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News of the movement for January 4, 2013 |
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The Empire Lobbies Back: How Big Cable Killed Competition in North Carolina
After a city in North Carolina built a fiber-to-the-home network that competed with Time Warner Cable, the cable giant successfully lobbied to prevent other cities in the state from taking similar steps. Yelp Pushes for Federal Anti-SLAPP Laws
Yelp, the online directory facing free speech legal challenges, has turned to searching for a solution -- at the federal level.
Can Internet activism turn into a real political movement? Cable Industry Draws Scrutiny for Putting Internet Users on a Scale
The cable industry wants Internet users to go on a diet. The industry says so-called "usage-based pricing" -- which resembles most wireless plans -- is a sensible option for light Internet users and a way for companies to manage networks that have become congested by the explosion of data-heavy online video. Yet the industry's shift away from one price, all-you-can-eat service has drawn scrutiny from consumer groups, regulators and lawmakers who worry the new model is motivated by a desire to boost profits.
Think Media Consolidation Is Good for Journalism? Think Again
The FCC is pushing a plan to gut its 30-year-old newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership ban. This proposal would allow one company to own a local paper, two TV stations and up to eight radio stations in a single market. Advocates of more media consolidation argue that allowing TV stations and newspapers to merge is critical to cutting costs and saving local journalism.
Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab news network, has long wanted to gain a bigger American television audience, and it may have finally found a way to do that by buying Current TV. But as the deal was being signed, Time Warner Cable announced it would immediately stop carrying Current, a struggling channel partly owned by former Vice President Al Gore. While the cable company has the legal right to cut off Current, the decision is unfortunate and could block access to an important news source. Al Jazeera Embraces Cable TV, Loses Web
Al Jazeera used the Web to build a following in America, which it hopes to exploit on cable television through the purchase of Current TV. But to keep cable operators happy, Al Jazeera may have to make a difficult bargain: giving up on the Web. Gore Went to Bat for Al Jazeera, and Himself
Al Gore’s Current TV was never popular with viewers, but it was a hit where it counted: with cable and satellite providers. When he co-founded the channel in 2005, Gore managed to get the channel piped into tens of millions of households -- a huge number for an untested network -- through a combination of personal lobbying and arm-twisting of industry giants. He called on those skills again after deciding in December to sell Current TV to Al Jazeera for $500 million.
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Register today for the 2013 National Conference for Media Reform! Join thousands of activists, media makers, journalists, technologists and artists flocking to Denver for this can't-miss event.
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