March 2007

They'll be lots of fun at the ol'ballpark next week as FCC
Commissioners meet the House Telecom Subcommittee at an oversight
hearing. For this and other upcoming media policy events, see
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=event/2007/03/16/week/all/all/1

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/15INTERNET/BROADBAND
Abandoning Network Neutrality Won't Improve Service
Vonage to pay $58 million in Verizon patent case
As Power Shifts, AT&T May Alter Yahoo Pact

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/14BROADCASTING
Digital Transition Seen as One Step Closer
Rush Introduces White Spaces Production Bill
Stations Settle With FCC Over Lapses in Emergency Coverage

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/21OWNERSHIP
Music Industry Tightens Squeeze On Students
$49 billion is Slim's pickings in Mexico

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/24JOURNALISM
Blogging for dollars raises questions of online ethics
Ailes Warns Candidates Against Blacklisting News Organizations

QUICKLY -- Tribune has no plans to sell more papers; Verizon Gets
Statewide Franchise in California; Baseball, DirecTV Finalize Agreement

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/15INTERNET/BROADBAND

ABANDONING NETWORK NEUTRALITY WON'T IMPROVE SERVICE
[SOURCE: HearUsNow.org]
A new study by researchers at the University of Florida says one of
the primary arguments being used by opponents of net neutrality is
not true. Leading opponents of net neutrality -- mostly big Internet
service providers such as cable and phone companies -- say they would
have much more of an incentive to expand and improve their services
if they were able to charge online content providers such as Yahoo!
and Google for preferential access to their customers. Not so says
Kenneth Cheng, a professor at the University of Florida's Department
of Decision and Information Sciences. "The conventional wisdom is
that Internet service providers would have greater incentive to
expand their service capabilities if they were allowed to charge,"
says Cheng. "That was completely the opposite of what we found."
Cheng's team discovered that cable and telephone companies providing
broadband to deliver the content of companies such as Google and
Yahoo! are actually more likely to expand their infrastructure --
resulting in quicker loading and response in a customer's personal
computer -- if they don't charge these companies for preferential treatment.
http://www.consumersunion.org/blogs/hun/2007/03/study_says_abandoning_ne...
* The Debate on Net Neutrality: A Policy Perspective
http://www.hearusnow.org/fileadmin/sitecontent/TheDebateonNetNeutrality.pdf

VONAGE TO PAY $58 MILLION IN VERIZON PATENT CASE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon]
Internet phone provider Vonage has been ordered to pay $58 million to
Verizon Communications for infringing on three of the company's
patents. Vonage, which provides a service that turns broadband
connections into phone lines, was found by a Virginia jury to have
infringed patents that cover the technology used to connect these
voice-over-IP calls to the regular phone network, as well as some
features for implementing call-waiting and voice mail services. The
monetary damages and the ongoing royalties that jurors awarded
Verizon could have a significant impact on Vonage, if it doesn't come
up with a solution that doesn't infringe the patents. But the biggest
risk for Vonage is that the company could also be forced to shut down
its service. In addition to the damages, Verizon is asking the court
for an injunction. On March 23, U.S. Judge Claude Hilton will hear
arguments to decide whether Vonage's service should stop offering
service until an acceptable licensing agreement can be worked out.
http://news.com.com/Vonage+to+pay+58+million+in+Verizon+patent+case/2100...
* Vonage Ordered To Pay Verizon In Patent Case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR200703...
* Jury: Vonage violated Verizon patents
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070309/1b_vonage09.art.htm
* Vonage ordered to pay Verizon
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-vonage9mar09,1,405558...

AS POWER SHIFTS, AT&T MAY ALTER YAHOO PACT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey
dionne.searcey( at )wsj.com, Kevin J. Delaney and Dennis K. Berman]
In November 2001, Yahoo Inc. and AT&T Inc.'s predecessor, SBC
Communications Inc., announced a partnership they touted as a
"landmark strategic alliance" that would link the telecom and
Internet worlds. Under the deal, the companies successfully sold
Internet access together to millions of U.S. consumers. But today,
the arrangement is looking like a relic of an earlier Internet era.
The companies are negotiating potentially sweeping changes that could
scale back their partnership, which expires in April 2008. The
fraying of the alliance could be a blow to Yahoo, which gets roughly
$200 million to $250 million of revenue annually from AT&T. It also
shows how AT&T itself is much stronger, and less reliant on Yahoo,
than during the early days of their alliance. The potential
unraveling illustrates how high-profile partnerships by Internet
companies to reach consumers can quickly become fragile: Big
alliances can rapidly fall apart as partners' interests diverge and
the Internet evolves. The shift in the relationship of AT&T and Yahoo
is partly a result of changes in the economic structure of the
Internet industry. Most significantly, Yahoo's rival Google Inc. has
begun offering rich payments -- approaching $1 billion in some cases
-- to partners, causing players such as AT&T to question their
existing deals. At the same time, AT&T no longer needs Yahoo the way
it did nearly six years ago, when it was struggling to coax consumers
to sign up for high-speed Internet service. Today, with the huge
popularity of downloading video and music and other services on the
Web, broadband is in demand.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117340663471431826.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/14BROADCASTING

DIGITAL TRANSITION SEEN AS ONE STEP CLOSER
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
John N.R. Kneurer said the Office of Management & Budget is nearly
ready to formally OK the agency's proposed rule-setting standards for
analog-to-digital converter boxes and eligibility for government
discount coupons. However, Kneurer, who as assistant secretary of
commerce heads the National Telecommunications & Information
Association, declined to say whether that approval could come as soon
as Friday. Formal promulgation of the rule has been holding up the
digital transition. Both the launch of full-scale manufacture of the
converter boxes that will be needed for analog TVs when the country
switches to digital Feb. 17, 2009, and the government's hiring of a
fulfillment house to give out the coupons, good for $40 toward the
boxes, have been delayed. The delay has drawn the ire of some
Democrats, including House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
John Dingell, D-Mich. The government has set aside $1.5 billion for
the coupons and it expected to reserve them for households without
cable or satellite. Democrats contend the funding is insufficient.
Mr. Kneurer made his prediction to reporters Thursday after
testifying about the department's budget to a panel of the House
Appropriations Committee. "We have answered all their questions. I
don't foresee the need for lots of time-consuming, continuing
negotiation," he said of the OMB, which must approve federal
rulemaking. At the hearing, Mr. Kneurer told congressman that NTIA
intended to use the $5 million set aside to publicize the digital
transition solely to publicize the coupon program. He said the agency
would rely on a coalition of broadcasters, retailers and
consumer-electronics makers to publicize the digital transition
itself, but with the idea that both efforts would be integrated and
the coalition effort would direct consumers who are eligible for
rebates to the NTIA Web site.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11685
(requires free registration)
* Getting Ready for February 2008 and Beyond
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
NAB's chief technologist has his hands full not only making sure that
the digital conversion goes smoothly, but also making sure that
broadcasters don't miss the opportunities that digital provides.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/03/08/daily.2/

RUSH INTRODUCES WHITE SPACES PRODUCTION BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL) has introduced a bill that would keep
unlicensed wireless devices out of the broadcast band until after the
transition to digital in February 2009. The bill would put off even
considering allowing unlicensed mobile devices in the broadcast band
until 2012. The FCC was less definitive about whether it would allow
unlicensed mobile devices, asking for comment on that issue. While
the Rush bill would benefit broadcasters, it is billed as protection
for wireless microphones, which are used in sports and music
production as well as by many churches.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6422883?display=Breaking+News

STATIONS SETTLE WITH FCC OVER LAPSES IN EMERGENCY COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Three more stations have settled with the FCC over allegations they
failed to provide sufficient emergency information to
hearing-impaired viewers during emergency broadcasts. The consent
decree does not require stations to admit any wrongdoing, but it does
require them to closed-caption their local news, including any
extended emergency coverage; to have a speed dial programmed with the
phone numbers of caption writers for easy access; and to institute
and publicize an emergency visual presentation policy including, when
necessary, crawls, scrolls, or "handwriting on a blackboard."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6422748?display=Breaking+News

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/21OWNERSHIP

MUSIC INDUSTRY TIGHTENS SQUEEZE ON STUDENTS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove]
The recording industry is dusting off an old tactic in its
never-ending effort to crack down on pirated music: Target the
college kids. So far this year, the music industry's trade group has
sent out hundreds of complaints to students, pressured school
administrators to take tougher anti-piracy measures and tried shaming
colleges into doing better by putting out a list of the top offending
schools. Yesterday, the recording industry trade group took its
complaints about illegal music downloading to the House Judiciary
Committee, saying progress at U.S. campuses has been too slow.
The Recording Industry Association of America claims that more than
half of college students acquire music illegally.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR200703...
(requires registration)

$49 BILLION IS SLIM'S PICKINGS IN MEXICO
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Marla Dickerson]
When Mexicans talk on the phone or use the Internet, they're almost
certainly doing it through a company controlled by Carlos Slim, who
in 1990 bought control of the old state-owned telephone company
Telefonos de Mexico, or Telmex, and turned it into a cash machine.
Profits from that near-monopoly have bankrolled Slim's telecom
acquisitions around the region, propelling his America Movil wireless
spinoff into the largest provider of cellphone service in Latin
America. Forbes estimates Slim's net worth at $49 billion which
represents a stunning $19-billion increase from 2006. Microsoft Corp.
co-founder Bill Gates' $56 billion helped him retain the top spot on
the world's-richest list. Investor Warren Buffett was again runner-up
with $52 billion. But with those tycoon-philanthropists increasingly
focused on giving away their fortunes, the 67-year-old Slim appears
destined to surpass them both. Although his third-place ranking
didn't change from 2006, he increased his wealth by 63%. That's a
growth rate of $2.2 million an hour.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-slim9mar09,1,199060...
(requires registration)

http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/24JOURNALISM

BLOGGING FOR DOLLARS RAISES QUESTIONS OF ONLINE ETHICS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Josh Friedman]
Thousands of bloggers are writing sponsored posts touting such
diverse topics as diamonds, digital cameras and drug clinics. The
bloggers are spurred by new marketing middlemen such as PayPerPost
Inc. that connect advertisers with mom-and-pop webmasters. Some of
their fellow bloggers are critical, saying the industry is polluting
the blog world and misleading consumers by blurring the line between
advertising and unbiased opinion. "The problem is the advertisers are
trying to buy a blogger's voice, and once they've bought it they own
it," said Jeff Jarvis, a City University of New York journalism
professor who writes about technology at BuzzMachine.com. "PayPerPost
versus authentic blogging is like comparing prostitution with making
love to someone you care for deeply. No one with any level of ethics
would get involved with these clowns," said Jason McCabe Calacanis,
an entrepreneur who co-founded Weblogs Inc., a network of blogs that
includes popular technology site Engadget. The bloggers who take
assignments from the likes of PayPerPost, ReviewMe, Loud Launch and
SponsoredReviews.com call the hubbub overblown. They say the services
provide a way to make a profit or keep their blogs going. Technorati,
a search engine that tracks 71 million blogs, says 175,000 are
created daily. Posties, as PayPerPost calls its crew of 15,500
bloggers, say their posts are sincere, sponsored or not, and that
financial incentives are disclosed.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-bloggers9mar09,1,6472...
(requires registration)

AILES WARNS CANDIDATES AGAINST BLACKLISTING NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Fox News Chairman/CEO Roger Ailes had a warning Thursday night for
candidates who give in to pressure from activist groups to boycott
debates: "Any candidate for high office from either party who
believes he can blacklist any news organization is making a terrible
mistake," he said, suggesting to do so would be impeding free speech.
Ailes did not make the reference explicit, but he was talking about
Democrat John Edwards' decision to skip a debate in Nevada in part
because Fox was partnering in the effort. Moveon.org has been
pressuring the Democratic party to drop Fox from its sponsorship.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6422906.html?display=Breaking...

[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: ]

[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: ]

[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: ]

[SOURCE: , AUTHOR: ]

QUICKLY

TRIBUNE HAS NO PLANS TO SELL MORE PAPERS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
Tribune Co. has no plans to sell its remaining newspapers, having
completed the disposal of $500 million worth of non-core assets. The
company owns 11 daily papers in such cities as New York, Chicago and
Los Angeles and is reviewing bids that include buying out the company
and spinning off divisions as it tries to satisfy restive investors.
It is expected to decide by the end of the month.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=industryNews&storyID...

VERIZON GETS STATEWIDE FRANCHISE IN CALIFORNIA
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Verizon Communications became the first state franchise holder in
California. The state Public Utilities Commission acted on the
telco's applications just five working days after establishing its
rules for regulating statewide applications. Under the state's
Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act, the PUC has 30 days
to rule that a franchise application is complete, and another 14 days
after that to issue a franchise. The application lists 45 cities in
Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties where
Verizon intends to deploy video services. These are the communities
where the telco has the heaviest deployment of its FiOS
high-speed-Internet plant.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6422864.html?display=Breaking+News
* Verizon wins state TV franchise
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-verizon9mar09,1,30668...

BASEBALL, DIRECTV FINALIZE AGREEMENT
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Major League Baseball announced its $700 million, seven-year
agreement with DirecTV on Thursday and said the deal contains a
provision that allows its "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market
games to remain on cable television if the other incumbent providers
agree to match the terms. The president of one of those providers,
iN Demand's Robert Jacobson, immediately said those terms were
impossible for his company to agree to and called it a "de facto
exclusive deal." "Extra Innings" had more than 500,000 television
subscribers last year plus about 60 percent more on MLB.com, the
sport's Web site. DirecTV president Chase Carey says that there were
about 230,000 subscribers to the "Extra Innings" package last year
outside of DirecTV and estimated that just approximately 5,000 of
that group would not have access DirecTV, a satellite service.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/03/08/daily.8/
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...and we're outta here. Have a great weekend. Just 23 days 'til Opening Day!
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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