Two events today at the FCC: the launch of a public education campaign on
digital television (see story below) and a meeting of the Advisory
Committee on Diversity for Communications. For these and other upcoming
media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
Watchdogs Protest Exclusion From FCC DTV Transition Campaign
Station Renewals Held Up
Static Over Bandwidth
Five-Minute Warning on Indecency
Italy's TV Plan Worries Critics
RADIO
Clear Channel's Ad-Trim Plans Irk Some Clients
The Broad Reach of Satellite Radio
COMMUNICATIONS & ELECTIONS
Presidential Candidates Spend Little Time on Tech Issues
Online Political Ads
Big Four Lo$e Debates
TELECOM
Internet Grants to Schools Halted as the FCC Tightens the Rules
For Cingular, Now Comes the Hard Part
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/SPYWARE
U.S. Prepares to Crack Down On Intellectual-Property Piracy
California Law Seen as First Salvo in Spyware Fight
TELEVISION
WATCHDOGS PROTEST EXCLUSION FROM FCC DTV TRANSITION CAMPAIGN
In a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, members of the Public Interest,
Public Airwaves Coalition [which includes the Benton Foundation] criticized
plans for a launch of a public education campaign concerning digital
television because there are no plans to address outstanding public
interest concerns. "A public education campaign that fails to include the
public perspective and the public interest is a charade," said the group.
The watchdog groups said they will be setting up a table outside the
agency's headquarters building to "focus attention on the FCC's continuing
failure to address the need for specific, quantifiable public interest
obligations for broadcasters." A spokesperson for Chairman Powell responded
to the groups concerns by saying, ""How is complaining about a public
education campaign in the public interest?"
For more on PIPA Coalition see http://www.mediachannel.org/new/
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6429
For more on the FCC's event see:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-252835A1.doc
See also:
Activists Knock Powell HD Powwow
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA457777.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
STATION RENEWALS HELD UP
Because of outstanding complaints, mainly for indecency, three-quarters of
the TV stations in Washington (DC), Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia
may have to wait until next year to get their licenses renewed. The four
states are the first of 18 blocks of TV licenses the FCC must renew through
2007. The industry is watching the first group closely. The current renewal
cycle is first since the Congress greatly relaxed renewal requirements in
1996, but opponents of media consolidation and other activists are vowing
to fight renewals of stations they believe are not providing appropriate
programming to children or otherwise living up to public interest obligations.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA457950.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
STATIC OVER BANDWIDTH
For almost 50 years, TV stations have had a valuable slice of the airwaves
almost entirely to themselves. Soon, however, their gated community could
become considerably less exclusive. By summer 2005, the FCC plans to issue
rules permitting unlicensed use of vacant TV channels for connecting to
high-speed networks, transmitting e-mails and linking up home offices.
Despite a promise from FCC staff not to allow interference with TV the fine
print of the FCC's proposal could pose some threats. The threat of
interference is particularly worrisome because of the switch to digital
transmission. Traditional analog transmissions are reasonably tolerant of
interference and often absorb signal conflicts with little more than some
snow or ghosting on the viewers' screens. Digital pictures, however, can be
completely obliterated by even a small amount of interference.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA458080.html?display=Washingto...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FIVE-MINUTE WARNING ON INDECENCY
In the wake of the FCC's Sept. 22 proposed $550,000 fine against CBS for
the Super Bowl halftime show, the Commissioners appear to be requiring that
stations prepare to cut out any unwanted surprises. In its decision, the
FCC said CBS's five-second delay-long enough to expunge cursing or other
inappropriate audio-wasn't enough of a precaution. Although the FCC decided
that affiliates not owned by CBS had no chance of predicting Jackson's
antics and wouldn't be fined this time, they can't expect similar leniency
in the future. "We urge each licensee to take reasonable precautions in the
future, such as employing such delay technology to independently prescreen
the network feed to prevent the broadcast of indecent programming over its
licensed station," the FCC declared in its order.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA458093.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
ITALY'S TV PLAN WORRIES CRITICS
Think media ownership concentration is bad in the US? One company owns
three TV channels in Italy accounting for a 44% share of Italy's TV market.
44.9% of the market goes to RAI, the state-owned broadcaster. Problem is
that one company and the government are headed by the same man, Silvio
Berlusconi, the media tycoon turned politician. Now Berlusconi wants to
sell off at least 20% of RAI by March. Apart from meeting resistance from
opposition politicians, the plan infuriates left-leaning intellectuals and
disturbs some experts on competition policy who say the privatization may
tighten the Berlusconi empire's grip on Italy's TV market.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Tony Barber, Financial Times]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-ft-italy4oct04,1,1416887...
(requires registration)
RADIO
CLEAR CHANNEL'S AD-TRIM PLANS IRK SOME CLIENTS
Earlier this year, the nation's largest owner of radio stations, Clear
Channel, announced that it would to persuade advertisers to cut their
standard 60-second spots in half while restricting ad time to 15 minutes or
less per hour and never letting more than six ads air in a row. In short,
the company thought radio listeners were tuning out because of advertising
clutter. But advertisers don't like the plan which they call "Giving you
less, charging you more." In the radio industry, a 30-second spot typically
costs about 80% of the price of a 60-second pitch: Advertisers usually
figure they might as well spend the extra cash and get a full minute. And
advertisers, it turns out, don't like having to cram their message into
half the time they're used to.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109684363342334801,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
THE BROAD REACH OF SATELLITE RADIO
Satellite radio is trying to win subscribers by hiring the personalities
who have a hard time on broadcast radio. One competitive advantage
satellite radio has over conventional radio is that, because it charges
listeners a fee, much like cable television, under federal regulations it
is subject to looser rules than stations that are free. The rapper Eminem
cited looser federal restrictions as a reason he agreed to be the host of
shows on Sirius to begin later this year. Gregg Hughes (the Opie of the
shock-jock duo) and Anthony Cumia also said they were attracted to
satellite radio by the less restrictive rules. The freedom could help the
companies win more subscribers more quickly, analysts said. The two
satellite companies still play a relatively small role in radio. They
currently have about 3.1 million subscribers between them, a tiny fraction
of the more than 200 million listeners who tune into conventional radio
stations every day. "The paid platform now has an advantage," said Blair
Levin, a managing director at Legg Mason, who served as chief of staff at
the FCC from 1993 to 1997. "To the extent that there are greater
restrictions, certain kinds of programming will migrate" to satellite
providers.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sabrina Tavernise]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/technology/04radio.html
(requires registration)
COMMUNICATIONS & ELECTIONS
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPEND LITTLE TIME ON TECH ISSUES
[Commentary] In a campaign dominated by war and the economy, Gillmor does
not expect discussion on technology issues, but feels they are still
important. He faults the Bush Administration as the US has fallen behind in
extending broadband and credits the FCC for good spectrum policy, but poor
competition policy. Chairman Powell, Gillmor writes, has carried water for
the mass-media industry as a whole, pushing ahead with rules that make it
easier for already giant media companies to become even bigger. Sen Kerry
has been an outspoken critic of these rules changes and voted to maintain
the old media ownership rules. Gillmor concludes: "Bush's tenure has not
been an overall positive for communications policy, though there have been
some useful initiatives. If a Kerry administration followed through on its
stated positions, we could do considerably better."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Dan Gillmor]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/9825169.htm
ONLINE POLITICAL ADS
The presidential candidates, national political parties, and advocacy
groups ("527s") spent a combined total of only $2.66 million for
advertisements on the web between January and August of 2004. That is less
than half of what the John Kerry campaign raised in contributions from the
Internet in a single day: $5.7 million on July 29, the day Kerry gave his
nomination acceptance speech. According to a new Pew Internet & American
Life Project study, the Kerry campaign has outspent the Bush campaign by a
3:1 margin: $1.3 million to $419,000. The Republican National Committee
has spent $487,000; the Democratic National Committee, $257,000. Advocacy
groups have spent $184,000 combined, with $104,000 by the MoveOn.org Voter
Fund.
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project Press Release]
http://www.pewinternet.org/
See coverage in --
WashPost: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4446-2004Oct3.html
BIG FOUR LO$E DEBATES
B&C offers estimates for how much broadcast networks "lost" by airing the
first presidential debate on Thursday night from 9 to 11 p.m. According to
Brad Adgate of Horizon Media, that's when networks collect 30%-40% of all
prime time revenue. Industry estimates suggest that by forgoing The
Apprentice and ER, NBC probably gave away $32.5 million. CBS's CSI and
Without a Trace could have netted $20.1 million. And ABC's Life As We Know
It and Primetime Thursday might have landed $5.2 million. Fox sacrificed
$3.6 million for Tru Calling. The total: $61.4 million. [Or just over 6% of
what will be spent on political ads this election year.]
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Joel Meyer]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA458061.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
TELECOM
INTERNET GRANTS TO SCHOOLS HALTED AS THE FCC TIGHTENS THE RULES
Public libraries and schools around the nation have suddenly stopped
receiving any new grants from the E-Rate program that is wrestling with new
rules on how it spends $2.25 billion each year to provide high-speed
Internet and telephone service. The moratorium began two months ago, with
no notice, and may last for months, causing significant hardships at
schools and libraries, say state officials and executives at the company
that runs the program. The suspension came after the FCC, in consultation
with the White House, imposed tighter spending rules that commission
officials say will make it easier to detect fraud and waste in the program.
As much as $1 billion in grants the states say they expected to receive by
the end of the year may be affected, one official estimate says. That has
led state administrators to either take money from other educational
programs or postpone paying their phone and Internet companies. The tighter
spending rules also forced the Universal Service Administrative Company,
the nonprofit group that runs the program under the commission's oversight,
to hastily liquidate more than $3 billion in investments last week. The
sale generated a loss, but officials said they had not yet calculated the
amount. And the changes are expected to lead to higher charge imposed on
telephone companies - and passed on to consumers - later this year or early
next year. The increase may be necessary, senior officials at the universal
service company said, because of a cash squeeze created by the tighter
spending rules and an FCC decision over the last nine months to reduce the
phone companies' contributions to the E-rate program.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/business/media/04fcc.html
(requires registration)
The Senate Commerce Committee will be discussing the E-rate program
tomorrow. See
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1330
FOR CINGULAR, NOW COMES THE HARD PART
BusinessWeek reports that Cingular and AT&T Wireless merger will receive
Department of Justice approval as early as this week and approval from the
FCC some weeks after. The combined company will be the No. 1 U.S.
wireless-service provider. Both outfits have been working over the past
month to get regulatory approval. In September, Cingular sold its messaging
unit and swapped some wireless operations with service provider Triton PCS.
AT&T Wireless sold its stakes in service providers Eurotel Bratislava and
Rogers Wireless. Additional divestitures of wireless spectrum and,
possibly, pieces of AT&T Wireless's network might be required, but analysts
believe they would likely be relatively minor.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2004/tc20040101_2244_t...
In a related story, AT&T Primps Books As Phone Industry Girds for
Takeovers, the Wall Street Journal reports that the nation's biggest
telephone companies are preparing for another round of acquisitions. The
three companies identified as possible buyers are BellSouth, SBC and
Verizon while the companies on the block seem to be AT&T and MCI.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109684504837134841,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/SPYWARE
U.S. PREPARES TO CRACK DOWN ON INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY PIRACY
Attorney General John Ashcroft, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Zoellick, and senior officials from the Department of
Homeland Security announce today a coordinated crackdown on the theft of
U.S. intellectual property, such as pirated compact discs and knockoff auto
parts, which U.S. officials say amounts to about 7% of global trade. Called
the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy, or Stop, the effort consists of
immediate steps to be taken by federal agencies, together with legal and
administrative changes to be made in coming months.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Neil King Jr. neil.king( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109684335731934784,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
Here's links to related stories:
* LATimes: Firms to Address Piracy Locks
Sony, Samsung, Royal Philips Electronics and Panasonic have agreed to
develop a framework for digital rights management that will work with a
variety of devices and services
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-drm4oct04,1,3952021.s...
Same story covered by News.com
http://news.com.com/Tech+powers+seek+antipiracy+accord/2100-1025_3-53943...
* WSJ: New File-Swapping Software Limits Sharers to a Select Few
Grouper Networks has developed software that lets people share music,
movies, photos and other digital data on their computers with small groups
of users, limited to no more than 30 people.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109684670650734905,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
CALIFORNIA LAW SEEN AS FIRST SALVO IN SPYWARE FIGHT
California's pioneering law aimed at cracking down on spyware -- signed
this week to curb the software that hides on computers and secretly follows
users around the Web -- is only a partial step toward protecting consumers.
Critics say the law targets only the most egregious offenders, while
failing to address pop-up ads and other spyware-related problems.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lisa Baertlein]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=6394532
For more on spyware see:
What's Lurking In Your PC?
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2004/tc20040927_6762.htm
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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