Oct 30, 2008 (Obama's 30 min ad)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY OCTOBER 30, 2008
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Obama Airs 30-Minute Spot
Will Viewers Tune in to Obama's Half-Hour Ad?
How Different Media Have Covered the General Election
Obama's Record Fundraising Fails to Benefit TV Station Owners
McCain's 'Litigator' of Media Wrongs
Spanish Political Ads' Multiple Translations
Change of scenery in DC
Shock: Drudge loses his grip on US media!
FCC AGENDA
Senators To FCC: Put The Brakes On Nov. 4 Telecom Reform
McDowell optimistic "White Spaces" proposal will pass
TELEVISION
Don't fear the fairness doctrine
PTC Study Charts Increase in TV Profanity
Younger Viewers Transforming TV Watching, Report Says
So far at least, networks feel little pain
FCC concerned at trend of pay-TV rate hikes
Senators Want More NFL on Free TV
AT&T Yields On Video Regulatory Fees
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
When the Police Go Through Your Email: Quirk of Search Law Sets Off Alarm Bells
California law restricting video game sales on shaky ground
Turkey tightens controls on Internet speech
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Yahoo, AOL in due diligence on combination: source
Consumer group opposes Google, Yahoo partnership
QUICKLY -- CNN Courts Newspapers With New Wire Service; Martin names Navin and Margie Co-Chairs of 2011 World Radiocommunication Conf Advisory Committee; Report assesses K-12 online learning
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
OBAMA AIRS 30-MINUTE SPOT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Peter Slevin]
Eager to cement his case for the presidency in voters' minds before the campaign's frenetic final weekend, Sen. Barack Obama blitzed the television airwaves and deployed one of the Democratic Party's biggest names to deliver his message of change. Obama's campaign spent more than $3 million to air a 30-minute infomercial on seven networks simultaneously. In part, the show was designed to prove Obama understands voters, that he can connect with the problems of workers and retirees. But it was also designed to help voters understand him, to become comfortable with the idea of him as president. Reassurance was not just the point of the biographical tidbits and the recorded testimonials; it was the point of the entire broadcast. Reviews of his infomercial say the candidate managed to pull off a strong half-hour of political messaging. The campaign also unleashed its first advertisement critical of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The day was capped with a taped interview on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
http://benton.org/node/18346
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WILL VIEWERS TUNE IN TO OBAMA'S HALF-HOUR AD?
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
Call it Barack Obama's $3.5 million gamble, but as the Obama campaign readies to air a half-hour TV program at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday on major broadcast and some cable networks, the question is will it actually work? The real test of the ad's success is a three-part one. First, will it be seen at all, or will viewers ignore it? Second, will the ad really convert undecided voters or motivate already committed Obama voters to get out and vote? Finally, even if viewers don't view the ad, will its airing fuel enough discussion in the press, on TV and radio talk shows and at water coolers of the issues it mentions or the ad itself to be worth the spending? Because there is no recent history of half-hour campaign ads in the presidential race—the last one was aired by third-party candidate Ross Perot in 1992—none of the answers is readily apparent.
http://benton.org/node/18326
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HOW DIFFERENT MEDIA HAVE COVERED THE GENERAL ELECTION
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: ]
When it comes to coverage of the campaign for president 2008, where one goes for news makes a difference. In cable, the evidence firmly suggests there now really is an ideological divide between two of the three channels, at least in their coverage of the campaign. On the evening newscasts of the three traditional networks, in contrast, there is no such ideological split. Indeed, on the nightly newscasts of ABC, CBS and NBC, coverage tends to be more neutral and generally less negative than elsewhere. On the network morning shows, Sarah Palin is a bigger story than she is in the media generally. Online, meanwhile, polling tended to drive the news. And on the front pages of newspapers, which often have the day-after story, things look tougher for John McCain than they tend to in the media overall.
http://benton.org/node/18328
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OBAMA'S RECORD FUNDRAISING FAILS TO BENEFIT TV STATION OWNERS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg News, AUTHOR: Tim Mullaney]
Television stations are finding as political campaigns end that Sen Barack Obama's record $600 million fundraising isn't turning into an advertising bonanza. A lack of competitive big-state Senate races, falling interest-group outlays and Sen John McCain's decision to accept campaign spending limits have led to a shortfall. "We were very surprised at the lack of growth," said Kip Cassino, research director at Borrell Associates, an advertising consultant. "It puts the stations in a much worse spot than they thought they'd be in." Political ads were supposed to be the bright spot for station owners E.W. Scripps Co., Belo Corp. and Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. in a year marred by less spending by auto dealers. Instead, campaign spending on local TV will fall to $984.3 million from 2004's $1.05 billion, Cassino said. Total ad sales for local TV will fall 8 percent this year, he said.
http://benton.org/node/18327
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MCCAIN'S 'LITIGATOR' OF MEDIA WRONGS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Michael Leahy]
Mark Salter is an angry man. He has increasingly despaired that nothing he and other McCain aides have tried to do has really changed the tone of the campaign's overall coverage, or McCain's fortunes. This past year, he says, has revealed two sets of media coverage: a long-running valentine for Sen Barack Obama (D-IL), and a far more critical look at Sen John McCain (R-AZ) that has obscured his accomplishments and his campaign's good days. As the campaign has entered its final phase, Salter's role as what he calls the "litigator" of media atrocities has only increased. He often wanders to the back of the campaign plane to challenge reporters on their stories and always to reinforce the McCain narrative.
http://benton.org/node/18345
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SPANISH POLITICAL ADS' MULTIPLE TRANSLATIONS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David Montgomery]
How fitting that the most Latinized presidential campaign season in history enters its final week with the Democratic candidate looking deep into our eyes and carefully pronouncing 65 words in Spanish. Just two questions about Barack Obama's new television ad: What is he saying, and to whom is he saying it? But what is he saying, and who gets it? Also, what was the point of buying 30 minutes on Univision last night to run a translated version of his "American Stories" infomercial that simultaneously aired on several English-language networks? The same can be asked of Republican candidate John McCain, who has aired several commercials with his spoken English translated into Spanish. Is this just a little bit of linguistic showing off? Most Latino registered voters don't need to be addressed in Spanish. Those born in the United States tend to speak English fluently, and those naturalized as citizens had to pass an English test. The Pew Hispanic Center reports that 84 percent of Latino voters speak English very well or pretty well.
http://benton.org/node/18344
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CHANGE OF SCENERY IN DC
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: William Triplett]
Whether Barack Obama or John McCain wins the presidency next week, the Washington-Hollywood social nexus is likely to change. An Obama presidency would do the most to alter the landscape of DC's social scene and the way that industry figures carry out their favorite causes. Obama also could display a propensity as chief executive to call on Hollywood for help. It would surely be a contrast to nearly eight years in which President Bush has all but shunned the entertainment industry and its trappings.
http://benton.org/node/18343
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SHOCK: DRUDGE LOSES HIS GRIP ON US MEDIA!
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: John Gapper]
[Commentary] The decline of Drudge is part of a broader shift in the US media, both old and new, towards the Democratic party. Drudge's dominance has been undermined by competition. His sensibility infuriated so many people that left-leaning sites such as the Daily Kos sprung up to challenge him. Lately, his thunder has been stolen by the Huffington Post, an unlikely blend of leftwing blogging, reporting and aggregation founded by Arianna Huffington, the media gadfly. The Huffington Post has leapt past the Drudge Report in traffic, attracting 4.5m unique users in September, compared with 2.1m for Drudge and 2.4m for Politico, a political news site. While Mr Drudge picks out stories that could hurt Mr Obama, the Huffington Post does the opposite, highlighting anything that makes Mr McCain look bad. This shift leftwards online has been matched on cable television, where Fox News, the rightwing news channel, has increasingly faced its mirror image at MSNBC. The latter's leftish talk-show hosts, Keith Olbermann and now Rachel Maddow, a chirpy gay liberal, dish out scorn about Republicans in opposition to Bill O'Reilly and others at Fox. The effect is not just to balance out Mr Drudge and Mr O'Reilly but to place old-school media objectivity, as practised by US newspapers, under pressure.
http://benton.org/node/18342
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FCC AGENDA
SENATORS TO FCC: PUT BRAKES ON NOV 4 TELECOM REFORM
[SOURCE: TelecomWeb, AUTHOR: ]
Sens Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), John Tester (D-MT), Max Baucus (D-MT), Christopher Bond (R-MO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) have written the Federal Communications Commission asking the FCC to rethink its timeframe regarding next week's vote on a proposed order for intercarrier compensation and Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. They say that the FCC should "postpone moving forward with this proposal until more steps have been taken to weigh the potential disadvantages to rural customers." The senators also requested that "the proposal be published in the Federal Register, and the FCC seek public comment on these very important issues." The letter continues: "While your stated goal is to encourage broadband deployment, we are concerned your proposal may actually hinder this process. While our home states and other states with large rural areas continue to make strides in expanding their wireless and broadband capabilities, there are still areas having no service or unreliable service. Sens John Cornyn (R-TX), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) and David Vitter (R-LA) have sent individual letters to the FCC expressing their opposition to the order.
http://benton.org/node/18325
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MCDOWELL OPTIMISTIC AIRWAVES PROPOSAL WILL PASS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell said on Wednesday he is optimistic communications officials will approve a plan, backed by Microsoft and Google, to open soon-to-be vacant television airwaves. Predicting a 5-0 vote, Commissioner McDowell said, "The order itself is a very tight box. Each device still has to be certified by the FCC." He said there is great potential for a new wave of innovative and faster devices to be developed by the private sector with the new spectrum. National Association of broadcasters President David Rehr sent a letter late yesterday to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asking a series of questions related to the agency's plan to allow unlicensed "white spaces" devices to operate in television spectrum.
http://benton.org/node/18324
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TELEVISION
DON'T FEAR THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Craig Aaron]
[Commentary] Here's the truth: the fairness doctrine is never, ever coming back. And that's a good thing. If you want more balance and variety on the airwaves, the fairness doctrine won't do it. It's a poorly designed, constitutionally dubious policy - one that failed to meet its arguably well-intentioned purpose the first time around. The old fairness doctrine was infrequently enforced and easy to avoid. Only a miniscule number of complaints filed were ever taken up by the federal communications commission. And despite the heated rhetoric in the conservative press, progressives should remember that a new fairness doctrine would cut both ways. For every complaint about some noxious shock jock's rant, there's sure to be a coordinated attack on "liberal advocacy journalism". The government simply shouldn't be in the speech-regulating business. Instead of bureaucrats deciding what constitutes balance, we need policies that encourage the expression of diverse points of view. Political imbalance on the radio dial shouldn't be blamed on the fairness doctrine's demise. The real culprit is runaway media consolidation. The biggest companies like Clear Channel and Cumulus have swallowed up hundreds of local stations, shuttering newsrooms and supplanting local talent to pipe in the same cookie-cutter, mostly conservative content from coast to coast.
http://benton.org/node/18341
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PTC STUDY CHARTS INCREASE IN TV PROFANITY
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: ]
The Parents Television Council reports that a new analysis of TV programming shows that profanity during primetime broadcast television not only has increased since 1998, but that harsher profanity has quickly risen in prominence and pervasiveness. More than a quarter of the expletives a child will hear on TV today will be the exact words or some form of [three unholy words] that air unbleeped or partially-bleeped on broadcast television, the watchdog group claims.
http://benton.org/node/18320
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YOUNGER VIEWERS TRANSFORMING TV WATCHING, REPORT SAYS
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Vlada Gelman]
Younger viewers are transforming how, what and where prime-time television is being viewed, according to a new report from Knowledge Networks. The report found that younger viewers are more likely to use DVRs and watch TV outside the home, with 39% of millennials ages 13-29 reporting that they do so at least once a week compared with only 11% of young baby boomers. Millennials were also more likely to say they switch around during prime-time commercials or program breaks and watch TV with others in the room.
http://benton.org/node/18319
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SO FAR AT LEAST, NETWORKS FEEL LITTLE PAIN
[SOURCE: Media life, AUTHOR: Kevin Downey]
There's good reason to think broadcast television would be having a lousy fall as the ad economy slumps. But so far the networks aren't doing all that badly. That's because money is coming in from the robust upfront ad market in late spring and early summer, when the broadcasters locked up orders for $9.3 billion, a year-to-year increase of just over 1 percent. Of course, all this could change in the coming few weeks. Spooked by the rough economy, advertisers could decide to begin canceling for the quarter, with up to a fourth of those orders subject to cancellation. The networks, mindful of advertisers' concerns, are giving them more time than usual to decide whether to back out of their upfront commitments.
http://benton.org/node/18318
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FCC CONCERNED AT TREND OF PAY-TV RATE HIKES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Deborah Yao]
The Federal Communications Commission expressed concern as several cable companies discussed plans to raise their rates for next year, including Cablevision Systems Corp., which on Wednesday announced an average hike for cable TV service of 3.5 percent. Cablevision noted that the price increase on video services falls below inflation and said it's also building a Wi-Fi network that its Internet subscribers will be able to use for free. An FCC spokeswoman said the trend could hurt already-battered consumers.
http://benton.org/node/18323
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SENATORS WANT MORE NFL ON FREE TV
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Kimberly Hefling]
Senators have asked the NFL commissioner to tackle the issue of making more game day TV broadcasts available to local fans for free. The league has said it provides free broadcasts in the home cities of competing teams. But 13 lawmakers said in a letter this week to Roger Goodell that the NFL is too narrowly interpreting what is a home city.
http://benton.org/node/18322
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AT&T YIELDS ON VIDEO REGULATORY FEES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
As a provider of a start-up Internet Protocol video service, AT&T has been exempt from paying regulatory fees used to help fund the Federal Communications Commission's $313 million budget, much to the displeasure of incumbent cable operators. In a concession Monday, AT&T said it should begin to pay video-based fees -- not necessarily at the same rate as cable incumbents but more likely at a level that represents the actual burdens imposed by its nascent video service on FCC staff resources. "AT&T fully agrees that, as a [pay-TV] provider, it should pay an equitable share of the [FCC's] regulatory costs," the company said in an Oct. 27 FCC filing.
http://benton.org/node/18321
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
WHEN THE POLICE GO THROUGH YOUR EMAIL: QUIRK OF SEARCH LAW SETS OFF ALARM BELLS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey]
When you look at your BlackBerry, you see a gadget full of important email, contacts and other files. Increasingly, authorities see admissible evidence. In a small but growing number of cases, customs officials and police officers have been carrying out warrantless searches of the contents of laptops, mobile phones and other wireless devices. This spring, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in California ruled that "reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs officials to search a laptop or other personal electronic storage devices at the border," including international airports. And in a handful of instances, courts have supported local police interpretations of legal searches to include browsing through phone call lists and text messages on cellphones when they arrest suspects.
http://benton.org/node/18349
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CALIFORNIA LAW RESTRICTING VIDEO GAME SALES ON SHAKY GROUND
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Howard Mintz]
A federal appeals court on Wednesday appeared inclined to shoot down a California law aimed at banning the sale of violent video games to minors. During an hourlong hearing in Sacramento, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals expressed concern that the state's anti-violent video game law interferes with parental control over children's game habits and runs afoul of the First Amendment. The appeals court is reviewing a San Jose federal judge's 2007 ruling striking down the law, which was California's attempt to bar retailers from selling or renting violent video games to minors because of mounting concerns that mayhem-filled games incite violent behavior in youth. The video game industry has challenged the law in California and other states, where courts have consistently found such regulations unconstitutional. While the 9th Circuit judges did lend some support to the state, they were generally skeptical the law can survive.
http://benton.org/node/18348
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TURKEY TIGHTENS CONTROLS ON INTERNET SPEECH
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Yigal Schleifer]
A Turkish court had just banned Blogger, the popular blog-hosting site owned by Google, because of illegal material found on a few sites on its servers. It was just the latest among hundreds of sites banned by Turkey's courts and government this year, raising concerns about censorship in a country with an already troubling record on freedom of speech. A law passed by the Turkish parliament last May, intended to prevent access to primarily pornographic Web content, has given the state broad powers. The newly created Telecommunications Directorate, a government office that monitors the Internet, is allowed to shut down sites without a court order. The agency has been behind 612 bans this year. Critics of the Internet laws have been dismayed by the state's heavy-handed approach, which allows for entire sites to be blocked because of a small number of offending items.
http://benton.org/node/18347
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
YAHOO, AOL IN DUE DILIGENCE ON COMBINATION: SOURCE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Anupreeta Das]
Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL unit are looking at each other's books to figure out how much money they could make together and where costs can be saved, a person familiar with the talks said on Wednesday, indicating a merger may finally be on the way. While noting a deal was not imminent, the source said the two companies have engaged in "meaningful" due diligence about a possible combination for the past couple of weeks. Talks are focused on how to integrate AOL's content and advertising business into Yahoo, said the source. Yahoo and Time Warner began talks several months ago, when the Internet company was looking for an alternative growth strategy to fend off a $47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft.
http://benton.org/node/18340
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CONSUMER GROUP OPPOSES GOOGLE, YAHOO PARTNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Diane Bartz]
US Public Interest Group, a consumer organization, is opposing Google's plan to share advertising with rival Yahoo, saying it could harm consumer privacy, according to a letter sent to the US Attorney General. PIRG argued that advertisers who try to compete with Google and Yahoo, which together have more than 80 percent of the search advertising market, will be forced to collect more information on Internet users because they would not be able to compete with the market leaders on price. The result would be a loss of privacy for consumers, the group said.
http://benton.org/node/18339
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QUICKLY
CNN COURTS NEWSPAPERS WITH NEW WIRE SERVICE
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Joe Strupp]
CNN is courting newspapers -- and possibly competing with The Associated Press -- with a new wire service the cable network plans to launch soon, with plans for an all-expenses-paid, three-day summit in December to show off its news gathering capabilities.
http://benton.org/node/18317
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MARTIN NAMES NAVIN AND MARGIE CO-CHAIRS OF 2011 WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATION CONF ADVISORY COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has appointed Thomas Navin and Paul Margie as Co-Chairs of the FCC's Advisory Committee for the 2011 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-11). This Committee will be tasked with providing advice, technical analyses, and specific recommendations on matters relating to the WRC-11. http://benton.org/node/18316
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REPORT ASSESSES K-12 ONLINE LEARNING
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Laura Devaney]
Online learning is growing rapidly, but its continued growth will require specific policy and funding changes that focus on increasing educational choices and opportunities while ensuring high quality and improved student achievement, according to a new report. The report recommends several policies to increase online learning options for students. Those policy recommendations include ensuring that students and parents are free to choose online courses and schools; encouraging schools of education to incorporate online instruction as part of the curriculum for future teachers; creating true national content standards so online content does not need to demonstrate alignment with countless different content frameworks; revising accounting standards for funding to get away from count dates, seat time, and other measures that don't apply to the online environment; and establishing some standard metrics for basic quality assurance and measurements, such as consistent measures for course completions.
http://benton.org/node/18315
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