• New Yorkers Want Net Neutrality

    November 20, 2009

    New York City could help lead the way for an open Internet by passing a resolution urging the federal government to protect Net Neutrality.

  • Is the Future of Journalism a Drought or a Flood?

    November 20, 2009

    Journalism students may be short on jobs, but they certainly aren’t lacking reading material about their industry. In the last twelve months, there have been a number of landmark essays on journalism written by academics and journalists. In addition, at least six major textbook-sized reports on the future of American media have been released, as well as innumerable lectures, conferences and roundtables on the topic.

    The list of materials produced this year could easily make up a respectable “open-source” syllabus for the aspiring journalism innovator. But until a week or two ago, this makeshift seminar wouldn’t have been complete. Just when I thought little else could be written about the future of news, Tony Deifell of Q Media Labs and a coalition of independent media outlets – The Media Consortium – has released a remarkable new report that deserves a slot in your reading list.

  • AT&T’s Non-Existent Network

    November 20, 2009

    In an earlier blog post, I discussed AT&T’s failure to adequately perform basic maintenance on its wireless network. First-generation iPhone users were stuck on an extremely slow network built years earlier that failed to offer customers anything approaching acceptable service quality.

  • The Future of News

    November 20, 2009

    On Monday, a crowd of 150 leaders in journalism, philanthropy and business gathered in St. Paul, Minn., to address the crisis of declining local and regional journalism. The Future of News summit, hosted by American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio, tackled complex questions facing the worlds of commercial and public media alike.

  • No Contract, No Subsidy

    November 19, 2009

    Two bits of news from the last couple of days point to a new trend: unsubsidized phones being offered without contracts. While these phones cost a pretty penny upfront, not being forced into a contract — and having the freedom to switch from carrier to carrier — is sounding mighty attractive these days.

    Some news on the open wireless Internet:

  • Net Neutrality will Preserve Free Speech

    November 19, 2009

    When South Carolina resident Brett Bursey read an editorial in the Greenville News urging the FCC to dismiss Net Neutrality rules, he penned a letter-to-the-editor in support of an open Internet.

  • We Can't Take Net Neutrality for Granted

    November 19, 2009

    For many of us, the diversity and abundance of information on the Internet has become part of our daily lives. We assume that we will always be able to view the websites of our choosing and even upload our own photos and videos onto the Internet.

  • AT&T's (Almost) Laughable Wireless Coverage

    November 18, 2009

    It seems a day doesn’t go by without news of some fresh controversy breaking about the iPhone. The latest brouhaha concerns Verizon’s new ads targeting AT&T’s inferior 3G coverage.

  • Washington’s Astroturf Economy

    November 18, 2009

    Astroturf. You may have heard the word or even seen the fake grassroots in action.

    Astroturf groups are front operations that take corporate money to promote an industry's policy agenda, covering their tracks behind phony grassroots Web façades.

  • The Myth of the Competitive Wireless Market

    November 17, 2009

    Our wireless services are shackled. Hefty early-termination penalties, hidden overage fees, exclusive deals for wireless devices, loopholes in roaming regulations, and other problems are crying out for solutions.

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