January 2005

We will see you again FRIDAY; we're off to Ithaca!=20
(http://www.ithaca.edu/news/article.php?id=3D1603)

POLICYMAKERS
Powell Heads for Exit
Challenges Await Powell's FCC Successor

OWNERSHIP
Newspapers Face Antitrust Scrutiny
EchoStar's Satellite Purchase Not Likely a Cure-All
France Telecom Might Acquire Rest of Equant

CABLE
Cable, DOJ Pitch Modem Dereg
Cable Could Rule if it Plays its Cards Right
Comcast Gets Breather In McHenry

CONTENT
Tech Firms to Seek Legal Protection From Pirating
Osama Who? When No News Is 'Bad News'
Churches Spar with Media over Advertising
The New Wave of Homegrown Fare
Under-Used Power of the News
'NYPD Blue' Producer Deems TV Too 'Conservative'

INTERNET
Internet News Sites Are Back in Vogue
Intel Pushes D.C. Agenda
Search Engine Users
Hansan Holds E-Advocacy Advantage

QUICKLY -- Selling Advertisers on Radio; Music to Cell Phones; Summit on=20
Children, Media and Literacy; America at a Crossroads; How to Read a Column

REACTION TO POWELL ANNOUNCEMENT

POLICYMAKERS

POWELL HEADS FOR EXIT
As we reported Friday morning, FCC Chairman Michael Powell has announced=20
his resignation and will leave the Commission is March. Powell, 41, joined=
=20
the FCC in 1997, a Republican nominee of President Clinton, who had=20
previously appointed him chief of staff of the Justice Department=92s=20
Antitrust Division. President Bush elevated Powell to FCC chairman a few=20
days after his 2001 inauguration. Later, Powell was confirmed for a=20
five-year term, ending June 30, 2007. Powell=92s biggest controversy came in=
=20
June 2003, when he approved new broadcast ownership rules that allowed one=
=20
company to own three TV stations, eight radio stations, the cable system,=20
and the dominate daily newspaper in the country=92s largest markets. The=20
ruling sparked outrage among public-interest and consumer groups, and many=
=20
Capitol Hill lawmakers felt the FCC has pushed too far. Powell was a First=
=20
Amendment purist who had to change course in response to the proliferation=
=20
of reality TV programs with crass sexual content, shock jocks with toilet=20
mouths and a Super Bowl with a soft-porn halftime show finale. Although=20
Powell=92s preference was to let the media run wild under its First=
Amendment=20
free speech protections, he also recognized that the FCC had broadcast=20
indecency laws to enforce. =93Michael Powell had the right goal --=
expediting=20
the introduction of advanced technologies. He had the wrong mechanism --=20
letting the big boys do it,=94 said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of=20
Media Access Project, a group that helped block Powell=92s media-ownership=
=20
rules. =93He was good at philosophy, but bad at execution. He is a fine=20
speechmaker, but a poor politician.=94
* URLs below this summary will take you to additional coverage. For a=20
collection of responses to Chairman Powell's departure, see the end of this=
=20
email.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA498449.html?display=3DTop+Stories&...
rral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* NYTimes editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/opinion/24mon2.html
* News.com:=20
http://news.com.com/Mixed+legacy+for+FCCs+Powell/2100-1033_3-5545030.htm...
g=3Dnefd.top
* USA Today:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/1b_powellcover24.art...
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/2b_powellb0x24.art.htm
=
=
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/2b_powellreaction24....
.htm
* Alternet: http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21057/
* eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=3D54=
67
* Telephony:=20
http://telephonyonline.com/regulatory/news/powell_resign_fcc_012105/
* Beyond Janet Jackson's Breast: A Defense of Chairman Powell
"Mr Powell has endured one mortifying policy defeat after another. From a=20
battle over America's media-ownership rules to a scrap about telecoms=20
regulation, the courts, Congress, the media and even fellow Republican=20
commissioners have taken turns sticking the knife into the FCC's=20
soft-bellied chairman," writes the Economist, which defends Powell for his=
=20
efforts to bring the agency into step with the digital age.
[The Economist]
http://www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3D3576578

CHALLENGES AWAIT POWELL'S SUCCESSOR
The agenda for the next FCC Chairman will include: the rapid transition of=
=20
broadcasts to digital signals; the financial problems of the Universal=20
Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service for rural and low-income=20
Americans; and the haphazard system by which different telephone companies=
=20
compensate each other for completing their calls. The FCC faces a fight in=
=20
trying to force broadcasters to return old, analog spectrum by a certain=20
date and to switch completely to digital transmissions, which require much=
=20
less bandwidth. Mr. Powell's staff had been pushing last year to set 2009=20
as the year for the handover but backed off because of industry opposition=
=20
and the press of other business. On media consolidation, the FCC must=20
decide whether to seek Supreme Court review of an appeals-court ruling that=
=20
tossed out rules easing restrictions on media ownership. Without a=20
successful appeal, the five-member commission must begin working on=20
media-ownership rules all over again. Besides Chairman Powell, Commissioner=
=20
Kathleen Abernathy, his closest ally, also is widely expected to leave in=20
coming months.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo=20
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652198940933591,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
See also --
FCC Finds Itself Up to Its Neck in Hot Issues
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc24jan24,1,2091667....
y?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
Can Howard Stern now relax?
http://news.com.com/Can+Howard+Stern+now+relax/2010-1071_3-5545890.html?...
=3Dnefd.ac
FCC Faces A New Set of Challenges
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/business/media/24powell.html

OWNERSHIP

NEWSPAPERS FACE ANTITRUST SCRUTINY
Industry watchers are expecting a concentration of newspaper ownership this=
=20
year, but don't you worry, the Justice Department is all over it. The=20
Justice Department is investigating Gannett's proposed buyout of HomeTown=20
Communications Network, a Midwest community-newspaper publisher based in=20
Livonia (MI), and has opened a preliminary inquiry into the New York=20
Times's plans to take a 49% stake in Metro Boston, a free daily that=20
competes with the Boston Globe, which is also owned by the Times. In some=20
markets, advertisers have told the Justice Department that the pending=20
deals could give local publishers enough clout to raise ad rates in the=20
cities they serve. Competitors in Detroit and Boston, including the Boston=
=20
Herald, have also told the Justice Department that they believe the deals=20
would violate antitrust law. Bids for Pulitzer -- which owns the Arizona=20
Daily Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other dailies -- are due today and=
=20
analysts have said that the sale could fetch $1.5 billion, plus the=20
assumption of debt of about $300 million. Gannett, the nation's largest=20
newspaper publisher, is widely expected to be one of the leading bidders=20
for the company, continuing its role as an aggressive nationwide acquirer=20
of newspapers. Some analysts expect the Pulitzer deal to herald a new round=
=20
of buying.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: James Bandler james.bandler( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652653344033690,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

ECHOSTAR'S SATELLITE PURCHASE NOT LIKELY A CURE-ALL
EchoStar Communications's $200 million pact to purchase CableVision's Voom=
=20
satellite capacity may not be all the company needs to compete better with=
=20
DirecTV, which has more subscribers and deeper pockets. DirecTV, for=20
example, is challenging two of EchoStar's historical strengths: an=20
extensive rural-customer base and strong offerings of foreign programming=20
to ethnic groups in the U.S. By buying a top-of-the-line satellite that=20
will increase the number of channels Echostar can offer, the company may be=
=20
able to counter by expanding his lineup of foreign-television fare. But the=
=20
company may have to spend close to $1 billion by mid-2006 to comply with a=
=20
Congressional mandate to stop using dual antennas to serve some=20
subscribers. Once that practice is phased out, EchoStar still will face=20
escalating pressure to expand its satellite fleet to keep up with the=20
ambitious plans laid out by DirecTV, the No. 1 direct-to-home satellite=20
broadcaster. DirecTV has projected launching over the next few years at=20
least five new satellites that will allow it to deliver well over 1,000=20
high-definition channels. The initiative will come at a cost of roughly=20
$1.5 billion.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Andy Pasztor andy.pasztor( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652149119533565,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

FRANCE TELECOM MIGHT ACQUIRE REST OF EQUANT
France Telecom is expected to announce as early as today a plan to buy the=
=20
46% of telecom-services company Equant it doesn't already own, say people=20
familiar with the matter. Netherlands-based Equant provides=20
telecommunications services to large corporations, and was hit hard=20
following the collapse of the telecom investing bubble in the early part of=
=20
the decade. The competitive pressure in the global business-communications=
=20
industry in which Equant operates has ratcheted up since November when=20
France Telecom's British rival BT Group purchased U.S.-based Infonet=20
Services. In addition to BT Group, Equant also competes with AT&T and MCI.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis K. Berman=20
dennis.berman( at )wsj.com, Jason Singer jason.singer( at )wsj.com & Cassell=20
Bryan-Low cassell.bryan-low( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652070909833534,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

CABLE

CABLE, DOJ PITCH MODEM DEREG
Providing high-speed Internet access should not trigger mandates designed=20
to open cable networks to all data competitors, the cable industry told the=
=20
U.S. Supreme Court in a filing last Tuesday. The National Cable &=20
Telecommunications Association, joined by three major cable companies,=20
asked the high court to shield cable-modem service from forced-access=20
mandates and back deregulatory policies adopted by the Federal=20
Communications Commission in March 2002. In its own brief in the case, the=
=20
Justice Department argued that application of open-access rules would raise=
=20
consumer rates and freeze cable=92s investment in broadband facilities. In=
=20
addition to having to open their lines, cable operators would be required=20
to contribute modem revenue to a telephone-subsidy program, perhaps pay=20
higher telephone pole-attachment fees and would need to absorb the cost of=
=20
engineering their networks for interconnection with other common carriers,=
=20
the DOJ said. =93Classifying cable-modem service as a telecommunications=20
service would drastically change the regulatory environment for cable-modem=
=20
service,=94 the DOJ said.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA498444.html?display=3DTop+Stories&...
rral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

CABLE COULD RULE IF IT PLAYS ITS CARDS RIGHT
Consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is offering advise to cable=20
companies in a new report, thinking they can beat the phone giants in the=20
race to dominate home entertainment and communications. The report urges=20
operators to roll out packages of sophisticated video, Internet and phone=20
services before companies such as BellSouth, SBC and Verizon complete a $10=
=20
billion investment in fiber-optic lines. Those lines will let them offer=20
cablelike TV along with phone and Internet services that will rival bundles=
=20
from cable operators, which are beginning to add phone service. See more at=
=20
the URL below.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/1b_cableoutlook24.ar...
m

COMCAST GETS BREATHER IN MCHENRY
The McHenry County (IL) Board agreed to postpone the vote on a resolution=20
that called for a federal probe of cable rates in the vast majority of=20
markets. The board, made up entirely of Republicans, will wait while cable=
=20
operator Comcast come up with some excuses for -- um, er -- while Comcast=20
explains recent system upgrades and rate increases. Illinois state Sen.=20
Pamela Althoff, a former cable broker and system investor, said she stepped=
=20
in to mediate differences between Comcast and county officials pressing for=
=20
the rate probe. A fast-growing community of 280,000, McHenry is not fertile=
=20
soil for a cable-rate rebellion. But Comcast=92s system upgrades --=
something=20
the company promised to do when it acquired the property -- and rate hikes=
=20
angered some board members, who felt the channel additions did not justify=
=20
the rise in monthly bills.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA498350.html?display=3DPolicy&refer...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

CONTENT

TECH FIRMS TO SEEK LEGAL PROTECTION FROM PIRATING
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments March 29 in a suit brought=
=20
by the motion picture and recording industries against Grokster, one of the=
=20
leading "peer-to-peer" filing-sharing services. Representatives of all=20
sides on the issue agree that the case could determine the fate of services=
=20
such as Grokster, KaZaa and Morpheus, which in the eyes of the=20
entertainment industry are responsible for the pirating of millions of=20
dollars in losses annually. Several large technology corporations will urge=
=20
the U.S. Supreme Court today to continue to shield businesses and=20
innovators from legal responsibility if their products or services are used=
=20
by consumers for illegal acts. The companies, including industry giants=20
Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, America Online and Apple Computer, will argue in=
=20
court filings that the innovations that have helped fuel U.S. economic=20
growth could grind to a halt if protections from liability were stripped=20
away. At issue is the continuing popularity of Internet file-sharing=20
services, whose software lets users swap digital music, videos and software=
=20
regardless of whether they are copyrighted works that should be paid for=20
each time they are sent to another consumer.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31332-2005Jan23.html
(requires registration)
See also --
USAToday:=
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/2b_riaa24.art.htm
Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3D1HRYYHRXO3GCMCRBAE...
A?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D7400119

OSAMA WHO? WHEN NO NEWS IS 'BAD NEWS'
A look at the business of news and how business news limits the information=
=20
delivered to us on television newscasts. Former-CBS foreign correspondent=20
Tom Fenton, in his forthcoming book "Bad News," castigates network news for=
=20
failing to adequately cover the rest of the world. The book is a stinging=20
indictment that gains force from his quarter-century of service in CBS's=20
London bureau. Fenton blames "corporate greed," saying he was "beaten down=
=20
by the corporate bean counters" and had "so many of my stories rejected" in=
=20
the decade before 9/11. CBS's London bureau, he writes, "doesn't do much=20
reporting any more. What it does is called packaging," assembling video and=
=20
facts gathered by outside organizations.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31306-2005Jan23.html
(requires registration)

CHURCHES SPAR WITH MEDIA OVER ADVERTISING
As religion moves more overtly into public life, its reception in the major=
=20
media has not always been warm. Churches and religious publishers reaching=
=20
out to the "unchurched" - those who may be spiritually inclined but=20
institutionally alienated - are finding that some media are rejecting their=
=20
advertising dollars. The United Church of Christ (UCC) and the United=20
Methodist Church (UMC) have been told "no," as has Zondervan, the leading=20
Bible publisher. Media outlets have the right to decide what they publish=20
or broadcast, but religious groups say the media are practicing a form of=20
censorship that is keeping them out of the marketplace of ideas. This is=20
not fair, they say, nor does it fulfill the media's responsibility to the=20
public.
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jane Lampman]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0124/p11s01-lire.html

THE NEW WAVE OF HOMEGROWN FARE
How do you compete with national programming like Oprah? Go local, of=20
course. Station managers nationwide are taking a hard look at their balance=
=20
of local and syndicated shows. Syndication costs are skyrocketing, yet hits=
=20
are rare. Stations spend heavily on syndicated shows -- upward of $100,000=
=20
a week in bigger markets. Plus, they often turn over half of the show's ad=
=20
time to syndicators in so-called barter deals. As stations cope with a=20
dearth of syndication hits and fend off cable networks, they've found local=
=20
fare a potent weapon. =93Broadcasters will stay alive by creating content=20
that resonates with their communities,=94 says Stacey Lynn Koerner,=20
Initiative Media's EVP of global research. =93That makes stations a=
must-have=20
for viewers and advertisers.=94 The local programming being created is extra=
=20
newscasts and lifestyle shows.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA498370.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

UNDER-USED POWER OF THE NEWS
While some stories gets lots of coverage, too many remain under-covered.=20
Doctors Without Borders released its 7th annual list of the year's Top 10=20
Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories. In a host of African countries,=20
North Korea, Colombia, Chechnya and elsewhere, lives are being cruelly cut=
=20
short by a staggering array of woes, but we remain largely ill-informed=20
about them. Last year, the Big Three nightly newscasts didn't air=20
significant reports on any of these regions, save Chechnya and North=20
Korea=97and the latter drew attention because of its nuclear threat, not its=
=20
humanitarian crisis. But they did devote plenty of attention to Martha=20
Stewart and Janet Jackson.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: J. Max Robins]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA498463.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
Christian Science Monitor:=
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0124/p09s02-coop.html

'NYPD BLUE' PRODUCER DEEMS TV TOO 'CONSERVATIVE'
Twelve years ago, Steven Bochco hoped his TV drama NYPD Blue would open the=
=20
door for more sophisticated prime time drama. But the pendulum has swung in=
=20
the opposite direction in the past five years, he says. After the=20
controversy generated in large part by Janet Jackson's "wardrobe=20
malfunction" during last year's Super Bowl halftime show telecast on CBS,=20
NYPD Blue has had to fight with ABC over content issues that never were=20
questioned in the past. Ultimately, he said, TV will go back to allowing=20
more adult drama. "You're never going to put the genie back in the bottle,"=
=20
Bochco said. "We're never going to see television go back to what it was 20=
=20
years ago."
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter/Reuters]
http://au.news.yahoo.com/050121/11/sotu.html

INTERNET

INTERNET NEWS SITES ARE BACK IN VOGUE
Internet news and information sites, long thought to be dot-gone relics of=
=20
1999, are making a big comeback in 2005. Online advertising is expected=20
reach $9.7 billion in 2004, or about 3.7% of United States advertising=20
spending, according to a recent Merrill Lynch report. Still, that number is=
=20
expected to grow 19% this year as the nation's largest advertisers shift=20
budgets from print and network television to cable and the Internet, the=20
report said. As a result, publishers are being forced to confront a=20
potential advertising inventory crunch. There is no physical limitation to=
=20
the number of Web pages, of course, but advertisers want to be placed on=20
the most popular pages and those which cater to their most profitable=20
audiences. And those kind of pages are in shorter supply.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Dash]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/technology/24marketwatch.html
(requires registration)

INTEL PUSHES DC AGENDA
Suffering eroding market share in its core business of supplying=20
microprocessors for PCs, Intel is trying to compensate by launching=20
products that will compete with TV stations and cable operators. The=20
company is waging three major policy fights against the TV business. One=20
Intel priority is to push the FCC, over broadcasters' objections, to make=20
TV stations share their channel space with high-speed wireless networks=20
that city government or other operators could set up without bothering to=20
get a license. The company is also trying to persuade Congress and the FCC=
=20
to set a quick deadline for making stations go all-digital and return their=
=20
old analog channels to the government. Intel is taking on cable operators,=
=20
too, by calling on the government to stick with rules designed to create=20
retail competition to the leased set-top boxes that have fattened=20
cable-industry profits for decades.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA498462.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

SEARCH ENGINE USERS
A new nationwide survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows=20
that Internet users are extremely positive about search engines and the=20
experiences they have when searching the Internet. But these same satisfied=
=20
Internet users are generally unsophisticated about why and how they use=20
search engines. They are also strikingly unaware of how search engines=20
operate and how they present their results.
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project Press Release, AUTHOR:=20
Deborah Fallows]
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/146/report_display.asp

HANSAN HOLDS E-ADVOCACY ADVANTAGE
If you've ever e-mailed your representatives or learned about them online,=
=20
chances are that you did so through Capitol Advantage without knowing it.=20
Capitol Advantage LLC all but owns the lucrative market in congressional=20
directories and transformed that prosaic business into a rudiment of=20
Internet lobbying, which is now the fastest growing and arguably the most=20
potent form of persuasion in the nation's capital. Capitol Advantage wasn't=
=20
the first company to use a Zip code system (though it popularized it). It=20
isn't the only firm that facilitates e-mailing to Congress (though it is,=20
by far, the largest.) Yet its program's simplicity, accuracy and low cost=20
have made it a foundation of cyber-democracy. Learn more about the=20
company's founder, Robert Hansan.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31160-2005Jan23.html
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

Infinity Unveils Campaign to Get Advertisers to Tune In to Radio
Starting today, Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting will splash ads touting the=
=20
benefits of radio ad campaigns across the pages of magazines like Brandweek=
=20
and Advertising Age. It is highlighting the benefits of interactive=20
advertising, like a recent campaign that got radio listeners to log onto a=
=20
Web site, answer questions about themselves and get matched up with the car=
=20
that best suits their personality. The ad helped sell thousands of cars=20
over a four-week period in the summer for DaimlerChrysler AG. The campaign=
=20
comes as radio companies are fighting an advertising malaise and growing=20
competition from new satellite radio broadcasters. Infinity's approach is=20
very different from that of rival Clear Channel Communications Inc., which=
=20
last year launched a high-profile "Less Is More" campaign aimed at cutting=
=20
the number of ads on the radio as a way of increasing the value and impact=
=20
of the spots that air. Large numbers of ads can lead listeners to change=20
stations or ditch the radio altogether for CDs or satellite radio. Infinity=
=20
is also trying to focus on bigger markets by selling off or trading away=20
some of its smaller-market stations. And it is experimenting with new=20
formats to boost listener ratings, and therefore advertising dollars.=20
Earlier this month, it took a once-influential alternative-rock station in=
=20
Washington, WHFS, and flipped it to Spanish-language pop.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652400965733657,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)

Face the Music, Wireless Carriers
[Commentary] The cellular industry in Asia and Europe is doing fine=20
supplying mobile users with tunes. US outfits ought to stop blocking the=20
service.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Steve Rosenbush]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2005/tc20050114_5688_t...
.htm

Summit on Children, Media and Literacy
The U.S. Department of Education and PBS are hosting a Ready To Learn=20
summit titled "A Child's Life: Learning, Literacy and the Role of the=20
Media," to be held on Feb. 3-4, 2005 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in=20
Baltimore, MD. Aiming to examine the impact of media on children's=20
literacy skills, the invitation-only event offers participants an=20
opportunity to learn about and exchange information on current research,=20
insights and future projections as well as lay a foundation to forge new=20
partnerships among the public broadcasting, reading research, technology=20
and entertainment fields.
http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/news/20050119_pbsdepted.html

America at a Crossroads
The war-time experiences of American soldiers, the high-stakes=20
international struggle for the heart of Islam, the competing demands of=20
security and civil liberty, the trial of Saddam Hussein, and our nation=92s=
=20
readiness for terrorist attacks -- are among the issues that will be=20
explored in films funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through=
=20
its America at a Crossroads initiative. CPB announced today that it intends=
=20
to award research and development grants to ten production teams, and=20
expects to announce about 25 additional R&D grants in coming weeks.
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Press Release]
http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=3D392

How to Read a Column
As he steps out the door, William Safire offers some advise to readers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/opinion/24safire1.html

REACTION TO POWELL ANNOUNCEMENT

Powell's Statement
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256206A1.pdf
Highlights of tenure
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256206A2.pdf
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256210A1.pdf
Commissioner Michael Copps
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256208A1.pdf
Commissioner Kevin Martin
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256212A1.doc
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256213A1.doc

Children Now
http://www.childrennow.org/newsroom/news-05/pr-01-21-05.cfm

Public Knowledge
http://www.publicknowledge.org/pressroom/releases/pressrelease.2005-01-2...
38977060

Free Press
http://www.freepress.net/action/newFCCchair

Common Cause
http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=3DdkLNK1MQIwG&b=3...
883&ct=3D352822

Alliance for Better Campaigns
http://www.bettercampaigns.org/press/release.php?ReleaseID=3D68

Center for Creative Voices in Media
http://www.creativevoices.us/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=3D103&PHPSE...
=3D97c82093988d0478aa5de9f81ce5b001

Cato
http://www.cato.org/tech/tk-index.html

Bunnie Riedel
http://www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------
Sleep well, Mr. Carson.
-------------------------------------------------------------

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

MEDIA
Report Acknowledges Inaccuracies in 2004 Exit Polls
Will the Inaugural Protests Be Covered?
PR Firm Admits Pundit's Deal Broke Rules
FCC Boss Opposes Broadcasters on Digital Multicast
Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge
Media Leadership Nears Changing of the Guard
Katie Couric, CBS Anchor? It's Like Night And 'Today'

TELECOM
Rural Phone Service Fund Under Siege
Cell Tower Case Beamed to High Court

INTERNET
Internet and Phone Companies Plot Wireless-Broadband Push
Firms Bid to Control .net Addresses
How Seniors Use the Internet for Health

PRIVACY/PROPERTY
In Age of Security, Firm Mines Wealth Of Personal Data
Electronics Firms Form Digital Media Rights Accord

MEDIA

REPORT ACKNOWLEDGES INACCURACIES IN 2004 EXIT POLLS
A report from Joe Lenski of Edison Media Research and Warren Mitofsky of=20
Mitofsky International on exit polling on election day finds that: 1)=20
Interviewing for the 2004 exit polls was the most inaccurate of any in the=
=20
past five presidential elections as procedural problems compounded by the=20
refusal of large numbers of Republican voters to be surveyed; 2) the flaws=
=20
did not produce a single incorrect projection of the winner in a state on=20
election night, but "there were 26 states in which the estimates produced=20
by the exit poll data overstated the vote for John Kerry . . . and there=20
were four states in which the exit poll estimates overstated the vote for=20
George W. Bush;" 3) the analysis found no evidence of fraud resulting from=
=20
the rigging of voting equipment. Their investigation identified other=20
factors that contributed to errors in the 2004 exit polls. Interviewing in=
=20
precincts where polltakers were required to stand farther away from the=20
polls were less accurate than those where interviewers had easier access to=
=20
voters leaving the polling places. Poor weather conditions also pushed down=
=20
cooperation rates. They suspected that there were more young people working=
=20
as interviewers in 2004, which they said was another potential source of=20
error. Adding to the confusion, programming errors were discovered and=20
corrected in the afternoon of Election Day, and a technical problem=20
severely disrupted access to the system for nearly two hours late on=20
election night.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Richard Morin and Claudia Deane]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22188-2005Jan19.html
(requires registration)
Also see:
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050120/1a_offlede20.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050120/edtwo20.art.htm
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/politics/20exit.html

WILL THE INAUGURAL PROTESTS BE COVERED
[Commentary] In 2001, the media largely ignored the biggest inaugural=20
protest in history. Will it do so again today?
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Danny Schechter]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert315.shtml

PR FIRM ADMITS PUNDIT'S DEAL BROKE RULES
The public relations firm that arranged for pundit Armstrong Williams to=20
promote the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind education program=20
admitted Wednesday that the deal with Williams violated =93the guidelines of=
=20
our agency and our industry.=94
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mark Memmott and Greg Toppo]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050120/a_williams20.art.htm
Also in --
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/business/media/20ketchum.html

FCC BOSS OPPOSES BROADCASTERS ON DIGITAL MULTICAST
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has proposed rejecting a request that cable=20
companies be required to carry all the digital signals offered by a=20
broadcast television station. In 2001, the FCC ruled that cable had to=20
carry the digital television signal but it only had to carry one video=20
stream of the broadcaster's choosing. Paxson Communications Corp. and=20
others petitioned the agency to reconsider. Chairman Powell has circulated=
=20
a proposal that would uphold that decision and has scheduled to complete=20
the voting at the FCC's next open meeting on Feb. 10. However, he could=20
modify or withdraw the proposal at any time and he must convince two of the=
=20
four other FCC commissioners to support the item.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DindustryNews&storyID=3D7...
85

CONSERVATIVES PICK SOFT TARGET: A CARTOON SPONGE
As Karen Menichelli'll tell ya, kids and grown-ups alike adore Sponge Bob=20
Squarepants. But the loveable little cartoon character is the newest target=
=20
for conservative Christians. It may have something to do with Bob becoming=
=20
a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds=20
hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary=20
television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy." bob also=
=20
appears is a music video that teaches children about multiculturalism.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Kirkpatrick]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/politics/20sponge.html
(requires registration)

MEDIA LEADERSHIP NEARS CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Some of the top executives who shaped business and popular culture in the=20
past 20 years or so as they built entertainment behemoths are preparing to=
=20
move on. The ripples are likely to alter everything from corporate customs=
=20
to the movies, TV shows, music, publications and technologies that the=20
companies promote. On the way out are Eisner, Redstone, and, perhaps,=20
Murdoch. The next generation of leaders includes Iger, Freston, Moonves,=20
Chernin and another Murdoch. One thing that seems certain about the=20
generation that's preparing to move up is that it probably won't put as=20
vivid a stamp on media or culture as the current crop of larger-than-life=20
CEOs have. Most in the new class succeeded by working within the system,=20
not by shaking it up. Most cut their teeth in traditional media,=20
particularly broadcast and cable TV. And most are white men. Additionally=20
they all seem 1) less prone to cutthroat competition, 2) more fiscally=20
restrained, 3) more prone to delegation and decentralized decision making,=
=20
and 4) more comfortable, but not entranced by technology.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050120/mediabench.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050120/b_mediabench_chart20...
.htm

KATIE COURIC, CBS ANCHOR? IT'S LIKE NIGHT AND 'TODAY'
[Commentary] More on the fallout of Memogate and the plans of Viacom's Les=
=20
Moonves to revamp CBS News after anchor Dan Rather departs. The Memogate=20
story isn't over by a long shot. Joe Hagan reported yesterday in the New=20
York Observer that producer Mary Mapes, considered most responsible for the=
=20
Sept. 8 report -- on George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National=20
Guard during the Vietnam War -- issued a statement insisting she had done=20
"nothing wrong" in preparing it. The three other staff members, told by CBS=
=20
to resign, have so far declined to do so, Hagan reported, and are=20
considering "legal action" against CBS News.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Tom Shales]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22649-2005Jan19.html
(requires registration)

TELECOM

RURAL PHONE SERVICE FUND UNDER SIEGE
The federal universal service fund, which makes telephone service in rural=
=20
areas more affordable, is under siege from critics who say it amounts to an=
=20
unwarranted windfall for wireless companies. The$3.5 billion fund, financed=
=20
by a 10.7% fee on every long-distance bill, goes mostly to rural phone=20
incumbents to keep basic home service affordable. That's because it's=20
costly for companies to string wires to rural areas with few customers. But=
=20
to spur competition, the 1996 Telecommunications Act also lets the=20
incumbents' rivals =97 most of which are wireless carriers =97 receive some=
of=20
the money if state or federal officials find it's in the public interest.=20
The sum received by wireless providers soared to about $230 million last=20
year, from $2.6 million in 2000. Rural phone companies complain that those=
=20
payments are unnecessary and a big reason the fund is under strain. The FCC=
=20
is listening. It's set to rule next month on a proposal that could sharply=
=20
cut universal-service funding for wireless providers.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:Paul Davidson]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050120/ruralfund20.art.htm

CELL TOWER CASE BEAMED TO HIGH COURT
In the last decade, 140,000 cell towers have sprouted up around the nation,=
=20
the cellphone industry says, and more are needed to eliminate "dead spots."=
=20
But in many cities, officials contend the towers are unsightly. And, on=20
occasion, officials have blocked wireless phone companies from erecting=20
more towers. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took up a case to decide=20
whether cities can be sued in federal court and forced to pay damages if=20
they stand in the way of creating a wireless phone network. The outcome of=
=20
the legal battle could affect communities across the nation. The court's=20
decision would give either city officials or wireless companies the upper=20
hand in disputes over the building and location of towers.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David G. Savage]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-scotus20jan20,1,...
374.story?coll=3Dla-news-a_section
(requires registration)

INTERNET

INTERNET AND PHONE COMPANIES PLOT WIRELESS-BROADBAND PUSH
Several big Internet and phone companies are moving to provide wireless=20
high-speed access to the Internet. If successful, these efforts have the=20
potential to yet again shift the balance of power in the rapidly changing=20
U.S. telecommunications industry, giving consumers a potentially cheaper=20
and more flexible alternative to phone and cable lines for Internet access=
=20
and many other services. More competition could be introduced to the=20
broadband market and given relatively cheap deployment, could mean lower=20
prices and more options for consumers and businesses.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com=20
and Almar Latour almar.latour( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110617646006230682,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

FIRMS BID TO CONTROL .NET ADDRESSES
The bidding is closed as now the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names=20
and Numbers (ICANN) will review proposals and choose the next administrator=
=20
of the .net Internet domain. A domain operator's job is to maintain the=20
registry containing information that Internet switching systems need to=20
direct traffic to intended recipients. If the .net list had errors or=20
became unavailable, parts of the Internet could become inaccessible. The=20
.net domain facilitates $700 billion annually in Internet commerce and the=
=20
winning applicant will take in roughly $30 million a year in registration=
fees.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22605-2005Jan19.html
(requires registration)
See commentary at News.com:
http://news.com.com/Why+we+should+get+to+operate+.net/2008-1028_3-554230...
ml?tag=3Dnefd.ac

HOW SENIORS USE THE INTERNET FOR HEALTH
A national Kaiser Family Foundation survey of older Americans found that as=
=20
the Internet becomes an increasingly important resource for informing=20
decisions about health and health care options, less than a third (31%) of=
=20
seniors (age 65 and older) have ever gone online, but that more than=20
two-thirds (70%) of the next generation of seniors (50-64 year-olds) have=20
done so. The differences among seniors and 50-64 year-olds are striking and=
=20
indicate that online resources for health information may soon play a much=
=20
larger role among older Americans. Twenty-one percent of seniors have gone=
=20
online to look for health information compared to 53% of 50-64 year-olds;=20
8% of seniors get "a lot" of health information online compared to 24% of=20
50-64 year-olds; the Internet is 5th on a list of media sources of health=20
information for seniors compared to first among 50-64 year-olds; and 26% of=
=20
seniors trust the Internet =93a lot=94 or =93some=94 to provide accurate=
health=20
information, compared to 58% of 50-64 year-olds. The survey is a nationally=
=20
representative, random digit dial telephone survey of 1,450 adults age 50=20
and older, including 583 respondents age 65 and older.
[SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation]
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia011205pkg.cfm

PRIVACY/PROPERTY

IN AGE OF SECURITY, FIRM MINES WEALTH OF PERSONAL DATA
It began in 1997 as a company that sold credit data to the insurance=20
industry. But over the next seven years, as it acquired dozens of other=20
companies, ChoicePoint Inc. became an all-purpose commercial source of=20
personal information about Americans, with billions of details about their=
=20
homes, cars, relatives, criminal records and other aspects of their lives.=
=20
Now the little-known information industry giant is transforming itself into=
=20
a private intelligence service for national security and law enforcement=20
tasks. ChoicePoint and other private companies increasingly occupy a=20
special place in homeland security and crime-fighting efforts, in part=20
because they can compile information and use it in ways government=20
officials sometimes cannot because of privacy and information laws. No,=20
dear, that's not Jack Frost you fell -- its the chill of lost privacy. See=
=20
the URL below.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Robert O'Harrow Jr]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22269-2005Jan19.html
(requires registration)

ELECTRONICS FIRMS FORM DIGITAL MEDIA RIGHTS ACCORD
The world's four biggest consumer electronics companies have agreed to=20
start using a common method to protect digital music and video against=20
piracy and illegal copying. Japan's Sony and Panasonic-brand owner=20
Matsushita Electric Industrial, South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Dutch=
=20
Philips Electronics formed the alliance because they want buyers of their=20
products to watch or listen to "appropriately licensed video and music on=20
any device, independent of how they originally obtained that content," they=
=20
said in a joint statement.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lucas van Grinsven]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D7...
38
See also
Bertelsmann Settles With Small Music Company in Suit Over Napster
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/business/media/20napster.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------

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

Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to post Headlines on Friday
January 14. We begin today's Headlines with quick recaps of the stories we
were reading last week and follow with today's top stories.

NEWS FROM LAST WEEK -- Reports from Thursday's FCC Meeting and more

MEDIA
Media's Legislative Outlook
Is Communications Consolidation Hurting Democracy?
Looking for New Ways to Make Viewers Pay
Firms Fear Backlash From Williams Case

TELECOM POLICY
Phone Companies Push Telecom Overhaul
Telco Rewrite on Fast -- and Slow -- Track
Jury Is Still Out on Driver-Cellphone Laws
Hospitals Ease Cellphone Bans

QUICKLY -- FCC Rejects Objection to Low Power Radio; Report on Comcast
Rates; Measuring Literacy in a World Gone Digital; Fox's Bottom Line;
Challengers Vie to Run .Net; Fuji TV to Launch Radio Bid; Intelsat Loses
Use of Satellite

NEWS FROM LAST WEEK

* The FCC held an open meeting last Thursday with presentations by senior
agency officials regarding implementations of the agency's strategic plan
and a comprehensive review of the Commission's policies and procedures.
Media Bureau Chief Ken Ferree said his staff has wrapped up its
recommendation for speeding the transition to all-digital TV broadcasting.
All he needs to present it to the five FCC commissioners for their review
is the go-ahead from Chairman Michael Powell. The FCC is eager to end the
DTV switch and turn over reclaimed TV channels to local emergency
departments and auction others to wireless companies. Ferree said the plan
could include a recommendation on whether broadcasters would be entitled to
cable carriage of the six or so channels they would be able to offer in
digital, but it would be Powell's decision to include that provision or
request a vote on the measure separately.
[See
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA496073?display=Breaking+News&...
or
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA496089.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

* Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein asked about
proceedings on localism, broadcasters' public interest obligations and
disclosure. Ferree answered that the proceedings on disclosure and public
interest obligations should reach the Chairman's office for review and
circulation soon. [Thanks to New America Foundation's Jim Snider for this
news.]

* Also at the same meeting, Commissioner Adelstein urged the FCC's
Enforcement Bureau to investigate the Armstrong Williams pay-for-play
scandal, saying that payola is "alive and well" and on the rise. Adelstein
pointed out that FCC rules require anyone who is paid to broadcast
information to disclose that fact to the licensee.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA496030.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

* Media activist organization Free Press is asking both the FCC and
Congress to investigate the Armstrong Williams situation. Free Press has
sent 12,500 complaints about the incident to the FCC and plans to share
them with Members of Congress.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA496076?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

* On Friday, FCC Chairman Michael Powell officially asked the Commission's
Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into the Williams-payola affair.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA496807?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256115A1.pdf
See also: http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=126770&pt=todaysnews

* President Bush said Thursday, "There needs to be a clear distinction
between journalism and advocacy." We need "to take a good look and make
sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-13-bush-williams_x.htm

* And finally... FCC Staff Changes
FCC Chairman Michael Powell announced that FCC General Counsel John Rogovin
is leaving the Commission. Austin Schlick will serve as Acting General
Counsel. Mr. Schlick has served as Deputy General Counsel responsible for
the agency's litigation. Before joining the Commission in February 2004,
he served as an assistant in the Solicitor General's office of the U.S.
Department of Justice. In that position he represented the government in
various cases before the Supreme Court. Prior to that position, he was a
partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd
and Evans, where he specialized in telecommunications and appellate
litigation. Chairman Michael Powell also announced that Barbara J. Douglas,
Director of the FCC's Office of Workplace Diversity, is leaving the
Commission.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256060A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256061A1.doc

MEDIA

MEDIA'S LEGISLATIVE OUTLOOK
B&C offers odds of various telecom bills passing through Congress this
year. 1) The most pressing issue facing the TV business is transition to
all-digital broadcasts. House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX)
wants it to end in 2006; FCC Chairman Michael Powell is suggesting 2009.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) may be the
deciding factor in legislation B&C suggests is likely to pass this year. 2)
Media lobbyists and anti-consolidation activists will beg Congress to pass
opposing versions of legislation rewriting the FCC's broadcast-ownership
limits. But there's no way Congress will change the commission's limits in
any direction: Either loosening or tightening the rules would generate an
unwanted backlash from the losing side. The FCC has until Jan. 31 to
request Supreme Court review of a lower-court order against its rules. If
the FCC asks the justices to take the case, the court likely will be tied
up with it for most of the current congressional session. If the FCC drops
the case, the commissioners will be obligated to spend the next year doing
their own rewrite. Either way, Congress will stay out of the fight. 3)
Without another Janet Jackson-like incident, don't expect new indecency
legislation to pass this year -- although that won't stop some from trying.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA496911.html?display=News&refe...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

IS COMMUNICATIONS CONSOLIDATION HURTING DEMOCRACY? WRAPPING UP 2004
[Commentary] There are a few things we can say with some confidence
regarding communications policy in 2004. Both the evangelical right and
the pro-business right held major sway over the federal agencies that were
formed to oversee communications activity on behalf of the entire
public. The trend toward consolidation continued in both the sector that
produces content and the sector that distributes content. While the
communications industries spent millions influencing policy, they also made
billions in return for that investment. While a few stockholders benefited
from this state of affairs, most consumers did not. Democracy, and the
enlightened citizen so necessary to make it function, most certainly did
not benefit from the state of communications policy in 2004.
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Mark Lloyd]
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=290397

LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS TO MAKE VIEWERS PAY
Were Americans merely using DVRs to replay touchdowns, advertisers and
television networks wouldn't be so worried. But studies have shown that at
least 70% of today's estimated 6.5 million DVRs are routinely used for
what's known as commercial avoidance. With DVR use expected to grow tenfold
over the next five years, the devices are threatening to bring the
$60-billion-a-year TV advertising business to its knees. Advertisers and
network executives have begun to scrutinize the habits of DVR users,
wondering if viewers can be persuaded to help pay for programming that
they're now getting free. Many executives believe the networks' very
survival depends on viewers accepting what some might see as a radical
idea: that the audience, not just advertisers, must subsidize the high cost
of producing the shows that so many Americans love to watch. If they don't,
executives say, the networks won't have the money to produce expensive shows.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-dvr18jan18,1,5097159....
(requires registration)
See also --
The New Ad Age
As the advertising industry devises new ways to get its messages across,
technologies are continually being developed that make it possible for
people to skip or avoid ads.
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Joy Lanzendorfer]
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/20997/

FIRMS FEAR BACKLASH FROM WILLIAMS CASE
Public relations firms that are paid millions of dollars a year by the
federal government to promote programs and policies are worried the money
might dry up because of the Armstrong Williams flap at the Department of
Education. The Williams controversy was magnified by earlier revelations
that the Education Department had paid Ketchum to rate journalists on how
positively or negatively they reported on No Child Left Behind and to
produce a video news release on the law that was used by some TV stations
as if it were real news. Other government agencies, including the Census
Bureau, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of
Health and Human Services, have distributed such prepackaged videos, a
practice that congressional auditors have described as illegal propaganda
in some cases.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Lee and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16464-2005Jan17.html
(requires registration)

TELECOM POLICY

PHONE COMPANIES PUSH TELECOM OVERHAUL
The nation's biggest phone companies are seeking a rollback of
telecommunications regulations, but other industries that would be affected
-- the cable and wireless companies that have gained ground against
traditional phone companies in recent years -- don't want major changes,
creating a potential roadblock to new legislation. The divisions are in
stark contrast to the mid-1990s when the interested groups were united in
seeking reform. Overhauling the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- which was
enacted before the Internet became a widespread conduit for phone calls,
text messages, video and other communications -- appears to be a priority
for many in Congress, but not for the Bush Administration. "There is a lot
of consensus that the Telecom Act was a failure but no consensus on how to
fix it," said Scott Cleland, a telecom analyst with Precursor Group in
Washington. And, "this Congress has much bigger fish to fry."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110600339615628254,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

TELCO REWRITE ON FAST -- AND SLOW -- TRACK
The election is over, we have a new Congress, let's get that
telecommunications reform bill rolling, right? Not so fast, says new Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Sen Stevens is
determined to move deliberately and has resisted calls from his House
counterpart, Rep Joe Barton (R-TX), to move quickly. As of last week, Sen
Stevens had not even named a telecom aide to oversee the legislation. Why
is the Alaska Republican moving so slow? Fresh from a stint running the
Appropriations Committee, where he kept tight control over pork barrel
spending and the political loyalty he could demand by doling it out,
Stevens is determined to keep similarly close control over the legislation
and the political favors he can negotiate by keeping people guessing his
intentions.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA496342.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

JURY IS STILL OUT ON DRIVER-CELLPHONE LAWS
Cities around the country are enforcing new restrictions on using
cellphones while driving, requiring drivers to use handsets if they really
must take/make that call. But with cellphone-related incidents making up
only a small percentage of motor vehicle accidents, even government
officials wonder why this particular behavior was chosen for a law, since
studies have shown that hands-free and hand-held cellphones are equally
distracting. John Walls, the vice president of public affairs of CTIA, the
Wireless Association, a trade organization representing wireless interests,
said it was unfair and unnecessary to create hands-free laws. "We question
the need for a law singling out behavior that apparently is pretty far down
the pecking order of accidents in the first place," Mr. Walls said. He
cited statistics showing that before the New York law was enacted, fewer
than one-hundredth of 1 percent of New York City accidents were related to
cellphones.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/national/18cell.html
(requires registration)

HOSPITALS EASE CELLPHONE BANS
As the Federal Communications Commission revisits rules against cellphone
use on airplanes, hospitals are rethinking their own policies on the
devices. Policies against cellphone use in hospitals largely began in the
1990s, as the devices became more popular and hospitals grew concerned
about interfering with vital medical equipment such as cardiac monitors.
The bans mirrored restrictions by the FCC and Federal Aviation
Administration on the use of cellphones on airplanes, which emerged out of
fear that the gadgets could interfere with flight communications. But the
issue of whether and how wireless devices affect other electronic equipment
is unresolved. Research on the subject is limited, though there is growing
evidence that today's lower-power, digital cellphones aren't as likely as
older models to be a problem for medical equipment, especially if they
aren't in close proximity.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110600365946928266,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

QUICKLY

FCC REJECTS MOTOROLA'S OBJECTION TO LOW POWER RADIO
Motorola complained to the FCC that certain applicants proposing to operate
on channels 62-69 would negatively impact the ability of public safety
entities to deploy their systems on these channels. The FCC ruled that
Motorola's opposition is speculative and unsupported. Motorola offers no
specific information to suggest that any of the facilities proposed in the
applications will cause interference to other Commission licensees. In
essence, Motorola's opposition is a late-filed attempt to seek
reconsideration of the Commission's earlier determination
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-83A1.doc

REPORT ON COMCAST RATES
How much should Comcast charge for basic services? Two consultants compared
what the cable giant does charge and estimates what it should charge. There
results are at the URL below.
[SOURCE: RiedelCommunications, AUTHOR: Garth Ashpaugh and Dick Treich]
http://www.riedelcommunications.com/images/Final_AS_FRC_Comcast_2004_Nat...
Also see http://www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com/ for commentary.

MEASURING LITERACY IN A WORLD GONE DIGITAL
The Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit group behind the SAT,
Graduate Record Examination and other college tests, has developed a new
test -- the Information and Communications Technology literacy assessment
-- that it says can assess students' ability to make good critical
evaluations of the vast amount of material available to them. The test is
intended to measure students' ability to manage exercises like sorting
e-mail messages or manipulating tables and charts, and to assess how well
they organize and interpret information from many sources and in myriad forms.
[SOURCE: New York Times 1/17, AUTHOR: Tom Zeller]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/technology/17test.html
(requires registration)

NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS: FOX'S BOTTOM LINE
A brief look at how Fox network television programs are responding to
stepped-up indecency enforcement from the FCC. No more naked cartoon baby
butts.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16857-2005Jan17.html
(requires registration)

VERISIGN HAS CHALLENGERS TO RUN .NET DOMAIN
NeuStar, a Sterling (VA) company that runs .biz, Afilias, which manages
.info and a nonprofit firm in Frankfurt, Denic eG, which manages Germany's
eight million registered .de domain names are all lining up to bid against
VeriSign for the .net franchise which VeriSign currently controls but ends
on June 30. While .net is not as ubiquitous as .com, it has more than five
million registered domain names, which translates daily into millions of
page views, 155 billion e-mail messages and some $1.4 million in commercial
transactions
[SOURCE: New York Times 1/17, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Olson]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/technology/17domain.html
(requires registration)

FUJI TV TO LAUNCH RADIO BID
Fuji Television Network currently holds a 12.39% stake in Nippon
Broadcasting System, but will offer up to $1.67 billion for shares of
Nippon and may aim to turn the radio broadcaster into a wholly owned unit.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Natsuo Nishio
natsuo.nishio( at )dowjones.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110598864386327970,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

INTELSAT LOSES USE OF SATELLITE
Global satellite operator Intelsat Ltd. has permanently lost one of its
orbiting spacecraft because of an electrical failure, prompting the company
to announce plans to take a non-cash charge of $73 million. The satellite
provided communications services in the South Pacific and some service
areas were without voice and data communications yesterday. The satellite's
failure gives the planned buyer of Intelsat, Zeus Holdings Ltd., the right
to back out of the deal. Zeus has told Intelsat it is evaluating the impact
of the satellite's loss. The deal was to have been completed by the end of
the first quarter.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Justin Blum]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16676-2005Jan17.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.
--------------------------------------------------------------

If you can stop envisioning whirled peas for a moment, today's a chance to
think about the Future of Digital Public Service Media
(http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=event&EveID=446). For this and
other upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

MEDIA & POLITICS
Critics Question No-Bias Finding By CBS Panel
Group FOIA's Feds Over Propaganda
Staples, Activists in Battle of Words

CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
Kraft to Curb Snack-Food Advertising
FTC Wins Order to Shut Down Spam From Adult Web Sites
Nation's Consumer Advocates file Federal Appeal to Protect Internet
Telephone Customers
Watchdog Sets Sights on a la Carte
PUC Delays Vote on Axing Telecom 'Bill of Rights'

WIRELESS
Largent Expects Very Busy Year for CTIA

109th CONGRESS
Significance of Senate Communications Subcommittee Questioned
Content Owners, Fair Use Advocates Prep for New Copyright Fight

E-RATE
FCC Overturns E-Rate Rule
eRate Delays Require More Work, Creativity

OWNERSHIP
Viacom Considers Buying Cable Networks, Selling Smaller-Market TV
Stations

QUICKLY
$weet Charity
Hill's Rothschild Heads to Verizon
Debra Tica Sanchez, APTS Director of Government Affairs
OC, Inc: The Untold Story

MEDIA & POLITICS

CRITICS QUESTION NO-BIAS FINDING BY CBS PANEL
It may be hard to prove bias, but critics of an independent panel's report
on Memogate think there was evidence. The report lists a five-year pursuit
of the Guard story by Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes; the use of
strongly anti-Bush sources; and Mapes's call to Joe Lockhart, which put the
John Kerry campaign adviser in touch with Bill Burkett, the source of the
suspect Guard documents about President Bush's military service. But was it
bias or just a competitive push to get the story on the air? Hard-charging
reporters, by their nature, push to get stories on the air or in print,
sometimes against the reservations of their superiors. They are trained to
see patterns, connect the dots, nail down the case against the politician
or businessman in their sights. No one wins fame, fortune and journalism
prizes by sitting on an explosive report.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2148-2005Jan11.html
(requires registration)
Similar story in WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110548655355523361,00.html?mod=todays...
USAToday:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050112/d_mediamix12.art.htm
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-cbs12jan12,1,6064...
(Editorial)
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-rather12jan12,1,...
Christian Science Monitor:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0112/p03s01-usgn.html

GROUP FOIA'S FED OVER PROPAGANDA
Following revelations that the Bush administration paid a conservative
commentator and columnist to tout the president's "No Child Left Behind"
program, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a citizens' watchdog
group, has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with 22 federal
agencies seeking contracts with public-relations firms that might have set
up similar arrangements. "How extensively has the administration used
propaganda to shore up its controversial policies?" asked Melanie Sloan,
executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
a non-profit group dedicated to holding public officials to high standards
of behavior. "Did it pay any commentators to speak out in support of the
Patriot Act? Is it paying anyone now to convince the public that Social
Security is in crisis? By filing these FOIAs, we hope to answer these
questions."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA495480?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Response for the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050110-8.html#4
More coverage of this issue in --
* NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/business/media/12adco.html
* USAToday (Lawmakers call for 'propaganda' probe)
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050112/a_capcol12.art.htm
Bush launches PR campaign to change Social Security -- The effort will be
similar to the one he used to pass his education bill, No Child Left
Behind, in 2001.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050112/a_social12.art.htm
* The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/edcut/index.mhtml?bid=7&pid=2118
* BlackAmericaWeb.com
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/armstrongpayola
* Hollywood Reporter (Sinclair Broadcast Group is conducting an inquiry
into an appearance made on one of its news shows by pundit Armstrong Williams.)
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/brief_display.jsp?vnu_co...
* AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/20946/
* People for the American Way
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=16842

STAPLES, ACTIVISTS IN BATTLE OF WORDS
Media Matters for America last week claimed victory in its e-mail campaign
to persuade Staples to drop its ads from Sinclair's local television news
programs. But the announcement has led to denials, countercharges and even
legal threats by Staples, the activists and Sinclair. Staples contends that
it changed its advertising buying on its own, based on a routine and
seasonal media-buying process. MMFA claims Staples saw, edited and approved
its initial press release. Sinclair, meanwhile, claims that it is being
harassed by organizations with "far-left-leaning political agendas" that
have conducted "an ongoing Internet-based campaign of harassment." Citing
its 1st Amendment rights to control programming, Sinclair said, "continued
misrepresentation of the facts surrounding any company's advertising
practices regarding Sinclair stations constitutes 'trade defamation,' which
would entitle Sinclair to seek damages in a court of law." Although
activists are attempting to pressure Sinclair by pointing to its use of the
public airwaves, broadcasters aren't legally required to provide balance in
presenting political views, Sinclair spokesman and lawyer Barry Faber said.
"To us, it's not so much if [viewers] like the opinion, but are they tuning
in?" Faber said. "If you don't agree certain programming should be on the
air, don't watch it."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Lynn Smith]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-sinclair12jan12,1,700...
(requires registration)

CONSUMER PROTECTIONS

KRAFT TO CURB SNACK-FOOD ADVERTISING
Today the government is set to release new dietary guidelines, which are
expected to emphasize fruit and vegetables, whole grains, milk and
healthful fats such as those in nuts and olive oil. Meanwhile, Kraft Foods,
the nation's largest food company, is expected to announce that it will
curb its advertising of many popular snack food items to children under 12.
The maker of Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Kool-Aid and Oscar Mayer lunch meat will
begin phasing out ads for its less nutritious products on television and
radio shows and in print publications aimed at audiences of 6- to
11-year-olds. The company doesn't aim any media advertising at children
under 6. Kraft will not stop all promotions to young children; it will
still use cartoon characters in its products and packaging. It will also
continue to offer contests, prizes and other promotions as well as games on
its Web sites. And its traditional Lunchables and Kool-Aid products, as
well Oreos and other cookies, will still be advertised on TV and radio
shows and in magazines and other publications aimed at kids 12 and older.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caroline E. Mayer]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2266-2005Jan11.html
(requires registration)

FTC WINS ORDER TO SHUT DOWN SPAM FROM ADULT WEB SITES
The Federal Trade Commission filed civil charges against six companies and
five individuals in U.S. District Court in Nevada, accusing the defendants
of sending out sexually explicit e-mail solicitations without clear warning
labels, "unsubscribe" links and other information required by the 2003
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act,
commonly referred to as CAN-SPAM. Defendants can face fines of as much as
$250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for an organization. The case also is
notable because it targets "affiliate marketing," a common practice among
online adult-entertainment and mortgage companies where independent
spammers are hired to drive traffic to Web sites. "The message of this case
is that you are strictly liable for the practices of third parties who do
your marketing for you," said Eileen Harrington, director of the FTC's
Marketing Practices Division.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Christopher Conkey
christopher.conkey( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110546792517722953,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also --
USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050112/1b_spam12.art.htm
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=7295503
News.com:
http://news.com.com/FTC+sues+to+stop+porn+spammers/2100-1030_3-5532669.h...
NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/technology/12porn.html

NATION'S CONSUMER ADVOCATES FILE FEDERAL APPEAL TO PROTECT INTERNET
TELEPHONE CUSTOMERS
On November 9, the FCC decided that VoIP companies are to be exempt from
many state regulations that apply to other local and long-distance
telephone providers. On Tuesday, the National Association of State Utility
Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) appealed that decision which, unless
overturned, will restrict the ability of states to protect consumers who
use a broadband connection for their local and long-distance telephone
service. The advocates filed their appeal in the United States Court of
Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis. NASUCA believes the FCC order was
unreasonable and unlawfully takes away the ability for states to provide
consumer protection standards. Under the FCC's ruling, states are
prohibited from requiring VoIP companies to provide customers with access
to 9-1-1. The FCC also prohibits state utility commissions from
registration requirements that apply to traditional telephone companies.
Typically, states have existing service quality standards that registered
telephone companies must follow. NASUCA believes that states - not the FCC
- should determine the state consumer protections to which VoIP customers
are entitled. Beyond 9-1-1 and other public safety issues, service quality,
billing and dispute resolution are important areas for states to address.
NASUCA also believes that customers are entitled to receive understandable
contracts with clear disclosure of all fees before signing up for VoIP service.
[SOURCE: National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates Press
Release]
http://www.nasuca.org/newsroom/PR-nasuca%20voip%20appeal%201-11-05.doc
See text of appeal:
http://www.nasuca.org/filings/Vonage%20Petition%2001-11-05.pdf

WATCHDOG SETS SIGHTS ON A LA CARTE
The watchdog Parents Television Council is planning to lobby vigorously
this year for a la carte legislation that would give consumers the right to
choose and pay for only the cable programming they want in their homes.
"This is going to be the next indecency fight," said Lara Mahaney, PTC
director of corporate and entertainment affairs. "There is definitely a
rising tide of anger among consumers who simply want to get the Disney
Channel and they're forced to pay for and accept the likes of MTV and FX
into their homes." PTC is already urging its members to write lawmakers and
the FCC to support a la carte. It has also posted a PTC study that
documents off-color incidents gleaned from basic cable channels. "The cable
industry announced an initiative last year under which cable companies
agreed to provide free channel-blocking technology to customers who wish to
prevent specific channels from entering their home, which is a far better
solution than government regulation driving up prices while reducing choice
and diversity in media," said Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National
Cable & Telecommunications Association.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=26869
(requires free registration)

PUC DELAYS VOTE ON AXING TELECOM 'BILL OF RIGHTS'
Facing mounting criticism over a proposal to suspend sweeping new consumer
rights for phone customers, the California Public Utilities Commission
moved Tuesday to postpone a vote scheduled on the issue this week.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Tuesday joined various consumer
advocates in opposing the proposed suspension. His office filed papers
questioning "this haste" in a vote on suspending the rights or, in fact,
any need to suspend them at all. Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had
appointed two new members to the commission, earlier this week his office
indefinitely postponed their swearing-in scheduled for Tuesday. There is a
clear 2-1 majority for suspension of the rights until the new members take
office. Among the consumer advocacy groups opposing the suspension are The
Utility Reform Network, the Greenlining Institute and Disability Rights
Advocates.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: John Woolfolk
jwoolfolk( at )mercurynews.com ]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/10624957.htm
See also --
LATimes
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-puc12jan12,1,1754807....

WIRELESS

LARGENT EXPECTS VERY BUSY YEAR FOR CTIA
Former Member of Congress Steve Largent, President of CTIA, the lobbying
organization for wireless phone companies, is expecting a busy 2005. The
agenda includes intercarrier compensation, universal service, and a rewrite
of the telecom act. In December, the groups board approved the creation of
a "grassroots and a grass-tops organization" that will spend tens of
millions of dollars on a campaign to rally wireless users and industry
employees to lobby the states, the FCC and Congress against regulation and
taxation. The organization that will oversee the program will be completely
separate from CTIA, with its own board and budget. Carriers will support
the organization. "We haven't modeled" the new lobbying organization after
any other group, though it will be similar to outreach program on legal
reform set up by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he said. A major target of
the group will be fighting state regulation of wireless, which he described
as "anathema to our industry, which limits what we believe is a potentially
unlimited future."
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Howard Buskirk, Terry Lane]
(Not available online)

109th CONGRESS

SIGNIFICANCE OF SENATE COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE QUESTIONED
Incoming Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is
considering the Subcommittee on Communications. Sen Stevens would like to
keep those issues at the full committee level so that he can better control
the agenda. Many communications issues are often elevated to the full
committee level, as they were in the 108th Congress. The Communications
Subcommittee held no hearings on media ownership, indecency, DTV
transition, VoIP and several other high-profile communications issues in
the most-recent session. While the full Committee had 30
communications-related hearings last session, the Subcommittee had just 7
hearings, including two on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names &
Numbers (ICANN). Although some think the move by Sen Stevens is payback to
outgoing Commerce Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) who was thought to be pursing
the subcommittee chair, others see it as a way for Sen Stevens to grasp
jurisdiction over the communications industry since he was losing some
clout by relinquishing the powerful Appropriations Committee chairmanship.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)

CONTENT OWNERS, FAIR USE ADVOCATES PREP FOR NEW COPYRIGHT FIGHT
Fair use advocates and the content industry are gearing up for a rematch in
the 109th Congress. The last Congress failed to pass significant copyright
reform legislation despite a major effort by the music and movie business
lobbies. Both sides expect to see familiar issues trotted out again, though
there appears to be a new realization
that Congress is increasingly savvy about what's at stake. All eyes are on
the expected rewrite of the Telecom Act of 1996. "Telecom reform affects
all of information
technology because it is all about the ways we will communicate tomorrow,"
said Will Rodger, lobbyist for the Computer & Communications Industry
Association.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Randy Barrett]
(Not available online)
Also see:
Let a Thousand Googles Bloom (Commentary/Lawrence Lessig)
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-lessig12jan12,1,7...

E-RATE

FCC OVERTURNS E-RATE RULE
On Monday, the FCC released an appeal decision in which the Commission
overruled a procedure that the School and Library Division of the Universal
Service Administration Company has been using for more than two years
whereby it would treat "unsubstantiated" funding requests the same as
"ineligible requests" when applying the "30% Rule." If, for example, an
applicant filed a telephone funding request assuming $500/mo. in charges
but, when asked for supporting bills, could only produce $300 worth, the
SLD would deny the request because more than 30% of the original request
was unsubstantiated/ineligible. The FCC indicated that the 30% Rule should
apply only to strictly ineligible requests. Unsubstantiated requests should
be reduced, but not denied.
[SOURCE: E-Rate Central, AUTHOR: Winston Himsworth]
http://www.e-ratecentral.com/archive/Bulletins/Bulletins2004/29_2004Bull...
The FCC decision is available at:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-54A1.dochttp://h...

ERATE DELAYS REQUIRE MORE WORK, CREATIVITY
At least 3,300 applicants for E-rate funds still await a decision on
roughly $800 million to help pay for their 2004 Internet, telephone, and
internal wiring costs. The delay makes it difficult for these applicants to
apply for the 2005 program year before the Feb. 17 deadline. Consultants
have some important advice for schools and libraries awaiting those
decisions: Reapply now for discounts on these same products and services to
cover all your bases before the 2005 deadline passes.
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Cara Branigan]
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5457

OWNERSHIP

VIACOM CONSIDERS BUYING CABLE NETWORKS, SELLING SMALLER-MARKET TV STATIONS
"We are in the market for any good cable channels that are in our price
range," said Viacom Chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone, speaking at a Smith
Barney investor conference in Phoenix, though he admitted such networks are
a "rare commodity." At the same time, Viacom co-President and co-Chief
Operating Officer Leslie Moonves said the company may also sell off some of
its television stations in smaller markets, though he provided no details
of which properties could be put up for sale. Viacom owns 20 CBS stations
and 18 UPN stations. The pondering of a cable network acquisition comes as
the company rethinks the importance of its A-minus credit rating. Mr.
Redstone said Viacom is deciding whether to reduce its credit rating one
notch to BBB-plus to increase the company's leverage, have greater
borrowing capacity for such acquisitions and increase Viacom's share
buyback program.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Jay Sherman]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=7060
(requires free registration)

QUICKLY

$WEET CHARITY
Mayor Michael Bloomberg may sell Bloomberg L.P., the financial information
giant, in order to fund a philanthropic effort after he leaves public
office. Possible buyers include Microsoft, Toronto-based media giant
Thomson Corp, and GE. The company's value is estimated at $10 billion.
Mayor Bloomberg faces reelection this year.
[SOURCE: New York Post, AUTHOR: Keith Kelly]
http://www.nypost.com/business/38274.htm

HILL'S ROTHSCHILD HEADS TO VERIZON
Gregg Rothschild is leaving the House Commerce Committee to join Verizon
Communications' lobbying team. Rothschild became telecom and media adviser
to the committee's ranking Democrat, John Dingell (MI) in 2003. Previously
he was legislative director for Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA495562?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

DEBRA TICA SANCHEZ, APTS DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) announced Tuesday the
promotion of Debra Tica Sanchez to the position of Director of Government
Relations. Since joining APTS in July 2001, Ms Sanchez has played an
integral role in numerous legislative matters. She has primary
responsibility for legislation before key appropriations subcommittees and
education committees. As such, Ms. Sanchez manages APTS' efforts to secure
funding for education programs like Ready To Learn and Ready To Teach, for
CPB, Interconnection and the digital transition. She has also spearheaded
APTS efforts in rural services, legislation and funding. She previously
served as the Senior Federal Liaison for APTS.
[SOURCE: Association of Public Television Stations]
http://www.apts.org/news/Debra_Sanchez.cfm

OC, INC.: THE UNTOLD STORY
[Video] Reverend Everett Parker in the 1960s lead a campaign to open up the
airwaves to people of color and women. See how broadcasters, the FCC, and
other regulatory bodies were made accountable to including all segments of
society.
http://www.ucc.org/ocinc/
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------