October 2008

Craig Mundie is Microsoft's new chief strategic thinker, replacing Bill Gates in that role. He spoke recently about a number of Washington and technology issues: the failure of the U.S. to keep up in the worldwide race to extend broadband Internet service to its citizens, how the Federal Communications Commission should handle the "white spaces" in the radio spectrum, and what he thinks of "the cloud," an automaton receptionist being planned at Microsoft's headquarters and other matters on the frontiers of computing. Some of his strongest words were reserved for the country's lagging position in rolling out broadband Internet service. My view is the country has had virtually a total policy failure for more than the last decade relative to this," he said, and the situation is "getting worse faster than most people perceive." Like Google's top officials, Mundie is lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to allow the use of white spaces -- the portion of the radio wave spectrum in between the television stations -- for use of other devices.

Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable operator, is challenging a plan by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin that could allow hundreds of TV stations to demand cable carriage for the first time. An attempt to force cable operators to distribute so-called low-power Class A stations would both violate the law and needlessly embroil cable operators, the stations and the FCC in a controversy unrelated to the most pressing policy matter -- completion of the digital TV transition next February, Comcast representatives said in a recent meeting with FCC officials. "The broadcast digital transition is at a crucial phase. This is no time for diversions or missteps. More must-carry debates are unjustified and counterproductive," Comcast said in an Oct. 2 memo prepared for aides to FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. "The must carry regime already rests on a shaky legal foundation. Any further expansion would likely lead to all must carry rules being struck down," Comcast said in the memo. Comcast also pointed out that with about 133 days before the DTV transition, the FCC has important business to finish, such as ensuring that all stations were up and running on Feb. 17 and that millions of consumers know how to operate digital-to-analog converter boxes and are aware they might need to adjust their rooftop antennas. "The margin of error is very thin. A timely transition could be jeopardized if any of the tasks above are not completed promptly and properly," Comcast said.

Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell said he expects big changes for media if Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) is elected president. Commissioner McDowell said new regulations on media could include rules that local broadcasters staff their stations 24 hours a day, year round to make sure they cover disasters or other important breaking local news. The idea behind the proposal is to stress the role of local news in communities -- a principle championed by some Democrats at the agency and in Congress. "In my view, this is a more competitive media marketplace than ever before," he said. "As eyeballs and ears and ad dollars are going elsewhere, do we really need to be heaping more regulation on an industry that is seeing steadily declining top line revenue?"

Television newsrooms across the country have experienced a net loss of 360 positions this year, according to Bob Papper, professor of journalism at Hofstra University. Prof Papper points out that there is a general misperception in the TV industry that the newsroom losses are larger than they actually are. "I have been intrigued by how many news directors have said, 'We've really been lucky. We are the exception to what's happening in the industry,'" Papper said. TV news reductions, which include both layoffs and vacated positions that have gone unfilled, are often reported by newspapers, which tend to see the losses through the prism of their own newsroom staff downsizing, Papper said. "The difference between newspaper and television is there are fundamental problems with newspapers in both circulation and business model. In TV, what we are seeing is a reflection of economic times," he said.