Nov 4, 2008 (Election Day)
If you haven't already, please vote today.
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2008 (Election Day)
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
A Sea Change for Politics We Knew
Networks May Call Race Before Voting Is Complete
Who's Gonna Win -- Let's Do the Math
Obama in Landslide: 273-142 (in Newspaper Endorsements)
Obama TV Spots: Returns Great, Costs Negligible
Obama Motivates Gen Y With Mobile Marketing
Experts: McCain, Obama Both Good for IT Spending
Media groups turn on Web for election cover
Network fare may see post-election ratings growth
FCC NEWS
FCC Drops ICC/USF Reform from Nov 4 Agenda
$50 Billion Spent On USF And For What?
Supreme Court considers FCC's rein on foul words
Court Declines to Release Fox Profanity Tapes
FCC to decide on future of US radio spectrum
FCC Advisory Committee Calls For "S" Class TV Stations
FCC Probing Cable On Channel Moves
FCC Denies Fox Affiliate Waiver for Digital Signal-Strength Test
TELECOM/INTERNET
Telecoms consider 'bailout' too
Who Killed the VoIP Revolution?
Yahoo, Google revise deal in hopes of approval
Comcast in cable cross hairs
Sprint reconnects Cogent, but differences are unresolved
A lesson from the White Space War
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
AFTER EPIC CAMPAIGN, VOTERS GO TO POLLS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Adam Nagourney]
"I think we'll be analyzing this election for years as a seminal, transformative race," said Mark McKinnon, a senior adviser to President Bush's campaigns in 2000 and 2004. "The year campaigns leveraged the Internet in ways never imagined. The year we went to warp speed. The year the paradigm got turned upside down and truly became bottom up instead of top down." It has rewritten the rules on how to reach voters, raise money, organize supporters, manage the news media, track and mold public opinion, and wage — and withstand — political attacks, including many carried by blogs that did not exist four years ago. To a considerable extent, Republicans and Democrats say, this is a result of the way that the Obama campaign sought to understand and harness the Internet (and other forms of so-called new media) to organize supporters and to reach voters who no longer rely primarily on information from newspapers and television. The platforms included YouTube, which did not exist in 2004, and the cellphone text messages that the campaign was sending out to supporters on Monday to remind them to vote.
http://benton.org/node/18513
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NETWORKS MAY CALL RACE BEFORE VOTING IS COMPLETE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jacques Steinberg]
Media outlets were engaging in debates on Monday about striking the following balance: not relying too much on early exit poll data — which had suggested, at least early on Election Day in 2004, that Senator John Kerry might be on track to defeat President Bush — while not being so cautious as to be beaten to the punch by a competitor who announces an emerging result first. CBS and Slate said Monday that they could foresee signaling to viewers early Tuesday evening which candidate appeared to have won the presidency, despite the unreliability of some early exit polls in the last presidential election. A CBS News VP said the prospects for Barack Obama or John McCain meeting the minimum threshold of electoral votes could be clear as soon as 8 p.m. — before polls in even New York and Rhode Island close, let alone those in Texas and California. Sate's editor said that "if Obama is winning heavily," he could see calling the race "sometime between 8 and 9."
http://benton.org/node/18512
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WHO'S GONNA WIN -- LET'S DO THE MATH
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
According to the Campaign Coverage Index for the week of Oct 27- Nov 2 from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, the top storyline in the media was coverage of the contest for crucial battleground states, filling 16% of the campaign newshole studied. The battle over swing states was also No.1 the previous week, but at a smaller 10% of the coverage. Yet the fight over Missouri, Ohio, and Florida is just the tip of the iceberg. When you add other strategic narratives—most notably, head-to-head polls (at 5%), candidate attacks (4%), ads, including Obama's 30-minute "infomercial," (3%) and electoral vote arithmetic (3%), attention to the horse race accounted for about one-third of last week's campaign coverage. That's up modestly over the previous week's horse race coverage and a significant jump from that of the week of Oct. 13-19. And while the media were ever vigilant for signs of a tightening race, the overarching narrative was that Obama was the clear, and possibly even overwhelming, favorite to win.
http://benton.org/node/18511
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TALLY OF NEWSPAPER ENDORSEMENTS -- OBAMA IN LANDSLIDE, AT 273-142
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell, Dexter Hill]
The Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements. The Democratic team now leads by 273 to 142, a nearly 2-1 margin and an even wider spread in the circulation of those papers. The circulation of the Obama-backing papers stands at over 21 million, compared with McCain's 7 million. Obama's lopsided margin, including most of the major papers that have decided so far, is in stark contrast to John Kerry barely edging George W. Bush in endorsements of dailies in 2004 by 213 to 205.
http://benton.org/node/18497
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OBAMA TV SPOTS: RETURNS GREAT, COSTS NEGLIGIBLE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wayne Friedman]
Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) may have made history in raising big bucks for his campaign's fund-raising, but what's more incredible has been his extremely efficient media buying. Case in point was last week's roadblock of infomercials: According to one TV media executive, Obama's effective price--the cost per thousand viewers (CPM)--came out to a very cheap $1.66. The Obama 30-minute infomercial ran across four broadcast and three cable networks on Thursday night, grabbing a total of 33.5 million viewers. Such figures are incredibly inexpensive when compared against a typical prime-time network household CPM, which runs in the $12 to $14 range. It is even better against other CPM demographics--such as adults 18-49, where the price tag in prime time is now nearing a $30 CPM for 18-49 viewers, across all four major broadcast networks.
http://benton.org/node/18496
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OBAMA MOTIVATES GEN Y WITH MOBILE MARKETING
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Dan Hodges]
Text message reminders from the Obama campaign sent to young people on or before the day of the 2008 primary elections increased the likelihood that they would vote by 4.6%. The experience could prove a template for advertisers planning the integration of mobile into marketing mix.
http://benton.org/node/18495
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EXPERTS: MCCAIN, OBAMA BOTH GOOD FOR IT SPENDING
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
As president, either Sen John McCain (R-AZ) or Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) would have significant impact on the information technology outlay of state and local governments, according to consulting firm INPUT's experts. "The candidates only rarely discuss policies with direct IT implications for state and local governments, such as REAL ID," INPUT's Chris Dixon said. "Yet, you do find some surprising nuggets with IT implications, such as Barack Obama's support for more intelligence fusion analysts at the state and local levels and John McCain's commitment to using tele-health technologies in healthcare." "A lot of folks will ask us which candidate will be 'better' for state and local IT," INPUT's Tim Brett added.
http://benton.org/node/18494
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MEDIA GROUPS TURN ON WEB FOR ELECTION COVER
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alex Dobuzinskis]
Comedy spoofs by Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert have made the U.S. presidential race a made-for-television event, but on Tuesday many voters will turn to the Internet to watch election night coverage. Major media organizations expect record-breaking traffic on their Web sites.
http://benton.org/node/18493
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NETWORK FARE MAY SEE POST-ELECTION RATINGS GROWTH
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: James Hibberd]
With the race for the Oval Office considered the most exciting and dramatic narrative this fall, struggling broadcast TV shows might get some ratings relief once election fever subsides. Cable news networks have seen their ratings soar in recent months -- for October, CNN was up 241% compared with last year in its key demo. Meanwhile, political Web sites are reporting record traffic, up triple digits from last year. Ratings for the broadcast networks have been down dramatically this fall, with fingers pointing to a slew of different causes. But the presidential election could be a conveniently transitory factor, though how much any show might benefit from its passing is debatable.
http://benton.org/node/18508
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FCC NEWS
FCC DROPS ICC/USF REFORM FROM NOV 4 AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission has deleted from its Nov 4 agenda a consideration of comprehensive reform of intercarrier compensation and universal service. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said, ". I am disappointed that we will miss the opportunity for comprehensive reform. Instead my colleagues have requested that we once again seek public comment on several proposals. As a result such a notice would make little progress and ask for comment again on the most basic and broad questions about reforming the two programs." His colleagues on the Commission issued a joint release saying, "We remain committed to fulfilling our obligation to tackle these difficult issues, and have set forth a reasonable path for completing comprehensive reform. We remain hopeful that the consensus process we have pursued regarding this issue will ultimately lead to a thoughtful, well-reasoned item that will inure to the benefit all Americans." They noted that they have given Chairman Martin bi-partisan, constructive and substantive suggestions and believe they can be ready to vote on the reform proposals by Dec 18, 2008.
http://benton.org/node/18506
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$50 BILLION SPENT ON USF AND FOR WHAT?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Americans have provided $51 billion to the Universal Service Fund over the past 10 years and all we have to show for it is that some rural areas have telephone service. Couldn't we use the same amount of money to get next-generation fiber infrastructure to rural America? Let's establish the Rural Fiber Fund to help those areas where competition isn't working get a leg up on the global economy. It's not a matter of can we afford to do it, it's can we afford not to, can we take the chance of losing our small towns.
http://benton.org/node/18505
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SUPREME COURT CONSIDERS FCC'S REIN ON FOUL WORDS
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Warren Richey]
Careful and polite use of language is the usual path to a winning argument at the US Supreme Court. But on Tuesday, the highest court in the land may reverberate to the sound of two of the crudest four-letter words in the English language. At issue before the justices is a high-stakes dispute over government attempts to keep foul language off America's broadcast airwaves. To be more precise, the dispute involves the blurted use of the "f" word and the "s" word during live television broadcasts in prime time. If written legal briefs are any indication of what is in store for Tuesday's oral argument, Supreme Court advocate Carter Phillips, one of America's most respected lawyers, is preparing to deliver an R-rated presentation. His 62-page brief submitted on behalf of Fox Television Stations uses the "f" word or some variation of it 30 times. He uses the "s" word 23 times. A New York Times editorial concludes that "the Supreme Court must ensure that the [Federal Communications Commission] does not trample on free-speech rights." The Washington Post says, "there is no need for the stiffer and seemingly arbitrary regulation."
http://benton.org/node/18510
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COURT DECLINES TO RELEASE FOX PROFANITY TAPES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in an indecency case titled, Federal Communications Commission vs Fox et al. C-SPAN had hoped to get audio tapes of the arguments as soon as Tuesday so they could be heard publicly. But the Supreme Court has denied the request and the tapes are unlikely to be released before June or July 2009. The Supreme Court does not allow TV cameras or live audio coverage, but has made tapes available on an expedited basis for some key cases, most notably the 2000 Bush vs. Gore recount decision.
http://benton.org/node/18501
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AIRWAVES BATTLE PITS DOLLY PARTON AGAINST GOOGLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
Today marks the end of a battle that has lasted for more than two years, with each side predicting apocalyptic consequences should it lose. Not the fight for the presidency — the one pitting Google against Dolly Parton. The titan of Silicon Valley and the queen of country are two of the many combatants in a high-tech dispute over precious slices of the nation's airwaves. The issue comes to a head on Election Day, when the Federal Communications Commission votes on a proposal to make a disputed chunk of radio spectrum available for public use. Google, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and other technology companies say the spectrum could be used by a whole new array of Internet-connected wireless gadgets. They say freeing it up would encourage innovation and investment in much the same way that the spread of Wi-Fi technology has. (This would generate more business for tech companies.) But a coalition of old-guard media — from television networks to Broadway producers — is objecting to the proposal, saying it needs a closer look. The opponents argue that signals sent over those frequencies could interfere with broadcasts and wireless microphones at live productions.
http://benton.org/node/18509
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FCC ADVISORY COMMITTEE CALLS FOR "S" CLASS TV STATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission's advisory committee for "diversity in the digital age" has recommended that the FCC authorize broadcasters to sublease digital spectrum to qualified applicants, effectively creating a new, "S class" of TV station as proposed by Media Access Project. The idea is to promote diversity of voices while allowing economically disadvantaged businesses to run stations without having to put up the capital to start a station from scratch or buy one outright, both of which are increasingly tough given the economic slide. Compensation for broadcasters would be determined by baseball style arbitration. The committee also recommended that the FCC come up with a better definition of qualified entities than its "small business" definition, and that it should grant a rebuttable presumption of waivers of regulatory fees for economically disadvantaged businesses.
http://benton.org/node/18504
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FCC PROBING CABLE ON CHANNEL MOVES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether cable companies are violating any rules by moving a handful of channels from analog to digital tiers. According to FCC and cable industry sources, at least 10 cable companies received letters Oct. 30 from the FCC's Enforcement Bureau seeking extensive data as far back as November 2006. The FCC demanded responses within 14 calendar days. The FCC is evidently concerned by allegations made by Consumer Reports that cable operators are moving channels to digital and then charging consumers to rent digital boxes to maintain access to the same number of channels. The FCC is also looking at whether cable operators lower the price of an analog tier after channels have been removed.
http://benton.org/node/18503
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FCC DENIES FOX AFFILIATE WAIVER FOR DIGITAL SIGNAL STRENGTH
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has denied a request from Flint (MI) Fox affiliate WSMH-DT Flint for another waiver of the FCC's digital signal-strength test. As of Oct. 31, satellite companies could test that strength, and deliver an out-of-market Fox affiliate to viewers in WSMH's market who do not get a sufficiently strong signal from that station. WSMH has already received a waiver based on the fact that it had cross-border coordination issues with Canada, and then asked for an extension. But while that extension was pending, Canada gave its approval. Now, WSMH says it needs to move to a new tower and clear that with Canada as well.
http://benton.org/node/18502
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TELECOM/INTERNET
TELECOMS CONSIDER 'BAILOUT' TOO
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Ron Orol]
The prospect of a $10 billion government infusion into the telecom sector was discussed at the annual Columbia Institute of Tele-Information's annual summit on communications and media policy. CITI's project director for telecom finance, Dan Reingold, outlined a proposal to have $10 billion invested in broadband service companies, with taxpayers receiving an aggregated 10% stake in return. Reingold, a former telecom analyst at Credit Suisse Group, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley, says the plan would in the near term generate jobs and help bolster the faltering economy, and in the long term it would boost the U.S.'s competitive position globally. However, the prospect for such an investment raises questions about winners and losers. Would the capital infusion go to phone and cable broadband incumbents, or rivals such as Clearwire?
Telecoms consider 'bailout' too
WHO KILLED THE VOIP REVOLUTION?
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Ian Bell]
"VoIP is dead," said Skype General Manager for Voice and Video Jonathan Christensen. He spoke figuratively, of course, but he may well have been right. While proponents of Voice over Internet Protocol had long promised a decade of creative destruction, they themselves appear to have become the victims. The full potential of a technology is not always realized once it converges with market forces. In this case, the gravitational pull of the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) has always proved difficult to resist. Most of the VoIP industry, while loudly proclaiming the "session-initiation protocol" (SIP) era as the beginning of the end for monopoly communications, secretly courted the incumbents in hopes of profiting from replacing their long-amortized investments in the fixed-line business. By tying their fortunes to the whimsy of the ILECs, many of the upstarts suffered, destroying billions of dollars in shareholder value in the process.
http://benton.org/node/18499
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YAHOO, GOOGLE REVISE DEAL IN HOPES OF APPROVAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Diane Bartz]
Apparently, Yahoo and Google have given the Justice Department a revised version of their search advertising partnership in hopes of winning antitrust approval. The new plan cuts the agreement from 10 years to two years and limits the revenue that Yahoo can collect to 25 percent of its search revenue. Google advertisers would be allowed to ask not to be placed on Yahoo. Mukul Krishna, digital media global director at consulting firm Frost and Sullivan, described the revised terms as "more of a Band-Aid than the extensive surgery that is needed" for Yahoo.
http://benton.org/node/18498
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COMCAST IN CABLE CROSS HAIRS
[SOURCE: Crain's Chicago Business, AUTHOR: John Pletz]
The battle for Chicago's cable television turf is heating up. AT&T is making a major push with its U-verse bundle of phone, TV and high-speed Internet services at monthly rates below those of the area's largest cable provider, Comcast. AT&T is offering rebates of up to $250 and free digital video recorders. The competition is troublesome for Comcast. As the economy stumbles toward recession, AT&T stands to gain as consumers trim budgets, says Stu Chapman, president of Municipal Services Associates. A Comcast spokesman says the company is adding value by offering more HD and video-on-demand content (although those services cost extra).
http://benton.org/node/18492
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SPRINT RECONNECTS COGENT, BUT DIFFERENCES ARE UNRESOLVED
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Mikael Ricknäs]
On Sunday, Sprint Nextel reconnected its network with Cogent Communications after severing it earlier last week. The reconnection is only temporary, as the core issues in this dispute have not changed. As a result, it is again possible for Sprint customers and Cogent customers to directly communicate across the Internet.
http://benton.org/node/18491
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A LESSON FROM THE WHITE SPACE WAR
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
[Commentary] While Americans vote for their President and Congress on Tuesday, November 4, the wireless industry, broadcasters, electronics makers, software manufacturers, and media reform groups will nervously monitor another election: the Federal Communications Commission's Open Meeting scheduled for that same day. There, the five Commissioners will vote on whether to authorize a service that permits consumer electronics makers to build devices that can send and receive wireless broadband signals through vacant TV channels, or "white space." That decision might not have been possible a generation ago.
http://benton.org/node/18490
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