"Federal regulators trying to bring high-speed Internet connections to all Americans will propose tapping the government program that now subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas. The Federal Communications Commission will include a proposal to revamp the Universal Service Fund as part of a national broadband plan due to Congress on March 17. Although the proposal itself has been expected for months, Friday's announcement offered the first solid details."

"Federal regulators are proposing to expand broadband services by tapping a program that now subsidizes phone service in poor and rural areas."

"Nearly two weeks remain before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to deliver its national broadband plan to Congress. But analysts are already picking potential winners and losers based on key themes that have already been identified, such as mobile broadband networks and spectrum swaps. The plan's overarching goal is to give all Americans access to affordable, high-speed broadband Internet."

"The Los Angeles Times' critic may have panned the film, but that didn't stop Disney from paying top dollar to turn the newspaper's front page into a special advertisement for the new movie, "Alice in Wonderland." The ad, believed to be the first of its kind among America's leading big-city dailies, dismayed some readers and was lamented by media scholars as the latest troubling sign of difficult times at the newspaper and for journalism generally. Hollywood blogger Sharon Waxman cited one "media buyer insider" as saying the Walt Disney Co, the studio behind the film, paid $700,000 for the space.

"The front page of Friday's Los Angeles Times was taken over by an ad for Disney's "Alice in Wonderland." The ad, which featured Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter character, was superimposed over a mock front page. The paper's real A1 appeared behind it. "We worked very closely with Disney to come up with an exceptional and distinctive way to help them open 'Alice in Wonderland,'" John Conroy, a spokesman for the LAT, told The Wrap's Sharon Waxman. "It was designed to create buzz, and to extend the film's already brilliant marketing campaign. "

"At first glance of Friday's Los Angeles Times, you might think the Mad Hatter has taken over the newspaper. Johnny Depp's colorful character in Disney's new film "Alice in Wonderland" dominates a faked front page, which includes the paper's traditional flag and two stories that appeared in the paper last month. Los Angeles Times spokesman John Conroy said the "cover-wrap" was an "unusual opportunity to stretch the usual boundaries and design an innovative ad designed to create buzz." Roy Peter Clark, a senior journalism scholar at the Poynter Institute, said tough economic times and lower ads sales have forced newspapers to tear down the ethics wall that separated a paper's front page from advertisers."

"RealNetworks Inc. said it will pay $4.5 million and drop its appeal of a court order barring sales of its DVD-copying software to settle a lawsuit by Walt Disney Co. and other Hollywood movie studios claiming the technology violates copyright-protection laws. RealNetworks also will refund about 2,700 customers who bought RealDVD, a $30 software program that allows users to save one backup copy of a movie to a computer hard drive."

"An article published in, The Guardian, discusses a debate taking place in the British Parliament around a new "digital economy bill. One amendment in particular is stirring a lot of discussion about its impact on content online. The Guardian writes: The new proposal - which was passed in the House of Lords by 165 votes to 140 - gives a high court judge the right to issue an injunction against a Web site accused of hosting a "substantial" amount of copyright infringing material, potentially forcing the entire site offline. Critics say the major problem with this amendment is that ajudge could shut down a Web site because of copyright infringement, even if thesite's manager didn't put the content online."

"A group of 25 Liberal Democrat candidates has penned an open letter urging the party to rethink its bid to cut off sites accused of copyright infringement. The Lib Dems' Lord Clement Jones successfully tabled an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill which would give courts the power to force ISPs to block sites accused of copyright infringement." The policy has been attacked as "dangerous" by civil liberties campaigners, who \nfear it swings the balance of power in favour of copyright holders and could harm free speech."

"If you like NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, you will be happy to know that "30 Rock," "The Office" and "Community" will be back in the fall for more fun and games. "Parks and Recreation" had already been renewed."

"With a midnight deadline looming on a threat to pull the plug on Cablevision's 3.1 million customers in New York a day before the Academy Awards, there's still no word on whether ABC's parent company and the cable operator have reached a decision."

"Three million cable customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will see their ABC station go to black (or something like it) early Sunday morning unless The Walt Disney Company and Cablevision either strike a deal or extend their tense contract negotiations. Cablevision's contract to carry the ABC station in New York City, WABC, expires at midnight, and the two companies are in a standoff over how much Disney, which owns ABC, should be paid for the right to retransmit the signal."

"Professors who wish to engage students during large lectures face an uphill battle. Not only is it a logistical impossibility for 200+ students to actively participate in a 90 minute lecture, but the downward sloping cone-shape of a lecture hall induces a one-to-many conversation. This problem is compounded by the recent budget cuts that have squeezed ever more students into each room. Fortunately, educators have found that Twitter is an effective way to broaden participation in lecture."

"Online news has become more popular than reading newspapers in the US, according to a Pew Research survey. It is the third most popular form of news, behind local and national TV stations, the Pew Research Center said."

ABC News will make significant job cuts as part of a reorganization, the latest signal that broadcast networks must re-evaluate themselves in competition with cable and others.

"As part of the deep cuts announced this week at ABC News, the network plans to eventually close all of its physical bureaus around the country except Washington and halve the number of its domestic correspondents."

"News Corp. agreed to pay $70 million for a stake in the media company owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, one of its largest shareholders. The New York media conglomerate will take a 9.1% stake in Rotana Group, with an option to double its holdings in 18 months. Corp. will have two seats on Rotana's six-person board. The investment gives News Corp its first significant foothold in the Middle East, where it expects economies to grow quickly."

"The Internet, which many feared would draw viewers away from television, appears to be having exactly the opposite effect - at least when it comes to coverage of major events. Brian Stelter writes in The Times that TV executives have noticed big spikes in viewership of the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Grammys and other special events that some of them trace to the effect of social networking sites."

The Pentagon made an announcement that it is authorizing the use of Twitter, Facebook, and other sites classified as "Web 2.0" across the U.S. military, according to a report by Reuters. The article mentioned that the Pentagon said that "the benefits of social media outweighed security concerns."

"Facebook's news feed from its 400 million users has helped the social network far surpass its competitors, which also supply similar digital streams of consciousness. But now, Facebook owns the patent on news feeds."