Genachowski: Spectrum Auctions Voluntary, Period
Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday pitched the agency's spectrum reclamation plans as a Compromise between taking all 300 Megahertz from broadcasters and doing nothing, saying some of the things that had been said and written about the proposal were not true. In a keynote speech to the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, Genachowski said the incentive auctions for broadcast spectrum would be entirely voluntary; that it...

TV-Station Groups Plot Mobile DTV Joint Venture
A dozen major TV-station groups are teaming up to provide content and spectrum for a national mobile digital-TV service. Belo, Cox Broadcasting, FOX Television Stations, Gannett Broadcasting, E.W. Scripps Co., Hearst Television, Ion Television, Media General, Meredith, NBC Universal, Post-Newsweek Stations, and Raycom Media wil get together to form a "standalone joint venture," according to an announcement at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. Spectrum for...

NAB President Smith: Broadcasters Aren't 'Spectrum ATM'
Calling the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan the "great spectrum grab," National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith told a broadcaster audience Monday in Las Vegas that that the spectrum reclamation portion of the plan was an example of "unnecessary government intervention." In a gloves-off keynote speech to the annual NAB convention Monday, according to a copy of his prepared remarks, Smith told the audience that broadcasters...

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski delivers tough love to broadcasters
In a wide-ranging speech to broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski tried to ease fears in the industry about the agency's Broadband plan, expressed concern about recent battles over carriage fees between broadcasters and cable operators, and warned of a potential crisis in journalism. Speaking at the National Assn. of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, Genachowski said all the talk in the industry that the FCC is going to forcefully take...

Scene @ the NAB/RTDNA
As we cover day two of the NAB/RTDNA conference here in Las Vegas some quick snapshots of what's going on. NBC News correspondent Bob Dotson discussed how he finds, interviews and assembles his "American Story with Bob Dotson" series for The Today Show. Around the same time as Dotson was speaking, we dropped in to the main ballroom at the Hilton Las Vegas as FCC chairman Julius Genachowski tried to calm the fears of a roomful of skeptical broadcasters about the government's National Broadband...

FCC chief talks up auction plan
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski tried to assuage broadcasters' concerns about aspects of the National Broadband Plan in his keynote address to the National Assn. of Broadcasters confab on Tuesday. Genachowski repeatedly assured the packed room at the Las Vegas Hilton that FCC's effort to reclaim some of the broadcast spectrum currently allocated to local TV stations is entirely voluntary for broadcasters. The Broadband plan the FCC presented to Congress last month proposes that the FCC auction...

Companies Spar on What FCC Should Do Next on Net Neutrality
High-tech companies and Internet providers launched a new round of rhetorical volleys Tuesday in the escalating battle over Net Neutrality, as both sides wait anxiously for a signal from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski about what he plans to do now. Last week, a Federal appeals Court ruled the agency overstepped while trying to enforce Net-neutrality principles. The FCC chairman hasn't said much yet about what he thinks the agency should do now, although his chief of staff, Edward Lazarus,...

Nation's biggest broadcasters to team up on mobile content
A consortium composed of some of the nation's biggest broadcasters -- including News Corp.'s Fox, NBC Universal, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television, ION Television and Cox Media Group -- has struck a deal to create a joint venture to develop programming for mobile devices. The as-yet-unnamed venture has television stations that reach just about every major market in the United States and by its own estimation could offer content to 150 million people. The plan is to use spectrum...

FCC Chief Worried Over Retrans Aftershocks
Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski said Tuesday that he favored the marketplace over the government in retrans negotiations, but said he still thought their were "legitimate questions" about whether the process needed review. Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, he suggested that his focus is on the consumers who are affected by retransmission-consent impasses. "I agree that the market is the preferred...

AT&T: Broadband Plan Achievable Without Title II
A senior AT&T executive told reporters Tuesday that the FCC does not need to redefine Broadband as a Title II telecommunications service in order to implement its national Broadband plan, particularly its changes to the Universal Service Fund. Robert Quinn, senior vice president, Federal regulatory with the telco, spoke during a press briefing that followed by hours a press call with the Open Internet Coalition (which includes Google, Sony, Public Knowledge and Free Press)...

The Morning Fix: Sorry Fox, Conan is headed to TBS! FCC wants some spectrum back. Weinsteins creep closer to Miramax. 'Smackdown' headed to -- wait for it -- Syfy
After the coffee. Before George Lopez. CoCo to cable! Former "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien managed to upstage the debut of his own comedy tour Monday with the announcement that he'd return to late night in November on Time Warner's TBS. The five-year deal for an 11 p.m. Show with the cable network caught much of the industry off guard. Most assumed FOX would eventually unveil its own deal for O'Brien. Although there was talk of Conan maybe going to cable, TBS was not seen as a likely...

Newsers Meet for Annual Confab; Coverage of Haiti Top of Mind
The newly-named RTDNA (Radio, TV, Digital News Association) is kicking off its annual convention today in Las Vegas with a discussion of one of the biggest News stories of the year: the earthquake in Haiti and how the News media responded to it and covered it. Among the panelists, Parisa Khosravi , SVP of International Newsgathering for CNN Worldwide and Dr. Mona Khanna , a Medical Contributor for Fox News Chicago as well as NPR and AP correspondents and the president of Canada's CTV...

The Morning Fix: Miramax bids heat up again! Lopez takes one for the team. What FX was offering Conan. 'Undercover Boss' wants to visit Wall Street.
After the coffee. Before seeing if I can score advertising dollars for my tweets. Do I hear $700 million? The back-and-forth bidding for Disney's Miramax took another twist Tuesday with News from the Los Angeles Times that the bid by the Gores Group and Platinum, run by brothers Alec and Tom Gores, has been increased. That bid had been the lowest at $550 million. Whether the Gores brothers upped it to the $600 million in cash that the Weinstein brothers Bob and Harvey have persuaded...

Red Lizard Software Announces Goanna for Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010
    SYDNEY, Australia, April 14, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Red Lizard Software has announced global simultaneous shipment of its Goanna testing and debugging software for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. Red Lizard Software, a start-up company originating at NICTA, Australia's ICT Research Centre of Excellence, is one of approximately 50 'Sim Ship' partners globally to ready its Goanna static code analysis software for concurrent launch with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010....

Tax Extension Form 2010: How To Request More Time To File Your 2010 Tax Returns
April 15 is coming up quickly, and if you haven't filed your 2010 tax returns yet, you may want to fill out a Tax Extension Form. A Tax Extension Form allows taxpayers extra time to fill out their 2010 returns, six more months to be exact. However, the IRS notes that it is "not an extension of time to pay" and any balance due must be paid when you file your extension. You can find the 2010 Tax Extension Form at the IRS Web site here . The IRS specifically recommends a service called...

Strong U.S. iPad Sales Delay Tablet's Foreign Debut
April 14, 2010 U.S. buyers have been snapping up the iPad so quickly that Apple Inc. is delaying the Tablet Computer's overseas debut a second time, the company said Wednesday. Apple said it will now start taking orders for the iPad from international buyers on May 10. In January, it said the iPad would be sold worldwide in late March. After analysts reported production delays would limit the number of units available, Apple postponed the U.S. launch to April 3 and delayed plans for the...

CES Looks To 'Fill The Void' Left by Supercomm
The Consumer Electronics Association announced that the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show will feature a new Telecom Pavilion, which the trade group said will "fill the void" left by the demise of Supercomm. In February, Supercomm organizers announced the cancellation of the 2010 event, which had been scheduled for late October in Chicago, citing poor financial projections. That marked the end of the telecommunications trade show's run of more than...

Easy on the Sauce " Paul Newman: A Life by Shawn Levy
Rat Pack Confidential writer Shawn Levy notes, in passing, that Paul Newman was fiercely protective both of his image and his private life. The former became the subject of two campaigns to change to law to ensure that the actor'sphilanthropic business interests remained untarnished by association after his death. This was an unsuccessful bid to legally protect the use of his image. With regards to his private life Levy quotes as exasperated Newman pontificating on journalist's...