 Citizens Thwart Sneak Attack on Internet in N.C. Time Warner Cable and AT&T's powerful team of lobbyists couldn't stand up to the overwhelming grassroots pressure to stop a bad bill that would keep the Internet out of millions of people's hands in North Carolina. The proposed legislation would have squashed efforts by towns and cities to build their own local broadband networks. Megan Tady, SavetheInternet.com N.C. Senate's Broadband Monopoly Bill Put on Hold The N.C. bill that would effectively kill efforts to start and maintain municipal broadband networks has been sent to a Senate committee for study. The bill will be reviewed in the fall, and a report will be prepared within a year. Brian Bowman, SaveNCBroadband.com Lawmakers Mull Changes to Wireless Phone, Internet Regs The cell phone and mobile Internet industry could face a new regulatory framework over the next several years as lawmakers consider how to spur competition and streamline the patchwork of state laws in the wireless sector. Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Our Broadband 'Plan' Is Already Toast So go ahead, FCC, do a broadband plan, and hope what's produced isn't so sufficiently bland that it will be worthless. Congress will water it down some more, and it's not a far stretch to believe that at the end of the day we won't be that much better off. Art Brodsky, Public Knowledge  Newspaper Narcissism American journalism is in distress because it has been chasing the false idols of fame and fortune. While engaged in those pursuits, it forgot its readers and the need to produce a commercial product that appealed to its mass audience, which in turn drew advertisers and thus paid for it all. Walter Pincus, Columbia Journalism Review Globe Publisher Sees Future for Paper Boston Globe publisher said that the threatened shutdown of the newspaper has been "extraordinarily difficult" for readers, advertisers and employees but the outpouring from the community has underscored the importance of restoring the Globe to financial health. Robert Gavin, Boston Globe San Francisco Chronicle Begins Layoffs The San Francisco Chronicle began laying off editorial employees and is expected to eliminate up to 30 jobs in the latest round of staffing cuts at the troubled daily. Hearst has been losing $50 million or more annually at the Chronicle, and other sources say the bleeding has been even worse. Chris Rauber, San Francisco Business Journal San Diego Union-Tribune Cuts 192 Positions The San Diego Union-Tribune conducted a round of layoffs in all departments, the latest in a series of staff reductions the newspaper has taken in recent years. A total of 192 positions will be eliminated, effective July 6. San Diego Union-Tribune  Noncoms Concerned about Funding Cuts in Obama's New Budget In a joint statement, the heads of CPB, PBS, NPR and APTS said they were grateful for what funding they did get, but they were also worried about what they didn't get -- emergency funding to help stations hit hard by the economic crisis and the resulting fall-off in contributions. John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable PBS to Shorten Time Commitments for Sponsorships Companies will soon be able to sponsor some PBS programs for as little as one week at a time, rather than a full year. Feeling the pinch of marketing budgets, public television stations are being forced to be more creative when they approach corporate underwriters. Brian Stelter, New York Times  Copps: Tying Diversity to Fairness Doctrine Is Issue Mongering Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps tried to allay the fears of conservatives that the FCC's new Diversity Advisory Committee is a back-door effort to revive the Fairness Doctrine, saying suggestions otherwise were "issue-mongering." John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Murdoch: Web Sites to Charge for Content Rupert Murdoch expects News Corp. newspaper Web sites to start charging users for access within a year, in a move most analysts say could radically shake-up the culture of free content. Murdoch said the current free access business model favored by most content providers is flawed. CNN Internet v. Paper: Dana Milbank Turns David Simon's Fiction into News During the recent Senate hearing on the future of journalism, blogs were dismissed by some of the panelists as noneffective outlets for local news reporting. But contrary to their beliefs, there are some local blogs that are doing a good job of covering local stories -- and some of the reporters on those beats were once professional journalists. FireDogLake.com Hate Speech, Media Activism and the First Amendment The corporate media's sanctioning of programs that regularly broadcast hate speech is fueling racial animosity in an already volatile time. There's no opportunity in the framework that the news media are using to actually challenge the system. Instead, they're turning the news into a Law and Order episode. Candice O'Grady, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting |  This week: The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on "The Future of Journalism." And a new study from the Future of Music Coalition examines playlist data from across the country to determine if FCC efforts to diversify music on the radio have made an impact. Listen here.  Genachowski Nomination Hearing Postponed The long-awaited nomination hearing of Julius Genachowski for chairman of the FCC has been postponed from its scheduled May 12 date. No reason was given beyond a statement: "It has been agreed on a bipartisan basis to postpone the hearing until just after the Memorial Day recess. Further details to be announced." Broadcasting & Cable FCC Should Shift Priorities At what point does a "wardrobe malfunction" become a government malfunction? The FCC has been pursuing CBS for its 2004 Super Bowl incident involving Janet Jackson's breast. The reveal lasted about half a second, but it has languished in the court system for half of a decade. It's time for the FCC shift its priorities and focus on our fractured media landscape. Minneapolis Star Tribune Obama Drama Executives at the Big Four broadcast networks are seething behind the scenes that President Barack Obama has cost them about $30 million in cumulative ad revenue this year with his three primetime news conference pre-emptions. Hollywood Reporter Time Warner Spins Off AOL and Shrinks Big Media Time Warner filed with the SEC its intention to spin off AOL. Having sliced off Warner Music Group a few years ago and Time Warner Cable this year, it is only the latest example of how the idea of vertical integration failed to live up to its promise. What is Big Media's legacy? Moguldum, diminished independent voices and EBITDA. Newsweek AT&T Plans for a Proliferation of Wireless Gadgets AT&T announced a partnership with Jasper Wireless. Under the arrangement, Jasper plans to provide technical infrastructure to AT&T to support a new generation of wireless devices, like e-readers, netbooks and navigation systems. New York Times Google, Apple and Microsoft Knuckle Under to Telcos If you think Google, Microsoft and Apple are bad-ass, cutthroat, take-no-prisoner companies, you should meet the nation's wireless carriers, who have collectively convinced those intensively competitive software giants to cripple their products. Wired CBS Swings to $55.3 Million Loss The anemic advertising market drained the profit from CBS. The broadcasting company reported a first-quarter net loss of $55.3 million. That compared with net income of $244.3 million, for the same period last year. Los Angeles Times Digital Justice for All Making a successful transition from analog to digital broadcasting is not simply a matter of being able to watch your favorite TV show with better audio and video. At stake is the ability of the nation's most vulnerable populations to maintain their fundamental right of access to a key affordable source of news and information. Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Attorneys for Ohio Drum Satellite Providers The state of Ohio is arguing in court that DIRECTV and EchoStar Satellite TV companies have no legal grounds for being exempt from a state sales tax. The companies are fighting because the tax wasn't imposed on their cable competitors. Some powerful interest groups disagree with the state, and have lined up behind the satellite companies. Associated Press   |
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