August 2007

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
U.S. to Expand Domestic Use Of Spy Satellites
Sense on Secrecy

BROADCASTING/CABLE
Chairman Martin Proposes Cable Carriage for New TV Broadcasters
Broadcasters Spent Nearly $4.3M Lobbying in 2007

OWNERSHIP
Growing Endangered List: Indie Nets
Big Media Don't Reflect the Diversity of Chicago
Zell remains committed to Tribune buyout, says Deep Throat
Big media hunts for Web cred, again
Trial dissects roles at newspaper

CONTENT
Rockefeller Delays Floating TV Violence Bill
CBS settles with fired shock jock Don Imus
Report: Net neutrality could kill 'e-health' plans

ADVERTISING
Internet Fuels Ad Economy, But TV Remains Biggest Factor

QUICKLY -- COAT Members Urge Action by Wireless Industry to Improve
Disability Accessibility; Why Wi-Fi Networks Are Floundering; M2Z
Networks Seeks Help from Courts; Still Vital, 'On the Road' Turns 50

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

US TO EXPAND DOMESTIC USE OF SPY SATELLITES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Robert Block bobby.block( at )wsj.com]
The U.S.'s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range
of federal and local authorities who can get access to information
from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S. The
decision, made three months ago by Director of National Intelligence
Michael McConnell, places for the first time some of the U.S.'s most
powerful intelligence-gathering tools at the disposal of domestic
security officials. The move was authorized in a May 25 memo sent to
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking his department to
facilitate access to the spy network on behalf of civilian agencies
and law enforcement. Until now, only a handful of federal civilian
agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
and the U.S. Geological Survey, have had access to the most basic
spy-satellite imagery, and only for the purpose of scientific and
environmental study.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118714764716998275.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

SENSE ON SECRECY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is
scheduled to hear arguments today on the Bush administration's
attempt to halt two challenges to its warrantless surveillance
program. Here's what legal scholars expect: The San Francisco-based
court -- a favorite liberal punching bag for the Supreme Court --
will hand down an "anti-administration" decision that allows the
cases to move forward. If that happens, government lawyers won't be
able to run fast enough to urge the Supreme Court to overturn the
ruling. A 9th Circuit ruling couched in soaring rhetoric that gives
plaintiffs too much leeway and imposes too heavily on the
administration's ability to protect legitimate secrets will surely
trigger the interest, if not the ire, of some of the justices. At the
same time, the administration's uncompromising approach on state
secrets will continue to fuel the search for a practical way to limit
the privilege.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/14/AR200708...
(requires registration)

BROADCASTING/CABLE

CHAIRMAN MARTIN PROPOSES CABLE CARRIAGE FOR NEW TV BROADCASTERS
[SOURCE: DrewClark.com]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Tuesday
offered two proposals that he said would address concerns about
objectionable content and add "access to new voices in the media."
Chairman Martin repeated his proposal to require cable operators to
sell television programming a la carte, or on a per-channel basis.
The second suggestion, as with the first, would come at the expense
of the cable industry. As television broadcasters transition to
digital television, the ability to broadcast multiple channels of
programming would "provide us an opportunity for others to lease some
of that capacity," said Chairman Martin. "I have actually proposed
that we specifically allow [minority and small-businesses] to lease
some of that capacity," he said. "They would be treated just like
full power stations," said Chairman Martin, meaning that they would
have the obligation to provide public interest obligations, such as
three hours of child-oriented programming in a week. "But they would
also have the benefits of cable carriage," said Chairman Martin. That
means that these new television stations would enjoy mandatory
carriage on cable system even if their over-the-air signals were
extremely limited in their power.
http://www.drewclark.com/2007/08/chairman-martin-proposes-cable-carriage...

BROADCASTERS SPENT NEARLY $4.3 MILLION LOBBYING
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
The National Association of Broadcasters spent nearly $4.3 million in
the first half of 2007 to lobby the federal government, according to
a disclosure form. The trade group, which represents more than 1,000
local television stations and roughly 7,000 radio stations, lobbied
on radio ownership and royalties, a proposed satellite radio
combination and use of unoccupied TV spectrum. In addition to
Congress, the group lobbied the Federal Communications Commission and
the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/14/ap4019894.html

OWNERSHIP

GROWING ENDANGERED LIST: INDIE NETS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
[Commentary] Independent networks are moving closer to extinction,
part of the nation's continuing media ownership consolidation craze.
It's far from a done deal yet, but Oxygen may be the latest indie to
be gobbled up by a monster media conglomerate, with Gerry Laybourne
reportedly in talks with NBC Universal about selling her sassy
female-targeted brainchild. More than a year ago, Court TV was
swallowed by Time Warner, put under the umbrella of its Turner
Broadcasting System unit. There are still a few indies around.
Hallmark Channel, headed by Schleiff, is one of them. But even it's
been on the block. Independent networks have to try harder and
officials at indie nets are often more open and vocal about what's
really going on in the industry. It's in their self interest, because
they're underdogs. And they don't have to worry about offending a
suit sitting in a corner executive office in Manhattan or LA.
http://www.multichannel.com/blog/370000437.html#750013075

BIG MEDIA DON'T REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
[SOURCE: Stop Big Media]
Last month, the Media Management Center at Northwestern University
published an in-depth study of Chicago's local TV news experience.
While designed to help station managers build their audience, the
report offers some important insight on how well the big five TV
stations are serving the public. With the Sept. 20 FCC media
ownership hearing swiftly approaching, the findings in this report
are an important reminder of the ways Big Media leave local
communities underserved and under-represented. A few of the findings
include: 1) Less than half of every local news program is devoted to
news stories. 2) More than one-third of all news stories are about
crimes, fires and accidents, while political coverage accounts for 15
percent. 3) For every non-white person who is heard in a story, there
are three white people. 4) Women are outnumbered 2-to-1 in the news.
http://www.stopbigmedia.com/blog/?p=116
* The Local TV News Experience
http://www.mediamanagementcenter.org/blogs/mike/2007/07/newest-research-...

ZELL REMAINS COMMITTED TO TRIBUNE BUYOUT: SOURCE
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Chicago real estate tycoon Sam Zell remains committed to taking
Tribune Co. private, a source close to the transaction said on
Tuesday, as shares of the U.S. newspaper publisher and broadcaster
fell because of concerns that the deal might not go through. Zell's
perspective on Tribune "as an investment and as a company has not
changed," said the source, who requested anonymity because the source
was not authorized to leak for Zell.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSWEN042220070814
* Tribune Says Zell Deal Is Still On, Disputes Analyst
Tribune Co. said its $8.2 billion sale to a group led by billionaire
Sam Zell is still on, disputing an analyst's report that said the
odds of the deal closing as scheduled are no better than 50-50.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=apSNsuQp7X14

BIG MEDIA HUNTS FOR WEB CRED, AGAIN
[SOURCE: News.com, AUTHOR: Caroline McCarthy]
This summer has been an unusual hunting season for the start-up
world, with nascent Internet companies firmly in the crosshairs of
major media conglomerates. Sometimes, the motives behind the
purchases are ambiguous, but one thing's clear--media companies are
forking over amounts of cash in the tens of millions to hundreds of
millions of dollars for Web start-ups that would seem more
appropriate targets for a Yahoo or Google. The big media rush to buy
into the Web brings a remarkable sense of deja vu--and skepticism.
The common wisdom (based on more than a little evidence, like Time
Warner's hugely disappointing acquisition of AOL), ever since the
first wave of tech acquisitions in the dot-com boom of the late
1990s, has been that big media doesn't know what to do with its
pricey Web acquisitions. "It's a classic example of how the old media
companies have been extremely slow to adapt to the new opportunities
posed by (new) technologies. They are trying at a late date to
acquire," said Alan Mutter, blogger, "Reflections of a Newsosaur"
http://news.com.com/Big+media+hunts+for+Web+cred%2C+again/2100-1030_3-62...

TRIAL DISSECTS ROLES AT NEWSPAPER
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James Rainey]
After a year of name calling, serial litigation and dozens of
newsroom defections, American journalism's nastiest in-house squabble
debuted in a courtroom in Santa Barbara (CA) Tuesday. Attorneys for
eight fired journalists accused Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy
McCaw of trying to quash a union organizing drive, while the
publisher's lead lawyer argued that the employees overstepped their
authority and tried to seize control of the newspaper. The case
contrasts two approaches to journalism and raises questions about how
much an owner or a publisher should be involved in determining what
ends up in print.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-newspress15aug15,1,14...
(requires registration)

CONTENT

ROCKEFELLER DELAYS FLOATING TV VIOLENCE BILL
[SOURCE: Technology Daily 8/6, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) has postponed introduction of
television violence legislation for at least the third time this year
-- with his spokesman now saying it will be offered after Congress'
August recess. A spokesperson attributed the delays to the crush of
legislative activity in recent weeks. "It's just time and scheduling.
The routine legislative process," the spokesman said, adding that he
did not know if there was a draft of the bill. Other sources were
also uncertain, since no draft has apparently been floated among
interested parties.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/2007/08/rockefeller_delays_floating_tv.html

CBS SETTLES WITH FIRED SHOCK JOCK DON IMUS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Daniel Trotta]
The Drudge Report Web site reported that Don Imus will receive $20
million from CBS for insulting the Rutgers women's basketball team.
The settlement may allow Imus to revitalized his career with rumors
that both Sirius Satellite Radio and New York radio station WABC,
which is owned by Citadel Broadcasting, may be interested in hiring
him. Despite the negative publicity, Imus is capable of generating
tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue a year through
high ratings, experts say. "If someone is in negotiations with him,
they have done enough due diligence with their advertisers to know
revenues will increase and advertisers will support it," said
employment and entertainment lawyer Barry Peek, a partner in the law
firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. "I would think it's going
to be quick," Peek said of an Imus comeback. "For Imus, time is of
the essence. Out of sight, out of mind."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&st...
* Imus, CBS Settle Lawsuits; Is New Show in the Wings?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/14/AR200708...
* CBS and Imus Settle Differences Over His Firing
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/arts/television/15imus.html
* Rutgers player sues Imus
Hours after dethroned radio shock jock Don Imus settled his $120
million breach-of-contract lawsuit with CBS Tuesday, he and CBS were
sued by a Rutgers women's basketball team member who says his
disparaging on-air comments ruined her reputation.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20070815/d_lede15_imus.art.htm

REPORT: NET NEUTRALITY COULD KILL 'E-HEALTH' PLANS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
For years, we've been hearing about the need for a tech-savvier
American health care system that could make paper health records,
prescriptions, X-rays and even in-person checkups into relics. But
all of that could be derailed unless U.S. policymakers reject calls
for so-called Net neutrality regulations, a new report warns. That's
the position of the U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA), a
13-year-old trade association that represents "companies engaged in
Internet commerce, content and connectivity." Verizon is the biggest
name represented on its board of directors. "American consumers
should not be forced to accept a 'one-size-fits-all' broadband
service that places critical medical monitoring and health care on
the same footing as music and video downloads or noncritical
communications," says USIIA president David McClure in a report
titled "e-Health and America's Broadband Networks" released Tuesday.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9759570-7.html
* e-Health and America's Broadband Networks
http://www.usiia.org/pubs/eHealth.pdf

ADVERTISING

INTERNET FUELS AD ECONOMY, BUT TV REMAINS BIGGEST FACTOR
[SOURCE: Media Daily News, AUTHOR: Joe Mandese]
According to the most recent installment of GroupM's periodic "This
Year, Next Year" advertising and marketing expenditures tracking
study. in the short run, the Internet is playing a bigger role in
driving worldwide and U.S. advertising growth than GroupM economist
Adam Smith thought in his last prediction. But the Internet's
stimulus is expected to begin to flatten next year, as TV remains the
biggest influence in the advertising marketplace. "Among the
traditional media, TV remains far and away the main engine of
advertising growth in the 20% of the 'developing' global advertising
economy. We see its headline growth contribution has slipped a point
or two in 2006 and 2007 since our last forecast. This is the result
of Internet upgrades," writes GroupM's Smith in the new report. "TV
comes back with a mini-bounce in 2008 with the well-known stimuli of
the US presidential elections (a possible billion-dollar race this
time); the Olympics (another potential billion on USA TV alone, so
one could begin guessing the global uplift at double that, and triple
to include other media)."
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=65...

QUICKLY

COAT MEMBERS URGE ACTION BY WIRELESS INDUSTRY TO IMPROVE DISABILITY
ACCESSIBILITY
[SOURCE: Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology press release]
Consumers with disabilities are taking their concerns about lack of
accessibility of cell phones to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) this month, with multiple complaints against numerous companies
submitted by representatives of the Coalition of Organizations for
Accessible Technology (COAT). "These complaints illustrate a market
failure on the part of the cell phone industry to address
accessibility," said Paul Schroeder, VP of the Programs and Policy
Group at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), another COAT
affiliate, which assisted over a dozen individuals in submitting
complaints to the FCC recently. "While some companies have taken
steps, consumers with vision loss have few good options for
accessibility, and almost no reliable information about accessibility."
http://coataccess.civicspaceondemand.org/node/45

WHY WI-FI NETWORKS ARE FLOUNDERING
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif]
The road is getting bumpier for cities and the companies they have
partnered with in a bid to blanket their streets with high-speed
Internet access at little or no cost to users. While 415 U.S. cities
and counties are now building or planning to build municipal Wi-Fi
networks, "deployments are slowing down slightly," says Esme Vos,
founder of consultancy MuniWireless.com. Vos's tally still marks a
nearly 70% jump from mid-2006, when there were 247 muni Wi-Fi
projects on tap, but that's down from the torrid pace of a year
earlier, when deployment plans doubled. Perhaps the clearest hint of
trouble ahead is that some of the companies partnering with cities on
these projects, including EarthLink and AT&T, are having second
thoughts about remaining in the municipal Wi-Fi business.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2007/tc20070814_929868...
* Community Wi-Fi comes to San Francisco
While EarthLink and Google are still hammering out details of their
citywide Wi-Fi contract with San Francisco officials, a company
called Meraki plans on blanketing the city with free Wi-Fi using
volunteers who will deploy and manage the equipment themselves.
http://news.com.com/Community+Wi-Fi+comes+to+San+Francisco/2100-7351_3-6...

M2Z NETWORKS SEEKS HELP FROM COURTS
[SOURCE: M2Z Networks press release]
M2Z Networks informed the Federal Communications Commission that it
plans to seek a Writ of Mandamus from the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the D.C. Circuit. In seeking the Writ, M2Z will ask the D.C. Circuit
to direct the FCC to come into immediate compliance with all parts of
Section 7 of the Telecommunications Act by making a public interest
determination on M2Z's license application, which has been pending
for over 15 months. "We strongly believe that the FCC should fully
and fairly review the detailed record associated with M2Z's license
application and its forbearance petition and make a decision
consistent with the law Congress enacted," said Uzoma Onyeije, Vice
President of Regulatory Affairs for M2Z Networks. He added, "The
statute is clear concerning both process and substance for Section 7
decisions. As an independent agency accountable only to Congress, the
FCC's highest priority is implementing the will of the legislature."
http://www.macroworldinvestor.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=266239671

STILL VITAL, 'ON THE ROAD' TURNS 50
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Motoko Rich & Melena Ryzik]
The best-selling novels of 1957 included "Peyton Place" by Grace
Metalious and "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. Both were cultural
touchstones: "Peyton Place" as a precursor of the modern soap opera
and "On the Road" as a clarion call for the Beat generation and,
later, as an underground bible of the 1960s and '70s. Today "Peyton
Place" is mostly regarded as a historical curiosity, but "On the
Road," celebrating the 50th anniversary of its publication, still has
a vibrant life on college English course syllabuses and high school
summer reading lists, and in young travelers' backpacks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/books/15kero.html
(requires registration)
* See original NYTimes reviews:
http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/kerouac-millstein.pdf
http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/kerouac-dempsey.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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