April 2006

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LEGISLATION
House Commerce Approves National Franchise Bill
Coalition Praises Retrans Roundtable
Amazon.com Pushing For Two Net Neutrality Safeguards
Turf War Begins: Commerce Committee vs. Judiciary Committee

INTERNET
World's Digital Divide is Narrowing: Study
Disney to Test New Interactive Ads on abc.com
Should Owners Of Web Sites Be Anonymous?
AT&T Guards Phone Network From 'Idol' Threat

JOURNALISM
4 Knight Ridder Papers to Be Sold for $1 Billion
TV Stations Still Can't Resist Pre-Packaged Video News

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION
TV industry frets over high definition
Should Local TV Embrace Consumer-Created Content?
Sweeney to Affils: We Can't Cling to Old TV Models

NEWS FROM FCC
FCC to Hold Open Meeting May 3/Agenda
FCC Tightens Wireless Auction Discount Rules

QUICKLY -- Disney and CBS Explore Univision Deal ; Media firms work
to stay ahead of online consumers; Wireless Carriers Set Strict
Decency Standards for Content; Murdoch group attacks BBC web
relaunch; Call Home Act; NYC Schools Cut Parents' Lifeline (the Cellphone)

LEGISLATION

HOUSE COMMERCE APPROVES NATIONAL FRANCHISE BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Commerce Committee, by an overwhelming vote of 42 to 12,
has paved the way for the creation of national video franchises,
though the bill itself still has a ways to travel before it becomes
law. The goal, say the bill's proponents including Committee Chairman
Joe Barton (R-TX), is to increase price and service competition to
cable, while speeding the rollout of high-speed Internet service.
Opponents, almost all of whom concede some video franchise reform is
needed, say this bill will, instead, pave the way for telcos to
cherry pick service while discriminating in the provision of Internet
access, "fundamentally and detrimentally" changing the character of
the Internet. Not included in the bill are voted-down amendments that
would have held national video franchisees to a build-out schedule
and toughened prohibitions on red-lining--building out more
attractive parts of a franchise and bypassing ones with less
potential return on investment or, as Ed Markey (D-MA) puts it, "the
other side of the tracks." Still the bill as passed has language that
requires telephone companies getting into video service to eventually
serve all of a franchise, rather than allowing them to choose which
parts of an area to offer service to, as the bill passed out of the
Telecommunications Subcommittee allowed. That anti-redlining addition
sat well with the cable industry, which had been pushing for it, but
was not enough for Rep Markey and others who wanted build-out
requirements as well. Also pleasing the cable industry was an
amendment that was adopted that will allow cable companies to seek
national franchises immediately if they currently have competition
from an overbuilder. The committee voted 34-22 not to adopt an
amendment toughening "network neutrality" provisions in the bill, an
issue that has gained major traction and could resurface on the House
floor and will almost certainly do so in the Senate version. Rep
Markey, who spearheaded the amendment, had argued that without the
amendment, the bill would spell the "end of the Internet as we know
it," allowing telephone companies to discriminate in Internet service
and fundamentally change the character of the Internet. He and others
warned during mark-up of the bill Wednesday that there would be
backlash from constituents. Chairman Barton strongly opposed the
amendment, saying the bill already contained sufficient protections
for Internet access -- through FCC adjudicatory powers -- and that
anything more specific would be unnecessarily preemptive. The bill
must still pass the full House, where amendments can be reintroduced,
then be reconciled with a Senate bill that will contain a lot more elements.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6328577?display=Breaking+News
** There's lots of coverage and reaction to the bill's approval; see
what we've found at:
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/2130 **

COALITION PRAISES RETRANS ROUNDTABLE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Coalition To Reform Retransmission Consent Wednesday praised
House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) for agreeing to
hold a retransmission consent reform "roundtable." That came after a
retransmission consent-related amendment the coalition had supported
was not introduced during markup of a national video franchising
bill, a victory for broadcasters, though one that had been widely
anticipated. The coalition, which includes Advance/Newhouse
Communications, Cox Communications, Discovery Communications,
Hallmark Channels, Insight Communications, Oxygen Media, and
Suddenlink Communications, expressed its gratitude to Republican
Reps. Nathan Deal (GA) and Charles Bass (NH) for their "leadership
and hard work."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6328576?display=Breaking+News
* See Broadcasters' reaction at:
http://www.nab.org/newsroom/pressrel/statements/042606_DKR_statement_Dea...

AMAZON.COM PUSHING FOR TWO NET NEUTRALITY SAFEGUARDS
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Sarah Lai Stirland]
Congress should enact two specific proposals to prevent
communications companies from making exclusive deals that would
discriminate against the transmission of certain Internet content, an
Amazon.com lobbyist told members of the House Judiciary Committee.
"We respectfully ask that Congress enact modest but effective
safeguards to reinstate limited protections that the FCC recently
abandoned and thereby preserve American consumers' longstanding
freedom of choice of Internet content," Paul Misener, Amazon's vice
president for global public policy, said in prepared testimony.
Misener said network neutrality provisions must be included in any
legislation granting cable companies video franchising relief. He
said the proponents of so-called network neutrality want content
traveling across an operator's high-speed Internet network to be
prioritized based on the service purchased by consumers -- and not on
which firm is transmitting the information. According to Misener,
Amazon also urges that any deals on expediting access to content
between owners of Internet pipes and content providers be kept at
non-discriminatory rates.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-MSBV1146080956829.html

PARALLEL UNIVERSES OR A HOUSE DIVIDED AMONG ITSELF: THE TURF WAR
BEGINS -- COMMERCE COMMITTEE VS JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: Jeff Pulver Blog]
[Commentary] The House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Telecom and
Antitrust held an Oversight Hearing on "Network Neutrality:
Competition, Innovation and Nondiscriminatory Access." It was a world
away from the Hearings and Markups we have experienced in the House
Commerce Committee in the past few weeks. Does Judiciary offer us a
glimpse of a better world? I'm inclined to say yes. Others might
disagree. It, however, is hard to believe that these two Committees
represent the same constituency, the same country. How could two
adjoining Committees suggest two such radically different policy
results? The Commerce Committee is large predisposed against Net
Neutrality. It was hard to find a harsh sentiment towards Net
Neutrality in Judiciary. In fact, the Judiciary Hearing was, for the
most part, a total dogpile on Walter McCormick, the President of
USTA, the trade association for the Bell Companies and other ILECs.
As best we could tell, virtually all the members, across the aisle in
Judiciary, were generally inclined towards ensuring a competitive
marketplace, and using competition to drive innovation. The Judiciary
Hearing seemed more like an experiment, a glimpse of what could be if
industry lobbyists did not wield so much sway in Congress. What is
clear is that there is a brewing turf war between Commerce and
Judiciary, and Judiciary made a strong case today for jurisdiction
over issues implicating Net Neutrality. I suspect House leadership
might have to weigh in at some point soon.
http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/004433.html

INTERNET

WORLD'S DIGITAL DIVIDE IS NARROWING: STUDY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lucas van Grinsven]
The digital divide is narrowing as citizens in emerging markets get
online via computers and mobile phones, with some regions now on a
par with developed nations, a ranking of Web-savvy nations showed on
Wednesday. "Encouraging is the apparent narrowing of the digital
divide," said the annual study published by U.S. computer company
International Business Machines Corp. and the intelligence unit of
British magazine The Economist. "This is particularly evident in
basic connectivity: emerging markets are providing the vast majority
of the world's new phone and Internet connections," the study found.
Within China and India, regions such as Shanghai and Bangalore have
almost the same level of Internet and mobile phone connections as
developed nations, said Peter Korsten, European director at IBM's
Institute for Business Value. The difference between the world's
Web-savviest nation Denmark and the least "e-ready" country
Azerbaijan remains nevertheless huge, with respective scores of 9.0
and 2.9 out of a possible 10. India and China, including their less
developed provinces, scored 4.25 and 4.02, ranking No. 53 and 57 respectively.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

DISNEY TO TEST NEW INTERACTIVE ADS ON ABC.COM
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Gina Keating]
Walt Disney Co. will try a new type of advertising when it begins
showing prime-time ABC television shows on the Web, using a single,
interactive ad during each break rather than the flurry of short
spots that are the norm on network TV. Each online episode will kick
off with a 10-second sponsorship message from a single advertiser and
will feature one commercial from that sponsor per commercial break.
Commercials from each advertiser will cycle through an episode every
time it is viewed online, meaning that different commercials could
appear each time the show was watched online. Only three of the five
commercial breaks built into episodes for broadcast television will
be used in the online model. Viewers will have to watch or click
through ads to get to the next segment of the program. The
commercials were designed to last at least 30 seconds, but some
feature interactive games, coupon offers or product information that
may engage viewers longer. There is the option of clicking out of the
advertisements and returning to the program after 30 seconds.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

SHOULD OWNERS OF WEB SITES BE ANONYMOUS?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: William M. Bulkeley
bill.bulkeley( at )wsj.com]
Whois is regulated by the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and
Numbers, usually called Icann, a nongovernmental organization based
in Marina del Rey, Calif., that handles many vital Internet issues.
Under Icann's current regulations, anyone who gets a Web site is
supposed to list a name, phone number and address in Whois of a
contact person to resolve both technical problems with a site and
administrative issues. Earlier this month, at the urging of privacy
advocates and over the opposition of major corporations, the Icann
committee responsible for Whois voted 18-9 to restrict its listings
solely to someone who can resolve technical "configuration" problems.
That means a Web-hosting company could be listed without any link to
the person who controls what appears on the site. After the committee
makes recommendations on other aspects of the Whois rules, the full
Icann board is expected to approve the reduced disclosure
requirement. The dispute partly reflects the growth of the Internet
from a communications network used by scientists and academics into a
global river of commerce. The requirement for a name, phone number
and street address came years before identity theft became a
mainstream concern. Advocates of reduced information say that the
original purpose was to make sure someone was available to fix
Web-site problems that were interfering with the broader network, and
the changes are consistent with the original goals of the Internet of
permitting free-wheeling communications. Marc Rotenberg, executive
director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy
group based in Washington, said "for privacy, this is a very good
result," because bloggers and other individuals who operate their own
Web sites will no longer need to fear stalkers or threats of
lawsuits. However, law-enforcement agencies around the world and
companies such as Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp., Walt Disney Co. and
Time-Warner Inc. are criticizing the plan because they say they need
the information now in Whois to combat financial fraud and trademark
violation. With only the identity of a technical person, they say
investigators won't be able to find a site's owner without filing a
lawsuit and getting a subpoena.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114609925357637113.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

MS GAUWEILER GUARDS US PHONE NETWORK FROM 'IDOL' THREAT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey at
dionne.searcey( at )wsj.com ]
Phone-call volume in the world is greater than ever before, and so is
the risk that phone service will be strained beyond limits. Last year
380 million calls traveled over AT&T's network in the average 24-hour
day. This year, that number has increased to 440 million. The network
is built to handle 15% more than what AT&T engineers have determined
to be typical volume. Ruth Gauweiler spends her days patrolling the
Internet, TV news networks and newspapers, trying to spot man-made
current events that could upset AT&T's phone-traffic flow. In the 10
years she has had the job, she has cultivated relationships with
radio and TV stations so they alert AT&T when planning call-in
contests or talk shows that could cause a spike in phone traffic.
When she spots a potential problem, Ms. Gauweiler alerts the workers
who manage capacity at AT&T. They can open up new channels in the
network, the nation's biggest, to make room for an influx of calls
and can even haul in extra equipment to add phone capacity on the spot.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114610182322237181.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

JOURNALISM

IT'S OFFICIAL: HERE ARE DETAILS ON MEDIANEWS/HEARST/MCCLATCHY DEAL
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher and PRNewswire]
The McClatchy Company announced a definitive agreement with MediaNews
Group and Hearst Corporation under which the companies will pay
McClatchy $1.0 billion in cash to acquire four newspapers. MediaNews
will purchase two northern California papers, the San Jose Mercury
News and Contra Costa Times, and Hearst will acquire the Monterey
(CA) Herald, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Under a separate agreement between Hearst and MediaNews, Hearst has
agreed to contribute the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Monterey Herald
to MediaNews in return for an equity investment in the non-San
Francisco Bay Area assets of MediaNews, subject to, among other
things, regulatory approval. In the event such transaction is not
consummated, MediaNews has agreed to acquire these newspapers from
Hearst. The four newspapers are currently owned by Knight-Ridder,
which McClatchy agreed last month to acquire. The parties intend to
close the transaction as promptly as possible after the close of
McClatchy's Knight Ridder acquisition, which is expected this summer.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
** There's lots of coverage; see what we've found at:
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/2131

TV STATIONS STILL CAN'T RESIST PRE-PACKAGED VIDEO NEWS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 4/26, AUTHOR: Joe Flint joe.flint( at )wsj.com]
Local television stations are again coming under fire from media
watchdogs and the Federal Communications Commission for using
so-called video news releases during their newscasts without full
disclosure. A video news release, or VNR, is basically a press
release in video form. Just as news organizations are inundated every
day with press releases from government agencies, consumer groups and
corporations, television stations receive the equivalent in video
form. While there is nothing inherently wrong with reporting a story
based on a press release, many television stations are using the VNRs
alone in lieu of original reporting. What's more alarming, these
stations are airing these videos without revealing the origin of the
footage to viewers. "Viewers are accustomed to watching news programs
with an uncritical eye and only put their filter on when commercials
start. VNRs take full advantage of this tendency and do a direct
attack," says Matthew Felling, a director of Center for Media and
Public Affairs, a Washington, D.C., media watchdog group. The makers
of VNRs say they aren't trying to deceive viewers and don't have a
problem with disclosing their involvement or their clients. Douglas
Simon, president of D S Simon Productions Inc., a public-relations
firm whose clients have included Sony Corp., Panasonic and March of
Dimes, says "disclosure is great from a client's perspective as it
becomes another plug."
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114591217366434458-e7v3MOPfZ3SvlT...

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION

TV INDUSTRY FRETS OVER HIGH DEFINITION
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Greg Sandoval]
The federal government's requirement that broadcasters move to
digital TV signals within three years had scores of tiny production
houses, public broadcasting stations and university communications
departments pacing the aisles at the National Association of
Broadcasters 2006 electronics media conference. They attended the
event with an eye toward investing in new high-definition equipment
or finding a way to put off upgrading for another year. Meanwhile,
the companies--such as Sony, Avid and Apple Computer--that provide
digital tools to the TV production industry are trying to ease
old-school TV executives into high definition by offering low prices
on equipment and software that's compatible with older models and
formats. Nonetheless, broadcasters say it's hard to form an HD
strategy when there are still so many questions about technology,
price and the public's desire for HD content.
http://news.com.com/TV+industry+frets+over+high+definition/2100-1041_3-6...

SHOULD LOCAL TV EMBRACE CONSUMER-CREATED CONTENT?
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Hoag Levins]
Local TV stations are missing a revolutionary opportunity by not
buying into the consumer-created video-content craze, media analyst
Tom Wolzien told last week's Television Bureau of Advertising
conference. In his address to the annual marketing gathering, Mr.
Wolzien emphasized the potential power of online business models
organized around the use of amateur-generated video. He also asked,
"Can consumer-created content posted by amateurs actually remain
consumer-created content posted by amateurs? Or, if people start to
realize that somebody's making money off of this, will the amateurs
suddenly become people formerly known as amateurs?" That fact and the
availability of low-cost, high-quality video cameras play heavily in
Mr. Wolzien's vision for local TV stations as major players in the
consumer-created content field. "There is the potential here to
create the greatest local video-collection system ever known by using
people with their cheap cameras ... Then moving that content through
the Web -- with the best material going on to broadcast stations and
the broadcast networks," he said. "It's surprising to me that so far
nobody has built a system where they go into the middle schools and
high schools to give cameras and cut deals to get the content out,"
he said. "They go to church groups and other types of civic
organizations to build an infrastructure for video collection on a
formalized basis." "The local broadcast industry has that
capability," he said.
http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=108806

SWEENEY TO AFFILS: WE CAN'T CLING TO OLD TV MODELS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 4/25, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
Disney/ABC Networks Chairman Anne Sweeney has a tough message for
broadcasters as TV moves onto the Internet and other new-media
platforms: Change not just the way that you regard your viewers but
also what you expect from networks. Speaking at a luncheon at the
National Association of Broadcasters convention, Sweeney told TV
executives that "We can't cling to old models or old ways of
thinking." That includes accepting that networks will push
programming to other platforms quickly, and realizing that broadcast
affiliates won't always be getting a piece of the action.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6328128?display=Breaking+News

NEWS FROM FCC

FCC TO HOLD OPEN COMMISSION MEETING MAY 3
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on
Wednesday, May 3, 2006, which is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m.
in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The
Commission will consider: 1) implementation of the Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act; 2) the interoperability of Video
Relay Service; 3) fraudulent use of the Internet-based forms of
Telecommunications Relay Service; and 4) requests for review of
decisions of the Universal Service Administrator with respect to the
Schools and Libraries Universal Service support mechanism. Seats go
quickly, but Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast
live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC's
Audio/Video Events web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-265129A1.doc

FCC TIGHTENS WIRELESS AUCTION DISCOUNT RULES
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The Federal Communications Commission has tightened rules to prevent
big wireless companies from getting discounts on airwaves sold at
auction by partnering with smaller entities. Bidding credits for FCC
wireless auctions are available only to those entities that meet
financial criteria and abide by rules governing who controls them
among other requirements. The move comes just over two months before
the FCC plans to start auctioning hundreds of licenses that could be
used for advanced wireless services such as high-speed Internet
access or video. The FCC said late on Tuesday it had adopted rules
that bar a bidder or licensee that leases or resells more than half
of the spectrum capacity of a license from qualifying for the
discounts. Additionally, a bidder or licensee that leases more than
25 percent of the spectrum on a license would be examined to
determine if it still qualifies for auction discounts, the agency
said. The FCC also decided that if a licensee that qualified for
discounts sold or leased the airwaves within the first five years of
the license term, the entire discount would have to be repaid plus
interest. The agency created a sliding scale requiring repayment of
some of the discounts over the rest of the license term.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...
* See FCC Order:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-52A1.doc
* FCC Closes Wireless Auction Loopholes
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6328456?display=Breaking+News
* FCC tightens auction discount rules
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060427/fcc27.art.htm
* MAP reaction:
The FCC order "makes no effort to consider how changes to the DE
credit program will promote Congress' goals of promoting diversity of
the public airwaves and ensuring that all Americans enjoy access to
the economic opportunities made possible by advanced wireless services."
http://www.mediaaccess.org/MAP%20Reaction.pdf

QUICKLY

DISNEY AND CBS EXPLORE UNIVISION DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
Univision, the largest Spanish-language television and radio company
in the nation, put itself up for auction in February. Several big
media companies, including the Walt Disney Company and CBS, have held
meetings with Univision's management over the last week about making
a takeover offer for the company. The latest negotiations appear to
demonstrate that there may be more interest in Univision than some
rivals have so far let on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/business/media/27deal.html
(requires registration)
* Televisa to Join U.S. Group That Will Vie for Univision
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114610176468037179.html?mod=todays_us_pa...

MEDIA FIRMS WORK TO STAY AHEAD OF ONLINE CONSUMERS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Gina Keating]
Big media companies must keep finding ways to reach on-the-go users
and make money doing it to stay relevant in an online marketplace
that values convenience and novelty, the leaders of three of the
largest U.S. media and tech companies said on Wednesday. In a
wide-ranging discussion on tech trends at the Milken Institute's 9th
Annual Global Conference, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert
Iger, News Corp Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Peter
Chernin and AOL Chairman and Chief Executive Jonathan Miller agreed;
standing still while Peter Eckart find ways -- legal or not -- to
obtain the content he wants is not an option.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

WIRELESS CARRIERS SET STRICT DECENCY STANDARDS FOR CONTENT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma amol.sharma( at )wsj.com]
As music and video programming becomes widely available for
cellphones, major U.S. wireless carriers are quietly setting strict
decency standards for their content partners in an effort to stave
off criticism from customers and regulators. Many of the rules go far
beyond those set by federal regulators for television and radio. The
rules, which bar sexually explicit or graphic content, have sparked
concern among media providers. Some have already been forced to alter
or remove hip-hop ringtones, video clips or other material that
wireless operators considered offensive. The wireless industry trade
group, CTIA-The Wireless Association, issued broad content guidelines
in November, but largely left it to the carriers to implement their
own policies.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114610320218937216.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

MURDOCH GROUP ATTACKS BBC WEB RELAUNCH
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Emiko Terazono and Aline van Duyn ]
Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate on Wednesday accused the British
Broadcasting Corporation, the state broadcaster, of using taxpayers'
money to build a "digital empire" that would compete with commercial
rivals. Rival broadcasters have long complained that the BBC uses
public money to fund programmes supplied by commercial operators,
abandoning a public service remit in a chase for viewers.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e02eca58-d558-11da-93bc-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)

CALL HOME ACT
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee press release]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and
Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) introduced S.2653, the Call Home
Act of 2006. The legislation would direct the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), in coordination with the Department of Defense and
the Department of State, to seek to reduce phone rates for Armed
Forces personnel deployed overseas.
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=254774

CITY SCHOOLS CUT PARENTS' LIFELINE (THE CELLPHONE)
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Elissa Gootman]
Cellphones are the urban parent's umbilical cord, the lifeline
connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways,
crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhoods.
Though the phones have been banned in New York City schools for
years, parents say that many schools without metal detectors have
operated under a kind of "don't ask, don't tell" policy, with the
cellphones ignored as long as they do not ring in the middle of
class. But as the city began random security scanning at middle and
high schools yesterday in its latest effort to seize weapons, the gap
between school rules and parents' expectations has set off a furor.
Some principals recently sent home letters reminding parents that
cellphones are not allowed, and at the one school searched yesterday,
129 cellphones were confiscated. Anxious parents say that cellphones
are not a frill but the mortar holding New York City's families
together in these times of demanding schedules, mounting
extracurricular activities, tutoring sessions and long treks to
school. Some of these parents, also fearful of child predators and
terrorist attacks, say that sending their children to school without
cellphones is unimaginable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/nyregion/27schools.html
(requires registration)
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary
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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
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