Mediaboss Marketing

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/30/2012 6:00:35 PM An extensive new analysis of the Trayvon Martin shooting shows that the coverage of the case on social media has "varied greatly" from the way it has been approached by blogs and the more mainstream cable TV and talk radio sectors, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ).

The PEJ study found that "on Twitter, the conversation has focused on sympathy for the slain teenager and expressions of outrage at the killing" while blogs emphasized "the role of race in the highly charged case" and the cable news and talk radio "focused on two politically oriented issues-gun control laws and the Florida Stand Your Ground statute" in coverage studied between March 17-28th.

The full report can be found here.

The PEJ analysis found that the largest category of coverage on Twitter -- accounting for 21% of the conversation -- focused on outrage at George Zimmerman, who shot the teen, and calls for justice. In contrast, gun control and the Florida legislation accounted for the largest share (17%) of the coverage on talk radio and race was the top topic among blogs, accounting for 15% of the coverage.

"In social media support for Trayvon and outrage at the killing far outweighed any sense that Zimmerman might have been justified in his actions," the PEJ survey concluded. "On cable and talk radio, suspicion of Trayvon Martin was virtually equal to doubts about George Zimmerman."

The study also noted that the shooting was the first story in 2012 to surpass coverage of the presidential election in mainstream media, with the Trayvon Martin shooting accounting for 19% of the newshole between March 19 and 27, followed by the presidential election (14%), the health care debate (11%), Afghanistan (7%) and the economy (6%).

Among the cable news nets, MSNBC devoted the most time to the story, where it accounted for 49% of the coverage during the time slots studied by PEJ, followed by CNN (40%) and Fox News (15%).

MSNBC also devoted the most attention to the gun control issue. In contrast, "questions about Trayvon Martin and the defense of Zimmerman garnered the most attention" on Fox News, the study noted.

The study also documents how coverage spiked after the release of the 911 tapes and provides a detailed breakdown of how different media covered different aspects of the case between blogs, twitter and the cable TV/talk radio sector.

Not surprisingly it found significant differences between liberal and conservative hosts on talk radio and cable news.

See the article here:
PEJ: Coverage of Trayvon Martin Case Varies "Greatly"

Did Sirius XM Radio Inc. make a Faustian bargain when it decided to accept $530 million from Liberty Media Corp.to stave off bankruptcy in early 2009?

The New York-based satellite radio companyfiled a petition late Friday afternoon with theFederal Communications Commission, urging that the agency deny a request by Liberty Media Corp. that soughtto transfer several of SiriusXM's operating licenses to Liberty's control. Liberty owns 40% of SiriusXM and occupies fiveof its 13board seats.

Liberty's request, filedMarch 20,include SiriusXM'searth station licensesanditsterrestrial repeaterlicense. The FCC requires SiriusXM to have all three licenses to operate.

But SiriusXM fought back, arguing in a 24-page petition that Liberty failed to get proper signatures from the companys board for its transfer request.

This is the equivalent of trying to cash an unsigned check and explaining the lack of a signature by saying nothing more than the account holder refused to sign it, SiriusXM's attorneys wrote.

Liberty Media's intent, and the intent ofChairman John Malone, is unclear.The company did not state a reason for seeking control of those licenses and messages to Liberty Media's spokeswoman were not immediately returned.

At issue is whether Liberty's 40% stake in SiriusXM allows Malone to assume ownership of the satellite radio company, which last year earned a $427-million profit on more than $3 billion in revenue.

What's clear is that SiriusXM's last-minute arrangement with Libertyaverted financial disaster, allowing the New York satellite radio company to make a $172-million payment on its high-interest loans justdays before it was due in February 2009. The transaction also gave Liberty Media fiveof 13 seats on the company's board.

The deal also barred Liberty Media from trying to take over SiriusXM by acquiring 39.9% or more of SiriusXM's stock. That provision expired March 6.

Go here to read the rest:
SiriusXM fights Liberty Media takeover move

During the tornado outbreak on March 2, it was clear that mobile devices were important to YOU!

More than 20,000 9 News viewers used their smartphones and iPads to watch our live stream of severe weather coverage.

In addition to the 9 News mobile apps(which can be downloaded at wcpo.com/mobile ), social-networking can be an important tool to help keep you and your family safe, especially if the power goes out.

If youre a Facebook user, Like the WCPO 9 On Your Side Facebook page to get the latest warnings and reports.

We also want to see YOUR reports, videos, and photos of severe weather as its happening. Post them directly to our Facebook page!

Twitter can also be a valuable tool during severe weather as you can find out information and have conversations about the weather, in real-time.

You can go to the WCPO or the wcpoweather Twitter pages to get updates on severe weather. See reports from Tri-State residents as well by using the hashtag #CincyWX".

To do this, go to the search bar at the top of your Twitter page. There, you will type # CincyWX. A list of storm reports, pictures, and video containing that hashtag will then pop up for you to browse.

You can also post YOUR photos and weather reports on Twitter for others to see, just dont forget to include the hashtag #CincyWX on your post.

Wondering what a hashtag is?

Read more:
Social-networking during severe weather

The financially troubled Digital Region project, an alternative wholesale network operator that was built with 100m of public money to help 80% of homes and businesses in South Yorkshire (UK) gain access to superfast broadband services, is to get yet another injection of 10m from the public pursue in order to stay afloat. The service, which in January 2012 revealed that it had lost over 9.2m in 2011 and only created revenue of just 167,000 (here), has been in trouble due to low take-up for awhile now. So far none of the big UK ISP have shown much interest, which is partly because of growing competition from similar BT services and a lack of effective advertising. As a result the future of Digital Region remains deeply uncertain.

According to the Yorkshire Post today, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley Councils each own around 9% of the shares in Digital Region, while Sheffield Council owns over 17% and the remainder is owned by the governments Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which acquired Yorkshire Forwards shareholding.

As it stands now the current business model has failed and few expect the related local councils to carry it forward. Instead the least-worst scenario is that Digital Region will be kept alive for a little bit longer while a private company / ISP is found (tender) to operate the project, albeit with public funding as support. The alternative, of allowing Digital Region to fail, would allegedly be even more expensive and cause serious problems for its remaining customers.

The latest development has been expected since January when Yorkshire Forwards then CEO, Thea Stein, confirmed that more funding would be needed andthis would probably only serve to keep the lights on until the end of 2012. We are committed to seeing Digital Region flourish, but like all start-up businesses it needs support. Its important to state this is a guarantee the hope is they will not need to draw it down, said Stein.

UPDATE 4:21pm

Digital Regions Chief Operating Officer has sent over a statement.

David Cowell, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Region Ltd., said:

The project is pioneering and it has helped place South Yorkshire at the forefront of the UKs digital agenda.

Thanks to our current delivery partner Thales, the build phase has been successfully completed to time and cost and whilst the majority of the UK must wait until 2015 to experience superfast broadband, a phenomenal 80% of SY businesses and residents can already connect. DRL is delighted to move forward with the continued support of both the board and the central government and Local Authority shareholders.

Cowell added that Digital Region will move in line with the commercial model being promoted by central governments Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) for superfast broadband in the rest of the UK. The BDUK commercial model, says Cowell, places the majority of risk and liability to a private sector partner. The appointed supplier will take responsibility for all operating costs, sales, marketing and revenue generation.

Read more:
UPD Yorkshire Pumps £10m into Digital Region to Keep Broadband Project Alive

The Federal Trade Commission's final report on digital privacy contains some very welcome recommendations.

The recently released report, title "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change," looks at challenges consumers face in "today's world of smart phones, smart grids, and smart cars," as "companies are collecting, storing, and sharing more information about consumers than ever before." It sets out a framework that would allow consumers to control whether they are tracked online, have better visibility into how information is used by mobile apps and have access to their information being held by data brokers.

The commission isn't calling for "do not track" legislation similar to the "do not call" law that, in theory, protects us against unwanted marketing calls. Rather, it calls for voluntary industry compliance, which it says is starting to happen through browser-based tools and cooperation from the Digital Advertising Alliance and other players.

Ironically, this voluntary approach may actually work better than the "do not call" law, which makes it a crime for businesses to cold call phone numbers registered at DoNotCall.gov. I've registered all my phone numbers, but I still get annoying robocalls trying to sell me carpet cleaning, car insurance and a new mortgage.

The commission's focus on mobile apps is right on target. Between Google's (

One area where the commission did call for "targeted legislation" is to address consumers' lack of control over how data brokers collect and use our information. The amount of information floating around about each of us is staggering. Anyone with a phone, a bank account or a "loyalty" card, such as the one I use to get fairer prices when I shop at Safeway, is giving up information every time they shop, make a call or get on an airplane.

Many years ago -- even before the explosion of the Internet -- I made a quick and unexpected trip to Los Angeles and realized that I hadn't told anyone, not even my wife, where I was. But I realized that my cellular company, the car rental company, my credit card companies and the airline knew exactly where I was, as did all the networks and clearinghouses that transmitted and stored data. My credit and debit card companies even knew what I bought and where I was staying and my bank and the bank whose ATM I used had a pretty good idea of how much cash I had in my wallet.

Much of the information from our lives is stored in computers, and some of that is for sale to marketers, insurance companies, employers and even law enforcement -- anyone with the money.

The FTC wants Congress to pass a law that would "provide consumers with access to information about them held by a data broker." The agency is calling for a "centralized website where data brokers could identify themselves to consumers and describe how they collect and use consumer data," as well as to "detail the access rights and other choices they provide with respect to the consumer data they maintain."

That strikes me as more than reasonable. Some data brokers (along with all credit bureaus) will sell you access to your own information, but that feels a bit like extortion to me. If it's my information, it should be available to me at any time, as often as I want, for no cost and without any strings, gimmicks or sales pitches.

See original here:
Magid: FTC's digital privacy report has welcome recommendations