February 2009

FCC Rejects 25% of TV Stations' Early DTV-Switch Applications

The Federal Communications Commission late Wednesday rejected, at least temporarily, a quarter of the requests from the 491 TV stations that had asked to switch to digital-only signals on Feb. 17. The FCC had warned it might reject switches that weren't in the public interest. In Wednesday night's action the commission expressed concern about markets where all the major network affiliates were switching early. That would potentially leave viewers who were unprepared for the digital switchover without any source for local TV news or emergency messages. The action blocked switches of major stations in Dayton, Ohio; Eugene, Ore.; Billings, Mont.; Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Providence, R.I.; Rockford, Ill.; LaCrosse, Wis.; Charleston, W.Va.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Sioux City, Iowa; Topeka, Kan.; Wausau, Wis. and Wichita, Kan., among other locations. The agency, however, suggested it could let many of the same stations go ahead with switch if at least one major local station would continue to broadcast an analog signal. Other factors considered would be as assessment of whether the analog station had news and public affairs programming and if stations would set up "walk in" centers to help local residents apply for coupons and set up converter boxes that would let analog TVs receive digital signals. The stations were asked to agree to the conditions by Friday if they wanted to go ahead. The FCC determined which applications for an early switch would be rejected by identifying markets in which all stations would be terminating analog service on Feb. 17. Then the agency spotlighted the markets in which affiliates of all four of the major networks, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC, would be terminating analog service. Alternatively, the agency looked at markets that do not have affiliates of all four networks to determine if all of the major networks broadcasting in those markets would be terminating their analog service on Feb. 17th. Other factors that went into the FCC's analysis included the size of the market, and how critical it is in a market to have major networks and affiliates delivering local news and public affairs information.

Copps Seeks to Revitalize Transparency and Cooperation at FCC, Welcomes Broadband Stimulus Legislation

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps said he had "no idea" how long he will hold the gavel, but he has no intention of being a mere seat-warmer. Speaking at a press briefing Wednesday morning, Chairman Copps outlined an ambitious agenda of institutional reform, welcoming Congress' investment in broadband deployment, and emphasizing his plans to encourage more growth in high-speed networks. Most the briefing was devoted to the upcoming transition to digital television. Originally set for February 17, last week Congress moved the date of the transition to June 12, 2009. Speaking about the broadband stimulus legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday and is currently in conference negotiations, Chairman Copps said that the FCC is "trying to hit the ground running" to collect better data on broadband availability. The agency will have no problem coming up with definitions of unserved and underserved areas within the 45 day period imposed by the bill. Regardless of who is in charge of administering the stimulus bill's grant programs, Copps stressed that the FCC is ready to do its part to foster inter-agency cooperation to ensure the public's dollars are well spent.

Sirius Talks To Liberty To Fend Off Ergen Effort

Sirius XM Radio Inc. is seeking an investment from Liberty Media Corp., people familiar with the matter say, in a last-ditch effort to fend off an unsolicited takeover approach from satellite entrepreneur Charles Ergen. The talks set the stage for a battle between the leading U.S. satellite-television providers -- Liberty-controlled DirectTV Group Inc. and Mr. Ergen's Dish Network Corp. -- for control of the country's sole satellite-radio operator. Liberty, which is controlled by billionaire John Malone, emerged as a potential "white knight" for Sirius after Mr. Ergen made an unsolicited offer late last year to take control of the radio operator. Though the talks between Sirius and Liberty are advanced, a deal remains far from certain. It wasn't clear how much Liberty would be willing to invest in Sirius and whether it would end up with control. Mr. Malone is known as a careful negotiator and is unlikely to cut a deal in haste. Sirius doesn't have much time.

Facing the Music of a Heavy Debt

Just this week, Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio station owner, tapped a last-resort credit line. Clear Channel is a viable businesses suffering from a surfeit of debt. Investors and creditors are now paying the piper. Their stories provide the overture to the restructuring opera just beginning in corporate America. Take Clear Channel (Please!). The private equity firms Bain Capital and THL Partners paid top dollar to win shareholder approval for their $27.5 billion buyout of the company in mid-2007. The price was later renegotiated, but clearly not by enough. Clear Channel had over $19 billion of borrowings at the end of its most recent quarter. This week it tapped the remaining $1.6 billion of a credit facility, sending its more senior loans to trade at just 45 cents on the dollar. Radio advertising is linked to the economic cycle. But Clear Channel's troubles have been intensified in this recession by the onset of competitors like satellite radio and the iPod. Local radio advertising fell a staggering 21 percent in November from the same month a year earlier, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau's most recent figures. National advertising was down 25 percent. If Clear Channel had a more forgiving capital structure, it would be better able to tough it out. The company made nearly $500 million in the third quarter, reflecting a nearly 30 percent operating margin. The trouble is that interest payments swallowed $312 million of that. As the downturn worsens, Clear Channel edges closer to breaching its debt covenants.

Inmate Internet access debated

A plan debated Tuesday by Nevada lawmakers would allow some state prison inmates — who lost the use of personal typewriters starting in 2007 — limited access to the Internet. Currently, inmates can't use the Internet, but have access to electronic library materials on CD-ROMs. Under AB34, they could get e-mail from approved senders, take online classes, and access an electronic law library. All the e-mail traffic could be monitored by prison staffers.

Twitter? It's What You Make It

[Commentary] There's nothing quite like Twitter. It's a Web site where you can broadcast very short messages — 140 characters, max — to anyone who's signed up to receive them. It's like a cross between a blog and a chat room. Your "followers" might include six friends from high school, or, if you're Barack Obama, 254,484 of your most tech-savvy fans. (Incidentally, he hasn't sent out a single Twitter message since taking office. Where are his priorities?) Meanwhile, you sign up to receive the utterances of other people. Eventually, your screen fills with a scrolling display of their quips — jokes, recommended links, thoughts for the day, and a lot of "what I'm doing right now" stuff. Even so, I was turned off by the whole ego thing. Your profile displays how many followers you have, as if it's some kind of worthiness tally. (See also: Facebook friend counter.) Then one day, I saw Twitter in action.

Congressman's Twittering raises security concerns

Rep Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, landed in hot water this week after using his Twitter page to update the public on his precise whereabouts while traveling through Iraq and Afghanistan. The revelation prompted the Pentagon to review its policy, which regards such information as sensitive, and lit up the liberal blogosphere with accusations of hypocrisy. Rep Hoekstra says he did nothing wrong. He pointed to announcements by other high-ranking officials, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which list the countries they plan to visit.

Videogames seen good for children

Please do not show this article to my son... Videogames can be good for children, encouraging creativity and cooperation, a European Union report concluded Wednesday which ran counter to the violent reputation of some titles. In conclusions that may either surprise or reassure parents of game addicts, the study by the European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection found a number of benefits and no definitive link to violent behavior. "Videogames are in most cases not dangerous and can even contribute to the development of important skills," said Toine Manders, the Dutch liberal lawmaker who drafted the report. The report avoided any call for EU-wide legislation banning certain games, and instead urged the bloc's 27 member states to work together in strengthening an existing voluntary code in Europe known as "PEGI" which rates games according to content.

Congress tackles e-waste in the House and nationally

If Congress can't figure out what to do with its old computers, members of the House of Representatives rationalized Wednesday, it's unlikely anyone else can. Electronic recycling programs have been conspicuously unsuccessful, prompting the House Science and Technology Committee to draft a bill to fund grants for higher education programs related to e-waste management, as well as grants for research and development to find ways to better manage e-waste through product design, reuse, and recycling. At a hearing Wednesday to review the initial draft of the bill, the legislators admitted they were not even sure what to do with their own used electronics and are unhappy with the way Congress disposes of its official electronic equipment.

House, Senate Negotiators Reach Agreement on Stimulus

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement Wednesday on a stimulus plan with a cost of about $789 billion after scaling down the versions passed by both houses. "The middle ground we've reached creates more jobs than the original Senate bill and spends less than the original House bill," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). However, House and Senate leaders had not resolved every detail as of late Wednesday afternoon, and they delayed the start of a final conference committee meeting to work out differences on school construction funding, a major source of contention throughout negotiations. The House and White House favor a hefty investment, but the bill outlined this afternoon includes no specific spending on school infrastructure. A broader state aid account was expanded last night to provide funding for school renovations, but House negotiators apparently were unsatisfied. In a late afternoon statement, Obama hailed the agreement. "It's also a plan that will provide immediate tax relief to families and businesses, while investing in priorities like health care, education, energy, and infrastructure that will grow our economy once more," he said. "I'm grateful to the House Democrats for starting this process, and for members in the House and Senate for moving it along with the urgency that this moment demands." Congressional Republicans immediately denounced the agreement unveiled by Sen Reid and other senators, reiterating complaints that the package is too expensive and will not create jobs as much as it increases the size and reach of the federal government.

Benton

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