Media & Politics
16-Jun-09
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
Sebelius explains to Matthews that private insurers already deny care “every day” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommends denial of care as a model (by DCblogger at Corrente)
Report: Medicare Expansion Would Not Solve Problems “To illustrate what it might take to save Medicare, the commission describes how primary-care doctors, specialists and hospitals could be reorganized into ‘accountable care organizations’ whose members would receive bonuses if the organizations met quality and cost targets. To ratchet up the incentives, health-care providers who fail to meet cost and quality targets could be penalized, the report says.” If we do not speak out the health insurance parasites denial of care model will be legitimized under the pretext of cost control.
Analysis: Doctors’ boos show Obama’s tough road (AP)
Barack Obama isn’t used to hearing boos. For all the young president’s popularity, the response he got Monday from doctors at an American Medical Association meeting was a sign his road is only going to get rockier as he tries to sell his plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system. The boos erupted when Obama told the doctors in Chicago he wouldn’t try to help them win their top legislative priority — limits on jury damages in medical malpractice cases… Instead, Obama left the door open to some kind of compromise on malpractice…
Not long ago, doctors’ decisions were rarely questioned. Now they are being blamed for a big part of the wasteful spending in the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system. Studies have shown that as much as 30 cents of the U.S. health care dollar may be going for tests and procedures that are of little or no value to patients…
[Obama] promised that Washington would not dictate clinical decisions. And he asked the doctors to imagine a world in which nearly every patient has insurance coverage and they can devote their full attention to the practice of medicine. “You did not enter this profession to be bean-counters and paper-pushers,” Obama said. “You entered this profession to be healers — and that’s what our health care system should let you be.” That line got him an ovation.
So let’s get out our calculators, shall we? If 30% of health care costs are attributable to unnecessary tests (see above), and another 30% of health care costs are attributable to profits, fat salaries for insurance company CEO, and paying clerks to deny coverage and claims (see here), that means ALMOST 60% OF HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES ARE UNNECESSARY. Quite an eye opener, isn’t it?
So now are they going to tell us that if some of those testing companies close their doors, it will mean lost jobs? And that we’re just as obligated to keep them in business doing unnecessary tests as we are to maintaining insurance company profits and overhead? That it’s our duty?
You wouldn’t know it from news reports, but most doctors support national health care (by Jamison Foser at County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
In the comments section of my column about media coverage of the AMA, a reader writes: “Do you think you are fooling people? In this entire article, you never once address what the FAR MAJORITY of Doctors believe. They believe that a nationalized program will be the downfall of coverage and care as we know it… Do your job as a jornalist…” Well. I’m no journalist; I’m a media critic. But the reader is correct that responsible reporters should report the facts. And the facts are that, despite what media reporting about the AMA’s recent comments would lead you to believe, most doctors support national health care.
On Dobbs, Pilgrim falsely suggests AMA represents “the nation’s doctors” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
The AMA Does Not Represent Us (Dr. Margaret Flowers and Dr. Carol Paris, members of Physicians for a National Health Program)
[T]he AMA represents less than one-third of America’s physicians, and half of those are retired. [Emphasis added.] In fact, the American Medical Student Association endorses universal health care reform. The AMA’s longstanding opposition to every effort to change health care financing, including Medicare in the 1960s, has resulted in decades of needless and countless morbidity and mortality. Sixty people die every day in this country simply for lack of access to health care. And instead of being an advocate for the only solution that accomplishes the goals of universal coverage and fiscal viability, the single-payer option, the AMA continues to be primarily a trade association looking out for the financial interests of its members… The AMA does not represent us.
Dean On Conrad’s Co-op Plan: Insurance Industry Licking Its Lips (by Sam Stein at the Huffington Post)
Sen. Kent Conrad’s proposal for a cooperative approach to health insurance coverage has created a unique challenge for progressive health care advocates who don’t object to the idea but find it inadequate… “This is a big mistake,” former Gov. Howard Dean told the Huffington Post. “These co-ops will be very weak. Many won’t have the half-million members that most experts think is necessary to influence the market… Insurance companies will be licking their lips.”… Added SEIU President Andy Stern through his active twitter account: “Health Care Co-op is distraction from need for real competition and cost control. Good idea and attempts to avoid important debate on costs.”
A health care flashback (by Jamison Foser at County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Look what I came across while researching my column about media coverage of the American Medical Association (note the date): “…August 25, 1994… America‘s corporations – the biggest buyers of health benefits – have been forcing reforms on their own for years. [Emphasis added.] Regardless what happens in Washington they’ll keep cutting costs, reducing chances that drug companies, hospitals and other medical providers would seek to sharply raise prices.” Just something to keep in mind the next time you see a news report offer industry-friendly spin that things won’t be that bad if comprehensive health care reform doesn’t happen.
On CNBC, David Goodfriend notes that conservatives have been calling health care reform “socialism” since the 1930s (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Obama to single-payer advocates: “go fuck yourselves” (by vastleft at Corrente)
Naturally, he wasn’t talking directly to us “liberal bleeding hearts.” Instead, he delivered the message to the AMA: “‘What are not legitimate concerns are those being put forward claiming a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system,’ he said. I’ll be honest. There are countries where a single-payer system may be working. But I believe — and I’ve even taken some flak from members of my own party for this belief — that it is important for us to build on our traditions here in the United States.’”
Yes, well, slavery was once a tradition here in the United States, President Obama.
New Limbaugh argument against public health care plan: “[T]here’s no federal dog healthcare plan out there, and it’s working just fine” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Senate GOP Blocking Obama Nominees In Attempt To Delay Health Care And Climate Legislation (Think Progress)
In April, ThinkProgress noted that Republicans were blocking an increasing number of President Obama’s nominees to pursue ideological witch hunts and to facilitate self-interested horse trades. Two months later, a number of key nominees are still waiting and Senate Republicans are bottling up dozens more of Obama’s nominees in order to delay action on key Obama agenda items like health care and climate change legislation by consuming one of the most precious resources in the Senate: floor time.
Why Progressives Have to get Serious about Health Care Reform (Democracy Corps)
We are convinced that the country will support comprehensive health care reform — if we respect how voters will assess our plans, provide key information about how reform will work (particularly to reduce costs) and if the president carries forward with his educative role. This conclusion is based on our most current survey, which shows a plurality for the Obama plan, but short of a majority — which gets larger after a robust debate. The survey replicates questions we asked in 1993 when President Clinton launched his health care reform plans, and I write about those findings in the latest New Republic.
It happens over and over and over again. The policies that will benefit the greatest number of people are derailed, leaving us with nothing or even less.
Obama: Iranian voters’ voices should be heard (AP)
President Barack Obama says the world is inspired by the outpouring of Iranian political dissent, but Sen. John McCain said Obama isn’t speaking out strongly enough.
Iranian Council Agrees to Limited Recount (Washington Post)
Iran‘s influential Guardian Council agreed Tuesday to recount some ballots from last week’s disputed presidential election, as pro- and anti-government demonstrators prepared to face off in a public square in the central part of the capital. The unusual step by the council, several members of which had supported President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s bid for re-election, was quickly rejected as insufficient by the opposition… Their supporters said it would be difficult — if not impossible — to request a recount comprehensive enough to overturn what the government has said was a landslide in favor of Ahmadinejad.
Could Ahmadinejad actually have won? Read the disputed poll (McClatchy)
The Center for Public Opinion, a nonprofit institute that researches attitudes toward extremism, and the New America Foundation conducted a poll in Iran May 11-20, interviewing 1,001 people. They found Ahmadinejad with a large lead over his rivals.
Fleischer Claims ‘Substantial Reform Movement In Iran’ Is ‘Because Of George W. Bush’s Tough Policies’ (Think Progress)
The Washington Post’s Al Kamen reports [Monday] that former Bush flack Ari Fleischer emailed fellow Post reporter Glenn Kessler before any results had been issued in Iran’s hotly-contested presidential election to give credit to his former boss for the “reformists’ surge” there. “[O]ne of the reasons there is a substantial reform movement in Iran — particularly among its young people — is because of George W. Bush’s tough policies,” Fleischer wrote… Aside from the fact that Fleischer’s claim cannot really ever be verified (a tactic former Bush administration officials use when defending their failed policies), it’s clear that Iran’s power in the region has grown significantly in the region since 2001 — a point one wonders if Fleischer will also give Bush credit for.
REPORT: Key Terror Detainee Acknowledged ‘I Make Up Stories’ In Response To Torture (Think Progress)
The Bush administration has long justified its use of torture by claiming that it obtained valuable information from torturing 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed… But according to documents released by the Obama administration in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, Cheney was lying. Mohammed told U.S. military officials that he gave false information to the CIA after withstanding torture… The torture of Mohammed, who we know was waterboarded 183 times in one month, “underscores the unreliability of statements obtained by torture.”
The Good Soldier: Hillary Clinton As Secretary of State (by Peter Keating, New York Daily News)
Clinton has steadily accumulated power while expending hardly any political capital. For one thing, she has stirred an effective mix of politicos and diplomats into the top tiers of the State Department… Further, Clinton hasn’t made mistakes. There have been no Joe Biden–like gaffes, Tom Daschle–like embarrassments, or Judd Gregg–like turnarounds coming from Hillary. Or from her husband — these days, Bill Clinton would have us believe he spends his time shopping for trinkets, unable even to get Hillary on her cell phone.
Meanwhile, nobody else has developed an alternative foreign-policy power center within the administration… In public, Clinton has spent the last six months fundamentally realigning American foreign policy away from reliance on military force, toward what she calls (in a wise abandonment of the lefty academic phrase “soft power”) “smart power” — more diplomacy and international economic assistance. She has also been striving to ensure zero daylight between her and Obama on any issue, big or small, whatever positions she might have taken as a New York senator or presidential candidate. If Clinton minds toiling in Obama’s shadow, or representing her former rival as America’s best face to the world, she hasn’t shown it.
Hillary has always been a team player. That’s why the vicious attacks on her last year for being selfish were so infuriatingly unfair.
Bill Clinton, in new diplomatic role, urges help for Haiti (Truthdig)
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who has been appointed as United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, says one of his first orders of business to help the impoverished Caribbean nation will be to ensure that $353 million in promised pledges from the international community actually end up in Haiti.
S. Korea Seeks Assurances From U.S. of Nuclear Shield (Washington Post)
As state media in North Korea continued to warn of possible nuclear war, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak flew to Washington for talks with President Obama at which Lee is expected to seek a written promise of continued U.S. nuclear protection. The United States has maintained a nuclear umbrella over South Korea since the Korean War and it periodically reaffirms that protection, although not at the level of a White House statement.
May housing construction jumps by 17.2 percent (AP)
Construction of new homes jumped in May by the largest amount in three months, providing an encouraging sign that the nation’s deep housing recession was beginning to bottom out.
Stimulus serves up Obama pork (Politico)
It became a sort of poster child for fiscal responsibility — a clean-coal power plant in Illinois that was one of then-Sen. Barack Obama’s pet projects. Democrats insisted they were so serious about keeping pork out of the stimulus bill that it was President Obama himself who blocked the FutureGen project from the massive spending package. “It shows that we’re serious about it,” Brendan Daly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman, said at the time. “The speaker said it, and the president said it: There will not be earmarks in this bill.” Earmarks? Perhaps not. But funding for FutureGen? Absolutely, to the tune of $1 billion.
The Department of Energy on Friday announced that the FutureGen project is on track after all, committing federal stimulus money to advance the project to its next stage. One reason: It was the only shovel-ready project that fits the requirements of the stimulus bill. Administration officials and the project’s other big backer, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), insist that’s not an earmark at all, as promised — because the stimulus bill doesn’t specifically name the FutureGen project as a recipient of the money. But others say that’s a distinction without a difference — that FutureGen is merely an earmark by another name.
Obama to create new agency (Politico)
President Barack Obama on Wednesday will call for the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency as part of his long-awaited plan for overhauling the nation’s market regulatory structure in response to last year’s meltdown, administration officials tell POLITICO. The promise to “re-regulate” the wounded financial system after the go-go years is one of the centerpieces of the president’s agenda, in a year when he’s taking on many of the nation’s most complex problems all at once. Officials call the overhaul by far the biggest since the 1930s.
The new independent agency – which Obama will begin talking up in a series of interviews on Tuesday afternoon — will look after consumers on matters like credit cards, with “a very clear line of accountability around products that they deem abusive of consumers, or misleading,” a senior administration official said.
Don’t know much about it yet, but it sounds like a good idea.
Barack Hoover Obama: The best and the brightest blow it again (by Kevin Baker, Harper’s, subscription required)
Much like Herbert Hoover, Barack Obama is a man attempting to realize a stirring new vision of his society without cutting himself free from the dogmas of the past-without accepting the inevitable conflict. Like Hoover, he is bound
to fail. President Obama, to be fair, seems to be even more alone than Hoover was in facing the emergency at hand. The most appalling aspect of the present crisis has been the utter fecklessness of the American elite in failing to confront it. From both the private and public sectors, across the entire political spectrum, the lack of both will and new ideas has been stunning.
Because with the elite of our country, it’s all “I, me, mine, I, me, mine, I, me, mine.”
Why not turn the banks into regulated public utilities? (by lambert at Corrente)
Fred gave Timmy and Larry some space on his Op-Ed page, and they finish up this way: “By restoring the public’s trust in our financial system, the administration’s reforms will allow the financial system to play its most important function: transforming the earnings and savings of workers into the loans that help families buy homes and cars, help parents send kids to college, and help entrepreneurs build their businesses…” Well, if that’s all the banks are good for, then why do we need the huge CEO salaries, and all the “innovation,” and the one-day-a-week jobs, and all the weasels pulling down commissions? If banking’s going to become boring again, why do we need banksters?
Same comment as above.
CIA head says Cheney almost wishing US be attacked (AP)
CIA Director Leon Panetta says former Vice President Dick Cheney’s criticism of the Obama administration’s approach to terrorism almost suggests “he’s wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point.” Panetta told The New Yorker for an article in its June 22 issue that Cheney “smells some blood in the water” on the issue of national security. Cheney has said in several interviews that he thinks Obama is making the U.S. less safe. He has been critical of Obama for ordering the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, halting enhanced interrogations of suspected terrorists and reversing other Bush administration initiatives he says helped to prevent attacks on the U.S.
Intel officials ‘scrutinizing threats from the far right just as carefully as those from Islamic extremists.’ (Think Progress)
After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaked a report warning of the threat of right-wing extremists, mainstream conservatives went into a frenzy, demanding that Secretary Janet Napolitano be fired. According to Newsweek, some local intelligence “fusion” centers ceased their operations monitoring right-wing extremists because of the conservative outcry. Now, after a series of murders by far-right extremists, intelligence officials admit they are taking the threat seriously: “They may talk about it less in public now, but law-enforcment and intel officials tell NEWSWEEK they’re quietly scrutinizing threats from the far right just as carefully as those from Islamic extremists.”
Is Obama holding up E-Verify? (McClatchy)
Legislators and advocates are questioning President Obama’s commitment to enforcing immigration laws after, again, delaying when federal contractors need to adhere to an order to use an employment-verification system designed to identify illegal immigrants.
VA inspections show continued flaws (AP)
Fewer than half of Veterans Affairs centers given a surprise inspection last month had proper training and guidelines in place for common endoscopic procedures such as colonoscopies — even after the agency learned that mistakes may have exposed thousands of veterans to HIV and other diseases.
Mayors steamed by W.H. no-show (Politico)
America’s big-city mayors are steaming over what they view as “a very dangerous precedent” set by the Obama administration in its decision to shun the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Providence, R.I., this week. In its attempt to honor the picket line of a local firefighters union involved in a labor dispute with the city, the administration has inadvertently angered some of its staunchest supporters in urban America, who argue that by declining to send an official contingent to the three-day mayors’ conference, the administration is caving in to labor and snubbing local governments at a time of economic strife.
I think the administration made the right call on this issue.
Calif. Aid Request Spurned By U.S. (Washington Post)
The Obama administration has turned back pleas for emergency aid from one of the biggest remaining threats to the economy — the state of California. Top state officials have gone hat in hand to the administration, armed with dire warnings of a fast-approaching “fiscal meltdown” caused by a budget shortfall. Concern has grown inside the White House in recent weeks as California’s fiscal condition has worsened, leading to high-level administration meetings. But federal officials are worried that a bailout of California would set off a cascade of demands from other states. With an economy larger than Canada’s or Brazil’s, the state is too big to fail, California officials urge.
Exclusive: House Dems Planning Major Changes To Secret CIA Briefings Of Congress (by Greg Sargent at The Plum Line)
In a move that could spark another fight with the GOP over CIA intelligence and secrecy, House Dems are quietly preparing to make major changes to the ways the CIA briefs Congress on covert actions, by broadening the pool of members of Congress who will have access to such private briefings, a source familiar with deliberations says. Dems on the House Intelligence Committee have drafted a new bill that would strip the President of his authority to limit such briefings to the so-called “Gang of Eight” — the leaders of the House and Senate from both parties, and the leaders of the Congressional Intelligence committees — and allow a larger group of members of Congress to attend.
The move, which is being championed internally by House Intel chair Silvestre Reyes, would also compel the CIA to keep a far more detailed record of these briefings, though these details still need to be worked out.
Congress OKs More FDA Regulation Over Tobacco-Funded Senators’ Opposition (Open Secrets)
Big Tobacco is closely tied to the small group of lawmakers who opposed recent legislation allowing greater FDA regulation of tobacco products and advertising methods…. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), has received more money ($359,100) since 1989 than any lawmaker but one from tobacco companies, many of which are based in his Tar Heel State Burr spearheaded the effort to defeat the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act… Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is the all-time leader in reaping the tobacco industry’s contributions. Over the senator’s career, he has received $419,000 from PACs and individuals associated with major tobacco companies…
In addition to Burr and McConnell, 14 other Senate Republicans also voted against providing the FDA with more regulatory authority. They include: Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, who has received $228,700 from the industry over time and Jim Bunning of Kentucky, who has collected $194,150. One Democrat, freshman Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, joined them in opposing the legislation. Hagan received $19,200 from Big Tobacco during her 2008 cycle campaign.
Ethics Panel Members Received Paltry PMA Contributions (Open Secrets)
Some members of Congress are currently drawing media scrutiny (and Justice Department subpoenas) as a result of their close financial ties to a defunct lobbying shop, PMA Group, which was raided by federal agents late last year. But the House Ethics Committee members who began an investigation into the firm’s activities last week have received relatively little in the way of campaign donations from PMA and its defense-contractor clients.
Democrats Plan for Byrd “Contingencies” (Political Wire)
Sen. Robert Byrd’s (D-WV) state of health “has prompted some quiet, behind-the-scenes discussions in the event the senator is unable to return to office,” the West Virginia Gazette reports. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) met with state Democratic Party chairman Nick Casey last week, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on a conference call to discuss contingencies.” Casey “is generally regarded as the consensus choice to serve as a placeholder for Byrd’s Senate seat in the event Byrd would have to step down prior to the 2010 elections.”
How Congress Really Works (Political Wire)
This new book by Rep. Henry Waxman and Joshua Green is a must-read for political junkies. It’s described as an “inside account of how Congress really works by describing the subtleties and complexities of the legislative process.” The authors give readers “a rare glimpse into how this is achieved-the strategy, the maneuvering, the behind-the-scenes deals” and show “how the things we take for granted (clear information about tobacco’s harmfulness, accurate nutritional labeling, important drugs that have saved countless lives) started out humbly-derided by big business interests as impossible or even destructive. Sometimes, the most dramatic breakthroughs occur through small twists of fate or the most narrow voting margin.”
Buy the book here.
US Supreme Court refuses “Cuban Five” spy case (AFP)
The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear the case of five Cubans serving prison sentences for spying in the United States, effectively upholding their conviction by a lower court.
Dem Establishment’s Fundraising Machine Kicks Into Gear For Specter (by Greg Sargent at The Plum Line)
It’s striking how swiftly the Dem establishment has lined up behind Arlen Specter, making Joe Sestak’s expected primary challenge to the newly-minted Dem a major uphill climb. Here’s the latest: The Dem establishment’s money machine is kicking into gear behind Specter, with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chief Robert Menendez set to help host a big fundraiser for Specter later this month at the swanky Regency Hotel in New York… The DSCC had always said that it would back Specter in a primary, though it doesn’t go out of its way to advertise it. And Harry Reid and even President Obama are likely to help raise cash for Specter, too. That the Dem money machine is kicking into gear for Specter so fast is yet another sign of what Sestak is up against.
I hope Jose Sestak kicks Specter’s, and the poohbahs’, asses.
Bloomberg Cruising to Re-Election (Political Wire)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg beats William Thompson (D) in the New York City mayoral race, 54% to 32%, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Bloomberg sweeps the political spectrum, leading Thompson 49% to 40% among Democrats, 71% to 12% among Republicans and 59% to 26% among independent voters.
Pawlenty Will Explore White House Bid (Political Wire)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), who has decided against running for a third term in 2010, “will spend the next two years traveling the country to see if he can build enough support to run for president in 2012,” his associates tell Washington Whispers. “The Republican, who is expected to play up his humble roots and past in a populist bid against President Obama, will decide in 2011 if there is enough of a base on which to build his campaign. Those close to “T-Paw” said that his focus is the presidency, not a vice presidential nomination or an effort to raise his name recognition en route to a bid in 2016.”
Fundraising Begins for a Jindal Presidential Bid (Political Wire)
A group of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s (R) political supporters, “including an uncle of the governor’s wife, Supriya Jindal, are forming a federal political action committee to support a presidential run by the 38-year-old Republican,” the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Though Jindal’s press secretary insists to the Baton Rouge Advocate that the governor, “does not support this effort,” an insider tells Political Wire that Jindal’s top aides manage their responsibilities “in the context of preparing Bobby for a 2012 run.”
Blago Attends the Theatre (by Pareene at Gawker)
Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe has a show called “Rod Blagojevich Superstar.” And because he is insane, the real Rod Blagojevich went to a performance of the show about how he was impeached as governor after being indicted for corruption.
WATCH Letterman Apologizes To Palin: “I Told A Joke That Was Beyond Flawed” (video)
Palin accepts Letterman apology (Politico)
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has accepted David Letterman’s apology on making a bad joke about her 14-year-old daughter. In a statement, Palin says she accepts Letterman’s apology “on behalf of young women like my daughters, who hope men who ‘joke’ about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve.”
State GOP staffer sends racist image of Obama. (Think Progress)
[A] racist e-mail was sent out by a legislative staffer for Tennessee GOP state senator Diane Black. The staffer, Sherri Goforth, e-mailed this composite picture of the country’s 44 presidents, which represents President Obama with only a set of eyes:
The GOP tries Social Networking! (by Tengrain at Mock, Paper, Scissors)
Today we became aware that the GOP should have stopped with mastery of the Fax machine and pagers. It seems that there is something called Facebook that one of the more curious and adventuresome Elephants, South Carolina State Senate candidate Rusty DePass, decided to try his hand:
South Carolina Pol Apologizes for Obama Comment (Political Wire)
A former Republican party official in South Carolina “apologized after his posting on Facebook suggested a gorilla that escaped form a Columbia zoo was an ancestor of first lady Michelle Obama,” reports the Charlotte Observer… “The comment has since been deleted, but DePass confirmed to WIS-TV that he made it, apologizing and saying it was a joke about statements Obama has made about evolution.”
So Americans are moving away from considering themselves on the same side as these racists, right? Wrong:
“Conservatives” Are Single-Largest Ideological Group (Gallup)
Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s.
Despite the fact that Americans consistently support most of the same things as those of us who call ourselves progressives or liberals, they call themselves conservatives. The right-wing media machine is very successful in that regard, and liberals have failed miserably to get their message out.
Bad Predictions (Political Wire)
Ronald Brownstein: “To reread the major political books from the years around Bush’s reelection is to be plunged, as if into a cold pool, back into a world of Democratic gloom and anxiety. Those books were linked by the common belief that Republicans had established a thin but durable electoral advantage that threatened to exile Democrats from power for years, if not decades. Many books from that time assumed Democrats could avoid that eclipse only by adopting the tactics used by Republicans in general and Rove in particular… In fact, by the time most of these books were published, the Republican ‘fortress’ looked more like a crumbling sand castle.”
So just remember this when you hear stuff about Democrats now being invincible: most of these pontificators have no idea what they’re talking about.
Axelrod tells grads why he left journalism for politics (Chicago Sun-Times)
President Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod divulged a few secrets of his college days today as he told 1,300 journalism and other DePaul University graduates to “chase their passions” and not “succumb to the pull of the pull of the practical.”… Axelrod spoke of his start in journalism. “In those days, superb reporting played a historic role in uncovering the truth, shining a bright light on events like Vietnam and Watergate,” Axelrod said. “Journalists heped save the republic, and I wanted to be a part of that. But, over time, things changed. By the mid-1980s, journalism was becoming more business than calling. The front office began to take over the newsroom. The emphasis went from veracity to velocity, from reporting to receipts.” He said that’s when he went into politics.
Congratulations, David, for then helping to make politics more of a business than a calling.
Obama White House Woos New York Times (Politico)
Where George W. Bush’s team made a show of not caring about The New York Times, aides in this White House treat the paper with a deference that James Reston himself would have appreciated. Even routine news stories buried deep inside the A-section often quote high-level sources.
The Obama officials blocking accountability for Bush crimes (by Glenn Greenwald at Unclaimed Territory, Salon)
The battle against baseless, worthless grants of anonymity by journalists is, at this point, probably futile, since even many of the nation’s best and most valuable reporters — such as The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer — seem helplessly addicted to it. In an otherwise solid and at times enlightening article on CIA Director Leon Panetta and his resistance to investigating past CIA abuses, Mayer includes this passage at the beginning of her article to explain how Panetta was chosen only after Obama’s first choice, John Brennan, was rejected:
“A friend of Brennan’s from his C.I.A. days complained to me, ‘After a few Cheeto-eating people in the basement working in their underwear who write blogs voiced objections to Brennan, the Obama Administration pulled his name at the first sign of smoke, and then ruled out a whole class of people: anyone who had been at the agency during the past ten years couldn’t pass the blogger test.’”
What possible justification is there to grant anonymity to someone to spout these clichéd and factually false insults? First, as I’ve documented numerous times and as Mayer herself well knows, the case against Brennan was not that he was “at the agency for the past ten years” or even that he had anything to do with the torture program, but rather that (as she herself documents later in the piece) he explicitly advocated and defended many of the worst torture techniques and other Bush abuses. Second, unlike the individual who is willing to spout these insults only while cowardly hiding behind Mayer’s shield of anonymity, the bloggers who led the opposition to Brennan (including myself and The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan) all attached their names to their views and — as Spencer Ackerman notes – are about as far away as one can be from the trite, adolescent cartoons spewed by Mayer’s anonymous insulter. Third, one of the principal points of Mayer’s long article is that the objections to Brennan have been vindicated, because — as Obama’s chief counter-terrorism adviser — he has led the way in urging Obama to keep past CIA abuses suppressed and Bush crimes protected from accountability.
Congressional Black Caucus says Sunday shows need more diversity (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Over the years Media Matters has released several detailed reports documenting the lack of ideological, racial and gender diversity within the media in general and on the all-important Sunday morning network political talk shows more specifically. Well, [Monday] The Hill reports that the Congressional Black Caucus is calling for increased diversity on the Sunday shows… In the past, the networks have contended that their guest line-ups reflect those in power despite the fact that little changed in 2007 after Democrats took control of Congress. By their own standard one would expect things to look a little different on Sunday mornings these days.
Truthdig Wins 3 Journalism Awards (Truthdig)
Thanks to the LA Press Club for acknowledging the excellent work of our writers with three Southern California Journalism Awards. Congratulations to Chris Hedges, who won Online Journalist of the Year and Best Online Column, and Scott Ritter, who took home an award for Best Online Feature. Continue reading for the full list of 12 Truthdig finalists and links to the winning and nominated articles.
Carlos Watson Gets 11am Slot on MSNBC (TVNewser, Media Bistro)
Carlos Watson, who officially joined MSNBC as a dayside anchor in March, will be the host of the 11amET hour. His first day was [Monday]… Watson was recently asked not to promote his personal Website, The Stimulist, and although he didn’t mention the site by name, he did bring over one of the features. “Now we’re going to move on to my daily big thought,” said Watson, delivering his take in a segment called “The C-Note.” That name is used for his personal column on The Stimulist, and [Monday’s] topic was taken directly from his June 5th post.
O’Reilly still falsely suggesting he was only reporting that Tiller was “known” as “Tiller the baby killer” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
O’Reilly: Walsh’s position on late-term fetuses “has everything to do with destroying human life for trivial reasons” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Did Scientologists Get Fox News Gossip Fired? (New York Daily News)
Did Fox News bow to pressure from Kelly Preston, Tom Cruise, and other members of the Church of Scientology when it fired entertainment/gossip columnist Roger Friedman? That’s what the journo is expected to charge in a wrongful termination lawsuit this week.
Hannity claims Limbaugh didn’t make fun of Michael J. Fox (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Limbaugh proclaims events in “[t]he era of Obama” are “the kind of things that happen in totalitarian regimes” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Limbaugh claims that “global warming is a lie; global cooling is in full swing” (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
Boortz: People living in Katrina trailers, Section 8 housing and on welfare shouldn’t be allowed to vote (County Fair, Media Mattes for America)
National Review Online Is Sadly Losing Its Chief Source of Batshit Craziness (by John Cook at Gawker)
Kathryn Jean Lopez, who has in the past year led the National Review Online to ecstatic heights of tribal ululation free of reason and unhinged from political reality, is leaving. Going to picket abortion clinics full-time, we presume… Rich Lowry, the editor of the National Review’s print edition, will take over Lopez’s duties… The fact that Lowry doesn’t appear to be hiring a replacement—it seems pretty clear from Lopez’ post that his new duties will not be temporary—is a further indication that the National Review is hurting for cash in the wake of Buckley’s death.
Gay rights ordinance up for discussion in Anchorage (McClatchy)
An ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation is again on the Anchorage Assembly agenda Tuesday with some last minute changes by the chairwoman, who is tweaking the controversial proposal to make it more palatable to both sides.
Fertilizer industry finds its alternative energy: corncobs (Truthdig)
American agriculture has become increasingly dependent on foreign sources of natural gas, a key ingredient in the nitrogen fertilizer that farmers use to get high yields of crops such as corn and wheat.
Media Matters for America headlines
Why doesn’t the NYT report AMA’s backtrack on public plan?
Beck hosts “disenfranchised Democrat” … who’s also apparently an anti-Obama conspiracy theorist
NY Times article on Sotomayor property rights case tells only half the story
Fox News’ Bream ignored evidence undermining Long’s attack on Sotomayor as “extreme”
Doocy twisted Biden remark to falsely claim administration backtracking on job creation
NBC’s Guthrie falsely suggests AMA represents “the nation’s doctors”
NY Times left out key facts in report on AMA
Hume, Will use Iranian election to promote long-standing opposition to engaging Iran
Iran bars foreign media from reporting on streets
Iranian authorities are restricting all journalists working for foreign media from firsthand reporting on the streets.
CNN Fail? Network Covers Iran Post-Election More than Any Other Cabler
With Amanpour’s reporting from the ground and Fareed Zakaria’s heavy focus on the story during “GPS,” the Iran crisis was a major topic on air for the network. Still, as the New York Times notes, “It did not provide the kind of wall-to-wall coverage that some had expected.”
McClatchy almost didn’t send a reporter to Iran
“As the Iranian elections were approaching, we thought long and hard about whether we would send anybody, and for a long time we thought we wouldn’t because it simply costs a lot of money to send a reporter into Iran,” says McClatchy’s Mark Seibel. “Finally we decided that we needed to do it. They were giving out visas, and they aren’t easy to get. But to do that, what we did was cancel a trip for a reporter to Afghanistan.”
China Orders Patches to Planned Web Filter
Efforts to improve a censorship application suggest that the government still supports its use.
Music cos. vow to show Minn. woman shared 24 songs
The recording industry began its second attempt at proving that a Minnesota woman engaged in illegal sharing of copyrighted music on the Internet and should be held accountable.
Entertainment & Media Sector Recovery: Might Have To Wait Till 2011: PwC (Paid Content)
PricewaterhouseCoopers is coming out with its omnibus annual entertainment and media sector forecasts…, and the outlook is pretty grim worldwide, though Asia is looking much brighter than the North America and Europe, not surprisingly. According to its Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2009-2013: —The global entertainment & media market as a whole, including both consumer and advertising spending will grow by 2.7 percent compounded annually for the entire forecast period to $1.6 trillion in 2013.
Click through for more highlights.
WaPo’s Brauchli: Evaluating Online Fee Options ‘Prudently’ (Paid Content)
One question that inevitably comes up these days when a top newspaper exec talks online with readers: How can I pay you for online news? (Of course, that shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that enough readers want to pay for online news to make it work.) [Monday] was Washington Post Managing Editor Marcus Brauchli’s turn and, while the response didn’t move the needle one bit, it does offer a little insight into the way the paper is approaching the matter: “We’ve certainly considered whether it would be possible to charge for our content online. We fund our news operations from revenues generated largely by advertising. Online advertisers pay for an audience—the larger, the better. If we put up a wall that readers would have to pay to cross, and then readers didn’t cross it, our advertising revenues would probably suffer. So we are, you might say, evaluating our options prudently.”
But the rest of his answer sounds a lot less active in terms of options—and very uncertain that there is one: “That said, just about everybody in the news business is thinking about the question of whether or how to charge for news online. And if there were an answer that made sense for our readers, our advertisers and us, we’d no doubt weigh it seriously.”
Facebook and The Washington Post: More Than Meets the Eye (Mashable)
The Washington Post has pushed out Facebook Connect integration, allowing readers to login to the site using their Facebook credentials as opposed to a WashingtonPost.com account… Currently, The Washington Post uses Pluck to power a variety of social networking features on the site… However, all of these features, frankly, should be powered by Facebook. Facebook Connect would enable The Washington Post to import all of this data from the social network, instantly populating its community with vibrant content. Not to mention, The Post could gain significant traffic, as actions taken within its community – like commenting or chat – could be syndicated back into Facebook…
[O]ther papers should take note of what they could potentially be offering users and advertisers through Facebook Connect. It’s a strong alternative – or at least compliment – to a proprietary registration wall and social network. At present, there would seem to be both a lot of engagement and targeted advertising dollars being left on the table.
Murdoch had the vision to buy MySpace, but he didn’t know what to do with it
MySpace has become a textbook case of how quickly a digital juggernaut can become a has-been, writes Matthew Flamm. The head of a research firm tells him: “It may be that Rupert [Murdoch] is ultimately a newspaper guy. The idea [with MySpace] may have been, ‘We bought you, so make it happen for us.’”
Murdoch-Berlusconi Feud Plays Out in the Media
When Rupert Murdoch and Silvio Berlusconi clash, it is no surprise that the dispute plays out across multiple platforms. In Italy, Berlusconi, the prime minister, has used an interview on one of his own television channels to accuse Mr. Murdoch of mounting a personal attack.
Why Is NYT Editor Bill Keller Writing Front-Page Stories?
“[New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller] had long wanted to visit Iran,” spokesperson Diane McNulty said, “and the occasion of the election seemed like a great time to do so, accompanying our reporter, Robert Worth. Bill had not planned to write articles, but when the story got so big, he did so.”
Village Voice Media to Launch Niche Ad Network
Village Voice Media, which publishes 15 alternative weekly newspapers across the U.S., is launching a niche online ad network comprised of local blogs and content sites — each of which mesh with the company’s demographics and indie sensibility.
Guild has an “offer of resolution” for Globe management
The Boston Newspaper Guild says it will bring its offer to a meeting Monday with Boston Globe management in an effort to come up with cost-cutting measures the union can support.
What’s The Boston Globe Worth? A Buck, More Or Less (by Ken Doctor, who analyzes the news business on his blog Content Bridges and for Outsell, an information-market analytics firm)
The potential upsides include buying an ad-based franchise at the bottom of a recession and being able to be a shiny, newly painted boat in a rising economic sea; 2010 ad numbers can’t be worse than this year’s… The potential downsides include inheriting a heavy-on-cost business model at a time when competitors from Huffington Post to Politico to local start-ups to emerging online initiatives of local broadcasters threaten to do further damage to daily newspapers. The new business models we’re seeing from the start-ups—small, editor-heavy, full-time staffs, growing legions of part-time reporters, columnists and bloggers, regional aggregation models—stand distant from the model of a paper like the Globe… Add, subtract, multiply, divide, though: the math still comes out pretty much to a buck.
Albany Times Union staffers reject outsourcing plan
By a 125 to 35 vote, employees of Hearst’s Albany paper rejected a plan that the Guild says would have given the company the power to outsource any and all jobs and lay off employees regardless of how long they’ve worked at the paper.
Seattle Times: Sale of Maine newspapers “does not solve the financial challenges we face”
The Seattle Times Co. didn’t disclose the price paid for Blethen Maine Newspapers. (The Times borrowed $213 million in 1998 for the acquisition.) “We were very reluctant to sell and are very sad about it,” says a spokeswoman. “If it were not for the severe recession, we would not have done so.”
Forbes is being tested as it never before has been
Brother Steve and Tim Forbes “have never been through anything like this, and they will find out if they have the management talent on hand to publish a magazine in this environment,” says former managing editor Dennis Kneale. Forbes is fighting to hang on to its subscribers, reports David Carr.
BusinessWeek Tries Pay Model Online
BusinessWeek will create a special presentation of its print magazine content that will only be available to subscribers. Roger Neal, general manager of BusinessWeek.com, said that while the print content will be available on the site for all to see, subscribers will get a different experience.
MRI Launches First Ratings System for Magazine Print Ads
Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI), will begin to measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns that appear in those magazines. The system, called AdMeasure, is “designed to elevate magazine audience measurement granularity to the level of TV and the Internet.”
In Radio These Days, Small Is Better
In the near term, the best positioned radio broadcasters may be those exposed to smaller markets, where competition for ad dollars is less. Average revenue at stations in markets below the top 50 fell 6.6 percent last year compared with around 9 percent for bigger stations.
Clear Channel deal gives musicians Web channels
Artists like the Eagles and Christina Aguilera can now play DJ, at least online.
Virgin Media and Universal launch music service
Virgin Media, the cable TV operator owned by entrepreneur Richard Branson, launched a new kind of music download subscription service Monday with Universal, the world’s largest music company. The service, described by the companies as a world first, will allow Virgin Media’s broadband customers in Britain to stream and download as many songs and albums as they like from Universal’s catalog for a fee.
But entertainment lawyers said the service was unlikely to solve the global music industry’s problem of billions of dollars lost to music piracy, and would need to offer content from big-name entertainers to be attractive to consumers.
Universal To Give Away Unlimited MP3s Via UK ISP (Paid Content)
With 95 percent of the world’s music downloads still estimated to be illegal, the world’s biggest music label is pushing the nuclear-option button. Universal, which has already been offering its catalog through all-you-can-eat DRM’ed services, is now offering the whole thing for MP3 download through an upcoming new unlimited-music package from UK ISP Virgin Media… Virgin said its new offering will be accompanied by a range of measures against illegal file-sharers.
CBSNews.com Relaunches; Still Needs the Traffic Hose (Paid Content)
[CBS] has relaunched CBSNews.com…The new site takes cues from CBS Evening News’ own design overhaul which rolled out a month ago on TV, and from the previous predominatly white background, has moved to a blended white and grey, with a premium on visuals. It starts with the main rotating visual carousel of stories, which as a feature is now becoming standard on a lot of general news sites. The site has also added lot more original content from CBSNews reports and columnists and content partners (Politico, CBS MoneyWatch, Washington Post and WebMD), more robust destinations for each of its news programs, and access to live coverage of breaking news and special events, it says…
Despite all this, CBSNews.com has a big challenge ahead, as it is the smallest in terms of traffic, compared to other network news sites like CNN.com, MSNBC.con and FoxNews.com.
Why moving “Nightline” to 10 p.m. ET makes sense
It could solve the problems of how to make primetime cheaper and what to do with the flagging evening newscasts, says James Poniewozik. “I and plenty of other critics have speculated in the past that, with 6:30 news audiences aging and shrinking, we might eventually see a primetime newscast instead. Putting a show like ‘Nightline’ in primetime could just be a backdoor answer to that issue.”
MGM Touting Low-Cost Programming to Cash-Strapped TV Stations
Nearly eight months ago, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer created a low-cost programming service for television stations called This TV. Stocked with B-level films, the venture serves up vintage fare like Beach Blanket Bingo as well as TV shows such as The Addams Family and The Patty Duke Show.
CBS Walls Off Neighborhood for Reality Show
In the latest reality show “social experiment,” CBS has walled off eight homes in an Atlanta suburb, forcing the neighbors inside to spend time with each other. “It will be a bizarre [experience] for all of them,” Producer Mike Fleiss said. “This is ambitious as it gets.”
Hollywood Hits the Stop Button on High-Profile Web Video Efforts
Big media’s attempt over the last two years to capitalize on the Internet video phenomenon embodied by YouTube and Saturday Night Live digital shorts has fallen victim to recession-triggered cuts and inflated expectations about the advertising revenue they would command.
YouTube Continues Hulufication, This Time With Ad Choices (Mashable)
YouTube has introduced the option for users to watch either a pre-roll ad (called a Promoted Video) or several in-stream ads. This will affect the longer, full-length content on the site (aka YouTube’s ever-growing number of shows). Essentially, before any ads or video start to play, the option now exists to choose to watch one longer commercial or to watch several smaller ads throughout your video. It’s currently only offered on a small percentage of video plays, but we can expect this to increase if the tests are successful.
Will Investors Leash Arianna Huffington’s Spending? (by Ryan Tate at Gawker)
It’s a bold new future at the Huffington Post: investors have installed their own CEO; a CBS producer will launch a Gotham edition next month. Nevertheless, insiders are murmuring about belt-tightening, starting at the top… The board of directors, nominally in charge of business operations, clashed regularly with Huffington, a HuffPo insider said. “There were moments when the board would say, ‘Absolutely no more spending and hiring,’ and that would be violated.’” “Arianna is always hiring tons of people — five people to do the job one expert could do.”
It doesn’t help matters that Huffington has repeatedly used employees for personal errands, according to former staff. Throw in the recession and the earmark on HuffPo’s recent $25 million capital round — it’s reserved for expansion — and it’s easy to see why costs might be an ongoing conern.
WordPress.com, SocialVibe Partner To Let Bloggers Run Ads—But Only For Charity (Paid Content)
WordPress bloggers who want to generate ad revenue from their content have tradtionally had to upgrade from the free version of the service, to a platform (and domain) that they pay to host themselves. But WordPress parent company Automattic is planning to loosen that ad restriction, so that free accounts can run small ads. The catch is that they’re SocialVibe widgets—meaning that the proceeds go to a charity, cause or community organization—not to the bloggers themselves.
Twitter Delays Scheduled Maintenence for Iran
A critical network upgrade must be performed to ensure continued operation of Twitter. But, recognizing the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran, last night’s planned maintenance was been rescheduled to today between 2-3p PST (1:30a in Iran).
Google Maps for Android Gains Voice Search & Transit Directions
Google announced three enhancements for Google Maps for Android… 1. Voice search using English in American, Australian, and British accents… 2. Transit and walking direction… 3. Latitude Updates lets you communicate with friends and post messages. This seems to resemble the Dodgeball service Google bought and then let disappear. Note that this Google Maps for Android update needs to be manually selected and downloaded in the Android Market. It is not an automatic update.
Analyst: In Praise Of Yahoo’s Flat Market Share (Paid Content)
In a report [Monday], Citigroup Analyst Mark Mahaney presents Yahoo as a “turnaround story”—and his thesis is premised on the idea that in a “fluid” competitive landscape, flat market share is actually something to brag about for a big internet portal. Mahaney notes that Yahoo’s share of total time spent on the internet hasn’t changed much over the last three years, unlike Microsoft and AOL, which have both experienced a “pretty consistent decline.” So what sites have seen their share rise? Mahaney mentions Google… Mahaney notes that Yahoo has been able to retain its position in major categories, like sports, news, finance and mail—and has now held its share of the search market constant for much of the last year.
Click through for more highlights of the report.
How Yahoo Could Turn Third-Party Apps Into A Big Moneymaker (Paid Content)
So far, the introduction of third-party apps to Yahoo properties has been talked about mostly as a way for the portal to keep users on its own sites for longer. But in a report today, Citigroup Analyst Mark Mahaney raises the possibility that third-party apps could provide a new—and significant—revenue stream for Yahoo, a la the Apple App store. “To the extent that Yahoo is able to serve as a large platform for applications (free and paid), is able to highlight relevant applications to its users, and is able to make the purchase of the paid applications seamless … there is a potentially significant new revenue opportunity here for Yahoo,” Mahaney writes. He adds that app sales—which he refers to as “micro-transapptions” could be a “multi-billion dollar (profitable) revenue opportunity”—with other internet companies, such as AOL, Google and MSN cashing in as well.
About.com Bets On Celebrity ‘Experts’ To Boost Profile; Wolfgang Puck Gets His Image Buffed (Paid Content)
NYTCo-owned guide site About.com is formalizing the use of celebrities among its 800 “expert authors” who dispense advice on everything from acne to zoology. Over the past few months, About has offered a space to celebs like country music star Faith Hill, the New York Knicks’ point guard Nate Robinson, and Oscar-winning actress and author Marlee Matlin… The use of celebrity guest editors has been a popular way of getting some attention… About won’t be paying its celeb guest editors. Instead, it will give personalities who are probably in need of a image boost.
Facebook Chat: 1 Billion Messages Sent Per Day (Mashable)
[Monday], Facebook’s engineering team revealed that Facebook’s instant messaging (IM) system has grown like wildfire. Users now send 1 billion messages every single day. That impressive number becomes even more astounding when you consider that FbChat is barely a year old.
TweetPysch: Twitter Psychological Profiling Has Arrived (Mashable)
Dan Zarrella, a guest contributor to Mashable and a social and viral marketing scientist [has] taken two linguistic methods for unraveling the written word, combined it with the Porter stemming algorithm to reduce words to their base meaning, and created TweetPysch, a simple new service that derives a psychological profile based on a user’s last 1,000 tweets… The site is using the Regressive Imagery Dictionary (RID) and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count(LIWC) methods to analyze every character and return primordial, conceptional, emotional, and cognitive content.
Microsoft Sues Three in Click-Fraud Scheme
About one in every seven clicks on an advertisement is estimated to be fraudulent, and Microsoft is trying to make that kind of deception more expensive for perpetrators.
Dead Grasshoppers Give Life to Social Media Marketing Campaign (Mashable)
Grasshopper, an 800 phone number provider for small businesses, decided to get the word out about their new name (they did a complete rebrand) by putting together a list of 5,000 of the most influential people in the US and sending them each a package of real chocolate covered grasshoppers with a simple message and video URL… The Grasshopper campaign proved to be very fruitful and buzz circulated on-air and across the web. To date, the company has seen a huge uptake in social media mentions, web traffic, and hopefully new customers. Here are a few notable stats from the campaign:
Turning the Masses Onto Mobile Broadband
Rapid deployment, and mounting Internet traffic, have caused many wireless broadband services to slow down from data overload.
Survey: Family time eroding as Internet use soars
The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That’s nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006. These people did not report spending less time with their friends, however. Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the center, said people report spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on them.
Opera Unite: Web Browser Becomes the Web Server (Mashable)
Opera has had great success with their mobile browsers, but when it comes to the desktop, their growth hasn’t been phenomenal, despite the fact that Opera, at times, has been the fastest and/or (arguably) the browser with most features. Today, they’re unveiling a new feature. Opera Unite is a web server within a web browser. Instead of just browsing the web, Opera now lets you share files and photos, communicate with other users, chat, and host your web site directly on your own computer.
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