Lauren Frayer

On the new reality TV show "Three Wishes," host Amy Grant helps small-town folks solve their problems with the help of several familiar brand-name products, whose makers chip in goods or services in order to have them mentioned on the show. On "Meet Mister Mom," dads compete at running households while their wives are away, and the men use only authorized brands: They all clean with one household product, drive the kids in one brand of minivan, and shop at one predetermined department store.

Cable operators have been sending the FCC a steady stream of requests to be exempted from local rate regulation. And the FCC is granting those exemptions. Since Feb. 1, the FCC relieved such cable operators as Charter, Cox and Time Warner of local franchise authority (LFA) control over monthly rates for basic cable service and gear such as remote controls and set-top boxes in areas with more than 2.3 million homes. By the end of May, the FCC was granting exemptions for cable systems in areas with 900,000-plus homes.

On July 25, 2005, a nationwide initiative "Lifeline Across America" was launched to enhance consumer awareness of federal and state Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The initiative includes the formation of a joint Working Group to develop best practices and outreach materials to support Lifeline and Link-Up services. On Wednesday the FCC named the members of the Working Group and advised the public of the opportunity to provide input to the Working Group.

The Media Day and Concurrent Media Exposure

The average American spends more time using media devices —television, radio, iPods and cell phones — than any other activity while awake, says a new study from Ball State University. The Middletown Media Studies 2 (MMS2), the most comprehensive observational media use study ever undertaken, also found participants are adept at managing their use of two or more types of media at the same time.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights hosted a discussion and released new research on the digital divide Tuesday. UC Santa Cruz Professor Robert Fairlie conducted the study that found that Blacks and Latinos are much less likely than white, non-Latinos to have access to home computers (50.6% and 48.7% compared to 74.6%) and they're also less likely to have Internet access at home (40.5% and 38.1% compared to 67.3%). Spanish-speaking Latinos, especially Mexicans, have strikingly low rates of computer ownership and home Internet use. "There are some fairly significant policy implications as a result of this study," said Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the importance of a solid communications infrastructure, Henderson said, and Congress needs to be mindful of those groups that don't have access to high-tech services as rebuilding efforts get started. "In the aftermath of this tragedy, it's no longer possible for the haves to ignore the have-nots," he said. The Leadership Conference will advocate for those "have-nots" as Congress takes up the DTV and telecom bills. "This debate will be about who gets to speak and for what price." To solve the digital divide, Henderson urged Congress to fully fund the E-Rate program and expand it to cover advanced telecom services. He suggested that providers such as cable and VoIP become more equal players in contributing to the fund. "Disparate regulation distorts the market and undermines the longstanding commitment to universal service." His other recommendations: 1) Commit Universal Service Funds (USF) to community technology centers that provide job training opportunities; 2) Encourage local governments to address community technology needs when negotiating franchises with local video service companies; 3) Direct the FCC to develop a national deployment play for advance telecom service to Universal Service-eligible customers nationwide; 4) Acknowledge tribal regulatory authority to remove barriers to deploying telecom infrastructure and services; and 5) Preserve USF and reform the program to address the needs of people with disabilities in an IP-enabled environment.
(Not available online)
See also:
* Minorities Urge Congress To Protect USF
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-XUWF1127855688674.html

The media "ecosystem" surrounding Americans - not just TV, radio, and newspapers but also the Web, PDAs, MP3 players, cellphones, video games, and more - keeps getting more widespread, personal, and diverse. A new study by Ball State University finds that more than two-thirds of people's waking moments involved some kind of media usage. What's more, of the time spent using media, nearly one-third was spent consuming two or more forms at once, such as watching TV and surfing the Internet, or listening to music while playing a video game.

Driven by fear of losing advertisers and audience to the Internet, large media conglomerates -- all your favorites like Viacom, News Corp. and Time Warner -- are spending billions in a spate of acquisitions and aggressive Internet initiatives, and are likely to keep on spending. Some hope to directly challenge the giant portals like Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. -- Web sites that serve as gateways to the Internet. Others are transferring some of their most valuable content to online sites, even though that risks alienating their traditional distribution partners.

The parent companies of the Big Three broadcast networks and a bunch of cable nets are opposing the FCC's new children's television rules concerning: 1) The definition of program promotions and website addresses shown in kids shows as advertising, and thus counted toward limits on kids ads on both broadcast and cable. The WB, though not one of the petitioners, said earlier this year that the prospect of having to count program promotion as advertising was one of the reasons it decided to scrap its weekday children's programming block.

The Children's Media Policy Coalition -- which includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, PTA, Children Now, the Benton Foundation and others -- are calling on the FCC to deny the parents of the Big Three networks' motion to delay implementation of the FCC's Kids Digital TV Rules, some of which also apply to analog. The rules, which include counting show promos as ads and preventing shows from including Web links to products pitched by their characters--were released in fall 2004 and are to take effect Jan. 1, 2006.

Providers of Internet telephone service are enjoying a boost on Capitol Hill as Senate Commerce Committee members have gravitated toward their story of success in responding to Hurricane Katrina, in contrast to the failure of other telecommunications services. Companies such as Vonage are promoting a bill (S. 1063), that would grant them relief from an FCC order mandating that they provide "enhanced 911" calling capabilities by Nov. 28. Sen.