BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEEK OF AUGUST 25-29, 2008
ELECTION 2008
Legal Controversy Erupts Over Political TV Ads
McCain Seems To Have Obama Beat in One Arena
Can Obama Turn Friends into Voters?
Obama's VP text message reached 2.9 million people
Networks Sleep While Democracy Burns
ABC's Attempt To Film Donors Ends in Arrest
Monday Convention Coverage Draws 22.3 Million Viewers
Former FCCer Slams McCain
AT&T has high profile presence at Dem convention
Dem Delegates Back Clarifying Public Interest Obligations
It Takes Tech to Elect a President
Veepstakes!
Democrats Criticize McCain's 'Dial-up Campaign'
Democratic convention brings calls for broadband policy
Blogs Love Obama
McCain adviser to appear on "The Communicators"
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Comcast Sets Subscriber Bandwidth Limit
Even modest Internet users may hit usage caps
Whither the Internet?
What We Need Is A Digital Bill Of Rights
DIGITAL TELEVISION
NAB Says 77% Of Wilmington Residents Recognize Sept 8 Date
Wilmington Opts for Second Soft Test
Most Stations Say They Will Be Ready For DTV Switch
FCC Grants Small Systems Dual-Carriage Exemption
TV's Salvation: Hyper-Local Cross-Platform Content
JOURNALISM
A Federal Shield Law
Jon Stewart Hails Newspapers' Campaign Coverage -- Hits Cable News
NEWS FROM FCC
Copps, Adelstein Seek FCC Temp Job
FCC Commissioner targets media consolidation
Finding Use for the Airwaves' 'White Spaces'
FCC Concedes to Testing on Free Internet Plan
FCC takes year to reject one-page forbearance request
FCC Delays Decision To Review MASN/Time Warner Complaint
Fox Refuses to Pay Fine for Reality Show Sex Scenes
McDowell Taps Harold for Media Issues
Cablevision Hires Top Martin Aide
QUICKLY -- DOJ Rejects Sinclair's Purchase of WTVR; Nielsen: Hispanic, Asian TV Homes Outpace Overall TV Household Growth; Grim outlook for US IT spending; Tech Groups Launch 'One Giant Leap' Campaign
ELECTION 2008
LEGAL CONTROVERSY ERUPTS OVER POLITICAL ADS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: T.W. Farnam]
The American Issues Project has spent nearly $3 million to run one political ad more than 7,000 times in swing states: the largest expenditure by an independent group so far this election cycle. The group is funded by Harold Simmons, the Texas billionaire who was also a primary backer of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group that attacked Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004. The group is relying on a legal exemption that allows nonprofits to accept large contributions to spend on political advertising so long as the groups don't have the "major purpose" of influencing elections. "It really comes down to whether this organization has a major purpose of influencing federal elections," said Richard Hasen, an election-law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "So far, it looks like that's the only purpose of this group."
http://benton.org/node/16384
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MCCAIN SEEMS TO HAVE OBAMA BEAT IN ONE ARENA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Emily Steel, Suzanne Vranica]
Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) appears to many people to be running a far more tech-wise campaign than his opponent, with his use of text messages to announce his vice-presidential candidate and the creation of his own vibrant social network, My.BarackObama.com. But Sen John McCain (R-AZ) is in some ways outsmarting Sen. Obama when it comes to Internet marketing. One example: As of Wednesday, a Google search for "Joe Biden" or even just "Biden" resulted in a prominently displayed ad labeled "Joe Biden on Obama" that links to Sen. McCain's site. There, a video begins playing that shows Sen. Biden criticizing Sen. Obama during the Democratic primaries. The move mimics the "ambush" strategy that advertisers often employ: buying a competitor's term so that an ad for the buyer's own product appears when a consumer searches for the other brand. Sen McCain was able to pull off that sleight of hand because he outbid his opponent for the search term "Joe Biden." As a result, Sen McCain's ad takes the top spot alongside search results, while Sen Obama's ad appears lower in the results.
http://benton.org/node/16377
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CAN OBAMA TURN FRIENDS INTO VOTERS?
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Catherine Holahan]
If online "friends" were a proxy for voters, Barack Obama could accept the Presidency, and not just the Democratic nomination, on Aug. 28. With more than 1.8 million supporters on Facebook and MySpace, Obama's base on the leading U.S. social networks is nearly seven times that of John McCain. But history hasn't shown that online supporters turn out in November. If anything, it's proved the opposite. Remember the Deaniacs? Howard Dean's supporters were all over social networks such as Meetup.com in 2004, making the current Democratic National Committee chairman the presumptive nominee that year. But Dean's overwhelming Web support didn't translate into dominance in the primaries. Already, some of Obama's highest-profile online supporters have proved fair-weather friends at the polls. The famed "Obama Girl," whose video about having a crush on the politician has been watched nearly 9.3 million times on YouTube, reportedly didn't vote in February's primary in New Jersey, where she is registered. Obama's campaign and the social networks themselves are determined to make sure this election will be different. They're employing a variety of techniques unique to social networks, such as leveraging users' friend connections, to try to ensure that supporters turn out in November. "There is a huge difference between 2004 and 2008 because of social media," maintains Andrew Rasiej, co-founder of the Personal Democracy Forum.
http://benton.org/node/16368
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OBAMA'S VP TEXT MESSAGE REACHED 2.9 MILLION PEOPLE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
The Obama campaign's highly anticipated text message announcing Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee's running mate reached 2.9 million U.S. mobile subscribers last weekend, making it "one of the most important text messages" ever and "one of the most successful" branding efforts using mobile devices, according to Nic Covey, director of insights for research firm Nielsen Mobile. Covey bestowed those superlatives despite some major problems with the Obama text message initiative, which promised people who signed up that they'd be the first to know the news. It didn't quite work out that way. Major news organizations broke the news late Friday night that Obama had chosen his Senate colleague, Biden. That forced the campaign to send out the text messages about five hours earlier than they had planned -- at about 3 a.m. EDT Saturday (midnight Pacific Time), when most supporters probably were sound asleep.
http://benton.org/node/16376
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NETWORKS SLEEP WHILE DEMOCRACY BURNS
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Tim Karr]
[Commentary] Sometimes mainstream media reveal their failures in displays so stark that it makes the job of media critics too easy. NBC, ABC and CBS frequently forget to serve their viewers, to be sure, but certain miscues are a special boon to bloggers and media reformers, who work tirelessly to show that the titans of the mainstream consistently miss the most important stories of our time. Network coverage of the political conventions this week and next is a case in point, as American politics takes a back seat to mainstream media reality. The "Big Three" have decided that democracy is bad for business, and are treating viewers to excited hormones (ABC's "High School Musical"), miniskirts (NBC's "Deal or No Deal") and bachelor hi-jinks (CBS's "Two and a Half Men") instead of Democratic and Republican convention coverage in Denver and Minneapolis.
http://benton.org/node/16375
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ABC'S ATTEMPT TO FILM DONORS ENDS IN ARREST
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
An ABC News producer was arrested outside a downtown hotel here Wednesday while he and a camera crew tried to shoot footage of corporate donors leaving a meeting with a group of Democratic senators. Asa Eslocker, who works with the network's investigative unit, was charged with trespass, interference and failure to follow a lawful order. He was released four hours later on a $500 bond. "We expect to see this kind of behavior in Myanmar, not in Denver, Colorado, at a national political convention where a reporter is trying to videotape big-money donors trying to meet with elected officials," said ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. Footage of the incident showed one police officer pushing Eslocker as the producer backpedaled across the street, and another officer placing his hand around Eslocker's neck. Eslocker kept saying that it was a public street and asking what law he was violating. Schneider said Esocker never entered the Brown Palace Hotel, where the meeting was taking place.
http://benton.org/node/16374
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MONDAY CONVENTION COVERAGE DRAWS 22.3 MILLION VIEWERS
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
The 10 to 11 p.m. hour on the first night of the Democratic National Convention attracted approximately 22.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, compared with the approximately 18.5 million who watched it in 2004.
http://benton.org/node/16372
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FORMER FCCer SLAMS MCCAIN
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt blasted presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain at a Tuesday forum in Denver, saying it is "a gross understatement" to state that the Arizona senator "doesn't get it" when it comes to crafting technology policies that will help advance U.S. innovation. Hundt, who led the FCC for most of the President Bill Clinton's first term, said McCain is "actually is committed to goals in government that are pernicious." One recent example, Hundt argued, was McCain's sponsorship of legislation that would have gutted the recently completed auction of frequencies on the 700-MHz band by handing over the spectrum to one private entity. Six weeks ago, McCain said he still believes in that concept, Hundt said. McCain's plan would amount to "a $30 billion dollar giveaway" to a single corporate interest, the former FCC chief noted.
http://benton.org/node/16349
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AT&T HAS HIGH PROFILE PRESENCE AT DEM CONVENTION
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Jim Kuhnhenn]
Telecommunications giant AT&T is virtually everywhere at the Democratic National Convention, wining and dining delegates and members of Congress with a relentless schedule of luncheons and evening parties. AT&T has the most high-profile corporate presence in Denver. It is a major sponsor at the convention, it is holding daily lunches for state delegations at the Pinnacle Club, with its startling views of the Rocky Mountain range, and is co-hosting other receptions as well.
http://benton.org/node/16371
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DEM DELEGATES BACK CLARIFYING PUBLIC INTEREST OBLIGATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
It's official, support for Network Neutrality, media diversity, public interest obligations, and free airtime for candidates are officially enshrined in the Democratic platform. The platform, which was approved by the Democratic Convention delegates Monday, was put up for a vote by a former top media executive, ex-Discovery Channel President Judith McHale, who is co-chair of the platform committee. The platform, which is the party's official position on a variety of issues, includes a promise to "protect the Internet's traditional openness," as well as to ensure access to broadband by all and the naming of a chief technology officer whose job will include overseeing the creation of an interoperable communications network. The platform reflects Sen Barack Obama's stated belief that he favors technology over government regulation of content. "We will give parents the tools and information they need to manage what their children see on television and the Internet in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment," says the party.
http://benton.org/node/16370
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IT TAKES TECH TO ELECT A PRESIDENT
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Auren Hoffman]
Technology and an appreciation of how to use it have always been important to political campaigns. Franklin Delano Roosevelt used radio to get his message across effectively to voters. Lyndon Johnson rode a helicopter to get him around Texas in his famous race for the Senate. John F. Kennedy understood the power of television better than Richard Nixon during the race for the Presidency in 1960. And Republican operatives in the 1970s built direct mail into a fund-raising behemoth that powered party gains for 20 years. The current generation of Presidential candidates -- and their advisers, such as James Carville, Karl Rove, and David Axelrod -- will likely go down in history as even more innovative in their ability to use technology to an advantage.
http://benton.org/node/16367
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VEEPSTAKES!
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
For the week of Aug 18-24, speculation about Sen Barack Obama's choice for Vice President -- which centered on Sen Joe Biden (D-Delaware), Virginia Governor Tom Kaine and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh -- accounted for 27% of all campaign news, according to the Campaign Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. Reaction to the Biden selection, revealed on Aug. 23, accounted for another 9%. With John McCain expected to name his running mate on Aug. 29, that buzz -- which focused largely on Mitt Romney -- garnered another 5% of the coverage. In all its incarnations, the veepstakes accounted for 42% of last week's election coverage. No other storyline came close. The No. 2 storyline in last week's coverage (at 11%) revolved around a McCain interview in which he did not know how many houses he owned. (The estimates have varied from between four and eight.) The Obama campaign seized on that comment to push the contention that McCain is out of touch with working-class America.
http://benton.org/node/16366
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DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE MCCAIN'S 'DIAL-UP CAMPAIGN'
[SOURCE: PC Magazine, AUTHOR: Chloe Albanesius]
Leading Democrats on Tuesday attacked the Bush administration's broadband policy and the technology track record of GOP presidential hopeful John McCain, while leading tech companies pushed for a more tech-savvy and innovative federal government. "The Obama campaign is the broadband campaign and the McCain campaign is the dial-up campaign," said Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on telecom and the Internet. Rep Markey and other members of Congress were on hand at the Democratic National Convention in Denver for several technology panels hosted by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the Silicon Flatirons Center at the University of Colorado. "On McCain's watch, the U.S. fell from third to fifteenth in broadband penetration," said Julius Genachowski, technology advisor to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. That is "shocking." "You know in your hearts that in eight years, there was never one conversation in the Oval Office between Dick Cheney and George Bush on broadband policy," Rep Markey said. "That ... should frighten you." Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who serves as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was similarly critical of the current administration.
http://benton.org/node/16365
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DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION BRINGS CALLS FOR BROADBAND POLICY
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
The US needs a broadband policy targeting unserved areas that's backed by action, not just words, said several speakers at a technology forum that was held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The US has gone from "leader to laggard" in broadband rollout and adoption during the past eight years under President Bush, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), speaking today at the forum, which was hosted by Silicon Flatirons, a technology law center at the University of Colorado. In early 2004, Bush called for broadband to be universally available across the US by 2007, but that hasn't happened, Sen Rockefeller said. "Despite all the rhetoric about improving Americans' access to broadband, the Bush administration never made achieving their goal a serious matter," he added. "Why? For starters, deploying broadband is really hard work."
http://benton.org/node/16364
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BLOGS LOVE OBAMA
[SOURCE: TechCrunch, AUTHOR: Erick Schonfeld]
Who is doing a better job of getting his message across on the Web: John McCain or Barack Obama? Conventional wisdom says that it is Obama, whose performance on the Web has been strong since the beginning. And conventional wisdom is still correct when it comes to blogs and social networks. But a new study by Attributor that is being released today shows that McCain is actually leading on mainstream news sites and catching up on blogs, especially as he and his supporters have been increasing their attacks on Obama. Attributor captured the candidates' official speeches and position statements from the campaign sites, www.johnmccain.com and www.barackobama.com, and then scoured more than 25 billion pages on the Web to see where those words reappeared. In general, Obama's message continues to resonate more overall, but just barely. Attributor estimates that Obama's message was picked up on Websites that drew 38 million pageviews over the past two weeks, compared to 36 million pageviews for Websites that picked up McCain's message. This represents a 10 percent surge by McCain.
http://benton.org/node/16363
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"PRESIDENT" MCCAIN WOULD STILL PUSH A LA CARTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senior McCain campaign policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin will appear on C-CPAN's "The Communicators" on Saturday. He'll say that, if elected President, John McCain is likely to push for a la carte cable pricing. Holtz-Eakin also says McCain is not the Internet-challenged figure he has been portrayed to be by his political opponents, that Internet regulation should be a last resort, that he doesn't favor the creation of a chief technology officer, and that he has no interest in pushing back the date for the DTV transition.
http://benton.org/node/16383
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
COMCAST SETS SUBSCRIBER BANDWIDTH LIMIT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Comcast will cap Internet usage of its broadband subscribers at 250 Gigabytes per month -- a very large amount of data, the equivalent of 62,500 digital songs -- starting Oct 1. The operator Thursday posted an amendment to its terms of its "acceptable use policy" on Comcast.net, outlining the new guidelines. The cap of 250 Gbytes per month is "much more than a typical residential customer uses on a monthly basis," according to Comcast. Currently, the median monthly data usage by residential customers is approximately 2 to 3 Gbytes. Separately, Comcast faces a Sept 19 deadline, under an order by the Federal Communications Commission, to disclose details of how it has been "blocking" access to peer-to-peer applications and submit a compliance plan describing how it intends to stop the practice by the end of 2008.
http://benton.org/node/16385
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EVEN MODEST INTERNET USERS MAY HIT USAGE CAPS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
Several Internet service providers are moving to curb the growth of traffic on their networks -- or at least make the subscribers who download the most pay more. This could have consequences not just for consumers -- who would have to learn to watch how much data their Internet use entails -- but also for companies that hope to make the Internet a conduit for movies and other content that comes in huge files. Cable companies have been at the forefront of imposing and talking about usage caps, because their lines are shared between households. In a sense, caps on Internet use are no stranger than the limited number of minutes a cell phone subscriber gets each month. Internet use varies hugely from person to person, and service providers argue that the people who use it the most should pay the most. But the industry hasn't worked out where to set the limits, or how much to charge users who exceed them. Fearing a customer backlash, most providers are setting the limits at levels where very few would bump into them.
http://benton.org/node/16362
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WHITHER THE INTERNET?
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Constance Ledoux Book, Janna Anderson, Lee Rainie]
Last November, hundreds of government, industry leaders and Internet activists from around the planet gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the second Internet Governance Forum. Attendees were invited to complete an online survey about their views of the role of the Internet around the world and how about how governments and other regulators should structure policy about the Internet. Respondents indicated strong support for the establishment of a global Internet users Bill of Rights. Some 66% of those participating in this survey agreed with the statement: "A global Internet Bill of Rights should be adopted." Only 6% disagreed. Some key planks of the Bill of Rights would be: freedom of information, freedom of expression, and the right of people to have affordable access. Some 76% of respondents supported freedom of information as a core ethic of online life and 75% agreed that such a policy ensuring freedom of expression on the Internet should be adopted. On the other side of the issue, 62% of respondents said they believe content controls weaken the Internet. And by a 59%-28% margin, they disagreed with the statement, "My country should have the right to approve the Internet content available to the people of my country."
http://benton.org/node/16348
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WHAT WE NEED IS A DIGITAL BILL OF RIGHTS
[SOURCE: TechCrunch, AUTHOR: Erick Schonfeld]
As the Democrats and Republicans gather at their national conventions, it is time to really think about a comprehensive national technology policy for the Internet Age. Many laws and policies governing the Internet and digital property are inadequate attempts to transplant rules from a different era. The problems that arise are not just about Network Neutrality or copyright infringement or digital privacy. They are about all of these things. What we need is a Digital Bill of Rights that spells out what freedoms and rights consumers can expect from Internet service providers, content companies, device manufacturers, and the government itself. Both Presidential candidates have already outlined their technology platforms. But McCain's technology platform is a bit vague, and Obama's choice of tech-challenged Joe Biden as his running mate is not exactly a confidence builder. The fact is that nobody in either party has pulled together a focused set of principles that can truly guide both lawmakers and policymakers. It's a tall order, but it is important to have a consistent policy governing everything from Internet Protocol regulations to intellectual property on the Web. Here's a first stab at such a bill of rights: The Right to Use and Reuse Content; The Right To Control Digital Property On Your Own Device; The Right To The Free Flow Of Information; The Right To (Some) Privacy; and The Right to Control Your Digital Identity.
http://benton.org/node/16352
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DIGITAL TELEVISION
NAB SAYS 77% OF WILMINGTON RESIDENTS RECOGNIZE SEPT 8 DATE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Association of Broadcasters said Thursday that, according to a new poll, 77% of the viewers in Wilmington, N.C., could identify Sept. 8 as the date when the plug would be pulled on analog signals there. NAB characterized that as "near-universal" awareness of the switch. About 14,000 households are over-the-air only in Wilmington so, excluding out-of-market viewers and applying that 77% figure, that would mean about 3,200 people in Wilmington who still hadn't gotten the message.
http://benton.org/node/16381
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WILMINGTON OPTS FOR SECOND SOFT TEST
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
As the September 8 date approaches for Wilmington (NC) broadcasters to shut off their analog signals, station managers there have decided to conduct a second pre-test to make sure the message is getting out to viewers. The stations shut off the analog signal for a minute August 19, with affected viewers seeing an on-screen message informing them they're not digitally connected -- and giving them a phone number to call. The second test, set for 7:30 p.m. September 2nd, will run for five minutes. Stations can present the on-screen message any way they like, but McNair says WECT's will probably feature larger type, a more digestible presentation, such as a scroll, and perhaps the continuous display of the phone number. National Hurricane Center spokesman and former TV station chief meteorologist Dennis Feltgen doesn't see the weather putting a crimp in the transition plans.
http://benton.org/node/16360
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MOST STATIONS SAY THEY WILL BE READY FOR DTV SWITCH
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the Federal Communications Commission, 97% of broadcasters are either on the air with their digital signal at full power or will be by Feb. 17, 2009, the Congressionally-mandated date for the cut-off of full-power analog. Of those, according to the status report, 1,002 stations, or 56%, have fully constructed facilities ready for the transition, with the only remaining step to pull the plug on analog. In fact, eight of those have asked to pull the plug on analog early, a request the FCC said it is currently considering. That still leaves 41% of the stations (716) who said they are not done with construction, though all those said they expected to be ready at full power on Feb 17. Of those 716 stations not yet broadcasting DTV in full power to their full coverage area, 502 stations said they had no special circumstances impeding that full build-out, but were making "appropriate" progress. The other 234 cited special circumstances, including 10 that had to coordinate with Mexico, five that had Fish and Wildlife clearance issues. The largest category was 92 stations needing to coordinate with other stations, and 60 stations that were seeking a different post-transition digital channel. Thirty Five channels claimed financial hardship. Fifty-six stations are taking advantage of the FCC's grace period for stations with "unique technical challenges." Those include ones that have weather issues, ones with side-mounted antennas that need to me moved to the top, or stations that have been hit by unforeseen problems, like those in New York whose towers were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. But even those said they would be on with a digital signal and viewable in at least 85% of their coverage area by Feb 17.
http://benton.org/node/16358
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FCC GRANTS SMALL SYSTEMS DUAL-COVERAGE EXEMPTION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission approved a waiver to its must-carry rules for certain smaller cable operators, under which those operators will not be required to retransmit digital broadcast signals for three years after next February's transition by full-power TV stations to all-digital broadcasts, according to the American Cable Association. The new rules, supported by FCC chairman Kevin Martin, apply to all cable systems regardless of channel capacity that have 2,500 subscribers or fewer and are not owned by Comcast or Time Warner.
http://benton.org/node/16357
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TV'S SALVATION: HYPER-LOCAL CROSS-PLATFORM CONTENT
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Diane Mermigas]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission says 97% of all commercial TV stations are on the air in digital or will be ready by the deadline. Some of the new dollars are siphoned from local-market direct mail, television and newspapers. Some of it is new spending and an infusion of marketing and advertising dollars that would not be spent, particularly in an economic downturn. Even as stations learn and perfect new digital interactive techniques, the formula for success is simple. It's all about extensive hyper-local content. Layering in interactive apps-such as user-generated content, widgets, "more on" detail buttons and social networks-TV broadcasters are building digital bridges to constituents. Transferring their continuously updated content and advertising to mobile phones works only if consumers can respond to it in ways that suit their needs. For instance, a local pizza parlor offers links complete with an embedded coupon, allowing consumers to order dinner to go on their drive home from work. Above all, TV broadcasters must make their online platforms original, participatory, conversational and commercial. Bottoms-up enterprise is required.
http://benton.org/node/16380
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JOURNALISM
A FEDERAL SHIELD LAW
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The Free Flow of Information Act is a law that would protect the relationship between journalists and their sources. The District of Columbia and 49 states already do so. While the Post has a concern about one aspect of the legislation, this shield is needed on the federal level. Under the proposed legislation, prosecutors who wished to compel a journalist to reveal a confidential source or the information the source provided would first have to exhaust all alternative remedies. In a criminal case they would also have to show that a crime had occurred and that "the protected information sought is essential" to the case. A federal judge could compel disclosure if the information "is reasonably likely to stop, prevent or mitigate" an act of terrorism, kidnapping, sexual abuse of minors, death or substantial bodily harm. Journalists are defined so as to ensure that "reporters" affiliated with possible terrorist groups could not use the law to duck prosecution. And the bill establishes procedures to avoid airing sensitive or classified information in open court.
http://benton.org/node/16382
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JON STEWART HAILS NEWSPAPERS' CAMPAIGN COVERAGE -- HITS CABLE NEWS
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell]
"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart ripped cable news networks but hailed newspapers for their political coverage. Yet Stewart observed that newspapers are fighting "a losing battle because they're getting overshadowed." Among other descriptives, he labeled the cable news networks "gerbil wheels." Other highlights from his talk, as observed by Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post: Stewart hit Fox News in particular as "an appendage of the Republican Party." He called Fox's "fair and balanced" slogan an insult "to people with brains. ... Barack Obama could cure cancer and they'd figure out a way to frame it as an economic disaster." Stewart also knocked CNN and MSNBC's "false sense of urgency they create, the sense that everything is breaking news. ... The 24-hour networks are now driving the narratives, and everyone else is playing catch-up."
http://benton.org/node/16369
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NEWS FROM FCC
COPPS, ADELSTEIN SEEK FCC TEMP JOB
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
If Barack Obama is elected president this fall, come January, he will likely name one of the two sitting Democratic FCC commissioners to replace temporarily the outgoing Republican Kevin Martin as chairman of the agency. But which one? Michael Copps or the like-minded Jonathan Adelstein. According to insiders, each is waging a low-key campaign to capture the post, which brings with it the power to control the staff and set the agenda of the agency. "Both are political animals and they both would like to be chairman," says an FCC insider. The interim or acting chairmanship may last only a few months -- just long enough for Obama to nominate a permanent chairman and for the Senate to confirm him or her. But it could last considerably longer.
http://benton.org/node/16356
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FCC COMMISSIONER TARGETS MEDIA CONSOLIDATION
[SOURCE: Denver Post, AUTHOR: Greg Griffin]
The Federal Communications Commission is beholden to media conglomerates to the exclusion of minority- and women-owned media companies, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said in Denver. "I think we've really fallen down on the job in the last eight years," Adelstein said at a Symposium on Media and Democracy sponsored by Common Cause. "We've forgotten that the airwaves belong to the public and not to special interests." Commissioner Adelstein was a staffer to several Democratic senators before his appointment to the commission in 2002. He said he has pushed against a majority on the panel for regulations restricting cross-ownership of media properties in local markets. "Fewer and fewer companies are consolidating control of the means of creating and distributing ideas. Ownership is the key to getting yourself heard," he said. Media companies have pushed for ownership of newspapers, TV stations and radio stations in the same market during a time of dwindling ad revenues and intense competition from the Internet. But in an interview after the forum, Commissioner Adelstein said pairing "ailing newspapers with ailing broadcast stations" is not the solution.
http://benton.org/node/16351
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FINDING USE FOR THE AIRWAVES' 'WHITE SPACES'
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
The Federal Communications Commission has spent nearly a year testing devices designed to use empty television channels, known as white spaces, for high-speed Internet service. As those tests near conclusion, the agency is evaluating yet another proposal about the best use of the airwaves. Technology giants such as Google, Microsoft and Motorola want the FCC to let them use vacant channels without licensing to provide cheap wireless broadband. But TV broadcasters and wireless microphone makers are opposed, saying multiple companies using the same white space could mean more interference for their broadcasts. Qualcomm, a wireless chip maker, and CTIA, the wireless industry's lobbying association in Washington, are calling for the airwaves to be auctioned off and licensed. Qualcomm said licensing the airwaves will ensure wider coverage and protection from interference, and auctioning the spectrum would raise money for the government as well.
http://benton.org/node/16373
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FCC CONCEDED TO TESTING ON FREE INTERNET PLAN
[SOURCE: internetnews.com, AUTHOR: Kenneth Corbin]
Bowing to requests from wireless carriers, the Federal Communications Commission has agreed to postpone its plans to move forward with a controversial initiative to create a family-friendly network that would provide free Internet access to nearly all Americans. The tension arises from T-Mobile's claim, supported by its fellow carriers, that the spectrum the FCC would auction for the proposed network would interfere with transmissions on existing wireless networks.
http://benton.org/node/16346
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FCC TAKES YEAR TO REJECT ONE-PAGE FORBEARANCE REQUEST
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
The Federal Communications Commission's "forbearance" follies continued this week, provoking the ire of the agency's two Democrats. They want to know why the FCC took a full year to deny the bare bones petition of a South Dakota based telco that probably wanted permission to raise its connection rates. "Probably" because OrbitCom of Sioux Falls' one page application didn't explicitly say that it was asking for a rate hike, didn't provide any details about its prices, didn't disclose what firms the company competes with, or explain why the probable rate boost would not hurt rural consumers. The OrbitCom petition "fails to address in any manner the statutory criteria for a grant of forbearance," the FCC ruled on Wednesday. But the agency did not explain why it took so long make the obvious decision about the bid.
http://benton.org/node/16353
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FCC DELAYS DECISION TO REVIEW MASN/TIME WARNER COMPLAINT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has given itself another 60 days to decide on Time Warner's petition to review the cable company's loss to regional sports network Mid-Atlantic Sports Network in arbitration over a carriage complaint. In granting Time Warner's and Comcast's bid to divvy up Adelphia Communications' cable systems back in 2005, the FCC required that they submit to arbitration if negotiations with an unaffiliated regional sports network (RSN), like MASN, reached an impasse.
http://benton.org/node/16359
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FOX REFUSES TO PAY FINE FOR REALITY SHOW SEX SCENES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Fox Broadcasting said on Monday that it would not pay fines totaling $91,000 for broadcasting a reality show episode that included graphic sexual scenes at a bachelor party. Fox is also asking the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider the fines on the 13 owned and affiliated stations that broadcast the "Married by America" episode. "Fox believes that the FCC's decision in this case was arbitrary and capricious, inconsistent with precedent and patently unconstitutional," Scott Grogin, the company's senior vice president for corporate communications, said.
http://benton.org/node/16361
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MCDOWELL TAPS HAROLD FOR MEDIA ISSUES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell announced that Rosemary Harold will be joining his staff as Legal Advisor for media issues. Harold has worked at the Commission since December 2005, most recently as Deputy Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau. Before coming to the Commission, she was a partner in the law firm of Wiley Rein and Fielding, LLP, representing clients before the FCC, FTC and FDA. Prior to practicing law, Ms. Harold was a professional journalist. Ms. Harold received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, her M.A in journalism from the University of Missouri, and her B.A. from the College of William and Mary.
http://benton.org/node/16354
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CABLEVISION HIRES TOP MARTIN AIDE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Cablevision announced Thursday that Catherine Bohigian, a top aide to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, is joining the company as its top Washington, DC lobbyist. Bohigian, currently chief of the FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, was a senior advisor and legal advisor to Martin when he was a regular FCC member from 2001 to 2005. The hiring of Bohigian was an unusual move for Cablevision, which hasn't stationed a company employee in Washington D.C. to lobby Congress and the FCC. Instead, the company has relied on the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. Cablevision's decision struck some as odd because Bohigian served an FCC chairman who barraged cable operators with new regulations after the industry refused Martin's request that it adopt an a la carte business model, which would allow consumers to pick and pay for channels on an individual basis.
http://benton.org/node/16378
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QUICKLY -- DOJ Rejects Sinclair's Purchase of WTVR; Nielsen: Hispanic, Asian TV Homes Outpace Overall TV Household Growth; Grim outlook for US IT spending; Tech Groups Launch 'One Giant Leap' Campaign
DOJ REJECTS SINCLAIR'S PURCHASE OF WTVR
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: ]
The Department of Justice has rejected Sinclair Broadcast's planned $85 million purchase of WTVR Richmond (VA) from Raycom Media. According to Sinclair, the DOJ acted pursuant to a consent decree that Raycom entered into with the DOJ when it purchased three stations from Lincoln Financial earlier this year. The decree empowered the DOJ to reject unilaterally any deal involving WTVR. Sinclair had hoped to set up a virtual CBS-Fox duopoly in Richmond, the 59th largest TV market. In June 2008, when Sinclair announced that it had agreed to buy WTVR, a CBS affiliate, it also said it would sell its existing Fox affiliate in the market, WRLH, to Carma Broadcasting. But, under an agreement with Carma, Sinclair said it would have provided sales and other non-programming related services to WRLH and operated it in tandem with WTVR. Sinclair said that it believes that the proposed transaction would not have violated the antitrust laws.
http://benton.org/node/16355
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NIELSEN: HISPANIC, ASIAN TV HOMES OUTPACE TV HOUSEHOLD GROWTH
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
The total number of U.S. TV households for the 2008-2009 season will be 114.5 million, an increase of 1.5% from last year, with Hispanic and Asian homes increasing nearly three times faster than the overall pace, Nielsen said Thursday. Nielsen also estimates that the number of persons aged two and older in U.S. TV households will increase by 1.3% to a total of nearly 290 million. The national universe estimates show a continued increase of Hispanic and Asian TV households in comparison to total TV households. Proportional growth of Asian (4.4%) and Hispanic (4.3%) TV households was nearly three times greater than the growth for the Total TV Household estimate, or 1.5%. Black or African American TV households increased 2.2% from last year.
http://benton.org/node/16379
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GRIM OUTLOOK FOR US IT SPENDING
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Chris Kanaracus]
US companies are pulling back hard on IT spending as the economic downturn continues, a new study by ChangeWave Research has found. Thirty percent overall reported that third-quarter IT spending was lower than previously planned, an increase of three percentage points since ChangeWave's May spending survey. Meanwhile, only 12 percent spent more than planned. In addition, 29 percent said spending will drop or even cease in the fourth quarter, a 5 percent increase over the last study. Thirteen percent plan to spend more.
http://benton.org/node/16347
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TECH GROUPS LAUNCH 'ONE GIANT LEAP' CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
A handful of education and education technology associations launched a print and radio public service announcement campaign on Wednesday themed "One Giant Leap for Kids" that asks the presidential candidates to make K-12 student access to ed-tech and modern learning environments a top national priority. The PSAs will be sent to campaigns of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama along with five questions about each candidate's vision for the future of the modern classroom.
http://benton.org/node/16350
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