March 2009

Sad but true: Journalists need to think about the bottom line

[Commentary] Used to be that a newspaper editor would bark the paper's ad manager right out of the newsroom. But used to bes don't count anymore. They just lay on the floor til we sweep them away. In that earlier epoch newspapers were fat, virtually monopolizing local and classified advertising. Now newspaper people track their falling fortunes daily and talk about "monetizing content" on the Web. The debate has gotten tiresome and dispiriting. The recession has turned a painful evolution into life-threatening revolution.

House Panel Investigates Progress on DTV Front

The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing titled, "Oversight of the Digital Television Transition" on Thursday. A good time was had by all. The hearing examined the administration of the DTV Converter Box Coupon Program by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), outreach and consumer education efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the status of the transition from the perspective of other stakeholders. Approximately 4 million households are still not prepared for the transition, lawmakers heard. Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) praised the NTIA for clearing up a long-waiting list for DTV coupons, but he also expressed concern that the nation could run out of converter boxes. "I do share (the) concern about whether inventory levels will be sufficient," NTIA's Anna Gomez said. While the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) estimates that there will be an additional 4.2 million converter boxes needed by June 12, there are currently about 9.3 million coupons in circulation. Even if the percentage of coupons cashed in continues at the current rate of about 60 percent, about 5.5 million converter boxes will be needed. Both Members of Congress and regulators raised concerns about signal reception issues. FCC Chairman Michael Copps said the Commission was working on implementing programs to help broadcasters fill in coverage gaps, but that took time and money, both of which were in short supply. The FCC will at least have some more money to bolster call centers and for education and outreach to help inform viewers of potential signal losses no matter what steps they take to prepare.

FCC seeks DTV transition assistance

The Federal Communications Commission announced the first of three sets of solicitations for DTV transition assistance, releasing six Statements of Work (SOW) with Requests for Quotations (RFQs) that seek proposals for Basic In-Home Installation Services to assist consumers in making the transition to digital television. Based on the Commission's DTV transition outreach initiative, proposals are being solicited for each of six U.S. regions - Pacific, West Central, Southwest, East Central, Southeast, and Northeast. The Commission is seeking proposals that focus on providing assistance to low-income individuals, minority communities, non-English speaking consumers, senior citizens, consumers living in rural areas or on tribal lands, and consumers with disabilities. Additionally, because statistical data suggest that certain geographical areas of the country are less prepared than others, the Commission, in conjunction with NTIA, has developed a combined list of the DMAs that appear to be most at risk. While the Commission is seeking proposals with emphasis on these at-risk DMAs, it plans to provide assistance throughout the country, and proposals may address any geographic area where full-power broadcast TV stations have not already fully transitioned to digital broadcasting. The solicitations for Basic In-Home Installation Services will close on April 9, 2009.

TV Is Still King

Television is still the most popular medium for all consumers, both young and old. A new study conducted by Ball State University's Center for Media Design and Sequent Partners for the Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence, found that 99% of video consumption on televisions, the Web and mobile is on traditional TVs. Even among adults 18 to 24, 98% of video is seen on televisions. The figures confirm numbers generated by other forms of measurement by Nielsen. Live TV was the top way video was consumed, followed by DVDs, with digital video recorders third.
Young Boomers Watch 9.5 Hours of Video per Day; TV Still on Top

Copps Says FCC Should Reconsider Newspaper Ownership Rule

The Federal Communications Commission may reconsider restrictions on combined ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers as daily publications struggle with a plunge in revenue. The FCC should "visit this whole problem" before long, Chairman Michael Copps said. Members of Congress and Attorney General Eric Holder have said they're concerned with the newspaper industry after four bankruptcies in as many months. Sales and advertising are dropping amid the recession and a migration of readers to the Internet. Daily papers have announced staff or pay cuts in New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Boston in the past two days. Chairman Copps said the FCC's rule didn't meet "the needs of the industry, the economy or the public." The rule generally bans combined ownership of a daily newspaper and nearby broadcast station, except in the largest markets.

New Round of Cuts at Papers

Two of the most respected U.S. newspaper publishers, The Washington Post Co and The New York Times Co, are embarking on new cost cuts in the face of dramatic declines in advertising revenue. The Times said it laid off 100 workers and is cutting non-union salaries. It is also asking unionized employees to accept similar concessions to avoid layoffs in the newsroom. The Post is offering a new round of buyouts to newsroom, production and circulation employees, and said it could not rule out laying off staff. In addition, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on its Web site that it will slash its full-time news staff by about 90 people -- nearly 30% -- in its continued effort to lower costs and return to profitability.

Consolidation won't save the media

[Commentary] Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whose hometown San Francisco Chronicle is in trouble, asked Attorney General Eric Holder to consider loosening antitrust laws to help out struggling newspapers by allowing more media mergers. AG Holder responded by saying he is open to revisiting the rules. Pelosi's request sounds innocuous at first - after all, struggling newspapers seem to need all the help they can get. But opening the door to more media consolidation is not the cure for the crisis in journalism. More of this bad medicine will only weaken reporting and worsen the health of our democracy. How to support serious journalism and local coverage in the new media landscape is a complicated question that surely requires a menu of answers, forward-looking policy ideas and lots of experimentation. But we know what won't work: the exact same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. Media consolidation is the problem, not the answer.

Advice comes in to FCC on where to concentrate rural broadband efforts

Just two weeks ago, the Federal Communications Commission asked for public input on a comprehensive broadband strategy it must deliver to Congress this Spring. The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council focused on better broadband mapping to find out just where the greatest need is. It also said that un-served minority rural communities should be the first priority. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association argued for a three-pronged strategy: first, coordination among agencies; second, the grant process under any program must be transparent; third, the program's goals must be clearly defined and focus on helping folks in underserved areas buy and use existing services--rather than underwrite new competition to those services--and only after that is done upgrade facilities in underserved areas to meet "today's current generation broadband services." NCTA also argued for reforming the Universal Service Fund by reducing support for areas where competitive service is available and better targeting the money and apply the same pole-attachment rate to all providers. The American Cable Association (ACA) wants the FCC to give preference to small and mid-sized cable operators

A First Step to Our National Broadband Plan

[Commentary] With the rush to implement the broadband-related provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, little attention has been paid to a provision of the 2008 Farm Bill with requires the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Agriculture to craft a comprehensive rural broadband strategy. This plan is due to Congress this Spring and the FCC has requested public input. On March 25, the Benton Foundation filed comments at the FCC based mainly on our Action Plan for America. We argue that the rural broadband strategy should address the rural aspects of the comprehensive national broadband plan required of the FCC in the Recovery Act and due in early 2010. With historian Michael Copps at the helm of the FCC, we remind the Commission that the plan should not depart from the over arching purposes of U.S. Telecommunication Law: "to make available to all people of the United States a rapid, efficient, nation-wide and world-wide, wire and radio communications service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges."

It'd Be Irresponsible To Not Map Demand and Track Usage

1) Map broadband market demand: Rather than just finding out where broadband's available and where it isn't, it's essential that we also know where there are people who want it but can't get it. If I'm the government and I'm trying to define "underserved" then it makes a lot of sense to be able to compare the availability of broadband relative to the demand for it so that we can identify those areas where the market alone is not serving this demand. Without this market demand data we could end up subsidizing network buildouts to areas that don't currently want it, and that doesn't seem like the most prudent use of limited government dollars.

2) Track actual usage: What good will funding programs that spur demand be if we don't have a way of measuring whether or not they were successful at getting people to use broadband more? In fact, not only is tracking usage a good idea, but I'd argue that it should be mandatory for all broadband demand programs. We first need to establish a baseline for how people, businesses, and public entities are using broadband so we can have something to compare future results of these surveys against to gauge the growth in demand. Not doing this means risking government dollars on programs with no metrics to measure success, and that seems like a very irresponsible thing to be doing.

Benton

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