Google Pushes White Space Policy Resent-Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 14:02:22 -0500 (CDT) Media Reform Daily News of the movement for May 23, 2008 --ANNOUNCEMENT-- The Media Reform Daily will not publish on Memorial Day. We'll be back on Tuesday, May 27, with all the important media news of the day. Have a happy and safe weekend. --SAVE THE INTERNET-- FORMER PROSECUTOR SAYS ISP CONTENT FILTERING MIGHT BE A 'FIVE YEAR FELONY' Internet service providers that monitor their networks for copyright infringement or bandwidth hogs may be committing felonies by breaking federal wiretapping laws, says a former federal computer crimes prosecutor. Ryan Singel, Wired http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=cgb6ASTbB7q1XQG1mRjMCg.. ACCESS TO NEXT-GEN INTERNET MAY BE UNEVEN The lack of high-speed Internet access in some areas of the United States has been hotly debated, even as that digital divide has narrowed. But a new, wider gap is being created that will make today's broadband feel as slow as a dial-up connection. Peter Svensson, Associated Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=puoagcV-7NMLmjoYWR2GtA.. IT'S ROADS, STUPID, BUT IT OUGHT TO BE BROADBAND Even the best business plan can't overcome digital exile. That's why state election debates should focus on high-speed broadband access to every household -- it's the gold standard for education, medicine and economic development. Mary C. Schulken, Charlotte Observer http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=_nXRQwNdKRgchWx5GkESSA.. STATES MOVE TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS State governments are taking a variety of approaches to address the digital divide between urban and rural areas, according to a report by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. William Jackson, Government Computer News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=7lVRyRiAnJxcijnC29pd_A.. ANALYSTS PREDICT GLOOMY FUTURE FOR ISPS The government should "encourage" ISPs to disclose their data about traffic growth and access capacity. There is a lot of speculation, but no one has enough information about traffic growth and access capacity to make sound business decisions. Brad Reed, IDG News Service http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=cSFMwusJFbjjv9HRiqDrDA.. ACT NOW! Support the Internet Freedom Preservation Act http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=j99kIrgxGg_IWyZ35foTgg.. --SAVE OUR SPECTRUM-- GOOGLE'S LARRY PAGE TALKS WIRELESS POLICY Google co-founder Larry Page was in Washington talking up one of his biggest passions: spectrum policy. He wants empty television broadcast spectrum, called white spaces, for high-speed wireless Internet connections. Cecilia Kang, Washington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=adZaNNo4wvO_GKhXnjMlMQ.. GOOGLE'S CO-FOUNDER SAYS U.S. GOVERNMENT SHOULD OPEN UP ITS SPECTRUM The FCC should allow unlicensed wireless devices to access unused spectrum held by television stations and that the government should conduct real-time auctions on unused spectrum, said Google co-founder Larry Page. Grant Gross, IDG News Service http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ueFvDULJiYDkqQaa1TnP2w.. LARRY PAGE PUSHES TV WHITE SPACE PLAN Google's Larry Page met with lawmakers in Congress and officials at the FCC to convince them to allow white spaces to be accessed by low-power wireless devices. Peter Kaplan, Reuters http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=OgoG6ttO8wUsyYQnlqCYpw.. --JOURNALISM & BEYOND-- MORE THAN 100 POST JOURNALISTS TAKE BUYOUT More than 100 Washington Post reporters, editors, photographers, artists and other journalists will take early retirement packages offered by the company as a way to cut costs, reducing the newsroom staff by at least 10 percent. Frank Ahrens, Washington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=enlrClUgofTS08Mb5d1x1w.. CABLEVISION: NEWSDAY BUY IS A 'WONDERFUL FIT' As it awaits a regulatory review of the pending purchase of Newsday, Cablevision called the deal a "wonderful fit" to mostly supportive shareholders but lost patience with one who begged to differ. Mark Harrington, Newsday http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=zhiM7dD1MQNmdZTVvYhl6Q.. NEW YORK TIMES KEPT OUT OF MCCAIN MEDICAL DOCUMENT DUMP A small group of reporters will get the first crack at John McCain's medical records. But the McCain campaign only chose two newspapers to view the records and excluded several major national daily papers. Michael Calderone, Politico http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=0yE5IfsBRYyKmJHgBzCl5Q.. GUNMEN KILL PAKISTANI JOURNALIST A Pakistani journalist has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen after he interviewed a spokesman for pro-Taliban militants, officials say. BBC News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=5jbOjNYr7wSxPGkA2vfWaA.. SRI LANKAN JOURNALISTS PROTEST ABDUCTION, ASSAULT OF COLLEAGUE AMID CALLS FOR MEDIA RIGHTS Hundreds of Sri Lankan journalists demanded an inquiry into the abduction and assault of a colleague who was critical of the military. Associated Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=u6ZUMtXp2RLSGBX86XdY3A.. --FEATURE-- Media Minutes This week: In an historic bipartisan vote, the Senate agreed to turn back the FCC's decision to relax media ownership rules. And the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination works within the media across all media platforms to promote fairness and equality for the GLBT community. Listen here. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Z6VIWdYkqgE1c5KTum4GPQ.. FP ACTION NETWORK http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=TtEk8UUwJxQnObK3RmeB8g.. --IN OTHER NEWS-- MEDIA GENERAL TO CUT NEARLY 11 PERCENT OF WORK FORCE Media General, the newspaper publisher and television station operator, said that it will have cut its work force by nearly 11 percent by October to reduce operating costs. Michael Felberbaum, Associated Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=AwPcupoNSYoUHLSJPY0rDQ.. 'FCC DEPUTY' LOOKING OUT FOR CONSUMERS DURING DTV TRANSITION A longtime telecom consultant appointed himself an "FCC Deputy" and documented his trials and tribulations of getting his rural New Jersey home ready for the February 2009 digital TV transition. And it's not a pretty picture. Bob Williams, HearUsNow.org http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=CxvUvuajnr0WhnShaesn9g.. TIME WARNER, CABLE UNIT AGREE ON SEPARATION, DIVIDEND Pressured by investors to break up a media conglomerate built over 20 years, Time Warner will spin off its cable-television unit and will take more steps this year toward being a pure content company. Sarah Rabil and Lars Klemming, Bloomberg News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=RXeqqJ3SlTqvmWLZWLc9_Q.. THE FUTURE OF POLITICAL DIRTY TRICKS AND DECEPTION ONLINE With old-fashioned smear campaigns already proving disturbingly effective in digital form, civil rights activists worry that it's only a matter of time before voter suppression tactics make the leap to the Internet. Julian Sanchez, Ars technica http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ODKZttmOHBr7vqIUzYSrGA.. 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=8TNuPZ5T-s_c1fuenfM_sg.. 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