BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017
Today's Main Event -- The Comey Testimony: When, Where and How to Follow [bring the popcorn]
Other Events -- https://www.benton.org/calendar/2017-06-08
COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
In Political Media First, President Trump Releases Comey Attack Ad
Comey Says President Trump Pressured Him to ‘Lift the Cloud’ of Inquiry [links to New York Times]
Former FBI Director Comey Details Pressure From President Trump [links to Wall Street Journal]
Top intelligence official told associates President Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe
Intelligence officials Rogers and Coats said they won’t discuss specifics of private conversations with Trump [links to Benton summary]
Senate Judiciary Chairman Threatens to Subpoena Comey [links to Benton summary]
Feeling the heat: Reporters worry about aggressive leak investigations in Trump era [links to CNN]
President Trump rages about leakers. President Obama quietly prosecuted them. [links to Washington Post]
President Trump’s Not the Only One Blocking Constituents on Twitter [links to Benton summary]
Republican Politicians Seem Emboldened By Trump’s Media-Bashing [links to Huffington Post]
Fiorina: President Trump's tweeting 'very destructive' [links to Hill, The]
Trump White House moves from lies to authoritarian-style propaganda [links to Media Matters for America]
FCC Chairman Pai’s Response to FCC Security Guard Inquiry
Frontier laid off WV state Senate president after broadband vote it didn’t like
Republican political operatives want to sell the dark arts of opposition research to tech companies [links to Benton summary]
Karl Rove: President Trump Has Mastered Twitter, But Lacks Focus and Self-discipline to Do the Basic Work Required of a President [links to Wall Street Journal]
Video: Sen Kamala Harris admonished by GOP senators [links to Washington Post]
NET NEUTRALITY
Chairman Walden Ties Rural Broadband Access to Net Neutrality Fight
Commissioner Clyburn to Join in Georgia Net Neutrality Event [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Bay Area Internet providers thriving in the era of net neutrality [links to Benton summary]
What dismantling net neutrality means for small and mid-sized businesses - press release [links to Benton summary]
Video -- Net Neutrality And Your Internet Service Provider: An Investment Story [links to Internet Association]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Innovators in Digital Inclusion: Free Geek
Communications Workers of America Calls for $100 Billion Broadband Infrastructure Investment
FCC Slates Broadband Deployment Webinar for June 14 [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Google Webpass heads to Seattle [links to Google]
OWNERSHIP
Free Press: FCC's UHF Discount Decision Makes No Sense
Media Consolidation Is a Threat to Democracy - Mark Lloyd op-ed [links to Benton summary]
LeBron James’s Media Empire Is Out Front [links to Wall Street Journal]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
FTC Announces Third PrivacyCon, Calls for Presentations - press release [links to Benton summary]
The latest NSA leak is a reminder that your bosses can see your every move [links to Benton summary]
Here’s what Facebook’s doing with your Safety Check data [links to Washington Post]
Why smartphone security is a luxury for those who can afford it [links to CNN]
Gus Hurwitz: Rethinking robocalls as a security problem [links to American Enterprise Institute]
JOURNALISM
How Russian Propaganda Spread From a Parody Website to Fox News [links to Benton summary]
The Case for Media Impact - CJR analysis [links to Benton summary]
In a Fake Fact Era, Schools Teach the ABCs of News Literacy [links to Benton summary]
Google’s Jigsaw sets its sights on countering fake news [links to CNN]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Remind Broadcast Stations and MVPDs of Important Post-Incentive Auction Filing Deadlines [links to Federal Communications Commission]
5G innovation in the states [links to American Enterprise Institute]
TELECOM
Network Services Solutions, LLC, Scott Madison Amended NAL and Order [links to Federal Communications Commission]
CONTENT
Advertisers suspended commercials on YouTube after their ads appeared before videos promoting extremist ideology [links to Wall Street Journal]
How Apple’s Siri Lost Her Mojo [links to Wall Street Journal]
The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers [links to New York Times]
COMMUNITY MEDIA
Library of the Year: Nashville Public Library [links to Benton summary]
HEALTH
Report on Improving Cybersecurity in the Health Care Industry [links to Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force]
LABOR
As the merger is completed, layoffs of up to 1,000 jobs at the combined AOL and Yahoo are expected [links to Vox]
Charter can pay New York workers ‘decent contract’ if it can pay Rutledge $98M, de Blasio says [links to Fierce]
Cybersecurity labor crunch to hit 3.5 million unfilled jobs by 2021 [links to CSO]
Shareholders of Google’s parent company squash plan to disclose its gender pay data [links to Washington Post]
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
White House Staff, Congress Blindsided by FBI Pick Announcement
New Facebook tools aim to help connect lawmakers, constituents [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
Request for Comments on the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ Implementation of a Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch - public notice [links to Benton summary]
LOBBYING
Top 5 Groups Lobbying The FCC
Limited ethics waivers reflect new freedom for former lobbyists to join government [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
President Trump Picks Christopher Wray to Be FBI Director
Who is Christopher Wray? Trump’s FBI Pick Is Said to Be Low-Key and Principled [links to New York Times]
Secretary of Commerce Announces Interim Leadership for US Patent and Trademark Office - press release [links to Benton summary]
Chairman Pai Announces Sanford Williams To Serve As Director Of Communications Business Opportunities Team - press release [links to Benton summary]
FCC Seeks Nominations for Membership on Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment - public notice [links to Benton summary]
COMPANY NEWS
With Ailes Gone and Kelly Reborn, A Shell-Shocked Fox News Looks Like an Episode of The Leftovers [links to Vanity Fair]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Facebook’s Role in European Elections Under Scrutiny [links to Benton summary]
Apple iPhone Data Theft Tests China’s New Cybersecurity Law [links to Wall Street Journal]
Two SIM Cards and Better Selfies: How China’s Smartphones Are Taking On Apple [links to Wall Street Journal]
Rep Ro Khanna (D-CA) invites UK prime minister to Silicon Valley to talk terrorism and tech [links to Hill, The]
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
TRUMP RELEASES COMEY ATTACK AD
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Joe Mandese]
In what appears to be a political media first, a Super Pac controlled by President Donald Trump has released an ad attacking the character of a witness in advance of a highly anticipated Senate hearing. The ad, entitled “Showboat,” was released June 6 by President Trump’s Great America Alliance and attacks the character of former FBI Director James Comey, who is scheduled to speak publicly June 8 during a Senate hearing. The spot, which will air on national TV outlets during the hearing, reportedly has a $400,000 media budget. Citing alt right news reports such as Breitbart News, American Spectator and AlternNet, the campaign attacks Comey as putting “politics over protecting America” and concludes with the tagline: “Just another DC insider in it for himself.”
benton.org/headlines/political-media-first-president-trump-releases-comey-attack-ad | MediaPost
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TRUMP ASKED IF HE COULD INTERVENE WITH COMEY ON FBI RUSSIA PROBE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Adam Entous]
The nation’s top intelligence official told associates in March that President Donald Trump asked him if he could intervene with then-FBI Director James B. Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials. On March 22, less than a week after being confirmed by the Senate, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats attended a briefing at the White House together with officials from several government agencies. As the briefing was wrapping up, President Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The president then started complaining about the FBI investigation and Comey’s handling of it, said officials familiar with the account Coats gave to associates. Two days earlier, Comey had confirmed in a congressional hearing that the bureau was probing whether President Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 race. After the encounter, Coats discussed the conversation with other officials and decided that intervening with Comey as President Trump had suggested would be inappropriate, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters. The events involving Coats show the president went further than just asking intelligence officials to deny publicly the existence of any evidence showing collusion during the 2016 election. The interaction with Coats indicates that President Trump aimed to enlist top officials to have Comey curtail the bureau’s probe.
benton.org/headlines/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-president-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene | Washington Post
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PAI’S RESPONSE TO FCC SECURITY GUARD INQUIRY
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Li Zhou]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai noted that the FCC was on high security alert at its May meeting following a number of death threats that were made toward some of its members, as part of a letter responding to an inquiry made by Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) about the alleged ‘manhandling’ of CQ Roll Call reporter John Donnelly. “When Commissioner O’Rielly passed by, [a] security officer stepped back and backed into Mr. Donnelly. This physical contact was inadvertent,” Chairman Pai writes. “Nevertheless, it should not have occurred, the Commission has apologized for it, and as noted herein, we are taking corrective action.” He also said that security guards at the FCC have been instructed not to physically engage anyone at an open meeting “unless they are purposefully disrupting the meeting or they pose a threat to the safety of FCC employees.” “It is understandable that security was high at the FCC hearing on May 18. But I'm extremely concerned that the FCC security wasn't able to better balance the need to ensure access and safety,” writes Sen Udall, in response to the letter, adding that he remains broadly concerned about a pattern of hostility toward journalists which he has observed from the Trump Administration.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-pais-response-fcc-security-guard-inquiry | Politico
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FRONTIER LAD OFF STATE SEN PRESIDENT AFTER BROADBAND VOTE IT DIDNT LIKE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Broadband provider Frontier Communications recently laid off the West Virginia state Senate president after a vote the company didn't like—and yes, you read that correctly. West Virginia does not have a full-time legislature, and state lawmakers can supplement their part-time government salaries ($20,000 a year, according to BallotPedia) with jobs in the private sector. West Virginia Senate President Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson County) was also a sales manager for Frontier. But after six years with the company, Frontier terminated his employment on May 26. The dismissal came just weeks after Carmichael voted for a broadband infrastructure bill that was designed to bring faster speeds, lower prices, and more competition to Internet customers. It was described as a layoff in local press reports, but Carmichael said in multiple interviews that he believes the Senate vote led to his newfound unemployment.
benton.org/headlines/frontier-laid-wv-state-senate-president-after-broadband-vote-it-didnt | Ars Technica
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NET NEUTRALITY
CHAIRMAN WALDEN ON NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Edward Graham]
House Republicans are tying an ongoing process to roll back Obama-era network neutrality rules with their efforts to expand broadband internet access in rural areas. House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) offered legislation earlier in 2017 to exempt Internet service providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers from transparency requirements that were mandated under the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. Sen Steve Daines (R-MT) has proposed a similar bill on his side of the Capitol. “While I applaud strongly and enthusiastically what [FCC] Chairman [Ajit] Pai and the commission approved, it does not cover everything that needs to be covered,” Chairman Walden said. “And so I’m hopeful that we can move forward with the legislation that passed the House by a voice vote in January. Hopefully, the Senate would be able to take that up and move it forward.” Chairman Walden, whose 2nd District in eastern Oregon is nearly 70,000-square-miles in size and largely rural, added that high-speed internet access is a particularly important commodity to constituents who lack access to needed services. “I’ve got three counties with no hospitals and no doctors,” he said. “Access for education, access for tele-health, access for the economy and access to high-speed broadband is essential for their way of life in the modern age. And to me, this is the same as saying they need access to water and power and roads.” That’s a similar theme sounded by Chairman Pai during a swing through five northern states to meet with rural broadband providers about the challenges they face in offering internet service to rural communities.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-walden-ties-rural-broadband-access-net-neutrality-fight | Morning Consult
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
FREE GEEK
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Matthew Kopel]
In 2000, a collective led by Oso Martin recognized the need in Portland, Oregon, for safe disposal and recycling of electronics. Simultaneously, they saw an opportunity to get technology into the hands of those who did not have it. Free Geek began as a simple collection and refurbishment program (and, yes, it was started in a garage). A Free Geek gathering during Portland’s Earth Day celebration brought some formality to the enterprise shortly before it was founded. The new organization soon opened a storefront in an industrial area of Portland, where residents could drop off used tech, and volunteers set to work fixing it up and giving it away. The storefront that opened in a warehouse in the city’s Inner Southeast Industrial District 17 years ago now stretches half of a city block. This location, separated from most of the city’s residents, means that Free Geek must be a destination. Since the beginning, Free Geek’s service model has been structured around community service: volunteer a total of 24 hours and you receive a free computer. This approach fuels the engine, keeps resources available, and keeps people coming in the door. The program expanded so that students may complete 24 hours of any kind of community service in exchange for a computer.
https://www.benton.org/blog/innovators-digital-inclusion-free-geek
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CWA CALLS FOR $100B BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With President Donald Trump emphasizing his infrastructure revamp proposal, the Communications Workers of America wants Congress to emphasize broadband investment in any plan it approves. That came in a letter to the leadership, Republican and Democrat, of the House and Senate Commerce Committees. CWA says any broadband infrastructure bill should: 1) direct $40 billion in funding to unserved communities; 2) change the tax laws to accelerate depreciation for broadband capital expenditures; 3) direct $10 billion to the Federal Communications Commission 's E-rate fund for high-speed broadband to schools and libraries; and 4) supplement the FCC's Lifeline subsidy (basic telecom for those who need help affording it) with a $100 tax credit per year on the purchase of broadband by low-income families (less than $35,000 per year).
benton.org/headlines/communications-workers-america-calls-100b-broadband-infrastructure-investment | Broadcasting&Cable | read the letter
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OWNERSHIP
FREE PRESS: FCCS UHF DISCOUNT DECISION MAKES NO SENSE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Free Press and the other challengers to the Federal Communications Commission's decision to reinstate the UHF discount have told a federal court that it makes no sense for the FCC to reinstate a rule it concedes is obsolete "based on the mere possibility that the Commission will, in the future, open a proceeding to consider something that, as of now, a majority of the Commission believes it cannot or should not do." That came in their filing in support of a request for an emergency stay of the implementation of the UHF discount, which was scheduled to happen June 5 but was delayed by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to allow more time for it to consider that stay request and the FCC's response. The filing was also in response to Sinclair's intervention in support of the FCC and in opposition to Free Press' motion for stay. In defending the stay to the court, Free Press attorneys pointed out that even in voting for returning the discount, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly said he did not think the FCC had the authority to adjust the statutorily-set 39% cap on a TV station group owner's national audience reach, the reconsideration of which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had given as a reason for reinstating the discount he conceded was likely obsolete and instead reviewing the discount along with the 39% cap.
benton.org/headlines/free-press-fccs-uhf-discount-decision-makes-no-sense | Broadcasting&Cable
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GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
WH STAFF, CONGRESS BLINDSIDED BY FBI PICK ANNOUNCEMENT
[SOURCE: Daily Beast, AUTHOR: Lachlan Markay, Asawin Suebsaeng]
Apparently, President Donald Trump’s top communications staff, and much of his senior White House team, did not know the president was going to make the official announcement for nominating James Comey’s successor early on June 7 via a single tweet. Several observers noted that President Trump’s Christopher Wray announcement did not arrive with any fact sheet or official press release, as would be expected with news of this weight. And it’s just the latest instance of President Trump’s senior staffers, particularly his communications and press shop, being cut out of the loop, undermined, and frazzled by their unpredictable boss and his compulsive tweeting habit.
benton.org/headlines/white-house-staff-congress-blindsided-fbi-pick-announcement | Daily Beast
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LOBBYING
TOP 5 LOBBYING GROUPS
[SOURCE: Law 360, AUTHOR: Jenna Ebersole]
Network neutrality continues to make headlines and draw millions of Federal Communications Commission comments, but the top organizations and companies lobbying the FCC have also been focused on other issues, such as the video relay service and fund for rural deployment. In recent weeks, the agency has received over 170 ex parte filings, or lobbying communications companies and associations make with agency staff and commissioners by phone, in person, or in writing. Here are the top five groups lobbying the FCC between May 8 and June 2:
Sorenson Communications and ZVRS Holding Company: two providers of video relay services, which allow people with hearing disabilities to communicate by phone using sign language.
NCTA – The Rural Broadband Association submitted eight filings to the FCC, focused mainly on issues related to the Connect America Fund.
Benton Foundation submitted five filings focused on the net neutrality proceeding.
NCTA – The Internet and Television Association also submitted five filings on several topics including spectrum policy issues and paper versus electronic notice requirements for consumers.
benton.org/headlines/top-5-groups-lobbying-fcc | Law 360
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POLICYMAKERS
CHRISTOPHER WRAY FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Glenn Thrush, Julie Hirschfeld Davis]
President Donald Trump said that he had selected the former federal prosecutor Christopher Wray, now a Washington (DC)-based criminal defense lawyer who recently represented Gov Chris Christie (R-NJ) in the so-called Bridgegate scandal, to be his new FBI director. The president revealed his decision in a morning tweet. His announcement came a day before the former FBI director James B. Comey was to testify about President Trump’s attempts to get him to end the bureau’s investigation into his former national security adviser’s contacts with Russia. Wray is a safe, mainstream pick from a president who at one point was considering politicians for a job that has historically been kept outside of politics. Wray, a former assistant attorney general overseeing the criminal division under President George W. Bush, is likely to allay the fears of FBI agents who worried that President Trump would try to weaken or politicize the FBI. Wray, two administration officials said, is a hybrid pick for President Trump: He is a seasoned criminal lawyer who bonded with Christie when both were young attorneys in the Justice Department, and a highly regarded criminal defense lawyer who represented Christie in the aftermath of the scandal over traffic jams that rocked his governorship.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-picks-christopher-wray-be-fbi-director | New York Times | Washington Post | The Hill
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