Source Note #23: Some Fear Web Push Won’t help Urban Poor (Washington Post, 2-28-09)
Title: Some Fear Web Push Won’t help Urban Poor
Summary: Kang makes a strong argument that lack of access isn’t what is keeping low income people from accessing the internet. She suggests that the money allocated towards broadband expansion won’t change the fact that many people simply cannot afford broadband, even if they have access to it.
Topic: Should the Obama administration make it a priority to increase broadband access nationwide?
Category: Journalistic, Mainstream
What is it? An online article from the Washington Post
Publication Information: February. 28, 2009
Author: Cecilia Kang
Location: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/6286834.html
Accessed: March 3rd, 2009
Support:
- President Barack Obama
- Judith Theodore (citizen)
- A survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (May 2008)
- Former FCC chief economist Michael Katz
- Rey Ramsey, president of OneEconomy.com
Most of the hard date used in this article comes from the Pew survey. Katz and Ramsey provide professional technological perspectives. These are the major sources in the article. Obama is quoted briefly, and Theodore provides a human angle to the story.
Audience and Agenda:
The Washington Post is strongly focuses on national politics and international affairs. The Post has a reputation for taking a liberal stance on social issues. The paper is the largest newspaper in the DC area with a daily circulation of 673,180, and a Sunday circulation of 890,163.
Works cited:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/6286834.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post
2 Replies
[...] – Some Fear Web Push Won’t help Urban Poor (Washington Post, 2-28-09) – (Journalistic, [...]
[...] While some don’t believe the market will necessarily form it’s over nationwide broadband coverage anytime soon, many people do. Because broadband is becoming such a necessity, some find it hard to believe that the demand for broadband won’t drive the market nationwide. (Source note #17) Also, while Obama views broadband connectivity as essential as mass transportation (Source note #2), other don’t believe that broadband access falls under the government’s jurisdiction. In reality, while there are a great deal of Americans who aren’t online. 27% of Americans are not internet users. 43% of those people are over age 65, and 43% have household incomes of less than $30,000 annually. The two major reasons for those Americans who are offline for not having internet access are necessity and availability. Many simply say that they don’t need it, and 35% of Americans without internet access say that it is simply too expensive for them to afford. (Source note #23) [...]