February 2006

Anthony T. Riddle of the Alliance for Community Media, Gene
Kimmelman of Consumers Union and Gigi B. Sohn of Public Knowledge
headline the all star lineup at today's Senate hearing on video
franchising. See
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1700 for more
-- including a webcast. For this and other upcoming media policy
events, see http://www.benton.org

GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Thousands Demand Investigation into Covert Propaganda
Quick Rise for Purveyors of Propaganda in Iraq
Media Reformers Push For Tomlinson Info
Congressional Probe of NSA Spying Is in Doubt
Online Firms Facing Questions About Censoring Internet Searches in China
Chinese Government Defends Its Restrictions on Internet Use
State Dept. to push for online free speech
Federal Web Search Upgraded

TELEVISION
If It's Sunday, It's Conservative
FCC Reaffirms Program-Length Commercial Definition
Bells Take TV Ambitions Straight to Congress
Martin Calls Katrina Public TV Stations Resourceful, Courageous
AFA Is Target Of Content Complaints

INTERNET
Senators can't agree on municipal broadband rules
Wireless Group Shifts Stance On Municipal Broadband
Network Neutrality and an Internet with Vision

POLICYMAKERS
Stevens Urges States To Simplify Telecom Role
Consensus Key for Martin

QUICKLY -- Running High: Emotions and Web Traffic; Cyberstalking law
opens debate on what's annoying; Poor regulation slows spread of mobile

GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

THOUSANDS DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO COVERT PROPAGANDA
[SOURCE: Free Press press release]
Free Press and the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) on Tuesday
delivered nearly 40,000 petitions to the Justice Department and
Congress, calling for an investigation into illegal "covert
propaganda" produced by the Bush administration. The groups began
collecting the petitions last fall after an investigation by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Department of
Education illegally funneled more than $240,000 to pundit Armstrong
Williams to tout Bush's education policy before the 2004 elections.
The petition calls on the administration "to fully disclose all
administration expenditures for publicity" and to prosecute those
responsible for illegal propaganda "to the fullest extent of the
law." "The American people are fed up with this administration's
relentless attempts to manage and manipulate the news," said Timothy
Karr, campaign director of Free Press. "The GAO report carefully
itemizes this administration's preference for pre-packaged reporting
at the expense of real news and information -- in a scheme to make
U.S. taxpayers pay for their own deception."
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=116

QUICK RISE FOR PURVEYORS OF PROPAGANDA IN IRAQ
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Cloud]
A look at Lincoln Group, the company that won multimillion-dollar
contracts with the United States military to produce propaganda in
Iraq. The company's work in Iraq is facing growing scrutiny. Lincoln
won its contracts after claiming to have partnerships with major
media and advertising companies, former government officials with
extensive Middle East experience, and ex-military officers with
background in intelligence and psychological warfare, the documents
show. But some of those companies and individuals say their
associations were fleeting. Lincoln has also run into problems
delivering on work for the military after its partnerships with more
experienced firms fell apart, company documents and interviews
indicate. The firm has continued to bid for new business from the
Pentagon and has hired two Washington lobbying firms to promote
itself on Capitol Hill and with the Bush administration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/politics/15lincoln.html
(requires registration)

MEDIA REFORMERS PUSH FOR TOMLINSON INFO
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Common Cause, The Center For Digital Democracy, and Free Press are
not taking no for an answer when it comes to trying to collect
information on former CPB Chairman Ken Tomlinson. The groups have
appealed the rejection of their November Freedom of Information Act
request from the Broadcasting Board of Governors, where Tomlinson is
also chairman. In filing the appeal with the BBG's Access Appeal
Committee, the groups argue that FOIA Officer Martha Diaz-Ortiz did
not search the records but simply assumed they would not be agency
communications.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6307632?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OF NSA SPYING IS IN DOUBT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Charles Babington]
Congress appeared ready to launch an investigation into the Bush
administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program last week,
but an all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed
the effort and may kill it, key Republican and Democratic sources
said yesterday. The Senate intelligence committee is scheduled to
vote tomorrow on a Democratic-sponsored motion to start an inquiry
into the recently revealed program in which the National Security
Agency eavesdrops on an undisclosed number of phone calls and e-mails
involving U.S. residents without obtaining warrants from a secret
court. Two committee Democrats said the panel -- made up of eight
Republicans and seven Democrats -- was clearly leaning in favor of
the motion last week but now is closely divided and possibly inclined
against it. They attributed the shift to last week's closed briefings
given by top administration officials to the full House and Senate
intelligence committees, and to private appeals to wavering GOP
senators by officials, including Vice President Cheney.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/14/AR200602...
(requires registration)

ONLINE FIRMS FACING QUESTIONS ABOUT CENSORING INTERNET SEARCHES IN CHINA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tom Zeller Jr]
Companies like Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Cisco Systems are being
pressed in Washington for fuller answers about their business
practices in China and the implications for human rights. That
pressure will escalate today when the House Subcommittee on Africa,
Global Human Rights and International Operations questions officials
of the four technology companies, along with other witnesses critical
of their activities. The subcommittee's chairman, Representative
Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) plans to introduce legislation by week's
end that would restrict an Internet company's ability to censor or
filter basic political or religious terms -- even if that puts the
company at odds with local laws in the countries where it now
operates. Although some advocates have argued that the companies may
actually be violating existing trade laws, most experts concede that
does not appear to be the case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/technology/15online.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)
* Internet Firms to Defend Policies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/14/AR200602...
(requires registration)
* Use of U.S. technology to block Net's info flow to be scrutinized
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060215/3b_china_net15.art.htm
* Tech firms need united front on China repression
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13875912.htm

CHINESE GOVERNMENT DEFENDS ITS RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNET USE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jason Dean jason.dean( at )wsj.com]
China's government offered a rare defense of its regulation of the
Internet, arguing that its controls over online information are
limited and consistent with practices in other countries. At a news
conference yesterday, Liu Zhengrong, an official with an arm of the
Chinese cabinet, acknowledged that Beijing blocks access to some
kinds of content. But he asserted that China's approach hews to that
used in the U.S. and other Western countries to keep "harmful" and
"illegal" information off the Internet. "Our practices are completely
consistent with international practices," said Mr. Liu, deputy
director of the State Council Information Office's Internet Affairs
Bureau. The rare comments appeared aimed at rebutting mounting
criticism in the U.S. and elsewhere of China's restrictions on the
Internet and of the willingness of foreign Internet companies to
comply with those limits. Companies such as Yahoo Inc., Google Inc.
and Microsoft Corp. have agreed to limit Internet-search results or
other content to exclude information Beijing finds politically
unacceptable, as the companies seek access to China's huge and
growing pool of Internet users -- 111 million at last count, second
only to the U.S. A House subcommittee on human rights was scheduled
to hold hearings today on the activities of those companies in China.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113992102176573448.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
* Beijing Censors Taken to Task in Party Circles
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Kahn]
A dozen former Communist Party officials and senior scholars,
including a onetime secretary to Mao, a party propaganda chief and
the retired bosses of some of the country's most powerful newspapers,
have denounced the recent closing of a prominent news journal,
helping to fuel a growing backlash against censorship.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/international/asia/15china.html
(requires registration)

STATE DEPARTMENT TO PUSH FOR ONLINE FREE SPEECH
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
The State Department said on Tuesday it had set up a task force to
help U.S. technology companies protect freedom of expression in
countries like China that censor online content. State Department
officials said they will push to encourage foreign countries to allow
greater freedom of expression online and help U.S. businesses figure
out what to do when called on to enforce repressive laws in countries
where they operate.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

FEDERAL WEB SEARCH UPGRADED
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caroline E. Mayer]
FirstGov.gov, the nearly six-year-old Web site, which has won
innovation awards for being consumer-friendly, has just been updated
to make it easier for consumers, businesses and federal employees to
find a mind-boggling array of information from A (airline complaints)
to Z (Zip codes). With a click or two of the mouse, users can
download tax forms, collect all sorts of economic trivia or play
educational online games to learn about consumer scams and how to
avoid them. FirstGov launched a powerful new search engine last
month, expanding the number of accessible documents from 8 million to
40 million, including more state and local Web sites. Perhaps equally
significant for time-constrained browsers, the new search engine uses
improved algorithms to provide more relevant results.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/14/AR200602...
(requires registration)

TELEVISION

IF IT'S SUNDAY, IT'S CONSERVATIVE
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America]
The Sunday morning talk shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC are where policy
makers state their case, the conventional wisdom takes shape, and the
left and right in American politics debate the pressing issues of the
day on equal ground. Both sides have their say and face probing
questions. Or so you would think. In fact, as this study reveals,
conservative voices significantly outnumber progressive voices on the
Sunday talk shows. Among the study's key findings: 1) During
President Clinton's second term, the right held a small advantage in
the balance between Democrats/progressives and
Republicans/conservatives. But in President Bush's first term,
Republicans and conservatives held a dramatic advantage, outnumbering
Democrats and progressives by 58 percent to 42 percent. In 2005, the
figures were identical: 58 percent to 42 percent. 2) Counting only
elected officials and administration representatives, Democrats had
an eight-point advantage during Clinton's second term, 53 percent to
45 percent. In Bush's first term, however, the Republican advantage
was 61 percent to 39 percent, nearly three times as large. 3) In both
the Clinton and Bush administrations, conservative journalists were
far more likely to appear on the Sunday shows than were progressive
journalists. In Clinton's second term, 61 percent of the
ideologically identifiable journalists were conservative; in Bush's
first term, that figure rose to 69 percent. 4) In 1997 and 1998, the
shows conducted more solo interviews with Democrats and progressives
than with Republicans and conservatives. But in every year since,
there have been more solo interviews with Republicans and
conservatives. 5) The most frequent Sunday show guest during this
nine-year period is Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) who has appeared 124
times. A staggering 69 percent (86 out of 124) of McCain's
appearances have been solo interviews. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) has
been the most frequent guest since 2003, but only 31 percent (25 out
of 80) of his appearances have been solo interviews. 6) In every year
examined by the study -- 1997 through 2005 -- more multi-guest panel
discussions tilted right (a greater number of
Republicans/conservatives than Democrats/progressives) than tilted
left. In some years, there were two, three, or even four times as
many right-titled panels as left-tilted panels. 7) Congressional
opponents of the Iraq war were largely absent from the Sunday shows,
particularly during the period just before the war began.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200602140003
* NBC Calls Media Matters Study Misleading
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6307684?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

FCC REAFFIRMS PROGRAM-LENGTH COMMERCIAL DEFINITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A two-second shot of Donald Duck on a videotape box in an ad in a TV
program that features Donald Duck still turns the show into a
program-length commercial in violation of FCC rules, the commission
reaffirmed Monday. The FCC made that point in admonishing --
essentially an official reprimand -- Meredith's WHNS(TV) Greenville
(SC) for exceeding the ad limits in kids shows on three occasions (by
30 seconds each time), and for Buena Vista's insertion of the
national ad -- back in 1998 -- for The Spirit of Mickey Videotape,
which included Donald, in the TV show Quack Pack, which also included
Donald. The FCC said that the fact that the syndicator, not the
station, had inserted the ad was not a mitigating factor, nor was the
fact that Meredith said Buena Vista informed it of the possible
problem too late. And while the FCC did not challenge Meredith's
assertion that the 30-second ad overages were also human error and
inadvertence, that did not get the station off the hook either.)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6307488?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

BELLS TAKE TV AMBITIONS STRAIGHT TO CONGRESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz( at )wsj.com
and Peter Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com]
The nation's telecommunications laws -- written 10 years ago, before
phone calls and TV programs moved over the Internet -- were scheduled
for an overhaul by Congress this year. But with the prospects of a
major rewrite dim, the nation's biggest phone companies are pushing
for a simpler measure: rules that allow them to bypass local
governments for approval to offer television service. At a Senate
hearing today, Verizon. Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg and AT&T CEO
Ed Whitacre will make a pitch for congressional action on national
video-franchising rules, which would allow phone companies to roll
out video services to compete with cable providers more quickly. The
phone companies want to avoid what cable companies have had to do for
years: negotiate with local governments for permission to offer TV
service. Phone companies say that it will take years to get such
permission, and that local politicians use the process to extract
money for community improvements, such as landscaping in parks. The
Bells are eager to change the rules so they can better compete with
cable companies, which offer Internet phone service and are eroding
phone companies' consumer business. Another pressure: investor
skepticism about the Bells' likelihood of success in profitably
snagging market share from cable and satellite companies, despite
spending billions of dollars to lay fiber-optic lines. Telecom
executives have found a receptive audience for changing the rules
among key House and Senate lawmakers, and in certain states such as
Indiana and Virginia, where lawmakers have been open to the idea on
the condition that revenue to communities from franchising contracts
isn't cut. In addition, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has been a quiet
ally. Under his direction, the FCC is exploring how it might help the
Bells and ease video-franchising rules without congressional involvement.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113996276196274079.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
See also --
AT&T Asks FCC to Streamline Local Cable Franchising System
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
AT&T has asked the Federal Communications Commission to streamline
the nation's local cable TV franchising system so phone companies can
launch competitive video operations within 30 days of an application.
In a filing with the FCC, AT&T said that under the existing system of
local franchising regulations, it can take potential competitors
years to win a franchise to compete with incumbent cable TV operators.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9393
(requires free registration)

MARTIN SPEAKS TO THE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin recognized public television stations as
among the resourceful and courageous who defied the odds to maintain
operations during the Hurricane Katrina and to restore broadcast
service quickly thereafter. Just two days after the hurricane
struck, stations were back on the air informing storm victims where
to find shelter, food, and water; what numbers to call for emergency
medical attention; and how to contact missing family and
friends. Broadcasters also provided information to rescue workers
that proved critical to successful rooftop rescues. He noted that
the Commission took quick and decisive action to assist in the
preservation and restoration of broadcast service to areas in
Katrina's path. Even before the hurricane struck, the FCC's Media
Bureau established special procedures to expedite emergency
authorizations and assistance, and issued public notices to inform
broadcasters in the area how to seek the Commission's help. "Now the
Commission's responsibility," Chairman Martin said, "is to examine
lessons learned during Katrina, Rita, and Wilma so that we can
improve our response in the event of future emergencies. An
independent panel we created to review the impact of Hurricane
Katrina on communications networks recently held its first meeting
and will submit a final report to the Commission by June."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263813A1.doc

AFA IS TARGET OF CONTENT COMPLAINTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
An American Family Association e-mail alert that included naughty
scenes from NBC's "Las Vegas" has fired up its members -- the group
claims that 170,000 complaints have been sent to the FCC. But the
group also offended its members because the alert included a clip of
the show. "We receive about an equal number of complaints from those
who get upset when we don't provide the actionable material. So we
are caught in a bind," said AFA Chairman Donald Wildmon. "Provide the
actionable material and get complaints, or don't provide the
actionable material and get complaints."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6307496?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

INTERNET

SENATORS CAN'T AGREE ON MUNICIPAL BROADBAND RULES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
When cities create wireless networks, should the Feds restrict their
efforts, promote them, or let individual states decide the ground
rules? That's the question politicians and industry representatives
batted around during a 90-minute Senate Commerce Committee hearing
here Tuesday afternoon. For some at Wednesday's hearing, the answer
was clear: If the nation hopes to pull up its worldwide ranking in
broadband deployment, the federal government must step in and protect
the rights of municipalities to build their own broadband networks.
"As we work to reach the goal of universal broadband, we must open
new doors, not slam them shut," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) indicated to reporters
after Tuesday's hearing that he didn't necessarily favor any of the
proposals currently under consideration. Of municipally sponsored
broadband, he said, "I only want to make sure it fits into the system
of what is fair and doesn't prohibit future competition."
http://news.com.com/Senators+cant+agree+on+municipal+broadband+rules/210...

WIRELESS GROUP SHIFTS STANCE ON MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
CTIA - The Wireless Association is making known its policy priorities
for the next year and surprised some by announcing it is not opposed
to competition from city-sponsored, unlicensed wireless ventures. "As
our technology and our world has evolved, licensed and unlicensed
[wireless] converge, and our members are a part of it," said Senior
Vice President Michael Altschul. The group seeks to pre-empt state
regulation of wireless, reduce taxation, and reform the $7.1 billion
universal service fund designed to subsidize phone service to rural
and low-income areas. Strong competition in the wireless industry
means that many telecommunications rules need not apply to it, CTIA
Chief Executive Officer Steve Largent said. He used several
statistical benchmarks to contrast the situation in 2006 from 1993,
when a law to balance the budget instituted spectrum auctions and
launched the industry's success. In 1993, there were 13 million
wireless subscribers, versus 200 million today. In 1993, the average
bill was $67 per month, versus $49 today. In 1993, consumers talked
an average of 121 minutes a month, versus 689 today.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-YOSP1139948735902.html

NETWORK NEUTRALITY AND AN INTERNET VISION
[SOURCE: LXer, AUTHOR: Andy Oram, O'Reilly Media]
[Commentary] The telephone company strategy of charging
content-providers will, I think, hold back fiber upgrades -- not
promote them. The telephone companies will evaluate customers at each
central office and decide whether the demographics of that
neighborhood can pay back their investment through orders of video or
other premium services; roll-outs will be leisurely to say the least.
I predict the companies would also play games with their existing
servers and pipes to ration content. They will milk their existing
lines to the hilt before investing in optical fiber. That's what
happens when a company is driven by incremental business models
rather than some kind of vision. None of us like to feel we have to
sit there and take it when anybody dishes out a bitter feast. So a
lot of people raise hopes of bypassing the Bells and bringing high
bandwidth to the public a different way. Some have gone so far as to
declare the incumbent telephone companies hopelessly outmoded and
destined for the dust heap. Other people take a proportionately
moderate view and look forward to alternatives that would raise the
competition a little and lead to a healthier marketplace. That last
attitude is the one I find most realistic, if not the most inspiring.
None of the proposed alternatives sound strong on their own, but if
we put them all together we may have a future we can live with. 1)
It's conceivable that an entirely new species of data/voice company
will arise to use WiMAX to conquer the last mile. 2) Cities and towns
are well-placed to pick up coverage of the last mile. 3) The wildest
proposition, and therefore the one that might just work, is for
everyone to buy his or her own fiber. This is what large institutions
have been doing for years.
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/53907/

POLICYMAKERS

STEVENS URGES STATES TO SIMPLIFY TELECOM ROLE
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Michael Martinez]
Speaking to a meeting of the National Association of Utility
Regulatory Commissioners, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted
Stevens (R-Alaska) said federal telecom legislation should simplify
the role they play in issues that spread across state lines -- and
not sacrifice the benefits of local regulation. But he added that it
is necessary to reduce complications by establishing national
standards and processes on key issues. Sen Stevens said local
structures for video franchising have been problematic for telephone
companies trying to enter the video market. Most states require phone
companies to get franchises in each locality, which detractors have
said slows and stifles competition. Stevens said progress was made
last year in Texas, where a new law allows statewide franchises.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-PTPB1139949307229.html

CONSENSUS KEY FOR MARTIN
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Brooks Boliek]
A Q&A with Chairman Martin who lists accomplishments over the last
year as: 1) the decision on emergency 911 and Internet telephone
service, 2) regulatory parity for providers of high-speed Internet
access, 3) the approval of significant mergers and 4) implementation
of the Satellite Home Viewer Act. But Hollywood asks what he's done
for media, especially media ownership. He answers that the delay has
been due to the 2-2 Republican/Democrat split on the Commission.
Chairman Martin also addresses indecency, a la carte cable pricing,
and family tiers.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/business/article_display.jsp?vnu_co...

QUICKLY

RUNNING HIGH: EMOTIONS AND WEB TRAFFIC
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen McCarthy]
America's enthusiasm for digital love has become strong enough to
temporarily crash the sites of several online greeting-card companies
yesterday and make others exceed their projections for the day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/14/AR200602...
(requires registration)

CYBERSTALKING LAW OPENS DEBATE ON WHAT'S ANNOYING
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Richard Willing]
It didn't get much publicity, but an anti-stalking bill passed by
Congress recently makes it a federal crime to "annoy" someone over
the Internet. And that's really beginning to bug some people.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060215/a_annoy15.art.htm

POOR REGULATION SLOWS SPREAD OF MOBILE -- OPERATORS
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The GSM Association, which promotes the interests of hundreds of GSM
(Global System for Mobile communications) operators throughout the
world, has published a report stating that erratic regulation is
hampering the expansion of mobile phone coverage in sub-Saharan
Africa. The report estimates that mobile investments in the region
would have been $5 billion higher if telecoms regulation had been
optimal, boosting the region's gross national product by around $900
million a year.The association says governments with regulatory
frameworks unfavorable to mobile investments are harming their own
people as well the operators by reinforcing the so-called digital
divide that keeps information out of reach of the poor. It argues
that access to communications is recognized as a human need almost as
important as food, shelter and health by bodies such as the United Nations.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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