House poised to vote this week on renewal of major surveillance program
After months of wrangling between national security hawks and privacy advocates, the House will vote this week on a long-term extension of a surveillance program that allows the government to gather foreign intelligence on US soil. Should the bill pass unchanged, Senate leaders say they expect their chamber to approve it before it expires on Jan. 19. But privacy advocates in the House are backing an amendment that would impose a set of restraints. At issue is a tool that permits the National Security Agency to collect emails and other communications of foreign surveillance targets located overseas. Authorized under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as amended in 2008, the tool is regarded by the intelligence community as vital to protecting the country. But some lawmakers are concerned that the Section 702 database contains the emails of Americans who have been in touch with foreign targets that were obtained without individualized warrants, and other purely domestic communications. These critics want to require the FBI to obtain a warrant before searching the database for Americans’ data. The bill under consideration sets more-modest restrictions, requiring the FBI to obtain a court order before reviewing the content of queries for Americans’ information in the database — but only when the bureau wants to use that information in a full-fledged criminal case.
FBI chief calls encryption a ‘major public safety issue’
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray renewed a call for tech companies to help law enforcement officials gain access to encrypted smartphones, describing it as a “major public safety issue.” Director Wray said the bureau was unable to gain access to the content of 7,775 devices in fiscal 2017 — more than half of all the smartphones it tried to crack in that time period — despite having a warrant from a judge. “Being unable to access nearly 7,800 devices in a single year is a major public safety issue,” he said, taking up a theme that was a signature issue of his predecessor, James B. Comey. “We’re not interested in the millions of devices of everyday citizens,” he said in New York at Fordham University’s International Conference on Cyber Security. “We’re interested in those devices that have been used to plan or execute terrorist or criminal activities.”
Democrats' report details Russian meddling in European elections and threats to US campaigns
Russian President Vladimir Putin has systematically attacked democratic institutions across Europe and in his own country for two decades in efforts to undermine elections and other governments, Senate Democrats charged. Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a 206-page report that said President Trump’s failure to recognize the danger or to challenge Putin means Russia is likely to interfere in the next US presidential race in a repeat of the 2016 campaign. “Never before in American history has so clear a threat to national security been so clearly ignored by a US president,” said the report, which was released by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), the ranking Democrat on the committee. “President Trump must be clear-eyed about the Russian threat,” Sen Cardin said, and “take action to strengthen our government’s response and our institutions.” The report details Putin’s use of what it called his “asymmetric arsenal” to thwart fragile democratic processes in neighboring Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet Republics, as well as efforts to undermine elections in long established democracies in England, Germany and France. Putin has used disinformation, cyberattacks and financial support for fringe political parties and groups, the report says. He honed the strategy at home by repressing civil society, journalists and independent opposition groups while co-opting or manipulating religious and cultural institutions, media, organized crime and others, the report adds.
'Human source' in Trump orbit contacted FBI, Fusion GPS co-founder told senators
Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, whose firm commissioned a controversial dossier alleging secret ties between President Donald Trump and the Kremlin, told congressional investigators in August that the FBI found the dossier credible because an unnamed "human source" associated with Trump had offered the bureau with corroborating information. In a 312-page transcript of Simpson's August 2017 interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Simpson's attorney also said it was dangerous to discuss the dossier's sources because its public release in 2017 had already led to murder. "Somebody's already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work," said the lawyer, Joshua Levy. The transcript was released unexpectedly Jan 9 by committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), angering the committee's Republican Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA). Ranking Member Feinstein's decision to publish the dossier represents an escalation of partisan tensions that have long been simmering on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Simpson had called for the transcript of his appearance to be made public, but Republican leaders so far had not agreed to release it. A spokesman for Chairman Grassley said Feinstein posted the transcript with "no agreement" from committee Republicans.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for January 2018 Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the January Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 30, 2018:
- Wireless Emergency Alerts – The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration to enhance the effectiveness of Wireless Emergency Alerts, including improving the geographic accuracy of these alerts. (PS Docket Nos. 15-91; 15-94)
- Connect America Fund Phase II Reconsideration Order – The Commission will consider an Order and Order on Reconsideration addressing the remaining issues raised by parties challenging the Commission’s orders implementing the Connect America Phase II auction (Auction 903), in which service providers will compete to receive support of up to $1.98 billion to offer voice and broadband service in unserved high-cost areas. (WC Docket No. 10- 90)
- Connect America Fund Phase II Auction (Auction 903) – The Commission will consider a Public Notice establishing procedures for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction, which will award up to $1.98 billion over 10 years to service providers that commit to offer voice and broadband services to fixed locations in unserved high-cost areas. (AU Docket No. 17-182; WC Docket No. 10-90)
- Establishment of the Office of Economics and Analytics – The Commission will consider an Order to establish an Office of Economics and Analytics. (MD Docket No. 18-3)
- Paper Filing of Contracts – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to eliminate the requirement that broadcast licensees and permittees routinely submit paper copies of contracts and other documents to the FCC as specified in Section 73.3613 of the Commission’s rules. (MB Docket Nos. 18-4; 17-105)
- Obsolete Media Rules – The Commission will consider an Order deleting rules made obsolete by the Digital TV transition. (MB Docket No. 17-105)
- Enforcement Bureau Action – The Commission will consider an enforcement action.
A Happy and Productive New Year
The Federal Communications Commission is poised to make good on one of my top resolutions from last year: prioritizing high-quality economic and data analysis at the agency. After nine months of study and extensive interviews with several dozen experts both inside and outside the agency, the working group issued a report that included some concrete recommendations. Based on the insights from its report, I’ve shared with my colleagues an Order to create a new Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA). The new OEA will at long last put economic analysis at the heart of Commission decision-marking. We’ll vote on this Order at the FCC’s next public meeting. Our Jan 30 agenda will also focus on a key part of the agency’s strategy for closing the digital divide: setting up a major effort to promote broadband deployment in parts of the country currently on the wrong side of that divide (especially rural areas). In 2017, in the Connect America Fund Order, the FCC adopted rules for what’s called the “Connect America Fund Phase II.” This decision authorized investment of up to $2 billion over the next decade to bring fixed broadband service to unserved parts of rural America. To maximize the impact and efficiency of this investment, the Commission voted to award this support through a reverse auction. In January, we’ll also continue our work to enhance the effectiveness of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). Under this proposal, participating wireless providers would deliver these alerts to match the geographic area specified by the officials sending the alert with no more overshoot than one-tenth of a mile. Pinpointing these alerts will encourage more local officials to use these alerts with confidence during emergencies.
Report to FCC Chairman Pai on Plan for Office of Economics and Analytics
This report presents a recommended plan for reforms at the Federal Communications Commission —encompassing organizational structures, authorities, and practices—to better incorporate economic analysis as well as data management as part of the agency’s regular operation. The centerpiece of this plan is a new Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), with delegated authority designed to better integrate economic analysis into the FCC’s decision-making. The plan also identifies a set of new practices intended to make such integration common across the agency. The goal of these reforms is to consistently apply economics to produce better policy, to the ultimate benefit of the American public.
Repairing the Must Vote Timing
While I previously proposed fixes to improve the circulation process by making the documents public and addressing what amounts to stale items and those converted to Open Meeting items, we also need to update and improve the process for voting circulation items. Unlike items disposed of at the Commission’s monthly Open Meetings, items circulated to Commissioners for consideration outside of the meetings (those on the Circulation List) have no voting deadline until they enter “must vote” status. While that might sound like a concrete deadline, far too often, quirks in the process can delay the conclusion of items by over a full month, even for smaller or non-controversial items. Accordingly, the Commission can and should expedite the must vote timing, which can be done without undermining the ability of Commissioners to examine, debate, and vote on any circulation item. It’s appropriate to update the overall timing given our experience over the years. In particular, I suggest that the timeline, which is not required by law or the Commission’s rules, can be reduced by eliminating the requirement that an item sit around for 21 days before the voting deadline is triggered. In essence, combining reform to the must vote timing with publicly releasing the text of circulated items (minus adjudications) would vastly improve the overall review and provide necessary scrutiny from interested parties of circulation items. [FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly]
GAO Report: FCC Should Improve Monitoring of Industry Efforts to Strengthen Wireless Network Resiliency
The Government Accountability Office was asked to review federal efforts to improve the resiliency of wireless networks following natural disasters and other physical incidents. This report examines: (1) trends in mobile wireless outages reported to Federal Communications Commission since 2009 and (2) actions federal agencies and industry have taken since 2013 (after Hurricane Sandy) to improve wireless network resiliency, among other objectives. GAO analyzed wireless outage data from 2009 to 2016 (4 years before and after Hurricane Sandy); reviewed FCC, Department of Homeland Security, and industry documents; and interviewed stakeholders who represented a variety of perspectives, such as industry, public safety, and consumer groups. GAO assessed FCC's efforts to monitor an industry initiative to improve wireless network resiliency against federal internal control standards. FCC should work with industry to develop specific performance measures for the Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework, monitor the framework's outcomes, and promote awareness of it. FCC agreed with the recommendations.
ME Sens Collins, King back bill to reverse FCC vote against net neutrality
Maine Sens Angus King (I-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) said they’ll support new legislation to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s vote to scuttle Obama-era network neutrality standards. Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) announced recently that he has enough support to force a Senate vote to invalidate the FCC’s controversial Dec. 14 decision. Sens King and Collins, who opposed abolishing net neutrality, both said that they support Sen Markey's legislation. “The FCC’s recent action to repeal net neutrality threatens to undermine its positive impact by stifling innovation and putting access and connection speeds for sale to the highest bidder,” said Sen King. “It is crucial we defend net neutrality and I will work to ensure that this misguided repeal is never implemented.”
Democratic Senators will force the Senate to debate net neutrality — but they don’t have the votes to restore the rules
Democratic senators rejoiced on Jan 9 that they had secured enough votes to force the Senate to debate whether to restore the US government’s recently repealed network neutrality rules. But their celebrations could prove short-lived on Capitol Hill, where Republicans control both chambers of Congress — and can easily scuttle any attempt to revive regulations that required internet providers to treat all web traffic equally. In speech after speech, though, Democratic Sens mostly sidestepped those issues. Instead, they essentially dared their GOP colleagues to vote against net neutrality — and risk enraging younger voters. “Net neutrality will be a major issue in the 2018 campaigns,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), “and we are going to let everybody know where we stand — and they stand.” “Millennials were born into a world with a free and open internet,” Minority Leader Schumer continued. “It’s as integral to their daily lives as a morning cup of coffee. So when the administration rips it from their hands and hands it over to the big ISPs on a silver platter, millennials will know that Republicans were responsible — you can bet Democrats are going to make sure of that.” To Sen Brian Schatz (D-HI), meanwhile, the issue had riled young voters in a way that he hadn’t seen since “the Iraq war.” “This is the time we have to fix the FCC’s mistake and restore net neutrality,” the Sen Schatz said, adding that Republicans are going to “regret it on policy and they’re going to regret it on politics.” “Congress has the power through the Congressional Review Act to overturn the FCC’s actions,” said Sen Ed Markey (D-MA). “We will spend the coming months building our grass-roots support for the CRA.”
Rural broadband is our duty to farmers
[Commentary] A task force created by President Donald Trump has developed many recommendations for addressing this issue, but it has found one overarching challenge that we must overcome to ensure future rural prosperity. We must deploy high-speed internet access to rural America. E-connectivity is a tool that enables increased productivity for farms, factories, forests, and small businesses, and is fundamental for economic development and an improved quality of life. It allows medical, educational, and business services to travel virtually to remote areas and can enrich rural life immeasurably. To increase access to broadband in rural areas, we must incentivize private capital investment, including the use of public-private partnerships. We must also invest in making high-speed Internet infrastructure more attractive by streamlining arduous review, approval, and permitting processes. We have a duty to harness technological innovation to improve the quality, nutritional value, and safety of American crops. An improved strategy for research and development of new agricultural technologies will be key, as will be a unified US approach toward convincing our trading partners of the value of safe biotech products. [Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue]
Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity
Rural prosperity can only truly be achieved by connecting rural America to high-speed internet. It is critical to act quickly as the need for rural e-connectivity is growing every day. We must also ensure rural America won’t be left behind as we move toward nextgeneration networks like 5G, and emerging technologies like the Internet of Things. Prioritizing e-connectivity for rural America is the key to generating prosperity, investment, and innovation.
Objectives & Recommended Actions
1. Establish Executive Leadership to Expand E-connectivity Across Rural America – The Task Force recommends that the Executive Office of the President develop and implement a strategy based on best practices to deploy rural e-connectivity across the nation. The recommended participating offices and agencies include the National Economic Council, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of American Innovation, Department of Agriculture, National Telecommunications and Information Administration under the Department of Commerce, the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Education, the Department of Health & Human Services, the Department of the Interior, and other Departments and agencies needed.
2. Assess State of Rural E-connectivity – Coordination by the Executive Office of the President of a multi-sector assessment of the current state of affordable rural high-speed internet access, including identification of infrastructure and service gaps. Such a data-driven analysis of service levels, reliability, and affordability should inform the creation of the rural e-connectivity strategy. An analysis of total capital investment necessary for rural e-connectivity should be conducted, including existing federal and non-federal subsidies.
3. Reduce Regulatory Barriers to Infrastructure Deployment – Revise federal regulations to encourage investment in reliable, high-speed internet in rural areas, expedite approval and internal review timelines and streamline permitting processes to promote increased build-out of infrastructure. The federal government should coordinate any regulatory reform efforts with those being pursued by the Administration’s efforts to reduce regulatory burdens under EO 13771, “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.”
4. Assess Efficacy of Current Programs – Simultaneous with the above actions, the Task Force recommends an assessment of existing federal grants and subsidy programs devoted to or used for deploying e-connectivity. The assessment should include identification of duplicative and overlapping programs throughout the federal government, and recommendations to enhance the coordination of various funding streams to maximize impact. 5. Incentivize Private Capital Investment – Encourage free-market policies, laws, and structures at federal, state, tribal, and local government levels to create an environment conducive to investment, including public-private partnerships. Such partnerships can bring innovation and investment of sustainable capital to bridge the e-connectivity gap in the fastest and most affordable manner.
President Trump Rural Broadband Initiatives: Where’s the Beef?
President Donald Trump’s address about economic issues facing rural America at the American Farm Bureau Federation convention touched on Trump rural broadband initiatives. But although President Trump talked about the importance of broadband to the rural economy and signed two executive orders aimed at facilitating rural broadband deployment, I came away asking ‘where the beef’ was. Some stakeholders may have been hoping to hear about new funding for broadband. But President Trump did not say anything about that. Although President Trump said that “necessary funds” would be available to rebuild crumbling rural infrastructure including roadways, railways and waterways, he made no reference to funding for broadband. And while the rural task force report also highlights the important role that broadband can play in rural America, report recommendations do not discuss broadband funding other than a suggestion to “assess the efficacy of current programs.”
Slower Speeds, Less Access: The Public Agency Response to Rural Broadband
Public entities like the Federal Communications Commission and state legislatures are supposed to look after the common good. Instead, their policies are making things tougher for small towns and rural areas anxious to improve their connectivity. The FCC will vote whether to lower broadband service standards so that mobile smartphone cellular service is treated as the same as a home landline connection. The FCC majority also wants to officially lower what counts as high-speed broadband from 25 megabits per second (Mbps) to 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. The Last of "Carrier-of-Last-Resort"? Many states passed “carrier of last resort” (COLR) laws years ago to ensure rural communities got telephone services via wireline connections, which by the default included possible internet access. Deals struck with large telecom and cable companies said, in effect, “We’ll give you money and favorable treatment if you agree to provide service to customers even in sparsely populated areas.” Companies got access to big and lucrative markets in return for saying they would also serve harder-to-reach communities. It was accountability for communities’ tax dollars. Since then, however, incumbents quietly lobbied state legislatures to pass bills to free them of these obligations, or at least let them switch copper landlines for cellular wireless. Rural areas are especially vulnerable when wiring wears out or infrastructure is destroyed in natural disasters such as hurricane Harvey in Texas. They are also vulnerable when the FCC says cellular service is equivalent to landline connections.
AT&T, Comcast win final court ruling against Nashville’s broadband competition law
AT&T and Comcast have solidified a court victory over the metro government in Nashville (TN), nullifying a rule that was meant to help Google Fiber compete against the incumbent broadband providers. The case involved Nashville's "One Touch Make Ready" ordinance that was supposed to give Google Fiber and other new Internet service providers faster access to utility poles. The ordinance let a single company make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles itself instead of having to wait for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send work crews to move their own wires. But AT&T and Comcast sued the metro government to eliminate the rule, and won a preliminary victory in November when a US District Court judge in Tennessee nullified the rule as it applies to poles owned by AT&T and other private parties. The next step for AT&T and Comcast was overturning the rule as it applies to poles owned by the municipal Nashville Electric Service (NES), which owns around 80 percent of the Nashville poles. AT&T and Comcast achieved that on Jan 5 with a new ruling from US District Court Judge Aleta Trauger. The Nashville government isn't planning to appeal the decision.
Verizon CTO: We won’t accelerate network investment due to new corporate tax rate
Verizon’s CTO said the company doesn’t plan to accelerate spending on its network due to new legislation that lowers corporate tax rates. “You probably don’t want to have big spikes in the capital allocation because then in the end it drives inefficiencies. We want to be consistent,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon’s new CTO. “From an execution point of view you want to be consistent.” Added Vestberg: “It’s not helpful to go up and down in capital allocation because it ramps up and down resources—money wasted … But we are always debating. And we should debate in a leadership team the size of Verizon.” Vestberg’s comments are noteworthy in light of announcements that AT&T and Comcast made immediately following the passage of the new tax legislation. Both companies said they would offer their employees year-end bonuses due to the bill, and that they would also boost their network spending.
Senate Intelligence Committee Still Waiting for Twitter’s Answers in Russia Probe, Sen Warner Says
How “Fox & Friends” Rewrites President Trump’s Reality
[Commentary] Professing shock at Fox News’ sophistry is hardly a hot take. But shilling for President Donald Trump, who has no discernible ethos beyond self-regard, is something new, requiring Baryshnikovian levels of ideological flexibility. President Barack Obama was easy—the “Fox & Friends” co-hosts simply denounced everything about him, from his terrorist fist-jabs to his choice of paper clips. The Bush Administration was mendacious, but at least it was predictable—the co-hosts had to work hard to build a connection between 9/11 and Iraq, but they didn’t have to worry that they’d wake up one morning to find that the Administration was now blaming the attack on Sudan. These days, hosting “Fox & Friends” is like cheerleading for a player who misses an open shot on goal, then doubles back to score on his own goalie, then storms off in a fit of petulance, complaining that the ref is a loser.
Senate Commerce Committee Announces Hearing to Examine Extremist Propaganda on Social Media Platforms
Senate Commerce Committee Chiarman John Thune (R-SD) will convene a hearing titled “Terrorism and Social Media: #IsBigTechDoingEnough?” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 17, 2018. The hearing will examine the steps social media platforms are taking to combat the spread of extremist propaganda over the Internet. Representatives from major technology firms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will testify.
Silicon Valley Reconsiders the iPhone Era It Created
The smartphone has fueled much of Silicon Valley’s soaring profits over the past decade, enriching companies in sectors from social media to games to payments. But over the past year or so, a number of prominent industry figures have voiced concerns about the downsides of the technology’s ubiquity. They include Apple executives who helped create the iPhone and now express misgivings about how smartphones monopolize attention, as well as early investors and executives in Facebook who worry about social media’s tendency to consume ever more user time, in part by pushing controversial content. Tony Fadell, a former senior Apple hardware executive involved in the iPhone’s creation, also called on Apple to do more, saying on Twitter that adults are struggling just as much as children with smartphone overuse.
No tracking, no revenue: Apple's privacy feature costs ad companies millions
Internet advertising firms are losing hundreds of millions of dollars following the introduction of a new privacy feature from Apple that prevents users from being tracked around the web. Advertising technology firm Criteo, one of the largest in the industry, says that the Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) feature for Safari, which holds 15% of the global browser market, is likely to cut its 2018 revenue by more than a fifth compared to projections made before ITP was announced. With annual revenue in 2016 topping $730 million, the overall cost of the privacy feature on just one company is likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
A policy at peace with itself: Antitrust remedies for our concentrated, uncompetitive economy
Frequent news of corporate mergers has generated an increased interest in antitrust issues in recent years. This paper examines the history of antitrust legislation in the U.S., discusses the longstanding debate around its purpose, and offers data to demonstrate that, in recent years, it has failed to stem the tide of corporate concentration or decreased competition—with serious consequences. The authors conclude by recommending four reforms to antitrust enforcement that should enjoy consensus.
- Reinvigorate the structural presumption and tighten enforcement standards for horizontal mergers.
- Update the Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines
- Institute an enforcement regime to deal with predatory pricing
- Reduce the costs of antitrust enforcement
Sinclair deal spooks liberals ahead of 2020 presidential race
Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media would give the conservative-leaning company control of an additional TV station in Des Moines (IA) — one of the most important presidential primary media markets in the country. Sinclair's possible acquisition of an NBC affiliate in Des Moines underscores Democrats' worries about the deal giving a right-leaning company significantly more control over local news. The Sinclair-Tribune deal is expected to be approved by regulators this quarter.
Penguin Random House has acquired Rodale Books from Hearst, adding a stable of wellness and cooking titles to the world’s larges (Wall Street Journal)
Statements of the FCC on Brendan Carr's Renomination
On Jan 9, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr was Renominated for a full five-year term by President Donald Trump.
- FCC Commissioner Carr: "I want to thank President Trump for renominating me to a second term as a Commissioner of the FCC. Serving on the Commission is a tremendous honor and privilege, and I am proud of the work we have already accomplished. If reconfirmed, I look forward to many more years of working with my colleagues at the FCC on policies that will create jobs, spur investment, and grow the economy for the benefit of all Americans."
- FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: "I congratulate Brendan on his nomination to serve a full five-year term at the FCC. He is a distinguished public servant who has hit the ground running during his first months as a Commissioner, including by leading the FCC’s efforts to expedite the deployment of wireless infrastructure. I look forward to continuing to work with him in the months and years to come.”
- FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: "I congratulate my fellow Commissioner Brendan Carr on his nomination for another term on the Federal Communications Commission. He has deep knowledge of the legal and policy issues facing the communications sector. I wish him all the best in the confirmation process."
- FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: "Congratulations to Commissioner Brendan Carr on his nomination for another term on the Commission. I share his commitment to growing our economy and building smart infrastructure so that all Americans are connected. I look forward to continuing to work alongside him on these critical issues."
Steve Bannon Steps Down From Breitbart Post
Stephen K. Bannon is stepping down from his post as executive chairman of Breitbart News. Bannon’s departure, which was forced by a onetime financial patron, Rebekah Mercer, comes as Bannon remained unable to quell the furor over remarks attributed to him in a new book in which he questions President Donald Trump’s mental fitness and disparages his elder son, Donald Trump Jr. Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth transition, a statement from the company’s chief executive, Larry Solov, said. In the statement, Bannon added that he was “proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform.”
We can probably measure media bias. But do we want to? (Columbia Journalism Review)
US Spy Satellite Believed Lost After SpaceX Mission Fails
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Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) -- we welcome your comments.
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