September 2007

Today, the FCC is holding a DTV Consumer Education Workshop and the
Senate Commerce Committee is marking up Internet-related bills. On
Thursday, two FCC advisory panels meet: 1) the Consumer Advisory
Committee votes on recommendations concerning the FCC's DTV education
initiatives and 2) the Advisory Committee on Diversity for
Communications in the Digital Age will hear reports on Access to
Capital, New Technologies, and Outreach. Also on Thursday, APT hosts
a conversation on How Broadband is Changing Educational Institutions
and the Lives of Those Who Use Them. And please don't forget the
Telecommunications Policy Research Conference this weekend. For all
these upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/?q=event

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
The Jena 6 and the Media
U.S. moving "quickly as possible" on Sirius-XM
Clear Channel Shareholders OK Buyout
Bells Want To Use DoubleClick Hearing As Bank Shot On Google
Retrans Key to Gray's Digital Duop Strategy

TELECOM
FCC Agenda Includes 'Forbearance,' Access
Vonage infringed Sprint patents, jury finds
New Zealand rules on Telecom Corp split

DTV TRANSITION
Markey Marks DTV Milestone
Martin: Primetime PSAs Critical
CEA's Shapiro: DTV Subsidy Program Will Work

CABLE
Martin Backs Cable Antitrust Suit
With Martin's Aid, The America Channel Beats Comcast
PTC Launches Cable a la Carte Calculator

ELECTIONS, POLITICS & MEDIA
Political ads likely to run up $100 million tab
Panel: Political Candidates Stick to Traditional Media
MoveOn Pays The Times $77,508 for Ad Cost
NPR Rebuffs White House On Bush Talk

KIDS & MEDIA
Parents worry about Web but don't stop kids' use
Video game teaches kids about diet -- then turns off
Media Execs Get Earful on Lyrics at House Hearing

INTERNET/BROADBAND
Broadband Taxman
Free Wi-Fi Still an Elusive Goal

DIGITAL CONTENT
Online work emerges as big issue in Hollywood
Who controls the news? On the Web, you can.

QUICKLY -- CPB Awards Grant for Public Radio Major Giving Plan; The
Top Pundits In America

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

THE JENA 6 AND THE MEDIA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael Copps]
[Comentary] Eugene Robinson's Sept. 21 op-ed, "Drive Time for the
Jena 6," rightly concluded that black radio played a critical role in
bringing to light what happened in Jena, La. These radio hosts are to
be commended. But I worry that as the media grow ever more
consolidated, they are doing less and less to serve people of color.
Last week in Chicago, I heard passionate testimony during an
eight-hour Federal Communications Commission hearing on minority
media ownership. Many people of color are tired of big media ignoring
their concerns, distorting their contributions to society and
caricaturing them as individuals. One reason is the lack of minority
media ownership. A Free Press study says that while racial and ethnic
minorities are more than 30 percent of the U.S. population, they own
just 3.26 percent of all commercial broadcast television stations and
7.7 percent of full-power radio stations. This is a national
disgrace. Before the FCC again heads down the dangerous road of
permitting huge media conglomerates to grow even bigger -- something
it's looking at right now -- it should act on proposals to increase
minority ownership.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR200709...
(requires registration)

US MOVING "QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE" ON SIRIUS-XM
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The Justice Department is moving "as quickly as possible" in its
antitrust review of Sirius' acquisition of XM, Thomas Barnett,
assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said on
Tuesday. XM Satellite and Sirius have defended their planned merger,
saying it is not anti-competitive because they compete with broadcast
radio as well as MP3 players and other technology. Mr. Barnett was
asked about the review at a congressional hearing but declined to say
when it would be completed. "We want to do that as quickly as
possible, but we also want to get to the right answer," Barnett told
lawmakers on the antitrust task force of the U.S. House of
Representatives Judiciary Committee.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2544216920070925

CLEAR CHANNEL SHAREHOLDERS OK BUYOUT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Elizabeth White]
It took just about three weeks for the nation's biggest radio station
operator, Clear Channel Communications Inc., to accept a buyout offer
after announcing last fall that it was considering "strategic
alternatives." It took another 10 months for shareholders to finally
approve the deal. On Tuesday they gave the OK to a $19.5 billion
buyout offer from a private equity group led by Thomas H. Lee
Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC. The offer was first
announced in November but was sweetened after some large shareholders
signaled they would oppose earlier offers. The latest offer was
$39.20 per share in cash or stock in what would be a privately owned
company. Current shareholders could end up with as much as 30 percent
of the new company.
http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20070925/APF/709250540

BELLS WANT TO USE DOUBLECLICK HEARING AS BANK SHOT ON GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge]
[Commentary] A Senate Subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on
Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, and what
the deal would mean for the online advertising industry. This is a
complex transaction, with lots of issues of market competition and
privacy to be worked out. But one witness isn't coming to the hearing
to fret about the ad market or the dangers to consumer privacy. He's
only coming to tarnish Google at the behest of other parties. Guess
which ones? This is one of those moments that shows how tactics work
here, uncovering the underbelly of powerful forces in play. Call this
the Bank Shot. The idea is not to hit a target directly on an issue
of interest, but to hit it via a less direct route. it's in the Bell
interest to attack Google on any front and impugn their credibility
wherever they can. That way, when Google enters a debate on an issue
of more central concern to the Bells, Google's credibility, the Bells
hope, will be diminished as they are criticized as hypocrites, or
monopolists or some such. Enter Scott Cleland, who works for the
Bells. Since 2006, he has run with the Bell talking points about
Google, spending endless time criticizing them on his blog. Earlier
this summer, he published a report slamming the Google purchase of
DoubleClick, an area of economic research somewhat afield from his
background in traditional telecom issues.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1199

RETRANS KEY TO GRAY'S DIGITAL DUOP STRATEGY
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Price Colman]
In the last retrans round, Gray settled for carriage of its digital
second channels and received less than it had bargained for. This
time, with 40 digital channels up and operating, it's shooting for
analog carriage and possibly payments, too.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/09/26/daily.1/

TELECOM

FCC AGENDA INCLUDES 'FORBEARANCE,' ACCESS
[SOURCE: Technology Daily 9/21, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Dominant telecommunications carriers are lining up to seek regulatory
relief from the Republican-controlled FCC, moves that will test the
agency's ability to deregulate while under the watchful eye of
congressional Democrats. AT&T, Embarq, Frontier and Qwest
Communications International are seeking exemptions from price caps
governing their provision of high-capacity, high-speed Internet
access to businesses. They filed "forbearance" requests after the FCC
granted similar relief to Verizon Communications last year. But
Verizon prevailed on a technicality after inaction due to a stalemate
resulted in its proposal being granted. On Sept. 11, Qwest withdrew
its petition because it lacked the votes for passage, but the company
refiled it the next day. "The Bells generally want to get rid of as
much regulation as possible," said David Kaut, a telecom analyst at
the investment firm Stifel Nicolaus. It views FCC Commissioner Robert
McDowell, a Republican, as the swing vote in these matters. FCC
Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, also
Republicans, support deregulation, but Democratic Commissioners
Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps oppose it. The FCC must act on
AT&T's petition by Oct. 11 but also might decide on other requests
that day, sources said.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/2007/09/fcc_agenda_includes_forbearanc.html

VONAGE INFRINGED SPRINT PATENTS, JURY FINDS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Ritsuko Ando]
A U.S. jury found that Vonage Holdings Corp had infringed patents
owned by Sprint Nextel Corp and ordered the Internet phone company to
pay $69.5 million in damages, triggering a 34 percent fall in its
shares. Vonage said it would appeal the case, which was the second
major patent lawsuit that the company has lost, after it was also
found to have infringed patents belonging to Verizon Communications
Inc earlier this year. "We are disappointed that the jury did not
recognize that our technology differs from that of Sprint's patents,"
Sharon O'Leary, chief legal officer for Vonage, said in a statement.
The loss-making Internet phone company said it believed any damages
awarded were inappropriate, but said it would try to develop
technology to work around Sprint's patents.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSWEN124320070925
* Vonage ordered to pay Sprint $69.5 million in patent case
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9784630-7.html
* Vonage Ordered to Pay Sprint $69.5M in Patent Suit
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6482745.html?rssid=196
* Sprint Wins Patent Case Against Vonage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR200709...
* Jury rules Vonage should pay $69.5M
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070926/2b_vonage26.art.htm

NEW ZEALAND RULES ON TELECOM CORP SPLIT
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Leora Moldofsky]
New Zealand's government confirmed on Wednesday that Telecom Corp,
the nation's biggest listed company, must split into three operating
divisions by early next year. David Cunliffe, communications
minister, said Telecom, a former state-owned monopoly, has until the
end of March 2008 to separate into wholesale, retail and networks
units. The operational separation is designed to boost competition in
New Zealand's telecommunications sector and encourage high-speed
Internet services. It builds on an earlier government directive
requiring New Zealand's biggest telephone company to give rivals such
as TelstraClear, owned by Australia's Telstra, greater access to its
local loop - the copper wires that link telephone exchanges to
customers - by later this year.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7a4ce11c-6bec-11dc-b6a0-0000779fd2ac.html
(requires subscription)

DTV TRANSITION

MARKEY MARKS DTV MILESTONE
[SOURCE: Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA)]
It was twenty years ago today | Sgt. Markey taught the FCC to play |
They've been going in and out of style | But they're guaranteed to
raise a smile... yada yada yada. House Telecommunications
Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) marked the 20th anniversary of
Congress' first hearing on digital television noting that "the DTV
transition picture I see today is fuzzy at best. I fear that far too
few consumers know about the February 17, 2009 analog cut-off and the
steps they must take to watch free, over-the-air television after
that date. If we are going to make sure that millions of Americans
don't see their perfectly functional analog televisions go dark,
Congress needs to start getting better reception from the parties who
are responsible for making sure this digital transformation is a
success." Chairman markey will oversee two hearings on the DTV
transition in October "to explore efforts by government and industry
to ensure that all Americans enjoy the benefits of DTV."
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3097&I...

MARTIN: PRIMETIME PSAs CRITICAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday
it was "critical" for local TV stations to educate the public about
the 2009 digital TV transition by airing public service announcements
in primetime hours when viewership levels are highest. The three-hour
daypart, beginning at 8 p.m., is when broadcast audience levels peak
and revenue is maximized. As a result, primetime PSAs that replace
auto, beer and other commercials could hurt station and network
margins. At this point, Martin said he was unsure whether the FCC had
to force stations to air DTV educational messages because he wanted
to review what broadcasters intend to do on their own. The FCC has a
rulemaking pending on whether to mandate PSAs. Broadcasters have not
formally committed to primetime PSAs. In a Sept. 17 filing at the
FCC, the National Association of Broadcasters didn't promise
primetime PSAs. Two days later, an NAB executive, testifying before
the Senate Special Committee on Aging, did not pledge primetime PSAs.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6482773.html?rssid=196

CEA'S SHAPIRO: DTV SUBSIDY PROGRAM WILL WORK
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
At a DTV summit at the National Telecommunications & Information
Administration, Consumer Electronics Association president Gary
Shapiro defended the government's DTV-to-analog converter-box-subsidy
program Tuesday, saying that some people were arguing that the
program wouldn't work "even before giving it a chance to get off the
ground." Shapiro said that by the end of 2007, 85 million DTVs will
have been sold, which translated to 53% of TV households, with a
projected 70 million more by the end of 2009.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6482550.html?rssid=193

CABLE

MARTIN BACKS CABLE ANTITRUST SUIT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, measuring
his words carefully, Tuesday effectively endorsed last week's
antitrust suit that seeks to force cable programmers and operators to
sell TV networks on an a la carte basis. After repeating that he
wanted cable a la carte to happen as result of voluntary action,
Martin said, "I am supportive of any and all efforts to try to
establish consumers having the ability to pick and choose their
channels." The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf
of few cable and satellite TV subscribers, alleged that pay TV
distributors and programmers are violating antitrust law because
subscribers are denied a la carte access to TV networks sold in
bundles with dozens of other channels.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6482791.html?rssid=196

WITH MARTIN'S AID, THE AMERICA CHANNEL BEATS COMCAST
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Dealing Comcast its second setback in as many days, the Federal
Communications Commission ruled Tuesday night that The America
Channel (TAC) qualifies to enter arbitration to gain distribution
from the largest U.S. cable company. The ruling wasn't a surprise
after news reports surfaced in August said that FCC chairman Kevin
Martin was backing fledgling TAC over pay-TV distribution giant
Comcast. TAC, a program network that has yet to launch, has been
feuding with Comcast for several years. The network gained key
leverage when the FCC said in June 2006 that regional sports networks
were entitled to seek arbitration to obtain carriage from Comcast and
Time Warner. At the time of the ruling, TAC was not an RSN. It claims
it became one not long after the FCC ruling, which came in connection
with Comcast and Time Warner's joint acquisition of bankrupt Adelphia
Communications. Comcast asked the FCC to reject TAC's corporate
makeover as an opportunistic move to game the Adelphia merger
conditions. The FCC determined that TAC was a sports network because
it had programming deals with 14 NCAA Division I conferences to air
500 games of football, basketball, soccer and volleyball. TAC was
regional, the FCC said, because it would offer a separate broadcasts
in six geographic regions that include 20 individual TV markets.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6482792.html?rssid=196

PTC LAUNCHES CABLE A LA CARTE CALCULATOR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Parents Television Council launched yet another salvo in its
campaign to pressure cable operators to provide their programming a
la carte, but even it said the menu should be taken with a grain of
salt. The PTC Tuesday was promoting the launch of a Web site,
HowCableShouldBe.com, which attempts to calculate cable bills based
on a menu of network choices with associated subscriber fees -- what
cable programmers charge an operator per person to carry their
networks. The PTC's basic point is to suggest how cable bills would
be lowered if viewers could simply choose among networks or, in the
case of this site, "deselect" networks and subtract their cost.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6482733.html?rssid=193

ELECTIONS, POLITICS & MEDIA

POLITICAL ADS LIKELY TO RUN UP $100 MILLION TAB
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mark Memmott]
Presidential candidates, the political parties and interest groups
will spend at least twice as much as they did in 2003-04 on TV ads
before nominees are chosen, campaign advertising experts say. A
record $100 million or more will likely be paid to put campaign ads
on the air by the time the Republican and Democratic races are
effectively over, likely some time in February. And the allure of
posting ads for free on YouTube and at campaign websites won't
replace broadcast TV because that "old media" is better suited for
reaching voters, the experts say. "We had $45 million spent on
campaign ads in what was the primary race in 2003 and 2004," says
Evan Tracey, chief operating officer at the Campaign Media Analysis
Group of TNS Media Intelligence, which measures political
advertising. "It's easy to say there will be two times that. It
certainly goes to $100 million." "I would say doubling 2004 is a
conservative forecast," says William Benoit, a communications
professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia who studies
political advertising. Their forecasts depend in part on an
assumption that about half the states will have held contests by Feb.
5. It's possible that both the Democratic and Republican nominees
will have been determined by the end of that week. If one or both
contests extend further, spending on primary ads would go up even more.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070926/1a_bottomstrip26.art.htm
* Presidential candidates take their positions to TV, Web
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070926/a_campaignadsintro26....

PANEL: POLITICAL CANDIDATES STICK TO TRADITIONAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Mike Shields]
Political candidates from both parties are demonstrating a stubborn
devotion to traditional media, along with a cautious streak that is
holding them back from truly embracing the Web as an outlet for
political ad dollars. Despite Americans' rapidly changing media
habits, the panelists predicted that most spending will remain on TV
and other tried and true outlets. "When it comes to paid media,
candidates are about seven years behind," said Richard Kosinski, vp
of political advertising, Yahoo. Kosinski estimated that most
candidates were planning to spend roughly one percent of their total
media budgets online, versus the seven percent that most mainstream
brands typically spend on the medium.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10036...
* The Who, What and How Much of Campaign 2008
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
At first glance, the election map doesn't look that exciting, what
with most of the Senate races in less populated states and relatively
few gubernatorial races. Nonetheless, candidates and their backers
could drive political ad spending to record levels, perhaps $3
billion. At the TVB Forecast Conference in New York earlier this
month, there was a lot of talk about various major advertising
categories and their interest in spending on national spot. Much of
it was discouraging for the assembled TV broadcasters. But the
broadcasters could take heart from the report they heard on the
every-other-year political category. Spending would likely set
another record next year and most of it would go to TV stations.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/09/25/daily.1/

MOVEON PAYS THE TIMES $77,508 FOR AD COST
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katharine Seelye]
The end of the story? Probably not. MoveOn.org said yesterday that it
paid The New York Times $77,508 after the newspaper revealed that its
advertising department had undercharged the organization for an
advertisement that ran two weeks ago and proved controversial. The
American Conservative Union has filed a complaint with the Federal
Election Commission against both The Times and MoveOn. It said The
Times violated federal rules because corporations cannot make
campaign donations. It said MoveOn's acceptance of the rate was a
violation because the "contribution" was over the legal limit. Among
those attacking the advertisement has been Rudolph W. Giuliani, the
Republican presidential candidate, who ran his own advertisement
later in the week. He paid the same standby rate that MoveOn paid.
Lane Hudson, a liberal blogger (www.newsfortheleft.com), filed a
complaint Monday saying the Giuliani campaign should pay The Times an
additional $77,000 for its advertisement; otherwise it would be
accepting an illegal corporate contribution that was over the legal
limit. A spokesman for the Giuliani campaign said that it would not
pay the difference because The Times did not guarantee when it would
run the advertisement. "Our ad not only met the acceptability
standards of The New York Times, but it was placed at the standby
rate with no commitment it would run on a specific date," the spokesman said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/us/26moveon.html?ref=todayspaper
(requires registration)
* Sauce for the Times
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: George Will]
[Commentary] The Times, a media corporation that is a fountain of
detailed editorial instructions about how the rest of the world
should conduct its business, seems confused about how it conducts its own.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR200709...
(requires registration)
* MoveOn.org ad scares away some Democrats
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/moveon.org-ad-scares-away-some-democ...

NPR REBUFFS WHITE HOUSE ON BUSH TALK
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
The White House reached out to National Public Radio over the
weekend, offering analyst Juan Williams a presidential interview to
mark yesterday's 50th anniversary of school desegregation in Little
Rock. But NPR turned down the interview, and Williams's talk with
Bush wound up in a very different media venue: Fox News. Williams
said yesterday he was "stunned" by NPR's decision. "It makes no sense
to me. President Bush has never given an interview in which he
focused on race. . . . I was stunned by the decision to turn their
backs on him and to turn their backs on me." Ellen Weiss, NPR's vice
president for news, said she "felt strongly" that "the White House
shouldn't be selecting the person." She said NPR told Bush's press
secretary, Dana Perino, that "we're grateful for the opportunity to
talk to the president but we wanted to determine who did the
interview." When the White House said the offer could not be
transferred to one of NPR's program hosts, Weiss took a pass. While
it is not unusual for the White House to offer a presidential sitdown
to a particular anchor or correspondent, Weiss noted that ABC, CBS,
NBC, CNN and Fox have all had their anchors interview Bush and that
NPR has been requesting such a session for seven years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR200709...
(requires registration)

KIDS & MEDIA

PARENTS WORRY ABOUT WEB BUT DON'T STOP KIDS' USE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Dana Ford]
Most U.S. parents said their children had encountered "issues" like
bad language, sex or advertising online over the past year, but they
are not stopping their kids' Internet use, according to a new study.
A survey by market researcher Harris Interactive of 411 parents of
children aged between 6-18 who use the Internet found 71 percent
admitted their child had encountered at least "one issue" with the
Internet within the past year. But four out of five parents said the
Internet helped their children in school and only three in 10 parents
-- or 31 percent -- said their children spent too much time online.
Rather than banning or restricting online access, parents were found
to be taking an active role in monitoring their children with 93
percent engaging in some sort of monitoring activity, said the survey
released on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2533269120070925

VIDEO GAME TEACHES KIDS ABOUT DIET -- THEN TURNS OFF
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lisa Baertlein]
With child obesity rates rising, the U.S.'s biggest health
maintenance organization on Tuesday launched an online video game to
teach kids what to eat -- and then shut down after 20 minutes. Kaiser
Permanente said "The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food
Detective" was designed to teach 9- and 10-year-olds about healthy
eating and exercise.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSHAR56508520070925

MEDIA EXECS GET EARFUL ON LYRICS AT HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and
Consumer Protection held a hearing Tuesday on degrading images in the
media. It was chaired by Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL). Most of the members
of the committee said they were looking for constructive dialog and
talked of their respect for the First Amendment. Chairman Rush said
it was not a "head-hunting" expedition. But along with those industry
witnesses who pointed out that Elvis and The Beatles had been branded
"devil music" were those, like Joseph Pitts (R-PA), who invoked
lead-painted toys, cigarette manufacturers and Columbine in his
assessment of the situation.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6482602.html?rssid=193

INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND TAXMAN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] For Internet users, the scariest night of this year may
fall on the evening after Halloween. On November 1, the federal
Internet tax moratorium is due to expire, and no committee in
Congress has acted to make it permanent. Last Thursday, prodded by a
flurry of GOP press conferences, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
issued a two-line statement saying that he had "every expectation
that Congress will approve a continuation of the moratorium." Not
exactly a passionate call to protect America's 213 million Internet
users. Commerce Chairman Daniel Inouye added later that he's
"hopeful" his committee can move a bill this week and he has
scheduled a Thursday markup. A permanent ban should be a political
lay-up. But the clock is winding down and Congress needs to take a shot.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119076727161339407.html?mod=todays_us_op...
(requires subscription)

FREE WI-FI STILL AN ELUSIVE GOAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
It was once thought that municipal wireless networks of all sizes
could be supported through the sale of advertisements that appear
during the free Internet sessions and the small fee paid by those who
want a faster, ad-free Internet service. However, many cities with
wireless networks say that there's been little demand for their
premium services and that technology issues have limited the
networks' reach. Moreover, while businesses were willing to invest in
advertising on these single-city networks, they complain about very
little return on their investment.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119077526843539656.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
* Will Wi-Fi connect in L.A.?
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-wifi26sep26,1,5961807...
(requires registration)

DIGITAL CONTENT

ONLINE WORK EMERGES AS BIG ISSUE IN HOLLYWOOD
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Richard Verrier and Dawn C. Chmielewski]
A number of new Web series reflect the networks' headlong drive to
harness the Internet and lure a young, and increasingly elusive,
audience. Yet the online rush has heightened tensions between the
major studios and networks and the unionized actors and writers who
fear being shortchanged by this new digital frontier. To handle much
of the Web work, networks are relying heavily on nonunion scribes and
guild writers who are quietly working outside of union contracts. In
some cases, networks and television studios have created separate
nonunion companies to create original online entertainment on
shoestring budgets. They also have launched digital studios that
serve as "farm teams" for new concepts on the Web that might one day
get drafted for the major leagues of prime time. The issue of how to
compensate talent for work distributed online is central to
contentious contract talks with writers -- and could trigger the
first major strike in Hollywood in nearly two decades.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-digitalstudios26sep...
(requires registration)

WHO CONTROLS THE NEWS? ON THE WEB, YOU CAN
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Tom Regan]
If you could create a newspaper based on what you and your friends
like to read, would it look different from the front page of The
Christian Science Monitor? Or The New York Times? Or even your local
paper? Now, thanks to the Internet, you can. Social network news
websites make it possible by allowing users essentially to vote on
what they consider news. The Project for Excellence in Journalism
(PEJ) decided to explore the differences between what the editors of
The New York Times considered a top story as opposed to the readers
of three user-driven sites: Del.icio.us, Digg, and Reddit. The PEJ
people also included Yahoo News's Most Recommended, Most Viewed, and
Most E-mailed in their study. What they found was interesting, but
not unexpected for anyone who frequently reads both sources of content.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0926/p17s01-stct.html

QUICKLY

CPB AWARDS GRANT FOR PUBLIC RADIO MAJOR GIVING
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting]
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded $235,000 to
The Development Exchange (DEI) to create a Major Giving Plan for
public radio stations across the country. Building on the success of
CPB's multi-year Public Television Major Giving Initiative, the plan
will devise strategies to raise the proficiency of major giving
activity at stations, increase the number of major gift donors to
stations and increase net revenue for the stations.
http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=618

THE TOP PUNDITS IN AMERICA
[SOURCE: Forbes.com, AUTHOR: Tom Van Riper]
Forbes analyzed data compiled by market research group E-Poll on more
than 60 well-known pundits who follow and critique the worlds of
politics, current events, law, entertainment and sports. While the
results show that plenty of cable talking heads like Bill O'Reilly,
Lou Dobbs and Geraldo Rivera score highly, the most powerful pundit
in America is veteran film critic Roger Ebert, who appeals to 70% of
the demographic. Bill Maher, Al Franken and Rosie O'Donnell are also
in the Top 10. Web pundits like Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos and
Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo score high likability ratings
with certain population segments, but their awareness numbers, which
are more important than appeal are barely on the radar screen. The
same is largely true of elite newspaper columnists like Thomas
Friedman, Maureen Dowd, Robert Novak, E.J. Dionne and Holman Jenkins.
http://www.forbes.com/business/media/2007/09/21/pundit-americas-top-oped...
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