December 2006

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

NEWS FROM THE FCC
FCC Chair Moves to Break AT&T Deadlock
Chairman Martin's Comments at Georgetown University
FCC Ownership Hearing in Nashville

DIGITAL CONTENT
Why Network Neutrality Will Be Law in 2007
Content And Ownership
ITU sees Risks to Privacy, Security Online
New U.S. rules raise retention requirements for e-documents
A Newspaper Chain Sees Its Future, And It's Online and Hyper-Local

ADVERTISING
Pediatricians Call for Less Advertising to Children

NEWS FROM THE FCC

FCC CHAIR MOVES TO BREAK AT&T DEADLOCK
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Bruce Meyerson]
Declaring an "impasse" on AT&T's proposed=20
acquisition of BellSouth, Federal Communications=20
Chairman Kevin Martin cleared the way Friday for=20
a commissioner who had disqualified himself from=20
the deliberations to break the deadlock. Chairman=20
Martin asked the FCC's general counsel to=20
"consider whether the government's interest would=20
be served" by permitting Commissioner Robert=20
McDowell to vote on the $81.6 billion deal,=20
according to a letter sent to members of the=20
congressional committees that oversee the agency.=20
Commissioner McDowell, one of three Republicans=20
on the five-person commission, had recused=20
himself because he is a former lobbyist for a=20
trade group that opposes the merger. Without=20
McDowell, the vote has been deadlocked at 2-2,=20
with Chairman Martin and another Republican=20
appointee favoring approval of the deal, and the=20
two Democrats demanding the companies offer=20
additional concessions to ensure it doesn't harm=20
consumers. In his letter, Martin wrote, "Despite=20
working for months to reach consensus with my=20
colleagues, three attempts over the past six=20
weeks to have this item considered at an open=20
meeting, and countless hours of internal=20
deliberations, the commission has reached an=20
impasse." Commissioner McDowell issued a short=20
statement saying he looks forward to the general=20
counsel's analysis "regarding my potential=20
participation." Both Democrats harshly criticized=20
the move Friday night. Commissioner Michael Copps=20
said allowing McDowell to vote would be "taking a=20
mulligan" and "starting over with a changed set=20
of players." He said the move would "create more=20
problems than it resolves" and "short circuit=20
discussions, and very likely shortchange=20
consumers." Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said=20
the decision "appears to be an effort to cut=20
short the dialogue about measures to safeguard=20
choice and competition for consumers and to=20
promote affordable broadband services."
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8LOK1I80.htm
* Martin Seeks to Unleash McDowell
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6396777.html?display=3DBreaking+News

CHAIRMAN MARTIN'S REMARKS AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On November 30, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin spoke=20
at the Georgetown University McDonough School of=20
Business/Center for Business and Public Policy.=20
He reiterated his belief that "Market forces and=20
competition are better drivers of innovation and=20
better protectors of consumer=20
interest. Competition - - not regulation - -=20
best leads to better services and lower prices."=20
But he noted that the FCC "should focus on=20
creating a regulatory environment that promotes=20
investment and competition, setting the rules of=20
the road so that players can compete on a level=20
playing field." He concluded: "I believe that the=20
future of telecommunications will be defined by=20
this increasing convergence of multiple=20
platforms. Service providers will continually=20
look for new combinations of services to deliver=20
to consumers. And if we are able to promote=20
competition, it will be consumers who will reap the benefits."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-268774A1.doc
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/martin/georgetown.ppt

FCC OWNERSHIP HEARING IN NASHVILLE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On Monday, December 11, Nashville Tennessee's=20
Belmont University will host a Federal=20
Communications Commission hearing on media=20
ownership. The purpose of the hearing is to fully=20
involve the public in the process of the 2006=20
Quadrennial Broadcast Media Ownership Review that=20
the Commission is currently conducting. The=20
hearing is open to the public, and seating will=20
be available on a first-come, first-served=20
basis. This hearing is the second in a series of=20
media ownership hearings the Commission intends=20
to hold across the country. There will be two=20
panels, each followed by a period for public=20
comment. The first panel will examine issues=20
affecting the music recording industry. The=20
second panel will provide an overview of the=20
Nashville market and issues affecting=20
broadcasters and independent programmers. The=20
hearing format will enable members of the public=20
to participate via "open microphone."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-268785A1.doc

DIGITAL CONTENT

WHY NETWORK NEUTRALITY WILL BE LAW IN 2007
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Jason Pontin, Technology Review]
[Commentary] One of the first technology=20
controversies that the new Democratic Congress=20
will address when it meets in 2007, will be=20
network neutrality. Here's what will happen:=20
legislators will support new regulation.=20
Democrats know network neutrality regulation, far=20
from representing a creeping expansion of=20
government interference, will simply preserve the=20
established openness of the Internet. Indeed, the=20
failure to enact network neutrality regulation=20
would implicitly authorize the service providers=20
to override the separation of the transport and=20
application layers of the Internet. And that=20
would represent the erosion of the authority of=20
the foundational Internet standards that has made=20
the 'Net into the greatest force for economic=20
expansion and human communications in history.=20
Sometime early in the New Year, therefore,=20
Congress will reform the Telecommunications Act=20
of 1996. They will require Internet providers to=20
allow consumers access to any application, content, or service.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pontin/why-network-neutrality-wi_b_3...
8.html

CONTENT AND OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Craig Kuhl]
By 2009, more than 108 million digital TV=20
subscribers worldwide will be accessing thousands=20
of video-on-demand (VOD) programs and moving=20
massive amounts of content from device to device.=20
That expected explosion of special content=20
delivery holds tremendous upside, and one=20
enormous danger: piracy. Preventing this valuable=20
content from being stolen by consumers or=20
illegally downloaded is now an industry=20
imperative. It's pushing cable operators,=20
broadcasters, movie studios, record companies and=20
their partnering industries -- such as set-top=20
box manufacturers -- to new content-protection=20
heights. Next-generation methodologies and=20
technologies such as the M Card, DCAS=20
(downloadable conditional-access system) and=20
digital watermarking are expected to offer a more=20
effective means of identifying and tracking just=20
who is accessing the content and how it's paid=20
for, all under the conditional-access (CA) umbrella.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6396711.html?display=3DSpecia...
eport

ITU SEES RISKS TO PRIVACY, SECURITY ONLINE
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Computer users who type in the same username and=20
password for multiple sites -- such as online=20
banks, travel agencies and booksellers -- are at=20
serious risk from identity thieves, a United=20
Nations agency said on Sunday. The International=20
Telecommunication Union, a Geneva-based U.N.=20
branch, said businesses and regulators need to=20
find a solution to the spread of personal=20
information on the Internet, possibly by=20
developing more streamlined identification methods.
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&sto...
D=3D2006-12-03T003702Z_01_L02108953_RTRUKOC_0_US-INTERNET-IDENTITIES.xml&WT=
modLoc=3DTechNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-5
See also --
* U.N. Agency Wants to Nourish the Internet, Not Govern It
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Victoria Shannon]
This week in Hong Kong, the International=20
Telecommunication Union, representing 191=20
countries and 650 companies, is putting on the=20
telecommunications industry=92s biggest gathering,=20
called ITU Telecom World, attracting about 70,000=20
people. But some of the conference=92s attention=20
will be focused on the role of the United nations=20
agency itself. Should it concern itself with=20
Internet governance -- a role that its Western=20
members find particularly objectionable -- or=20
should it focus on ground-level issues, like=20
access to telecommunications in developing=20
countries? Hamadoun Tour=E9 of Mali, who was=20
recently elected secretary general of the agency,=20
its highest-ranking official, favors the latter=20
approach. =93I wouldn't want to see the ITU trying=20
to take over Internet governance,=94 he said at his=20
first news conference. But underlying tensions=20
about the direction of the agency, which has its=20
origins in the era of the telegraph, have=20
troubled it since the Internet became such a=20
prominent part of the world=92s telecommunications networks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/technology/04telecom.html
(requires registration)

NEW US RULES RAISE RETENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR E-DOCUMENTS
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
U.S. companies will need to know more about where=20
they store e-mails, instant messages and other=20
electronic documents generated by their employees=20
in the event they are sued because of changes in=20
federal rules that took effect Friday, legal=20
experts say. The changes, approved by the Supreme=20
Court's administrative arm in April after a=20
five-year review, require companies and other=20
parties involved in federal litigation to produce=20
"electronically stored information" as part of=20
discovery, the process by which both sides share=20
evidence before a trial. Federal and state courts=20
have increasingly been requiring the production=20
of such evidence in individual cases. The new=20
rules clarify that the data will be required in=20
federal cases. Under the new rules, an=20
information technology employee who routinely=20
copies over a backup computer tape could be=20
committing "virtual shredding" once a lawsuit has=20
been filed, said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner in=20
the Miami office of Hogan & Hartson whose legal=20
expertise is in technology and litigation.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-email4dec04,1,2614875...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

A NEWSPAPER CHAIN SEES ITS FUTURE, AND IT'S ONLINE AND HYPER-LOCAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
Gannett's newspapers are redirecting their=20
newsrooms to focus on the Web first, paper=20
second. Papers are slashing national and foreign=20
coverage and beefing up "hyper-local,"=20
street-by-street news. They are creating=20
reader-searchable databases on traffic flows and=20
school class sizes. Web sites are fed with=20
reader-generated content, such as pictures of=20
their kids with Santa. In short, Gannett -- at=20
its 90 papers, including USA Today -- is trying=20
everything it can think of to create Web sites that will attract more reade=
rs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/03/AR200612...
1037.html
(requires registration)

ADVERTISING

PEDIATRICIANS CALL FOR LESS ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Marilyn Elias]
Pediatricians should lobby for a ban or severe=20
curtailment on widespread school-based ads, and=20
Congress should prohibit commercials for =93junk=20
food=94 on TV shows watched mostly by young=20
children, the American Academy of Pediatrics says=20
today. The new policy on advertising to kids was=20
prompted by alarm over rising rates of childhood=20
obesity in an atmosphere where kids increasingly=20
are targeted by marketers, says pediatrician=20
Victor Strasburger, the policy's senior author.=20
Since the pediatricians last weighed in on the=20
issue 11 years ago, ads have cropped up=20
everywhere kids turn: the Internet, cellphones,=20
video games, school campuses and even school=20
buses, Strasburger says. Last year, advertisers=20
spent $1.4 billion per month marketing to=20
children =97 15% more than in 2004, according to=20
James McNeal, a children's marketing expert and=20
author of The Kids Market: Myths and Realities.=20
An Institute of Medicine report last year found=20
evidence that food and beverage marketing to=20
children 12 and under leads them to ask for and=20
eat and drink non-nutritious products that are=20
high in calories. The new policy calls for=20
Congress and the Federal Communications=20
Commission to limit commercials on children's TV=20
to five to six minutes an hour, a 50% cut from=20
what's now allowed. The pediatrics group also=20
called on makers of Viagra and similar drugs to=20
run commercials only on shows that air after 10=20
p.m. These ads =93make sexual activity seem like a=20
recreational sport,=94 while birth control=20
commercials that could cut teen pregnancy rates=20
are rarely aired, the policy says.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20061204/bl_bottomstrip_pedes0...
rt.htm
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online=20
news summary service provided by the Benton=20
Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday=20
through Friday, this service provides updates on=20
important industry developments, policy issues,=20
and other related news events. While the=20
summaries are factually accurate, their often=20
informal tone does not always represent the tone=20
of the original articles. Headlines are compiled=20
by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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