November 2005

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

PUBLIC MEDIA
Tomlinson Violated Statute, Ethics, Says Report
CPB Inspector General's Report
* Messing with the funding source for the most trusted journalism in the
country
is bound to get a reaction. There's lots of coverage and reaction below.

INTERNET GOVERNANCE
Negotiators Agree on Internet Crime-fighting Forum
Icann? We All Can.
Be wary of Internet 'governance'
A First Amendment for the Internet
* There's more to WSIS than Internet Governance -- and we have
links to blogs to prove it

INTERNET/BROADBAND
For U.S. Consumers, Broadband Service Is Slow and Expensive
Advanced Services Expected To Drive High-Speed Growth
Houston Seeking Network Partner for Muni-Broadband
Appeals court denies stay on Web phone 911 rule
Democrats unveil 'Innovation Agenda'
Study: Online newspapers flourish
Top Web Sites Build Up Ad Backlog, Raise Rates

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION
Children's Programming Could Fuel Free-Speech Case Over Digital TV
Why Indecency, Once Hot at FCC, Cooled
Reality Intrudes on Entertainment Chiefs
France Is Trying, Discreetly, to Integrate Television a Bit

QUICKLY -- MIT Is Crafting Cheap Laptops; Google raises flag over Base; Web
Firms Take Stand Against Spyware; Sprint: Nonpartnering Cable Systems Fair Game

PUBLIC MEDIA

TOMLINSON VIOLATED STATUTE, ETHICS, SAYS REPORT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Inspector General, Kenneth Konz,
has concluded that CPB Chairman Ken Tomlinson "violated statutory
provisions" and the board's code of ethics by dealing directly with
programmers during negotiations over the creation of a public affairs
program, The Journal Editorial Report, and by using "political tests" to
recruit President and CEO Patricia Harrison. Konz said the investigation
"identified e-mails between the former chairman and staff in the Executive
Office of the President that, while cryptic in nature, their timing and
subject matter gives the appearance that the former Chairman was strongly
motivated by political considerations in filling the President/CEO
position." The Public Broadcasting Act prevents CPB from influencing
programming decisions and attempts to insulate it from politics. According
to the Act,. "no political test or qualification shall be used in
selecting, appointing, promoting, or taking other personnel actions with
respect to officers, agents, and employees of the Corporation." But the Act
does permit hiring outside consultants and requires CPB to try and achieve
balance in noncom programming of a controversial nature. As such, the IG
report concluded that hiring an outside consultant to gauge objectivity and
balance in noncommercial programming was not out of bounds, but that
Tomlinson should have informed the board and should not have signed the
contract for the review without board approval.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6283818?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

REVIEW OF ALLEGED ACTIONS VIOLATING THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING ACT OF 1967
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AUTHOR: Office of Inspector
General]
"While we believe the aforementioned violations were primarily the result
of the former Chairman's personal actions to accomplish his various
initiatives, our review also identified serious weaknesses in the corporate
governance system. CPB's internal control mechanisms did not function to
protect the CPB Board of Directors (Board) and the Corporation. Potential
problems in procurement and new policy initiatives should have been raised
up the chain-of-command to the former Chairman and the full Board.
Specifically, established procurement and contracting practices were
bypassed in processing actions for consultant services initiated by the
former Chairman and executive management, (e.g., in contracting with a
consultant to evaluate program content and to identify and select two
ombudsmen candidates without competition). Further, CPB management allowed
consultants to begin work before contracts were executed and, in some
instances, months before these activities were entered into the accounting
system. In addition, the lack of formal personnel policies governing
executive recruitment practices left CPB managers vulnerable to
congressional criticism over hiring decisions." The report includes a host
of recommendations for improving CPB governance. (Report No. EPB503-602)
http://www.cpb.org/oig/reports/602_cpb_ig_reportofreview.pdf

INVESTIGATION FAULTS EX-CHAIRMAN OF CPB
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
The report's most damning finding might have been Tomlinson's efforts to
steer "The Journal Editorial Report," a conservative-oriented talk show
featuring commentators from the Wall Street Journal, onto PBS's regular
weekly schedule. Under federal statutes, board members are prohibited from
involvement in programming decisions. But CPB Inspector General Konz said
that Chairman Tomlinson was intimately involved in the development of the
program, which he had touted as an ideological alternative to "Now . . .
With Bill Moyers," and that he helped get funding for it -- a possible
violation of Tomlinson's fiduciary responsibilities. Among other things,
Tomlinson advised Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot on
how to get his show on PBS, suggested a format and admonished other CPB
officials not to interfere with his efforts. Konz said Tomlinson also sent
e-mails to CPB staff members telling them to threaten to withhold federal
funds from PBS if the network did not "balance" its schedule. PBS officials
declined to comment, saying they were reviewing the report. The inspector
general was critical of CPB's executive staff, including former chief
executive Kathleen Cox, citing the failure to apprise the board of
Tomlinson's various contracting and programming initiatives. Through her
attorney, Cox denied that allegation, saying she had made good-faith
efforts to communicate with the board but was blocked by Tomlinson, who
sometimes admonished her in a "stern and intimidating" manner. Cox resigned
as chief executive this year after nine months in that post, during which
she had a stormy relationship with Tomlinson. She received what Konz termed
"a very generous" severance package worth more than $610,000, or
approximately three times her annual salary and benefits. The package was
apparently unilaterally negotiated by Tomlinson without the board's
knowledge, Konz said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR200511...
(requires registration)
* Report: Tomlinson violated ethics
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20051116/d_cpb16.art.htm

REPORT FINDS TOMLINSON BROKE LAW INVOLVING PBS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz( at )wsj.com]
Amy Wolfcale, vice president of corporate communications for Dow Jones &
Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said, "Hey, look, we don't just
report on the news -- we help make it!" In a statement she said that the
newspaper had been "contacted by the inspector general's office during the
inquiry but [was] never asked about contacts with Mr. Tomlinson." Ms.
Wolfcale said "Mr. Tomlinson did encourage Paul Gigot to work with PBS to
produce "The Journal Editorial Report." Had we been asked, we would have
told the inspector general that Mr. Tomlinson had no control or influence
over the content of the program beyond urging the Journal to pursue a
program on PBS." Dow Jones said it has decided not to produce a third
season of the editorial report and informed PBS of its decision two weeks
ago, "entirely independent of the inspector general's report, which we are
seeing for the first time today." PBS spokeswoman Stephanie Aaronson said
it was Dow Jones's "decision" to end the show. She added that the final
program will be broadcast the weekend of Dec. 2.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113210243048898364.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

BROADCAST CHIEF VIOLATED LAWS, INQUIRY FINDS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
The report said politics might have been involved in other personnel
decisions. In one case, it said, a candidate to become the senior vice
president for corporate and public affairs was asked by a board member
about her political contributions in the last election. Another official
was given a particular job title at the corporation at the request of the
White House, it said. In a statement attached to the report, former CPB
President Kathleen A. Cox named board members other than Mr. Tomlinson who
she said were involved in some decisions criticized by the inspector
general. Ms. Cox said she was forced to resign after Mr. Tomlinson told her
she was "not political enough" for the job. Tomlinson remains the head of
the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which supervises all American
government broadcasting programs overseas. The inspector general of the
State Department is examining accusations at the broadcasting board of
misuse of federal money and the use of phantom or unqualified employees by
Mr. Tomlinson. In a recent letter, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of
Connecticut, asked President Bush to consider ordering Mr. Tomlinson to
step down from the board of governors until that investigation was completed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/politics/16broadcast.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)

INSPECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT REVEALS STATUTORY AND ETHICAL VIOLATIONS AT CPB
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
[Commentary] The other shoe finally dropped in the long saga of political
machination at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with the release of
the inspector general's "Review of Alleged Actions Violating the Public
Broadcasting Act of 1967." The federally funded corporation, designed by
Congress as a political "heat shield" in dispensing public dollars and
supposedly insulating public broadcasting from partisan pressures, has been
more of a lightning rod over the past several years. With the health and
independence of public radio and television at stake, much more will be
needed at CPB than a change in "top management's attitude towards internal
controls" and a few alterations in board procedures. The management itself
must be changed--political operatives must be replaced by nonpartisan
professionals--and board appointments should be based on experience in the
field rather than membership in a political party. The release of the
inspector general's report, in other words, does not mark the end of a long
period of political turmoil within Washington's public broadcasting's
institutions. Rather, with the release of these troubling findings, the
long process of reform of the field, ensuring both its political
independence and its financial stability, can now begin.
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/washingtonwatch/CPBIGwatch.html

DORGAN SAYS IG REPORT SHOWS TOMLINSON WORE "POLITICAL HAT MOST OF THE
TIME," CALLS FOR HEARINGS/REFORM
[SOURCE: Sen Byron Dorgan press release]
U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said Tuesday the just-released report on
the investigation of the former Chairman of the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (CPB), Kenneth Tomlinson, shows many of his actions at the CPB
were inappropriate and "motivated by politics." "In fact, it appears Mr.
Tomlinson had his political hat on most of the time, causing significant
harm for the non-partisan public broadcasting corporation he headed, a
broadcasting corporation whose non-partisanship was, in fact, its greatest
strength" Sen Dorgan said. "Mr. Tomlinson violated CPB rules and procedures
on numerous occasions, and apparently violated the law when he worked with
an unnamed White House official to engineer the selection of an active
partisan as his successor." Sen Dorgan said he supports implementation of
the Inspector General's reform recommendations to improve corporate
governance at the CPB, and called for Senate Commerce Committee hearings to
see that they are implemented. "I think what the Inspector General has
proposed makes a good deal of sense. The reforms he suggests would help
protect the CPB and its important mission from any other political zealots
who would try to use the CPB to advance their own brand of politics," Sen
Dorgan said.
http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=248813

PROBE FINDS BROADCAST CHIEF BROKE LAW, PLAYED POLITICS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Matea Gold]
White House officials refused to be interviewed by the inspector general,
saying he lacked jurisdiction to pose questions to officials outside
federal agencies. The report does not draw conclusions about the
administration's involvement with Tomlinson's efforts. Critics called on
Konz to release the details of Tomlinson's contact with the White House.
"Unfortunately, this fits exactly with a long pattern of unbridled, all-out
partisanship and cronyism in so much of what this administration does,"
said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND).
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-cpb16nov16,1,673213...
(requires registration)

GROUPS CALL FOR NEW LEADERSHIP AT CPB AFTER REPORT REVEALS ETHICAL
VIOLATIONS AND "POLITICAL TESTS" IN HIRING
[SOURCE: Free Press, the Center for Digital Democracy, and Common Cause
press release]
Free Press, the Center for Digital Democracy, and Common Cause called on
Corporation for Public Broadcasting President Patricia Harrison to resign
following the long-awaited release of an Inspector General's report, which
exposes extensive wrongdoing by the leadership of the CPB. The report found
that "political tests" were a "major criteria" in hiring Harrison to
oversee the CPB. The groups also demanded that the CPB make public the
"separate investigative report, along with specific evidence indicating
possible wrongdoing," that Konz made available to the board as well as any
additional documents provided to members of Congress. In response to the
Inspector General's report, Free Press, the Center for Digital Democracy
and Common Cause endorsed a series of measures that would: 1) Require the
CPB Board to be governed in a bipartisan or independent fashion, mandating
that its chairman and vice chairman not represent the same political party.
The board should include more members with experience in public
broadcasting, including producers of independent programming. 2) Restore
transparency to the CPB Board by requiring open discussion and public votes
on all matters. Meetings should be televised and archived online to
encourage greater public accountability. 3) Reformulate the board's
position on objectivity and balance, seeking to allow programmers -- not
political appointees -- to determine what the public sees and hears. 4)
Reduce the organization's political involvement by explicitly prohibiting
the CPB board and management from hiring outside political lobbyists or
consultants.
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/CPBIGreport.html

CPB BOARD MUST DO MUCH MORE THAN DROP TOMLINSON, SAYS COMMON CAUSE
[SOURCE: Common Cause press release]
November 3: "It appears that the board of the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting has reluctantly asked for the resignation of former CPB
Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson. But while the Board may have dropped
Tomlinson, it's clear they have not dropped his ideas. It is unfortunate
that the public can only guess at the Inspector General's conclusions,
since his report remains under wraps. Even more distressing is the tone of
the Board's statement, which fails to reflect any regret that Tomlinson's
methods were unacceptable and unethical. The CPB needs to do much more
than drop one board member. It needs to shift its direction away from
partisanship and active discouragement of fact-based journalism and to find
its true mission: to protect public broadcasting from political interference."
http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=194...

INTERNET GOVERNANCE

NEGOTIATORS AGREE ON INTERNET CRIME-FIGHTING FORUM
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
Negotiators agreed on Tuesday to set up a global forum to discuss online
crime, but appeared unlikely to resolve a dispute about control of the
Internet ahead of a U.N. technology summit. In talks before 50 heads of
state arrive for the World Summit on the Information Society on Wednesday,
negotiators said their work would likely lead to a crime-fighting forum
that could help law enforcers track down online criminals who operate
across borders. But they did not seem set to approve language that would
force the United States to give up its exclusive oversight of the
domain-name system that guides traffic across the Internet.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
* U.S. Fights to Keep Control Of Global Internet Oversight
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113206649647197595.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
* US to maintain control over Internet traffic
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

ICANN? WE ALL CAN.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for
Information Society and Media]
[Commentary] The European Union -- of 25 nations and over 450 million
potential Internet users -- will speak with one voice in Tunis and set out
a position that is clear, coherent and consistent. The EU advocates a free,
stable, democratic Internet open to the world. We believe this view is
shared by the vast majority of nations around the world, and certainly by
our partners in the U.S. We believe governments should not have a say in
the day-to-day management of the Internet. To involve them could result in
unnecessarily burdensome structures and even endanger its stability. The EU
therefore supports an approach to Internet governance that even further
removes government control from Icann. For many years, we have understood
that this objective was also shared by the U.S. administration. The next
step, therefore, should be to complete the privatization process of the
day-to-day management of the Internet by phasing out the oversight
functions of the U.S. Department of Commerce over Icann. We also believe
that on important policy issues concerning the functioning of the Internet
-- spam, cybercrime, and ensuring access by all citizens to the freedoms
offered by the Web -- we need a new "cooperation model," a light and
transparent mechanism for deliberations between governments. To do so, we
certainly don't need to establish any new structures nor call in the U.N.
Let's build on the existing structures and Icann in particular. If
governments are really serious about safeguarding the free, stable and open
Internet we have today, convening under the auspices of Icann's
Governmental Advisory Committee in order to put this much needed
"cooperation model" into practice could be one of a number of concrete
steps open to us. Tunis can mark an important step forward on the long
evolution of the Internet toward freedom from government control and
increased internationalization of its governance structures. We are almost
there with two-thirds of the final package already agreed. A political
agreement in Tunis is within our grasp. It would be an important and
much-needed signal that democratic nations are genuinely committed to
overcome the growing digital divide and build a truly open and inclusive
global information society.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113210601472798463.html?mod=todays_us_op...
(requires subscription)
See links below for blogs covering the WSIS.

BE WARY OF INTERNET 'GOVERNANCE'
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Tony Mauro]
[Commentary] When the Supreme Court in 1997 declared in Reno v. ACLU that
the Internet deserved the protection of the First Amendment, it compared
the medium to the town crier of colonial days. Anyone with a computer and a
modem can broadcast a message worldwide, the justices said with admiration.
As the summit in Tunis begins, that should be the central image in
delegates' minds: fostering the proliferation of digital town criers
worldwide, not turning laptops into lapdogs.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051116/oplede16.art.htm

A FIRST AMENDMENT FOR THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Eli Noam, Columbia University]
[Commentary] the real question is not so much who regulates the overall
aspects of the Internet, but to what purpose. One of the fundamental
questions is whether and how to regulate television programmes that are
delivered over the emerging broadband Internet. What is needed is a strong
rule against governmental restrictiveness on the international flows of
information over the Internet, such the First Amendment of the US
constitution, which protects free speech and press in America. Such a rule
must be clear and unambiguous. Anything less will be undermined since it
will be easy to find an international majority to support various
qualifications. This gives the US a constructive opportunity. Instead of
clinging to the status quo in Internet governance it should move forward to
pursue positive goals. Thus, any new international system of Internet
governance, as contemplated now at the summit in Tunis, should be
conditional on a clear declaration of freedom for the global flow of all
Internet content. If such a resolution is passed, the US can declare
victory for its First Amendment principles of free information flows and
their expansion into the international arena, and make way for a broader
international body. But if such a declaration is unachievable, it should
give supporters of international democracy pause about what it is that they
stand to gain from displacing the US from continuing to set the tone for
the Internet. They may be helping to establish the global Internet media
system of the future as one of state licensing and controls, which is
vastly more troubling than temporary American over-representation.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/4042e794-560b-11da-b04f-00000e25118c.html
(requires subscription)

W.S.I.S. Blogs

United Church of Christ, AUTHOR: Saskia Fischer
http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=10...

Association for Progressive Communications
http://www.apc.org/english/

Common Cause
http://www.commonblog.com/

WSISblogs.org
http://www.edwebproject.org/wsisblogs/

INTERNET/BROADBAND

FOR US CONSUMERS, BROADBAND IS SLOW AND EXPENSIVE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker]
The good news for Web-surfing American households is that the cost of
entry-level, high-speed Internet service is falling, thanks to competition
between telephone and cable companies. The bad news is that even at these
low prices you're not getting much for your money. What passes for
entry-level broadband service -- the most heavily marketed since summer --
is downright sluggish in the U.S. compared with that in many other
countries; and not just in tech-crazed locales like Korea and Japan, but
also in the likes of France. The inferior value of U.S. broadband service
becomes clear when you calculate the monthly "cost per megabit" of Internet
access, or how much you pay to get a megabit's worth of download
capability. The very definition of broadband in the U.S. isn't keeping up
with the increasingly sophisticated ways a consumer uses the Web. The FCC
defines "high speed" as 200 kilobits in at least one direction. That may
have been speedy in 1995, but it's pretty pokey in 2005, when speed should
be measured in megabits -- at least five times as fast -- instead. Michael
Gallagher, head of the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration, the U.S. Commerce Department arm that advises the White
House on policy, says the best way to get universal, affordable broadband
is to leave things to the competitive market.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113210060413998328.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

ADVANCED SERVICES EXPECTED TO DRIVE HIGH-SPEED GROWTH
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Danielle Belopotosky]
Greater demand for advanced Internet applications such as distance learning
and telemedicine will drive the rollout of high-speed networks, advocates
for fiber optic technology said. Speaking to Capitol Hill staffers,
officials from the Alliance for Public Technology and the Fiber-to-the-Home
Council urged Congress to update its telecommunications policies to reflect
a national goal for universal access to advanced broadband networks. APT
has crafted guiding principles for Congress to meet that goal. The
principles include regulatory policies that accommodate evolving
technologies and funding for advanced telecommunications from the universal
service fund, which seeks to guarantee communications services to all
Americans.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-KVFL1132091713981.html

CITY SEEKING NETWORK PARTNER
[SOURCE: Houston Chronicle, AUTHOR: John Roper]
The city of Houston will begin looking in March for a company to not only
build a wireless Internet network that blankets downtown, but for that
business to pay for it as well. By having a private company behind the
project, Houston Mayor Bill White believes he can avoid some of the battle
cries from telecommunications companies opposed to municipal WiFi. White
said no tax dollars would be used to create a broadband wireless network.
Instead, the city will issue a request for proposals seeking a company to
build and operate it. In turn, city government would have free access to a
variety of broadband applications, like enhanced communications, a
high-tech parking meter system and increased telecommuting for city
workers. It could also mean increased Internet access for low-income
residents. The company using Houston's many easements and right of ways for
WiFi antennas and other equipment would then be able to sell its airtime to
residents and businesses.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3461455

APPEALS COURT DENIES STAY ON WEB PHONE 911 RULE
[SOURCE: Reuters]
A U.S. appeals court has refused to put on hold requirements that Internet
telephone providers offer customers full 911 emergency call services by
November 28, a provider said on Tuesday.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
* Federal Court Affirms 911 Capability For Internet Telephone Companies
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-NXDX1132090955277.html

DEMOCRATS UNVEIL 'INNOVATION AGENDA
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
House Democrats announced their Innovation Agenda Tuesday: universal
broadband; granting scholarships aimed at producing 100,000 new
scientists, mathematicians and engineers in the next four years; doubling
research and development spending, and boosting tax incentives; seeking
alternative-energy sources that lessen the nation's reliance on Middle East
oil; and providing assistance to small businesses. House Speaker Dennis
Hastert issued a statement warning that the Democrats' plan would
inevitably lead to "more taxation, litigation and regulation." Rep Hastert
also accused Democratic leaders of voting against several pieces of
legislation considered important to tech interests.
http://news.com.com/Democrats+unveil+innovation+agenda/2100-1034_3-59535...
* See the Innovation Agenda at:
http://www.democraticleader.house.gov/pdf/HDIA.pdf
* USTelecom Comments on House Democratic Innovation Agenda
[SOURCE: USTelecom press release]
"The House Democrats' innovation agenda outlines several important issues
that must be addressed to restore American leadership in the global
economy. We appreciate Leader Pelosi's interest in these issues and believe
that the best way to spur job creation, investment and innovation is to
update the nation's telecom laws. We look forward to working with all House
members to enact legislation this Congress that reflects the realities of
today's competitive marketplace."
http://www.ustelecom.org/news_releases.php?urh=home.news.nr2005_1115

STUDY: ONLINE NEWSPAPERS FLOURISH
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Dinesh C. Sharma]
Nielsen/NetRatings reports that one out of four US Internet users now read
an online version of a newspaper which get over 39 million visitors per
year. "The growth among newspaper Web sites demonstrates that these
entities offer unique incentives to visitors," Gerry Davison, senior media
analyst at Nielsen/NetRatings, said in a statement. "Most, if not all of
the top newspaper sites offer interactivity such as blogs, podcasts and
streaming video and audio. These interactive features, combined with
Internet users' thirst for up-to-date information, make newspaper Web sites
an increasingly appealing choice for news."
http://news.com.com/Study+Online+newspapers+flourish/2100-1025_3-5953393...

TOP WEB SITES BUILD UP AD BACKLOG, RAISE RATES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin julia.angwin( at )wsj.com and
Kevin J. Delaney kevin.delaney( at )wsj.com]
The front pages of Yahoo Inc., Time Warner Inc.'s AOL and Microsoft Corp.'s
MSN are sold out on big display ads for months in advance, ad buyers say.
Web sites offering car-buying tips are booked so far in advance -- up to 18
months in some cases -- that they are selling ads for next year in a
process similar to the way network TV spots are sold. The surging demand is
allowing big rate increases at the largest portals, the prime beneficiaries
of the growth. Still, the rising tide of ad dollars is lifting some smaller
boats. The shortage of premium spots is driving advertisers toward smaller
targeted Web sites that capture niche audiences and even into what is known
as "remnant inventory," or otherwise unwanted spots across a wide array of
Web sites. Prices for remnant advertising increased about 3% in the third
quarter from the second quarter. Unlike premium sites, remnant advertisers
have no shortage of space available.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113211517116198670.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING COULD FUEL FREE-SPEECH CASE OVER DIGITAL TV
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
A showdown between television networks and children's advocacy groups over
a government order requiring three hours of children's programming on all
television channels could lead to a precedent-setting First Amendment court
case over digital television. In its legal papers, Viacom said the rule
expanding children's television requirements to all multicast channels "is
not narrowly tailored to achieve an important government interest. ...
There is no evidence that the current level of [educational] programming
offered on primary channels is inadequate to meet the needs of children."
Other broadcasters have said applying the three-hour requirement on all
channels could undermine the business case for devoting multicast channels
to a single topic of programming -- such as weather forecasts
[because,let's face it... there's no kids out there interested in learning
about the weather]. If the case goes to trial, it could define how the
First Amendment should apply to digital broadcasting. Issues of multicast
"must carry," the broadcast of "indecent" material, and media ownership all
could hinge on the outcome of such a case.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-CWFN1132091915828.html

WHY INDECENCY, ONCE HOT AT FCC, COOLED
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz( at )wsj.com]
Whatever happened to the government crackdown on bare breasts and bad
words? This year, FCC officials planned to release a bundle of fines that
would address a backlog of more than 50 outstanding complaints and provide
broadcasters with clearer indecency guidelines. The guidelines were
expected to get tougher: Chairman Kevin Martin, for example, has expressed
support for assigning fines "per utterance" of a word deemed to be
indecent, rather than once per show, no matter how many times it was
uttered. And he supports the notion of holding performers as well as
broadcasters accountable for violating decency standards and subjecting
them both to fines. But Chairman Martin has not been able to put together a
majority on the issue, two Commissioners generally favor more modest
actions, and their unease at handing out big fines and expanding the FCC's
definitions of unacceptable programming has slowed Martin's efforts.
Broadcasters dread another round of fines, but some are eager for more
guidance. Chairman Martin wants to provide that guidance, aides say, so
that networks and local stations will know, for example, when it is
acceptable to broadcast the f-word (as in the case of a movie like "Saving
Private Ryan," which the FCC ruled earlier this year wasn't indecent
because it was patriotic and portrayed an historic event) and when it isn't
acceptable (as in the case of awards show speeches like that of U2 singer
Bono at the Golden Globe Awards in 2003).
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113210430769798410.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
See also --
* PTC Complains About NCIS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Parents Television Council has filed an indecency complaint against CBS
drama NCIS. The Oct. 25 episode, said PTC, "aired a scene containing a
gruesome murder and blatant sexual content at a hour when millions of
children were in the viewing audience." The complaint was filed against
WUSA-TV Washington by Dan Isett, director of corporate and government
affairs for PTC. Complaints have to be filed against a station, not a
network, but PTC wants the FCC to fine every station that aired the show.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6284093?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Radio Station Fined for Turkey Call
The FCC has fined Montana radio station, KZMN(FM) Kalispell, $4,000 for
broadcasting and replaying a phone call without the callers knowledge or
consent.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6283912?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

REALITY INTRUDES ON ENTERTAINMENT CHIEFS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
Susan Baranoff, a reality TV writer, rushed the stage at a breakfast panel
featuring the entertainment chiefs from the six broadcast networks Tuesday
in New York, demanding that the networks and TV studios provide reality
writers with benefits equal to their counterparts on sitcoms and dramas. At
the same time, other writers and representatives from the Writers Guild of
America's East and West Coast divisions passed out bright blue flyers to
the hundreds of people gathered for the International Radio & Television
Society Foundation breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, asking the
industry "to begin to respect us the way it does those who make sitcoms and
dramas." Reality writers, the flyer said, are denied health and pension
benefits and do not receive any residual payments from syndication. The
writers, who say they have gathered more than 1,000 reality writers to join
their cause, are demanding that union benefits, which include health
insurance, be extended to reality shows. The group says it has been trying
to get meetings with the networks and studios for months to no avail. Now,
they say, they will take their protests to public gatherings, such as the
IRTS breakfast and a recent reality panel discussion at the Four Seasons in
Los Angeles, where they also protested. Baranoff and her colleagues were
immediately black listed and never seen near a camera again.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6283899?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

FRANCE IS TRYING, DISCREETLY, TO INTEGRATE TELEVISION A BIT
[SOURCE: New
York Times, AUTHOR: Craig Smith]
France, with a larger proportion of non-European minorities than any of its
neighbors, has been locked for decades in what Americans might consider a
1960's-style denial of the increasingly multiethnic makeup of its society.
The disparity between the country's monochromatic image of itself and the
multicolored reality frustrates young citizens from non-European immigrant
backgrounds and has added to their sense of alienation, which was expressed
most graphically in the arson attacks that have swept the country this
month. President Jacques Chirac, speaking of the unrest, acknowledged the
failing when he told the nation on Monday night that he would meet with the
heads of the French media to see how they could "better reflect the French
reality of today."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/international/europe/16france.html
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

MIT IS CRAFTING CHEAP -- BUT INVALUABLE -- LAPTOPS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David A. Fahrenthold]
MIT Media Lab Chairman Nicholas Negroponte will unveil a prototype of a
$100 laptop computer today at the WSIS conference in Tunisia.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR200511...
(requires registration)

GOOGLE RAISES FLAG OVER BASE
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Michael Bazeley]
Google is expanding its already ambitious efforts to organize all the
world's information with the launch of a service today that allows people
to upload a wide array of content to a central database so others can find
it. The free Google Base service at http://base.google.com will accept just
about any type of content from anyone, from recipes and events information
to large batches of job listings compiled by classified-ad companies
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13179904.htm

WEB FIRMS TAKE STAND AGAINST SPYWARE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
America Online, Yahoo, Cnet Networks, Verizon Communications and Computer
Associates International will announce today that a plan to weed out
advertisers who infect computers with unwanted code that spies on users'
activities or generates nuisance advertising.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR200511...
(requires registration)

SPRINT: NONPARTNERING MSOs FAIR GAME
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Sprint Nextel chief operating officer Len Lauer, shedding a little more
light on the recent deal between the wireless-telephone giant and four
cable operators, said Sprint doesn't expect to compete directly against its
cable partners with its PowerVision high-speed-Internet service, but other
cable operators' territories are fair game.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6284117.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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