Media Reform Headlines for March 31, 2008 Resent-Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 23:28:38 -0500 (CDT) Media Reform Daily http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=fkYP0E3H34JzhwgTvku83w.. News of the movement for March 31, 2008 SAVE THE INTERNET COMCAST: BANDWIDTH HOGS WILL EXPERIENCE SLOWDOWNS Comcast 's deal with BitTorrent is basically a roundabout way for the cable company to backtrack from its P2P traffic-blocking gaffe. But why manage traffic to begin with? Why not just add more capacity? Om Malik, GigaOM http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=hRGdav0kZ_KOK6WR3SWdSw.. WHO'S TO SAY COMCAST WON'T MEDDLE WITH NET AGAIN? It appears that pressure and politics -- not private agreements -- are needed to protect our right to download what we want, when we want it, without interference from an ISP. Larry Magid, San Jose Mercury News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=a-3EcZ28Oya2KUI9shAxUg.. BROADENING BROADBAND Broadband service is no longer a luxury. It has become a basic part of the infrastructure of education and democracy. Even in these tough economic times, cities should keep pushing municipal Wi-Fi. New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=6lUQqMqyI-GcxYhbMVxPUA.. WHITE HOUSE TECH POLICY CALLED 'MAGICAL THINKING' No conference on technology policy would be complete without a debate on where America stands in the global broadband race. Is the pipe half full or half empty? Not surprisingly, the talk at the second annual Tech Policy Summit was decidedly mixed. Roy Mark, eWeek http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ULRZM5Bd1A2i2Jpnm2_Uhw.. REFLECTIONS ON THE COMCAST-BITTORRENT 'DETENTE' The FCC should adopt enforceable rules that protect all consumers against improper throttling tactics that threaten the ability to consume rich media. Ultimately, only the rule of law will compel network operators to stay on the straight and narrow. Jay Monahan, Vuze Blog http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=SsvgfKp4LjQBXhRsNpsnNg.. HEROES OF THE OPEN INTERNET The fight to keep the Internet free and open is, at its heart, motivated by a keen vision of how the world ought to be -- interconnected by open communications networks on which free expression, creativity, community, culture, commerce and politics thrive. Andrew McLaughlin, Google Public Policy Blog http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=30qGEqYVAkwyy0wEM-pWGA.. ACT NOW Support the Internet Freedom Preservation Act http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=9ud8zfOz2-oaOtLCUHtGmg.. SAVE OUT SPECTRUM WHITE SPACE IS WORTH MONEY, TRADE GROUP SAYS Those looking to use the "white space" in the digital television spectrum for wireless broadband found a new ally last week. But there's a catch. Eric Bangeman, ars technica http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=KrkxLw_ts00qfNnYHNynqQ.. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KEVIN MARTIN In a recent interview, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin talked about why he believes the 700 MHz auction was a success, why cellular carriers must address rising expectations of subscribers and why consumers cannot be cheated on public safety. Jeffrey Silva, RCR Wireless News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=XE7gscL1mOjvgk1RCASX2w.. PHONE, SATELLITE COMPANIES TO REDEVELOP AIRWAVES FOR NEW WIRELESS PRODUCTS The FCC had hoped the auction would spur a vibrant market of advanced wireless services, but the two largest cell phone companies, AT&T and Verizon, emerged as top bidders for the best bandwidth, strengthening their dominant market positions. Adnaan Wasey, PBS http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=5I8THWq63bSaY-TO44wVcQ.. LIBERATING THE ELECTROMAGNETIC COMMONS Since radio spectrum is a finite resource and one of such value, there is no avoiding the fact that it must be carefully managed. Andrew Back, carrierdetect.com http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=JgLvhNz8077MH7UR_mLD5A.. JOURNALISM & BEYOND THE TECH WORLD'S LESSON FOR NEWSPAPERS, TRADITIONAL MEDIA Journalism in the future will be different, and the changes may be disorienting to those who are used to the old ways of doing things. But there are good reasons to think that reporting in the future will be considerably better than it was in the past. Timothy B. Lee, ars technica http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=qJ_bcf8Iwn8pQXiQgMIbNA.. THREE JOURNALISTS DISCUSS CHALLENGES IN IRAQ Five years after the start of the war in Iraq, reporting "has become a much more complicated proposition." The Committee to Protect Journalists interviewed three journalists about their experiences covering the conflict. Committee to Protect Journalists http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=DQyiDU0g074vmvqY-D0hBw.. FIVE-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR JOURNALIST IN VIETNAM Freelance journalist Truong Minh Duc has been sentenced to a five-year prison term on charges of "taking advantage of democratic rights to act against the state's interests" and "receiving money from abroad to support complaints against the state" in Vietnam. Reporters Without Borders http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Ly9QvS_pW8D1Dl5xwbkOfg.. CLASSIFIED MEMO REVEALS CHINA'S STRATEGY FOR 'MANAGING' FOREIGN JOURNALISTS Reporters Without Borders has obtained a classified memo from Chinese sources that sets out the behavior that government officials should adopt with foreign journalists before and during the Beijing Olympic Games. Reporters Without Borders http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Aav50rYfxrqXBbAwv3Bxog.. NEWSPAPERS FACE BIGGEST AD REVENUE PLUNGE IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS The newspaper industry has experienced the worst drop in advertising revenue in more than 50 years. According to new data, total print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4 percent compared to 2006. Jennifer Saba, Editor & Publisher http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=wK1bNTZKGLr3Z4IYOxj-MA.. DISILLUSIONED OF DOHA People are still talking about al-Jazeera English. But comments are no longer as positive as they once were. Ben Dowell, The Guardian http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=GKgfAZ6Pgexzpd9STGQbcg.. NCMR UPDATE The 2008 National Conference for Media Reform early bird registration ends today. If you care about the state of the media, you do not want to miss this event. Sign up now. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=3b9CyU61B-jtXGzziu_ytg.. FP ACTION NETWORK http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=bimzs5BOFCH-nIohG_iXmQ.. IN OTHER NEWS CONGRESS TAKES SWING AT OVERTURNING FCC'S OWNERSHIP RULES Congress gets its first opportunity to overturn the FCC's new media ownership rules this week, and the most likely prospect is that FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin will experience his first rebuff. Ira Teinowitz, TVWeek http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=n3zLvKatdfHZPnjqG3YHdg.. DON'T GIVE UP ON WIRELESS PHILADELPHIA Whither Wireless Philadelphia? Let's pray its fate is not: Wither, Wireless Philadelphia. A Wi-Fi network is a terrible thing to waste, even one off to a creaky start. It's time to devise a new public-private partnership to run the network for multiple purposes. Chris Satullo, Philadelphia Inquirer http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=HuNrx8c_pPkJ2RGm5B-KXQ.. U.S. COURT TELLS NERVOUS BANKS TO PUT UP MONEY FOR CLEAR CHANNEL DEAL A Texas judge has delivered first blood to two private equity firms that are trying to force a group of banks to provide $22 billion for a troubled takeover of Clear Channel. Andrew Clark, The Guardian http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=v01qnt4teRAgO6z6ndsCPw.. RECLAIMING RADIO Media activists say commercialism has reduced community radio to an industry of white noise. In response, alternative radio projects and media-justice movements have emerged to resuscitate a flagging public sphere. Michelle Chen, ColorLines http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=8_UcehEs2TUN_60RXeiH_w.. ONE CLASS A single video production class in a Chicago charter high school is proving the point that kids will go to school if they have the opportunity to study something they love and have a stake in the decision-making process of their projects. Will Okun, New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=V8tjs0cgbXBorXOc1mWVaQ.. AT&T, EAST BATON ROUGE APPROVE VIDEO DEAL AT&T and East Baton Rouge have reached an agreement to allow the company to offer television service the parish, while a new statewide video franchising law is introduced in the Louisiana legislature. Chad Calder, Baton Rouge Advocate http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=tWjKY6fbViLoq13XBtgqdw.. VERIZON CEO SEEKS PACT ON A STATE CABLE LICENSE Verizon's Ivan Seidenberg wants to cut a broadband deal with Massachusetts -- and Mayor Thomas Menino signaled that he's willing to listen to his offers. Jay Fitzgerald, Boston Herald http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=fYhm5_tVY7PZANKSqaOZTA.. Many of these articles are copyrighted material. We make such material available to advance understanding of public issues, which we believe constitutes a "fair use" of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this email is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ezz6dQ9Qz1iL78rxwqA0Qw.. Free Press is a national organization working to increase informed public participation in crucial media policy debates. 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