Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Sandy Berger cleared. But shhh! It's a media secret [Salon.com] 10:03:33 PM    comment []

Electoral Vote Predictor: "[Kerry] is now ahead in the electoral college 328 to 210." [Scripting News] 10:02:25 PM    comment []

al Qaeda virtual communities. A recent New Yorker article describes the growth of an al Qaeda virtual community, which supports terrorists cooperating logistically, spiritually, and informationally: [Smart Mobs] 9:59:12 PM    comment []

CALEA expansion in the offing? FCC may put cable, Net phones under wiretap rule, by Paul Davidson, USA Today. 9:58:37 PM    comment []

Five Benton Headlines: TIVO IS AT FOCUS OF TV SHOWDOWN The FCC is expected to issue a potentially far-reaching ruling today affecting what television viewers can do with the programs they record. TiVo has developed a way for customers to pipe recorded programs over the Internet, but Hollywood doesn't like it. The studios and their allies maintain that allowing remote access to programs would undermine free local television broadcasts, the market for syndicated shows and other important elements of their business models. Hollywood also fears that viewers with high-capacity, Internet-connected recorders will have less appetite for DVD box sets of popular TV series. The tussle began after the FCC required that digital television equipment guard against the "indiscriminate redistribution" of free TV shows via the Internet. Under this so-called broadcast flag rule, issued last November, manufacturers of digital TVs and recorders must install FCC-approved anti-piracy technologies on models sold after July 1, 2005. Today's FCC decision will determine which of 13 approaches proposed by consumer-electronics and computer companies meet the new mandate. "This is the test case," said Alan Davidson of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "We're concerned about a precedent being set that stops people from being able to do the new, cool things with television that they're likely to do in an always-connected world." [SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Jon Healey] (requires registration) THE CONVENTIONAL NEWS WISDOM OF NETWORK TELEVISION The same broadcast networks that eagerly devote endless prime-time hours to vacuous sitcoms and unreal "reality shows" couldn't spare a total of more than a few hours last week for live coverage of the Democratic National Convention. With three months to go till Election Day, the limitations of media coverage are painfully apparent. From now until the final frenzied days of coast-to-coast campaigning, Americans will be getting their most vivid impressions of the presidential race via commercial TV networks that operate to maximize profits for investors -- and minimize public-interest broadcasting in the process. [SOURCE: Media Monitors Network, AUTHOR: Norman Solomon] READING THE SCRIPT Commercial broadcast TV covered only one hour a night of the Democratic national Convention, but many people watched the convention on cable news channels - and what they saw was shaped by a script portraying Democrats as angry Bush-haters who disdain the military. Commentators worked hard to spin scenes that didn't fit the script. Some simply saw what they wanted to see. But the real power of a script is the way it can retroactively change the story about what happened. Even though there was general agreement that Sen Kerry delivered a very good speech last week, don't be surprised if some... commentators begin describing the ineffective speech they expected (and hoped) to see, not the one they actually saw. Krugman concludes, "Luckily, in this age of the Internet it's possible to bypass the filter. At c-span.org, you can find transcripts and videos of all the speeches. I'd urge everyone to watch Mr. Kerry and others for yourself, and make your own judgment." [SOURCE: New York Times 8/3, AUTHOR: Paul Krugman] (requires registration) FOX AIRED SIGNIFICANTLY LESS OF DEM CONVENTION SPEECHES THAN OTHER CABLES How much coverage of the convention speakers did cable networks actually provide? See the URL below. [SOURCE: Media Matters for America] CONSUMER IS KING OF US MEDIA Consumer spending last year overtook advertising as the primary source of revenue for the US media industry, reflecting the growing popularity of pay-television, DVDs and the Internet. Veronis Suhler Stevenson published a report that consumer spending on media last year rose 6.5% to $178.4 billion, surpassing advertising, which grew by 3.2% to $175.8 billion. VSS says the figures signal a willingness by US consumers to pay for information and entertainment that matches their interests rather than relying on advertising-supported media designed to appeal to a broader audience. James Rutherfurd, executive vice-president and managing director of VSS, said: "Consumers are voting with their pocketbooks. One of the things they seem to want to do is avoid or minimize advertising." [SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Peter Thal Larsen] 11:33:11 AM    comment []

Engadget tells Netflix to "Open up or die....". Phillip from the Engadget Blog has written an excellent list of suggestions for Netflix to survive the coming battle with Blockbuster and Walmart. Open up. Google did it, Amazon did, Apple did it, Netflix: expose your API ... [Hacking NetFlix] 6:53:59 AM    comment []

New Sounds. Hear a 1991 "From the Vaults" edition of New Sounds with television- opera composer Robert Ashley and excerpts from the Kitchen- commissioned Perfect Lives. [WNYC New York Public Radio] 6:53:49 AM    comment []

Three from Wired News: Navigating a Patent Minefield. More and more diseases are being linked to genes, but making tests for the afflictions runs the risk of violating a gene patent. Researchers currently count on good will, but new laws may be needed. By Kristen Philipkoski. Punk at a Moment's Notice. Borrowing from the flash mob trend, punk rock bands lean on the Web, cell phones and instant messaging to organize impromptu gigs. Robert Andrews reports from Cardiff, Wales. 321 Studios Shuts Its Doors. The software company, which had argued that movie fans have a right to back up their DVDs, couldn't afford to fight the deep pockets of the Hollywood studios. By Katie Dean. 6:50:34 AM    comment []

Talk to US. The US election in November affects everyone, everywhere. Talk to US, a global video forum, invites people around the world to speak directly to the American public. They can upload their video to the website or mail the video to the US. Via Unmediated. [Smart Mobs] 6:44:53 AM    comment []

Internet gateway thrown open as tribunal revokes monopoly, By Gordon Opiyo, Sunday Standard. The CCK, he said, has been acting against the provisions of the Kenya Communications Act 1998, which outlaws any form of monopoly or duopoly. The regulator had refused to licence Fast Lane Limited, a consortium of eight Internet Service Providers, which control about 90 per cent of the Kenyan market, from providing an alternative Internet backbone to compete with Telkom’s Jambonet. The consortium had initially applied for a licence from the CCK on December 23, 2002 but CCK said in March this year that it was prohibited from doing so because the Internet Backbone Services was subject to an exclusivity clause granted to Telkom Kenya. 3:30:05 AM    comment []