President Obama has picked a former telecommunications lobbyist and campaign fund-raiser to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, raising serious questions about his 2007 pledge that corporate lobbyists would not finance his campaign or run his administration.
Center Will Offer New Tools for Measuring the Impact of Media Beyond Numbers
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
What is the difference? If your question is like that one, more practical than philosophical, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism may soon have an answer. With $3.25 million in initial financing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the college’s Norman Lear Center is about to create what it is calling a “global hub” for those who would measure the actual impact of media — journalistic, cinematic, social and otherwise.
Looking at Facebook’s Friend and Relationship Status Through Big Data
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Wolfram Alpha, a computational search engine, released a detailed report about people’s friendships and relationship habits on Facebook.
Arming Cable Against the Open Internet
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Cable television companies are distressed about how quickly Internet and mobile viewing are stealing customers. Now, technology firms want to sell them ways to offer the personal choice of mobile, while justifying the goodies that come to someone who pays for a subscription.
Resignation Suggests Rift Between CNET and CBS
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
A senior writer for CNET, the technology news Web site, resigned less than an hour after a report suggested that CNET was barred from presenting an award to a company being sued by CBS, which owns CNET.
Old Media’s Stalwarts Persevered in 2012
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Everyone knows that traditional media companies are dead in the water, overwhelmed by ad skipping, cord cutting and audience flight. We know that because Chicken Littles have been saying it for years. Eventually we may be right — the sky will fall and the business will collapse — but for the time being, the sky over traditional media is blue and it’s raining green.
Cable Companies Squeeze More Obscure Channels
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
There are two kinds of cable channels in the United States: those operated by major media companies that have dozens of other channels, and those that are on their own. The outlets in the second group, the independent channels, are feeling threatened these days.