February 2005

MEDIA & SOCIETY
Social Security Withholding PR Documents
Adelstein Says Media Mergers Deserve More Scrutiny than Telecom
Adelstein Fears Uproar Over Analog Cutoff
FCC Fines 3 TV Stations for Violating Closed Caption Rules
Black History and Ads Don't Mix, Activists Say
Adelphia Nixes Triple-X

INTERNET
Ads Embedded in Online News Raise Questions
Online Ad Spending Hits New High
Groups Send Letters to States in Support of Municipal Broadband
Wireless's New Hookup
The Latest Initiative in Congress: Blogging

TELECOM
FCC Finds That AT&T Unlawfully Avoided Paying Universal Service and
Access Fees On Its Prepaid Calling Cards
European Telecoms Are Leading Push For Convergence
Qwest Moves Closer To New Bid for MCI
Consumer Groups Call for Hearings on Telecom Merger Wave

QUICKLY -- Airwaves for All; LA Radio Market; Clear Channel, Stern end=20
Legal Dispute; Is Cablevision for Sale?; FCC's Digital Must Carry Decision=
=20
Released

MEDIA & SOCIETY

SOCIAL SECURITY WITHHOLDING PR DOCUMENTS
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) claims that the=
=20
Social Security Administration is withholding documents regarding its $1.8=
=20
million contract with PR firm Fleischman-Hillard and possibly information=20
on other contracts. CREW filed requests for documents in January after the=
=20
Department of Education confirmed that it paid TV commentator and columnist=
=20
Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote the Bush Administration=92s No Child=
=20
Left Behind program. CREW then filed FOIA requests with Social Security and=
=20
21 other federal agencies to learn whether they had similar contracts to=20
promote White House initiatives. The Freedom of Information Act requires=20
federal agencies to respond to FOIA requests within 20 days, but SSA has=20
not responded to CREW=92s request. CREW charges that the Social Security=20
Administration, which is obligated to act independently of White House=20
legislative initiatives, has been using taxpayer dollars to push the Bush=20
Administration=92s controversial plan to let workers invest a portion of=20
their Social Security contributions on Wall Street.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505968?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

ADELSTEIN SAYS MEDIA MERGERS DESERVE MORE SCRUTINY THAN TELECOM
Media mergers need to be held to a higher level of scrutiny than telecom=20
acquisitions, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein told reporters at a news=
=20
conference Wed. =93It has a direct impact on our free exchange of ideas and=
=20
on our very democracy. The other mergers have impacts on our marketplace,=94=
=20
he said. Until there is certainty in the marketplace of the impact on=20
mergers, no more mergers or waivers should be granted unless the companies=
=20
prove that what they=92re doing is serving the public interest, Commissioner=
=20
Adelstein said. =93It=92s so important that we don't allow any additional=20
mergers to take place until we know the broader impact on the media=20
industry and the
people who rely on that for a diversity of ideas.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins, Edie Herman]
(Not available online)

ADELSTEIN FEARS UPROAR OVER ANALOG CUTOFF
Consumers left without television service due to a poorly planned=20
digital-TV transition would react harshly, Federal Communications=20
Commission member Jonathan Adelstein said Wednesday. The FCC has a plan,=20
currently on hold, that calls for ending the digital-TV transition Dec. 31,=
=20
2008. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) favors=
=20
Dec. 31, 2006, and he is close to introducing a bill that may include that=
=20
date. But Commissioner Adelstein shares the view with some on Capitol Hill=
=20
that Congress and the FCC need to ensure that 73 million analog-TV sets=20
(including 45 million in homes that do not subscribe to cable and=20
satellite) do not go dark once analog-TV service is turned off. =93I think=
if=20
there is a cutoff of analog service, we=92re going to have an amazing uproar=
=20
from the public if there is not really a lot of effort made to prepare the=
=20
public and give them the tools they need to be able to receive television=20
signals in their homes,=94 Commissioner Adelstein told reporters
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA506167.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

FCC FINES 3 TV STATIONS FOR VIOLATING CLOSED CAPTION RULES
For the first time, the FCC proposed to fine three San Diego TV stations a=
=20
total of $65,000 for violating the Commission=92s emergency closed=
captioning=20
rules. McGraw-Hill, licensee of KGTV (Ch. 10, ABC); Midwest TV, licensee of=
=20
KFMB-TV (Ch. 8, CBS); and Channel 51, licensee of KUSI-TV (Ch. 51, UPN)=20
were each fined for their coverage of a wildfires emergency in San Diego in=
=20
2003. The wildfires caused loss of life, injuries and extensive property=20
damage, the FCC said. The stations failed to make accessible, in a timely=20
manner, to persons with hearing disabilities emergency information that=20
they provided aurally in their programming, the Commission said. As video=20
programming distributors, the stations are required to provide the deaf=20
with the same access to such information that they provide to listeners=20
either through a method of closed captioning or by using another method of=
=20
visual presentation, such as crawls or scrolls on the screen.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
See the Notices --
Midwest Television:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-455A1.doc
Channel 51 of San Diego:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-456A1.doc
McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-457A1.doc
Additional coverage --
* B&C:=20
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA506005?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

BLACK HISTORY AND ADS DON'T MIX, ACTIVISTS SAY
Advertisements tout laxatives, cars, even yoga classes under the guise of=20
paying homage to African American history. Educators and some civil rights=
=20
activists say they are bothered by what they consider exploitation of a=20
season meant to honor the contributions of black Americans. But marketing=20
experts say the trend is not surprising in a nation that once considered=20
draping advertising banners across the base of the Statue of Liberty.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Avis Thomas-Lester]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48571-2005Feb23.html
(requires registration)

ADELPHIA NIXES TRIPLE-X
X and XX are OK, but XXX is getting nixed on Adelphia Communications cable=
=20
systems. The Los Angeles Times reported Feb. 2 that the company had=20
broadened that lineup to include XXX-rated films, but after receiving=20
criticism, Adelphia will change course again. Adult films are among the=20
most profitable products cable and satellite TV operators sell. They earn=20
relatively low profit margins on their basic plans, but keep 80%-90% of the=
=20
money from adult programming sales.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Jim Finkle]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505973?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

INTERNET

ADS EMBEDDED IN ONLINE NEWS RAISE QUESTIONS
Using an online news article's words as ads poses new questions for=20
reporters and their publishers, said Aly Col=F3n, who teaches ethics at the=
=20
Poynter Institute, a journalism education organization. The biggest risk,=20
he said, may be turning off readers. "If we want to be taken seriously for=
=20
the work that we do as journalists, we should try to devise a way of=20
presenting our material so the users, the readers, know that we are first=20
and foremost about the news," he said. Forbes.com recently experimented,=20
but dropped the practice citing reporters' unease. But the New York Post=20
has started linking ads to article text.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nat Ives]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/business/media/24post.html
(requires registration)

ONLINE AD SPENDING HITS NEW HIGH
Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Internet Advertising Bureau=20
finds that Internet advertising grew to a new high of $2.7 billion in the=20
fourth quarter of 2004. Estimates for all of 2004 online revenue totaled=20
just under $9.6 billion -- a 32% increase over the $7.3 billion spent in=20
2003. That tops the biggest previous ad spend year until now -- the dot-com=
=20
boom year 2000 when annual ad revenue reached $8.1 billion. The fourth=20
quarter of 2004 spiked nearly 24% over the same quarter in 2003, when it=20
was $2.2 billion. And, the total online ad spend is 17% higher than it was=
=20
in the third quarter of 2004, when it was $2.3 billion. The estimated ad=20
spend total is reached by surveying and aggregating 2004 fourth-quarter=20
data from the top 15 online ad sellers.
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Kris Oser]
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=3D44383

GROUPS SEND LETTERS TO STATES IN SUPPORT OF MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
A group of 67 national organizations, community networking projects, and=20
regional, state and local groups from across the U.S. sent a letter in=20
support of community Internet and municipal broadband to states considering=
=20
banning such services. =93The signatories to this letter oppose any state or=
=20
federal policies that would impose a blanket ban or significant impediment=
=20
to any city, county or state entity from providing broadband services to=20
their citizens,=94 the letter said. The signatories called on all states=20
considering such legislation to =93reject it as harmful to the interests of=
=20
their citizens.=94 The letter rebutted the municipal broadband opponents=92=
=20
argument of governments monopolizing broadband or discriminating against=20
competing private networks. =93Every signatory to this letter agrees that=20
federal, state and local policies should encourage deployment of broadband=
=20
networks in a competitive and technologically neutral manner,=94 the letter=
=20
said: =93The reality has been that local governments only spend money to=20
build systems when they believe a need exists, and that these local systems=
=20
encourage private companies to deploy and invest in competitive systems.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Susan Polyakova]
(Not available online)
See also --
* Citizens' Group Defends Rights Of Cities To Build; Networks
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew "Don't call me Crew" Clark]
http://www.drewclark.com/
* Profiles of Municipal and Community Broadband Networks
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Ben Scott, Free Press and Naveen=20
Lakshmipathy, Kartik Ramachandran, and Matt Barranca, New America=
Foundation]
http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Doc_File_2245_1.pdf

WIRELESS'S NEW HOOKUP
Thanks in part to a whimsically named wireless connection technology called=
=20
ZigBee, homes, PCs, automobiles, and even certain branches of government=20
may all function very differently in the not-too-distant future. ZigBee is=
=20
a new networking standard that allows a variety of low-power devices to=20
communicate over an unregulated portion of the radio spectrum. It stands to=
=20
join a crowded wireless technology field that already includes cell-phones,=
=20
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and others. But unlike those other standards, ZigBee can=20
run for years on inexpensive batteries, eliminating the need to be plugged=
=20
into electrical power. Hence, it holds huge promise in such areas as energy=
=20
conservation, home automation and agriculture. Although ZigBee's underlying=
=20
radio-communication technology isn't revolutionary, it goes well beyond=20
single-purpose wireless devices, such as garage door openers and "The=20
Clapper" that turns light on and off. It allows wireless two-way=20
communications between lights and switches, thermostats and furnaces,=20
hotel-room air-conditioners and the front desk, and central command posts.=
=20
It travels across greater distances and handles many sensors that can be=20
linked to perform different tasks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: William M. Bulkeley=20
bill.bulkeley( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110920408888362616,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)

THE LATEST INITIATIVE IN CONGRESS: BLOGGING
Blogging, the Web-based craft of diary-keeping and commentary, is taking=20
root on Capitol Hill. The nonprofit Congressional Management Foundation,=20
which helps educate Congress on running its business, says at least four=20
members -- Representatives Mike Pence (R-Indiana), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and=20
Katherine Harris (R-Fla), and Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) -- have taken=
=20
up the task on a continuing basis. (Others have used temporary blogs to=20
document trips, said Brad Fitch, the foundation's deputy director.) The=20
Congressional bloggers praise the power, popularity and potential of=20
blogging, citing it as one of the most frequently visited parts of their=20
Congressional Web sites. While popular political blogs like Wonkette, MyDD=
=20
and Daily Kos serve as an alternative to traditional news sources and allow=
=20
their authors to purvey commentary, Congressional blogs are extremely tame.=
=20
In many cases, staff members -- not the legislators themselves - post=20
entries, and they rarely link to other blogs, as most blogs do.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Wingfield]
http://tech.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/technology/circuits/24cong.html
(requires registration)

TELECOM

FCC FINDS THAT AT&T UNLAWFULLY AVOIDED PAYING UNIVERSAL SERVICE & ACCESS=20
FEES ON ITS PREPAID CALLING CARDS
Bad AT&T. Bad. Bad. Bad. The Federal Communications Commission today found=
=20
that AT&T unlawfully avoided paying millions of dollars of universal=20
service contributions and other fees related to a long-distance calling=20
card service marketed by the company. The Commission rejected an assertion=
=20
by AT&T that its practice of inserting advertisements in the calling card=20
service transformed it into an unregulated "information service" not=20
subject to universal service assessments. The advertisements are=20
incidental to the underlying telecommunications service offered to the=20
cardholder, the Commission found, and do not change the regulatory status=20
of the service. The Commission ordered AT&T to file revised universal=20
service contributions forms for the entire period that AT&T has provided=20
its calling card service. In its November 2004 filings with the Securities=
=20
and Exchange Commission, AT&T reported that it had avoided $160 million in=
=20
universal service contributions on the card since 1999.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256921A1.doc
* Text of Order:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A1.doc
Statements from Commissioners --
* Powell: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A2.doc
* Copps: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A3.doc
* Adelstein:=
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A4.doc
* Reaction from Senate Commerce Committee:
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=3D232531
In a related story, the FCC is fining Zoo.com $20,000 for not making=20
universal service contributions for prepaid long distance service.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-449A1.doc
More coverage --
* WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48740-2005Feb23.html
* WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110920354500762586,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
* USAToday:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050224/2b_fcc24.art.htm

EUROPEAN TELECOMS ARE LEADING PUSH FOR CONVERGENCE
Many companies are working on dual-mode handsets that can easily switch=20
between fixed-line networks and cellphone networks, depending on which is=20
more accessible. After technical glitches that delayed the project by about=
=20
a year, British fixed-line operator BT Group plans to launch its service=20
with the new handsets, dubbed Bluephone, this spring in conjunction with=20
mobile-phone company Vodafone Group. If successful, it could spur U.S.=20
carriers to follow suit. European operators have been chipping away at the=
=20
idea of convergence in other ways. In the fall, Swiss telecom company=20
Swisscom began selling a card that plugs into a laptop PC to provide=20
broadband access via a Wi-Fi hotspot when a customer is, for example,=20
waiting in a hotel lobby. The hotspot provides a wireless connection over a=
=20
short distance to reach the fixed-line network. If the customer leaves the=
=20
hotel and hops into a cab, the card maintains the same broadband=20
connection, but this time through a connection with an advanced cellular=20
network.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Gabriel Kahn gabriel.kahn( at )wsj.com,=20
Serena Saitto serena.saitto( at )dowjones.com & Cassell Bryan-Low=20
cassell.bryan-low( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110920088394362526,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)

QWEST MOVES CLOSER TO NEW BID FOR MCI
Expect a modified bid for MCI from Qwest as early as today. A rising number=
=20
of shareholders are urging MCI to consider any new Qwest bid. Yesterday,=20
Elliot Associates LP, which owns about 2.72 million MCI shares, said in a=20
letter to MCI's board that it was displeased with the proposed Verizon deal=
=20
(Verizon won with a lower bid than Qwest) and wants MCI to consider any=20
subsequent bid by Qwest.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Almar Latour almar.latour( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110921238181362848,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_money_and_investing
(requires subscription)
See also --
* Qwest Displays Tenacity in MCI Bid
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-qwest24feb24,1,360597...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business

CONSUMER GROUPS CALL FOR HEARINGS ON TELECOM MERGER WAVE
Citing the acceptance of a lower bid and the unique competitive threat of=20
the proposed Verizon-MCI merger, two of the nation=92s largest consumer=20
groups sent A letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee calling for=20
immediate investigations into the merger wave in the telecommunications=20
industry.Text of letter available at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/001888.html...
e

QUICKLY

AIRWAVES FOR ALL (2nd item)
A new report to be released today by the Center for the Public Integrity, a=
=20
nonpartisan research group, found that MS Communications LLC holds licenses=
=20
to operate 203 low-power television stations around the country, the=20
second-largest collection of such licenses after the state of Alaska. But=20
MS Communications has yet to broadcast any programming. Mark Silberman, the=
=20
company's managing partner, says he wants to offer service in underserved=20
areas, but he has been unable to due to regulatory uncertainty at the FCC.=
=20
"It's the uncertainty and they keep changing the rules," he said. He said=20
that many of the channels his licenses are for could be used for other=20
purposes, so he has had to find new markets with less potential=20
uncertainty. "I've been working on this for 13 years. I'm 72 and I've made=
=20
no progress."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ann Grimes]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110919790726662457,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
* Two-hundred Channels and Nothing on -- Literally
http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid=3D602&sid=3D200

FCC RULES MAY FORCE INDIE 103.1 FM TO CHANGE ITS TUNE
Although Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1 is owned by Entravision=20
Communications, a Santa Monica-based Spanish-language media company, it=20
went on the air 14 months ago under a so-called joint sales agreement with=
=20
Clear Channel, the largest radio station operator in the U.S. and the owner=
=20
of eight stations in the L.A. market. Under the joint sales agreement,=20
Clear Channel's advertising staff sold time on Indie 103.1 at rates lower=20
than those offered by the region's dominant rock powerhouse, KROQ-FM=20
(106.7), which is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. Clear Channel's=20
salespeople also pitched ad time in bundled deals with its other stations,=
=20
such as KIIS-FM (102.7) and KBIG-FM (104.3). Revised Federal Communications=
=20
Commission regulations redefine joint sales agreements in such a way that=20
Indie 103.1 constitutes Clear Channel's ninth station in the market, and=20
federal media rules bar any company from owning more than eight. Clear=20
Channel will end the agreement April 1. Rolling Stone magazine has dubbed=20
Indie 103.1 "America's coolest commercial station."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Geoff Boucher]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indie24feb24,1,408475...
ry?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

CLEAR CHANNEL, STERN DROP SUITS
Last June, Howard Stern sued Clear Channel seeking $10 million in licensing=
=20
fees he said Clear Channel should have paid him after it dropped his radio=
=20
show in February amid indecency concerns. He also said Clear Channel=20
violated the terms of its contract by not notifying him that it was=20
dropping the show. Clear Channel, of San Antonio, countersued for $3=20
million in July, saying Mr. Stern violated the contract by not conforming=20
to federal decency standards. The suits were filed in U.S. District Court=20
for the Southern District of New York. But both sides now say "No blood, no=
=20
foul;" they have asked the court to drop both cases with prejudice, meaning=
=20
they can't refile their suits. Neither side is admitting wrongdoing.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110921553953862914,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)

IS CABLEVISION ON THE BLOCK?
With the sale of Rainbow DBS=92 satellite assets, a recent ownership=20
restructuring with News Corp and a high stock price, speculation continues=
=20
that Cablevision may be for sale.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA505991.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
* Dolan: Cablevision Considering Sale of Rainbow Channels
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7348

The FCC released the Dual and Multicast Carriage Issues Report and Order
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-27A1.doc
--------------------------------------------------------------
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

TELEVISION
Enemies Sharpen Their Knives
Hammer In The House
Life Goes On, Sans Multicast
Running Out of Air
Network News Slowing HDTV Conversion
New Hope on TV's 'Bubble'
Bertelsmann Unit Plans Pay-TV Move
Regulation Machinations
100 Top Local Cable Systems

MEDIA & SOCIETY
Time for Bush to Define 'Independent Press'
An Incomplete Grade
Test of Decency Rules Likely
Who Framed Buster Rabbit? The Fallout Continues
News Media Grope for the Right Formula

TELECOM
Telecom Shootout
The Telephonosaurus
In Tiny Towns, New Call Options Shake Up an Old Phone System
Chokepoint: You Pay for Deregulation
Telecom Suppliers, Pick a Partner

INTERNET
UN Panel Aims to End Internet Tug of War by July
High-Tech Tension Over Illegal Uses
More Americans have Home Computer Networks

FROM THE BLOG-O-SPHERE

QUICKLY

TELEVISION

ENEMIES SHARPEN THEIR KNIVES
The National Association of Broadcasters has built a record of near
invincibility on Capitol Hill under the leadership of President Eddie
Fritts. But lawmakers on Capitol Hill and public advocates vowed to make
Fritts' last year on the job a painful one by crushing NAB's top
legislative goal: guaranteeing TV stations cable carriage for each of the
multiple channels that going digital allows them to offer. NAB's
predicament is partly a result of intensified public scrutiny following
uproars over media consolidation and indecency. Also, broadcasters are
sitting on a valuable slice of communications spectrum that Congress
desperately wants to reclaim for new technologies. As the digital cable
carriage debate moves to Congress, the NAB is hopeful of a victory. Fritts
predicts Congress and the NAB will work out a package deal giving
broadcasters multicasting-carriage rights in return for a firm deadline for
going all-digital and returning their old analog channels to the
government. Fritts counters barbs about broadcasters' lack of political
coverage and dismissed the Lear study as unfair. "The question isn't
whether we serve the public interest but whether we do it the way these
groups want it done."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505337?display=News&referral=...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

HAMMER IN THE HOUSE
The House could vote before summer on legislation designed to complete --
by the end of 2006 -- television broadcasters' digital transition, a
proposal endorsed by the cable industry, opposed by TV broadcasters and
feared by plenty of lawmakers who envision brigades of angry consumers
charging up Capitol Hill. The bill will likely include hard date for the
termination of analog broadcasting, coupled with a program that would
subsidize set-top boxes for homes that rely solely on free, over-the-air
broadcasting. The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report
Thursday that converter-box subsidies alone would cost between $460 million
and $10.6 billion, depending on set-top prices, whether Congress limits the
subsidy to low-income households and whether Congress allowed cable and
satellite homes to participate. The GAO also found that 48% of homes that
are broadcast-only have annual incomes below $30,000, while 29% of cable
and satellite homes had incomes below that level. It also found that
minorities rely solely on broadcast more that whites do.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA505415.html&referral=SUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

LIFE GOES ON, SANS MULTICAST
Having lost the digital must carry vote at the FCC, what's next for
broadcasters? 1) On Capitol Hill, broadcasters are lobbying Congress to
overturn the FCC decision, but it's unclear whether stations will need to
surrendered their analog spectrum on a specific date in order obtain
expanded cable carriage rights. 2) USDTV Inc. repeated last week it is
about 30 days away from announcing that major TV station groups plan to
take control of the company, which pools DTV spectrum in a market to
provide a low-cost, bare-bones wireless cable service for $19.95 a
month. 3) Paxson Communications is considering asking the FCC to permit TV
stations to use another modulation besides 8 VSB (vestigial sideband) in
order to use excess capacity for new, non-video services.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA505420.html?display=Top+Stories&re...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

RUNNING OUT OF AIR
As the TV business converts to digital technology, stations can broadcast a
primary video feed and have spare capacity for another three to five
channels. TV stations could then pool their spare capacity to create a mini
wireless cable system. Subscribers with a special set-top box could see a
dozen or so cable channels -- plus all the local digital-broadcast
services, even if they don't have a high-priced digital TV. Sounds like a
great way to compete with cable and satellite, right? But a year after two
industry executives announced plans to help broadcasters make this use of
digital technology, their proposals are floundering. Networks aren't
convinced that this broadcast wireless cable is the answer. Network
executives say NBC is willing to toss in a couple of stations but no money.
CBS is riveted on offering more HD, not me-too cable. ABC is hesitant but
more receptive since its Moviebeam movies-on-demand venture has stalled out.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505351.html?display=News&refe...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

NETWORK NEWS SLOWING HDTV CONVERSION
Veteran telecom lawyer Thomas Gibbon told the Society of Satellite
Professionals International last week that one major hurdle to the
transition to digital TV is the networks' reluctance to do news programing
in high definition (HDTV). "There will be some important worldwide news
event that somebody is going to broadcast in HD and that HD news coverage
is going to galvanize the world's attention to such an extent that
broadcast executives, commercial advertisers and viewers are going to
demand that the news goes HD," Gibbon forecasted. "At that point, the
conversion to HD will be fully completed." Although he's unsure of when the
transition will occur, he said "it's going to be a lot faster than anyone
is predicting right now." ABC does special event coverage in HDTV, but CBS
and NBC do not use the technology yet.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes, Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)

NEW HOPE ON TV's 'BUBBLE'
Audience size still matters a lot in prime-time network television. But now
other factors are influencing the cancellation decision. DVDs have become
such a gold mine -- profit margins reach 50% -- that broadcasters are
increasingly open to the idea of keeping a ratings-challenged show on the
air, especially one with a fanatical core of fans, in order to generate
more episodes to sell later on DVD. Other nascent income streams --
on-demand services, and downloadable episodes sold on the Internet like
songs -- also are giving consumers more direct power in programming
decisions. So forget writing letters, says James Webster, senior associate
dean at Northwestern University's School of Communication. "Show networks
how wide your wallet opens," he advises. The DVD option wouldn't have been
possible without a 1993 Federal Communications Commission ruling relaxing
ownership rules for TV shows. For the first time in decades, big
broadcasters were allowed to have a financial stake in prime-time shows on
their schedules. The ruling led to a flurry of mergers, with each of the
Big Four networks now linked with a studio. Before the ruling, back when
networks could air only shows produced by outsiders, they cared only about
selling ads. The show's value in the aftermarket, such as profits from
syndicated reruns, didn't matter to them. But now that networks own a
portion or all of the shows they air, outside producers frequently grumble
that network-owned shows have a different barometer of success. Network
chiefs insist they don't get paid to program with the financial interests
of their sister studios in mind. But a network executive who can figure out
how to keep a struggling show on the air to help the company's studio make
more money can win gold stars with the corporate bosses.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes brooks.barnes( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110903087731660353,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

BERTELSMANN UNIT PLANS PAY-TV MOVE
Using a mix of subsidies and political pressure, a number of European
countries including Germany, Italy, the U.K. and France, have been prodding
broadcasters and viewers to switch from analog systems to digital
television, which offers a crisper picture and more channels. The result,
analysts say, will be a fragmented television market similar to what has
evolved in the U.S., where the growth of cable and satellite forced the
once-dominant broadcast networks to compete with scores of niche channels.
To avoid losing viewers in a more splintered market, RTL Group, which
operates a network of 31 television channels spanning 10 European
countries, wants to supplement its free-TV offerings with pay channels. The
success of the plan, which could cement RTL Group's position as Europe's
top broadcaster, is crucial to the future Bertelsmann. RTL Group generates
more than 40% of Bertelsmann's profit and is its biggest division. In
Germany, public broadcaster ARD overtook RTL as the country's most-viewed
channel last year. The recent resurgence of the public broadcasters has
raised the hackles of RTL Group and ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, Germany's
other major commercial broadcaster. Both companies complain that public
channels have an unfair advantage because they are allowed to supplement
the mandatory monthly subscription fees from viewers with advertising.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Matthew Karnitschnig
matthew.karnitschnig( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110894972423659875,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

REGULATION MACHINATIONS
Phone giants SBC and Verizon have announced plans to invest billions to
upgrade their networks so they can offer video services to compete with
cable operators. But before the video war can actually begin, a bigger and
potentially more important battle is being fought over the very rules of
engagement. The telecos want to avoid working out franchise agreements with
local municipalities, arguing that their video offerings are just add-ons
to existing services. Local franchise fees will also cut into the "already
marginal returns" projected for video. But the worst impact would be the
"more democratic build-out" that cities would demand, rather than those
proposed by telcos, which want the ability to decide when and where to
build. Specifically, they'd like to limit their build to their current
telephone-service boundaries. City officials support greater competition
but want to retain local-enforcement authority. They fear cable and
telephone companies will reach an accord and share their political clout in
Congress to end all franchising.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA505310.html?display=Special+Report...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

100 TOP LOCAL CABLE SYSTEMS
Broadcasting&Cable and Multichannel News have published their annual list
of the top cable systems in the US.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: George Winslow]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505352?display=Supplement&ref...
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505353?display=Supplement&ref...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

MEDIA & SOCIETY

TIME FOR BUSH TO DEFINE 'INDEPENDENT PRESS'
[Commentary] At the same press conference at which Jeff Gannon/Guckert
lobbed his now famous softball to President Bush, the President also
answered questions about the Administration's paying reporters for positive
coverage, as the Education Department did with Armstrong Williams. "There
needs to be a nice independent relationship between the White House and the
press," President Bush said. The question is where Guckert fits into all
this. True, the White House didn't pay him for coverage, we assume. But how
exactly does he, and pseudo-reporters like him, qualify as journalists and
help create the "nice independent relationship" the President says he
seeks? Guckert's Talon News is essentially a "news" mouthpiece for a
conservative advocacy website called GOPUSA - that's GOP, as in Grand Old
Party. The editor in chief of Talon is president of GOPUSA. On the
conservative website Free Republic, Guckert called on others who use the
site to demonstrate at Kerry headquarters during the presidential campaign.
And many of his stories contained verbatim repeats of White House press
releases. Guckert crossed the line from having a bias to being a
propagandist and party activist. Online he was a White House ditto-machine
masquerading as reporter, and in the pressroom he was a safe place for
Scott McClellan to go when the White House press secretary needed a
lifeline during televised briefings. It may be time for the White House to
define some terms for all of us. What does a "nice independent
relationship" with the press really mean? It's easy to see how people like
Guckert fit with the "nice" part (at least from the White House
perspective); it's the "independent" part that's not clear.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Dante Chinni, Pew Project for
Excellence in Journalism]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s01-codc.html

AN INCOMPLETE GRADE
[Editorial] Broadcasting&Cable responds to the Lear Center study released
last week that finds that only 8% of more than 4,333 station newscasts
surveyed contained even one story about a local political race. B&C
contends that the study did not look at enough stations or enough of their
newscasts. The publication acknowledges that "some stations don't do enough
campaign coverage while making a boatload of money on campaign
commercials." But, it contends, the entire industry is being tarred by just
the few stations and times studied.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505408?display=Opinion&referr...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Lear researcher Martin Kaplan responds: "The time period for the month of
stories captured was 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm. This period was not chosen by
the researchers; it was picked by the industry itself. In the 1998 report
of the Gore Commission, a body co-chaired by CBS head Leslie Moonves,
broadcasters themselves chose the 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm time period, in the
month before an election, as the daypart for demonstrating their voluntary
commitment to meet the public interest obligation to cover
campaigns. Eleven markets of varying sizes were included in the 2004
study; they account for 23 percent of the nation's television viewers. The
2004 findings were consistent with the 2002 study of 122 stations in the
top 50 markets and the 2000 study of 74 stations in 58 markets. If the
industry or its apologists wants all stations, all markets and all dayparts
studied, it should make itself accountable to the public by disclosing its
news programming content online, and it should call on regulators to
conduct such studies. Maybe it should even fund them."

TEST OF INDECENCY RULES LIKELY
As Congress seeks to boost broadcast indecency penalties at least tenfold
to as much as $500,000 an incident, the industry is planning a legal
challenge in hopes of getting the Federal Communications Commission to more
clearly define what indecency is. Broadcasters haven't brought a major
indecency or obscenity case since 1978, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld
the FCC's authority to issue indecency fines. That case involved a Pacifica
radio station's airing in 1973 of comedian George Carlin's "Seven Words You
Can Never Say on Television" routine. FCC officials currently define
broadcast indecency as "patently offensive" material that depicts "sexual
or excretory organs or activities." Shows that are aired between 6 a.m. and
10 p.m., when children are likely to be in the broadcast audience, are
subject to enforcement. The legal challenge will focus on NBC's airing of
Bono's sexual expletive during an acceptance speech at the 2003 Golden
Globe awards show and the $1.18 million in fines levied in October against
Fox affiliates for airing a racy program called "Married by America." Fox
appears to want to challenge the idea that broadcasters can be treated
differently from other media.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jube Shiver Jr]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indecency22feb22,1,74...
(requires registration)

WHO FRAMED BUSTER RABBIT? THE FALLOUT CONTINUES
Barney Frank has fired off a scathing letter to Education Secretary
Margaret Spellings addressing a letter she sent to the head of PBS last
month in which she condemned a "Buster" episode because it showed actual
children who live with their lesbian moms. The letter let Secretary
Spellings know "how deeply I resent your profoundly degrading comments
about me and millions of other Americans." It continues: "You have said
that families should not have to deal with the reality of the existence of
same-sex couples, and the strong implication is that this is something from
which young children should be shielded. I am a gay man who has had strong
emotional relationships with men, and in each instance part of the joy of
that relationship has been sharing it with members of my extended family."
This includes 10 nieces, nephews and great-nephews, which, Frank said,
gives him firsthand experience of the effect learning of same-sex
relationships has on small children. "What I have experienced, directly
contrary to the basis on which you have condemned us as being unfit for
young eyes, bears out the song from 'South Pacific,' 'You've Got to Be
Taught to Hate,." Frank noted that no one, not even Spellings, has
suggested that anything particularly intimate was shown in the episode, "so
it is apparently simply the fact that two women love each other and live
together that you find so shocking that it is not fit to be broadcast."
Meanwhile, CPB and PBS are covering their tracks over the events that led
up to the censorship of Buster. CPB has no funds in the "Buster" series,
noted CPB President and CEO Kathleen Cox, and "I did not have any
conversation with [PBS President Pat Mitchell] where I was weighing in one
way or the other. She in passing mentioned the Buster situation some weeks
ago.... We have weekly calls where we talk about a lot of things, and I at
that point in time understood she and [WGBH President] Henry Becton were
going back and forth as to what appropriate edits there might be."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33612-2005Feb17.html
(requires registration)

NEWS MEDIA GROPE FOR THE RIGHT FORMULA
[Commentary] For better or worse, the one-size-fits-all media era is now
history. In the future, readers and viewers will be able to get only the
news and features they really want at a price they are willing to pay for
them. For those who are satisfied with a quick overview of the news, and
easily accessible data on everything from bowling scores to stock prices,
they'll find it free in newspapers and Web sites and TV channels supported
by advertisers seeking large audiences and low costs per reader for
reaching them. And those who need or want the most comprehensive and
sophisticated kind of news products, in print or video, will have to spend
a dollar a day or more to get a customized package delivered to their homes
or made available through their computers or cable modems. The advertising
supporting such higher-end products will be more expensive, and there's
likely to be less of it. It will take years of experimentation, involving
companies of all sizes and vintages, for the news media to refine the new
models and settle into a sustainable new structure. No doubt great fortunes
will be made or lost in the process. But in the end, I suspect, our
industry, like most others, will come to be dominated by a handful of
national and super-regional news organizations that can offer readers and
advertisers a full range of differently priced news products through a
variety of media.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Pearlstein]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33670-2005Feb17.html
(requires registration)

TELECOM

TELECOM SHOOTOUT
[Editorial] Telecom mergers are coming fast and furious these days, marking
the "end of the Al Gore-Reed Hundt 'managed competition' model for
telecommunications. And that's good news for consumers." The marketplace
would have long ago done away with long distance companies if regulators
had just stayed out of the way. Antitrust paranoids will fret that large
business customers could be hurt by the consolidation. But the national
networks of MCI and AT&T aren't duplicated by Verizon and SBC, making these
combinations more vertical than horizontal. The number of business-grade
networks isn't reduced, and business customers would still have an array of
choices. And anyway -- as any pundit will tell you today -- "the real
competition today is between cable and phone companies." The only potential
barrier to this flurry of pro-consumer competition is the talk in Congress
of reopening the nightmare of the 1996 Telecom Act. With so much ferment in
the industry, tinkering with the law now might freeze everyone in place as
companies wait for the politicians to act. Nevertheless, new Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens is calling for a major rewrite of
the act to consider whether, among other things, Internet telephony should
be regulated, contribute to the universal service fund that subsidizes
rural customers, and be taxed by states. Those are three excellent ways to
quell innovation and scare off investment capital. On the regulatory front,
meanwhile, President Bush's pick to replace FCC Chairman Michael Powell has
become even more important. Mr. Powell's deregulatory initiatives --
especially his efforts to roll back the network sharing rules -- have
helped lay the groundwork for the current spurt of creative consolidation.
Mr. Hundt taught us how much havoc the wrong bureaucrat can wreak. Choose
wisely, Mr. President.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110903441749860453,00.html?mod=todays...
See also --
Qwest Sets Its Sights Anew on MCI
Expect a new bid for MCI from Qwest this week.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110903203891660396,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/business/22phone.html

THE TELEPHONOSAURUS
[Commentary] Does the telecommunication industry have a future? There is
some money to be made in owning and managing the national data pipes. Phone
companies could be the leaders in exploiting the new wireless technologies
such as WiMax, except for the reluctance to cannibalize their existing
business, which is always a problem for incumbents. One advantage they
have, because of size and geographic reach, is that they can provide
seamless connection to the Internet whatever device the consumer has,
wherever he goes. Customers don't care how the bits get to them -- all they
care about is cost and functionality. If these carriers focused on
providing Web-tone with the same reliability that we expect from a
traditional telco (99.999% availability) they would be offering a service
that no one else can replicate. Telco's biggest competitors in the
enterprise market will likely be IBM, Accenture and increasingly Asian
service providers offering high quality, reliable service and tools, and
ongoing assistance to extract maximum value from information and
communications tools. On the consumer end, the future is in managements of
home networks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Don Tapscott]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110902664738560248,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

IN TINY TOWNS, NEW CALL OPTIONS SHAKE UP AN OLD PHONE SYSTEM
The notion of universal phone service dates back to the early 1900s.
Theodore Vail, then president of American Telephone & Telegraph Co.,
convinced President Woodrow Wilson the newly invented telephone would catch
on quicker if the country adopted a nationwide system similar to the one
used for mail. At the time, a number of companies were building phone
networks around the country, but the systems weren't connected. Allowing
one company to consolidate these networks as part of a
government-sanctioned monopoly would create uniformity, Mr. Vail argued. He
declared his vision "one system, one policy, universal service." But the
introduction of wireless and Internet-based telephone services are testing
the web of subsidies that have helped keep telephone service affordable in
isolated towns around the country. In the coming year, the Universal
Service Fund (USF) will spend some $3.6 billion subsidizing the price of
phone service to rural areas where the cost is high. That amount is
increasing in part because wireless companies are seeking more
disbursements from the fund as they push into rural areas. While wireless
companies paid about $1.8 billion into the USF in 2003, the industry
received only about $175 million out of it. But that number jumped to $323
million in 2004 as some 144 wireless companies became eligible for
government subsidies for service offered to rural customers. That number is
expected to exceed $440 million in 2005, FCC officials say. Congress will
begin a reform of universal service this year.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110902655249160243,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

CHOKEPOINT: YOU PAY FOR DEREGULATION
[Editorial] The dual waves of mergers and deregulation that are reshaping
the telecommunications industry add up to bad news for consumers' wallets.
Increasingly, consumers are faced with just two choices for their
high-speed Internet, telephone and television needs: the cable company and
the phone company. Most economists understand that two is not enough
competition to keep prices down and service quality up.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/10932329.htm

TELECOM SUPPLIERS, PICK A PARTNER
[Commentary] The massive wave of consolidation ripping through the
telecommunications industry presents a huge problem for the outfits that
design and build its equipment. After recent mergers are completed analysts
and industry observers expect to see the combined companies spending less
on networks and other core technologies. That means suppliers, too, face a
major consolidation -- and a struggle to survive. "Companies will perish on
their own or they will consolidate," says Wojtek Uzdelewicz, a telecom-gear
analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co. "They have no choice." A handful of winners
already has emerged in the four key telecom equipment markets: wireless
equipment, wireless handsets, wireline equipment, and equipment based on
Internet Protocol, known as IP. The remaining players are on shaky ground,
and will need to consider finding partners that can help to expand the
product portfolios and revenue bases they will need to survive.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Roger O. Crockett and Steve Rosenbush]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2005/tc20050217_2974_t...

INTERNET

UN PANEL AIMS TO END INTERNET TUG OF WAR BY JULY
A U.N.-sponsored panel aims to settle a long-running tug of war for control
of the Internet by July and propose solutions to problems such as cyber
crime and email spam. The panel, set up in December 2003, will lay
groundwork for a final decision to be taken in Tunis in November at a
U.N.-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society, where global
control of the world wide web may be decided. Right now, the most
recognizable Internet governance body is a California-based non-profit
company, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN). But developing countries want an international body, such as the
U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to have control over
governance -- from distributing Web site domains to fighting spam.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=7690529

HIGH-TECH TENSION OVER ILLEGAL USES
How should courts view technologies that have beneficial uses but also are
heavily used for illegal acts? Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court is
scheduled to hear arguments on whether a file-sharing service named
Grokster should be held liable for the millions of people around the world
who use it to illegally trade music, movies and software. The entertainment
industry is asking the court to rule that even though Grokster itself does
not engage in stealing files, the service is responsible because it is
predominantly used for theft and has done nothing to try to stop that use.
The prospect that the court might adopt this legal reasoning is sending
shudders through the technology and consumer electronics communities.
Hundreds of existing products could be threatened, they say. And they fear
that new products, and early funding, will die in the crib if the gear
might be co-opted by people wishing to use it improperly.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42401-2005Feb21.html
(requires registration)

MORE AMERICANS HAVE HOME COMPUTER NETWORKS
Internet users in households with multiple computers are increasingly
turning to home networks to manage their computing and online surfing at
home. According to a Pew survey last month, 46% of homes with more than one
computer said they had a home network of some sort. Among those networked
at home, half (52%) have wireless networks with the rest using cables to
network their homes. Fueling the growth in home networks appears to be
broadband and the use of laptop computers. Americans are building more
sophisticated computer environments at home in the quest for more mobility
and flexibility in their household Internet experience.
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: John Horrigan]
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/p/1048/pipcomments.asp

FROM THE BLOG-O-SPHERE

New York Times Swings Late, and Misses
The freshest news on the digital frontier may be the advent of Community
Internet -- low-cost, high-speed broadband services provided by municipal
governments and community groups via local networks. But don't tell it to
The New York Times' James Dao, who allowed himself to be spun by the
coin-operated Cato Institute without revealing the money behind their message.
[SOURCE: MediaCitizen, AUTHOR: Tim Karr]
http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/02/new-york-times-swings-late-and-...
See also --
Rizzo Digs Big Into A Black Hole
http://www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com/

The Hoisting of PBS' Head
Welcome to the Bush II era of media intimidation. This new political front
is turning "the chill that has already descended over our nation's media
into a deep freeze." But some media are suffering the cold worse than
others, which raises questions about selective targeting by
"conservo-drones" out to score political points against their nemeses in
the "liberal media," while awarding others with a pass.
[SOURCE: MediaCitizen, AUTHOR: Tim Karr]
http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/02/hoisting-of-pbs-head.html

Brent Gloats, Lawmakers Cower, Democracy Suffers
The passage last week of the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 is
due in large to the Parents Television Council's uncanny ability to
leverage the latest prime time "wardrobe malfunction" to mobilize hundreds
of thousands of letter writers. The resulting onslaught of email has
Congresspeople and FCC bureaucrats running for cover, in an apparent
inability to recall that document upon which our nation was built.
Certainly none in the majority were willing to stick their neck out on
behalf of our First Amendment and risk the wrath of the PTC, the American
Family Association and other blinkered zealots who rein over the chill
political climate that now pervades the Beltway.
[SOURCE: MediaCitizen, AUTHOR: Tim Karr]
http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/02/brent-gloats-lawmakers-cower-de...

Center for Creative Voices in Media Blog
Recent posts on: 1) Comcast using its own content to compete with
independent and non-Comcast cable nets. 2) the president of Americans for
Tax Reform called out many of his fellow right-wingers who want government
to regulate personal behavior and the content of movies, television and
music. 3) Tape delaying the Oscars.
[SOURCE: Center for Creative Voices in Media]
http://creativevoices.typepad.com/blog/

QUICKLY

Spectrum Wars
Generations ago, broadcasters got the right to use the airwaves -- now
worth billions of dollars -- for free. Ever since, they have used heavy
lobbying and political friendships to stave off rivals. But as the digital
age unfolds, change is in the air. (A long article -- worth the read to put
into perspective the battle over US airwaves.)
[SOURCE: National Journal's Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Crew Clark]
http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2005/0218njsp.htm

A look at the 154 programs President Bush's FY06 budget would reduce or
eliminate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42369-2005Feb21.html

Most stations would see their regulatory fees climb between 7% and 14%,
according to rates proposed by the FCC. Under the FCC proposed rates, for
instance, the 61 VHF stations in markets sized 11-25 would pay $44,675 per
station, up 7.2% from 2004.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505273.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras has named Jeffrey
Schmidt deputy director of the bureau of competition, where his job will
include helping to oversee merger investigations and to prepare enforcement
recommendations.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505389.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

Charles D. Gray, Executive Director of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), confirmed press reports that
NARUC President Marilyn Showalter would be stepping down as President upon
leaving her position as of early March as Chairwoman of the Washington
State Utilities and Transportation Commission.
http://www.naruc.org/displayindustryarticle.cfm?articlenbr=24342
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------

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

BROADCASTING/CABLE
Coalition Moves TV Public Interest Battle to Hill
House Raises Penalties for Airing Indecency
Parents Control Kids, TV Doesn't
Upton: Congress Might Address Multicasting
Radio Changes its Tune

MEDIA & POLITICS
Bush Administration Blurs Media Boundary
Conservatives and Rivals Press a Struggling PBS
PBS Chief: 'Buster' Didn't Boot Her
Broadcasters Seek a New Voice

INTERNET
Philadelphia Hopes for a Lead in the Wireless Race
Unbound Down Under
Probe Looks at Possible Web-Phone Blockage
Grants Help 131 Rural and Minority Public Radio Stations
Enhance Local Internet Services
Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction Closes, raising over $2 Billion

QUICKLY -- Why We Care about SpongeBob; Qwest & MCI; Telecom Mergers & Job=
=20
Market; FTC Approves MGM Purchase of Mandalay; New Report on Broadband over=
=20
Power Lines

BROADCASTING/CABLE

COALITION MOVES TV PUBLIC INTEREST BATTLE TO HILL
Broadcasters=92 failure to win multicast must-carry rules at the FCC=
provides=20
an opening to get public interest broadcasting laws adopted in Congress,=20
said members of the Public Interest, Public Airwave Coalition Wednesday.=20
The group already has found some =93sympathetic ears=94 on both sides of the=
=20
aisle, said Meredith McGehee,
Media Policy Program Director at the Campaign Legal Center. The coalition=20
is seeking rules that would require broadcasters to air 3 hours per week of=
=20
local, civic and electoral affairs programming between 7 a.m. and 11:35=20
p.m. on their principal channel, with at least 50% between 5 p.m. and 11:35=
=20
p.m. At least 75% of the programming would have to be first run on=20
non-principal channels. =93What we=92re really focused on is getting this=20
information to adult Americans where they=92re watching television,=94=
McGehee=20
said. The coalition criticized broadcasters for their unwillingness to=20
embrace public interest obligations during the run-up to the FCC vote on=20
multicast must-carry. Now that the fight has moved to Capitol Hill, they=20
hope broadcasters will be more willing to compromise. =93NAB has already=
been=20
working the Hill desperately for multicast must carry -- that=92s the=20
political landscape we want to take advantage of.=94
(As part of the PIPAC effort, the Benton Foundation release the "Citizen=92s=
=20
Guide to the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television=
Broadcasters,"
a practical, hands-on guide for citizens who care about television=92s role=
=20
in their lives and want to maximize the public benefits that come from the=
=20
public=92s airwaves. Find the guide at www.benton.org)
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
See more comments from Meredith McGehee at:
http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/attachment.html/Kaplan+press+conferen...
df?id=3D1331

HOUSE RAISES PENALTIES FOR AIRING INDECENCY
In a 389-38 vote, the House passed legislation intended to raise the=20
maximum indecency fines for broadcast stations and performers from $32,500=
=20
and $11,000, respectively, to $500,000. It also toughens enforcement by=20
requiring the FCC to act more swiftly on complaints and makes one indecency=
=20
fine a factor in license renewals and three an automatic trigger for a=20
license revocation hearing. The $500,000 is a maximum, and the bill also=20
allows the FCC to take into account various factors in deciding on a fine=20
amount, including ability to pay, size of market, or whether the=20
broadcaster had or should have had knowledge of the violation or had any=20
control over it.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504633.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Additional coverage --
* TVWeek: http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7321
* Wall Street Journal:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110858074258356683,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_personal_journal
* WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30651-2005Feb16.html
* USAToday:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050217/a_capcol17.art.htm
* LA Times:=20
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indecency17feb17,1,11...
0.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
* White House Backs Smut Bill
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504620?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
* Broadcasters Hammered on Hill
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504488?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
In a related story...
The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday postponed its planned hearing on=20
obscenity enforcement. No new hearing date was given.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504706.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
REACTION --
* Creative Voices in Media:
=
http://www.creativevoices.us/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=3D108&PHPSE...
D=3Df694297090f7df5640838c3d12a1533a
http://creativevoices.typepad.com/blog/
* AFTRA: http://www.aftra.org/legislative/docs/indecency_alert.htm
* Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Regulation/wm666.cfm

PARENTS CONTROL KIDS, TV DOESN'T
[Commentary] Children have no business watching racy TV programming. So=20
whose fault is it when they do? Politicians say it's Hollywood's fault.=20
Hollywood says it's the parents' fault. Parents say it's the politicians'=20
fault for not stopping Hollywood. Harrop says the problem isn't that the=20
programming is available on TV; it's that kids are watching. And parents=20
have tools to control what their children watch. First there's the V-chip.=
=20
It lets adults block certain programming based on one of eight ratings.=20
Second, parents can remove TVs from kids' rooms. Parents can keep better=20
track of TV viewing when it takes place in the family room. And as a last=20
resort -- parents can always "smash the television set."
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Froma Harrop]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p09s02-coop.html

UPTON: CONGRESS MIGHT ADDRESS MULTICASTING
Congress would consider new cable-carriage rights for digital-TV stations=20
if private negotiations fail to produce results, House Telecommunications=20
and the Internet Subcommittee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said Wednesday.=
=20
Rep Upton said he hoped that cable and broadcasters would conclude a=20
multicast-carriage deal akin to the one recently announced between the=20
National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the Association of=20
Public Television Stations. Cable operators currently voluntarily carry the=
=20
digital signals of more than 500 digital-TV stations, largely HDTV=20
programming. The United States has 1,366 commercial TV stations, according=
=20
to the FCC. Currently, 20.5 million households rely exclusively on free,=20
over-the-air broadcasting. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) has said that lawmakers=
=20
would be committing political suicide if broadcast-only consumers were=20
harmed by an abrupt cutoff of analog-TV service.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA504727.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

RADIO CHANGES ITS TUNE
The radio business may be undergoing its biggest shakeup ever. So many new=
=20
digital technologies are beckoning to its traditional listeners that it's=20
hard to know what radio _is_ anymore. It's no longer limited to the=20
airwaves, thanks to cable TV's music offerings, the Internet, and one day,=
=20
perhaps, cellphones. It's not strictly live because online "podcasters" and=
=20
others let you download music to play at your convenience. About the only=20
thing that really separates radio listening from, say, uploading music to=20
an iPod is that on radio, someone else plays deejay. That spells upheaval=20
for the industry. But for consumers, the result looks mostly positive: more=
=20
choices of programs and more control over when they can hear them.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR:Gregory M. Lamb]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p14s02-stct.html

MEDIA & POLITICS

BUSH ADMINISTRATION BLURS MEDIA BOUNDARY
First came video "news releases" produced by the Bush administration using=
=20
a TV news format. Then came three conservative columnists who got big=20
paychecks from federal agencies. Now, there's Jeff Gannon (not his real=20
name), a journalist (maybe) who gained surprisingly easy access to the=20
president, only to lob a sympathetically slanted question. Taken together,=
=20
these recent controversies suggest that the Bush administration may be=20
pushing that craft of message management into new territory - and testing=
=20
the limits of presidential public relations. Since President Bush took=20
office, contracts for public relations work with the federal government=20
have jumped from $39 million to $88.2 million last year, according to a=20
report by Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee. These=
=20
contracts cover everything from promoting the newly revised food pyramid to=
=20
funding major initiatives from schools to Social Security. In a preemptive=
=20
move last month, senior House Democrats called on the White House to halt=20
"use of propaganda" to push the president's plan to create private or=20
personal accounts in Social Security. Democrats are requesting all=20
materials created for radio, TV, or newspapers and other venues to promote=
=20
the plan.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Gail Russell Chaddock]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p01s01-uspo.html
(requires registration)
See also --
Commentator Caught Up in Controversy Tries to Move On
[SOURCE: New York Times]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/politics/17williams.html
(requires registration)

CONSERVATIVES AND RIVALS PRESS A STRUGGLING PBS
Public television is suffering from an identity crisis, executives inside=20
the Public Broadcasting Service and outsiders say, and it goes far deeper=20
than the announcement by Pat Mitchell that she would step down next year as=
=20
the beleaguered network's president. Some public television executives said=
=20
that running PBS was a thankless job, and that managing a far-flung network=
=20
composed of independent fiefs around the country was a particularly=20
daunting assignment. They also said they were facing larger issues that=20
would challenge any executive, like increased competition from the cable=20
industry. Corporate underwriters have been less willing to finance PBS=20
programs, which has left the network increasingly dependent on Washington,=
=20
where Republicans criticize its programming as elitist and liberal. PBS=20
hopes to relieve some of the pressure by creating a huge endowment from the=
=20
proceeds of reselling the spectrum used by its stations when they trade=20
their current broadcast positions for new high-definition stations later in=
=20
the decade. But that will take persuading the same Congressional and=20
administration officials who have objected to its programming. Lobbyists=20
for public television stations are supporting legislation that would put=20
some of the money in a trust fund for public television. Senator=20
Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat sponsoring the legislation=20
along with Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Republican of Maine, has called for=20
the trust fund to be administered by an independent agency following the=20
sort of procedures used by the National Science Foundation and the National=
=20
Institutes of Health. But criticism is not just coming from the right: "I'm=
=20
concerned that PBS is so desperate for funding and support from the=20
Republican-dominated Congress that they're willing to sell their legacy,"=20
says Jeffrey Chester, the executive director of the Center for Digital=20
Democracy and a longtime advocate of more money for public television..=20
"They could forgo their historic mandate to do cutting-edge programming and=
=20
replace it with Bush-administration-friendly educational content."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Tierney and Jacques Steinberg]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/business/media/17pbs.html
(requires registration)
* LA Times: PBS, Fighting for Relevance, Loses Its Chief
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-pbs17feb17,1,719086...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage
* Communications Daily reports that more people are satisfied with PBS=20
programming than that offered by commercial broadcasters, according to a
Roper Media poll commissioned by PBS. The study found that 38% of the 1,000=
=20
respondents are =93very satisfied=94 with PBS
programming. PBS also beat network broadcasters as the most trusted source=
=20
for news and public affairs programs. A majority (52%) said federal funding=
=20
for PBS was too low, and most believe PBS funds are well spent. PBS ranked=
=20
2nd behind the military as the most valuable service taxpayers get.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily]
(Not available online)

PBS CHIEF: 'BUSTER' DIDN'T BOOT HER
The controversy over Buster visiting a family with two mothers is not --=20
not, she repeats -- the reason PBS President Pat Mitchell will step down=20
after her current contract expires in 2006. She insists that she told the=20
PBS board when she signed her current three-year pact that it would be her=
=20
last. She has a big agenda for the 15 months -- bolstering sources of=20
sustainable funding and expediting the transition to digital television.=20
Mitchell has managed to antagonize both liberals and conservatives since=20
late last month with her fluid position on the recent "Buster" episode. In=
=20
each episode of the children's educational series, funded in part by the=20
Department of Education's Ready to Learn initiative, Buster meets actual=20
people who teach him about things that are special in their state. In the=20
controversial episode, he is taught about farm life and maple sugaring in=20
Vermont, by young children from two families that each have two mothers.=20
Vermont offers civil unions to gay couples. In other episodes, Buster has=20
met Mormons in Utah, the Hmong in Wisconsin, people from the Gullah culture=
=20
in South Carolina, an Orthodox Jewish family and a Pentecostal Christian=20
family.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31087-2005Feb16.html
(requires registration)
* USAToday:=
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050217/d_pbs17.art.htm
* LA Times: PBS, Fighting for Relevance, Loses Its Chief
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-pbs17feb17,1,719086...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage

BROADCASTERS SEEK NEW VOICE
National Association of Broadcasters president Eddie Fritts has formally=20
announced his intention to retire. After more than 20 years of leading=20
broadcasters=92 primary trade group, Fritts notified board members today=
that=20
he wants a search for a successor to begin. Among the successes NAB cites=20
under Fritts are passage of the 1992 Cable Act and the 1996=20
Telecommunications Act; passage of legislation that rolled back an FCC=20
low-power FM initiative; elimination of the fairness doctrine, and passage=
=20
of legislation allowing satellite companies to deliver local TV stations.=20
Media Access Project President Andrew Schwartzman took issue with the=20
"success" label on rolling back LPFM. Calling it an example of what is=20
wrong with NAB, he said "This service should be embraced as a farm team=20
for the next generation of broadcasting, and not fought off as an infidel."=
=20
Mr. Schwartzman, frequently on opposite sides of Fritts on broadcast=20
issues, said of the resignation, "While we disagreed with the NAB many more=
=20
times than we agreed with them, I value Eddie Fritts' constant commitment=20
to civility and willingness to try to settle our differences."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504491.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
More coverage --
* Broadcasters Seek a New Voice (2nd item)
When Edward O. "Eddie" Fritts came to Washington in 1982 to become the top=
=20
lobbyist for the broadcast industry, then-Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR) snarled,=
=20
"The NAB can't lobby its way out of a paper bag." Twenty-three years later,=
=20
Fritts has built the NAB into one of the nation's most powerful lobbies.=20
Fritts expects a new president to be picked in six to eight months. After=20
he leaves, he will be set to make even more than his annual NAB salary and=
=20
benefits, estimated at $1 million. Fritts says that he will either form his=
=20
own consulting firm or join a large political firm, buy into some broadcast=
=20
companies and "serve on a board or two." "I learned early on you've got to=
=20
keep your head down," Fritts said. "They use live ammo here."
Washington Post:=20
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30727-2005Feb16.html
* LATimes: "The one thing we've been able to convince policymakers of," he=
=20
said, "is free, over-the-air broadcasting is still very important in=20
today's society to consumers."
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fritts17feb17,1,57767...
tory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)
* Multichannel News:=20
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA504490.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
* TVWeek: http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7317
* NAB Press Release:=20
http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/Releases/021605Fritts.htm
* Communications Daily reports that the NAB was $2.86 million in the red=20
for fiscal 2004 ended March 31.

INTERNET

PHILADELPHIA HOPES FOR A LEAD IN THE WIRELESS RACE
City officials in Philadelphia envision a seamless mesh of broadband=20
signals that will enable the police to download mug shots as they race to=20
crime scenes in their patrol cars, allow truck drivers to maintain Internet=
=20
access to inventories as they roam the city, and perhaps most important,=20
let students and low-income residents get on the net. Experts say the=20
Philadelphia model, if successful, could provide the tipping point for a=20
nationwide movement to make broadband affordable and accessible in every=20
municipality. From tiny St. Francis (Kansas) to tech-savvy San Francisco,=20
more than 50 local governments have already installed or are on the verge=20
of creating municipal broadband systems for the public. But Philadelphia's=
=20
plan has prompted a debate over who should provide the service, and whether=
=20
government should compete with private industry, particularly in=20
hard-to-reach rural areas or low-income urban communities.=20
Telecommunications and cable companies say that municipal Internet networks=
=20
will not only inhibit private enterprise, but also result in poor service=20
and wasted tax dollars. They have mounted major lobbying campaigns in=20
several states to restrict or prohibit municipalities from establishing=20
their own networks.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Dao]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/technology/17wired.html?hp&ex=3D110870...
&en=3Df1e64f65642d068d&ei=3D5094&partner=3Dhomepage
(requires registration)

UNBOUND DOWN UNDER
Wireless broadband is attractive because it typically offers Internet=20
linkups almost anywhere within its coverage range, which can be an entire=20
metropolitan area. That's different from the popular Wi-Fi networks, which=
=20
provide service only within a range of a few hundred feet at "hot spots"=20
inside coffee shops, hotels, airports and homes. Wireless broadband also=20
often works inside a moving car or train, unlike Wi-Fi. Most consumers use=
=20
wireless broadband as a replacement for fixed-line broadband in their=20
homes, such as digital-subscriber line services purchased from phone=20
companies. But many also like the convenience of being able to move the=20
modem from home to other sites. And people who relocate frequently also can=
=20
take the modem with them, saving the trouble of canceling an old Internet=20
account and signing up for a new one. In Australia, the government sold off=
=20
radio spectrum for such services relatively cheaply. Privately held=20
Personal Broadband snapped up its license in 2001 for only about US$7.5=20
million. In Europe, by contrast, many phone companies paid billions to=20
governments for third-generation cellphone licenses, allowing them to=20
introduce phones and other devices with high-speed Web access. Now, some=20
analysts wonder if those hefty fees were worth it, and if wireless=20
broadband can offer some of the same services more efficiently and cheaply.=
=20
Some wireless-broadband operators are also gearing up to offer regular=20
voice service over their Internet networks, just as some cable-TV companies=
=20
in the U.S. are offering newfangled voice over Internet protocol phone=
service.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Rebecca Buckman=20
rebecca.buckman( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110858206160156717,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)

PROBE LOOKS AT POSSIBLE WEB-PHONE BLOCKAGE
Federal regulators launched an investigation into whether a rural phone=20
company blocked access to Vonage, an Internet-phone service that was=20
competing for the phone company's customers, a situation that highlights a=
=20
major, potential problem as phone and cable companies control an array of=20
communications services. The situation became public earlier this week when=
=20
Prof. Larry Lessig of Stanford Law School, an advocate of Internet freedom,=
=20
mentioned Vonage's problem at an industry conference in Boulder, according=
=20
to a technology Web site called www.advancedIPpipeline.com. According to an=
=20
article on the Web site, FCC Chairman Powell, who was attending the=20
conference, said, "We're very actively on this case and we're taking it=20
pretty seriously."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo=20
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110860446864257325,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
Additional coverage --
Wash Post:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31082-2005Feb16.html

GRANTS HELP 131 RURAL AND MINORITY PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS ENHANCE LOCAL=20
INTERNET SERVICES
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will award Internet Service=20
Acquisition Grants to help 131 rural and minority public radio stations=20
enhance their listener and community service via the Web. CPB is investing=
=20
a total of $3 million over the next three years in the grant program.=20
Approximately 200 grantees with rural and/or minority status are eligible=20
for $5,000 per year for the next three years. Under the terms of the grant=
=20
program, eligible stations could receive a maximum of $15,000.
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Press Release]
http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=3D397

BROADBAND PCS SPECTRUM AUCTION CLOSES, RAISING OVER $2 BILLION.
The Federal Communications Commission's auction of broadband Personal=20
Communications Services (PCS) licenses ended on Tuesday, raising gross=20
revenues of $2,253,802,000 and, after applying bidding credits, total net=20
revenue of $2,043,230,450. Pending the remaining steps in the application=
=20
process, this auction marks the completion of an important chapter in=20
putting these spectrum licenses to work for the American public. This=20
auction included spectrum returned to the Commission through its recent=20
settlements in bankruptcy litigation, including the settlement with=20
NextWave Communications reached last April and other license cancellations.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256841A1.doc

QUICKLY

WHY WE CARE ABOUT SPONGEBOB -- WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT UCC ADS
[Commentary] Over the past few weeks, hundreds of Bloggers have linked to=20
the United Church of Christ story about our unequivocal welcome to=20
SpongeBob. James C. Dobson=92s, founder of Focus on the Family, has attacked=
=20
SpongeBob and other cartoon characters for their tolerance towards families=
=20
headed by same sex partners has brought national attention to an issue that=
=20
thousands of Americans experience in a very personal way =AD they don't feel=
=20
welcome =AD in their places of worship and in their communities. The attack=
=20
on SpongeBob and the refusal of the networks to run UCC's ad is the same=20
issue - do we live in an inclusive society where diversity is embraced or=20
have we as a society turn people away? The SpongeBob debate is a great way=
=20
to draw attention to the issue, but real battles are happening within=20
agencies like the FCC that regulate the airwaves. We need to make sure that=
=20
the voices of you who agree are also allowed to be heard. So please, keep=20
on Blogging about SpongeBob, but also join us in writing to the FCC to make=
=20
sure that the public airwaves are accessible not just to those who advocate=
=20
intolerance, but to those who advocate inclusiveness.
[SOURCE: Accessible Airwaves, AUTHOR: Rev. Robert Chase]
http://www.accessibleairwaves.org/

QWEST RELEASES PROPOSAL DETAILS FOR SPURNED BID TO ACQUIRE MCI
MCI received an bid from Qwest before accepting a offer to be purchased by=
=20
Verizon. But Qwest isn't sure it is done fighting for the long distance=20
company. Qwest released details of the proposed terms of its spurned bid=20
for MCI , saying it was seeking to "eliminate any public confusion" about=20
the terms of the offer. Qwest said that the total effective value of its=20
bid to MCI shareholders, including $1.60 a share in dividends, was about $8=
=20
billion -- more than $1 billion above Verizon's offer. There have been=20
concerns voiced from some MCI shareholders that the company turned down a=20
higher offer from Qwest.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110859489217656995,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_money_and_investing
(requires subscription)
Also in --
WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30967-2005Feb16.html

TELECOM MERGERS AS A WINDOW ON JOB MARKET
Four years ago, the telecom industry had the dubious distinction of leading=
=20
the nation in layoffs. Now, it looks as if the industry, in the midst of a=
=20
major consolidation, could be one of the top job cutters again. But this=20
time, employment specialists don't think the job prospects for all those=20
supervisors, engineers, accountants, and personnel specialists will be as=20
bleak. Unlike 2001, those out of work won't be fighting for jobs with=20
unemployed dotcomers. The layoffs also come at a time when the economy is=20
growing, not in recession. And online bulletin boards report they have job=
=20
postings for people in the business.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Ron Scherer]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p02s01-usec.html
(requires registration)

FTC Approves MGM Purchase of Mandalay
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-rup17.11feb17,1,98210...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business

REPORT OF THE BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES TASK FORCE
State regulators have been looking at issues raised by the provision of=20
high-speed Internet access of power lines. On Tuesday they released a=20
report will their initial findings.
[SOURCE: National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners]
http://www.naruc.org/displayindustryarticle.cfm?articlenbr=3D24314&start...
=3D1
http://www.naruc.org/associations/1773/files/bplreport_0205.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------