Media Reform Headlines for April 28, 2008 Resent-Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 12:34:08 -0500 (CDT) Media Reform Daily News of the movement for April 28, 2008 -- STOP BIG MEDIA -- ZUCKERMAN SUBMITS $580 MILLION NEWSDAY BID http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=5mSNGITEPX4m37IjaDRDWA.. New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman has submitted a $580 million bid for Tribune Co.'s Newsday daily newspaper, matching a bid by News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch. Robert MacMillan and Kenneth Li, Reuters AT JOURNAL, THE WORDS NOT SPOKEN http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=6YA63GiaFD8mU8DOmcLtrQ.. At the Wall Street Journal, there are clear signs that a unique business paper is fast becoming a very common general-interest paper, albeit one with a really dynamite business section. David Carr, New York Times WALL STREET JOURNAL ON BRINK OF BECOMING JOURNALISTIC DISASTER http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=WYeOzr0uKResLdawOGvoiw.. The resignation of the Journal's managing editor Marcus Brauchli is a billboard-sized sign that the world's leading financial publication is abandoning the qualities that made it great in the first place. Dean Starkman, Columbia Journalism Review MURDOCH'S 'HEAD OF CONTENT' http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ArwODk-r0VKk4koeSkxdvg.. Robert Thomson, a longtime friend of Rupert Murdoch, is the new publisher and 'head of content' at the Wall Street Journal. He's got his work cut out for him. Tim Arango, New York Times -- JOURNALISM & BEYOND-- BOWLING 1, HEALTH CARE 0 http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=z_rQGURcu6b4R9FCJYcymg.. The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country's inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. Elizabeth Edwards, New York Times FOX NEWS STILL FEATURING PENTAGON PUNDITS http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=dDv8vqJ5hPTYngIKvieUZg.. In the aftermath of a New York Times expose about the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon, Fox News is still airing -- without disclosure -- two of the exposed pundits. Josh Silver, Huffington Post INSTRUMENTS OF WAR http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=smvmOzpDckeLLjM_hLEsew.. Maj. Robert Bevelacqua, a former Green Beret and Fox News contributor through 2005, discusses his own role in the march to war. National Public Radio PENTAGON PROPAGANDA: SO MUCH WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=VIrq0GqIy5_cDa9rPz4iYw.. We and others have long criticized the widespread TV network practice of hiring former military officials to serve as analysts, but even in our most cynical moments we did not anticipate how bad it was. John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, PR Watch RELUCTANTLY, A DAILY STOPS ITS PRESSES, LIVING ONLINE http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=V1yP1sD0aHkkAsJVFGGsJg.. The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., the city's fabled 90-year-old daily newspaper founded in response to the jingoist fervor of World War I, has stopped printing to devote itself to publishing its daily report on the Web. Noam Cohen, New York Times UNEARTHED: NEWS OF THE WEEK THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA FORGOT TO REPORT http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=DAu0laHSCk76pPOfiEV7sA.. Here are fifteen important public interest stories the mainstream media forgot to report last week. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle, Huffington Post -- SAVE THE INTERNET-- BIG MEDIA CONTINUES TO FIGHT AGAINST NET NEUTRALITY http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=tLhboFF1O9dCLdHW8go-6g.. Allowing broadband gatekeepers to discriminate against video content delivered by the BitTorrents of the world vastly strengthens the competitive position of Big Media as the leading and "safe" web distribution method for video. Jonathan Rintels, Huffington Post WE DON'T THROTTLE P2P TRAFFIC, AT&T SAYS http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=2cJRX4LE5nHoayVKm1MyZQ.. AT&T denied using forged reset packets to interfere with networkconnections of Vuze file-sharing platform users, as Comcast has beenaccused of doing with BitTorrent traffic. Anne Broache, CNet GOVERNMENT AGAIN EYES NET NEUTRALITY http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=H8dGgaa3pFF9UqorOe0OVQ.. At a hearing on the future of the Internet, the Senate Commerce Committee took up the issue of Net Neutrality -- the principle that people should be able to go where they choose on the Internet without interference from network owners. John Dunbar, Associated Press -- SAVE OUR SPECTRUM-- REPORT SHEDS LIGHT ON FAILURE TO SELL SAFETY SPECTRUM http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ERSYAz4fRbIxPTJFlKx1Bg.. Lease payments sought by public-safety agencies on an adjoining block of spectrum were not the only factor in the failure of a portion of wireless spectrum to sell in the FCC's recent 700MHz spectrum auction, the FCC's inspector general said. Grant Gross, IDG News Service PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE STATEMENT ON FCC INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=qkaJyG9Yr_fpUrUpKUcyrA.. The conclusion needs to be drawn that the auction was doomed to failure. The commission should take a more active role in future auctions to make certain public safety receives the spectrum it deserves. Public Knowledge IT'S NICE WHEN THE FCC LISTENS, PART 2 -- THE CYREN CALL INVESTIGATION IS OUT http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=40_i4uSE7KmULiCWcgEnMw.. The inspector general report on the D Block auction helps point the way for the FCC going forward. The agency is going to have to set clear limits for all parties on what they can demand, what their potential financial liabilities will be, and how this business will work. Harold Feld, Wet Machine -- NCMR 2008-- There are only five weeks before the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform. If you care about the state of the media, this is the one event you can't miss. Sign up now. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=YA62QjqWAStEVd4GH8vdRg.. June 6-8 - Minneapolis -- FP ACTION NETWORK-- http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=gKhydys1unj6kWtk_HTVfQ.. -- IN OTHER NEWS -- NPR's War on Low Power FM: the Laws of Physics vs. Politics http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=AB1dwIspxbFA9zpGVhGdyw.. National Public Radio continues to move aggressively against FCC proposals that would, if not allow nonprofits to build more Low Power FM stations, at least let existing ones survive the intrusion of new full power neighbors. Matthew Lasar, Ars technica Public Radio Tries to Reignite Its Public http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=crpsw6ImH9KssAD4Iw5_jw.. Public radio is drawing its largest audience ever, some 28 million listeners nationwide each week. But if it's a golden era, you wouldn't know it from the frenetic activity to remake the genre.Elizabeth Jensen, New York Times FBI's Net Surveillance Proposal Raises Privacy, Legal Concerns http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=1rSEGoDg6R90A3x_rHapLA.. The FBI director and a Republican congressman sketched out afar-reaching plan this week for warrantless surveillance of the Internet. Declan McCullagh, CNet In Zimbabwe Jail: A Reporter's Ordeal http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Q3TFic77yS_oVkBX7r7ckA.. New York Times reporter Barry Bearak was charged in Zimbabwe with the crime of ""committing journalism." Barry Bearak, New York Times Google Optimistic Regulators Won't Bar Yahoo http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=MGUEfV_wOHq2pMUiO9qG-A.. Google Inc believes regulators would not bar a potential business deal with Yahoo because it would be "non-exclusive" and falls short of an outright merger. Anupreeta Das, Reuters Qwest Wants to Shed Regulations http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=TvPdbyzQoKanJ01V6jrfnw.. Qwest Communications is seeking to extricate itself from federal regulations designed to increase competition in the telephone industry, saying the rules are no longer needed. Ed Taylor, East Valley Tribune Martin's 75-Cent Solution http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=30k40c71aZvlQ5p6KSz5tg.. As the Bush administration strikes midnight, FCC Chairman Kevin Martinis running out of time -- but not out of ideas -- to tame the cable industry. Ted Hearn, Multichannel News You are receiving this e-mail as an opt-in subscriber to Free Press' Media Reform Daily. You can unsubscribe or manage your account at any time. 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=8DkuZFBd2xuCyyL0vvsc-A.. Free Press is a national organization working to increase informed public participation in crucial media policy debates. The ultimate aim of Free Press is to generate a range of policies that will produce a more competitive and public-interest-oriented media system with a strong nonprofit and noncommercial sector. Please send comments or other feedback to newswire@freepress.net. Donate Now www.freepress.net