Bad news for Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and idiot Republican candidates on the campaign trail who have nothing better to talk about: They'll no longer be able to scare listeners with the prospect of Democrats reviving the Fairness Doctrine! Because FCC chair Julius Genachowski has agreed to take the dated, unenforced rule out of its books, once and for all.
Happy Birthday, Internet! This September marks the 40th anniversary of our virtual god, and, as happens with the marching of time, it faces some changes. The scope and impact of those potential changes remains to be seen, but they're scary!
• Both NBC and ABC plan to pre-empt regular programming this evening to air specials devoted to coverage of the Jackson story. E!, MTV, and CNN (among others) have specials airing over the next few days, too. [NYT, THR]
• Time is publishing a special Jackson "commemorative edition" on Monday. For its part, Rolling Stone has a "bookazine" in the works. [NYT, NYT]
• How newspapers around the world covered the Jackson news. [Guardian]
• And how the Jackson story kind of broke the Internet. [ABC News]
• The Wall Street Journal's new glossy mag, WSJ, will remain a quarterly and will not be going monthly as planned due to "market conditions." [WWD]
• Amazon is launching a program to let you read books by iPhone. [WSJ]
• Fox is ahead in the ratings with 18 to 49-year-olds thanks to the success of Idol, but CBS is gaining ground and is now No. 1 among total viewers. [LAT]
• As expected, Julius Genachowski has been nominated as FCC head. [AP]
• Cablevision will soon start targeting TV ads based on "income, ethnicity, gender or whether the homeowner has children or pets." [NYT]
• WNBC's new digital channel, New York Nonstop, launched Monday. [NYDN]
• David Carr's Carpetbagger blog will not be a year-round thing. [NYT]
• Good news, unemployed TV journalists: Dan Rather is hiring. [NYO]
I'm from MIT, so I'm hardwired to hate on Harvard Law grad Julius Genachowski, the so-called technology guy newly named to our Internet President's transition team. His company, LaunchBox, helps Web and mobile entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to get seed funding. That makes him a Paul Graham wannabe to me. He spent eight years working for Barry Diller at IAC as general counsel. Is that a plus or a minus?To be fair, Genachowski is said to be a clear thinker, and he hasn't yet locked up Barry O's slot for America's CTO. Insider gossip says he's eyeing the FCC instead, where he previously served under Reed Hundt. Fine with me — Genachowski is a lawyer who I'm sure can grasp net neutrality. But if this turns out to be Obama's idea of a technologist, I'm going home to cling bitterly to my guns and religion.
