November 2005

(Happy Election Day)
For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

TELEVISION
Proposed Legislation May Affect Future of Public-Access Television
CBS, NBC Deals Accelerate Shift In TV Landscape
Paxson Resigns; NBC Steps Up
Stevens Ponders Path to Cable Smut Regs
Cable's Final Frontier: People who Want Less
Fox News Is Accused in Bias Suit

OLD VS NEW MEDIA
The New Media Elites
TV's New Parallel Universe
Legal Pressure Shutters Grokster
Search Firms Cast Wider Net
Newspapers in an Electronic Age
As Knight Ridder Goes, So May News Industry
Arbitron Delays Satellite and Online Radio Measurement

INTERNET
Critics Press Companies on Internet Rights Issues
EU Optimistic over wider Governance of Internet

TELECOM
Thousands of Katrina 911 Calls Went Astray
Internet Phone Survey Released
FCC says no Cutoff for Internet Phone Customers
USF Exemption Included In Spending Measure
New Telephone Subscribership Report

POLICYMAKERS
Senate Commerce Democrats Griping About Chairman Stevens' Management

TELEVISION

PROPOSED LEGISLATION MAY AFFECT FUTURE OF PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Felicia Lee]
For every hour of "Desperate Housewives" on ABC, the nation's 3,000
public-access television channels present hours of local school board
meetings, Little League games and religious services. But the future of the
channels deemed "electronic soapboxes" in 1972 by the Federal
Communications Commission is uncertain, as proposed legislation about how
the telecommunications industry is regulated winds its way through
Congress. The main concern for public-access advocates is that the law
preserve the ability of municipalities to negotiate franchise agreements
for cable television. Those agreements pay for the public-access programs
and allow municipalities to determine how many channels they want and allow
public access programmers to train nonprofit groups to produce their own
shows. The proposed legislation varies in its specifics, but several bills
aim to allow more video-services competition -- easing the way for
telephone companies to compete for the franchises -- and minimize
regulations for franchises. Advocates of the legislation say that the fears
of the demise of public access are exaggerated and that some local control
of franchises is written into the bills. "There has to be some portion of
the system open to public use, which has public revenue supporting it,"
Anthony T. Riddle, executive director of the Washington-based Alliance for
Community Media, said of his advocacy of public access. The group
represents 1,000 media centers nationwide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/arts/television/08cabl.html
(requires registration)

CBS, NBC DEALS ACCELERATE SHIFT IN TV LANDSCAPE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes brooks.barnes( at )wsj.com
and Peter Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com]
Two big TV networks, CBS and NBC, struck deals with cable and satellite
providers allowing their viewers to watch popular shows anytime they want,
the latest sign of how quickly technology is upending viewing habits and
reshaping the industry's longtime model. The deals mark a profound change
of heart for the broadcast television industry, which from its earliest
days has built its schedule around the evening hours known as prime time.
Executives have long resisted efforts by cable operators to offer so-called
on-demand viewing of popular TV shows, worrying that it could cannibalize
their existing businesses by eroding their ability to sell advertising for
programs and reap lucrative profit by selling reruns. But technology is
forcing their hand. The Internet has encouraged widespread piracy of media
content. Traditional prime-time viewing, in which viewers schedule their
evening hours around showcase programs, is under siege from technologies
like digital-video recorders, or DVRs, which allow users to save shows and
watch them at their convenience -- and without commercials. Thus, for TV
executives the latest agreements are less about making money than they are
about trying to maintain some control over their content, by offering
people the chance to watch shows through an unconventional route. They hope
that this will eventually lead to a substantial new revenue stream.
Hollywood has gotten a clear view of the challenges in the rapidly shifting
landscape by watching the music industry grapple with Internet piracy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113140185186190419.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
* Near-Instant Pay Reruns Set for Shows on NBC and CBS
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/business/media/08demand.html?pagewante...
(requires registration)
* Comcast Cuts VOD Deal For Four CBS Shows
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10014...
* NBC says safeguards needed for wider programing
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
* Tailored, ad-free TV gains ground
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20051108/2b_nbc_directv08.art...
* New From TV Networks: Prime Time on Demand
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-ondemand8nov08,1,32...

PAXSON RESIGNS; NBC STEPS UP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins & John Eggerton]
Since 1999, NBC has had a major investment in Paxson Communications, the
parent of the PaxTV broadcast network and many, many TV stations around the
US. The often bumpy relationship between the two companies took another
turn Monday when Bud Paxson stepped down as Chairman/CEO and agreed to sell
his controlling stake in Paxson to NBC. Brandon Burgess, executive VP of
business development, has resigned from NBC Universal to take over as CEO
of Paxson, and to become a director of that company. Paxson is in tough
financial straights and the new deal doesn't really help. Because of media
ownership caps, NBC can't take over all of Paxson's TV stations. The power
of Paxson lies in its digital broadcast capacity. To most people, Paxson is
largely an infomercial station. But Burgess sees a distribution path into
90 million analog homes through must-carry and retransmission agreements
with cable and DBS operators. When digital television is universal, that
single channel in 90 million homes could become four to six channels.
Paxson has obviously had problems programming even one channel, but Burgess
suggests that outside programmers might ultimately partner with Paxson or
lease capacity. "I think people have figured out that launching digital
networks is harder than expected," Burgess says.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6281623?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Paxson Out as NBC U Nears Control
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6281685.html?display=Breaking+News
* Paxson Founder Resigns as CEO; New NBC Universal Pact Is Set
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113137154238690012.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
* Deal Brings an End to NBC-Paxson Feud
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/business/media/08paxson.html?pagewante...
(requires registration)

STEVENS PONDERS PATH TO CABLE SMUT REGS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A House bill that would toughen broadcast indecency enforcement was passed
back in February and awaits a companion bill from the Senate. Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is working on a bill and
exploring the possibility of adding cable TV programming to the mix. He has
been meeting with cable and radio execs and has some ideas about whether
and how to regulate cable indecency. The House bill, which passed
overwhelmingly last February, ups the maximum indecency fines for stations
and performers from $32,500 and $11,000, respectively, to $500,000. It also
toughens enforcement by requiring the FCC to act more swiftly on complaints
and makes one indecency fine a factor in license renewals and three an
automatic trigger for a license revocation hearing.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6281773?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
* New Obscene, Profane and Indecent Material Complaint Form at FCC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The FCC is trying to make it easier for people to file complaints about
broadcast programming. The Office of Management and Budget has approved new
FCC complaint forms including comments about obscene, profane, and/or
indecent material. Complaints submitted by consumers using the FCC Form 475
may be filed electronically at
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm. Complaints that are submitted
using FCC Form 475B may be filed electronically at
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475B.cfm. In addition to using FCC Form
475B, complaints related to obscene, profane, and/or indecent material may
be filed by: (1) e-mail addressed to fccinfo( at )fcc.gov; (2) letter through
the U.S. Postal Service mail to FCC Enforcement Bureau, Investigations and
Hearings Division, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554; (3) fax
to 1-866-418-0232; or (4) calling toll-free 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)
voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-2930A1.doc

CABLE'S FINAL FRONTIER: PEOPLE WHO WANT LESS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
Television companies face a bleak future if they can't persuade millions of
customers to buy more or better programming, gear and services. Cable and
satellite providers already serve 82% of all homes, and that's not expected
to grow much in the foreseeable future. Executives at a new company, U.S.
Digital Television, to bet they can make a tidy profit by charging
consumers less for a slimmed-down basket of programming. The company will
lease digital broadcast capacity from local TV stations and offer 30
channels -- including local stations, ESPN, Fox News and The Disney Channel
-- over the air for about $20 a month. USDTV plans to announce before the
holidays the cities where it will launch commercially. It got a $25.8
million investment in September from station groups including Fox,
Hearst-Argyle and McGraw-Hill and has been testing in Salt Lake City,
Albuquerque and Las Vegas. The big players remain convinced, however, that
eventually most people will pay more to get more. The cable industry spent
$100 billion on upgrades in the past decade to offer services such as
digital TV and high-speed Internet. Programmers seeking new revenue --
including Disney, News Corp., Time Warner and Viacom -- are beginning to
funnel concerts, sports, news, kids' programming and even some traditional
movies and TV shows to the Internet. Those efforts will be for naught,
however, unless most of the 67% of all homes now Internet-free or dependent
upon slower dial-up connections pay to upgrade to high-speed, video-capable
broadband. (There's lots more on the future of pay TV at the URL below.)
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20051108/good_enough.art.htm

FOX NEWS IS ACCUSED IN BIAS SUIT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Julia Preston]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit
yesterday against the Fox News network, claiming it harassed and
discriminated against its female employees, creating a "hostile work
environment because of their sex." The commission claims that a Fox vice
president, Joe Chillemi, "routinely used gross obscenities and vulgarities
when describing women or their body parts," language that it says Mr.
Chillemi "did not use with male employees." The suit contends that Mr.
Chillemi "routinely cursed at and otherwise denigrated women employees,"
telling them to "be a man." The suit charges that Fox routinely relegated
female employees to freelance work and less secure jobs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/national/08fox.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)

OLD VS NEW MEDIA

THE NEW MEDIA ELITES
[SOURCE: USNews.com, AUTHOR: Betsy Streisand and Richard J. Newman]
If anyone is in danger from the growing power of the Internet and its
transformative effect on communication, entertainment, information, and
commerce, it is the old media. Companies such as the New York Times, Walt
Disney, News Corp., and NBC/Universal, as well as magazine and book
publishers, are increasingly losing ground to a new breed of media elites
who grew up in the digital world and are now out to control it by offering
content and services to users worldwide. (Long article at the URL below)
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/051114/14media.htm

TV's PARALLEL UNIVERSE
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Tom Lowry]
Broadband is opening the floodgates for a new kind of TV show -- only not
on TV but online. In just the past few months some of the biggest TV names
have announced new broadband channels, from MTV Networks to Comedy Central
(VIA ) to ABC News. If you thought the 400 cable channels focusing on
everything from golf to anime were already cutting niches thin, broadband
TV is going a step further. With improved speeds and video quality online,
not to mention broadband's growing reach (estimated conservatively to be in
40 million U.S. homes by year end), TV executives are rushing to connect
with younger audiences that are less and less riveted to traditional TV.
Getting a foothold on the Internet, especially if it creates buzz, is also
a way to recapture ad dollars that have migrated away from the 30-second TV
spot. On the Web, ads can be positioned strategically next to programming
and measured with greater accuracy. Broadband may also allow executives,
bound by the costs and the creative parameters of big-time TV, to take more
chances. TV execs will need that kind of freedom as they go up against a
slew of upstarts that are creating their own channels. And why not? The
barriers to entry are incredibly low vs. TV. Essentially, if you have a
$300 video camera and the software to create a site, you're in business.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_46/b3959104.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2005/tc20051107_203886...

LEGAL PRESSURE SHUTTERS GROKSTER
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim and Frank Ahrens]
Grokster Ltd., whose popular software let consumers trade music online for
free, all but shut down yesterday under legal pressure from the
entertainment industry, which viewed the song-sharing as theft. In a
settlement with the Recording Industry Association of America and the
National Music Publishers' Association, Grokster agreed to stop offering
downloads of its software and to no longer support the system. "There are
legal services for downloading music and movies," according to a statement
on the firm's main Web page. "This service is not one of them." The page
also directed users to industry-backed Web sites warning that file-sharing
of copyrighted songs or videos of without paying for them is stealing. But
even though Grokster essentially is ending operations, that will not
prevent its customers from using the software if they have already
downloaded it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/07/AR200511...
(requires registration)
* For Grokster, It's the Day the Music Died
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113139188324090276.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
* Grokster Calls It Quits on Sharing Music Files
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/technology/08grokster.html

SEARCH FIRMS CAST WIDER NET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
Internet giants Yahoo and Google yesterday unveiled new products designed
to boost their visibility beyond computers by using cell phones and
television sets to reach a broader audience. Yahoo and digital-recording
company TiVo launched a service allowing consumers to record television
programs from the Yahoo Web site. The deal builds on Yahoo's attempts to
expand its entertainment business, and by the end of the year, the company
will be able to deliver weather and traffic information to television sets
through the service. TiVo, meanwhile, will be able to tap Yahoo's millions
of users. Google took aim at the mobile phone market by announcing a new
local search service that lets users view satellite maps on their phones
and get detailed directions to particular locations. The company does not
have plans to put ads on the service, but analysts said it could be a good
vehicle for advertising because there is a huge market for localized
restaurant, movie, traffic and other information. Google already offers a
service that allows mobile phone users to search for weather information
and directions by sending a text message query. The new service works only
on phones with Java-based software, or roughly half of phones from carriers
such as T-Mobile USA, Cingular and Sprint. Eventually, Google will tap the
global positioning system data in phones to automatically identify the
user's location and plot directions, or to find landmarks such as the
nearest cafe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/07/AR200511...
(requires registration)
See also dueling opinions on Google's online library
* Needless fight threatens Google's online library
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051108/edit08.art.htm
* Lack of sense and sensibility
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051108/oppose08.art.htm

NEWSPAPERS IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Clark Gilbert & Scot Anthony]
[Commentary] The newspaper industry is now roughly 400 years old, and,
generally speaking, it is confronting a "disruptive" change unprecedented
in its history. The emerging challengers can't comprehensively measure up
to leading newspapers' detailed reporting capability, institutional
advantages and deep local reach. All of them, however, feature revenue
streams and content delivery models that run counter to those of most
newspapers -- and they are breaking paths into new territories. Newspapers
have been buying Internet properties -- how can these acquisitions be
judged? 1) Do these acquisitions enable companies to reach into new market
spaces populated by "nonconsumers," people who can't solve the problems
they face because they lack access, knowledge or expertise? 2) Does an
acquisition plugs a capability gap, particularly related to employing new
business models? 3) Does the acquirer recognize that reaching nonconsumers
and leveraging new implied business models requires substantial autonomy
from the core print business, even while efforts are made to transfer those
capabilities into the newspaper?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113142165259390911.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

AS KNIGHT RIDDER GOES, SO MAY NEWS INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Menn and James Rainey]
As big shareholders of Knight Ridder Inc. pressure executives to consider
selling the nation's second-largest newspaper company, an increasing number
of industry veterans say the fight's outcome could write the future of
print journalism. Like other chains, Knight Ridder has responded to readers
and advertisers migrating to the Internet by investing in Web versions of
the print product, cutting costs and experimenting with free papers.
Although newspaper companies still are more profitable than many other
industries -- operating margins of more than 20% are common -- revenue is
growing slowly and corporate owners are tending to funnel earnings into
other areas rather than pay them out as dividends. Knight Ridder's
situation illustrates a larger predicament for newspaper executives, who
are under pressure to improve their product at the same time that they are
being urged to cut expenses to increase profits.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-knight8nov08,1,667704...
(requires registration)

ARBITRON DELAYS SATELLITE AND ONLINE RADIO MEASUREMENT
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Abbey Klaassen]
Terrestrial broadcasters insist they're not nervous about satellite radio's
7 million subscribers, but they've successfully stalled Arbitron's plan to
add satellite and online radio listening to its diary measurement system.
Arbitron was originally scheduled to instruct its diary keepers to record
their satellite and online radio listening in the fall 2005 book. Instead,
Arbitron now plans a 25-market test of the process in February and will
delay full implementation until summer 2006, at the earliest. The impetus
for measuring the other forms of radio is an increasingly popular view that
consumers have expanded their definition of radio to include all forms --
terrestrial stations, satellite services, online radio broadcasts and even
Music Choice audio options available through cable TV. Radio broadcasters
have been wary of the effect audience-measurement changes could have on
their ratings and bottom line.
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=46640

INTERNET

CRITICS PRESS COMPANIES ON INTERNET RIGHTS ISSUES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tom Zeller, Jr]
A group of two dozen fund management firms and investment analysts issued a
joint statement yesterday urging businesses to adopt policies addressing
freedom of expression. The move comes in the wake of public controversy
over the decision by Yahoo's Beijing division to cooperate with Chinese
authorities seeking to identify the user of a Yahoo e-mail address in China
last year. That incident has put a spotlight on the actions of several
Internet and technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Cisco,
which human rights and press freedom groups have long said were acquiescing
too readily to the demands of repressive regimes. The group, which
organized and helped draft yesterday's announcement, turned to "socially
responsible" investment firms in an attempt to reach shareholders.
Twenty-six companies and organizations representing about $21 billion in
assets signed the joint resolution. The petition affirms a commitment among
the investors to monitor and evaluate technology companies' relations with
authoritarian regimes, and to introduce and support shareholder resolutions
that support freedom of expression.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/technology/08data.html
(requires registration)

EU OPTIMISTIC OVER WIDER GOVERNANCE OF INTERNET
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Huw Jones]
The European Commission hopes a meeting next week will come up with an
agreement to allow governments more direct influence over the domain name
system that guides traffic around the Internet. A United Nations report has
put forward a more multi-national approach to running the Internet which
serves a billion users worldwide, saying this would be more democratic and
transparent, a view the 25-nation European Union shares.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

TELECOM

THOUSANDS OF KATRINA 911 CALLS WENT ASTRAY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ceci Connolly]
Early in the afternoon of Aug. 29, as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the
Gulf Coast, the phones inside the Louisiana State Police emergency
operations center here began ringing with frantic pleas for help -- 467
that first day. As the floodwaters rose, so, too, did the calls -- to 1,875
the following day, to 3,108 on Aug. 31, and to 3,284 on Sept. 1. The vast
majority came from 70 miles away in New Orleans, but what was strange was
not the volume of calls or that they were made, but how they ended up so
far away from the people who needed help. Floodwaters had forced 120
operators at the 911 center to abandon the New Orleans police headquarters.
Emergency calls were supposed to be routed to the fire department but its
main station was already abandoned. And so -- after hours of confusion --
many calls were shunted north to Baton Rouge, where unsuspecting emergency
personnel suddenly found their phones ringing off the hooks. The
disintegration of New Orleans's 911 system carries national implications
for future disasters, said public safety experts. While some communities
boast sophisticated, high-tech centers with elaborate contingency plans,
most cities have older systems lacking adequate backup measures for massive
disasters. Last year, Congress passed the Enhance 911 Act, which set aside
$1.2 billion over five years to upgrade emergency systems and create a
national coordinating agency for 911. But as Katrina was approaching, the
money had still not been appropriated.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/07/AR200511...
(requires registration)

INTERNET PHONE SURVEY RELEASED
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Roughly 750,000 of the estimated 2.5 million Internet telephone customers
may have service turned off because providers cannot offer enhanced 911
service, according to a survey on Monday by Voice On the Net Coalition. The
group said hurdles facing VOIP providers to offer enhanced 911 service
include accessing necessary databases, a short time frame, and
technological limitations. Less than half of the dozen VOIP providers
surveyed, 42 percent, said they would be able to provide enhanced 911
service to 100 percent of their customers with a primary fixed location,
according to VON.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...
* Enforcement Bureau Outlines Requirements of November 28, 2005
Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol 911 Compliance Letters
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-2945A1.doc

FCC SAYS NO CUTOFF FOR INTERNET PHONE CUSTOMERS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
Internet telephone providers do not have to cut off U.S. subscribers even
if they are not provided enhanced 911 emergency service which gives
dispatchers their location and phone number, the FCC announced Monday. But
the FCC said Internet telephone providers would have to cease marketing and
accepting new customers in areas where they are not connecting 911 calls
with the person's location and phone number, according to guidance issued
on Monday (see link below).
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...

USF EXEMPTION INCLUDED IN SPENDING MEASURE
[SOURCE: Congress Daily, AUTHOR: Molly M. Peterson]
As part of talks on a bill that will fund several major federal departments
and agencies for the coming year, House and Senate negotiators agreed to
include Senate-favored language to exempt the Universal Service
Administrative Corp. from Anti-Deficiency Act requirements for one year.
The ADA bars federal agencies from making financial commitments that exceed
their available funds. Critics say those accounting rules have disrupted
e-rate payments designed to subsidize Internet connections for schools and
libraries, and could sharply increase consumers' monthly telephone
surcharges. The one-year exemption comes with a gentleman's agreement
between House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) and Senate
counterpart Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) that their committees would work
together next year to address the ADA issue as part of a broader universal
service fund overhaul bill.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-PCVP1131395693460.html

NEW TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERSHIP REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission released its latest report
on telephone subscribership levels in the United States. The report
presents subscribership statistics based on the Current Population Survey
(CPS) conducted by the Census Bureau in July 2005. The report also shows
subscribership levels by state, income level, race, age, household size,
and employment status. Highlights include: the telephone subscribership
penetration rate in the U.S. was 94.0%; the telephone penetration rate was
79.8% for households with annual incomes below $5,000, while the rate for
households with incomes between $75,000 and $99,999 was 98.5%; and
households headed by whites had a penetration rate of 94.7%, while those
headed by blacks had a rate of 89.7% and those headed by Hispanics had a
rate of 89.1%. This report is updated three times a year and is available
at http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-262059A1.doc
* The FCC also released statistical information on the communications
sector. Learn more about that at:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-262058A1.doc

POLICYMAKERS

SENATE COMMERCE DEMOCRATS GRIPING ABOUT CHAIRMAN STEVENS' MANAGEMENT
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
A look at how Sen Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) runs the Commerce Committee.
Democrats on the panel are complaining he is not responsive enough to
requests for hearings on pending legislation. For example, 1) hearing
proposed by Democrats on telecommunications mergers was set for June 22 but
postponed and never rescheduled; 2) two Oct. 25 hearings on universal
service were planned, but never occurred; 3) a Nov. 1 indecency hearing
never happened and 4) a Nov. 3 hearing on video franchising never
materialized. Is there a pattern here?
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-NDNC1131395319207.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------