Feds want to look under journalism's hood

The new chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz, hinted to The Wrap that he might favor easing anti-trust laws for big media companies, but not until he takes a detailed look at all that ails the traditional news industry.

From the Wrap:

“We are strong believers in the antitrust laws and in opposing exemptions from the antitrust laws,” Leibowitz told TheWrap, “but when you think about other values, and you think about the First Amendment, this might be one of those rare industries where you must think about ways to ensure the vibrancy of news.” ...

He said, however, that the FTC examination will be “much, much broader” than simply whether an antitrust exemption is needed. The agency will look into other reasons for the current problems.

“We are going to have economists and journalists and bloggers and people from different parts of the news media, and we are going to think through [what is occurring] and what the future will look like and whether that future -- which might be a handful of newspapers and [TV] networks that don’t have nearly as much reach as they once did and 5 million bloggers -- is a good thing for American democracy,” he said.

I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it.

(via Romenesko)

Four in the morning

1. North Korea's official news agency claims that Current TV journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling confessed to crossing illegally into the country during their secret trial. Lee and Ling were sentenced to 12 years hard labor for the alleged transgression. NYT

2. Google offered several established artists the chance to work for free. The artists - some anyway - declined to consider "exposure" as payment. NYT (h/t fishbowlLA)

3. The federal government has raised anti-trust issues about Google's planned online book registry, with critics, including librarians, saying the company will have effectively cornered the market. Time

4. What's the Boston Globe worth (assuming the New York Times Co. decides to sell)? A buck, says Ken Doctor at Content Bridges: "A buck essentially represents a gentleman’s agreement: I take a liability, headache and a distraction off your hands, says the buyer. I give you the great potential of the Globe brand, a top 25 news web site and improved ability to re-jigger the pieces, thanks to our new contracts and cost-cutting, says the Times." Content Bridges

DOJ questions Google's online library

The Justice Department has opened an inquiry into an agreement that gives Google exclusive rights to publish millions of books online. The New York Times reports:

The inquiry does not necessarily mean that the department will oppose the settlement, which is subject to a court review. But it suggests that some of the concerns raised by critics, who say the settlement would unfairly give Google an exclusive license to profit from millions of books, have resonated with the Justice Department.