The notion of an open Internet, an Internet that allows information to freely flow, seems to be too much for House Republicans to grasp. Too bad because a bill in the House would insert some language into the Communications Act of 1934 ensuring an open Internet while not turning the FCC into a pack of raving regulators.

I wrote about this in my column that ran today. Click below for a Q&A discussion of this column.

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I dragged myself into work today at 6:30 a.m. to listen to a hearing on a net neutrality bill that is before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The bill follows this entry.

The differing views by the panelists was expected. Those testifying against the bill were people from the telecommunications and cable industries. The opposition also squeezed in an academic from Penn. Those testifying for the bill were consumer advocates, business owners and Hollywood writers.

Seattle Times reporter Carol Ostrom had a nice story about Michael Fancher in Sunday's local section. Pleas check it out if you missed it. The piece can be found here.

A recent story from the Philadelphia Inquirer showed how Comcast is fighting back against the growing outrage related to its service. I was not surprised when the story noted that Comcast rates near the bottom for customer service satisfaction. I use Comcast for the Internet and cable.

The Newspaper Association of America is lobbying Congress to reject a resolution that would scrap the new media cross-ownership rule adopted by the Federal Communications Commission last December. Why, you ask, would the association that represents newspapers be in favor of policy that undermines a diverse marketplace of ideas?

The Washington Post reported today that Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin could be called to testify before Congress regarding his handling of the regulatory agency.

"Inside and outside of the paper, there's no confusion about who the paper belongs to. Not the editors who built it, not the reporters who fill it with articles, but the men who bought and paid for it."

Here is a link to my column that ran Friday. I wrote about the prospect of Rupert Murdoch buying Long Island's Newsday. I am sure there will be much more ink spilled on this topic.