News of the movement for July 30, 2012


Money, Media and Elections

Court Rejects Broadcaster Effort to Delay Web Disclosure of Political Ad Info

The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. delivered a minor victory for those who’d like to see television stations disclose on the Web the same information about political ad sales that they already have to make public on paper. The court rejected a request by the National Association of Broadcasters to stay rules that the FCC adopted in April requiring the top four stations in the 50 largest markets to post their political ad data online.

David Lieberman, Deadline New York

Court Rejects NAB Bid to Delay Posting Political Advertising Data Online

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a National Association of Broadcasters request to stay new rules requiring local TV stations to put information about political advertising online. FCC rules require broadcasters to disclose the key details about political advertising buys by or for candidates for public office, including how much a station charged for the ads and when the spots ran.

Doug Halonen, The Wrap

Free Press Pleased that Court Denied Broadcasters' Attempt to Stall Political File Rules

A U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a request by the National Association of Broadcasters to stay the implementation of FCC rules requiring television stations to post their political files online. Free Press, an intervenor in the case along with Benton Foundation, Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, New America Foundation and Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, opposed the NAB's request for a stay. The rules will go into effect on Aug. 2.

Free Press


Future of the Internet

Senators Work to Protect Online Rights in Cybersecurity Bill

After CISPA passed the House in April, the fight moved to the Senate. This week a new compromise bill was introduced on the Senate floor. The bill is a step in the right direction, but it still contains a section that would give companies the right to monitor our private communications and share them with government agencies.

Josh Levy, Free Press

A Global Marathon to Translate the Declaration of Internet Freedom

The world may be glued to the TV to watch the start of the Olympic Games in London, but a group of translators are excited about another challenge: the Internet Freedom Translathon, a marathon to get the Declaration of Internet Freedom translated in as many languages and dialects as possible over the course of 24 hours on Friday August 3.

Paula Góes , Global Voices

Verizon, Comcast and the Patent Wars

As the FCC and Department of Justice continue their review of the proposed deals between Verizon, Comcast, and several other large cable companies, attention is turning to the companies' side agreements tied to the proposed spectrum transfer. The agreements threaten the public interest, in addition to potentially spelling the end of competition between wireline and wireless internet service providers.

Jodie Griffin, Public Knowledge

Google Fiber Has Amazing Internet but Same Old TV

If you were hoping that Google was going to use its fiber project to reorder the TV landscape, you're going to be disappointed. At least in this incarnation, Google is playing by the TV establishment's rules. Subscribers will get a bunch of TV channels, whether they want all of them or not.

Peter Kafka, All Things D


Journalism and Beyond

Journalism's Misdeeds Get a Glance in the Mirror

The news media often fail to report on themselves because, in part, journalists assign a nobility to the profession that obscures the flaws within it. We think of ourselves as doing the People's work, and write off lapses in ethics and practices as potholes on the way to a Greater Truth. But the public isn't buying it. Part of the reason the public has lost confidence in our product is that it sometimes does not merit it. If journalism is losing its way, that's a story that needs to be told over and over.

David Carr, New York Times

Olympics Coverage by NBC News Questioned

NBC News has a journalistic force of 450 people, including 25 reporters, at the Olympic Games. By contrast, ESPN has two reporters in London and a handful of blogger-commentators. What explains the difference? NBC News's parent company has a huge investment in the London Olympics. Critics suggest that much of the news coverage is driven not by newsworthiness, but by corporate synergy.

Paul Farhi, Washington Post

So Far, Even the Olympics Can't Budge Our Outdated TV Models

NBC paid $1.18 billion for the right to broadcast the Olympics and it will be a cold day in hell before it dilutes the amount it can charge advertisers or the value it has to cable providers. In many ways, even though NBC depends on huge audiences to justify the rates it's charging advertisers, it can afford to alienate some of them. Should the broadcaster restrict the Olympics online to cable subscribers? Perhaps the FCC should investigate.

Stacey Higginbotham, GigaOM