1. Monthly archive
  2. April 2008

April 2008

Senate Committee Plans Votes on Media Ownership, DTV Transition

On Thursday April 24, the Senate Commerce Committee votes on a number of bills and nominations including: 1) S.J. Res 28, A joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to broadcast media ownership. SJ Res 28 would overturn new media ownership rules adopted by the FCC in December 2007. 2) S. 2607, A bill to make a technical correction to section 3009 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This bill would extend through FY2012 the requirement for the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce to make payments from the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund to implement a program to reimburse each licensee of an eligible low-power television station for equipment to upgrade low-power television stations from analog to digital in eligible rural communities. The bill also requires such reimbursements to be issued to eligible stations on or after February 18, 2009 (currently, no earlier than FY2010). 3) S. 2507, DTV Border Fix Act of 2007. This bill would allow the renewal of a full-power analog television broadcasting license through February 17, 2014, for stations located within 50 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico, provided certain requirements are met, including that the renewal does not prevent the auction of recovered spectrum or encumber or interfere with any channel reserved for public safety use. The bill also requires the FCC, if mutually exclusive applications are submitted to use a channel under the amendments made by this Act, to award the authority to use the channel through competitive bidding under existing procedures.
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Det...

* Text of S. 2607
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/dtv/pl_109_171_titleiii.pdf

* S.J.RES.28
http://www.benton.org/node/10069

* Senate Commerce Committee Tees Up FCC-Blocking Bill
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6552462.html?rssid=193


MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM
ROOM 2322 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

In this era of new competition, new technologies, and increasing convergence in the communications marketplace, is the time finally ripe for reform of the Universal Service subsidy system? With the Universal Service Fund surcharge added to customers' bills now over 11%, many believe the subsidy system must be substantially overhauled, and without further delay. A distinguished panel of experts will discuss what should be done on a short and long-term basis to reform the system.

Panelists:

• James Assey, Executive Vice President, National Cable & Telecommunications Association

• Shirley Bloomfield, Senior Vice President-Federal Relations, Qwest

• Joel Lubin, Vice President-Policy, AT&T

• Randolph May, President, The Free State Foundation

• John Rose, President, OPASTCO

• Mark Rubin, Vice President, Federal Government Affairs, Alltel

Respondents:

• Colin Crowell, Professional Staff, House Energy and Commerce Committee

• Neil Fried, Senior Counsel for Telecom Policy, House Energy and Commerce Committee

A complimentary lunch will be provided

RSVP to Susan Reichbart at sreichbart@freestatefoundation.org


FCC Continues Press for Clarity In Web Providers' Delivery Practices

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is bringing his campaign for unfettered Internet access to Silicon Valley Thursday, putting Comcast Corp. on the spot, despite the cable giant's efforts to back away from a policy of limiting the way customers download some Internet files. Chairman Martin will preside over a seven-hour hearing at Stanford University that will explore what responsibilities Internet providers have to deliver traffic fairly, and what phone and cable companies should be telling consumers about the services they can expect for their $40 or $60 a month. "We'll focus on the disclosure issues and the broader impact these practices are having from the consumer perspective," Chairman Martin said in an interview Wednesday. If an Internet provider decides to limit traffic in some way to manage its network, that should be "clearly and reasonably disclosed to the consumer," Chairman Martin says. "If people are going to upgrade [their Internet service] they need to understand what they're getting." Comcast declined an FCC invitation to attend Thursday's hearing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120839670866721767.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

Comedy Central Sends An Omen: South Park and the Upcoming FCC Hearing (spoiler alert!)
http://www.wetmachine.com//item/1154

ABC Decides Top Issues Facing Americans Are Gaffes, Flag Pins and '60s Radicals

In perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years, ABC News hosts Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous focused mainly on trivial issues as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in Philadelphia. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the health care and mortgage crises, the overall state of the economy and dozens of other pressing issues had to wait for their few moments in the sun as Obama was pressed to explain his recent "bitter" gaffe and relationship with Rev. Wright (seemingly a dead issue) and not wearing a flag pin while Clinton had to answer again for her Bosnia trip exaggerations. Then it was back to Obama to defend his slim association with a former '60s radical -- a question that came out of rightwing talk radio and Sean Hannity on TV, but delivered by former Bill Clinton aide Stephanopolous. This approach led to a claim that Clinton's husband pardoned two other '60s radicals. And so on. More time was spent on all of this than segments on getting out of Iraq and keeping people from losing their homes and other key issues. Gibson only got excited when he complained about anyone daring to raise taxes on his capital gains.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...

In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR200804...

The Great Debate -- Not So Great
http://www.newsdissector.com/blog/2008/04/16/the-debt-bomb-is-still-tick...

Media, Internet court young Latino swing vote

Take two twentysomething Latinos with a taste for politics, give them a crash course in news reporting, equip them with video cameras and press credentials, "embed" them at the Democratic and Republican conventions this summer and let 'er rip. That's the idea cooked up by the nonprofit Voto Latino and SíTV, the cable and Internet company geared to young English-speaking Latinos. The collaboration, dubbed "Crash the Parties '08," has already drawn dozens of online applications from wannabe-embedded reporters. The two who are ultimately chosen will produce newscasts, video blogs and interviews with candidates and convention delegates for a growing audience of hip, bicultural Latinos who may not be all that plugged in yet to the political process.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/16/BAQ91042D5.DTL

Legal Dispute Could Boost Cost of DTV

A small Pennsylvania company's patent lawsuits could hamstring the government's $1.5 billion effort to make the transition to digital television easier on consumers' wallets. Rembrandt Inc. owns a patent on technology that it says is part of the digital television broadcasting standard used by the TV networks. Rembrandt is suing 14 companies, including Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, CBS Corp. and News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting for patent infringement and wants millions of dollars in royalties. The American Antitrust Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group, asked federal regulators last month to bar Rembrandt from enforcing its patent. Otherwise, Rembrandt's suits could add ''tens of millions'' of dollars to the cost of digital TV, most of which will likely be passed on to consumers, the nonprofit said. ''This is a massive tax that Rembrandt is trying to place on the transition to digital TV,'' said David Balto, an antitrust attorney who co-wrote a petition the AAI submitted March 26 to the Federal Trade Commission.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/17/daily.5/

Record-Keeping Bill Is Criticized As 'Anemic' by Watchdog Group

Citing "significant deficiencies" in the preservation of e-mail by the White House and federal agencies, House Democrats yesterday introduced legislation to strengthen and modernize electronic record-keeping requirements. But a private watchdog group called the bill inadequate and issued a report describing federal record-keeping as antiquated and chaotic. The group chided the government for following a "print-and-save policy" in which even e-mail is routinely printed out on paper and filed away to comply with federal record-keeping rules. It said the government needs to be pushed to adopt technology and practices common in the private sector. The bill, H.R. 5811, directs the National Archives and Records Administration to set standards for capturing, managing, retrieving and preserving White House e-mails and other electronic communications, and to certify whether the White House system meets those standards. The bill also directs the National Archives to issue regulations within 18 months requiring federal agencies to preserve electronic communications in an electronic format. The agencies would have up to four years to comply. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group known as CREW, called the proposed legislation "anemic" and said it "fails to make the substantial changes necessary to bring the federal government into the 21st century."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR200804...
(requires registration)

Radio on Bus Fosters Quiet, but Not Peace

In February, Millford's (CT) 60 school buses were outfitted with radios. Kids love to hear their favorite songs -- but not the commericals. Some parents and school officials do not like the commercials, either, which is why school buses have become a battleground echoing the fight of nearly two decades ago, when Channel One began showing advertisement-laden news programs in classrooms. Milford is one of a growing number of districts that have recently added the radios in hopes of calming children on their daily bus trips, but outrage over the commercials has led some places to reject them. BusRadio, a Massachusetts company that since 2006 has wired buses for sound in 175 school districts is barred from New York City because of a 1990 state regulation, prompted largely by the Channel One dispute, that bans advertising on school property. At least two states, Vermont and Massachusetts, are considering similar restrictions on advertising on school grounds (but not on buses), and South Carolina, which does allow advertising on school property, is considering a ban aimed specifically at school buses. The National Parent Teacher Association has opposed BusRadio, and 40 nonprofit consumer, religious and education groups have signed a letter urging PepsiCo, Verizon, Time Warner and other companies not to advertise on the company’s airwaves, or on Channel One’s.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/nyregion/17bus.html?ref=todayspaper
(requires registration)

Warning on Storage of Health Records

In an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, two leading researchers warn that the entry of big companies like Microsoft and Google into the field of personal health records could drastically alter the practice of clinical research and raise new challenges to the privacy of patient records. The authors, Dr. Kenneth D. Mandl and Dr. Isaac S. Kohane, are longtime proponents of the benefits of electronic patient records to improve care and help individuals make smarter health decisions. But their concern, stated in the article published Wednesday and in an interview, is that the medical profession and policy makers have not begun to grapple with the implications of companies like Microsoft and Google becoming the hosts for vast stores of patient information.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/business/17record.html?ref=todayspaper
(requires registration)

Benton's Communications-related Headlines For Thursday April 17, 2008

Today, the FCC will discuss Network Neutrality in=20
California (see story below). For this and=20
other upcoming media policy events, see http://benton.org/calendar/2008/4

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Record-Keeping Bill Is Criticized As 'Anemic' by Watchdog Group

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Dingell to Examine Financial Relationship Between PSST, Cyren Call

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
ABC Decides Top Issues Facing Americans Are=20
Gaffes, Flag Pins and '60s Radicals
Media, Internet court young Latino swing vote

BROADCASTING
Legislators Take Aim At FCC Localism Proposals

BROADBAND/INTERNET
FCC Continues Press for Clarity In Web Providers' Delivery Practices
Legal Dispute Could Boost Cost of DTV
US broadband penetration jumps 300 percent since 2002

TELECOM
House bill aims to ban new cell phone taxes

HEALTH & MEDIA
Warning on Storage of Health Records

CHILDREN & MEDIA
Radio on Bus Fosters Quiet, but Not Peace

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

RECORD-KEEPING BILL IS CRITICIZED AS 'ANEMIC' BY WATCHDOG GROUP
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: William Branigin]
Citing "significant deficiencies" in the=20
preservation of e-mail by the White House and=20
federal agencies, House Democrats yesterday=20
introduced legislation to strengthen and=20
modernize electronic record-keeping requirements.=20
But a private watchdog group called the bill=20
inadequate and issued a report describing federal=20
record-keeping as antiquated and chaotic. The=20
group chided the government for following a=20
"print-and-save policy" in which even e-mail is=20
routinely printed out on paper and filed away to=20
comply with federal record-keeping rules. It said=20
the government needs to be pushed to adopt=20
technology and practices common in the private=20
sector. The bill, H.R. 5811, directs the National=20
Archives and Records Administration to set=20
standards for capturing, managing, retrieving and=20
preserving White House e-mails and other=20
electronic communications, and to certify whether=20
the White House system meets those standards. The=20
bill also directs the National Archives to issue=20
regulations within 18 months requiring federal=20
agencies to preserve electronic communications in=20
an electronic format. The agencies would have up=20
to four years to comply. Citizens for=20
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a=20
watchdog group known as CREW, called the proposed=20
legislation "anemic" and said it "fails to make=20
the substantial changes necessary to bring the=20
federal government into the 21st century."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR200804...
2871.html
(requires registration)

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

DINGELL TO EXAMINE FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSST, CYREN CALL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell=20
(D-MI) wants to take a closer look at the=20
financial arrangement between the Public Safety=20
Spectrum Trust and outside contractor Cyren Call.=20
Cyren Call has a contract to consult for the=20
trust on the building of a public/private=20
national network that must be shared with=20
first-responders. The trust is managing a block=20
of former TV spectrum that the Federal=20
Communications Commission is trying to auction to=20
a commercial entity that will agree to create the=20
network in collaboration with first-responders.=20
At a Hill hearing this week looking into the=20
reauctioning of the spectrum, Chairman Dingell=20
expressed his concern about Cyren Call's=20
participation. He asked for copies of any=20
agreements between Cyren Call and the trust, as=20
well as Cyren Call and any venture-capital firms.=20
He was particularly concerned about reports that=20
the company and the PSST demanded that potential=20
bidders for the spectrum pay a $50 million lease fee.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6552018.html?rssid=3D193

ELECTIONS & MEDIA

ABC DECIDES TOP ISSUES FACING AMERICANS ARE GAFFES, FLAG PINS AND '60s RADI=
CALS
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell]
In perhaps the most embarrassing performance by=20
the media in a major presidential debate in=20
years, ABC News hosts Charles Gibson and George=20
Stephanopolous focused mainly on trivial issues=20
as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in=20
Philadelphia. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the=20
health care and mortgage crises, the overall=20
state of the economy and dozens of other pressing=20
issues had to wait for their few moments in the=20
sun as Obama was pressed to explain his recent=20
"bitter" gaffe and relationship with Rev. Wright=20
(seemingly a dead issue) and not wearing a flag=20
pin while Clinton had to answer again for her=20
Bosnia trip exaggerations. Then it was back to=20
Obama to defend his slim association with a=20
former '60s radical -- a question that came out=20
of rightwing talk radio and Sean Hannity on TV,=20
but delivered by former Bill Clinton aide=20
Stephanopolous. This approach led to a claim that=20
Clinton's husband pardoned two other '60s=20
radicals. And so on. More time was spent on all=20
of this than segments on getting out of Iraq and=20
keeping people from losing their homes and other=20
key issues. Gibson only got excited when he=20
complained about anyone daring to raise taxes on his capital gains.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
t_id=3D1003790556
* In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR200804...
0013.html

MEDIA, INTERNET COURT YOUNG LATINO SWING VOTE
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Tyche Hendricks]
Take two twentysomething Latinos with a taste for=20
politics, give them a crash course in news=20
reporting, equip them with video cameras and=20
press credentials, "embed" them at the Democratic=20
and Republican conventions this summer and let=20
'er rip. That's the idea cooked up by the=20
nonprofit Voto Latino and S=EDTV, the cable and=20
Internet company geared to young English-speaking=20
Latinos. The collaboration, dubbed "Crash the=20
Parties '08," has already drawn dozens of online=20
applications from wannabe-embedded reporters. The=20
two who are ultimately chosen will produce=20
newscasts, video blogs and interviews with=20
candidates and convention delegates for a growing=20
audience of hip, bicultural Latinos who may not=20
be all that plugged in yet to the political process.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=3D/c/a/2008/04/16/BAQ91042D5...

BROADCASTING

LEGISLATORS TAKE AIM AT FCC LOCALISM PROPOSALS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
More than 120 legislators have signed onto a=20
letter to Federal Communications Commission=20
Chairman Kevin Martin asking him not to impose=20
any localism mandates on broadcasters. The letter=20
says the FCC is considering a "radical=20
re-regulation" of broadcasting, and takes aim at=20
FCC proposals to create community advisory=20
boards, require broadcasters to report on=20
programming in a variety of categories, and to=20
located their studios in their community of=20
license and have their stations staffed at all=20
times. The legislators argue that creating the=20
boards and program lists would add unnecessary=20
layers of bureaucracy, create constitutional=20
problems and burden broadcasters with=20
requirements not imposed on cable, satellite, or the Internet.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6552169.html
* Text of letter
http://blackburn.house.gov/UploadedFiles/4-15-2008_Localism%20Letter%20S...
ed%20Final.pdf

LEGAL DISPUTE COULD BOOST COST OF DTV
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Christopher S. Rugaber]
A small Pennsylvania company's patent lawsuits=20
could hamstring the government's $1.5 billion=20
effort to make the transition to digital=20
television easier on consumers' wallets.=20
Rembrandt Inc. owns a patent on technology that=20
it says is part of the digital television=20
broadcasting standard used by the TV networks.=20
Rembrandt is suing 14 companies, including Walt=20
Disney Co.'s ABC, General Electric Co.'s NBC=20
Universal, CBS Corp. and News Corp.'s Fox=20
Broadcasting for patent infringement and wants=20
millions of dollars in royalties. The American=20
Antitrust Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group,=20
asked federal regulators last month to bar=20
Rembrandt from enforcing its patent. Otherwise,=20
Rembrandt's suits could add ''tens of millions''=20
of dollars to the cost of digital TV, most of=20
which will likely be passed on to consumers, the=20
nonprofit said. ''This is a massive tax that=20
Rembrandt is trying to place on the transition to=20
digital TV,'' said David Balto, an antitrust=20
attorney who co-wrote a petition the AAI=20
submitted March 26 to the Federal Trade Commission.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/17/daily.5/

BROADBAND/INTERNET

FCC CONTINUES PRESS FOR CLARITY IN WEB PROVIDERS' DELIVERY PRACTICES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin=20
Martin is bringing his campaign for unfettered=20
Internet access to Silicon Valley Thursday,=20
putting Comcast Corp. on the spot, despite the=20
cable giant's efforts to back away from a policy=20
of limiting the way customers download some=20
Internet files. Chairman Martin will preside over=20
a seven-hour hearing at Stanford University that=20
will explore what responsibilities Internet=20
providers have to deliver traffic fairly, and=20
what phone and cable companies should be telling=20
consumers about the services they can expect for=20
their $40 or $60 a month. "We'll focus on the=20
disclosure issues and the broader impact these=20
practices are having from the consumer=20
perspective," Chairman Martin said in an=20
interview Wednesday. If an Internet provider=20
decides to limit traffic in some way to manage=20
its network, that should be "clearly and=20
reasonably disclosed to the consumer," Chairman=20
Martin says. "If people are going to upgrade=20
[their Internet service] they need to understand=20
what they're getting." Comcast declined an FCC=20
invitation to attend Thursday's hearing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120839670866721767.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)
* Comedy Central Sends An Omen: South Park and=20
the Upcoming FCC Hearing (spoiler alert!)
http://www.wetmachine.com//item/1154
* For more on hearing
http://www.benton.org/node/10440

US BROADBAND PENETRATION JUMPS 300 PERCENT SINCE 2002
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Robert Jaques]
Analyst firm Scarborough Research reports that=20
broadband subscribership has risen in the US=20
since 2002. Then 12 percent of US adults had a=20
broadband connection in the home -- now 49 percent do.
http://telephonyonline.com/external.html?q=3Dhttp://www.vnunet.com/vnune...
ews/2214380/broadband-penetration-jumps-300

TELECOM

HOUSE BILL AIMS TO BAN NEW CELL PHONE TAXES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Kent German]
Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and five co-sponsors have=20
introduced the Cell Fairness Act (HR 5793), a=20
bill that would ban new state or local taxes on=20
mobile phone services for a period of five years.=20
In a statement, Lofgren said that between January=20
2003 and July 2007, the taxation rate on wireless=20
services increased four times faster than the=20
rate for other taxable goods and services. As a=20
result, consumers pay 15.19 percent in federal,=20
state, and local taxes on their cell phone bill,=20
compared with 7.07 percent in taxes for most=20
other goods and services. The bill, which is=20
similar to Senate legislation introduced last=20
year, would not affect current taxes, nor does it=20
call for a ban on any new federal taxes.=20
Furthermore, the ban would not apply to fees=20
meant to subsidize emergency 911 services nor the=20
universal service charge, which funds=20
telecommunications infrastructure for low-income=20
and rural residents. The federal excise tax on=20
phone services, which was originally created to=20
support the Spanish-American War, was dropped by=20
the Internal Revenue Service and the Department=20
of the Treasury in August 2006. The wireless=20
industry's lobbying arm, the Cellular=20
Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), is supporting the bill.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9920387-7.html?part=3Drss&subj=3Dnews&tag=
=3D2547-1_3-0-5

HEALTH & MEDIA

WARNING ON STORAGE OF HEALTH RECORDS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
In an article in The New England Journal of=20
Medicine, two leading researchers warn that the=20
entry of big companies like Microsoft and Google=20
into the field of personal health records could=20
drastically alter the practice of clinical=20
research and raise new challenges to the privacy=20
of patient records. The authors, Dr. Kenneth D.=20
Mandl and Dr. Isaac S. Kohane, are longtime=20
proponents of the benefits of electronic patient=20
records to improve care and help individuals make=20
smarter health decisions. But their concern,=20
stated in the article published Wednesday and in=20
an interview, is that the medical profession and=20
policy makers have not begun to grapple with the=20
implications of companies like Microsoft and=20
Google becoming the hosts for vast stores of patient information.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/business/17record.html?ref=3Dtodayspaper
(requires registration)

CHILDREN & MEDIA

RADIO ON BUS FOSTERS QUIET, BUT NOT PEACE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Winnie Hu]
In February, Millford's (CT) 60 school buses were=20
outfitted with radios. Kids love to hear their=20
favorite songs -- but not the commercials. Some=20
parents and school officials do not like the=20
commercials, either, which is why school buses=20
have become a battleground echoing the fight of=20
nearly two decades ago, when Channel One began=20
showing advertisement-laden news programs in=20
classrooms. Milford is one of a growing number of=20
districts that have recently added the radios in=20
hopes of calming children on their daily bus=20
trips, but outrage over the commercials has led=20
some places to reject them. BusRadio, a=20
Massachusetts company that since 2006 has wired=20
buses for sound in 175 school districts is barred=20
from New York City because of a 1990 state=20
regulation, prompted largely by the Channel One=20
dispute, that bans advertising on school=20
property. At least two states, Vermont and=20
Massachusetts, are considering similar=20
restrictions on advertising on school grounds=20
(but not on buses), and South Carolina, which=20
does allow advertising on school property, is=20
considering a ban aimed specifically at school=20
buses. The National Parent Teacher Association=20
has opposed BusRadio, and 40 nonprofit consumer,=20
religious and education groups have signed a=20
letter urging PepsiCo, Verizon, Time Warner and=20
other companies not to advertise on the company=92s=20
airwaves, or on Channel One=92s.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/nyregion/17bus.html?ref=3Dtodayspaper
(requires registration)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------

© 1994-2025 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.