Frank Beacham is a New York City-based writer and producer. Visit his Web site at
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Mobile Technology Collides With Policy
by Frank Beacham, 10.29.2008
One of the clear trends in this first decade of the 21st century is the rapid move toward mobile telephony and wireless computing. More...
Digital Media Is Changing The Election—and More
by Frank Beacham, 10.01.2008
Because digital media is causing such change, we simply don't know how accurate traditional media measurement systems are because they can't fully measure today's issues and media. More...
NBC Shifts New York O&O to All News
by Frank Beacham, 06.11.2008
This is a move to hyperlocalism—one designed to re-invent the major NBC stations before they are absorbed into the 500-channel abyss of pay television channels. More...
The MPAA Makes A Big Mistake
by Frank Beacham, 03.05.2008
This is a story about a big mistake. It’s also about numerous educational institutions in this country too afraid to confront their suspicions. In both cases, it represents a very sad state of affairs. More...
When TV Cameras Bite Back
by Frank Beacham, 01.09.2008
Over the past decade, those of us who live in big cities have seen a remarkable cultural change enabled by the combination of the video camera and computer networks. This change is being sold in the name of public safety—another More...
Find a Way to Use ‘White Space’ Spectrum
by Frank Beacham, 10.17.2007
Spectrum “white space” is an incredibly valuable public resource that could provide wireless broadband access for as little as $10 a month. For that reason alone we must find a way to work out any technical flaws that might block More...
Apple’s iTunes ‘Privacy’ Transcends Music Piracy
by Frank Beacham, 07.11.2007
Privacy is one of those issues that tend to separate old codgers like myself from the children of the digital era. Most young people tell me to forget about it—the concept of personal privacy is long dead and who cares anyway? More...
Phone Recording: Essential Knowledge
by Frank Beacham, 05.30.2007
In the course of one’s daily work, basic skills are acquired. Once learned, it’s easy to forget that this essential knowledge may not be widely known by others. Thus, a new generation struggles to reinvent the wheel. More...
Question for Broadcasters: What Do We Get for Our Spectrum?
by Frank Beacham, 04.02.2007
With the demise of analog television fast approaching, over-the-air broadcasters have made a lot of noise lately in favor of educating America's television viewers about the digital transition. More...
Corporations Co-opt Citizen Journalism
by Frank Beacham, 02.07.2007
Advertising forecasters predict double-digit growth for online media outlets in the new year. More...
Television News: Version 2.0
by Frank Beacham, 12.06.2006
Within days of NBC Universal's recent announcement that it would eliminate 700 jobs in its broadcast operations, a "Career Fair" for job seekers was held at NAB New York, an expo and series of conferences billed as an East Coast More...
Can the Internet Save News Reporting?
by Frank Beacham, 10.04.2006
When I began working in the news department at an NBC affiliate in the late 1960s, ratings were never discussed and no one cared about the hair style of reporters. The most important thing was accuracy-getting the facts straight. More...
A Decade Later, 'Net Issues Remain the Same
by Frank Beacham, 08.09.2006
It was 1996, almost exactly a decade ago, when I wrote a column for this publication posing some questions about the future of the Internet. More...
Revisiting a '50s Audio Classic
by Frank Beacham, 07.26.2006
In the rush of new production technologies that constantly come and go, it's easy to forget valuable tools that have been around for a long, long time simply because they do a single job very well More...