May 2008

Consumer Groups Push Issue on XM-Sirius

As the Federal Communications Commission continues to consider whether or not to allow XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, the nation's two satellite-radio companies, to become one, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and Free Press, called the merger a "roadmap to monopoly" and asked the FCC to throw up its own roadblock after the Justice Department gave the deal a green light. They strongly opposed the merger. But if the FCC does approve it, they said, it needs to make it clear that it is not a precedent for other media-ownership mergers, nor a roadmap for others. The groups wrote the FCC outlining the "fundamental flaws" in the DOJ decision, which they said "abandons all of the most basic principles of antitrust analysis," and how the FCC should look at the deal differently. The FCC already must look beyond simply competition issues to include its impact more broadly on the public interest.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6560238.html?rssid=193

Cablevision Enlarges News Push with Newsday Buy

Cablevision Systems doubled up its news footprint on Long Island in suburban New York by firming a $650 million definitive agreement Monday to buy a 97% stake in local daily newspaper Newsday. The suburban newspaper overlaps Cablevision systems in Long Island and will provide editorial resources that can help the company's News 12 news channels. In the buy, Cablevision -- the nation’s fifth-largest cable system-- will acquire the stake in Newsday Media Group for $632 million from Tribune, which will retain a 3% stake. Tribune -- which is selling assets to pay down debt associated with its $8.2 billion sale in December -- will also receive $18 million at closing as prepaid rent from leases of property used in the Newsday business, bringing the value to $650 million. The deal is expected to be structured as a joint venture for tax reasons.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6559829.html?rssid=193

Analyst: Newsday Buy Should Clear DC Hurdles

Cablevision’s $650 million purchase of Long Island (NY) newspaper Newsday shouldn't face high regulatory hurdles in Washington, according to Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin. “As best we can determine, the Federal Communications Commission would have no jurisdiction to directly review the transaction because there do not appear to be any communications licenses that would have to be transferred and require regulatory approval," he wrote to clients. The FCC regulates common ownership of newspapers and television or radio stations in the same local market. The agency does not regulate the joint ownership of cable systems and newspapers in the same local market. In his client note, Levin said that if the Justice Department reviews the deal, Cablevision probably would not face a tough ordeal. “We do expect the deal to face some antitrust scrutiny, presumably from the Department of Justice, but because Cablevision does not own newspapers, we believe the DOJ is unlikely to give it a difficult review," Levin said. Levin said that if Cablevision's control of Newsday were to ignite a new round in the media ownership debate, the cable operator would likely come out ahead because Newsday would not end up in the hands of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and two TV stations in the New York market.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6559913.html?nid=4262

Legal troubles could threaten Sprint/Clearwire deal

Sprint Nextel's plan to spin off its WiMax network and form a $14.5 billion joint venture with Clearwire may have hit a speed bump. On Monday iPCS, Sprint Nextel's largest affiliate, said it will try to block the deal that was announced last week. iPCS, which serves 640,600 subscribers in seven states, said three of its subsidiaries have filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois against Sprint for violating an exclusivity contract. iPCS , which sells wireless services under the Sprint brand in states like Illinois and Iowa, says it has the exclusive right to sell services under the Sprint brand in 81 markets. In its lawsuit, the company says that the new Clearwire service would compete against its iPCS's service, violating the exclusivity contract it has had with Sprint since 1999.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9942218-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2...

Hollywood actors and studios clash over Internet clips

Getting Hollywood actors paid for their smallest performances -- video clips on the Internet -- is shaping up as one their biggest sticking points in stalemated contract negotiations with major studios. Whether actors must give consent for snippets of their film and TV work to be displayed online, and how much they should earn for them, was the No. 1 disputed issue cited by the Screen Actors Guild after labor talks broke down last Tuesday. Studios want to freely distribute YouTube-style clips of old TV shows and movies without seeking actors' permission and pay them a flat fee rather than bargain on a price with each performer individually. The actors' union staunchly opposes that move.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN1233346620080512

EarthLink vs. City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi project is in jeopardy. Over the past year, Wi-Fi builder EarthLink has exited a number of municipal Wi-Fi projects claiming they were unprofitable. Now, it appears that the company is preparing to exit its most ambitious municipal Wi-Fi project: Philly. But the city isn't about to let that happen without a fight.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/05/earthli...

Thursday, June 5, 2008 1 p.m.
Hilton Minneapolis Hotel

Hosted by: the Center for Media Justice, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, and Free Press

The goal of the convening is to host a proactive and open dialogue on the urgent need to address policies that create disparities that exist in our nation’s media system, a system that has failed to serve the news and informational needs of traditionally underrepresented communities, including people of color, women, people with disabilities and low-income individuals.

We are extending this invitation to key leaders of media policy, media production, civil rights, human rights, social and media justice groups. This meeting aims to provide a safe space for a facilitated dialogue where we can discuss mutual challenges and barriers in our work as well as ways to work together in support of our shared goals.

We hope that this event will strengthen relationships among key national, state and local leaders working in various sectors and foster a shared understanding of media policies that will diversify and transform our nation’s media system.

Because space is limited to 40 participants, RSVPs will be accepted on a first come, first served basis, and is limited to two representatives per organization. To RSVP, please send an email to Raymond Thomas at rthomas@freepress.net by May 15. For information about hotel and travel arrangements, please visit the Free Press Web site at: http://www.freepress.net/conference.

If you are unable to attend this convening, there will be a forum held during the course of the NCMR to discuss the outcomes of the gathering and receive feedback on the topics of discussion. We will also distribute a written report from the convening.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Erica Swanson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (swanson@civilrights.org), Malkia Cyril of the Center for Media Justice (malkia@centerformediajustice.org), or Joseph Torres of Free Press (jtorres@freepress.net).

Read more about Convening of Diverse Voices on Power, Justice, and Media Change

Cablevision Closes In On Deal for Newsday

Tribune Company is at the brink of a deal to sell its Long Island newspaper Newsday to Cablevision Systems Corp. for $650 million in a deal to that will help relieve Tribune's debt. If successful, the bid from the Long Island-based cable operator will have bested matching $580 million offers from News Corp., which owns the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman. News Corp. had had an informal agreement for Newsday, but was unwilling to match Cablevision's offer and revoked its bid on Saturday. Clinching the deal would put the Long Island cable operator in control of Newsday and related assets, including the free New York City newspaper amNew York. The deal, which is expected to be structured as a joint venture for tax reasons, would leave Tribune with a small stake in Newsday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121053212558883383.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
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News Corp unexpectedly drops bid for Newsday

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp on Saturday dropped its $580 million bid for Tribune Co's Newsday newspaper, just days after Murdoch said a deal was imminent, leaving cable television operator Cablevision as the likely winner of the Long Island daily. News Corp was unable to justify outbidding Cablevision's $650 million offer from an economic perspective. A News Corp spokesman said the deal was "uneconomical." The decision leaves two known contenders for Newsday. Besides Cablevision, Mortimer Zuckerman, owner of the New York Daily News, a rival city tabloid to Murdoch's New York Post, also bid $580 million for the paper.
http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1053997820080510

From Political Operative to TV Analyst

One year ago, when he was still a deputy White House chief of staff in the Bush administration, Karl Rove was more likely than not ducking news organizations. Now, he has joined them, as an analyst for Fox News and a contributor to Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. At times clearly partisan, at others apparently offering down-the-middle analysis, Rove in his new role as a media star marks another step in the evolution of mainstream journalism, where opinion, "straight news" reporting and unmistakable spin increasingly mingle, especially on television. says that he maintains regular contact with his progeny at the McCain campaign. "I'm not certain that I qualify as an adviser to McCain," he wrote this month in an online discussion with readers of The Washington Post's Web site, which unlike Fox News, Newsweek and The Journal identified him as "an informal adviser" to the McCain campaign. "I have friends at the campaign who occasionally ask me for reactions, and the Fox network is well aware of that, and similar contacts by some of their Democratic analysts." Rove is also regularly mentioned in Republican circles as a candidate to start a Republican 527 group, though no plans have been announced. Jon Meacham, the editor of Newsweek, said he was not worried that his readers would confuse Mr. Rove's leanings. "No one on the planet who is reading Newsweek is at all puzzled as to what Karl's politics are," Meacham said. Meacham said he hired Rove as a contributor last fall in part to "responsibly provoke." Indeed, he said, several hundred readers canceled their subscriptions in response.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/us/politics/12rove.html
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