More Media Than Ever, but Are There Enough Voices? Resent-Date: Sun, 25 May 2008 12:54:29 -0500 (CDT) Media Reform Daily News of the movement for May 21, 2008 --SAVE THE INTERNET-- IS THE U.S. FALLING FURTHER BEHIND IN BROADBAND? The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development came out with its latest figures on broadband penetration, and the situation appears to be getting worse for the United States. Ryan Kim, San Francisco Chronicle http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=cRpgPIrPP_0HpZkvPSfWog.. U.S. SLIPS TO 15TH IN BROADBAND ACCESS In its latest report, the OECD highlighted the problem with the United States not having a national broadband strategy: When compared to the rest of the world, Uncle Sam comes up short. Jason Lee Miller, Web Pro News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=HtgXjVeaR-Q7FMFSnHDX4Q.. U.S. CONTINUES TO LAG IN BROADBAND PENETRATION The U.S. lack of national broadband access has been an integral part of the debate over Net Neutrality. Martin H. Bosworth, Consumer Affairs http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=KuKuYUQ_Cwwb-Y8bwAuTuA.. ELLISON, WALZ SIGN ON TO NET NEUTRALITY BILL If the telecom industry has its way, corporations will be in charge of what Internet users can and can't see. But the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, a bill now in the House, could level the playing field and ban discriminatory practices. Andy Birkey, Minnesota Monitor http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=pqFuaB0JocMP1khlMwU1SQ.. SANDVINE'S NEW PLAN TO SLOW YOU DOWN Sandvine's FairShare network management tool is supposed to allow ISPs to manage their networks with a protocol- and application-agnostic approach. But the result could still be a nightmare for the online video sector. Janko Roettgers, New TeeVee http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=VCI9fSUuXZaL7k5XVcVB4A.. ACT NOW! Support the Internet Freedom Preservation Act http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=cJM1-neLRrPqwYUczELLEQ.. --FUTURE OF THE INTERNET-- LAWSUIT OVER TEXT MESSAGES AND SMS OFF SWITCHES AT&T, Sprint, Alltel, Cellular South, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, and Virgin Mobile are all being sued over how they handle text messages on their customers' accounts. Jacqui Cheng, Ars technica http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=zZilZgrIpTRI9egVdOIWNQ.. CELL PHONE USERS MAY GET BREAK ON FEES The government is quietly negotiating to help cell phone customers avoid expensive fees when they cancel contracts with wireless companies. John Dunbar, Associated Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=NZcXF-uSsgivmMA0Y1s-vA.. GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM: CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE RULE OF LAW Congress and Administration should make global Internet freedom a top human rights and foreign policy priority, said the Center for Democracy & Technology in testimony submitted to the a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee. Center for Democracy & Technology http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=E_3J5Dm4KJF3sW4ngyrnDw.. SENATORS WEIGH NEW LAWS OVER CHINA ONLINE CENSORSHIP Senators pressed Yahoo, Google, and Cisco Systems to justify their business practices in China and other Internet-censoring countries, with Cisco in the hot seat over new allegations of cozier-than-confessed ties with the Chinese police. Anne Broache, CNet http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=FdwXWPII5oq2nofb7QLDOw.. --JOURNALISM & BEYOND-- LOST MEDIA, FOUND MEDIA For those of us at the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism who believed in the value of the journalism and literary nonfiction of the past, we have become like the people at the ashram after the guru has died. Alissa Quart, Columbia Journalism Review http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=zixQzZ-dL7yTLHcnFN_Agw.. MORE MEDIA THAN EVER, BUT ARE THERE ENOUGH VOICES? In his letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver says that media consolidation has a detrimental effect on local news and viewpoint diversity, which are both critical to the health of our democracy. Josh Silver, Wall Street Journal http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=uv85gzicWzrZHMoyzJ45iw.. MURDOCH TAPS THOMSON AS TOP EDITOR OF WALL STREET JOURNAL News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch named Wall Street Journal Publisher Robert Thomson as the paper's new managing editor. Thomson will also take the title of editor in chief of Dow Jones, the News Corp. unit that publishes the Journal. Shira Ovide and Steve Stecklow, Wall Street Journal http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=4_5ZtKhKeD-jsek2cFGFJA.. TV'S LOW-CAL CAMPAIGN COVERAGE Earlier this year, the three nightly network newscasts aired an average of more than nine news stories on the election per night. You'd think you'd come away well-informed and ready to participate in a democracy. But, unfortunately, you'd be wrong. Jon Whiten, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=x9GNzAu_Zx_4hlIp3M8EUw.. NEWS UNFILTERED: YOUTUBE EMBRACES CITIZEN JOURNALISM Harnessing the advantages of the burgeoning citizen journalism movement, YouTube aims to aggregate and capitalize on newsworthy content not picked up by mainstream media. David Chartier, Ars technica http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=sN7Nw4TbSKCcc1fi9Iaopw.. --FEATURE-- NCMR2008 Join us in Minneapolis June 6-8 for the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform. Check out the program details and make your plans to be there and help create a more diverse and democratic media system. Register now. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=zotwoOqd6e19HO2F2Of3zQ.. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=BDdpo4_uYI1o5fN31bSICw.. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=-vKjliETjkUjb77HC1_gjw.. FP ACTION NETWORK http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=tnk0ju6OM5pE_EHhHIKQmg.. --IN OTHER NEWS-- A DISCOMFITING THREAT TO FREE SPEECH The Supreme Court upheld a law that sweeps too broadly in its attempt to ban child pornography. Those who traffic in it must be punished, but this law is drawn in a way that also criminalizes speech that should be protected by the First Amendment. New York Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=HSwRd3UAQUudHB21a1ERlA.. GAO REPORT QUESTIONS STATIONS' READINESS FOR DTV TRANSITION Almost all of the stations not currently broadcasting digitally report that they will be by Feb 17, 2009. But far too many Americans are unaware of or unprepared for the transition. Benton Foundation http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=b68OTjDhJ9OQNVh1G4PKHw.. BOARDS OK TIME WARNER CABLE SEPARATION Time Warner and Time Warner Cable say their boards have approved the companies' legal separation, with Time Warner Cable expected to pay a hefty $10.9 billion one-time dividend to shareholders. Associated Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=JGdSCLWChJSayRYdaGiKMA.. CABLE OPERATORS MUST BALANCE CONTENT, SERVICES TO SERVE DIVERSE AUDIENCE, SAYS PANEL Cable operators realize they must have the right programming mix and marketing messages to reach Spanish-speaking and other multicultural communities. The challenge is to balance those opportunities with competitive pricing and conserving bandwidth. Kent Gibbons, Multichannel News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=UF24GvPHV64THPV6NGVxBw.. CONSUMER GROUPS WANT VERIZON FRANCHISE DELAY Consumer advocate groups as well as members of the City Council want the New York City Franchise and Review Committee to delay a vote that would grant Verizon a cable television franchise. Amanda Fung, Crain';s New York Business http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=BPBY_CIzJ5C4dWYjhix8LA.. COMCAST PONDERS MAINE SELL-OFF Two years after the Mid-coast area's cable provider changed to Comcast, the country's largest cable provider is exploring the sale of its Maine-based holdings as part of 46 properties nationwide. Rachel Ganong, Times Record http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=eDm6QX9mErKKGqQPNcAIMg.. 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=4TdA1YFDJrMScz53NPZPmQ.. 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