DVrepublic News

UNITY Receives Ford Foundation Grant to Advance Entrepreneurship Among Journalists of Color

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:26:05

]]> UNITY Journalists of Color, Inc., has received a $100,000 grant from The Ford Foundation to implement a New U: News Entrepreneurs Working through UNITY (New U) project. The New U project will support the creative ideas of participating journalists of color through a series of two-day "boot camps" at each of the four summer 2010 UNITY alliance partners' conventions

AT&T likes Google & Verizon's wired-only net neutrality stance, Time Warner Cable doesn't

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:45:03

]]> Network neutrality is the battle to keep companies from filtering your access to whatever you want on those great, united internets. But, as we explored in depth last week, Google and Verizon think they should only have to play nice when it comes to wired broadband -- that wireless should be exempt from neutrality-related FCC regulation. The FCC wasn't too pleased with that sentiment, but we found someone who is: AT&T VP Joan Marsh, who posted a lengthy statement entitled: "Wireless is Different." In it she continues the theme of explaining how meeting demand on a wireless network is much more difficult than on wired, even going so far as to place some of the blame on local communities:

We are constantly striving to increase the efficiency of our spectrum resources, but the amount of available spectrum in any given market is finite. And while we regularly split cell sectors and add additional cell towers, there are very real limits placed on cell site construction by zoning and local approval boards.

This is surely a real problem, but what we haven't heard yet is just how letting companies like Verizon and AT&T create premium tiers for wireless content will do anything other than allow them to make more money while still complaining about the same 'ol problems.

Meanwhile, a company that has virtually no skin in the wireless game, Time Warner Cable, isn't so keen on this stance regarding traditional, wired broadband. CEO Glenn Britt says his company would never throttle content in a way that would violate net neutrality, but still doesn't want more rules put in place that would prevent them from doing so. Funny how everyone likes net neutrality until it threatens to cramp their style, isn't it?

source: AT&T Public Policy Blog, Wall Street Journal

Study: VCs give more money to women, Asians

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:02:58

]]> Asians, women and people with less than a college degree fare better than white men who hold advanced degrees, according to CB Insights report; youth also a factor in funding decisions.

Got a great online business idea but need funding? Factors like your age and ethnic background might predict the likelihood of success in getting venture capital. Gender also plays a role.

Simply put, when it comes to getting the most money, Asians, women and people with less than a college degree fare far better than white men who hold advanced degrees, according to a report released Tuesday by CB Insights, an information services company that tracks corporate data.

The report tracked 185 internet company investments in the first half of 2010 to generate findings.

Only 7% of entrepreneurs starting online ventures in New York state are women, it turns out. But all-female teams get a median of $4.5 million in funding$2.2 million more than all-male teamsand $4.1 million more than mixed-gender teams.

Whites, it turns out, are represented among firms at numbers relatively equal to their U.S. population numbers, while Asians are disproportionately represented and blacks are underrepresented.

Youth pays dividends when the numbers are crunched. Younger teams in New York statethose aged 18 to 25take a huge amount of the overall funding. They pulled in a median of $3.4 million, with funding dropping precipitously for those aged 25 to 45.

In fact, New York state proved to be a great spot for the youngest of entrepreneurs. Ten percent of those funded were between 18 and 25, beating both California and Massachusetts combined.

Most seem to agree, however, that it's the strength of the idea that matters most.

Venture capital, itself, is the closest thing out there to true meritocracy, said John Taylor, vice president of research at the National Venture Capital Association, of CB Insights' findings. People of all ethnicities and both genders have started and run successful companies.

Another interesting finding of the study: In New York state, it pays to go it alonecompanies with one founder for the period studied received an average of $4 million, twice as much as companies with two or three founders. This did not hold true for California or Massachusetts, where more founders could mean more bucks.

Anand Sanwal, co-founder of CB Insights, said the survey's takeaway is that no matter how great the idea, the people behind it will ultimately make or break, an investor's confidence.

They're looking for a big market and business idea, he said, but a lot of times the decision is about who the team is.

Crains NY Business.com

BET.com is the top-rated Internet site catering to African Americans

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:50:34

]]> BET.com is the top-rated Internet site catering to African Americans, according to ComScore, an Internet ratings service. It received 3.5 million unique visitors in June, compared with 2.9 million for AOL Black Voices, 2.3 million for Media Takeout and 1.7 million for Black Planet.

Google and Verizon Net Neutrality Proposal Comes With Big Loopholes

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:42:26

]]> Responding to rampant rumors last week concerning a potential side-deal on net neutrality, Google and Verizon held a conference call this afternoon unveiling a "Legislative Framework Proposal" by their respective CEOs Eric Schmidt and Ivan Seidenberg. The proposal is meant to influence other net neutrality stakeholders, including the FCC. Google and Verizon insisted there's no companion business deal between them.

On positive side, the companies' proposal tries to break the Washington net neutrality logjam by endorsing an open Internet backed up with a sensible, transparent and non-discriminatory approach that mainly leaves it up to networks to act responsibly. However, the proposal comes with at least 2 big loopholes which until clarified, will no doubt undercut a lot of the proposal's credibility.

The first big loophole is to "allow broadband providers to offer additional, differentiated online services, in addition to the Internet access and video services (such as Verizon's FIOS TV) offered today." Though examples like health care monitoring and smart grid were cited, so were new entertainment and gaming options. Had Verizon said that it wanted to retain flexibility to periodically add IP-based content to FiOS TV, its managed video service, that wouldn't have been controversial. But the provision appears to allow for a third tier of services (which some media on the call began referring to as a "private Internet").

It's not clear at all what entertainment content would fit into this third tier (Schmidt said Google wants to remain on the open Internet), but the mere allowance for it raises the possibility that it could be a Verizon workaround to the companies' insistence that there would be no "pay for prioritization" practice for Internet delivery (which last week's NY Times article asserted). At a minimum, until their explanation is more lucid, this provision will be open to interpretation and suspicion.

The second big loophole is that none of the high-minded legislative framework will apply to wireless networks, except for the transparency provision. As I wrote last week, by exempting wireless, the companies are drawing an artificial distinction just as mobile data and video use is taking off. The justification offered - that "the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly" - is off-base to me. Regardless of its development, if appropriate network management latitude is in place than why should wireless access be any less open than wired? Here again the companies have made themselves vulnerable to concern about ulterior motives existing, since they are close, Android-focused wireless partners.

It's hard not to interpret the compromises that underlies this proposal as follows: Google wanted a big network owner to publicly commit to openness; Verizon wanted a big content player to bless it retaining flexibility for new premium wired Internet services and maintaining full wireless freedom. While these compromises may have helped the partners craft their proposal, the resulting loopholes created may preclude it from gaining any real influence. We'll see.

Will Richmond
VideoNuze

Google and Verizon Near Deal on Web Pay Tiers

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:32:17

]]> Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the contents creators are willing to pay for the privilege.

The charges could be paid by companies, like YouTube, owned by Google, for example, to Verizon, one of the nations leading Internet service providers, to ensure that its content received priority as it made its way to consumers. The agreement could eventually lead to higher charges for Internet users.

Such an agreement could overthrow a once-sacred tenet of Internet policy known as net neutrality, in which no form of content is favored over another. In its place, consumers could soon see a new, tiered system, which, like cable television, imposes higher costs for premium levels of service.

Any agreement between Verizon and Google could also upend the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission to assert its authority over broadband service, which was severely restricted by a federal appeals court decision in April.

People close to the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly about them said an agreement could be reached as soon as next week. If completed, Google, whose Android operating system powers many Verizon wireless phones, would agree not to challenge Verizons ability to manage its broadband Internet network as it pleased.

Since the court decision, involving Comcast, in April, the F.C.C. has been trying to find a way to regulate broadband delivery, and that effort has been the subject of a series of private meetings at the agencys headquarters in recent weeks. At the meetings, officials from the nations biggest Internet service and content providers, including Google and Verizon, have tried to reach a consensus on how broadband Internet service should be regulated in light of the decision. Those meetings continued this week, apart from the talks between Google and Verizon.

The court decision said the F.C.C. lacked the authority to require that an Internet service provider refrain from blocking or slowing down some content or applications, or giving favor to others. The F.C.C. has since sought another way in which to enforce the concept of net neutrality. But its proposals have been greeted with much objection in Congress and among Internet service providers, cable companies and some Internet content producers.

A spokesman for Verizon said that the company was still engaged in the larger talks to reach a consensus at the F.C.C. and declined to comment on other negotiations. A spokeswoman for Google also declined to comment. While a deal between Google and Verizon would affect only those two companies, it could sway the opinions of lawmakers, many of whom have questioned the wisdom of the F.C.C.s plans to oversee broadband service.

At issue for consumers is how the companies that provide the pipeline to the Internet will ultimately direct traffic on their system, and how quickly consumers are able to gain access to certain Web content. Consumers could also see continually rising bills for Internet service, much as they have for cable television.

The prospect of a Google-Verizon agreement infuriates many consumer advocates, who feel that it would concentrate in a few corporations control of what to date has been a free and open Internet system in which consumers decide which companies are successful.

The point of a network neutrality rule is to prevent big companies from dividing the Internet between them, said Gigi B. Sohn, president and a founder of Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group. The fate of the Internet is too large a matter to be decided by negotiations involving two companies, even companies as big as Verizon and Google.

It is not clear that the Google-Verizon talks will result in a deal, or that any agreement would extend beyond those companies. David M. Fish, a spokesman for Verizon, acknowledged the talks, saying, Weve been working with Google for 10 months to reach an agreement on broadband policy.

But, Mr. Fish added, We are currently engaged in and committed to the negotiation process led by the F.C.C. We are optimistic this process will reach a consensus that can maintain an open Internet, and the investment and innovation required to sustain it.

The F.C.C. process he referred to is what is jokingly called at the agency headquarters the secret meeting. At least nine times in the last seven weeks including Wednesday, with another meeting scheduled for Thursday a group that includes Google, Verizon, AT&T, Skype, cable system operators and a group called the Open Internet Coalition has met with top F.C.C. officials to discuss net neutrality and the agencys legal basis for regulating Internet service.

Cable and telephone companies want free rein to sell specialized services like paid prioritization, which would speed some content to users more quickly for a fee. Wireless companies, meanwhile, want no restrictions on wireless broadband, which they see as a different technology than Internet service over wires.

Many content providers like Amazon, eBay and Skype prefer no favoritism on the Internet or they want to be sure that if a pay system exists, all content providers have the opportunity to pay for faster service.

The F.C.C., meanwhile, favors a level playing field, but it cannot impose one as long as its authority over broadband is in legal doubt. It has proposed a solution that would reclassify broadband Internet service under the Communications Act from its current designation as an information service, a lightly regulated designation, to a telecommunications service, a category that, like telephone service, is subject to stricter regulation.

The F.C.C. has said that it does not want to impose strict regulation on Internet service and rates, but seeks only the authority to enforce broadband privacy and guarantee equal access. It also wants to use federal money to subsidize broadband service for rural areas.

While the F.C.C. is gathering public comment on its reclassification proposal, it has convened the private talks, which are overseen by Edward Lazarus, the chief of staff to Julius Genachowski, the F.C.C.s chairman.

The talks have produced some common ground among the participants on smaller matters. But one participant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the group members agreed not to discuss their deliberations publicly, said there had been little movement on the few big issues that are the most important.

Frustrated with that lack of progress in the last two months, direct talks between Google and Verizon have accelerated, according to people close to the discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly.

Google and Verizon have their own interests at stake in negotiating separately. The Android operating system from Google is used on many Verizon phones, including the Droid, a competitor to the iPhone from Apple.

Consumer groups have objected to the private meetings, saying that too many stakeholders are being left out of discussions over the future of the Internet.

Mr. Lazarus said the meetings are part of our efforts to identify the best way forward in the wake of the Comcast case to preserve the openness and vibrancy of the Internet.

NEW YORK TIMES

Comcast-NBC merger sheds light on future of online video

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:48:23

]]> The Federal Communications Commission focused Tuesday on how Comcasts proposed merger with NBC Universal will impact the small, new but fast-growing market for video over the Internet.

If you listen to Comcast, the company said it has no incentive to withhold NBC shows and channels from Internet distributors such as YouTube and Vuze because they want as many eyeballs as possible. They say that market is too young to regulate and that the FCC shouldnt impose conditions on the merged company that would force it to share NBC and Comcast channels with online video distributors.

Even if it did keep competitors from getting their shows, "there is no basis for expecting withholding current NBCU networks from online providers could significantly harm the ability of an online provider to attract or retain subscribers," according to a Comcast online video report written by Mark Israel and Michael Katz.

Indeed, the market for online video is dynamic. The number of videos online is booming. YouTube is still the top distributor of content, and in May it achieved a record level of viewing with 14.6 billion videos watched, according to Comscore. Eight out of 10 Internet users watched video online in May, and the average Hulu viewer watched 27 videos in May.

But regulators and critics of the merger say that market is precisely where the FCC and Justice Department should place much of its attention.

Democratic Commissioner Michael J. Copps said promises by the companies to behave well and not to block content arent enough.

Approval of this proposed transaction would be a very steep climb," Copps said in his speech at the Chicago hearing. "I cannot, I will not, accept half-hearted pledges of fairness from industry when the future of the Web is at stake. And right now the assurances and conditions we have received on this Comcast/NBCU proposal dont pass the red-face test."

Susan Crawford, a former White House adviser and professor at Cardoza Law School, said Comcast is motivated to merge with NBC in an attempt to avoid being a dumb pipe. That means it wants to prioritize its own content and withhold it from other distributors that would pose competition to its broadband and video business.

Future growth for Comcast, already the country's leading broadband provider, will come from having the most subscribers to the fastest and most valued pipe, she said in her testimony at the field hearing. Comcast would like, instead, a pipe that is capable of controlling, tiering and prioritizing online content, just as a cable distributor does. The leadership of the company believes that increased participation in content will delay the day when that pipe is just a pipe.

She and others said that if the merger is approved, there should be program access conditions similar to that in paid television that would force Comcast to share content to online video providers. There isnt a similar program access rule that applies to Internet video distribution.

Cecilia Kang
Washington Post

Blacks and Latinos Continue to Lead in Mobile Data Usage

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 06:57:52

]]> About half of black and Hispanic adults access the mobile web, compared with one in three whites

Mobile internet and data usage is becoming more popular overall as smartphones proliferate and feature phones become more sophisticated, but not all adults are taking up the new habits at the same pace.

A May 2010 study from the Pew Internet & American Life Foundation found that non-Hispanic white adults are still the least likely group to own a mobile phone, at 80%, compared with 87% of black and Hispanic adults. And theyre doing less with the phones they have.

A majority of English-speaking Hispanic adults accessed the internet from their mobile phone, and nearly as many checked email. Black respondents were not far behind, but among whites only a third went online and 30% used email. This pattern was repeated across all mobile data activities studied.

Broadening the scope of wireless activities to include the use of laptops with either the mobile internet or Wi-Fi access, white respondents were still behind, though they were more likely to say this was their only method of accessing the wireless internet.

Notably, while wireless access overall rose with income, the less affluent dominated the ranks of those with mobile internet service only on their cellphone. This mirrors earlier results from Pew on teens and the mobile web. While low-income teens, as well as black and Hispanic respondents, sometimes lacked home internet access, they closed the digital divide by accessing the internet via their mobile phones. Lower-income adults appear to be doing the same.

While some groups lag behind, mobile data use is indisputably on the rise. Pew found that overall 38% of US adult mobile owners accessed the internet on their phone in May 2010, up from 25% in April 2009. With younger adults clearly leading the way on mobile and wireless internet access, and teens mobile-obsessed, such increases will continue.

Jesse Jackson calls on Comcast-NBCU to increase ad spending with black media

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 06:55:22

]]> The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., president and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, called on Comcast and NBC Universal to address the economic trade imbalance between Black-owned media and advertising firms which have been ignored in the hearings concerning the proposed merger of the two media giants.

"The current economic relationship between African-American-owned media and advertising firms and Comcast/NBCU has not been a part of the discussions taking place about this merger," said Rev. Jackson. "These two media companies have a multi-Billion dollar trade deficit with African-American consumers. A mutually beneficial trade relationship must be negotiated to end the media and economic segregation that exists."

Among the economic facts that Rev. Jackson said must be considered are these:

- Black consumers spend more than $9 Billion a year for cable service and Internet service, most of that going to Comcast, according to data from the federal government.

- The Black community sends a half-Billion dollars every single month to Comcast for cable and Internet service. And Black consumers pay more per household than any other consumers because they're more willing to pay for premium cable service and the fastest Internet service.

- Comcast and NBCU have not negotiated with Black-owned media companies or ad agencies about advertising directed to Black consumers. Advertising represents the largest sum of money Comcast and NBCU spend with the Black community every year.

- According to industry figures, Comcast and NBCU last year collectively spent more than $1.5 Billion in advertising. Only $6.3 Million was spent on advertising in Black media -- less than 1/2 of one percent. Practically none of that money was spent with Black-owned media.

"We need a fair trade agreement between Comcast-NBCU, Black-owned media companies, and Black-owned ad agencies and public relations firms," said Rev. Jackson. "A merger between Comcast and NBCU will mean that there will likely be no competition possible for the billions of dollars we spend for cable service, Internet service and Black-oriented news and public affairs programming, and no possibility for greater minority ownership of television, cable, Internet and other media platforms."

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition recently announced the formation of The Marketing & Media Project to join RPC's other industry-focused projects whose mission is to protect, defend, and gain civil and economic rights by leveling the playing fields. A Steering Committee has been formed within The Marketing & Media Project consisting of Danny Bakewell of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Jim Winston of National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB), Eugene Morris of the Association of Black-Owned Advertising Agencies (ABAA), and Robert Bogle of the African American News and Information Consortium (AANIC).

Blacks, Hispanics Continue to Lead in Mobile Data Usage

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:37:54