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August 2008

Leap asks FCC to ban Verizon-Alltel purchase

Leap Wireless has asked the Federal Communications Commission to refuse permission for the Verizon Wireless' $28.1 billion plan to buy Alltel and become the No. 1 U.S. mobile service. Leap said risks include less competition and difficulties creating roaming agreements that allow customers of one carrier to use another's services when traveling outside their home network coverage area. Leap has roaming pacts with both Verizon Wireless and Alltel, the leading rural U.S. mobile provider for certain parts of the country. But Laurie Itkin, Leap's government affairs director, said unless the FCC sets rules requiring nationwide roaming agreements, a Verizon and Alltel deal could leave Leap users without service in some places.

DirecTV-Dish Merger Still 'Problematic'

Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said Monday that although a DirecTV-Dish Network merger would be "very synergistic," it would still face problems winning regulatory approval. Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said that regulatory approval of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings would not make a DirecTV-Dish Network merger any more likely to pass muster in Washington. "As far as Dish and DTV (DirecTV), I'm not sure exactly why that got such a round of enthusiastic media/investor attention over the last two, three weeks," Maffei said. "There really hasn't been anything that's occurred or changed the market conditions, other than potentially some people projecting on the impact or the foretelling of a Sirius-XM merger and what it might mean. I don't know what's changed, or whether that could be done. Obviously, there are a ton of synergies out there. That deal had challenges once. Whether it could be done today in a different environment, I don't know enough about."

Consumers Aware of DTV, but Slow to Act

Consumer awareness of the digital television transition is at an all time high, but many over-the-air households are slow to take the steps necessary to continue to view television when analog signals cease, according to the latest digital transition awareness survey from the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS). As of May 2008, 62 percent of over-the-air households said they would opt to buy a converter box or digital television, compared to 28 percent in November 2006. But, the APTS study found that the majority of the 8.8 million over-the-air households who said they would buy a set-top converter box to continue to receive free over-the-air television have not done so. Among all television households surveyed, only 9.2 percent -- 10.3 million households -- said they requested a coupon. Of those that have requested a coupon, 64.4 percent said they received the coupon, and 54.2 percent had redeemed the coupon. Roughly 38 percent of those who redeemed the coupon reported installing the converter box. About 70 percent of over-the-air households said they know what they need to do to continue to view television after the transition. The APTS study also found that as the transition date nears, fewer over-the-air consumers said they would sign up for cable, satellite or telecommunications service to receive digital television, while more are inclined to buy a converter box or digital TV set. Those that said they would sign up for a paid service had dropped from 29 percent in November 2006 to 12 percent in May 2008.

Cablevision Network DVR Ruling Has Web Radio Impact

The Copyright Office has extended the time period for comments in a rulemaking about Internet radio royalty fees after a federal appeals court ruling backed Cablevision's right to deploy a network-based digital video recording system. The agency, part of the Library of Congress, ruled in July that music publishers could collect royalties for the transmission of sound recordings over the Internet. Comments on that ruling were supposed to be submitted by Aug. 15, with reply comments due by Sept. 2. Royalty payments could have a big impact on free Internet music services such as Pandora or Last.fm. But the ruling in the Cablevision case - which reversed an earlier ruling by a federal court that was cited by the Copyright Office in its notice of proposed rulemaking on July 16 - prompted commenters to request more time. So the Copyright Office has pushed the comment period back to Aug. 28 and the reply date to Sept. 15.

White space tests get mixed results

Field tests to determine whether the Federal Communications Commission should open up unused TV spectrum for wireless broadband services are getting mixed reviews as different methods for avoiding spectrum interference are being tested in the real world. In the most recently concluded tests, Motorola claims its geolocation-based technology got high marks for avoiding interference with existing spectrum holders, while a field test of spectrum sensing technology at a major sporting venue proved that that technology is not up to snuff in avoiding interference with broadcast-based microphones. The FCC has been conducting these real world tests of different prototype devices to see if companies can develop products that use buffer spectrum between licensed broadcast channels. This spectrum known has "white space" sits between broadcast TV channels in the 150 MHz to 700 MHs spectrum bands.

Modern-Day Alaskan Broadband Benefits from Satellite Earth Station Competition

Today's technologically advanced Alaska is a far cry from Jack London's frontier in The Call of the Wild. Yet while dog-sledding remains a common form of transportation, the image of the disconnected wilderness man is today more myth than reality. In Alaska, facilities-based competition between telecommunications providers may be having a positive impact in boosting the quantity and quality of high-speed Internet access in the most remote and sparsely populated state in the United States.

Delivering aid in a digital world

[Commentary] With mobile banking taking off around much of the developing world, how long will it be before international aid is delivered electronically? Sound crazy? If you think so, you might be surprised to hear that it's already started happening.

Providers' Have Left The Home Worker Market Untapped

Driven by economic changes like the rising cost of gas, social trends like work-life balance, and the proliferation of collaboration technologies, consumers are changing the way that they work. Rather than commuting to a central office every day, 9% of consumers telecommute from home for an external employer, and 22.8 million run a business out of their home. When it comes to their telecommunications services, these home workers have distinct needs that are a combination of their personal and work activities. Yet telcos, cablecos, and ISPs have not focused on this attractive segment of "prosumer" home workers and thus have not yet capitalized on their unique market value. To do so going forward, providers need a designated prosumer product strategist who can mix product offerings, feature sets, and marketing messaging from the consumer and business worlds.

AT&T Appeals Connecticut Court's U-verse Definition

AT&T is appealing a Connecticut federal court ruling that creates a precedent in law that defines its U-verse service as a cable product. The telephone company filed its action Aug. 8 with the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Second District. The company wants the higher court to reverse the rulings of Judge Janet Bond Arterton, who has been adjudicating a dispute between the company and the state's Department of Public Utility Control against the state's cable operators and the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel.

August 11, 2008 (Oprah)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY AUGUST 11, 2008

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
   McCain Tech Policy Expected This Week
   Reticence of Mainstream Media Becomes a Story Itself
   Endorsement From Winfrey Quantified: A Million Votes
   Conservative Journalists Rip Old Media For Light Scrutiny of Democratic Congress

LABOR
   Verizon, 2 unions agree on new 3-year contact

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Blocking or Metering: A False Choice
   With Large Underserved Areas, Idaho Seeks to Establish Statewide Educational Network
   Hawaii Broadband Task Force Aims to Tackle Problems of Speed, Competition

BROADCASTING/CABLE
   Dingell to FCC: Consider Licensing White Spaces
   Small Operators See Relief
   FCC's Martin To Support Quiet Period
   Is fairness rule fair?

ADVERTISING
   Web Privacy on the Radar in Congress
   Obese Kids: Time for Media to Act
   Yahoo makes its Google search advertising agreement public
   Media Outlets Losing Money From a Lack of Auto Ads
   Is Google a Media Company?

INDECENCY
   Minow, Fowler: Strip FCC of Indecency-Enforcement Authority
   ABC Affiliates Weigh In at Supreme Court

TELECOM
   Canada says will not interfere with telecom firms
   Sprint eyes sale of Nextel's iDen network

QUICKLY -- Voice of America Doubles Republic of Georgia Coverage; All of Us, the Arbiters of News; Sexual Dysfunction?; San Francisco Case Shows Vulnerability Of Data Networks

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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

MCCAIN TECH POLICY EXPECTED THIS WEEK
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Fawn Johnson]
Sen John McCain's campaign is expected to release as early as this week a technology and telecommunications policy agenda. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior domestic policy advisor for the McCain presidential campaign, said that rather than being a "narrow telecom regulatory proposal" McCain's "innovation agenda" will touch on larger issues like immigration, free trade and capital gains. It will highlight the country's need for skilled foreign workers, growth in international markets and tax policies that encourage capital investment. People familiar with the McCain camp acknowledge that the campaign hasn't put enough focus on technology issues, providing an opening to critics. McCain's defenders insist the senator has depth on these matters, and they point to his long track record in the Senate addressing specific telecommunications rules. Having watched the FCC for years from the viewpoint of the Senate Commerce Committee, McCain thinks the agency shouldn't be drafting rules for new markets, Holtz-Eakin said. Instead, McCain wants the FCC to function more like the Federal Trade Commission, which analyzes the impact of companies' endeavors before it acts. "Rather than regulatory decisions in advance, rulemaking that dictates business models, you want to look after the fact for demonstrated harm," Holtz- Eakin said. McCain parts ways with Silicon Valley firms like Google, which are calling for new laws mandating nondiscrimination on the Internet. At Google, McCain said market forces, not the government, should determine how Internet openness is accomplished. McCain's most potent offer to the burgeoning Internet industry may be to stay out of its business. "Google was born in an unregulated watch. Yahoo. IPod," said former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, who advises the campaign. "Where was the missing government piece that would have made those creations better?"
McCain's Tech Agenda To Focus On Free Market, Investment
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200808080815DOWJONES...
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RETICENCE OD MAINSTREAM MEDIA BECOMES A STORY ITSELF
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena, Bill Carter]
For almost 10 months, the story of John Edwards's affair remained the nearly exclusive province of the National Enquirer — through reports, denials, news of a pregnancy, questions about paternity and, finally, a slapstick chase through a hotel in Beverly Hills. Political blogs, some cable networks and a few newspapers reported on it — or, more accurately, reported on The Enquirer reporting on it. Jay Leno and David Letterman made Mr. Edwards the butt of jokes on their late-night shows, but their own networks declined to report on the rumors surrounding him on the evening news. Why? A number of news organizations with resources far greater than The Enquirer's, like The New York Times, say they looked into the Edwards matter and found nothing solid enough to report, while others did not look at all. Reaction from across the political spectrum has been strong to the news, with many condemning Edwards' actions and denials. But it may also produce an unwanted aftershock for John McCain, reviving references to his own extramarital affairs back in the mid-1970s. Elizabeth Edwards released a statement in support of her husband and saying their family has been "through a lot" due to, in part, "the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences."
http://benton.org/node/15997
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ENDORSEMENT FROM WINFREY QUANTIFIED: A MILLION VOTES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
Economists Craig Garthwaite and Timothy Moore of the University of Maryland, College Park have found a correlation between subscriptions to O: The Oprah Magazine, sales figures for books that were included in Oprah Winfrey's book club and votes for Sen Barack Obama (D-IL). The researchers estimate that Winfrey's endorsement of Sen Obama translated into 1,015,559 primary votes. In their as-yet-unpublished research paper on the topic, the economists trace celebrity endorsements back to the 1920 campaign of Warren Harding (who had Al Jolson, Lillian Russell and Douglas Fairbanks in his corner), and call Ms. Winfrey "a celebrity of nearly unparalleled influence." The economists did not, however, look at how Winfrey's endorsement of Sen Obama may have affected her own popularity. A number of people -- women in particular -- were angry that Winfrey threw her first-ever political endorsement to a man rather than his female opponent.
http://benton.org/node/16006
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CONSERVATIVE JOURNALISTS RIP OLD MEDIA FOR LIGHT SCRUTINY OF DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: William Korver]
Panelists and the moderator of a panel at the Young America's Foundation national conservative student conference on Thursday decried the old media's reluctance to continue to keep Reps John Murtha (D-PA) William Jefferson (D-LA) under the microscope for alleged ethical lapses. Moderator Jason Mattera, of Young America's Foundation, and panelists Kathryn Lopez of National Review Online, Mary Katherine Ham of Washington Examiner, and A.J. Rice of Talk Radio Network decried what they view as mainstream liberal bias for not giving adequate press coverage of Reps Murtha and Jefferson.
http://benton.org/node/15995
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LABOR

VERIZON, 2 UNIONS AGREE ON NEW 3-YEAR CONTRACT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Verizon Communications Inc. and two unions representing 65,000 workers who had threatened to strike within hours agreed Sunday on a new three-year contract that provides 10.5 percent wage increases and changes in retirement benefits. The pact extends union recognition to 600 former MCI technicians who had sought it since joining Verizon two years ago, the union said. Verizon said another 900 temporary employees would be regularized. Job security and health care were among the main points of contention. A key element of the agreement was a provision for the company to contribute a fixed dollar amount per year of service toward future retiree health care costs. In addition, Verizon said it and the unions would work together on a health care reform initiative. The union workers are in the traditional telephone part of the company, which is engaged in the labor-intensive process of replacing most of its copper phone lines with optical fiber. Verizon Wireless, the company's big growth driver, has few union employees.
http://benton.org/node/16005
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BLOCKING OR METERING: A FALSE CHOICE
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Derek Turner]
An illustration of why the Federal Communications Commission's decision to prohibit blocking by Internet service providers is unlikely to lead to a radical, industry-wide switch to metering. Among the conclusions of the brief: 1) It is a false choice to suggest that since Internet service providers cannot arbitrarily block online content, they will be forced to meter. There are a whole host of other non-discriminatory options available to providers that are more effective at managing congestion. 2) Talk of metering is not new and has nothing to do with the FCC's laudable decision to prohibit providers from blocking applications. Cox has had bandwidth caps in place since 2003 but was still caught blocking applications. Time Warner floated plans to meter as early as 2002. 3) Metering is the wrong solution for Internet users. History shows that consumers strongly prefer simple, flat-rate pricing to metering. They do not want to look over their shoulder and face surprise higher monthly bills. This is likely to encourage all subscribers ­ not just high-bandwidth users -- to curb their Internet use. 4) Metering is bad business for Internet service providers. Not only does it decrease Internet use, it discourages the development of and demand for new and innovative applications that give the Internet its value. ISPs that meter are likely to see a subscription drop that hurts their bottom line. 5) There are strong financial incentives at play that actually make it very unlikely that ISPs will make the drastic switch to metering. Congestion should be treated as a short-term problem, while continued investments are made to keep pace with demand. Offering simplicity and abundance is the best outcome for users, providers and the future of the Internet.
http://benton.org/node/15991
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WITH LARGE UNDERSERVED AREAS, IDAHO SEEKS TO ESTABLISH STATEWIDE EDUCATIONAL NETWORK
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: William Korver]
The state of Idaho took a step toward a broadband strategy with the March 2008 passage of H. 543, a bill that establishes a statewide broadband network. The Idaho network will be similar to the Utah Education Network, and hence used primarily for educational purposes. Still, the network would also aid both industry and government, wrote Sharon Fisher of NewWest.net, an online media company. The bill seems to rebuff provider Qwest Communications' assurances that the majority of people residing in Idaho and desiring high-speed Internet access already have it, wrote Fisher. Mark Reed, who manages a fiber-optic network for the city of Idaho Falls, said there remain some rural areas in the state that have merely one broadband provider. The network connects all city sites and has also built out fiber-to-the-premise capabilities that are leased to commercial areas. In an interview, he said that Idaho "can do better" than it currently is doing on broadband.
http://benton.org/node/15978
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HAWAII BROADBAND TASK FORCE AIMS TO TACKLE PROBLEMS OF SPEED, COMPETITION
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: William Korver]
In an attempt to increase speeds, lower prices and enhance consumer choices, the Hawaii legislature last year created a Hawaiian Broadband Task Force to study problems associated with high-speed Internet access. Download speeds on the island state are the slowest in the nation, according to a May 2008 report by Akamai, a company that helps web operators manage and accelerate bandwidth delivery. Only 2.4 percent of Hawaiian users reached Akamai's network at speeds of more than 5 Megabits per second, according to the report. That compares to 60 percent of Delaware users, 42 percent of Rhode Island users, and 36 percent of New York users. The goal of the Hawaiian Broadband Task Force is to "encourage lower prices for broadband services and create more consumer choices." The task force highlighted the role of "gaining wider access to public rights-of-way" in its December 2007 initial report. In addition to removing barriers to broadband access, the Task Force is assigned to finding ways to increase broadband deployment and adoption and enable the development and distribution of new communication technologies in the state of Hawaii.
http://benton.org/node/15999
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BROADCASTING/CABLE

DINGELL TO FCC: CONSIDER LICENSING WHITE SPACES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) asked the Federal Communications Commission to consider licensing the so-called white spaces between digital-TV channels. While the FCC has been considering allowing unlicensed mobile devices to use the spectrum for wireless broadband, among other things, Chairman Dingell suggested that a licensing proposal, at least for some of the spectrum, could help to mitigate the concerns of broadcasters and wireless microphone users about interference. It could also raise some money for the treasury. He noted the FCC's testing of the unlicensed devices. The FCC said Friday that it picked the Majestic Theater in New York for testing those devices' use of the white spaces between TV channels and wireless microphones. Chairman Dingell said, "As the Commission proceeds, it is my hope that it gives all due consideration to all proposals concerning the best use of the white spaces, including those proposals to license some or all of the spectrum available," in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
http://benton.org/node/15989
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SMALL OPERATORS SEE RELIEF
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Small cable operators could be just days away from scoring a major political victory at the Federal Communications Commission concerning the carriage of local TV stations' digital signals. With FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's support, the agency appears close to exempting a whole class of small MSOs from burdensome must-carry rules after broadcasters go all-digital on Feb. 17, 2009. According to FCC and industry sources, the new rules would provide relief for all cable systems, regardless of channel capacity, that have 2,500 subscribers or fewer and are not owned by Comcast or Time Warner. All cable systems at 552-Megahertz of capacity or less would be covered, with no limitation on ownership or number of subscribers. The new rules could be adopted at the FCC's Aug. 22 monthly open meeting, if not sooner.
http://benton.org/node/15983
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FCC'S MARTIN TO SUPPORT QUIET PERIOD
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has agreed in principle to bar TV stations from pulling their signals from cable systems around the time of the Feb. 17, 2009, transition to digital television. The idea for a "quiet period" so that carriage disputes did not interfere with the DTV transition was first proposed to the FCC in April by five cable-operators, including Mediacom Communications, Charter Communications and GCI Cable. At this point, Martin and the operators don't agree on the length of the quiet period. In their filing, the MSO said the duration of the quiet period should run from the date the FCC approved the idea until May 31, 2009. Chairman Martin has proposed two quiet periods for the other four FCC members to consider: Either Jan 15, 2009, to Feb 28, 2009, or Dec 15, 2008, to Feb 28, 2009.
http://benton.org/node/15981
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IS FAIRNESS RULE FAIR?
[SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AUTHOR: Mallika Rao]
The Religion News Service's Rao writes that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi policy that required broadcasters who sent out specific messages to set aside time for opposing views. Such a move would "really make it impossible to preach the whole counsel of God," said Rich Bott, the owner of Kansas-based Bott Radio Network, which broadcasts Christian programming across 10 states. It would also, he said, likely put him out of business. While Speaker Pelosi hasn't offered legislation to reinstate the policy, she has signaled that she supports its revival, and said a bill introduced by Rep. Mike Spence (R-IN) to permanently kill it will not be considered by the Democratic-controlled House. Most critics say the doctrine is unlikely to be reinstated, and is being used by the left as an empty threat, and by the right as a rallying cry. Still, Christian broadcasters are bracing for its reemergence, said Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters. "This is not the time to despair," he said. "If all these bad things happen, we're going to sue immediately."
http://benton.org/node/15993
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ADVERTISING

WEB PRIVACY ON THE RADAR IN CONGRESS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephanie Clifford]
Questions of data collection and privacy policies are attracting the attention of Congress. There is no broad privacy legislation governing advertising on the Internet. And even some in the government admit that they do not have a clear grasp of what companies are able to do with the wealth of data now available to them. "That is why Congress, at this point, is wanting to gather a lot more information, because no one knows," said Steven A. Hetcher, a professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. "That information is incredibly valuable; it's the new frontier of advertising." Beyond the data question, there are issues of how companies should tell browsers that their information is being tracked, which area of law covers this and what -- if anything -- proper regulation would look like.
http://benton.org/node/16003
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OBESE KIDS: TIME FOR MEDIA ACT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Gary Knell]
[Commentary] The current childhood obesity epidemic is a stark but preventable phenomenon. One in three children is overweight in America today. This puts our country on a predictable trajectory leading to millions of overweight adults unless urgent steps are taken. Based on the Federal Trade Commission's recent announcement that $1.6 billion was spent by food and beverage companies in 2006 to market products to children and teenagers, the issue of advertising to children isn't going away. Nor is the use or influence of licensed characters by media companies in the cross-promotion of food and beverage products. As the head of a nonprofit media company with science-based nutritional guidelines for any food product our brand is associated with, I continue to urge our industry counterparts to play a stronger role in establishing and supporting advertisements that will positively influence children's healthy habits for life.
http://benton.org/node/15990
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YAHOO MAKES ITS GOOGLE SEARCH ADVERTISING AGREEMENT PUBLIC
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Dawn Kawamoto]
Yahoo on Friday released a copy of its controversial search advertising partnership agreement with Google, marking the first time details of the deal have been made publicly available. However, it is heavily redacted. The agreement was included as an exhibit to Yahoo's quarterly financial statement, which the Internet search pioneer filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the agreement, Yahoo will serve up Google's advertisements alongside its own search results. Yahoo has previously said it does not believe its open-ended deal is anticompetitive, citing it is under no obligation to run a certain number of Google's ads, or give its competitor's ads favorable placement on its search results pages.
http://benton.org/node/15979
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MEDIA OUTLETS LOSING MONEY FROM A LACK OF AUTO ADS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tim Arango, Stuart Elliott]
The flight of advertising dollars to the Internet is one explanation for the pain felt by traditional media. Another culprit that is increasingly to blame is Detroit. For all the discussion of new media's role in hurting profits and revenues at traditional media outlets -- newspapers, magazines, broadcast television and radio -- the sharp downturn in the auto industry is another big culprit, and is taking an increasing toll on the advertising revenue generated by the media.
http://benton.org/node/16002
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IS GOOGLE A MEDIA COMPANY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
Some media companies fear that Google is increasingly becoming a competitor. They foresee Google's becoming a powerful rival that not only owns a growing number of content properties, including YouTube, the top online video site, and Blogger, a leading blogging service, but also holds the keys to directing users around the Web. Money, of course, is very much at issue. The lower a site ranks in search results, the less traffic it receives from search engines. With a smaller audience, the site earns less money from advertising.
http://benton.org/node/16001
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INDECENCY

MINOW, FOWLER: STRIP FCC OF INDECENCY ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A trio of former Federal Communications Commission chairmen, including the most iconic critic of TV content and a symbol of deregulation, joined to ask the Supreme Court to strip the FCC of its power to regulate indecency entirely, saying that it is on a "Victorian crusade" that hurts broadcasters, viewers and the Constitution. Former Democratic chairman Newton Minow may have famously dubbed TV a "vast wasteland" back in the 1960s, but he is ready to let TV programmers in this century have more say over content if the alternative is the current FCC. Seconding that opinion was former Republican chairman Mark Fowler, who once likened TV to a toaster with pictures and became a symbol of the deregulatory 1980s. Also weighing in on a brief to the court Friday was James Quello, former broadcaster and longest-serving Democratic commissioner. The trio were joined by other former FCC commissioners and staffers including Henry Geller, former general counsel at the FCC; Glen O. Robinson, a former commissioner and said to be principal author of the brief; Kenneth G. Robinson, a former FCC legal adviser; and Jerald Fritz, senior VP and general counsel for Allbritton Communications.
http://benton.org/node/15987
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ABC AFFILIATES WEIGH IN AT SUPREME COURT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
ABC stations asked the Supreme Court not to revisit the legal justification for the Federal Communications Commission's indecency-enforcement standards, but they said the FCC was clearly out of bounds to find that a Fox broadcast violated those standards. In their brief, the affiliates said the FCC policy both violated the Administrative Procedures Act and strayed too far from the narrow confines of the Pacifica decision. But they explicitly said the court did not need to address the underlying constitutionality of the FCC's indecency-enforcement powers. That differs from the filing of the ABC network and other networks, which called on the court to rethink the Pacifica decision, which is the underpinning of FCC indecency enforcement. They also differed from the networks in not asking the court to reconsider the entire broadcast-regulatory framework, saying it was also not necessary "to revisit Red Lion Broadcasting Co. vs. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969), which affirmed the statutory public-trustee regulatory framework for the broadcast media."
http://benton.org/node/15985
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TELECOM

CANADA SAYS WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH TELECOM FIRMS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: David Ljunggren]
Canada will not interfere with the day-to-day business decisions of major telecommunications firms, despite public unhappiness over impending moves by two major companies to charge for incoming text messages, Industry Minister Jim Prentice said. He told Bell Canada and Telus that "in the current deregulated telecommunications market, our government has no intention of interfering with the day-to-day business decisions of private companies or with the choices available to consumers." Prentice said he had expressed his "serious concerns" to the firms over the possibility they would charge customers for unwanted spam text messages and said they had assured him customers could have such charges removed.
http://benton.org/node/15976
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SPRINT EYES SALE OF NEXTEL'S IDEN NETWORK
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sinead Carew]
Sprint Nextel is considering a sale of the Nextel wireless network it bought in 2005, but may have trouble finding a buyer for an asset whose value has plunged about 80 percent to an estimated $5 billion. Sprint has struggled to integrate Nextel's iDen network, used by public safety and construction workers, with its own services and has lost millions of customers since paying about $35 billion for Nextel Communications three years ago. Aside from having to compete with newer network standards than iDen, which has a walkie-talkie feature, any buyer would find it tough to reverse the now-completed integration of the iDen business, including its billing, broadcast towers and customer service, analysts say.
http://benton.org/node/15975
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QUICKLY

VOICE OF AMERICA DOUBLES REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Voice of America doubled its broadcasts to the Republic of Georgia given the fighting there between Russian and Georgian troops over the breakaway province of South Ossetia. VOA said it will start producing a 60-minute radio broadcast, up from a half-hour, featuring interviews, analysis and reporting on the ground, including from reporters and stringers inside the country.
http://benton.org/node/15973
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ALL OF US, THE ARBITERS OF NEWS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
Editors often tell young journalists "We decide what the news is." That truism still attains; it's just the meaning of the pronoun has changed. Yes, we decide what is news as long as "we" now includes every sentient human with access to a mouse, a remote or a cellphone. On Friday, NBC spent the day trying to plug online leaks of the splashy opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in order to protect its taped prime-time broadcast 12 hours later. There was a profound change in roles here: a network trying to delay broadcasting a live event, more or less TiVo-ing its own content. Consumers have no issue with time-shifting content — in some younger demographics, at least half the programming is consumed on a time-shifted basis — they just want to be the ones doing the programming.
http://benton.org/node/16004
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SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION?
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: R. Thomas Umstead]
Some of the largest adult-entertainment players in cable TV are struggling online. The sheer volume of established competition is staggering, having multiplied like rabbits almost overnight. Today more than 4 million adult-oriented Internet Web sites offer pictures and video to titillate every imaginable sexual taste. As the number of sites has surged, they're increasingly being fortified with unfiltered pictures or partial video clips, creating a flood of saucy -- and free -- online content. And if the content isn't free, it's typically priced to reach a mass audience. Moreover, the category is experiencing a new influx of user-generated content. Millions of amateurs, sporting little more than digital video recorders and poor lighting, are also changing the fundamental business dynamics of the pornography industry by seeking nothing more than exhibitionist notoriety -- and not charging a cent.
http://benton.org/node/15974
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SAN FRANCISCO CASE SHOWS VULNERABILITY OF DATA NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ashley Surdin]
San Francisco is being forced to overhaul security measures on the computer network that controls data for its police, courts, jails, payroll and health services, as well as other crucial information, after the technology administrator entrusted with the system blocked access for everyone but himself last month and for days refused to reveal the password, even from jail. The ordeal has spurred the city's IT department to bolster network oversight and to consider hiring outside auditors to monitor a security upgrade. City officials also will review all access to its FiberWAN network, the hub through which payroll, e-mail and criminal files flow. It has also persuaded other cities to scrutinize their own systems.
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