Benton's Communications-related Headlines For Tuesday November 22, 2005
For upcoming media policy events (including soon those 14 Senate Commerce=
=20
Committee hearings mentioned below), see http://www.benton.org
AGENDA
Senate Firms Up Decency Forum Plans
FCC Moves Meeting
Senate Commerce Slates Communications Hearings
OWNERSHIP
World Digital Library Planned
Changing Rules of Monopoly
Sprint Nextel Agrees to Buy Texas Affiliate
POLICYMAKERS
Groups File FOIA Requests for CPB Documents
Ferree, Chessen: Together Again
Long Elevated in FCC=92s Media Bureau
QUICKLY -- Senate Bill Lets Artists Claim Price for Gifts; Internet Users=
=20
Put a Best Face Forward; Kashmir Radio Channels Aid, Talk After Quake;=20
Telus contract puts an end to work halt, 5-year talks
AGENDA
SENATE FIRMS UP DECENCY FORUM PLANS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Yes, Congress will officially be on the Thanksgiving day break next week,=
=20
but that's not stopping the Senate Commerce Committee from holding a=20
day-long forum on decency November 29. The committee is working on a bill=
=20
to boost indecency fines and the FCC's enforcement powers, as did a House=
=20
indecency bill that has already been passed. The Senate Commerce Committee=
=20
also plans to hold hearings on decency and Internet porn Jan. 19. The=20
forum, which is open to the public, will be from 9:30 to 5 in the Dirksen=
=20
Building. Currently scheduled to attend are representatives from ABC, Clear=
=20
Channel, the American Cable Association; Christian Coalition of America;=20
Creative Coalition; Clear Channel; Cellular Telecommunications & Internet=
=20
Association (CTIA); Federal Communications Commission; Motion Picture=20
Association of America; National Association of Broadcasters; National=20
Cable Telecommunications Association; PSV Ratings; Trinity Broadcasting=20
Network; TV Watch; and XM Satellite Radio. (For more info see=20
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=3D1702)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6286080?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FCC MOVES MEETING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC has moved the date of its December meeting to Dec. 9, which will=20
allow everyone to say goodbye to Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, whose=20
last day is the ninth. It will also guarantee that Chairman Martin is not=
=20
in the minority that day.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6285771?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
SENATE COMMERCE SLATES COMMUNICATIONS HEARINGS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Commerce Committee has slated 14 communications-related hearings=
=20
for the first three months of 2006 as it prepares to rewrite the Telecom=20
Act of 1996. Subjects include: Decency, Internet Pornography, Video=20
Franchising, Video Content, Competition and Convergence, Broadcast and=20
Audio Flag, Net Neutrality, State and Local Issues and Municipal Networks,=
=20
USF Contributions, USF Distribution, Wireless Issues/Spectrum Reform, Rural=
=20
Telecommunications, VOIP, and Wall Street's Perspective on=20
Telecommunications. For dates, times, etc, see http://commerce.senate.gov/
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6286060?display=3DBreaking+News=
=20
&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
OWNERSHIP
WORLD DIGITAL LIBRARY PLANNED
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David A. Vise]
The Library of Congress is launching a campaign today to create the World=
=20
Digital Library, an online collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps,=20
posters, stamps and other materials from its holdings and those of other=20
national libraries that would be freely accessible for viewing by anyone,=
=20
anywhere with Internet access. This is the most ambitious international=20
effort ever undertaken to put precious items of artistic, historical, and=
=20
literary significance on the Internet so that people can learn about other=
=20
cultures without traveling further than the nearest computer (even in=20
Carthage, Tennessee?), according to James H. Billington, head of the=20
Library of Congress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR200511...
1428.html
(requires registration)
* A Library for The New World
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: James H. Billington, head of the Library=
=20
of Congress]
[Commentary] "An American partnership in promoting [a world digital=20
library] for UNESCO would show how we are helping other people recover=20
distinctive elements of their cultures through a shared enterprise that may=
=20
also help them discover more about the experience of our own and other free=
=20
cultures.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR200511...
1234.html
(requires registration)
* Library of Congress plans world digital library
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&sto...
D=3D2005-11-22T071313Z_01_RID225748_RTRUKOC_0_US-GOOGLE-WORLD-LIBRARY.xml
CHANGING RULES OF MONOPOLY
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer, AUTHOR: Jeff Gelles]
Cable companies such as Comcast have raised rates relentlessly since=20
Congress ended most price regulation in 1996, and have simultaneously come=
=20
to dominate consumer access to the broadband Internet. The combination is=
=20
dangerous. Cable companies already have too much control over what we watch=
=20
on TV. Now they threaten to undermine the open-access culture that has made=
=20
the Internet a world-changing force. Telephone companies are moving in to=
=20
compete with cable companies for the video delivery market. Are the Baby=20
Bells the answer? Jonathan Rintels, who heads the Center for Creative=20
Voices in Media, welcomes the Bells entry as long as lawmakers set rules=20
that prevent all providers from turning the Internet into a "walled=20
garden," akin to what cable TV is today. His top priority: "net=20
neutrality," to stop any provider from blocking some Web sites or favoring=
=20
others.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13221041.htm
See also:
* Cable=92s =93Level Playing Field=94 =96 Not Level. No Field.
http://www.creativevoices.us/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=3D139&PHPSE...
D=3D630fb5630dd5a84cc85c905bdc542615
SPRINT NEXTEL AGREES TO BUY TEXAS AFFILIATE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Arshad Mohammed]
Sprint Nextel yesterday agreed to pay $3.4 billion for Alamosa Holdings, a=
=20
Texas company that offers Sprint's mobile phone service to 1.5 million=20
subscribers in 19 states. The deal, which includes assuming $900 million in=
=20
Alamosa's debt, helped lift shares of Nextel Partners, a Nextel affiliate=
=20
that is in the process of being bought out by Reston-based Sprint Nextel.=
=20
Christopher C. King, a senior analyst at Legg Mason Wood Walker, said he=20
estimated that Nextel Partners revenue would rise by 20 to 30 percent next=
=20
year -- faster than Alamosa's likely increase and worthy of a premium price.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR200511...
1422.html
(requires registration)
POLICYMAKERS
GROUPS FILE FOIA REQUESTS FOR CPB DOCUMENTS
[SOURCE: Common Cause, the Center for Digital Democracy and Free Press=20
press release]
Common Cause, the Center for Digital Democracy and Free Press today filed=
=20
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Corporation for Public=
=20
Broadcasting and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The groups seek=20
copies of any correspondence between the White House and CPB officials and=
=20
other evidence uncovered in recent Inspector General investigations. The=20
groups seek: 1) The separate "investigative report" and "specific evidence=
=20
indicating possible wrongdoing" given to the members of the CPB Board of=20
Directors by the Inspector General; 2) Any and all reports or records given=
=20
to Members of Congress related to the Inspector General's investigation. 3)=
=20
Any and all communications between the White House, former CPB President=20
Kathleen Cox, Harrison and members of the board during the past 36 months;=
=20
4) Minutes for both the public and closed-door CPB board meetings for the=
=20
past 36 months; 5) All information and materials related to the recruitment=
=20
of Harrison; the hiring of ombudsmen William Schultz and Kenneth Bode; the=
=20
monitoring of political content on PBS and NPR by Fred W. Mann; and 6) all=
=20
the development, funding and promotion of "Tucker Carlson Unfiltered" and=
=20
"The Journal Editorial Report." The groups also will file a FOIA request=20
related to separate inquiry into Tomlinson's actions as chairman of the=20
Broadcasting Board of Governors =97 which oversees Voice of America, Radio=
=20
Free Europe, TV Marti and other government "public diplomacy" efforts. An=
=20
Inspector General at the State Department is currently investigating=20
Tomlinson for possible misuse of funds and hiring of unqualified employees=
=20
at the Broadcasting Board of Governors. According to the New York Times,=20
the Rove-Tomlinson e-mails first surfaced as part of the State Department=
=20
probe.
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=3D108
* Groups Seek CPB Investigation Info
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6286077?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FERREE, CHESSEN: TOGETHER AGAIN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Former associate chief of the FCC's Media Bureau, Rick Chessen, has been=20
tapped by his former boss, Ken Ferree, to join the expanding D.C.=20
communications practice of California law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter &=
=20
Hampton LLP. (Best of luck, Rick)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6285846?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
LONG ELEVATED IN FCC'S MEDIA BUREAU
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Andrew Long has been named associate chief of the FCC=92s Media Bureau, whi=
ch=20
oversees the cable and broadcasting industries. He joins a long list of=20
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP alum at the Commission including: Chairman=20
Martin; Heather Dixon, Martin=92s top media adviser; Catherine Bohigian,=20
chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis; and Media=20
Bureau chief Donna Gregg.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6286044.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
SENATE BILL LETS ARTISTS CLAIM PRICE FOR GIFTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Robin Pogrebin]
Living writers, musicians, artists and scholars who donate their work to a=
=20
museum or other charitable cause would earn a tax deduction based on full=
=20
fair market value under a bill just passed by the Senate. The provision=20
seems likely to open the way for more acquisitions by cash-strapped=20
museums. "It's very important for cultural institutions and libraries to be=
=20
able to be the recipient of these works of art that otherwise might go into=
=20
private hands," said Mimi Gaudieri, the executive director of the=20
Association of Art Museum Directors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/arts/design/22tax.html
(requires registration)
SELF 2.0: INTERNET USERS PUT A BEST FACE FORWARD
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
People spend more of their lives online -- the average American Internet=20
user spends 80 hours a month online at work and 30 hours at home, according=
=20
to Nielsen-NetRatings -- and Web-based interactions are evolving to look=20
less like word-based messaging and more like facsimiles of physical=20
existence. Tens of millions of Internet users have online doppelgangers=20
they design to act as their proxy online -- communicating, shopping and=20
socializing on their behalf and expressing themselves through humanoid=20
gestures, voices and facial expressions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR200511...
1787.html
(requires registration)
KASHMIR RADIO CHANNELS AID TALK AFTER QUAKE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: John M. Glionna]
Emanating from the capital of the Pakistani-held portion of Kashmir, which=
=20
was mostly destroyed by last month's magnitude 7.6 earthquake, Radio=20
Muzaffarabad has provided victims with a vital link to the outside world=20
and informed them of the availability of critical services. The catastrophe=
=20
killed an estimated 87,000 people and left 3.2 million homeless. With its=
=20
signal going out to tent cities and isolated mountain villages, received by=
=20
battery-powered radios donated by aid groups, the tiny station reaches tens=
=20
of thousands of quake survivors who have responded with about 100 calls a=
=20
day, either seeking help or giving thanks.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-radio22nov22,1,1...
248.story?coll=3Dla-news-a_section
(requires registration)
TELUS CONTRACT PUTS END TO WORK HALT, 5-YEAR TALKS
[SOURCE: The Globe and Mail, AUTHOR: Catherine McLean]
After five long years of difficult talks, Telus Corp. employees have a new=
=20
labor contract. A majority of workers approved the latest settlement=20
between Vancouver-based Telus and the Telecommunications Workers Union=20
(TWU), the parties announced late Friday evening.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051121/RT=
ELUS21/TPBusiness/Canadianhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNe=
ws/TPStory/LAC/20051121/RTELUS21/TPBusiness/Canadian
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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