Global Media News

Verizon Tech News Site Bans Stories on U.S. Spying

 Verizon is getting into the news business. What could go wrong?

The Social Media War: Brazilian Newspapers vs Google

Back in October of 2012 Brazil's Newspapers decided to ban their information from google. The reason behind this decision was simply  because Brazil newspapers felt that they were getting the wrong end of the deal. Brazil's newspapers feels as if the Google is not doing their job to benefit both sides. 

 The BBC News reports: 

"Brazil's National Association of Newspapers says all 154 members had followed its recommendation to ban the search engine aggregator from using their content.

The papers say Google News refused to pay for content and was driving traffic away from their websites."

To hear Google that are not doing the simplest of tasks which they are know for is very unheard of. Google is known for providing information over the world to any who uses the search engine. Lately there seems to be a lot of countries pulling out of Google's search engine. 

The Guardian: quoted: National Association of Newspapers for Brazil, Carlos Fernando Lindenberg Neto

"Staying with Google News was not helping us grow our digital audiences, By providing the first few lines of our stories to internet users, the service reduces the chances that they will look at the entire story in our websites."

Brazil newspapers seems to be very upset and dissatisfied with the job Google has done and feels that a split is the best thing for all newspapers in the country. Google has been going though some problems with Brazil first the arrest of a Google senior executive for refusing to take down a video from YouTube and another similar event when a french newspaper company decided to pull its stories form Google. 

 

The Public is Losing a Strong Advocate of Media Diversity

The Media Access Project (MAP) has been advocating on behalf of consumers in the areas of media diversity, freedom of expression and universal communication access since it's inception in 1973. But after nearly 40 years the public interest group’s board announced on Tuesday, that it plans to close its doors in May due to a lack of financing.

"Andrew Jay Schwartzman led the good fight in Washington, D.C., for most of MAP's existence, but he told POLITICO that the nonprofit firm could no longer raise the funds to continue operations," according to an editorial in The Seatle Times. Andrew Schwartzman is a media attorney who has worked with MAP since June 1978. He is currently the Senior Vice President and Policy Director, and previously held the position of President and CEO.

Shwatzman and others with The Media Access Project have fought tirelessly against the major media corporations as well as the FCC. Some of their first cases involved two TV stations in Mississippi not catering to the African American Community, resulting in the stations almost being shut down. From that era and cases came the thought "that members of the viewing and listening public have the legal right, derived from the First Amendment, to participate in FCC proceedings." Their most common way of fighting cases is through lobbying.

"The news came as a surprise to a number of public-interest vets inside the Beltway. But, according to MAP’s 2010 tax filing, its revenue was down more than $100,000 from the year earlier," according to a Politico article written by Tony Romm. He then goes on to say, "the shuttering is a blow to the telecom public-interest community in Washington. The group...often occupied a high-profile role in advocating (media diversity) for consumers." No operation can continue to survive without financing. A group which regularly opposes large media corporations, which generate a tremendous stream of capital, and a government entity, the FCC, which has nearly endless resources to pull from, requires an exorbitant amount of liquid capital in order to even attempt to to wage the wars it does on behalf of communities and the consumers.

“One would think with SOPA and PIPA on the front page of the newspaper, and tech being such a part of people’s lives, there’d be a robust funding environment for the work our organizations do,” said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge and a veteran of MAP. Sohn — who was referring to the Stop Online Piracy Act and Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act — praised Schwartzman for his leadership. For now, Schwartzman told POLITICO that MAP would work with other public-interest groups to ensure the issues and the group’s clients are represented. But, he added: “As a practical matter, I fear that some important issues will not be pursued.”

According Cecilia Kang in her Post Tech article in The Washington Post. Even with the government embarking on what seem like tyrannical attempts to censor the internet, those who fight to preserve the integrity of the First Amendment have been finding it become increasingly harder to raise funds to continue the fight. Since deregulation began in the 1980s an alarming trend of concentration of the media has been occurring. Large media corporations buy up smaller ones, which has resulted in over 90% of the media in America to be dominated by a handful of media giants.

"Advocates of media diversity, from the boardroom to the newsroom, are losing a valued ally in the struggle for quality journalism and a mix of community voices." The public needs these public advocacy groups in order to keep the corporations and the government honest and accountable for operating with the best interest of the public in mind, as well as to prevent the complete monopolization of the industry.

"Given the intensity of the fights over net neutrality, media diversity and ownership rules pitted the advocacy group against the vast resources of media conglomerates working to erode limits on cross-ownership of newspapers and television stations in major cities." More and more the consumers are losing choices among the media without even noticing. Companies are constantly merging and purchasing each other and then continue to operate under the illusion of being an independent alternative to the other subsidiaries which are dominated by the very same parent company.

We have lost a valued, skilled and respected advocate in our fight to prevent further media and telecommunications consolidation, greatly increasing the dangers posed to the fight for diversity of ownership, and a free and open internet.

ACCESS FOR ALL: Net neutrality and the Digital divide in the U.S.

Click here to listen to our latest webcast!

This week we take a look at Net Neutrality and the Digital Divide in the United states:

• What is 'Net Neutrality'?
• Obama's FCC takes a stance on Net Neutrality
• The Net Neutrality debate: What are the pros and cons?
• What is the Digital Divide?
• Statistics and specifics of our Digital Divide
• What could be done to end the Digital Divide?
• What is currently being done to stop the digital divide
• Municipal WIFI - what and where?
• Access for all: Summing Up the Digital Divide in the United States