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Tag: Communications Daily

Bender wins National Press Club journalism award for DC 911 reporting

Published by Adam on January 15, 2022

At a virtual ceremony on Jan. 6, 2022, I was delighted to accept the National Press Club’s newsletter journalism award for my reporting with Jonathan Make in Communications Daily on problems with the District of Columbia 911 system.

Our reporting over the last couple of years showed how the D.C. 911 center, the Office of Unified Communications, has struggled to get timely help to people calling with emergencies. The District’s auditor opened an investigation and recently reported that the center failed to meet national standards. The issue also attracted interest from Congress.

Click the links in the paragraph above to read some of my articles, which are free in front of the Comm Daily paywall. And you can check out Jonathan and my full acceptance video below!

Thank you again to the National Press Club for this journalism award. The historic club based in Washington, D.C., is one of the most prestigious conveners of journalists in the country (if not the world), so this is truly an honor! I am also grateful to work for a publication like Comm Daily that encourages investigative and enterprise reporting. I plan to continue to cover 911 issues in Washington, DC, and around the country.

I’ve been lucky to receive many awards over the years for both my reporting and my novels. If you’re curious, you can see a full list right here on my website.

Happy New Year, by the way! Please stay tuned to this blog and subscribe to my newsletter for more news soon on my creative writing. I am hoping to have some pretty cool announcements for you all soon related to my novels.

Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

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Awards and Moderation

Published by Adam on January 25, 2011

I entered WE, THE WATCHED for Amazon.com’s annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) for unpublished and self-published novels. The grand prize is a publishing contract with Penguin, including a $15,000 advance. So, yeah, wish me luck.

If telecommunications law is more your thing, you may be interested to know I recently moderated a panel about the new Congress and a potential rewrite of the Telecom Act. The panel included executives from USTelecom, NTCA, CompTel and Qwest. While I’m not sure I like seeing myself on tape, I’ve included the video of the full event below. Enjoy…or at least learn.

Broadband Breakfast: Will Congress Reopen the 1996 Telecommunications Act? from Broadband Breakfast on Vimeo.

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Actualizing the National Broadband Plan

Published by Adam on March 31, 2010

The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus recently asked me to moderate a panel about the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. I did just that on March 29 at the Capitol Visitor’s Center.

If you missed it, you can listen to an audio recording here.

Here’s a quick summary of the panel:

The briefing, “Actualizing The National Broadband Plan: What Will Congress and the FCC Have To Do?”, featured panelists representing different perspectives on what next steps are required to realize the goals of the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan released on March 17.

The panel looked ahead to the schedule of FCC Rulemakings and Inquiries that will need to be made in order to realize the stated goals of the National Broadband Plan. Further, the panel forecasted what Congressional legislation will be required to actualize the National Broadband Plan.

Panelists:

  • Adam Bender, Warren News (moderator)
  • Michael Calabrese, New America Foundation [bio]
  • Rick Cimerman, National Cable & Telecommunications Association [bio]
  • Barbara Esbin, Progress & Freedom Foundation [bio]
  • Derek Turner, Free Press [bio]
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Snowed In

Published by Adam on February 10, 2010

So we’ve got something of a blizzard in Washington, DC. It snowed about two feet over the weekend, and now on Wednesday the clouds are furious once more. For those of you not from DC, it’s very strange for us to get this much snow. Generally, we get about two inches, and everyone freaks out.  This winter storm has caused smart, perfectly reasonable people to dispense terms like “Snowpocalypse,” “Snowmageddon,” and “Holy S***!”

The National Zoo
The National Zoo during the Feb. 2010 snow storm

The whole situation makes me miss school, when we’d get the day (or week) off for this kind of thing.  Sadly, today’s American work world is such that if you can’t make it into the office, you work from home.

Speaking of work, I’ve shifted into a new beat at Communications Daily. I am now the paper’s lead reporter on Capitol Hill. It’s both an exciting and challenging switch. The best part has been getting out of the office to cover Congressional hearings and meet congressmen.  So far, I have interviewed Rep. Rick Boucher and cornered Sen. John Kerry on the Comcast/NBC deal. Not too shabby.

Of course, getting out to cover things can be difficult when you’re stuck inside and your city is completely inept when it comes to clearing snow and ice.

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Can You Hear Me Now?

Published by Adam on August 3, 2009

I wrote an article last week in Communications Daily about the prospects of a new technology called HD voice.  As the name implies, HD voice doubles the clarity of audio on phone calls. What’s not clear, however, is if people actually want it. Cellphones and VoIP actually provide a tinnier-sounding call then your mom’s old landline, but a lot of people don’t seem to mind.

Check out my article, which is featured here on Jeff Pulver’s blog (he co-founded Vonage, for those unfamiliar).

Do you want a clearer phone call? Sound off in the comments section!

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog