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While discussing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Mitt Romney senior adviser Barbara Comstock told Andrea Mitchell that “we know here at MSNBC the guys get paid more" — and the MSNBC host replied, “We certainly do.” Mitchell later said, “I was referring to the industry as a whole. This remark has been taken out of context.” MSNBC spokeswoman Lauren Skowronski adds, "We take this issue very seriously and I can tell you that we're proud of the gender equality at MSNBC."
Men at MSNBC make more money
[Commentary] In the past month, to the complete surprise of just about every analyst and industry watcher, foreign investors spent the equivalent of $25 billion to invest in competing carriers T-Mobile and to acquire control of Sprint and ClearWire. AT&T has announced a whole bunch of network upgrades such as repurposing its 2G spectrum, clearing up the interference in the WCS band, and a seemingly endless stream of license acquisitions. While the last is perhaps not so unusual, U.S. Cellular has likewise been spending money to cobble together a broader footprint using the less—than—stellar—but—better—than–nothing 700 MHz A block. Quite a turnaround from the start of 2011, when the industry appeared on a glide-path for a duopoly. So what happened?
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have made clear over the last two years that (a) we will have 4 national carriers, and (b) the FCC cares about ensuring enough spectrum access to keep Sprint and T-Mobile (and hopefully other competitors) viable. Contrary to all conventional wisdom, two years of FCC regulation like data roaming and special access reform, combined with antitrust enforcement around AT&T/T-Mo and Verizon/SpectrumCo, stimulates investment in the wireless industry and forces companies like AT&T and Verizon to get serious about developing the spectrum they need and ditching the spectrum they don’t need on the secondary market.
How Antitrust Enforcement And Pro-Competitive Regulation Encourage Investment, Innovation, and Spectrum Efficiency
The Chicago Tribune will erect a pay wall on Nov. 1, asking subscribers to pay $14.99 per month to read all its online content, but there will still be a free ride for readers that just want breaking news, sports coverage or a weather forecast.
The newspaper, a unit of Chicago-based media company Tribune Co., began telling online readers today about the new subscription program. Daily print subscribers will have full digital access for free. Those who get the paper less frequently can buy it for 49 cents per week. The new online approach, called the digitalPLUS program, “is a vital piece of our ongoing strategy to expand and grow our digital offerings and reinforce the value of our content,” Tribune Digital Vice President Bill Adee told employees in a memo.
Chicago Tribune to set pay wall at $14.99 per month
In the US, Samsung owes Apple more than $1 billion, but in Britain, Apple owes Samsung a public apology. A British appeals court has decided not to overturn a ruling made earlier this year on a patent-infringement case involving the two tech companies, according to the BBC.
Samsung won the case back in July after a judge said the two company's tablet products weren't likely to be confused because Samsung's were not as "cool" as Apple's. The punishment for Apple was just as quirky as the reasoning behind the decision. The judge ordered Apple to run ads in British newspapers apologizing and stating that Samsung's products did not copy its own. Apple was also ordered to post a notice on its British website. Following the appellate court decision Oct 18, the punishment largely stands.
Apple loses appeal, has to buy ads in Britain to apologize to Samsung Apple: No Problem — The Apology Ads Can Come Out of That $1 Billion Damage Award (WSJ) Apple, Samsung continue worldwide court battle (Washington Post)
AT&T is urging regulators to take a close look at Sprint's recent deals with Softbank and Clearwire.
AT&T began sounding alarm that a foreign company could soon control large chunks of the nation's airwaves. "Softbank's acquisition of Sprint and the control it gains over Clearwire will give one of Japan's largest wireless companies control of significantly more U.S. wireless spectrum than any other company," said Brad Burns, an AT&T vice president. "We expect that fact and others will be fully explored in the regulatory review process. This is one more example of a very dynamic and competitive U.S. wireless marketplace, which is an important fact for U.S. regulators to recognize."
AT&T is currently looking to gain government approval of its own smaller spectrum deals with companies including NextWave, Comcast and Horizon. AT&T's statement could be seen as putting pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to approve its deals if the commission also allows Softbank to take over Sprint and Clearwire.
AT&T sounds alarm over Sprint's Clearwire deal AT&T: Sprint-SoftBank deal gives Japanese firm 'control of significantly more US wireless spectrum than any other company' (The Verge) AT&T, Sprint Still Frenemies (National Journal)
In a city where newspapers dominate Web traffic, television and radio broadcast companies are making some innovative moves to build audiences and stay competitive. In part one of a special three-part Digital DMA, NetNewsCheck examines broadcast’s place in New York’s digital landscape. As the nation’s largest DMA, New York City is rich with digital media competition, feeding content to about 12 million people in 4.3 million households every day, according to data from media consultants Borrell Associates. Why all the activity? Because there is one big apple up for grabs: Nearly $600 million in online advertising spending. And come 2017, it’s estimated that the local ad outlay could flirt with $1 billion, according to Borrell. That’s enough motivation for local broadcast companies to innovate and try to rival the tough digital competition from the city’s newspapers.
In New York, Broadcasters Fight for Piece of Digital Pie
Newsweek, owned by Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp, will become an online-only publication next year, ending 80 years as a print magazine. The last print edition in the U.S. will be the Dec. 31 issue, said Tina Brown, editor-in-chief and founder of Newsweek Daily Beast . The all-digital publication, to be called Newsweek Global, will require subscriptions and will be available on tablet computers and on the Web, Brown said. The company started discussing the likelihood of ceasing print as early as June, Brown said. “It was never a question of whether, it was a question of when,” she said. The “incredibly archaic” costs of print and the opportunity to expand through digital distribution motivated the change, she said.
Newsweek to Become Online-Only After 80 Years in Print
Contrary to prognostications about TV dying a slow death as tweens and younger children become hypnotized by YouTube, a new study suggests that consumers' devotion to TV programming remains strong -- even though more of them are watching it online or on tablets.
The results of a new survey by TVGuide.com, announced at Ad Age's Social Engagement/Social TV conference in Los Angeles, found 42% of TV viewers reported watching more streamed content this year over last year. The survey went out to TVGuide.com's panel of 10,000 self-described TV viewers; 2,306 people responded to it. While the lion's share (73%) of those who were streaming more TV content said it was because they were catching up on missed episodes, 8% said it was because of cutting back on cable and 10% reported it was because they had canceled their cable altogether.
Catching Up, Not Cord Cutting, Drives Increase in Content Streaming: Study
As part of National Cybersecurity Month, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled an updated 2.0 version of the Federal Communications Commission’s ‘Small Biz Cyber Planner,’ a free and easy-to-use online resource for any small business owner who wants to better protect their business from the growing threat of cybersecurity attacks.
Launched in 2011, the tool has already been used by nearly 10,000 businesses across the country to create customized cybersecurity plans. New research by Symantec, an FCC Cybersecurity Outreach Partner, indicates that nearly 83% of U.S. small businesses have no cybersecurity protection plan – despite the fact that millions of cyberattacks occur each year. Chairman Genachowski urged all small business owners to take advantage of this valuable resource, and also announced new and renewed partnerships with public and private sector organizations, including Symantec, eBay, Visa, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), and others.
The FCC’s online cyber planner enables business owners to create and download a customized plan - to protect themselves from online threats which could significantly damage their companies – by answering 12 simple questions. The updated cyber planner features new details about cyber insurance to mitigate interruptions to business and financial loss from cyberattacks, and best practices on spyware, including how to avoid advanced versions of spyware. It also incorporates the immediate steps to take in case of infection, and recommendations on installing new software systems that enable users to remotely track and erase the hard drive of laptops and mobile devices in the event of theft.
Small Biz Cyber Planner 2.0 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-316892A1.pdf
Just several weeks ago, Apple won a huge patent victory in the courtroom of US District Judge Lucy Koh. But now the company is finding itself on the defensive in the same San Jose courtroom, in a different battle -- the fight to keep its financial information secret.
Judge Koh denied Apple's request to seal a variety of documents tied to its financial performance. The redacted documents include "product-specific unit sales, revenue, profit, profit margin, and cost data" that would bolster Apple's arguments for more damages. The figures are important to Apple, because it wants a serious heap of cash added on to the jury's already enormous verdict, which, if it stands, would be the largest patent verdict in history. Apple is looking for an extra $535 million in damages in addition to the $1.05 billion awarded by the jury, and it also wants a variety of Samsung products kicked off the market; Samsung, meanwhile, wants a new trial, and claims that the jury foreman wasn't truthful about his history of lawsuits and view of the patent system. As a company, Apple reports its profits regularly; but those profits are typically not broken out by product. Even numbers like how many iPod touches were sold in the US weren't revealed until they were shown during the Apple v. Samsung trial, and eagerly recorded by the small army of reporters who congregated each day in the back rows of the San Jose courtroom.
In post-trial battles with Samsung, Apple fights to keep documents sealed