Skip to main content

The FTC Ponders the Future of Journalism

notebook_reporterThe federal government is wading into deliberations over the future of journalism as printed newspapers, television stations and other traditional media outlets suffer from Americans’ growing reliance on the Internet.

With the media business in a state of economic distress as audiences and advertisers migrate online, the Federal Trade Commission began a two-day workshop Tuesday to examine the profound challenges facing media companies and explore ways the government can help them survive.

Recommended Videos

Media executives taking part are looking for a new business model for an industry that is watching traditional advertising revenue dry up, without online revenue growing quickly enough to replace it. Government officials want to protect a critical pillar of democracy — a free press.

“News is a public good,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. “We should be willing to take action if necessary to preserve the news that is vital to democracy.”

The workshop is drawing speakers from both traditional and new media, including Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp.; Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Web site; and Len Downie, former executive editor of The Washington Post.

Executives from Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. were also scheduled to participate, as were several government officials, including Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Among the options being discussed: tax law changes that would allow media companies to earn tax credits or become tax-exempt entities, and copyright law changes that would force search engines and other online aggregrators to compensate media companies for the content they produce.

Also on the table is a proposed change in antitrust rules to allow newspapers to jointly negotiate payments from Web sites that use their content.

The FTC is planning more workshops in the spring to discuss in greater depth the ideas that emerge this week.

Congress has also tried to tackle questions about the future of the media business, particularly print journalism. Last spring, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., held a hearing on the financial troubles facing the newspaper industry. And Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., has introduced a bill that would allow newspapers to restructure as non-profits.

Topics
Dena Cassella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Haole built. O'ahu grown
Best home internet deals: AT&T, Spectrum, Optimum and more
how to optimize wifi network for work from home wrt1900acs router position location direction improve signal

Almost everything today runs on some sort of internet, with our files being online in the cloud or accessing our entertainment through streaming platforms, and for those who work from home, the internet is essential. That's why it's so important to have a solid internet connectivity plan, and luckily, there are a lot of ISPs that not only offer high speed but also some discounts here and there to help make it a bit easier to switch over. If you enjoy streaming movies, live sports, and TV shows or don't want to feel like you live out in the woods, then keep reading.

So whether you want to cut the cord with cable, improve your online gaming experience, or just upgrade your sluggish internet service to a faster one, this up-to-date roundup of the best high-speed internet deals and bundles is the place to start. Thankfully, the ubiquity of high-speed internet means you can get the bandwidth you need at cheaper prices than ever before. As fiber-optic networks roll out across the country, gigabit internet is also more accessible. You should also check out these wireless router deals to save even more money on equipment rental fees.
Best home internet deals

Read more
The worrying future of RAM and SSD pricing
Corsair Dominator Platinum memory installed in a PC.

Just what we needed -- more price increases. According to a report by TrendForce, massive demand is doing wonders for DRAM and NAND flash revenue and prices. Both industries have been on a rapid rise in the last couple of years, and this trend is only expected to increase, with DRAM revenue set to rise by 75% this year; NAND flash revenue is also said to increase by 77% year-over-year.

According to the market analysis, DRAM revenue is said to hit a whopping $90.7 billion in 2024. That's a 75% increase year-over-year, and TrendForce expects that this upward trend will continue next year, with DRAM revenue being expected to reach $136.5 billion, or a 51% increase.

Read more
The future of the Meta Quest headsets just leaked out
Mark Zuckerberg wearing a prototype VR headset.

The popular Quest 3 headset came out just last year, but according to a new leak, the Quest 4 and second-generation Quest Pro are also on Meta's roadmap.

The recently leaked roadmap comes from a report posted by The Information, which details the timeline Meta is aiming to hit with the Quest 4 and Quest Pro 2. Unnamed sources inside Meta claim there will be two variants of the Quest 4, presumably a standard and premium model, codenamed Pismo Low and Pismo High. Since we have solid data on the rumored Quest 3S, the lower-cost model could end up being the Quest 4S. Regardless, both variants of the Quest 4 are expected to launch in 2026.

Read more