Media Reform Headlines for March 24, 2008 Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:45:57 -0500 (CDT) Media Reform Daily http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=y9gNl47kadibnlsiq1SxIg.. ANNOUNCEMENT Take the Broadband Census!Broadband will be better once everyone knows their Internet options. You can help.Rate your Internet carrier. Test your speed. Talk back. All at Broadband Census.com. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=BXl7M95ddXxOUjHkXMl-lw.. SAVE THE INTERNET How Network Non-Neutrality Affects Real Businesses In their attempt to limit BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer file sharing traffic, some ISPs have unwittingly caused collateral damage to other, unrelated businesses and their users. Rich Baker, xconomy.com http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=AQzHqzQjPkU-ezJLHT7qPw.. Online Video: Data Tidal Wave? Comcast and BitTorrent, which have clashed publicly for months, were in negotiations to settle their disagreements late last week. An announcement could come this week. Bob Fernandez, Philadelphia Inquirer http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=7U4XD0A1NNYWNgkmS_MDCg.. Closing the Rural Broadband Gap Spurring broadband adoption is as important as increasing its deployment. Geoff Daily, AppRising http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=64U-H6iyrdBEh_Avz486Cw.. SAVE OUR SPECTRUM Verizon Licks Its Cheap Megahertz Pops Here's the telecom geek quiz of the day: What's a megahertz pop? A) What a FCC lawyer eats to cool off on a hot day? B) An ultrasonic explosive device used for pranks at MIT? C) A shiny prize horded by large phone companies? Saul Hansell, New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=W_-5lWU2KbBF9wnujiNitQ.. Wireless Auction Yields Mixed Results for Consumers The Completion of the 700MHz wireless spectrum auction on Thursday should bring more choice and new types of services for end users, although the results were not as rosy as some observers had hoped. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=o-8gh8m-KSqdDjDorWIAAA.. Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service 700 MHz Aftermath: Assessing a Rather Complicated Result -- But Not a Disaster FCC Commissioner Adelstein gives a fair assessment when he says we won on revenue and openness and lost on diversity and competition. The only way we could have done any better was by adopting auction rules that banned Verizon and AT&T from entering the spectrum auction. Harold Feld, Wet Machine http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=6suhO5vywfQox8yHwtxeeg.. STATE TRACKER Players in Cable Fight Make Big Donations to Legislative Campaigns AT&T and the major cable companies poured campaign donations into the coffers of Tennessee lawmakers last year. Most came in the last weeks of 2007, just before the fundraising cutoff at the January start of the legislative session. Theo Emery, Tennessean http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=LVheeDd4O3s2_1SyKxhhLw.. Insiders Enlisted in Back-Room Cable War in Tennessee A small group of lobbyists gathers outside the office of House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh each week to meet on an issue that could touch every corner of the state: Whether AT&T will receive statewide permission to offer video services. Theo Emery, Tennessean http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=fR06eFIbWQA5rqn0of84gg.. AT&T, Cable Crafting Compromise Lengthy negotiations between AT&T, the cable industry and local governments over AT&T's bid to offer television services in Tennessee are close to complete, and the final product may cause a first for the telecom giant in the southeast. John Rodgers, Nashville City Paper http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=4RvA7RbCWg8NAZhmVYvOoA.. Loftis Questions Internet Availability Study A state lawmaker from Greenville County questioned the validity of a new study that says broadband Internet service is available to 94 percent of households across South Carolina. Rudolph Bell, Greenville News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Tuhsf96nSroRR_kbS1bHXA.. JOURNALISM & BEYOND Chill the Press With A 20-page opinion handed down March 7, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton sent a shudder through journalists and their would-be sources. Washington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=WvJDEIELS6k0OCU7xuYd4w.. Take Back America: Davey D Confrontation with Fox News This years' "Take Back America Conference" in Washington was much more exciting and energetic than the one I attended just a year ago. There were more young people of color present and everyone seemed to have extra pep in their step. Paradise Gray, Davey D's Daily Hip Hop News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Gu5HYhMi00t81oicsEiTYw.. Media's 'New' Community Role We should use the credibility of journalism to augment the democracy of social media and inform the interests of existing community. Paid professionals would still report on new issues to see if their community takes interest, but the digital version of the physical community they serve can act as a living breathing tip-line. Dan Schultz, Public Broadcasting Service http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=3IWy8LjJRQ_ZVPFcF_CZsQ.. Newspapers' New Owners Turn Grim Critics of newspapers say that part of the problem is that the industry has lost its ability to surprise. "Tell that to the guys who have just bought in. The news business is something worse than horrible. If that's the future, we don't have much of a future," Sam Zell, who bought the Tribune Company last year, said recently. David Carr, New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=RB6H0lzjxnIzs4McKlZijA.. Tuned In: What Do You Want in Local TV News? When I asked two weeks ago what viewers expect of local newscasts, I knew I would get some feedback. But I honestly didn't expect the outpouring of response from more than 100 viewers, many of them frustrated with the state of local TV news. Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=q2dur4TSKhbiShqniOMZ_w.. IN OTHER NEWS Comcast Cameras to Start Watching You? NewTeeVee http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=iBb7HJ7JkG6OhZwNk3wsHw.. The Supreme Court and Indecency New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=NGuqE1VbmC1juGUsEXRhLg.. Call for Wireless Regulation Gets Louder Chicago Tribune http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=OsA4U0qOYK-ToRUmVGDfmA.. Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=PqwaiaYISxsTTa72I23Rqg.. An Ideal Future Communications Infrastructure, How Do We Get There, and What Is Stopping Us itWorldCanada http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=kCwegxqUFYlejpYKoho8Cg.. Guessing Game Begins for Next Top Media Regulator Reuters http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=8MO3Iq6pq24NogFs-J7l_A.. 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