The Press Gives AT&T a Lap Dance
Yet another AP piece on franchise reform that fails to note the laws AT&T and Verizon are lobbying for strip away eminent domain rights, eliminate consumer protections, legalize cherry picking, and will kill off public access television.
And that's one of the good ones.
No questions asked about whether local municipalities REALLY delay phone companies deploying TV and prevent them from competing with cable companies.
No questions asked about whether letting a company cherry pick next-gen broadband deployment results in broad competition or lower prices in a duopoly market.
No mention of the fact that Texas has had one of these laws in place for two years, and cableTV prices continue to rise, and broadband competitive utopia has not sprouted from between sidewalk cracks like fucking angelic weeds.
All I see, in every article covering this issue, is regurgitation of phone company talking points that the bills are a boon to consumers, and that they bring competition where there was none before -- despite the fact nothing in the existing system prevents them from competing.
They've spent three years demonizing the local franchise system via an elaborate public relations push that I've YET to see a single tech journalist see through. That is, assuming they're writing about pertinent issues and not softly nuzzling Steve Jobs or Kevin Rose with glassy-eyed affection.
Reporters covering this might as well just go collect their pay from AT&T's PR department if they're not going to ask questions and assume the bills automatically mean cheaper TV.
I thought you kids told me you learned something after the Iraqi invasion....