» Nicholas Bramble

Law & Media speaker series: Brian Stelter, reporter at the New York Times

Nicholas Bramble — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:07:45 +0000

As part of our Law & Media speaker series, Brian Stelter, reporter at the New York Times, will be coming up to the Yale ISP on Thursday December 8 from 12-1:30. You can read Brian’s articles on television, film, technology, and occupations at http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/brian_stelter/index.html, and at http://twitter.com/brianstelter.

On Thursday, Brian will lead an informal conversation addressing the the work he’s done with newser.com and the Times, the extent to which Twitter and other new media strategies are consistent with the Times’ broader journalistic goals, some of the issues he’s run across in integrating distributed reporting or data into articles, and strategies for communicating with online audiences. We’ll talk about the potential dual roles of journalists in systematically reporting on problems and helping to organize legal and political responses to those problems. And there will be lunch.

If you’re interested in taking part in this conversation, RSVP to Heather Branch (heather.branch@yale.edu). We’ll be meeting at 40 Ashmun Street in room A436. Hope to see you there!

Panel on AT&T / T-Mobile Merger — Dec 1, 2:30-4:30, YLS Room 124

Nicholas Bramble — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:10 +0000

On Thursday December 1, the Information Society Project at Yale Law School will host a panel on the AT&T / T-Mobile merger and the larger questions about antitrust and telecommunications regulation lurking in the background of this merger. Watch Here

Please join us in room 124 of Yale Law School from 2:30-4:30pm on Thursday. We’re thrilled to have the following panelists:

Susan Crawford, Cardozo Law School
Harold Feld, Public Knowledge
Harold Furchtgott-Roth, former FCC Commissioner
Jonathan Askin, Brooklyn Law School
Nicholas Bramble, Yale Law School (moderator)

Hope to see you there!

The panel will focus on a range of questions:

Overview of the merger / What are AT&T’s stated and unstated reasons for purchasing T-Mobile? Is there a spectrum crunch and how would the acquisition of T-Mobile’s assets alleviate this crunch? What other efficiencies are possible through combination of the two entities? Why has Sprint responded so aggressively to the merger?

DOJ and FCC review / Why have AT&T and Deutsche Telekom withdrawn their FCC application and decided to focus on antitrust clearance from the DOJ? What do the two different agencies look for in their review? Why does regulatory review take so long? What’s the right balance between antitrust intervention, condition-driven regulation, and deregulation? How does the DOJ’s analysis of horizontal mergers differ from its analysis of vertical mergers such as Comcast/NBCU? How will the FCC’s recently released order and staff analysis of the merger inform proceedings at the district court level?

The market for mobile wireless telecommunications / What is the shape of the relevant market for antitrust analysis? Is there effective competition in this market? How would public regulators or private competitors respond to attempts by a combined AT&T/T-Mobile to raise prices, reduce service quality, or exert control over essential inputs into the provision of mobile wireless services?

If the merger is blocked / Where does AT&T turn for spectrum? Does T-Mobile continue to exist as an independent provider, or will some other wireless/cable/search provider step in to purchase the T-Mobile assets? What does a DOJ/FCC denial of this merger indicate about US antitrust priorities in other Internet-related industries?

Implications of concentration / Does concentrated ownership of wireless infrastructure increase the likelihood of coordination between network providers and content providers? Does concentration make it easier for mobile wireless providers to be deputized for law enforcement or surveillance purposes? What are the effects on input markets and device markets? How are different search, social network, and application providers affected by increased concentration — which of these information providers have generally been supportive of the merger, and why?

Mobile infrastructure in general / Is this a market that tends towards concentration? If numerous providers control different pieces of national wireless infrastructure, are regulatory interventions such as data roaming requirements sufficient to create a seamless communications grid that can sustain multiple competitors? In lieu of placing behavioral conditions upon a merged entity, what jurisdictional authority does the FCC have to regulate next-generation mobile networks?

Thanks to the Law & Media Program and to the Knight Foundation for support of this panel.

Law & Media Speaker Series: Alexis Madrigal, Nov 10 at noon

Nicholas Bramble — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:19:54 +0000

As part of our new Law & Media speaker series, Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at the Atlantic, will be coming up to the ISP on Thursday November 10 from 12:30-2:00. You can read Alexis’s posts and articles on technology, innovation, and changing journalism models at http://www.theatlantic.com/alexis-madrigal. On Thursday, Alexis will lead an informal conversation addressing the shifting lines between journalism and advocacy. We’ll talk about the potential dual roles of journalists in systematically reporting on problems and helping to organize legal and political responses to those problems. And there will be lunch.

If you’re interested in taking part in this conversation, RSVP to Heather Branch (heather.branch@yale.edu). We’ll be meeting at 40 Ashmun Street in room A436.