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  2. August 2004

August 2004

Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 8/09/04

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

OWNERSHIP
Playing for Keeps
Bush Gets Pass on Ownership Debate

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION
Kerry Counts on Auction Revenue from DTV Transition
Young Men Are Back Watching TV. But Did They Ever Leave?

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Program Aids Urban Poor In Accessing The Internet

WIRELESS
Wireless Carriers Leave Many Callers in Dead Zone
FCC Releases Order on Interference Problem Faced by 800MHz Public Safety=20
Radio Systems

AT THE FCC
Sens Push for Adelstein

OWNERSHIP

PLAYING FOR KEEPS
Expecting the FCC to eliminate its ban on local cross-ownership, Media=20
General, Tribune and Gannett invested hundreds of millions to build=20
TV-newspaper combinations in markets across the country. But the companies=
=20
could have to make major divestments if FCC ownership rules are not changed=
=20
soon. The combinations have been permitted to exist because of temporary=20
waivers granted by the FCC and loopholes that allow a TV-station owner to=20
buy a newspaper in a single market and hold onto both properties until the=
=20
station's license is up for renewal. Media General will be the first=20
company to go under the FCC's microscope. The company's license for WBTW=20
Florence (SC) expires December 1. The company also owns The Morning News in=
=20
Myrtle Beach, which is considered the same market by the FCC. If the FCC=20
denies a waiver, one of the properties would have to be sold, probably by=20
October 2005. The companies' plans to expand cross-owned operations were=20
thrown into limbo in June when a federal appeals court struck down the=20
FCC's 2003 deregulation. Though saying the FCC could legally eliminate its=
=20
blanket ban on TV/newspaper cross-ownership, the judges threw out new rules=
=20
permitting combinations where there were four or more TV stations. The=20
judges said the FCC had little rationale for the four-station limit=97a sign=
=20
that they may favor a tighter one.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA443535?display=3DWashington
(requires subscription)

BUSH GETS PASS ON OWNERSHIP DEBATE
After delivering a speech at the Unity conference in Washington, DC,=20
President Bush (R-TX) was not asked about the his Administration's position=
=20
on media ownership consolidation as his rival, Sen John Kerry (D-MA), was=20
the day earlier. Instead, President Bush addressed workplace diversity,=20
saying his hiring practices should set an example for corporations. "We've=
=20
got a diverse cabinet, a diverse administration," he told the audience. "I=
=20
hope that sets an example for people when it comes to hiring--including=20
news organizations." The bulk of the President's talk focused on explaining=
=20
how his administration's tax cuts, opposition to higher education quotas,=20
school performance measures and other policies are helping minorities in=20
the U.S.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA443420?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION

KERRY COUNTS ON AUCTION REVENUE FROM DTV TRANSITION
Estimating $30-$60 million in revenue from auction of analog TV spectrum,=20
Sen John Kerry (D-MA) is suggesting that the transition to digital=20
television must be quickened. The Kerry campaign said the transition =93will=
=20
ensure that Americans continue to enjoy free, over-the-air television.=94=
Sen=20
Kerry is also proposing $2 billion in broadband tax credits and $22 billion=
=20
in additional research funding. Sen Kerry has touted the benefits of=20
broadband service in rural communities. =93As president, he will continue to=
=20
be a champion of expanded access for rural communities, to bridge the=20
digital divide and ensure that all Americans have access to the=20
opportunities that come with cutting-edge technology,=94 said a campaign=20
document on rural issues.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)

YOUNG MEN ARE BACK WATCHING TV. BUT DID THEY EVER LEAVE?
Yes, yes, they have been found! Young men, 18-34, have been found. They=20
were right in front of the TV where we left them two years ago. They were=20
not off forsaking both network and cable programs in favor of video games,=
=20
DVDs and the Internet. In July, one year after the falloff was detected, an=
=20
average of 25.8 percent of men from ages 18 to 34 were watching television=
=20
at any given moment in prime time. "It kind of went right back to where God=
=20
intended it to be," the president for research for NBC, Alan Wurtzel, said.=
=20
Thanks for your prayers and support... back to our regularly scheduled=
program.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/09/business/media/09ratings.html
(requires registration)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

PROGRAM AIDS URBAN POOR IN ACCESSING THE INTERNET
As the nation's transformation to a wired society has accelerated, many=20
policymakers have shelved fears of a gulf between Internet haves and=20
have-nots. Internet use at all income levels has gone up. The government=20
program known as E-rate helped subsidize the wiring of schools and public=20
libraries, while recent government efforts have focused on proving=20
broadband to rural areas. Yet a significant digital divide based on income=
=20
persists, largely affecting the urban poor. In 2002, more than 75 percent=20
of U.S. households with incomes of more than $50,000 had Internet access,=20
but the share was 38 percent for those with household incomes of less than=
=20
$30,000, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.=
=20
There are no comparable figures for high-speed Internet access, which=20
typically costs $30 to $50 per month and has been embraced by an estimated=
=20
30 percent of Internet users. With such prices, some researchers worry that=
=20
it will be even harder for the poor to catch up. Home use is especially=20
vital, researchers say, because unlike other technologies, such as=20
television sets, Internet use requires computer skills and practice to take=
=20
full advantage of its power to help children learn and their parents get=20
services and do business more efficiently.
Learn more about how One Economy Corp is helping to bridge the gap at the=20
URL below. And when's the last time you read a long Digital Divide piece=20
from a major newspapers, anyway?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50706-2004Aug8.html
(requires registration)

WIRELESS

WIRELESS CARRIERS LEAVE MANY CALLERS IN DEAD ZONE
As wireless carriers make the transition from analog to digital networks,=20
many consumers are discovering that their fancier digital phones simply=20
can't complete a call in a lot of places where their old phones worked just=
=20
fine. Problems with blocked calls and dead zones are afflicting callers in=
=20
big cities, including New York and Los Angeles, but they are especially=20
pronounced in rural areas. It's an unforeseen drawback of the=20
telecommunication industry's big investment in so-called next-generation=20
equipment. As a group, U.S. cellular providers have spent more than $146=20
billion to upgrade their networks from analog to more-efficient digital=20
technology, according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet=20
Association. The problems with the analog-to-digital transition are=20
expected to recede as digital coverage continues to spread, but they could=
=20
still last several years.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Marlon Walker at=20
marlon.walker( at )wsj.com & Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109200979893986122,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
What's all this talk about analog in a digital world? Also see:
A Digital World With Analog as Its Workhorse
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Barnaby Feder]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/09/technology/09texas.html
(requires registration)

FCC RELEASES ORDER ON INTERFERENCE PROBLEM FACED BY 800MHZ PUBLIC SAFETY=20
RADIO SYSTEMS
Although it was adopted a month ago yesterday, the FCC released on Friday=20
the Report & Order on the technical and procedural measures designed to=20
address the ongoing and growing problem of interference to public safety=20
communications in the 800 MHz band.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-168A1.doc
* July 8, Press Release
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-249414A1.doc
* Additional background information
http://wireless.fcc.gov/publicsafety/800MHz/bandinterference.html

AT THE FCC

SENS PUSH FOR ADELSTEIN
Seventeen members of the Senate Commerce Committee, including ranking=20
members John McCain (R-AZ) and Ernest Hollings (D-SC), have signed a letter=
=20
sent to President Bush (R-TX) asking him to renominate FCC Commissioner=20
Jonathan Adelstein whose term on the Commission expired June 2003 but=20
government rules allow him term serve until a successor is confirmed or the=
=20
current Congress adjourns. The seat must be filled by a Democrat and Senate=
=20
Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) asked the White House to re-nominate=20
Adelstein in February 2003. President Bush complained about the many=20
battles over his nominations in a speech to minority journalists Friday.=20
Democrats "need to stop playing politics with my nominees," he said.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA443552?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Do we not have one Republican in the Land of Lincoln?
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 8/06/04

Headlines will be on a break Aug 12-18.

POLICY & POLITICS
Kerry Pledges Diversity-Minded FCC
Kerry Suggests Merging Technology Administration, NTIA

AT THE FCC
Copps Vows More Ownership Hearings
Copps Criticizes FCC's Work so far on Homeland Security
Measures to Safeguard the E-Rate Program

BIG MEDIA'S BIG CRITICS
Ted Turner Attacks Big Media
Consolidation Equated with Apartheid
Krugman: A Day of Reckoning for the Media Machine

POLICY & POLITICS

KERRY PLEDGES DIVERSITY-MINDED FCC
At the Unity conference (http://www.atunity.org/2004/thursday/index.html)
in Washington, DC, Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry has pledged
to "appoint people to the FCC and pursue a policy that tries to have as
diverse and broad an ownership as possible." Sen Kerry (MA) said ownership
diversity was "critical to our Democracy." Sen Kerry also reiterated his
opposition to deregulation and bashed the broadcast networks for abridged
convention coverage. He cited the scathing anti-Fox doc, Outfoxed, when
talking about news coverage decisions. "I don't know how many of you have
seen Outfoxed or some of the other things that are going around. You can
make your own judgments about" a lot of what is decided with respect to
news coverage
National Journal's Technology Daily reports that Sen Kerry's pledge could
mean if the Democrat wins the election, current FCC Commissioner Michael
Copps could be named Chairman of the Commission. But there's a number of
other rumored candidates including: Greg Rothschild, chief telecom aide to
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI); former commissioner Susan Ness; Blair Levin,
former chief of staff to former Chairman Reed Hundt; Antoinette Cook Bush
and Ivan Schlager, former aides to Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC); cellular
industry executive Gerry Salemme; Kathy Brown, former chief of staff to
former Chairman William Kennard and now a Verizon executive; Larry Irving,
former head of the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration; and David Krone, executive vice president at the National
Cable and Telecommunications Association.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442718?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
[SOURCE: National Journal's Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/techdaily/pmedition/tp040805.htm
(requires subscription)
Additional coverage:
* TVWeek
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6047
* Multichannel News
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA442669?display=Breaking+News

KERRY SUGGESTS MERGING TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION, NTIA
Although not a new idea, Sen John Kerry (D-MA) is proposing to combine the
Commerce Department's Technology Administration and the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration to "promote a more
efficient and effective operation, while ensuring that we move forward to
bridge the digital divide." In February 2003 Commerce Secretary Don Evans
proposed merging the departments with the e-commerce policy function of the
International Trade Administration. Congress rejected Secretary Evans'
proposal during the fiscal 2004 appropriations process. Sen. Earnest
Hollings (D-S.C.), the ranking member of the Commerce, Justice, State
appropriations subcommittee, led the effort to reauthorize NTIA through
2008, but the bill never was passed by the full Senate.
See Sen Kerry's plan at http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/pr_2004_0803.pdf
[SOURCE: Government Computer News, AUTHOR: Jason Miller]
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/26842-1.html

AT THE FCC

COPPS VOWS MORE OWNERSHIP HEARINGS
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps appeared on C-span Thursday morning and said
he and fellow Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will hold public hearings on
the FCC ownership rules now being rewritten under orders from a
Philadelphia appeals court. He also once again urged his Republican
colleagues on the Commission to join him and Commissioner Adelstein in
soliciting more public input on the rules. In an op-ed piece in the New
York Sun just prior to the Democratic National Convention, former FCC
commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth labeled Commissioner Copps the driving
force behind derailing the ownership rules, saying he had "helped organize
the largest grassroots e-mail campaign in world history to pressure
Washington politicians to help defeat the rules."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442594?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

COPPS CRITICIZES FCC'S WORK SO FAR ON HOMELAND SECURITY
In what might be the beginning of a series of comments on communications
and Homeland Security, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said the recent
report by the 9/11 Commission "lays out in chilling detail a communications
unreadiness that seriously inhibited our country's ability to respond" that
day. And "meetings, NOIs and draft best
practices can only take us so far," he said. Commissioner Copps sees a
disconnect between Commission rhetoric and action. Commissioner Copps
mentioned the failure of the FCC to integrate hospitals, first responders
and Centers for Disease Control communications. He said he had made several
visits to medical facilities. "I don't see that many hospitals, especially
in rural America, have a reliable 2-way communications system that allows
them to communicate with local and federal law enforcement and emergency
personnel in a crisis... When they do have dedicated systems, they are
seldom redundant, and most are based on the public network, which is
unreliable in emergencies, as 9/11 and the more recent East Coast blackout
proved."
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Howard Buskirk]
(Not available online)

MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD THE E-RATE PROGRAM
On Wednesday, the FCC adopted measures that resolve a number of issues that
have arisen from audit activities conducted as part of ongoing oversight of
the schools and libraries support mechanism (also known as the "E-rate"
program), and address programmatic concerns raised by its Office of
Inspector General. The schools and libraries program enables qualified
applicants to receive discounts on eligible telecommunications services,
Internet access, and internal connections. Since the program's inception
in 1997, schools and libraries across the United States have received over
$11 billion in funding commitments. Today, in large part due to this
program, 99% of public schools and 92% of public school classrooms are
connected to the Internet. The Order does the following: 1) sets forth a
framework regarding what amounts should be recovered by the Universal
Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the Commission when funds have
been disbursed in violation of specific statutory provisions and Commission
rules; 2) announces that USAC and the Commission will conduct audits or
other investigations relating to use of E-rate funds within five years of
receipt of supported services; 3) eliminates the current option to offset
amounts disbursed in violation of the statute or a rule against other
funding commitments; 4) extends the red light rule previously adopted
pursuant to the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) to bar beneficiaries
or service providers from receiving additional benefits under the schools
and libraries program if they have failed to satisfy any outstanding
obligation to repay monies into the fund; 5) requires beneficiaries and
service providers to maintain all documents necessary to demonstrate
compliance with program requirements for five years, which will enhance the
Commission's ability to conduct all necessary oversight and provide a
stronger enforcement tool for detecting statutory and rule violations; 6)
requires applicants to develop a technology plan consistent with the U.S.
Department of Education and USAC guidelines for technology plan content; 7)
amends and strengthens the Commission's certification requirements for
E-rate applicants and service providers to enhance oversight and
enforcement activities; 8) directs USAC to submit a plan for timely audit
resolution; and 8) directs USAC to submit, annually, a list of its
administrative procedures for potential codification to enhance the
Commission's ability to limit waste, fraud and abuse.
Wireline Competition Bureau Staff Contact: Greg Lipscomb at 202-418-8200
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250540A1.doc

BIG MEDIA'S BIG CRITICS

TED TURNER ATTACKS BIG MEDIA
Ted Turner founded Turner Broadcasting System in 1970, eventually launching
several successful cable networks including TBS, Cartoon Network and CNN.
In 1996 he sold the company to Time Warner, becoming the media
conglomerate's largest shareholder and joining its board of directors. Now,
Time Warner has $40 billion in annual sales. It owns the second biggest
collection of cable systems in the U.S., one of the biggest film studios,
the biggest magazine publisher as well as several leading cable-TV
networks. But Mr. Turner is now suggesting that media companies are too big
and should be broken up by the government. "We've done this before: to
railroad trusts in the first part of the 20th century, to Ma Bell more
recently," Mr. Turner writes in the current Washington Monthly magazine.
"Politically, big media may be on the wrong side of history." In May,
Turner published an opinion piece in the Washington Post protesting an FCC
proposal to raise the limit on the number of TV stations in a single market
that can be owned by a corporation. In the article, he was careful to say
he was "speaking only for myself, not for AOL Time Warner." He goes much
further in the Washington Monthly piece. Media consolidation, he argues, is
contributing to lower-quality products, hastening a decline in local news
and suppressing divergent views. "In the current climate of consolidation,
independent broadcasters simply don't survive for long," he writes. "At
this late stage, media companies have grown so large and powerful, and
their dominance has become so detrimental to the survival of small,
emerging companies, that there remains only one alternative: bust up the
big conglomerates."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin julia.angwin( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109175404288784675,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See Turner's article:
"My Beef With Big Media How government protects big media--and shuts
out upstarts like me"
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0407.turner.html

CONSOLIDATION EQUATED WITH APARTHEID
Speaking at the Unity conference
(http://www.atunity.org/2004/thursday/index.html) in Washington, DC, Juan
Gonzalez, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists,
equated growing media consolidation with moving toward a "de facto
apartheid media system." He said that government policy should be
addressing diversity of ownership, not just counting the number of media
outlets, because that diversity is "critical to insuring debate." Defending
consolidation was Tom Leech of Tribune, who argued that as an admitted
consolidator, his company had started up news operations or expanded them
on the stations it had bought. He also said that newspapers needed video
for their websites to remain competitive with new media. Teaming with TV in
a market helps that effort, he said. MIT Visiting Professor and former
broadcaster Mark Lloyd told the audience that the choice for President was
also a choice for more or less media consolidation: Republican FCC
Commissioners voted to loosen media ownership rules with Democrats fought
the change.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA443290?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

KRUGMAN: A DAY OF RECKONING FOR THE MEDIA MACHINE
Why does NY Times columnist Paul Krugman make big media nervous? Very few
critics of the media system command such attention. Now Krugman is pointing
his pen at the media's part in the machine "that is imposing right-wing
radicalism on the United States."
[SOURCE: Media Channel, AUTHOR: Rory O'Connor)]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert242.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading.... have a great weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 8/05/04

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE FCC?
FCC Takes Next Steps to Promote Digital TV Transition
Comment Sought On Rule Changes for The Emergency Alert System
Tivo Gets Nod for Users to Share Digital Shows
FCC Takes Action To Protect Wireless Subscribers From Spam
FCC Actions Promoting Homeland Security
-Outage Reporting
-FCC: Net Phone Calls Must Be Able to Be Tapped
-Also see EAS proceeding above
Broadcast Localism Proceeding Extended
FCC Adopts Further Measures to Safeguard the E-rate Program

VoIP
Internet Phoning
AT&T Pushing Cable-Modem a la Carte

LONG DISTANCE
So Long to Long-Distance?

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE FCC? (The FCC held an open meeting Wednesday,
here's a look at what was decided)

FCC TAKES NEXT STEPS TO PROMOTE DIGITAL TV TRANSITION
The FCC adopted a Report and Order ("Order") that implements several steps
necessary for the continued progress of the conversion of the nation's
television broadcast system from analog technology to digital television
(DTV). The order addresses the transition by: 1) Commencing an open channel
election process in November 2004 that will provide certainty to the
marketplace and ultimately result in a Final DTV Table of Allotments; 2)
Establishing firm deadlines for digital stations to increase their power
levels to serve additional viewers or lose interference protection to the
un-served areas; 3) Requiring broadcasters to include PSIP information in
their digital broadcast signals, thus promoting closed captioning, v-chip,
channel numbering, and other functionality; 4) Eliminating, for now, the
simulcasting requirement to permit the transmission of additional
innovative programming on broadcast digital channels; 5) Clarifying digital
closed captioning rules in order to ensure that those services are
consistently and effectively delivered; and 6) Mandating that, after an
18-month transition period, all digital television receivers contain v-chip
functionality that will permit the current TV ratings system to be modified.
Media Bureau staff contacts: Eloise Gore and Rick Chessen at (202)
418-7200, TTY: (202) 418-7172
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250542A1.doc
Also see
Broadcasting & Cable:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442509?display=Breaking+News
TVWeek: http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6040

COMMENT SOUGHT ON RULE CHANGES FOR THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the
Emergency Alert System (EAS), seeking comment on how EAS can be improved to
be a more effective mechanism for warning the American public of an
emergency. The action stems in part from recommendations of the Media
Security and Reliability Council (an FCC Advisory Committee), and the
Partnership for Public Warning. The Commission has already begun - and
will continue throughout this proceeding - to coordinate carefully with the
Department of Homeland Security and its component, FEMA and the Department
of Commerce and its component, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Weather Service. These Federal partners will be
active participants in the proceeding. In addition, the Commission seeks
participation of state and local emergency planning organizations as well
as all communications industries involved in alert and warning.
EAS shortcomings became apparent during the September 2001 attacks. Despite
the enormity of the attacks, the system was not activated. In fact, EAS was
designed as a failsafe way for the President to communicate with Americans
following a nuclear attack or other national catastrophe, but has never
been implemented for its original purpose. Currently broadcasters'
participation in local alert programs is voluntary and the FCC wants input
on making participation mandatory.
Enforcement Bureau Contacts: Suzanne Tetreault at (202) 418-7450 and James
Dailey at (202) 418-1199. EB Docket No. 04-296
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250534A1.doc
Also see
Broadcasting & Cable:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442500?display=Breaking+News

TIVO GETS NOD FOR USERS TO SHARE DIGITAL SHOWS
The FCC voted to certify digital protections on TiVoToGo, which is not yet
available but would enable a user to record and send a digital broadcast
television show to up to nine other registered people who have a key
allowing them to see it. The approval came despite concerns by the Motion
Picture Association of America and the National Football League about the
risks of unfettered distribution of copyrighted shows and illegally airing
sports games outside of authorized markets. In addition to approving TiVo's
application, the FCC certified 12 other technologies proposed, including
ones by software giant Microsoft, Sony, and RealNetworks for protecting
distribution of digital television broadcasts. The agency said it did not
adopt limits on where the content could be sent because the proposed
technologies "employ different combinations of device limits, interactive
authentication and affinity-based mechanisms to restrict distribution."
TiVo plans to launch a version of TiVoToGo this fall that would allow users
to transfer recorded shows to a home computer but has not said when it
would launch its version that would allow shows to be shared outside the home.
Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said, "By approving all the
technologies submitted for certification, including TiVo, the FCC has
ensured that the market, rather
than special interests, will play a greater role in determining the level
of protection for TV content."
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RXCGRVKDU43VICRBAE0C...
FCC News Release:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250532A1.doc
Also see:
* TVWeek
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6044
* LATimes
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-tivo5aug05,1,5865253....
* USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040805/6427067s.htm
* FCC Approves Content Protection Systems
The FCC today approved 13 content protection technologies under its new
broadcast flag rules for digital television (DTV), including a
controversial proposal by TiVo. TiVo's system would allow consumers to view
recorded programs from any of 9 devices they register. Under the flag
rules, DTV receivers sold after July 2005 will have to include one of the
approved technologies to protect programs from indiscriminate
redistribution online. Today's approvals were a victory for consumers, but
concerns remain about the use of the flag rules to stifle innovative new
uses of television in the digital age.
All Eyes on TiVo: The Broadcast Flag and the Internet
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/20040726tivoflag.pdf
CDT's Broadcast Flag Introduction:
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/broadcastflag/introduction.shtml
Implications of the Broadcast Flag: A Public Interest Primer
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/031216broadcastflag.pdf
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology]
(http://www.cdt.org)

FCC TAKES ACTION TO PROTECT WIRELESS SUBSCRIBERS FROM SPAM
The FCC has taken action to protect consumers from receiving unsolicited
commercial messages on their wireless phones and pagers. The action
implements the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and
Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act or Act). The Commission adopted a
general prohibition on sending commercial messages to any address
referencing an Internet domain associated with wireless subscriber
messaging services. To assist the senders of such messages in identifying
those subscribers, the Commission required that commercial mobile radio
service (CMRS) providers submit those domain names to the Commission for
inclusion in a list that will be made publicly available. No individual
subscriber addresses will be collected or included on this list. It also
clarified the delineation between these new rules implementing the CAN-SPAM
Act, and the existing rules concerning messages sent to wireless telephone
numbers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250522A3.doc
For additional coverage see
*New.com
http://news.com.com/Wireless+spam+draws+regulators%27+wrath/2100-1028_3-...
* Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41009-2004Aug4.html
* NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-telecoms-spam.html

FCC ACTIONS PROMOTING HOMELAND SECURITY
During the FCC's monthly open meeting today, Linda Blair, Deputy Chief of
the Commission's Homeland Security Policy Council, gave an overview of FCC
actions in support of homeland security over the past year. Shortly after
September 11, Chairman Powell made Homeland Security one of the six pillars
of the Commission's Strategic Plan. Since that time, Homeland Security has
been an area of significant focus for the Commission. Its Homeland
Security goals are to develop policies that enhance the reliability and
security of the industries it regulates and ensure rapid recovery in the
event of disruption, to help ensure effective public safety communications,
and to promote the evolution of new technologies that support Homeland
Security. The Commission has adopted a number of rules changes to promote
Homeland Security and re-established the Media Security & Reliability
Council and Network Reliability & Interoperability Council to partner with
the industry and maximize adoption of Best Practices to ensure the security
and reliability of telecommunications and media networks.
For more, see http://www.fcc.gov/homeland/http://www.fcc.gov/homeland/
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250521A1.doc
The FCC also adopted new rules requiring wireless, wireline, cable, and
satellite telecommunications providers to report information electronically
to the Commission about significant disruptions or outages to their
communications systems.
See http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250543A1.doc

FCC: NET PHONE CALLS MUST BE ABLE TO BE TAPPED
By a vote of 5-0, the FCC said "voice over Internet protocol," or VoIP,
providers should be subject to the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act, which ensures that law enforcers will be able to keep up
with changing communications technologies. "Our tentative conclusion, while
correct, is expressly limited to the requirements of the CALEA statute and
does not indicate a willingness on my part to find that VoIP services are
telecommunications services," Powell said at a commission meeting.
Commercial "push to talk" services offered by wireless providers like
Nextel Communications should also be subject to CALEA, the FCC ruled. The
ruling on "push to talk" services is final, but the FCC will accept further
public comments before making its ruling on VoIP final.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=IEDGSCWNQMETCCRBAELC...
See the FCC press release at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250547A3.doc
* Statement of NTIA Director Michael D. Gallagher
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2004/calea_08042004.html
* NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/technology/05phone.html

BROADCAST LOCALISM PROCEEDING EXTENDED
Not on FCC agenda, but released yesterday: On July 1, 2004, the FCC
initiated a proceeding, seeking comment from the public on how broadcasters
are serving the interests and needs of their communities; whether the
Commission needs to adopt new policies, practices, or rules designed to
promote localism in broadcast television and radio; and what those
policies, practices, or rules should be. After receiving three requests to
extend the comment period for the proceeding, the Commission has set new
due dates: date for filing comments in MB Docket No. 04-233 is extended
until November 1, 2004, and the date for reply comments is extended until
December 1, 2004.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-2457A1.doc

FCC ADOPTS FURTHER MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD THE E-RATE PROGRAM
Unfortunately, due to a programming error, the FCC's News Release on this
item is not yet available online. We have not found any coverage of the
order in the press yet, either.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov

VoIP

INTERNET PHONING
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that up to one-third of telephone
service will migrate to the Internet in the next five years. This is not,
in other words, a frail new technology in need of government protection.
But that isn't stopping some members of Congress from pushing to forbid
states to tax Internet phone service. That would put government in the
position of illogically favoring one technology over another. It also would
threaten billions of dollars that states collect annually in taxes on
telephone services. Without the ability to continue taxing telephone
service as it moves to the Internet, states stand to see a traditional tax
base worth $10 billion to $20 billion jeopardized. This revenue, which can
provide as much as 5 to 15 percent of revenue to some local government
budgets, are used to pay for 911 call centers, to bring phone service to
poor and rural residents, and to meet other public needs. The Senate
Commerce Committee acted wisely, the Post concludes, stripping provisions
from a bill that would have banned states from taxing Internet telephone
services. The House should do the same when considering similar legislation.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Washington Post Editorial Staff]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41151-2004Aug4.html
(requires registration)

AT&T PUSHING CABLE-MODEM A LA CARTE
AT&T is demonstrating how flexible a big company can be when it comes to
regulation. When AT&T was a cable operator, it rejected arguments by
America Online and other Internet-service providers that wholesale access
to cable-modem facilities was essential because Internet-access subscribers
would not want to pay twice -- once to the cable company and against to a
competing ISP. But having sold off its cable operations, AT&T sent a
request to the FCC earlier in the year asking for a rule that would require
any broadband-transport provider -- meaning cable and phone companies -- to
sell high-speed Internet access on a stand-alone basis. AT&T is concerned
that if cable and phone companies bundled access and
voice-over-Internet-protocol service, VoIP companies that do not sell
access will not be able not compete against the bundled offering. In July,
the National Cable & Telecommunications Association responded that AT&T's
proposal was unnecessary and harmful in that regulation of
broadband-facilities providers would stifle investment and innovation.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA442406?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

LONG DISTANCE

SO LONG TO LONG DISTANCE?
Whatever happened to long distance? In 1920, a 10-minute call between Los
Angeles and New York cost $26.17 -- the equivalent of almost $250 in 2004
dollars. By 1998, the price of that same call had fallen to 50 cents, said
A. Michael Noll, professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the
University at Southern California. Professor Noll no longer tracks the
per-minute cost of a long-distance call. "The problem now is that I can't
do my study anymore because with all the flat-rate plans it doesn't make
any sense," Noll said. Noll believes that the falling cost of long-distance
calls is directly related to new technologies and the growing capacity of
the long-distance networks, rather than the forces created by competition.
For millions of people, it no longer makes a difference if they call across
the country or across the street. A combination of deregulation and new
technologies has spawned a sometimes bewildering choice of pricing plans
for consumers from different players -- traditional phone giants, wireless
firms, cable systems and Internet companies. Most of them offer connections
for much less than what separate local and long-distance used to cost.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41048-2004Aug4.html
(requires registration)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 8/04/04

You can watch the FCC's open meeting today at
http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/ For other upcoming media policy events, see
http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

ON THE FCC'S AGENDA
TiVo Is at Focus of TV Showdown
FCC May Tighten Joint Sales Rules
Rule that Lowered Broadband Prices may be Revived
FCC may put Cable, Net Phones under Wiretap Rule

IS TV FAILING DEMOCRACY?
The Conventional News Wisdom of Network Television
Reading the Script
FOX Aired Significantly Less of Dem Convention Speeches than other Cables
Politicians Find Cable TV Efficient Way to Target Voters

CABLE
Cable Trouble: Subscriber Growth Stalls As Satellite TV Soars
Study: Cable Giants to Flex VoIP Muscle

QUICKLY
Consumer is King of US Media
Minority Journalists Join Voices at Unity Convention
Web Addiction Gets Finnish Conscripts Out of Army

ON THE FCC'S AGENDA

TIVO IS AT FOCUS OF TV SHOWDOWN
The FCC is expected to issue a potentially far-reaching ruling today
affecting what television viewers can do with the programs they record.
TiVo has developed a way for customers to pipe recorded programs over the
Internet, but Hollywood doesn't like it. The studios and their allies
maintain that allowing remote access to programs would undermine free local
television broadcasts, the market for syndicated shows and other important
elements of their business models. Hollywood also fears that viewers with
high-capacity, Internet-connected recorders will have less appetite for DVD
box sets of popular TV series. The tussle began after the FCC required that
digital television equipment guard against the "indiscriminate
redistribution" of free TV shows via the Internet. Under this so-called
broadcast flag rule, issued last November, manufacturers of digital TVs and
recorders must install FCC-approved anti-piracy technologies on models sold
after July 1, 2005. Today's FCC decision will determine which of 13
approaches proposed by consumer-electronics and computer companies meet the
new mandate. "This is the test case," said Alan Davidson of the Center for
Democracy and Technology. "We're concerned about a precedent being set that
stops people from being able to do the new, cool things with television
that they're likely to do in an always-connected world."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Jon Healey]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-tivo4aug04,1,5406499....
(requires registration)

FCC MAY TIGHTEN JOINT SALES RULES
The FCC said it has "tentatively concluded" that TV joint sales contracts
allow one station to have outsized influence over a small market's ad
prices, sale forces, and stations' right to reject advertising. Two
stations in the same market would be considered commonly owned when they
enter a joint sales agreement under a rule-tightening being considered by
the Commission and that means in markets with fewer than eight separately
owned stations, joint sales agreements could effectively be banned because
co-owned stations, or "duopolies," are forbidden in markets that small.
Under the typical joint sales agreement, a station owner authorizes a
broker to sell some or all of its ad time in return for a fee or cut of the
revenue. Last summer the FCC voted that radio joint sales agreements
between same market stations would be considered duopolies. The tighter
rule could be implemented within six months, after the a round of public
comment.
For more on MB Docket No. 04-256, see
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-173A1.doc
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR:Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442306?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

RULE THAT LOWERED BROADBAND PRICES MAY BE REVIVED
Under an arrangement known as line-sharing, small broadband companies such
as Covad Communications have attracted about 300,000 residential customers
by leasing part of the regional Bells' voice lines for broadband at deep
discounts. The competition forced the Bells to cut their broadband prices
from about $50 a month to $40 a month a couple of years ago, but the FCC
last year voted to phase out line-sharing as part of a sweeping overhaul of
phone competition rules. Now FCC Chairman Michael Powell has sent a letter
to fellow Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein saying he
wants to resurrect line-sharing rules. Chairman Powell made the offer in an
effort to persuade the FCC's Democrats to sign on to his broader plan to
phase out other rules that promote local phone competition. But some FCC
officials question Powell's offer, saying the interim rules cannot be
changed to revive line-sharing since all five commissioners have voted.
Instead, they say, the FCC would have to launch a separate proceeding.
While Powell does not want to force the Bells to share their networks at
sharp discounts, he backs line-sharing, partly because it requires the
rivals to provide their own equipment as well.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040804/6423000s.htm

FCC MAY PUT CABLE, NET PHONES UNDER WIRETAP RULE
The FCC plans to propose a ruling today that would require Internet-based
phone and broadband services to design their networks so they can be easily
wiretapped. The move is designed to resolve the Justice Department's fear
that FCC plans to deregulate broadband could keep the FBI from monitoring
the communications of criminals and terrorists. The Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) requires "telecommunications"
carriers to make their networks wiretap-friendly. But the law exempts
"information services.'' And in 2002 the FCC ruled that cable's broadband
offerings are information services. It also plans to put phone-company DSL
services in that category. The FCC is also expected to rule that
walkie-talkie services, must comply with CALEA wiretap rules.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040804/6423001s.htm

IS TV FAILING DEMOCRACY?

THE CONVENTIONAL NEWS WISDOM OF NETWORK TELEVISION
The same broadcast networks that eagerly devote endless prime-time hours to
vacuous sitcoms and unreal "reality shows" couldn't spare a total of more
than a few hours last week for live coverage of the Democratic National
Convention. With three months to go till Election Day, the limitations of
media coverage are painfully apparent. From now until the final frenzied
days of coast-to-coast campaigning, Americans will be getting their most
vivid impressions of the presidential race via commercial TV networks that
operate to maximize profits for investors -- and minimize public-interest
broadcasting in the process.
[SOURCE: Media Monitors Network, AUTHOR: Norman Solomon]
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/8668/

READING THE SCRIPT
Commercial broadcast TV covered only one hour a night of the Democratic
national Convention, but many people watched the convention on cable news
channels - and what they saw was shaped by a script portraying Democrats as
angry Bush-haters who disdain the military. Commentators worked hard to
spin scenes that didn't fit the script. Some simply saw what they wanted to
see. But the real power of a script is the way it can retroactively change
the story about what happened. Even though there was general agreement that
Sen Kerry delivered a very good speech last week, don't be surprised if
some... commentators begin describing the ineffective speech they expected
(and hoped) to see, not the one they actually saw. Krugman concludes,
"Luckily, in this age of the Internet it's possible to bypass the filter.
At c-span.org, you can find transcripts and videos of all the speeches. I'd
urge everyone to watch Mr. Kerry and others for yourself, and make your own
judgment."
[SOURCE: New York Times 8/3, AUTHOR: Paul Krugman]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/opinion/03krug.html
(requires registration)

FOX AIRED SIGNIFICANTLY LESS OF DEM CONVENTION SPEECHES THAN OTHER CABLES
How much coverage of the convention speakers did cable networks actually
provide? See the URL below.
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America]
http://mediamatters.org/items/200408020002

POLITICIANS FIND CABLE EFFECTIVE WAY TO TARGET VOTERS
Politicians, like many advertisers, long have been frustrated with the
scattershot nature of television advertising, in which a message might
reach hundreds of people who care about it and thousands of people who
don't. But cable's ability to reach niche markets allows candidates to go
after soccer moms watching Lifetime or Nascar dads watching TNT. And mew
technology is making it increasingly easy for advertisers to buy targeted
ads. Satellite TV, by contrast, doesn't offer such buys.
And don't expect a break in political advertising this month. Yesterday, as
President Bush rolled out a second set of image-enhancing commercials, two
Democratic groups countered, saying they planned to flood airwaves with ads
touting Democrat John Kerry and criticizing the White House for its
handling of Iraq and the economy. The ads reflect both the ferocity of the
presidential contest and the unexpected financial strength of the Democrats.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Cynthia H. Cho cynthia.cho( at )wsj.com
and Julia Angwin julia.angwin( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109157243309382102,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also:
Hoping for Break In Political Ads? Don't Bet on It
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jeanne Cummings
jeanne.cummings( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109157341735382127,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

CABLE

CABLE TROUBLE: SUBSCRIBER GROWTH STALLS AS SATELLITE TV SOARS
The cable industry has reached a turning point: For the first time since it
was born in the 1950s, the number of households subscribing to cable is
declining. Satellite TV now has about 25% of the pay TV market and
subscribership continues to grow. Satellite's success partly reflects the
appeal of its offerings, especially to price-conscious households, and the
better quality signal delivered to the home. Satellite also has overcome
what used to be its greatest drawback: a lack of local channels, including
such desirable programs as the local news.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109157158395582087,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

STUDY: CABLE GIANTS TO FLEX VOIP MUSCLE
Today, 66% of the Internet telephone service subscribers are with
specialist companies such Vonage, 8x8 and Galaxy Internet. But these hosted
providers don't have any control over that VoIP traffic, as they don't own
the networks that carry it. To remedy this, they have started working
directly with cable companies. For example, Vonage is collaborating with
six small cable providers, and Net2Phone only sets up VoIP services through
partnerships with broadband providers. These alternative voice providers
will see strong growth rates in the next few years, the study said.
However, this boom will eventually decline as people are given the choice
of signing up for VoIP service from a cable company or other primary-line
operator.
(Also: According to the Yankee Group, subscriptions to broadband services
are poised to overtake narrowband sign-ups by 2006.)
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Dinesh Sharma]
http://news.com.com/Study%3A+Cable+giants+to+flex+VoIP+muscle/2100-7352_...

QUICKLY

CONSUMER IS KING OF US MEDIA
Consumer spending last year overtook advertising as the primary source of
revenue for the US media industry, reflecting the growing popularity of
pay-television, DVDs and the Internet. Veronis Suhler Stevenson published a
report that consumer spending on media last year rose 6.5% to $178.4
billion, surpassing advertising, which grew by 3.2% to $175.8 billion. VSS
says the figures signal a willingness by US consumers to pay for
information and entertainment that matches their interests rather than
relying on advertising-supported media designed to appeal to a broader
audience. James Rutherfurd, executive vice-president and managing director
of VSS, said: "Consumers are voting with their pocketbooks. One of the
things they seem to want to do is avoid or minimize advertising."
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Peter Thal Larsen]
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/b3ab2da6-e3fa-11d8-9f08-00000e2511c8.html

MINORITY JOURNALISTS JOIN VOICES AT UNITY CONVENTION
Seven thousand people have preregistered for the five-day Unity conference
in Washington, DC "to advocate for newsroom diversity and better news
coverage of our communities with one persuasive voice." Unity is made up of
members of the National Association of Black Journalists, the National
Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists
Association and the Native American Journalists Association. Minority
journalists say they lack representation in newsrooms. Although minorities
represented more than 30 percent of the U.S. population in the 2000 census,
they made up 12.5 percent of the workforce in the nation's newsrooms in
2003, according to a report. The percentage was 9.9 among supervisors.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Darryl Fears]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37759-2004Aug3.html
(requires registration)

WEB ADDICTION GETS FINISH CONSCRIPTS OUT OF ARMY
There's a new way to avoid military service in Finland: claim you are
addicted to the Internet. "For people who play (Internet) games all night
and don't have any friends, don't have any hobbies, to come into the army
is a very big shock," said Commander-Captain Jyrki Kivela at the military
conscription unit.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=Y3NI32O2VDF0ACRBAELC...
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for all the help we received today from MEDIACHANNEL.ORG - NEWS FOR
THE MEDIA SAVVY
http://www.mediachannel.org
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 8/03/04

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

BROADCASTING
After Vote of Confidence, CPB Bill May Just Wait
DTV Channel Plan to Get OK
Emergency Repair: FCC Targets EAS

TELECOM
Bells Mount Two-Way Assault On Local Market
Verizon Opposed to Cable Franchises

FTC
Muris Makes It Official

BROADCASTING

AFTER VOTE OF CONFIDENCE, CPB BILL MAY JUST WAIT
On July 22, the Senate Commerce Committee approved a reauthorization of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting that would cover fiscal years 2007 to
2011. (CPB was last reauthorized in 1992 and it ran out in 1996.) But even
though there was some victory in that action, the prospects for the bill do
not seem great: Congress is in recess through Labor Day and the House has
shown little interest in taking up the bill before October 1 when Congress
may adjourn. Also, some planned amendments to the bill were not voted on
and will have to be added when the full Senate takes up the bill in
September at the earliest. The bill contains the following provisions: 1)
Digital transition aid. The bill calls for add-on appropriations of $50
million for fiscal 2005 and '06, declining to $40 million in 2007, $30
million in 2008 and $20 million in 2009, for digital station equipment and
"acquisition or production" of digital programming. 2) Interconnection
system rebuilds. The bill proposes $250 million for new radio and TV
interconnection systems to be spent over four years. APTS President John
Lawson said pubTV needs $177 million of the proposed sum. 3) Public
Telecommunications Facilities Program grants. The bill calls for $50
million for the Commerce Department grant program in '05, with outlays
increasing about 4%/year through 2011. 5) Terminology update. The bill
would redefine the term "public telecommunications services" to include
web-based and digital multicast content. 6) Recoupment of funds. The bill
would allow CPB to recover part of federal funds provided to pubcasters who
sell their stations to non-pubcasters.
Read more about the bill and reaction to it at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Jeremy Egner]
http://www.current.org/cpb/cpb0413auth.shtml

DTV CHANNEL PLAN TO GET OK
Digital television is on tomorrow's FCC open meeting agenda. Part of the
item will be approval of a plan intended to alleviate a crunch of demand
for channel numbers when stations finally relinquish their analog channels
and go all digital. Stations theoretically have the right to keep their old
analog numbers in the digital world rather than keep the second number
assigned for their initial digital broadcasts, as long as the permanent
channel is between chs. 2 and 49. But, with the number of channels
available shrinking, many stations will have to settle for another number.
MSTV has proposed a plan for prioritizing which stations get to pick their
permanent assignments first. The agenda item will also cover removal of the
mandate on simulcasting stations' analog broadcasts on their digital
stream. The simulcasting mandate is being dropped in order to give
broadcasters' more flexibility to create new, innovative digital programming.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA441542?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

EMERGENCY REPAIR: FCC TARGETS EAS
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) was created in the 1950s primarily to
facilitate communication from the President to the American people during
an emergency. The system is routinely used now by broadcasters to inform
viewers of weather emergencies and AMBER alerts. The usefulness of EAS as a
more flexible system for communication and coordination in a world where
the cataclysm could be the cumulative effect of repeated terrorist attacks
was called into question in dramatic fashion in the wake of the 2001
terrorist attacks. Now the FCC wants input on making EAS more useful. Also,
the FCC wants information on solving local jurisdictional fights currently
preventing some local weather and Amber alerts from being transmitted
across state lines.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA441532?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

TELECOM

BELLS MOUNT TWO-WAY ASSAULT ON LOCAL MARKET
Eight years after Congress mandated more open competition in the local
phone business, the regional Bell companies are finding the right formula
to ensure they never face competition: they ramping up discounts to attract
customers while seeking to ratchet up the rates they charge rivals using
their networks. The regulatory environment that has shifted in the Bells'
favor. A March decision by a federal appeals court threw out existing rules
about how the regional phone companies must make their local phone networks
available to competition. To clear up the resulting uncertainty, the FCC is
writing new rules that include an automatic 15% increase in wholesale
rates. The Bells are individually soliciting state regulators for
even-higher rates. Meanwhile, Verizon, SBC and BellSouth are trying to win
consumers by slashing prices, to levels even they admit don't cover their
costs. In Michigan, Florida, California and elsewhere, the big Bells are
offering a variety of incentives, including introductory rates of $7.95 a
month for unlimited local phone service or $100 checks to switch phone
companies.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109148373925980944,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

VERIZON OPPOSED TO CABLE FRANCHISES
The deregulation dance is getting tougher and tougher for growing companies
as they need to start arguing why, as they enter rivals' markets, they
should not be subject to the regulations you've fought so hard to make sure
they endure. Verizon is getting a taste of this. The telephone giant is
building fiber-to-the-home infrastructure, but wants to make sure it will
not have to obtain franchise licences in each community it serves when it
starts to deliver video over that infrastructure. Verizon is the largest
local and wireless-phone provider in the United States and the
second-largest long-distance company. But Verizon is looking at the video
market to counter cable's planned assault on its local phone business using
voice-over-Internet-protocol technology, a less costly alternative to
circuit-switched networks. The company has announced plans to spend $1
billion this year to pass 1 million homes with fiber-to-the-premises
technology. It plans to add another 2 million in 2005. However, Verizon is
holding back fiber deployment in its Atlantic coast states until the FCC
confirms that it would not have to share fiber facilities with
phone-service competitors.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA441533?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

FTC

MURIS MAKES IT OFFICIAL
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris is resigning August 15. He
will be replaced by Deborah Majoris who begin her term as chair August 16.
Chairman Majoris will be joined on the FTC by Jon Leibowitz; both will be
recess appointments so their terms will only extend through the end of the
next Congress in late 2005, though they could be nominated and confirmed by
the Senate to full terms before then.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA441221?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 8/02/04

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

TELEVISION
Barton to Broadcasters: Speed Up the Switch
Convention Oratory, Increasingly Shoved Aside

INTERNET
Hackers Are Discovering a New Frontier: Internet Telephone Service
Could U.S. Bid to Curb Gambling on the Web Go Way of Prohibition?

TELECOM
Bride or Bridesmaid? AT&T and MCI May Compete for Suitors

TELEVISION

BARTON TO BROADCASTERS: SPEED UP THE SWITCH
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is at the forefront of a push to make the transition
to digital-only television broadcasting by January 1, 2007. The idea is
gaining momentum in Washington as lawmakers eye the possible revenue that
the auction of analog TV licenses could bring in and wireless companies
push to pick up old broadcast channels to expand their services. Also
supporting the idea are the Manhattan Institute and the New American
Foundation -- the latter argues that broadcasters got a free ride when
digital channels were doled out to them at no upfront cost. For the 12
million households that do not subscribe to cable or satellite TV, Rep
Barton, the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, is suggesting a $1
billion subsidy for digital to analog convertor boxes. Broadcasters fret
over all the talk, fearing that they will end up spending $16 billion to go
digital while delivering to most viewers a picture little different from
the one available for decades. They also fear completing their end of the
DTV conversion before winning the right to secure cable and satellite
carriage for digital multicast channels or full high-definition
programming. Unless the overwhelming majority of viewers can be lured by
HDTV and other new digital services, broadcasters worry that they will have
gained nothing to reverse free over-the-air TV's long slide in market share.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA440878?display=Washington
(requires subscription)

CONVENTION ORATORY, INCREASINGLY SHOVED ASIDE
With broadcast network coverage of the conventions down this year, are
cable networks doing a good job of covering them? Perhaps not, if you
consider their job "we report, you decide." At Fox News, former Vice
President Al Gore's speech ran for all of 40 seconds before host Bill
O'Reilly broke in with his own commentary. Speeches by Sen Ted Kennedy
(D-MA) and Rev Al Sharpton (D-NY) were also on Fox for just a couple of
minutes. Some Fox executives see this approach as counterprogramming, since
the speeches are widely available elsewhere. "You could make a very good
case for not being here until Thursday -- even for the cable channels,"
said Brit Hume, Fox's Washington managing editor. "If we were inventing
this from scratch and there was no history here, no tradition, no custom,
we wouldn't design it this way. You wouldn't anchor from here, you just
wouldn't. Nobody has quite had the stones to say let's call a halt here."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32979-2004Aug1.html
(requires registration)

INTERNET

HACKERS ARE DISCOVERING A NEW FRONTIER: INTERNET TELEPHONE SERVICE
Thinking of making the switch to VoIP? Internet phones and the routers and
servers that steer and store the digitized calls are susceptible to the
bugs, viruses and worms that have plagued computer data systems for years.
Already, a few malicious attacks have shut down corporate Internet phone
networks, disrupting business at a cost of millions of dollars. With
Internet phones, hackers or disgruntled employees with access to a
company's phone server can eavesdrop on conversations by surreptitiously
installing software that can track voice packets. Worse, tapping phones by
hacking into servers and hard drives is easier than wiretapping, which
requires special equipment and more effort. Now, hackers can eavesdrop on
hundreds of calls without ever leaving home.
See more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ken Belson]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/02/technology/02virus.html
(requires registration)

COULD U.S.S BID TO CURB GAMBLING ON THE WEB GO THE WAY OF PROHIBITION?
Under the 1961 Federal Wire Act, betting on sports via telephone or the
Internet is illegal in the U.S. and many U.S. lawmakers and regulators
would like to shut down operations that run Web gambling sites catering to
Americans. But online gambling is legal in many other countries, and the
U.S. can't do much to prevent companies operating abroad from accepting
wagers from U.S. citizens. As a result, a gigantic online gambling market
has sprung up overseas. Last year, world-wide revenue from online gambling
totaled $5.7 billion, and a majority of the gamblers were American.
Prosecutors have gone after for credit card issuers for processing
credit-card payments for online gambling and notified the National
Association of Broadcasters that accepting money from Web gambling
advertisers could be considered "aiding and abetting" an illegal activity.
But some say U.S. law-enforcement efforts are "like trying to empty the
ocean with a teaspoon." The best hand the U.S. might play could be
regulation. By legalizing and regulating online gambling, the U.S.
government would make it safer for the 5.3 million Americans who are
already gambling in offshore online casinos -- and, perhaps, collect some
tax revenues as well.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin julia.angwin( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109139863475079918,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

TELECOM

BRIDE OR BRIDESMAID? AT&T AND MCI MAY COMPETE FOR SUITORS
AT&T and MCI have a history of competing: the final chapter of that battle
may be which company can sell itself off the quickest. Verizon or one of
the other Baby Bells seem the most likely buyers for the long distance
companies, but they are more likely to invest one of the telecom sector's
high-growth areas. Some bankers say the real value of AT&T or MCI is in
their hard assets, with only a small premium to be paid for their ongoing
businesses.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis K. Berman dennis.berman( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109140568139980089,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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