November 2005

Today's Decency Forum, starting at 9:30am (ET) will be webcast at=20
http://commerce.senate.gov/live.ram For this and other upcoming media=20
policy events, see http://www.benton.org

TODAY'S DECENCY FORUM
FCC May Endorse Cable =E0 la Carte, In a Policy Shift
Televangelists on Unusual Side in Indecency Debate
TV Watch: Parents Want the Remote Control

INTERNET
Keep Cable from Abusing its Power
Money Is There to Aid Rural Internet, but Loans Are Hard to Get
New Orleans's New Connection
'Cyber Monday' Sales Strong, Web Sites Say

QUICKLY -- Martin Taps Victory for Hurricane Relief Panel; New Director of=
=20
Legislative Affairs at FCC; How Soon We Forget; Big fight over small=20
screens; Net phone operators reach E911 deadline; 'Spam' e-mail filters=20
getting better; Feds Won't Block Village Voice/New Times Merger

TODAY'S DECENCY FORUM

FCC MAY ENDORSE CABLE A LA CARTE, IN A POLICY SHIFT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz( at )wsj.com and Joe=
=20
Flint joe.flint( at )wsj.com]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is expected to=20
announce today at a Senate forum on indecency that the FCC will soon=20
reissue its review of cable industry "=E0 la carte" pricing with a wholly=
=20
different conclusion. While the original report concluded that consumers=20
would pay more for individual channels, the new one concludes they could=20
pay less. "This report will conclude that =E0 la carte could be in the best=
=20
interest of consumers," said an FCC official familiar with the revised=20
report's contents. The report also finds that "themed tiers" of channels=20
could be "economically feasible," the official said. This is of concern for=
=20
the cable industry, partly because it opens a new front in the government's=
=20
efforts to impose indecency standards on cable and satellite providers.=20
Until now, the cable industry has resisted suggestions from Mr. Martin and=
=20
some lawmakers to voluntarily offer =E0 la carte choices or set up a=20
"family-friendly tier" of channels suitable for children. By suggesting=20
that consumers won't necessarily pay more for individual channels, the=20
report calls into question the cable industry's revenue model. While the=20
FCC can't force the cable industry to change its business model, its voice=
=20
will add considerable weight to the debate and could embolden lawmakers=20
eager to give consumers, particularly parents, more control over which=20
television programming enters their homes.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113323293561108783.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)
* FCC's Martin at Senate Indecency Forum
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Headlining today's decency forum is FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, an advocate=
=20
of family tiers and a la carte options for cable subscribers.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6287301.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
* Martin To Attend Forum On 'Decency'
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-OTIS1133214675761.html
* For more info on the forum and a link to the webcast see:
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=3D1702

TELEVANGELISTS ON UNUSUAL SIDE IN INDECENCY DEBATE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jube Shiver Jr]
Media executives, televangelists, government regulators and consumer=20
activists will come together at the open forum on decency and what=20
televangelists have to say may surprise you. A Federal Communications=20
Commission study shows that people on average regularly watch only 17 of=20
the more than 100 cable channels they typically receive and pay for.=20
Consumer groups are pushing to let people choose their channels rather than=
=20
pay for ones they don't watch. Lawmakers and advocacy groups have seized on=
=20
the a la carte system as a way to give cable TV subscribers more=20
flexibility to drop channels with adult fare, citing such programs as the=
=20
plastic surgery drama "Nip/Tuck" on FX that regularly features sex and=20
gore.But Christian broadcasters, including such big names as Pat Robertson=
=20
and Jerry Falwell, worry that changing the current system will cut into=20
viewership. If that puts them on the opposite side of where they usually=20
stand in the indecency debate, they say, "so be it." Tim Winters, executive=
=20
director of the Los Angeles-based Parents Television Council, says that=20
religious broadcasters oppose more cable choice because they "are very=20
fearful of losing any market share." To preserve viewership, big religious=
=20
broadcasters such as Trinity, which owns 33 TV stations, and Daystar,=20
operator of stations in San Francisco and 44 other U.S. cities, are pushing=
=20
the government to expand regulations requiring that cable operators carry=
=20
local, over-the-air channels such as theirs. That has put them at odds with=
=20
other religious programmers that don't own TV stations, such as INSP and=20
Gospel Music Channel. They fear their shows will be crowded out by channels=
=20
that cable operators have to carry.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indecency29nov29,1,37...
49.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

TV WATCH: PARENTS WANT THE REMOTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Joel Meyer]
On the eve of the Senate Commerce Committee's forum on decency today, TV=20
Watch -- a group founded by Viacom (CBS, MTV, Comedy Central), General=20
Electric (NBC, Bravo) and News Corp. (Fox) to argue against new indecency=
=20
regulation -- has released a poll that finds -- surprise! -- parents favor=
=20
personal interaction over content-blocking technology to monitor their=20
children=92s television use. Among the tools parents use to control what ki=
ds=20
see: watching TV with children (63%); limiting viewing to certain shows=20
(61%) or certain time periods (55%); using TV ratings (52%), using cable=20
controls (17%), satellite controls (12%) or the v-chip (5%) built into TV=
=20
sets.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6287282?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Putting the Remote Control Back Into the Hands of Parents
See more about what parents want from their TVs.
http://www.benton.org/pioguide/children.html

INTERNET

KEEP CABLE FROM ABUSING POWER
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer, AUTHOR: Jeff Gelles]
[Commentary] Right now, cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner own=
=20
the primary pipeline through which a majority of American households get=20
their television programming. That same pipeline is often a consumer's best=
=20
or only high-speed, or "broadband," route to the Internet. An unfettered=20
duopoly will hardly be much of an improvement over unfettered monopoly.=20
Jonathan Rintels of the Center for Creative Voices in Media advocates for=
=20
"network neutrality" that would bar any Internet provider from blocking or=
=20
slowing down data streams from any source to give a competitive advantage=
=20
to content in which it has a financial stake. Neutrality is crucial to keep=
=20
the Internet as free and open as we trust it is today. It's also crucial if=
=20
the cable-television business model -- selling consumers a large bundle of=
=20
content, most of it unwanted, at a high price -- is ever to give way to an=
=20
Internet model of unlimited choices for consumers. Cable companies like=20
Comcast don't like this concept, for obvious reasons: If you can buy an=20
individual TV show or movie from, say, "movies.com" and watch it on your TV=
=20
same as you would a movie or TV show on traditional cable, the whole=20
cable-TV business model is at risk. Net-neutrality rules that guarantee us=
=20
access to content and applications -- not just movies, but inexpensive=20
phone service and other new Internet technologies -- while barring=20
broadband providers from discriminating in favor of affiliated sites.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13272716.htm

MONEY IS THERE TO AID RURAL INTERNET, BUT LOANS HARD TO GET
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Vikas Bajaj]
Across rural America, entrepreneurs, lawmakers and Internet company=20
executives say they are frustrated with a loan program created by Congress=
=20
in 2002 to help extend high-speed Internet service to rural areas. Run by=
=20
the Rural Utilities Service, an arm of the Department of Agriculture, the=
=20
program has been allocated nearly $3 billion but the agency has lent less=
=20
than half that. As of Sept. 30, the end of the 2005 fiscal year, the=20
utilities service had rejected 87 loan applications totaling $1.1 billion=
=20
and approved 48 loans totaling $770 million. The agency had nearly $2=20
billion in unused money, and $556 million of that must be committed to new=
=20
loans before the end of the fiscal year next September or its authorization=
=20
will expire. Most of the loans carry the same interest rates as United=20
States Treasury bonds, about 4.5 percent. Critics say the agency's=20
standards are so tough that applicants that have not been profitable for at=
=20
least two years are rejected if they do not have enough cash on hand to=20
cover a full year's operating expenses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/29/technology/29broad.html
(requires registration)

NEW ORLEANS'S NEW CONNECTION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans will deploy the nation's first municipally=20
owned wireless Internet system that will be free for all users, part of an=
=20
effort to jump-start recovery by making living and doing business in the=20
city as attractive as possible. The system, which Mayor C. Ray Nagin is=20
scheduled to announce at a news conference today, also will be used by law=
=20
enforcement and for an array of city government functions, such as speeding=
=20
approval of building permits. Much of the equipment to run the network was=
=20
donated by companies, but New Orleans will own it and operate all its=20
components at the outset. The system, which uses devices mounted on=20
streetlights to beam out fast Internet connections for wireless-enabled=20
computers, is scheduled to be operational today in the central business=20
district and the French Quarter and to be expanded over time. Louisiana=20
prohibits any locality from offering Internet connection speeds of more=20
than 144 kilobits per second, about twice the speed of dial-up but=20
one-tenth to one-twentieth of what is typically provided via digital=20
subscriber line (DSL) or cable-modem services. The New Orleans system will=
=20
feature 512-kilobit-per-second speed, which city officials said is the most=
=20
the network can handle efficiently at first. Because the city is under a=20
state of emergency, it can skirt existing law. Eventually, city officials=
=20
said, they expect to outsource operation of the commercial side of the=20
network to a private company.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/28/AR200511...
1773.html
(requires registration)

'CYBER MONDAY' SALES STRONG, WEB SITES SAY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Pui-Wing Tam pui-wing.tam( at )wsj.com and=
=20
Mylene Mangalindan mylene.mangalindan( at )wsj.com]
The Monday after Thanksgiving, nicknamed "Cyber Monday," is the unofficial=
=20
kickoff of the Internet holiday shopping period. It has become a huge=20
online shopping day in part because after a long Thanksgiving weekend of=20
comparing prices and exchanging gift ideas, many shoppers return to the=20
high-speed Internet connections in their offices ready to buy=20
electronically. Online Christmas sales already had jumped over the four-day=
=20
Thanksgiving weekend. Americans spent $305 million online Friday, up 22%=20
from the same day a year ago, according to research firm comScore Networks.=
=20
Research firm Nielsen/NetRatings said its Holiday eShopping Index, which=20
tracks traffic to 100 Web sites, jumped 29% Friday from a year earlier.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113322582802808623.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)
* Cyber shopping for holidays takes off
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20051129/onlinesales29.art.htm
* Net access turns black days green
[SOURCE: Seattle Times, AUTHOR: Paul Andrews]
[Commentary] A look at how household broadband penetration is changing=20
retail shopping during the holiday season.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002650629_paul...
html

QUICKLY

MARTIN TAPS VICTORY FOR HURRICANE RELIEF PANEL
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On Monday, FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced that Nancy J. Victory=20
will serve as Chair of the Commission's Independent Panel Reviewing the=20
Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. The panel,=20
composed of public safety and communications industry representatives, will=
=20
review the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the telecommunications and media=
=20
infrastructure in the affected area and will make recommendations to the=20
Commission regarding ways to improve disaster preparedness, network=20
reliability, and communication among first responders. Victory is the=20
former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information=
=20
and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information=20
Administration, where she served as President George W. Bush's=20
telecommunications policy advisor and the manager of the federal government=
=20
spectrum. She recently authored "Homeland Security and Communications: A=
=20
Compendium of Federal Programs," which provides a detailed review of=20
ongoing federal efforts to address public safety and homeland security=20
needs of the country. She is a partner at the Washington law firm of Wiley=
=20
Rein & Fielding LLP.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-262451A1.doc

WASHINGTON IS FCC'S NEW DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On Monday, FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced that Kevin Washington=20
will serve as the Commission's Director of the Office of Legislative=20
Affairs. Mr. Washington comes to the Commission with a background in both=
=20
the Legislative and Executive branches. He spent several years working for=
=20
two senior House of Representatives Leadership offices in legislative=20
policy and as a press spokesman, and he most recently served as Deputy=20
Director of the Department of Education's No Child Left Behind Office of=20
Communications and Outreach. Mr. Washington has a B.A. from Southwest=20
Texas State University.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-262452A1.doc

HOW SOON WE FORGET
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Mark Lloyd]
[Comentary] The =93news=94 in America does not represent what is important =
for=20
citizens to know -=AD quite the opposite. There is a large body of literatu=
re=20
suggesting that =93news=94 in America, particularly television news, actual=
ly=20
prevents us from knowing what is important to know and from holding our=20
elected representatives responsible.
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=3DbiJRJ8OVF&b=3D1211735

BIG FIGHTS OVER SMALL SCREENS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] People with TiVos or the generic equivalent actually watch=20
more TV and see plenty of commercials in the process. But now TiVo has=20
announced software that lets subscribers automatically copy recorded shows=
=20
onto two popular pocket-sized video players, Apple's new video iPod or=20
Sony's PlayStation Portable. The television industry doesn't like it -- it=
=20
may threaten the fledgling market for TV shows distributed on demand. By=20
making it easy for subscribers to put shows on their iPods or PSPs for=20
free, TiVo has made it harder for the networks to collect a fee. It's not=
=20
clear how a court would rule if the TV industry sued TiVo over the new=20
feature. The actual threat to the networks is minimal. TiVo's move could=20
boost interest in watching TV on portable devices, creating more=20
opportunities to sell programs and advertising. Instead of girding for a=20
legal fight, the networks would be better off working with TiVo on the=20
company's latest feature, which lets TiVo subscribers tell advertisers=20
which commercials they might actually want to see. What a concept --=20
pitching pickup trucks to people who are thinking about buying one.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-tivo29nov29,1,407...
1.story?coll=3Dla-news-comment
(requires registration)

NET PHONE OPERATORS REACH 911 DEADLINE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon]
The deadline for Net phone companies to comply with a Federal=20
Communications Commission mandate to provide emergency 911 services arrived=
=20
last night.
http://news.com.com/Net+phone+operators+reach+E911+deadline/2100-7352_3-...
4196.html?tag=3Dnefd.hed

'SPAM' FILTERS GETTING BETTER -- FTC
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The Federal Trade Commission released a report on Monday that finds that=20
Internet providers are getting better at blocking junk messages before they=
=20
reach users' inboxes.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=
=3D2005-11-28T211837Z_01_SPI876594_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPAM.xml
* See FTC release: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/11/spam3.htm

FEDS WON'T BLOCK VILLAGE VOICE/NEW TIMES MERGER
[SOURCE: Seattle Weekly, AUTHOR: Chuck Taylor ctaylor( at )seattleweekly.com]
The federal government has declined to intervene in the merger of New=20
York-based Village Voice Media, which owns Seattle Weekly and five other=20
publications, with Phoenix-based New Times, which owns 11 weeklies --=20
clearing the way for the two companies to become one as soon as paperwork=
=20
is complete. In a routine notice on the Web site of the Federal Trade=20
Commission (FTC), the merger was listed Wednesday, Nov. 23, as among=20
proposed deals that neither the FTC's Bureau of Competition nor the=20
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice would challenge, based on=
=20
paperwork filed by the two companies on Oct. 24, when the merger was announ=
ced.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0548/051130_news_merger.php
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=
=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=
=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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