December 2008

Rivals seek to harness digital advertising

To save itself from an uncertain fate, the US newspaper industry has formed two consortiums with overlapping membership to boost digital revenue, recalling an ill-fated effort more than 10 years ago. Launched at the end of the last millennium, the New Century Network was considered cutting edge for its time - a massive publishing consortium of nine top US newspapers contributing their editorial firepower to an Internet portal that aimed to take down the likes of Yahoo and Microsoft. Internal disagreements and a feeling among members that they could do better on their own ended the project in 1998, three years after its glitzy debut. More than 10 years later, top papers are collaborating again in an attempt to increase revenues from the Internet. What has changed, though, is a greater desperation and thus greater willingness to cede control.

Is Hispanic Media Ownership Relevant?

Media ownership was perhaps the most elusive goal for all minority groups in the 20th century. Amador Bustos, a leading player in the arena of popular Hispanic radio, said Hispanic ownership helps open doors when trying to successfully reach an audience. "It is important to have Latinos in the broadcasting game because the Hispanic owners will undoubtedly have a greater sensibility to the idiosyncrasies of the various Spanish-speaking groups," said Mr. Bustos, whose company has 60 employees and reported $12.9 million in 2007 revenue. "On the programming front, their understanding of the language, culture, and regional politics will contribute to shape the breadth and depth of the news and information coverage. On the employment front, historically Latino owners have been more prone to hire and promote other Latinos." Hispanic entrepreneurs, Mr. Bustos recalls, were once at the forefront of Spanish-language media. It was their commitment to the community, as well as their capital and cultural knowledge, that drove development. Now the dwindling number of Hispanic-owned companies forced a seismic shift in the landscape and has allowed entrepreneurs who remained in the market to use Hispanic ownership to their advantage.

Analog TV shutoff extension falters in Congress as digital TV transition looms

[Commentary] The Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness (SAFER) Act, a bill to require the Federal Communications Commission to provide for a short-term partial extension of the analog television broadcasting authority, has moved through the Senate, but sits in the House without action. Given that Congress is focused right now on the national financial crisis and the likely bailout of the U.S. auto industry, the House is not likely to act on SAFER before it adjourns this month. Consequently, SAFER will have to be re-introduced in the Senate and House when the new Congress convenes in January. If the sponsors are willing to shepherd the bill though both chambers, legislation could be ready for President Obama's signature when he takes office on January 20, 2009. However, if Congress is distracted by more pressing matters, SAFER may not be get passed and signed before the analog shutoff. If that turns out to be the case, bye-bye analog TV on February 17. For broadcasters, do not count on SAFER. Tell viewers to make the transition to digital right now, if they haven't already, so they are not staring at static on a blank screen in February.

A Show Meant to Cure the Ills of Network TV

The advertising industry is voicing support for a surprise decision by NBC to give Jay Leno a prime-time weeknight talk and comedy show, although there are questions over how viewers will respond to the risky move. The program, tentatively titled "The Jay Leno Show," would break new ground for programming on a broadcast television network during the lucrative prime-time hours, generally 8 to 11 p.m. That is when advertisers pay top prices — in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — for 30 seconds of commercial time. The show Mr. Leno will host on NBC, part of the NBC Universal division of General Electric, is to be "stripped" from 10 to 11 p.m. each Monday through Friday, beginning in fall 2009. The replacement of more conventional scripted series with a program featuring Mr. Leno, who has been the host of "The Tonight Show" on NBC since 1992, is indicative of how seriously the broadcasters are rethinking longtime business models as mass media fragment and consumers gain unprecedented power to avoid and skip commercials. "The model for network television is basically broken," said Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer at the GroupM media division of WPP, primarily because of "huge, huge contractions" in the number of viewers who watch scripted prime-time fare. One plus Scanzoni sees is that the skit-and-shtick format of "The Jay Leno Show" would fit a growing trend of viewers being "more inclined to snack on television programs," he said, "instead of digesting them week in and week out." Another appeal of the new Leno show, Spengler said, is the ability to integrate brands and products into the content, which is known as branded entertainment.

What the Search Engines Have Found Out About All of Us

Google has released its map of the national brain and appetites for 2008, and it turns out that many, many people across America have been asking the Internet "what is love?" and "how to kiss." And to tighten the focus, Google has also provided a list of search queries made by people sitting at computers in New York City. It turns out that New Yorkers are looking for something a bit different. On the surface, these kinds of lists are supposed to reveal what Google calls the zeitgeist of 2008, though it's not much of a surprise that people were interested in Sarah Palin and Barack Obama. But they also provide hints of the level of personal details that people are now turning over to search engines and related businesses without much awareness.

FCC: White House Seeks Local TV Feeds For Situation Room

The Federal Communications Commission is currently working with the White House and media companies to find a way to feed local TV station signals into the White House's situation room, the command and control nerve center in the West Wing that was given a high-tech makeover in 2006.

Congress Blasts FCC Management Under Chairman Martin

Members of the House Commerce Committee blasted Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin for his opaque and unpredictable management. An investigation into the FCC and Martin's leadership came partly in response to complaints about the agency from the public and from communications industry professionals. A report released Tuesday cites several instances where Martin "manipulated, withheld or suppressed data, reports and information," particularly in his attempts for tougher cable regulation, an issue Martin has pursued with vigor. Many FCC watchers agreed the agency has been inconsistent under Martin, but most said opaqueness at the agency precedes him and has been exacerbated by what the report called his "non-collegial" style. "While there are some troubling allegations in the report, most of what it describes resembles the way the FCC has been run for a very long time," said Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project. With a new Congress and administration coming in January, "it's an appropriate time to make the FCC more transparent." Martin spokesman Robert Kenny noted the panel did not find any legal or procedural violations, and mocked one of the findings: that the FCC overpaid for services for the deaf.

FCC Investigation Continues

House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak (D-MI) said he will continue investigating the Federal Communications Commission, saying that there are still allegations that have not been fully investigated or resolved. He said that is because the FCC has still not released all the information the committee is looking for, as well as due to allegations only recently lodged, and the unwillingness of some folks to come forward while Martin remains chairman.

The FCC and the KGB -- No Longer A Laughing Matter

[Commentary] Over the past couple of years, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin got a lot of mileage out of making jokes about his "KGB-style management" at the Commission. Nobody's laughing today. The House Commerce Committee report sets out in excruciating detail, supported in some cases by email from FCC staff, how Martin withheld information or ignored information that could have changed the outcome of some proceedings, how he intervened in proceedings and how he created a culture of paranoia around the Commission so that staffers weren't willing to risk disagreeing with the Chairman's conclusions on issues for fear of being demoted. At the Commission, this is called being "Martinized," the report said. As damaging as are the accounts of the individual cases, however, are the reports of staff intimidation and of the creation of the "climate of fear" in the agency. FCC staff were directed not to talk to other staff, or to workers at other government agencies. Staff were told to stop work on anything but not officially approved projects that have been assigned. "Projects that were authorized in the past are not necessarily considered to be authorized at this time," one email read. Everything has to be decided by the chairman's office, from important regulatory issues to the hiring of student interns, the report found. The result was a demoralized, ineffective agency.

Person of the Year: Kevin Martin

At one time or another, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has managed to enrage, gratify and confound various factions of the wireless industry. And he's not done yet, having at least a month left to continue stirring it up before giving way to an Obama-appointed successor. The list is as long as it is controversial: open access, public safety, white spaces, major mobile phone and WiMAX merger approvals (and conditions), advanced wireless services-3, enhanced 911 location accuracy, roaming, backup power, universal service/intercarrier compensation reform and more. The results of Martin's wireless agenda have been mixed. The biggest constant has been controversy. Martin doesn't seem to shy away from it. He has plenty of detractors in the wireless industry and other telecom/media sectors (broadcasters ranted endlessly about the dangers of white spaces and Martin's stormy dealings with the cable industry are already legend), but there is little doubt about his disruptive impact on the wireless space. Indeed, policies that have reconfigured the wireless landscape will comprise a big chunk of Martin's legacy.

Benton

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