House deal is a signal that Charter executives believe the Comcast deal for Time Warner Cable will be approved. Antitrust experts have said that regulators in Washington are likely to scrutinize the deal for any detrimental effect it might have on consumers.
benton.org/headlines/charter-communications-buy-bright-house-networks-10-billion-deal | New York Times | LA Times
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COMCAST, CFO PLEDGE $4.1 BILLION TO FUND NEW INVESTMENT AND OPERATING COMPANY
[SOURCE: The Wrap, AUTHOR: Tony Maglio]
Comcast Corporation and CFO Michael Angelakis are pooling together $4.1 billion to launch a new investment and operating company. Angelakis -- who has personally pledged $40 million to the forming venture -- will become CEO of the new firm and be replaced as chief financial officer of Comcast. The big cable provider is funding the new company to the tune of $4 billion. The remainder will come from other senior members of the new company’s management team. The newly formed group will have an exclusive, 10-year partnership with Comcast as sole outside investor. “We believe the ability to establish entrepreneurial ventures that partner with and participate in the growth of innovative companies can be an important driver of strategic and financial value creation for our company,” said Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast. “As Comcast approaches the completion of the Time Warner Cable merger and related transactions, and the integration plans are well advanced, Michael is ready and excited to turn his attention to the next phase of his career and relationship with Comcast.” He continued: “In the past, Comcast has made substantial investments in companies like QVC, Comcast Cellular and SpectrumCo, which have generated tremendous strategic and shareholder value. I couldn’t be more excited about the future and Michael’s role in building this new company.” Comcast will immediately begin a search for a successor chief financial officer. Following that eventual appointment, Angelakis will serve as a senior advisor to Comcast. Angelakis will assist with the transition to the new CFO and begin the integration process for the Time Warner Cable and related transactions.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-cfo-pledge-41-billion-fund-new-investment-and-operating-company | Wrap, The | Revere Digital
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

VERIZON WIRELESS CUSTOMERS CAN NOW OPT OUT OF 'SUPERCOOKIES'
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Chen]
Verizon Wireless customers now have the ability to completely opt out of the phone carrier’s controversial ad-targeting program that tagged users with undeletable tracking codes, which critics called “supercookies.” The company announced in January that it planned to provide a complete opt-out of the program. Verizon said that its systems have now been changed to stop inserting the unique identifier, referred to as a UIDH, for customers who don’t want to be in the program. In the past, Verizon allowed users to unsubscribe from the marketing side of the program, but they had no option to disable being tagged with the customer codes. Some security researchers quickly illustrated that third parties, like advertisers, could easily exploit Verizon’s persistent tracking to continually follow a user’s web browsing activities. In a statement, Debra Lewis, a Verizon spokeswoman, said privacy is a “central consideration” for the company when it develops new products and services.
benton.org/headlines/verizon-wireless-customers-can-now-opt-out-supercookies | New York Times
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SECURITY

CYBERSECURITY SANCTIONS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
President Barack Obama will sign an executive order establishing the first sanctions program to allow the Administration to impose penalties on individuals overseas who engage in destructive attacks or commercial espionage in cyberspace. In the works for two years, the order declares “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities” a “national emergency” and enables the treasury secretary to target foreign individuals and entities that take part in the illicit cyberactivity for sanctions that could include freezing their financial assets and barring commercial transactions with them. The move expands the set of legal tools available to the administration to punish and deter activities including the theft of large quantities of credit card data, espionage conducted for commercial gain and cyberattacks aimed at damaging critical computer systems.
benton.org/headlines/us-establish-sanctions-program-combat-cyberattacks-cyberspying | Washington Post
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OPEN GOVERNMENT

ACCESS DENIED: REPORTERS SAY FEDERAL OFFICIALS, DATA INCREASINGLY OFF LIMITS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
Stacey Singer, a health reporter for the Palm Beach Post in Florida, was perusing a medical journal in 2012 when she came across something startling: a federal epidemiologist’s report about a tuberculosis outbreak in the Jacksonville area. Singer promptly began pursuing the story. But when she started seeking official comment about the little-reported outbreak, the doors began closing. The stories aren’t always as consequential or as dramatic as a TB outbreak, but Singer’s experience is shared by virtually every journalist on the government beat, from the White House on down. They can recite tales with similar outlines: An agency spokesman -- frequently a political appointee -- rejects the reporter’s request for interviews, offers partial or nonresponsive replies, or delays responding at all until after the journalist’s deadline has passed. Interview requests that are granted are closely monitored, reporters say, with a press “minder” sitting in. Some agencies require reporters to pose their questions by e-mail, a tactic that enables officials to carefully craft and vet their replies. Tensions between reporters and public information officers -- “hacks and flacks” in the vernacular -- aren’t new, of course. Reporters have always wanted more information than government officials have been willing or able to give. But journalists say the lid has grown tighter under the Obama Administration, whose chief executive promised in 2009 to bring “an unprecedented level of openness” to the federal government.
benton.org/headlines/access-denied-reporters-say-federal-officials-data-increasingly-limits | Washington Post
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

FACEBOOK 'TRACKS ALL VISITORS, BREACHING EU LAW'
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Samuel Gibbs]
Facebook tracks the web browsing of everyone who visits a page on its site even if the user does not have an account or has explicitly opted out of tracking in the EU, extensive research commissioned by the Belgian data protection agency has revealed. The report, from researchers at the Centre of Interdisciplinary Law and ICT (ICRI) and the Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography department (Cosic) at the University of Leuven, and the media, information and telecommunication department (Smit) at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, was commissioned after an original draft report revealed Facebook’s privacy policy breaches European law. The researchers now claim that Facebook tracks computers of users without their consent, whether they are logged in to Facebook or not, and even if they are not registered users of the site or explicitly opt out in Europe. Facebook tracks users in order to target advertising. The issue revolves around Facebook’s use of its social plugins such as the “Like” button, which has been placed on more than 13 million sites including health and government sites. Facebook places tracking cookies on users’ computers if they visit any page on the facebook.com domain, including fan pages or other pages that do not require a Facebook account to visit. When a user visits a third-party site that carries one of Facebook’s social plug-ins, it detects and sends the tracking cookies back to Facebook - even if the user does not interact with the Like button, Facebook Login or other extension of the social media site.
benton.org/headlines/facebook-tracks-all-visitors-breaching-eu-law | Guardian, The
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