For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Valley Broadcaster Defends GOP Gift, Others Question Legality
Media-Bias Charges Rally Republican Base
Web Offers Hefty Voice to Critics of Mainstream Journalists
Internet Broadens U.S. Political Debate, Survey Says
Westin Blasts Opinion in Media
LOBBYING
Communications Industry Lobbying Tops $1 Billion in 6-Year Period
GOVERNMENT & MEDIA
Wright to Decry Content Crackdown
L.A. Stations Benefit Most from Government Ad Spending
QUICKLY
Telecom Experts Call for Less Regulation and Reduced
State Intervention in the IP World
The New Voices: Hyperlocal Citizen Media Sites Want You (to Write)!
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
VALLEY BROADCASTER DEFENDS GOP GIFT, OTHERS QUESTION LEGALITY
A spokeswoman for the FCC on Wednesday flatly denied the Commission issued=
=20
any opinion on $350,000 worth of air time Pappas has contributed to GOP=20
county committees in support of Republican candidates running in the=20
central part of the state. Meanwhile, in an effort to quell a protest that=
=20
has spread across the country, company executives extended to Democratic=20
candidates a smaller offer of free air time on a company-owned Spanish=20
language station in San Francisco - time that would be of little use to=20
candidates in the hotly contested Central Valley races. "This is an abuse=20
of their license and another example of what is wrong with allowing=20
concentration of the media," said Andrew Schwartzman, an attorney and chief=
=20
executive officer of the Media Access Project, a Washington, D.C.-based=20
public interest law firm that specializes in communications law. Under=20
federal law, Schwartzman said, an offer of free air time to one candidate=20
triggers a requirement that equal time must be made available to opposing=20
candidates and any other interpretation of the rule is "just wrong." Pappas=
=20
argues that just as a car dealer or manufacturing company can offer=20
candidates products and services under state law, so too can a broadcaster.=
=20
B&C reports a Pappas lawyer said the company vetted the time offer with its=
=20
attorneys as well as with the FCC to determine that such contributions are=
=20
legal in California, and do not trigger equal time but instead an equal=20
opportunity for ad time at the lowest rate on the card.
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Tom Chorneau]
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/special_packages/election2004/1003...
.htm
Pappas Defends Airtime Contribution
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA475604.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also see:
* Sacramento Bee
Airtime gift to GOP is attacked
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/11229790p-12145477c.html
* Stockton Record
Broadcaster's TV offer refused in S.J.
http://www.recordnet.com/daily/news/articles/102804-gn-2.php
MEDIA-BIAS CHARGES RALLY REPUBLICAN BASE
As a close campaign draws near the end, Republicans are using accusations=20
that the media are biased against President Bush as a way to galvanize the=
=20
party's base. "Taking on the liberal media ... is a huge motivator," says=20
Republican Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.=20
The complaints also raise pressure on news organizations and their=20
reporters in the homestretch of a dead-heat presidential race. Republican=20
National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie says he isn't trying to intimidate=
=20
news organizations, only to set the record straight. "We want to make sure=
=20
our supporters know the facts," he says. Democrats haven't complained as=20
much about perceived bias in the mainstream media, but a recent spate of=20
assertions that major news outlets have been insufficiently critical of the=
=20
Bush administration is helping energize the Democratic base as well. Bill=20
Keller, executive editor at the New York Times, predicts complaints about=20
the media won't end if Mr. Bush loses and Mr. Kerry seeks re-election.=20
"We'll be hearing similar things from the Kerry White House," he said,=20
"about how the elite media is out to get them."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Greg Hitt greg.hitt( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109891992075357959,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
WEB OFFERS HEFTY VOICE TO CRITICS OF MAINSTREAM JOURNALISTS
This year's election has been filled with accusations of the media=20
practicing cheap and dirty politics, playing fast and loose with the facts=
=20
and even lying. The criticism is coming from Internet writers and=20
journalists covering the campaign believe the intent is often to bully them=
=20
into caving to a particular point of view. Some worry the criticism could=20
eventually have a chilling effect. "The traditional players, including the=
=20
press, have lost some of the control or exclusive control they used to=20
have," said Jay Rosen, chairman of the journalism department at New York=20
University, who keeps his own Web log, or blog. But, he added, "I think=20
there's a campaign under way to totally politicize journalism and totally=20
politicize press criticism. It's really an attack not just on the liberal=20
media or press bias, it's an attack on professionalism itself, on the idea=
=20
that there could be disinterested reporters."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Ruttenberg]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/28/politics/campaign/28blog.html
(requires registration)
INTERNET BROADENS U.S. POLITICAL DEBATE, SURVEY SAYS
The Internet serves more as a town hall in the United States than an echo=20
chamber as users are more likely to be exposed to a wide range of political=
=20
views, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Pew Internet and=
=20
American Life Project. The Internet still takes a backseat to television as=
=20
a source of news for most of the Internet users surveyed. But 31% of=20
broadband users said the Internet was their primary news source, roughly=20
the same as the 35% who said newspapers were their main source of news. One=
=20
in five told the nonprofit group they preferred to get their news from a=20
source that challenged their point of view, and 30% said they had visited=20
the Web site of a nontraditional news source.
See "The Internet and Democratic Debate" at=20
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/141/report_display.asp
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D6...
60
WESTIN BLASTS OPINION IN MEDIA
Is network news obsolete? ABC News President David Westin's opinion may not=
=20
surprise you -- he told the Institute of Politics=92 John F. Kennedy Jr.=20
Forum that network news is far from dead but that the networks must adapt=20
to changes in media. Due to the rise of 24-hr all-news cable channels, the=
=20
networks face demands for continual coverage and constant deadlines. But he=
=20
also focused on the rise of commentary on TV. "The more time we express our=
=20
opinions, the less time we have to talk about the facts,=94 Westin said.=20
=93Unfortunately, opinion is driving out facts too often in most of what we=
=20
see on television today. Expressing opinion on TV is vivid, entertaining,=20
and in all honesty, less expensive than the alternative. Therefore, the=20
explosion of news outlets has in its own way encouraged the explosion of=20
opinion. It can be very entertaining to have two very spirited people=20
discussing heath care in this country, but I for one would be better=20
benefited by someone coming on and telling me exactly what the state of=20
health care is before we talk about what ought to be done and telling me=20
what my real options are. If viewers see news people on different channels=
=20
that look pretty much the same, on sets that look pretty much the same, and=
=20
graphics that look pretty much the same, with some expressing opinion some=
=20
of the time and some expressing facts, is it surprising that the audience=20
believe that they=92re all expressing facts?=94
[SOURCE: Harvard Crimson Online, AUTHOR: Michael Chion]
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=3D504085
LOBBYING
COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY LOBBYING TOPS $1 BILLION IN 6-YEAR PERIOD
The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) will release a report today finding=20
that the communications industry -- broadcast, cable, telecom and satellite=
=20
-- has spent nearly $1.1 billion on lobbying since 1998. CPI defines=20
lobbying as salaries and expenses of either in-house or outside lobbyists,=
=20
campaign donations and industry-funded trips. To put the number in=20
perspective, the oil and gas industries spent $396 million on lobbying in=20
the same period.
Check http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/ later today for more info.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry lane]
(Not available online)
Multichannel News reports that the National Cable & Telecommunications=20
Association has sponsored more trips by federal officials, their staffs and=
=20
their family members since 2000 than any other companies and organizations=
=20
associated with the broadcasting and telecommunications industries. NCTA=20
paid for 102 trips costing nearly $200,000. Next was the United States=20
Telecom Association, paying for 62 trips that cost about $107,000.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA475735.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
GOVERNMENT & MEDIA
WRIGHT TO DECRY CONTENT CRACKDOWN
NBC Universal Chairman Robert Wright was to receive The Media Institute's=20
Freedom of Speech Award last night and B&C's Eggerton knew what he was=20
gonna say before he said it. [John has special powers.] Wright was to say=20
that the media faces three major threats 1) subpoenas that hamper=20
journalists, 2) the content-regulation climate in Washington, particularly=
=20
the indecency crackdown, 3) and protecting content in an age of easy=20
digital piracy. Wright planned to begin by expressing his alarm at the=20
flood of subpoenas on journalists who are "just trying to do their job;"=20
the chilling effect has had serious consequences and could not come at a=20
worse time, though whether he means on election eve, in the midst of a=20
terror war, or both, was unclear. On the issue of indecency, Wright was=20
expected to say that society has less to fear from obscene, indecent and=20
profane content than from an overzealous government that is willing to=20
limit First Amendment protection and creative expression. Wright also=20
planned to stand up for TV stations, saying the vast majority do an=20
excellent job of drawing the line on content.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA475663.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
LA STATIONS BENEFIT MOST FROM GOVERNMENT AD SPENDING
Through July, the US government has spent $240 million TV and cable ad=20
expenditures this year. Twenty-five percent of that spending has flowed to=
=20
the Los Angeles market. L.A. is attractive to the Marines, who place ads on=
=20
sports programs targeting 17-24-year-olds. The Marines will spend about $17=
=20
million on TV and cable ads this year, about $3 million of it on the=20
Channel One network targeting high school students. The Marines, ranked 6th=
=20
among government spenders, spent about $50,000 on L.A.
broadcast spots, followed by Phoenix at $33,000, Louisville at $32,000 and=
=20
Providence at $27,000. The U.S. Army spent $61 million in TV and cable ads=
=20
through July. The biggest Air Force concentration of local ad buys so far=20
this year have been in Philadelphia with $517,600, followed by L.A. at=20
$272,100 and Pittsburgh at $204,700. The U.S. Army National Guard, which=20
ranked 7th among spenders, does most of its recruitment through state=20
broadcasting associations that place PSAs.
Data is from ad tracker TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
QUICKLY
Telecom Experts Call for Less Regulation and Reduced State Intervention in=
=20
the IP World
TELECOM EXPERTS CALL FOR LESS REGULATION AND REDUCED STATE INTERVENTION IN=
=20
THE INTERNET PROTOCOL WORLD
Speaking at a New Millennium Research Council (NMRC) event, some telecom=20
experts agreed that the pace of technological change in the industry has=20
made many existing telecom regulations pass=E9 and the cross-border aspect=
of=20
many new technologies reinforces the idea of regulating from a unified=20
national perspective. =91The End of Regulation? Reforming Telecom Policy and=
=20
Regulators=92 Roles to Meet New Market Realities=92 brought 14 experts from=
=20
across the country together to examine whether the current machinery of=20
regulation is working and how best to improve the federal and state roles=20
of regulation. Experts acknowledged that traditional telecom services are=20
rapidly migrating to Internet protocol based technologies over broadband=20
platforms and that this change requires policy makers to reconsider the=20
worth of existing =91rules of engagement =91for the telecom industry.
[SOURCE: New Millennium Research Council Press Release]
http://www.newmillenniumresearch.org/news/102704nr.pdf
THE NEW VOICES: HYPERLOCAL CITIZEN MEDIA SITES WANT YOU (TO WRITE)!
From Bakersfield, Calif. to Columbia (MO) to Skokie (IL) and to small-town=
=20
New Jersey, community news sites are springing up with a bottom-up "open=20
source" approach, written and photographed by citizens and overseen by=20
journalists. But is it sustainable?
[SOURCE: Online Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Mark Glaser]
http://ojr.org/ojr/glaser/1098833871.php
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------