 Skype's iPhone Limits Irk Some Consumer Advocates Apple's unique treatment of the new Skype Internet calling feature on the iPhone -- the free app works only on Wi-Fi, not the cellular or 3G network -- is raising concerns among public policymakers and consumer advocates. They say it's a clear example of AT&T trying to handicap a direct competitor. Leslie Cauley, USA Today Skyping the New FCC Skype wields influence beyond its size. In matters of policy, Skype's stance is constant: The Web should stay as open as possible to foster innovation. Under a new administration -- and a new FCC chairman -- the company appears poised to shape future wireless policy more than ever before. Elizabeth Woyke, Forbes Time Warner's Rationale for Bandwidth Caps Doesn't Add Up Time Warner's new low broadband caps make it hard to believe that this change is all about infrastructure costs. Internet backbone bandwidth is cheap or free, DOCSIS upgrades are a bargain, and competitors in the same business can offer capacity several times greater than Time Warner's maximums. Nate Anderson, Ars Technica New Laptop Modems Would Let Wireless Carrier Send 'Kill Pill' As wireless carriers begin to subsidize computers that come with wireless Internet access, they're faced with a quandary: What do they do if the buyer stops paying his bills? A Swedish company has announced its new modem will deal with this issue by including a feature that's virtually a wireless repo man. Peter Svensson, Associated Press AT&T's De La Vega Says Mobility Key Weapon in Broadband Wars Mobility, not just speed, will be a key factor in winning over high-speed Internet customers, according to AT&T wireless chief Ralph de la Vega. The telco giant introduced a $50 netbook that will play a key role in expanding the mobile capabilities of its consumers. Roger Cheng, Dow Jones How Much More Spectrum Do We Need? There's no bigger question facing Julius Genachowski than how to allocate the country's wireless spectrum. If Congress approves his nomination to head the FCC, Genachowski's first major task will be to develop the national broadband strategy that is required under the new stimulus law. Saul Hansell, New York Times Sen. Kerry Promises 'Aggressive' Tech Agenda Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Communications, Technology and the Internet subcommittee, said that his panel will be busy this year developing a comprehensive broadband strategy and monitoring how the $7.2 billion in stimulus funds to expand broadband service is spent. Amy Schatz, Wall Street Journal Cox Launches 50 Mbps Service in Lafayette Cox Communications has launched their first DOCSIS 3.0 service tier in Lafayette, La. Ultimately, users may still find their speedy 50 Mbps connection throttled under Cox's new network management plan. The tier also won't be of much use for P2P pirates, since Cox is the only major carrier booting copyright abusers. Karl Bode, Broadband Reports Big Telcos Bluffing about Refusing Broadband Stimulus Bucks The feds plan to hand out some $7.2 billion in grants to companies that will deliver broadband to communities that have none, but Verizon and AT&T are making noises that they won't apply for the money because there are too many strings attached. It's a bluff. They will apply; it's free money, for goodness sake. Ryan Singel, Wired Verizon, AT&T Blocking Rural Broadband Stimulus? Verizon, Comcast, AT&T and other large wireless carriers and cable companies are behind lobbying efforts in state legislatures around the country to prohibit local governments from using federal stimulus money to build and manage their own broadband networks, critics contend. So far, they seem to be succeeding. Michael Hickins, BNET Technology  State of Newspapers Priority for Senate Commerce Committee Add the head of the Senate Commerce Committee to those concerned about the health of newspapers and broadcast properties. An aide to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said that the committee was concerned about "the diminished state of the newspaper industry and the consequences that has for the media market at large." John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable In Newspaper Death Spiral, Save the Reporting Simply put, newspapers are in a death spiral. Why should citizens care? Because America cannot afford to leave politics and policy in the hands of politicians and policy-makers. Phil Trounstine and Jerry Roberts, Calbuzz 37 Percent Support Government Subsidies to Keep Newspapers Going Thirty-seven percent of Americans favor federal government subsidies to keep newspapers in business, according to a new survey. Forty-three percent say it's better to let the papers go out of business, while 32 percent believe some newspapers are too important to fail. Rasmussen Reports Fewer Newspapers May Not Be 'Such a Bad Thing' Former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee isn't buying into all the gloom and doom. In a recent interview about the journalism crisis, he said that he is "quite hopeful" and doesn't think it's such a bad thing if there are less papers -- if they're better. Diane Clehane, FishbowlNY Newspapers Not Effectively Using Social Media Newspapers should be using social media more effectively to engage their readers and boost online revenue, according to a new survey. Brand-loyal news consumers need to be turned into brand stewards who can wield their influence in their social and business circles. Mike Sachoff, WebProNews San Francisco Chronicle Buyout Offer Gets 120 Takers At least 120 San Francisco Chronicle staffers have submitted applications for the newspaper's latest buyout offer, according to the local newspaper guild. The Hearst Corp. had announced a goal of reducing up to 150 jobs among the guild members at the paper, including newsroom, advertising, circulation and other departments. Joe Strupp, Slate Bankrupt Sun-Times Parent Says Losses Doubled in 2008 Just a day after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Sun-Times Media Group disclosed that its operating loss more than doubled in 2008 to $309.4 million, while revenue skidded 13 percent. Mark Fitzgerald, Editor & Publisher Spokesman-Review Newsroom Agrees to Sizable Pay Cuts Newsroom employees of the Spokesman-Review have agreed to a one-year labor agreement that includes pay cuts of 7 percent to 10 percent. Most of the employees will get pay cuts of 7 percent. Workers who used to be managers will see 10 percent pay cuts. Associated Press Gannett Consolidates Editing of Four New Jersey Dailies Gannett is consolidating copy editing and page production operations for four New Jersey newspapers. The Asbury Park Press will house the regional operation at its offices in Neptune. The other three papers are the Home News Tribune, the Courier News and the Daily Record. Associated Press Livingston County Daily Press & Argus Cuts Staff The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus has announced a significant but unspecified number of layoffs as it grapples with steep revenue declines. The paper is owned by Gannett, which had layoffs last year. The Daily Press & Argus wasn't included then. Associated Press  Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act Introduced in House New legislation asks the State Department to report annually on the state of press freedom worldwide and develop a grant program to help strengthen media independence. The Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act was introduced by Reps. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable New York Times Correspondent Leaving New Orleans For months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was a hotbed of newsgathering. But the satellite trucks eventually moved on and one by one, the miniature newspaper bureaus followed suit. There will soon be a departure with perhaps more symbolic importance -- the New York Times is pulling up its stakes. Gordon Russell, Times-Picayune The New York Times Puts Up Its Dukes There was a time when the New York Times never had to say anything back. If the newspaper caught hell for a story in the popular media, editors at the paper could rely on the time-tested formulation: "The story speaks for itself." Nowadays, the Times is showing no hesitation in answering its critics. John Koblin, New York Observer |  
On "Media Matters with Robert McChesney," the guest is blogger Glenn Greenwald. Listen here.   Off the Hook The essential requirement for a flourishing network infrastructure platform is open interconnection. By locating its authority to regulate the Internet in its obligations to oversee interconnection, the FCC could reorient communications law for the challenges of a new era. Wharton School FCC Releases Agenda for April 8 Meeting The FCC has released the agenda for its April 8 public meeting. Items include video competition, improved data collection for minority and female broadcast media ownership, spectrum allocation and developing a national broadband plan. FCC Comcast CEO Looks Forward to Fresh Start with New FCC Chair It's no secret that Comcast underwent several bruising years of regulatory squabbling with the FCC when it was headed by former Chairman Kevin Martin. But Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he looks forward to a "clean slate" under new leadership at the agency. Washington Post Some May Lose Out with Digital TV Congress thought Americans' free TV service would get better, not disappear, when it first ordered broadcasters to shut down older analog TV signals as of Feb. 17. Instead, millions of Americans who rely on free, over-the-air TV could lose one or more channels after the extended deadline for the digital switch in June -- even if they bought a converter box. Wall Street Journal Messages with a Mission, Embedded in TV Shows The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation known for gifts to libraries and projects to promote health and education is less known as a behind-the-scenes influencer of public attitudes toward these issues by helping to shape story lines and insert messages into popular entertainment. New York Times Verizon's Seidenberg Says 500 Percent Penetration Achievable Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon, envisions a connected world that not only will enable people-to-people connections but people-to-machine and machine-to-machine communications. He says devices with a truly open platform is a critical piece to penetration rates of more than 500 percent for the mobile industry. Fierce Wireless In D.C., a Convocation of Cable's Heavy Hitters The annual meeting of the who's who of cable TV opened amid the national economic gloom. With Washington as a backdrop for the industry event, cable leaders hope to convince regulators and members of Congress that they should tread lightly on cable companies during the Obama years. Philadelphia Inquirer CTIA Survey Shows Gains in Data, Text, Users and Minutes CTIA's latest surveys shows gains in data revenues, text messaging, wireless users, and an increase of 100 billion miinutes. According to the survey, text messaging continues to be enormously popular, with more than one trillion text messages carried on carriers' networks in 2008. Wireless and Mobile News Qwest Seeks to Sell Piece of Its Network Qwest Communications, struggling to pare a hefty debt load, is seeking a buyer for a key piece of its telecom network. The company is considering selling a long-distance network that carries calls and Internet traffic for other phone carriers. A sale would largely leave Qwest as a regional provider of telephone and Internet services to consumers. Wall Street Journal   |
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