May 2007

On the agenda next week -- 1) the CPB Board meets=20
in Alaska (the state, not the street -- anything=20
to keep Free Press out of the room) and 2) a=20
House hearing on the Future of Video. For these=20
and other upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Bush Wants Phone Firms Immune to Privacy Suits

MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Digg's online crowd flexes its muscle
Meet the OPOs
Obama Wants Debate Footage Copyright Waived

DIGITAL CONTENT
Retail CDs get personal
Digital Rights Management and the Secret War Against Your Fair Use Rights
Study Concludes That Many Top News Sites Don't Do RSS Well

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Murdoch on Owning The Wall Street Journal
Reuters confirms takeover approach
Clear Channel Board Rejects Sweetened Offer From Bidder
NBC's ION Takeover Imminent

QUICKLY -- Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop=20
Laptops; Phones studied as attack detector;=20
Surprise Interest in Over-The-Air TV; Court=20
denies Vonage bid for patent case retrial; Cox=20
Gains Statewide Nod in California; Iraq Policy=20
and Presidential Politics Top the News

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

BUSH WANTS PHONE FIRMS IMMUNE TO PRIVACY SUITS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
The Bush administration is urging Congress to=20
pass a law that would halt dozens of lawsuits=20
charging phone companies with invading ordinary=20
citizens' privacy through a post-Sept. 11=20
warrantless surveillance program. The measure is=20
part of a legislative package drafted by the=20
Justice Department to relax provisions in the=20
1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)=20
that restrict the administration's ability to=20
intercept electronic communications in the United=20
States. If passed, the proposed changes would=20
forestall efforts to compel disclosure of the=20
program's details through Congress or the court=20
system. Civil liberties advocates opposed the=20
immunity measure. They said the government had=20
yet to disclose to Congress the attorney=20
general's legal opinion supporting the=20
surveillance program and what role the phone=20
companies played in it. They charge that blanket=20
immunity would amount to a legislative pardon to=20
telecommunications companies and others that have=20
aided the government's warrantless surveillance,=20
without explaining the pardon's basis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR200705...
2323.html
(requires registration)

MEDIA & ELECTIONS

MEET THE OPOs
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jose Antonio Vargas]
Howard Dean's cometlike campaign in 2003 was the=20
first to integrate the Internet into a=20
presidential race, and Joe Rospars was there, a=20
22-year-old working as an "all-around Web guy"=20
until the campaign suddenly collapsed. Four years=20
later, it's not just the upstarts, as Dean was,=20
who have embraced online campaigning. And Rospars=20
is part of a new generation of strategists who=20
share a passionate belief that they can transform=20
not just individual campaigns but also politics=20
itself. Now he runs a staff of 11 at the Chicago=20
headquarters of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). Mathew=20
Gross, 35, who blogged for Dean a few desks away=20
from Rospars, serves as chief online strategist=20
for Democrat John Edwards in Chapel Hill, N.C.=20
Mindy Finn, 26, a veteran of the 2004 Bush=20
campaign, does the same for Republican Mitt=20
Romney in Boston. Every campaign has someone=20
similar -- young, tech-savvy and committed to the=20
transforming possibilities of the Internet. For=20
these online political operatives -- or OPOs, as=20
a few have taken to calling themselves -- the=20
Internet isn't just a tool. It's a strategy, a=20
whole new way of campaigning, a form of=20
communication, from blogs to MySpace to YouTube,=20
with far more potential than the old media of=20
print and television. "TV is a passive=20
experience, and the Internet is all about=20
interactivity, all about making a direct=20
connection," said Rospars, waxing expansive in the way all the OPOs tend to=
do.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR200705...
2546.html
(requires registration)

OBAMA WANTS DEBATE FOOTAGE COPYRIGHT WAIVED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama=20
(D-IL) has asked Democratic National Committee=20
Howard Dean to make video of the Democratic=20
presidential debates publicly available free and=20
unrestricted. Sen Obama wants the copyright=20
holder--whether the DNC or a media outlet-- to=20
waive copyright, saying "there is no reason that=20
this particular class of content needs the=20
protection." MSNBC says that it and co-sponsor=20
POLITICO.com are maintaining control over the=20
footage. They are requiring on-screen credits and=20
limiting aired or streamed excerpts to no more=20
than a combined two minutes in the hours just=20
after the debate and no more than 10 minutes=20
after that, with no excerpts to be archived or=20
streamed after June 2 without express permission from MSNBC.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6438871.html?rssid=3D193

DIGITAL CONTENT

DIGG'S ONLINE CROWD FLEXES ITS MUSCLE
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Chris Gaylord]
Earlier this week a torrent of online activity=20
brought the popular news aggregator Digg.com to=20
its knees. Web users flooded the site with posts=20
of a code that could crack the encryption on=20
HD-DVDs, unlocking the high-definition movies to=20
online piracy and potentially exposing Digg to=20
legal troubles. The site's users couldn't be=20
prouder. And, in a way, this is what Digg is=20
designed to do. The website touts itself as a=20
news service without editors -- or, to look at it=20
another way, millions of editors. The community=20
of users compiles articles from across the=20
Internet and votes on which ones deserve=20
prominent placement on the site. However, when=20
Digg's administrators stepped in Tuesday and=20
removed several posts containing that once-secret=20
proprietary code, the community mutinied. The=20
site's founders explained they were responding to=20
cease-and-desist orders on behalf of the trade=20
group that holds the rights to the HD-DVD code.=20
But Digg users countered each takedown by posting=20
the code again and again, multiplying like the=20
heads of a hydra, until articles, pictures, even=20
song lyrics containing the 32-character data key swamped the site.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0504/p03s01-ussc.html
* User revolt at Digg.com shows risks of Web 2.0
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/05/03/MNG4RPK...
1.DTL&type=3Dtech

RETAIL CDs GET PERSONAL
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune 5/3, AUTHOR: Eric Benderoff]
Executives from the world's leading record=20
companies and the owners of the nation's=20
struggling music sellers have been huddled in a=20
Chicago hotel since Sunday, trying to figure out=20
how to halt a slide in CD sales while providing=20
music fans with new reasons to shop at a store.=20
When the attendees of the National Association of=20
Recording Merchandisers leave town Thursday,=20
they'll have a little more knowledge on how to=20
adapt to an increasingly digital music market,=20
but also a sobering sense that things aren't=20
getting better soon. A report released Wednesday=20
from Ipsos Insight, a Chicago market research=20
firm, showed that while 51 percent of U.S.=20
consumers ages 12 and up bought a CD in the past=20
six months, that's down 15 percent from 2002.=20
Furthermore, a Sony executive said Wednesday that=20
a 6 percent increase in online music sales in the=20
first quarter hardly offset decreases in physical=20
CD shipments, which were down 20 percent. One new=20
tactic is selling digital singles: New machines,=20
available from at least five different companies=20
and now in operation in more than 150 record=20
stores, Starbucks, book stores and big-box=20
electronics stores across the country, allow=20
consumers to pick 15 or so singles from various=20
artists and burn them onto a CD. The cost of the=20
do-it-yourself CDs varies depending on the=20
retailer, but typically each song costs 99 cents=20
after a $3 fee to cover the costs of a jewel=20
case, customized labels and a CD. So burning one=20
song costs $3.99 but burning 10 would cost $12.90.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0705021015may03,0,7930722.sto...
track=3Drss

DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT AND THE SECRET WAR AGAINST YOUR FAIR USE RIGHTS
[SOURCE: saschameinrath.com]
[Commentary] A massive secret war on consumers'=20
rights to make legal use of audio, video, print,=20
and other media is being waged. This battle,=20
under the ironically titled rubrics of =93Digital=20
Rights Management=94 (DRM) is part of the ongoing=20
battle to more fully commoditize previously free=20
media use and exact additional control over=20
copyrighted material and extract additional=20
profits from media consumers. This article=20
documents some of the changes surrounding=20
copyright and focuses on the increasing use of=20
Digital Rights Management and decreasing freedom all of us face.
http://www.saschameinrath.com/2007may03digital_rights_management_and_the...
cret_war_against_your_fair_use_rights

STUDY CONCLUDES THAT MANY TOP NEWS SITES DON'T DO RSS WELL
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher]
A new study from the International Center for=20
Media and Public Agenda, looking at 19 top news=20
sites, concludes that RSS feeds work very poorly=20
for anyone who uses news for more than=20
infotainment. Rather than RSS, the study found,=20
casual news consumers users should just stick=20
with Google's Top Stories. "The problem," the=20
study concludes, "is that many news outlets don't=20
want to share all the news that's on their site=20
-- especially stories that are not staff-written=20
or produced. One reason may be that such stories,=20
such as those by AP or Reuters, don't carry the=20
'brand' of the news organization. But without=20
those stories, many RSS feeds are not truly=20
delivering news 24/7 and, in addition, lack the=20
breadth of news their home sites deliver."
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
t_id=3D1003580613
* International News and Problems with the News Media=92s RSS Feeds
http://www.icmpa.umd.edu

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

MURDOCH ON OWNING THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Silkos & Andrew Ross Sorkin]
How might the Wall street Journal change under=20
Rupert Murdoch? Sorter articles, more political=20
coverage in the news pages, a greater emphasis on=20
Washington. He insists he won't meddle in the=20
journalism or slash-and-burn the staff. =93We=92re=20
not coming in with a bunch of cost-cutters,=94 he=20
said, but added: =93I'm not saying it=92s going to be=20
a holiday camp for everybody.=94 He sees himself as=20
a lifelong newspaperman who learned journalism=20
from his father in Australia, he also tried to=20
say that his reputation as an interloper owner=20
was overstated. He said he was not involved with=20
the news operations of the higher-end newspapers,=20
although he takes a closer role in tabloids like=20
The Sun in London and The New York Post. And he=20
said he would propose to the Bancrofts setting up=20
a separate board for the newspaper, mandated with=20
ensuring its editorial independence, as he has=20
done since he acquired The Times and Sunday Times=20
in 1981. He said the independent board works,=20
recalling that =93The Sunday Times came out loudly=20
for the decapitation of Margaret Thatcher,=94 whom=20
he had personally supported. He said, =93I didn't=20
know about it,=94 and then joked, =93I pretended I hadn't read it.=94
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/business/media/04murdoch.html
(requires registration)
* News Corp. Plans Strategy To Woo Family, Journalists
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117823661335791549.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
* Behind Murdoch's Journal Bid
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR200705...
2286.html
* Murdoch could spark a class war
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070504/1b_dowshareholders04...
t.htm
* Rupert will get WSJ; Wall Street will get it \
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070504/al04.art.htm
* Lusting after the Wall Street Journal
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-pearlstine4may04...
6806987.story?coll=3Dla-news-a_section

REUTERS CONFIRMS TAKEOVER APPROACH
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Gordon Smith]
Reuters, the news and information group,=20
confirmed on Friday it had received a preliminary=20
approach =96 thought to be from Canadian rival=20
Thomson =96 as interest in providers of financial=20
information reaches unprecedented levels.=20
Thomson, the company that is thought to have made=20
the approach, is also growing its information=20
services quickly. Later this month it will start=20
selling a new global news service to clients=20
built on the back of AFX News, the financial=20
newswire service it bought for an estimated $20m=20
last year, as it attempts to compete more=20
effectively with rival Bloomberg. But a sale may=20
be complicated by Reuters=92 shareholder structure.=20
The Reuters Founders Share Company controls 30=20
per cent of the voting shares and was set up when=20
the group listed in 1984 and is ordered to=20
maintain the independence of the company.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/761152aa-fa21-11db-8bd0-000b5df10621.html
(requires subscription)

CLEAR CHANNEL BOARD REJECTS SWEETENED OFFER FROM BIDDER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
Clear Channel Communications, the nation=92s=20
largest radio broadcaster, said last night that=20
its board had rejected a revised offer by two=20
equity firms that had agreed to buy the company,=20
but are now trying to keep the deal from falling=20
through. The new offer was a last ditch attempt=20
to save the deal from being voted down by=20
shareholders next week, but now means the buyout=20
is almost certain to be rejected.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/business/media/04clear.html
(requires registration)
* Clear Channel Rejects Firms' Revised Offer
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117824700562091923.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one

NBC'S ION TAKEOVER IMMINENT
[SOURCE: New York Post 5/3, AUTHOR: Zachery Kouwe]
Ion Media Networks appears close to approving a=20
takeover deal with media giant NBC Universal and=20
hedge fund Citadel despite intense opposition=20
from a group of dissident shareholders and a=20
rival offer made by satellite company EchoStar=20
Communications. Media-ownership rules prevent NBC=20
from owning a majority of Ion, but the company=20
will maintain its minority ownership with Citadel=20
as a partner. As part of its long-term plan, NBC=20
may try to use Ion's national footprint to=20
strong-arm NBC affiliates into accepting smaller=20
payments for use of their programming by=20
threatening to move their signal to the Ion-owned=20
stations. NBC pays network affiliates to carry=20
their content and those contracts are set to be=20
renegotiated in the next three to five years.=20
Ion, once known as Paxson Communications, owns=20
about 60 TV stations reaching 90 million households.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05032007/business/nbcs_ion_takeover_imminent...
siness_zachery_kouwe.htm
* ION Rejects EchoStar=92s $2.13B Bid
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6438837.html
* ION Approves NBC Sale Amid Unrest
Scratch the "imminent." Television broadcaster=20
Ion Media Networks yesterday approved a takeover=20
offer from NBC Universal and hedge fund Citadel=20
Investment Group, despite three opposing board=20
members and threats from a dissident group of=20
shareholders. The deal, which will allow NBC to=20
keep a minority stake in Ion, was approved by a=20
majority of the broadcaster's board in a heated=20
meeting. Three of Ion's independent directors,=20
who represent disgruntled shareholders, voted=20
against the offer with one director not present at the meeting.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05042007/business/ion_approves_nbc_sale_amid...
rest_business_zachery_kouwe.htm

BROADCASTING

LAWYER SAYS IMUS TO SUE CBS, ACCUSING IT OF BREAKING CONTRACT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
The lawyer for the ousted radio host Don Imus=20
said yesterday that he would file a $40 million=20
lawsuit against CBS next week, accusing it of=20
breach of contract. The lawyer, Martin Garbus of=20
Manhattan, said CBS violated a clause in Mr.=20
Imus=92s contract that specifically encouraged him=20
to engage in what the clause called=20
=93extraordinary,=94 =93irreverent=94 and =93controversial=94=20
topics on his program. Mr. Garbus said the=20
language in the clause he cited proved =93they were=20
creating a shock jock.=94 He said Mr. Imus was=20
doing =93exactly what they wanted him to do.=94 Mr.=20
Garbus also said that CBS had agreed to give Mr.=20
Imus an official warning after one incident of=20
offensive language before taking action, and that=20
=93both CBS and MSNBC had a delay button and=20
neither of them used them in this case.=94 CBS=20
said: =93We terminated Mr. Imus for cause. Based on=20
the comments in question and relevant contract=20
terms, we believe that the termination was=20
appropriate and CBS would expect to prevail in=20
any attempt by Mr. Imus to recover money for his=20
actions.=94 Many issues in the case could turn on=20
whether CBS had reason to worry that the Federal=20
Communications Commission could punish the CBS=20
stations for the use of such language. David=20
Fiske, a spokesman for the F.C.C., said yesterday=20
that Congress had told the commission to levy=20
fines for profane or indecent language, but=20
purely offensive words might not come under that=20
standard. But the stations must also uphold=20
community standards or risk challenges to their broadcast licenses, he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/business/media/04imus.html
(requires registration)
* Legal Battle Brews Over Imus Contract With CBS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR200705...
2392.html

QUICKLY

SEEING NO PROGRESS, SOME SCHOOLS DROP LAPTOPS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Winnie Hu]
A handful of schools around the country that=20
adopted one-to-one computing programs and are now=20
abandoning them as educationally empty =97 and=20
worse. Many of these districts had sought to=20
prepare their students for a technology-driven=20
world and close the so-called digital divide=20
between students who had computers at home and=20
those who did not. =93After seven years, there was=20
literally no evidence it had any impact on=20
student achievement =97 none,=94 said the school=20
board president from one of the first districts=20
in New York State to experiment with putting=20
technology directly into students=92 hands. =93The=20
teachers were telling us when there=92s a=20
one-to-one relationship between the student and=20
the laptop, the box gets in the way. It=92s a=20
distraction to the educational process.=94
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html
(requires registration)

PHONES STUDIED AS ATTACK DETECTOR
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mimi Hall]
The government is researching whether the best=20
defense against a chemical, biological or=20
radiological attack might one day be right in=20
everyone's hands =97 or on their ears. Homeland=20
Security officials are looking into outfitting=20
cellphones with detectors that would alert=20
emergency responders to radiological isotopes,=20
toxic chemicals and biological agents such as=20
anthrax. "If it's successful, it'll change the=20
way chemical, biological and radiation detection=20
is done," says Rolf Dietrich, deputy director of=20
the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects=20
Agency, which invests in high-tech solutions to=20
secure the nation against terrorist attacks.=20
"It's a really, really neat thing."
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070504/1a_lede04.art.htm

SURPRISE INTEREST IN OVER-THE-AIR TV
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Glen Dickson]
After an Associated Press story ran on April 29=20
that described how simple antennas might deliver=20
better HDTV pictures than cable or satellite=20
service, due to the level of compression that=20
some operators use for HDTV signals, a flurry of=20
traffic hit a Website run by the Consumer=20
Electronics Association that provides information=20
on over-the-air antennas. The CEA site had 86,000=20
inquiries about DTV antennas that day, a huge=20
jump from the normal Sunday traffic of 6,000=20
inquiries, according to CEA spokesman Jason=20
Oxman; the site usually averages 100,000 inquiries per month
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6439202.html

COURT DENIES VONAGE BID FOR PATENT CASE RETRIAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Peter Kaplan]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit=20
has denied a request by Internet phone company=20
Vonage that it order a retrial in the patent=20
infringement case brought against it by Verizon.=20
The court, in a ruling dated Wednesday, turned=20
down a motion by Vonage to have an infringement=20
verdict by a lower court vacated because of a=20
landmark patent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court=20
on Monday. The appeals court said Vonage can cite=20
the new Supreme Court ruling as part of its pending appeal of the case.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSWAT00742420070503
* Court rejects Vonage bid for patent case retrial
http://news.com.com/Court+rejects+Vonage+bid+for+patent+case+retrial/210...
036_3-6181235.html?tag=3Dhtml.alert.hed

COX GAINS STATEWIDE NOD IN CALIFORNIA
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Cox Communications became the first incumbent=20
cable operator in California to gain state=20
certification under its franchising-reform law.=20
The permit was issued April 27. Cox=92s state franchise will expire in 2017.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6439072.html?rssid=3D196

IRAQ POLICY AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS TOP THE NEWS
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
After two weeks in which breaking mega-stories=20
(Don Imus=92s firing and the Virginia Tech=20
massacre) dominated the news, two familiar=20
ongoing issues generated the most coverage last=20
week. The top story was the Iraq policy debate at=20
15% of the overall newshole, according to PEJ=92s=20
News Coverage Index from April 22-27. Although=20
the debate over Iraq has consistently been a=20
top-five story in the weekly Index, this marked=20
the first time it had been the number one story since mid-February.
The crowded and active race to succeed George=20
Bush in the White House -- which included a=20
debate among Democrats last week -- followed in=20
second place at 10%. Both stories gained=20
significant momentum late in the week. The policy=20
debate -- which generated the most coverage=20
online (15%), on network TV (20%), cable news=20
(17%) and radio (16%) -- was fueled by the=20
House=92s and the Senate=92s passage of Iraq funding=20
measures with withdrawal timetables. The=20
President upped the political ante and drama by=20
vowing to veto the legislation. Meanwhile, the=20
televised April 26 debate from South Carolina=20
generated a major portion of the presidential race coverage for the week.
http://www.journalism.org/node/5343
--------------------------------------------------------------
... and we're outta here. have a great weekend. Go Cubs!
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------