In the News

First Amendment Protects Web Journalists: Court

Bloggers and online journalists have the same First Amendment rights as traditional print journalists do, including the right to protect the confidentiality of their sources, a California court ruled in January.

The Santa Clara County Court ruled against Apple Inc., which had claimed the Web sites AppleInsider.com and PowerPage.org violated California state law regarding trade secrets by publishing confidential data about not-yet-released Apple products.

Apple had asked the court to issue subpoenas to the journalists at the two popular Apple user forums to determine the source of the information, saying the online sites were not entitled to First Amendment protection.

The defense argued blogs and e-newsletters are no different from print counterparts that pursue just as aggressively, and often break, news about upcoming product announcements.

The California court ordered Apple to pay $700,000 for the defendants' legal fees. The defendants were represented by legal counsel from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The ruling represents the first explicit judicial recognition that online journalists are legitimate--even if their blogs or e-newsletters are not affiliated with a printed publication and the reporters may be working for little or no compensation.

Voters Turning to the Internet

Twice as many Americans used Internet blogs and Web sites as their primary source of news about 2006 election campaigns as compared with the 2002 midterm elections.

A post-election survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press showed 15 percent of all American adults say the Internet was the source of most of their campaign news during the election, up from 7 percent in 2002.

The survey, released in January, concluded the increase of broadband connections in American homes--up from 17 percent during the 2002 midterms to 45 percent by November 2006--is a key factor in the Internet's "growing importance to the nation's political life."

"The vanguard of YouTubers and bloggers has become influential in politics," said Lee Rainie, Pew Internet project director. The survey found 23 percent of those who used the Internet for political purposes created or forwarded online original political commentary or political videos.

Of the respondents who said the Internet was their primary source of campaign news, 20 percent said they received political news and data from blogs, while 24 percent said they visited issue-oriented Web sites. Other information sources included Web sites of mainstream news organizations as well as humor and satire, international, and candidate and government sites.

Republican and Democratic voters were equally likely to say the Internet was their main source of election news, according to Pew. However, Democratic voters were more likely to cite newspapers, CBS, ABC, and CNN as main sources of news, while Republicans were more likely to cite the Fox News TV channel and radio broadcasts.

YouTube Gaining Commercial Partners

YouTube.com is showing just how fast the Internet can grow--and mature. The two-year-old Web site, which still features uploaded homemade videos of varying and sometimes dubious quality and content, is attracting major content providers who seem to be saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (and make money too)!"

The National Basketball Association is the latest to announce an agreement to provide material to YouTube, which was acquired last fall for $1.65 billion by the Internet-based advertising giant Google. The National Hockey League signed up for YouTube last fall. Both leagues have revenue-sharing arrangements with the site.

Not every sports league sees value in putting content on YouTube. The National Football League still prefers to keep its content on NFL.com--while letting its legal department deal with unauthorized uploads of NFL-copyrighted material to YouTube.

For more information ...

YouTube, http://www.youtube.com Google, http://www.google.com National Basketball Association, http://www.nba.com National Hockey League, http://www.nhl.com National Football League, http://www.nfl.com

States Must Allow VoIP Connections: FCC

In a 16-page order issued in early March, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said states must permit Time Warner Cable--and by extension, other cable companies--to connect to third-party telecommunications carriers to provide local phone service through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Time Warner had signed contracts to purchase wholesale telecommunications services from carriers such as MCI and Sprint to connect its VoIP service customers with the public telephone network. However, the South Carolina and Nebraska public service commissions said rural local exchange carriers were not obligated to enter into interconnection agreements with wholesalers. Thus Time Warner could not offer its VoIP package in parts of those states and petitioned the FCC.

The FCC concluded such state regulatory decisions denying wholesale telecom service providers the right to interconnect with incumbent local exchange carriers "would frustrate the development of competition and broadband deployment."

"Our decision will enhance consumers' choice for phone service by making clear that cable and other VoIP providers must be able to use local phone numbers and be allowed to put calls through to other phone networks," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Where Does Your State Rank in the New Economy?

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, and California top the list of states successfully adapting to a "New Economy" that's knowledge-based, global, and driven by innovation. Alabama, Arkansas, South Dakota, Mississippi, and West Virginia are at the bottom of the list.

That's according to The 2007 State New Economy Index, released in late February by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

Highly ranked states have a high concentration of managers, professionals, and college-educated residents working in "knowledge jobs," according to the Index. Their companies are often geared toward global markets, both in terms of export orientation and foreign direct investments.

Bottom-ranked states tend to depend on natural resources or mass production manufacturing and rely on low costs instead of innovation to gain competitive advantages.

But in the new global economy, driving down costs and providing large incentives to attract branch plants or offices aren't effective strategies, notes Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, president of ITIF and primary author of the Index.

"States must create an environment that fosters innovation and high skills in order to help fast-growing entrepreneurial firms and innovative existing firms to expand," said Atkinson.

The Index's top-ranked states have above-average levels of entrepreneurship and have embraced the digital economy. Their solid infrastructure fosters and supports technological innovation and attracts highly skilled knowledge workers seeking good employment and a good quality of life, the report said.

For more information ...

To find out where your state ranks on the New Economy Index, visit www.kauffman.org/pdf/2007_state_Index.pdf or www.itif.org/index.pho?id=30.

Sharon J. Watson (sjwatson@interaccess.com) writes from Sugarland, Texas.