May 2008

(HAPPY LABOUR DAY -- Now get back to work!)

A couple of items on the telecom agenda today: 1) a House hearing on
Enhancing Access to Broadband Technology and Services for Persons
with Disabilities and 2) a discussion on Explaining International
Broadband Leadership. For these and other upcoming media policy
events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar/2008/5

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
One Newsday Suitor Steps Aside, Another Returns
Another Extension for XM-Sirius Merger

BROADCASTING/CABLE
FCC Not Finding Takers for Early DTV Test
Nielsen Issues DTV Transition Plan to Clients
FCC: Cable Operators' Leased-Access Reports Due July 15

CONTENT
Piracy Bill Advances in House
Federal judge sets formula for Internet music royalties
Critic accuses Hollywood of vilifying Arabs

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Blue Dogs on Hoyer's FISA leash
George W. Bush's lost e-mails

QUICKLY -- Return of the Web Tax; The cancellation of Channel 36

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

ONE NEWSDAY SUITOR STEPS ASIDE, ANOTHER RETURN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
The escalating contest for ownership of Newsday took a couple of new
twists on Wednesday. The owners of The New York Observer dropped out
of the bidding, while a former suitor, Cablevision, prepared to get
back into the competition, people briefed on the matter said
Wednesday. Cablevision, which signaled weeks ago that it would not
pursue Newsday, is putting together a bid of well over $600 million,
topping offers from Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer B. Zuckerman,
according to people involved in the bidding, who were granted
anonymity to discuss confidential information. Cablevision declined
to confirm the bid. The Observer Media Group was prepared to bid more
than $500 million, these people said, but then word came last week of
competing $580 million offers from Mr. Zuckerman, the real estate
developer and publisher, and Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation. Observer
Media tried to interest Cablevision in a joint bid, but instead,
Cablevision decided to go it alone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/business/media/30paper-web.html?_r=1&p...
(requires registration)

ANOTHER EXTENSION FOR XM-SIRIUS MERGER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Look for XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio to announce
Wednesday that they are extending their deal to merge. The two
companies are extending the deal to May 15, with both agreeing to an
automatic, two-week extension after that, unless one or the other
says they don't want to extend it.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6556277.html?rssid=193

BROADCASTING/CABLE

FCC NOT FINDING TAKERS FOR EARLY DTV TEST
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
For the past several weeks, Federal Communications Commission
Chairman Kevin Martin has been trying to find a market or two where
all the television stations would volunteer to make the switch to
digital TV late this summer or early fall -- months ahead of the
mandatory Feb. 17, 2009, deadline. Broadcasters across the nation
have been begging off, telling the chairman that they would rather
not -- or simply cannot -- cut off their analog service any sooner
than they absolutely have to. Working mostly through state
broadcaster associations, the FCC has approached stations in at least
10 markets: Youngstown and Columbus, Ohio; Gainesville and Fort
Myers, Fla.; Madison Wis.; Yakima, Wash.; Lexington, Ky.; Santa
Barbara, Calif.; Wilmington, N.C., and Shreveport, La. Of those, only
stations in three markets -- Santa Barbara, Wilmington and Shreveport
-- are still considering the matter.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/30/daily.8/

NIELSEN ISSUES DTV TRANSITION PLAN TO CLIENTS
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: John Consoli]
Nielsen Media Research has issued to its clients a nine-page letter
spelling out its plan for the transition to digital-only television
broadcasting that goes into effect on Feb. 17, 2009, assuring that
"most homes" in its audience ratings sample with TV sets not capable
of receiving digital signals will take steps to ensure that they
continue to receive TV signals after that date. According to Nielsen,
11.3 percent of the TV sets in its panels are "unready" to receive
digital broadcast signals. Nielsen is requesting that people in the
sample with those sets replace them with new sets equipped with
digital tuners that will enable them to get over-the-air reception of
digital broadcast signals. Or that those people subscribe to cable,
so their analog signals can be converted to digital. Or that they
purchase and connect their unready sets to government-subsidized,
set-top converter boxes that will convert their current signals.
Nielsen said its field staff is planning to make a "significant"
number of visits to sample households to hook up meters to any new
equipment that is purchased. Nielsen has also set a timetable for
people in the sample with unready sets to take steps to transition to
digital reception. Because the transition is taking place in
February, Nielsen will move its sweep measurement period from
February 2009 to March 2009 to ensure the most accurate measurement
with no glitches.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10037...
* Nielsen Moves Feb. 2009 Sweep To March
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6556505.html?rssid=193

FCC: CABLE OPERATORS' LEASED-ACCESS REPORTS DUE JULY 15
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission gave cable operators until July
15 to file their annual reports outlining channel placements, rates,
usage and complaints related to leased access. Those reports had been
due April 30. Cable operators with more than 36 channels are required
by FCC rules to set aside 10%-15% (depending on size) for commercial
lease to outside parties. That is in addition to the channels they
must set aside for public, educational and government use. The annual
reporting requirement is one of several changes to those rules the
FCC adopted in an order released Feb. 1 in an effort to make it
easier to lease space on cable systems and create more competition to
existing channels. Other changes included lowering the rates cable
operators can charge and making the complaint process easier for
complainants and arguably more rigorous for cable systems by
requiring them to produce more documents.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6556497.html?rssid=193
* FCC Order
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-1021A1.doc

CONTENT

PROPOSED NEW PIRACY PENALTIES ADVANCE IN HOUSE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
The House Judiciary Committee approved a copyright holder-backed
enforcement proposal known as the Prioritizing Resources and
Organization for Intellectual Property, or Pro-IP, Act, which is
chiefly sponsored by the committee's chairman, Rep. John Conyers
(D-MI). The bill would rewrite U.S. law to allow federal officials to
seize property from convicted copyright infringers who made
unauthorized copies of music, movies, or live performances. That
property could include computers or other equipment used to commit
intellectual-property crimes or obtained as a result of those
proceeds. In civil cases, the feds would have to establish that there
was a "substantial connection" between the property and the offense.
The bill would create the US Intellectual Property Enforcement
representative -- charged with acting as a chief adviser on
intellectual property enforcement matters, 10 intellectual-property
"attaches" to serve in U.S. embassies and creation of a new
"intellectual property enforcement division" within the Justice
Department. The measure does not contain a controversial provision
that would have dramatically increased fines in copyright
infringement lawsuits. Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said, "We
are pleased that the Committee amended the bill (HR 4279) to make
clear there has to be a 'substantial connection' between property to
be seized, such as a computer, a car or a house, and any violations
of the copyright law. Now that the Committee has approved the bill,
we look forward to legislative action on Orphan Works legislation,
(HR 5889), that would work to restore balance in copyright law."
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9932260-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2...
* House Judiciary Committee Bill Would Crack Down on IP Theft
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6556265.html?rssid=193
* House Bill To Create Anti-Piracy Czar Advances
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR200804...
* Public Knowledge
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1543

FEDERAL JUDGE SETS FORMULA FOR INTERNET MUSIC ROYALTIES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Conner established a
formula for determining the Internet royalties owed to thousands of
music composers, writers and publishers by three major online
services - Yahoo Inc., AOL and RealNetworks. The American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers hailed the decision, estimating the
guidelines could yield as much as $100 million in payments covering a
seven-year period ending in 2009. The trade group, known as ASCAP,
had contended that its 320,000 members weren't being properly
compensated for musical works that helped drive traffic and increase
revenue for Yahoo, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL and RealNetworks.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/latestheadlines/ci_9116260?nclick_check=1
* Online music services could pay $100 million in royalties (Reuters))
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN3056366720080501

CRITIC ACCUSES HOLLYWOOD OF VILIFYING ARABS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Tom Perry]
American films and TV dramas shot since the September 11 attacks have
reinforced screen images of Arabs and Muslims as fanatics and
villains, ingraining harmful stereotypes, argues an author on the
subject. In his book "Guilty -- Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs after
9/11", Jack Shaheen praises some post-September 11 films for offering
a more sympathetic image of Arabs and Muslims, who he argues have
been castigated for decades by Hollywood. But he says that too many
have portrayed them in ever darker shades, criticizing films
including "The Kingdom" (2007) and "The Four Feathers" (2002) and
condemning the creation of a new "Arab-American bogeyman" in TV
dramas such as "24"
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL0132230620080501

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

BLUE DOGS ON HOYER'S FISA LEASH
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Alexander Bolton]
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD), the House Democrats' point man in
negotiations on an overhaul of intelligence surveillance law, is
keeping his eye on conservative Blue Dog Democrats who might defect
on the issue under Republican pressure. The topic has reached a
critical point because surveillance orders granted by the director of
national intelligence and the attorney general under the authority of
the Protect America Act begin to expire in August. If Congress does
not approve an overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
(FISA) by Memorial Day, intelligence community officials will have to
prepare dozens of individual surveillance warrants, a cumbersome
alternative to the broader wiretapping authority granted by the
Protect America Act, say congressional officials familiar with the
issue. Conservative and freshman Democrats are growing skittish.
These lawmakers expect campaign opponents to accuse them of
imperiling national security if Congress does not enact new
intelligence surveillance legislation.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/blue-dogs-on-hoyers-fisa-leash-2008-...

GEORGE W. BUSH'S LOST E-MAILS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
A federal magistrate judge chastised the Bush administration for
failing to fully answer questions related to a long-running dispute
over missing White House emails. The White House is facing lawsuits
from two public interest groups, Citizens for Responsibilty and
Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive at George
Washington University, demanding that the White House restore the
missing e-mails and put in place systems to prevent further e-mail
losses. Administration officials were ordered to provide detailed
information about the burdens involved in taking immediate actions to
preserve copies of hard drive, tapes, and other media that may
contain copies of the missing e-mails. The ongoing dispute spotlights
a part of the executive branch that doesn't often get much attention:
its e-mail system. Two laws govern the retention of executive branch
documents. The Federal Record Act requires the head of each federal
agency to ensure that documents related to that agency's official
business be preserved for federal archives. The Watergate-era
Presidential Records Act augmented the FRA framework by specifically
requiring the president to preserve documents related to the
performance of his official duties. A 1993 court decision held that
these laws applied to electronic records, including e-mails, which
means that the president has an obligation to ensure that the e-mails
of senior executive branch officials are preserved.
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/bush-lost-e-mails.ars/

QUICKLY

RETURN OF THE WEB TAX
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] New York Governor David Paterson has resurrected one of
Eliot Spitzer's least popular ideas, a tax on Internet sales that he
hopes will raise more than $70 million a year. Despised by consumers
and constitutional scholars alike, this new tax will hit e-shoppers
within weeks. The measure will force out-of-state retailers such as
Amazon.com to collect New York's sales taxes, which approach 9%,
including local levies. A 1992 Supreme Court decision called Quill
bars exactly this type of money grab. The Supremes ruled that forcing
such obligations on companies with no employees or buildings in a
state could cripple interstate commerce. Without Quill, small Web
merchants would have to answer to 7,500 state and local tax
collectors. The Governor apparently believes he can get to companies
like Amazon through New Yorkers who run ads for Amazon on their Web
sites. In fact, if nonemployees with some business relationship with
a company were enough to establish physical presence, then Quill
would essentially be meaningless. The courts may well ax the tax on
these grounds.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120959866791857741.html?mod=todays_us_op...
(requires subscription)

THE CANCELLATION OF CHANNEL 36
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Patt Morrison]
[Commentary] A look at the demise of a Los Angeles cable access channel.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-morrison1-2008ma...
(requires registration)
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary
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industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone
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