Media News - Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Google faces antitrust investigation over USD 125m book deal

Google is facing fresh accusations of anti-competitive behaviour, following reports that the US Justice Department is investigating the internet giant over its dealings with the book industry. Lawyers for the government are examining potential antitrust issues surrounding a USD 125m settlement made between Google and authors - in a move that could scupper the internet company's plans to create an 'iTunes for books'. The deal, struck last autumn between the web giant and authors' groups, would see Google pay USD 125m for the right to digitise millions of books in the US, with the intention of selling the files online and taking a significant cut of the profit. The proposed settlement came after two years of negotiations and legal wranglings, and was hailed at the time as a 'great leap' by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. But the proposals have concerned some other campaigners, particularly because it would give Google exclusive rights to digitise so-called orphan works - books that are still under copyright, but without any clear owner. As a result of similar, worries a judge in New York Tuesday granted a four-month extension to allow those affected by the deal to examine the details and decide whether to opt out of it or not. At the moment, the deal would only affect authors in the United States, but Google has previously said that it is in discussions with other organisations around the world about similar proposals. (The Guardian)

Libya takes over TV channel linked to Gaddafi son

Libya's government has taken control of independent television channel Al Libia, officials and local journalists said on Tuesday. One of the liveliest sources of news in a tightly controlled country where most stations are deferential, the channel is linked to one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al Islam. He is widely credited with helping bring Libya back into the international mainstream after decades of isolation. Some observers said the takeover showed al Islam's influence had waned since he announced a 'time-out' from politics in August. 'Al Libia was brought under the control of Jamihiriya's Radio's General Authority last night,' a government official said, referring to the state broadcaster. Officials declined to give reasons for the move. Quryna, a daily newspaper close to Saif al Islam, said on Tuesday that Al Libia's managing director Abdessalam Mechri had been detained last week. Local journalists and sources close to the government said the channel aired programmes which angered the authorities. Al Libia is owned by Al Gad Company for Media Services which also runs two radio stations and two newspapers. The outlets are part of an ambitious plan by al Islam to create democratic institutions such as a free media and an independent judiciary. (Reuters)

Google News launches Twitter feed

Google News, the news aggregation site run by the Internet search giant announced the launch of the @googlenews Twitter feed in a post on the Google News blog on Monday. The Google News updates on the micro-blogging service provide links to stories from the 25,000 news sources which Google News aggregates on its homepage. The links take users directly to the website of the media outlet concerned. Google News is the latest news service to begin using Twitter, which has been embraced by a number of news organizations around the world. Google in February introduced ads to the results of search queries on Google News in the United States, in a move aimed at turning the news aggregation site into a money-making venture. (AFP)

Financial Times readers asked for input on leader columns

The Financial Times is asking readers to contribute to future leader columns. Readers will be able to help shape the paper's editorial line through its Arena blog, which launches today, joining Financial Times writers in online debates about topics for upcoming leader columns. The FT said that the trial project aims to incorporate views of the FT.com community into leader columns. Tuesday FT.com ran a front-page ticker: 'Become an editorial writer. Have your say and help shape an FT editorial.' Next Monday the editorial team will plan to use readers' blog comments as part of their leader conference and respond to readers' views in the paper and online in that day's leader. (The Guardian)

Twitter users not sticking around: Nielsen

More than 60 percent of Twitter users have stopped using the micro-blogging service a month after joining, according to Nielsen Online research released on Tuesday. 'Twitter has enjoyed a nice ride over the last few months, but it will not be able to sustain its meteoric rise without establishing a higher level of user loyalty,' said David Martin, Nielsen Online's vice president for primary research. Martin, in a post on the company blog, said that more than 60 percent of Twitter users fail to return the following month. 'Or in other words, Twitter's audience retention rate, or the percentage of a given month's users who come back the following month, is currently about 40 percent,' he said. Martin said that when Facebook and MySpace were emerging networks like Twitter their retention rates were twice as high and they now have retention rates of nearly 70 percent. (AFP)

U.S. top court upholds TV profanity crackdown

The Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday a U.S. government crackdown on profanity on television, a policy that subjects broadcasters to fines for airing a single expletive blurted out on a live show. In its first ruling on broadcast indecency standards in more than 30 years, the high court handed a victory to the Federal Communications Commission, which adopted the crackdown against the one-time use of profanity on live television when children are likely to be watching. The case stemmed from an FCC ruling in 2006 that found News Corp's Fox television network violated decency rules when singer Cher blurted out an expletive during the 2002 Billboard Music Awards broadcast and actress Nicole Richie used two expletives during the 2003 awards. No fines were imposed, but Fox challenged the decision and a U.S. appeals court in New York struck down the new policy as 'arbitrary and capricious' and sent the case back to the FCC for a more reasoned explanation of its policy. The FCC, under the administration of President George W. Bush, had embarked on a crackdown of indecent content on broadcast TV and radio after pop star Janet Jackson briefly exposed her bare breast during the 2004 broadcast of the Super Bowl halftime show. By a 5-4 vote and splitting along conservative-liberal lines, the justices overturned the ruling by the appeals court and said the FCC's new policy and its findings in the two cases were neither arbitrary nor capricious. (Reuters)

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