Comments due in the FCC's Localism proceeding on Monday. And Tuesday might=
=20
be a big day, too. For upcoming media policy events, see=20
http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
MEDIA & POLITICS
Dingell Questions Powell About Pappas
Broadcasters Thriving on Political Ads
Cable Takes a Stand, Beyond the Reach of Reprisals
Newspaper Endorsement Analysis by Owners
BROADCASTING
FCC Sends Wrong Signal on Digital TV
FCC Field Hearing on Industry Consolidation Set for Dec. 9
Emergency Alert System Said Not Ready for Digital Prime Time
NAB Disses JSA Change
INTERNET
School Technology Leaders Confirm Value of E-Rate
Dingell Questions Powell on E-rate Fund Freeze
USAC Priorities for Making Funding Commitments
10 Facts You Should Know About Broadband
Broadband by 2007: A Look at the President's Internet Initiative
Broadband Orders Released
Laybourne: Industry Has Amnesia
QUICKLY
Update on Media Policy from Center for Creative Voices in Media
US, Antigua Break Off Talks on Internet Gambling
MEDIA & POLITICS
DINGELL QUESTIONS POWELL ABOUT PAPPAS
Reading statements from Pappas that the FCC had sanctioned its donation of=
=20
air time to Republican candidates, Rep John Dingell (MI), the ranking=20
Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, has sent a letter to FCC Chairman=
=20
Michael Powell asking: 1) Should stations be permitted to make donations of=
=20
air time for one political party and not another? 2) Can it make offers to=
=20
one candidate and not another? 3) If Pappas is allowed to move forward with=
=20
its plan, with all stations be able to donate time just to their favorite=20
candidate, party or group? 4) What conversations has the Commission had=20
with Pappas about the company's plan?
Rep Dingell requests a response on Monday, November 1.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
http://www.house.gov/commerce_democrats/press/108ltr156.pdf
BROADCASTERS THRIVING ON POLITICAL ADS
Television broadcasters in battleground states are still the winners in=20
this year's election. Several station owner groups are reporting record=20
revenue for the 3rd financial quarter, with most crediting political=20
spending, along with the Olympics. Broadcasters said the ad revenue=20
disparity between battleground states and others is wider than ever this=20
year. The most-recent study from the University of Wisconsin Advertising=20
Project finds that the top 50 political ad markets contained just 27% of=20
the electorate, but carried 87% of the Presidential ads. In the top 5=20
battleground states in the 2nd quarter, most election spending was in Ohio=
=20
at $20 million followed by Florida at $19 million, Pennsylvania at $14=20
million, Missouri and Michigan at about $9 million each. In the 2000=20
election the political ads were more widespread across the country and less=
=20
concentrated in a handful of states.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane, Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
CABLE TAKES A STAND, BEYOND THE REACH OF REPRISALS
Left-leaning programming to be aired on premium cable channels just before=
=20
the election has caused nowhere near the uproar sparked by the Sinclair=20
Broadcast Group's plan to air a film attacking Sen. John F. Kerry. Unlike=20
the proposed Sinclair broadcast, cable channels fall outside the reach of=20
media regulation that governs the public airwaves. That means there is no=20
government agency to handle complaints. Matthew Felling, media director for=
=20
the Center for Media and Public Affairs, which monitors TV content, said=20
comparing the Sundance and Independent Film Channel programs to the=20
Sinclair plan was like comparing "apples and broccoli. Sinclair was=20
broadcasting a slanted program over free airwaves and calling it news.=20
Sundance is airing slanted content over paid cable lines and calling it=20
entertainment." Sinclair stations, which reach nearly 25% of all U.S. homes=
=20
with television, are available free over the air in their markets to anyone=
=20
with a TV set and an antenna =97 and local cable systems are required to=20
carry them for their customers as well. "As a trade-off, they serve as=20
trustees for the public interest," said Andrew Schwartzman, president of=20
the Media Access Project, a Sinclair critic. "Sundance doesn't have that=20
obligation, and as a consequence doesn't come close to the audience," he=20
added. Of 110 million U.S. homes with television, Sundance has 21 million=20
paid subscribers nationwide and the Independent Film Channel has 32 million.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Jensen]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-sundance29oct29,...
10513.story?coll=3Dla-news-a_section
(requires registration)
NEWSPAPER ENDORSEMENT ANALYSIS BY OWNERS
Jacob Kaplan-Moss, who works for the Journal-World in Lawrence (KS), has=20
taken Editor & Publisher's list of newspaper endorsements and done the work=
=20
of breaking them down by ownership. You can find his complete breakdown on=
=20
his personal site (http://toys.jacobian.org/endorsements). Knight Ridder is=
=20
most pro-Kerry chain, backing Kerry him by an 18-2 count (with its papers=20
in Forth Worth and Wichita as the exceptions). In the other corner, the=20
MediaNews Group scores for Bush by 16-2 (with the Daily News in Los Angeles=
=20
and The Oakland Tribune being the odd fish).
See more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Editor & Publisher, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell]
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
_id=3D1000691964=20
BROADCASTING
FCC SENDS WRONG SIGNAL ON DIGITAL TV
[Commentary] In a free market, consumers vote with their dollars. We=20
regularly endorse new technology that is useful, easy to use and affordable=
=20
-- everything from digital cameras to DVD players to cell phones. Digital=20
television is none of these things. That's why the FCC should focus more=20
energy on fixing digital television's shortcomings, rather than pushing=20
consumers in a direction they don't want to go. Langberg expects the FCC to=
=20
be neutral in how citizens spend their money, not working on behalf of=20
broadcasters who are increasingly nervous about the poor return on billions=
=20
of dollars spent in upgrading to digital transmission -- the cost of a=20
transition the broadcasters themselves eagerly sought. The FCC also is=20
hoping to eventually stop analog TV broadcasting and resell that spectrum,=
=20
in what will be a multibillion-dollar windfall for the federal government.=
=20
That's OK with Langberg, as long as the FCC stays away from DTV hucksterism=
=20
to get there.
See the FCC's DTV campaign at http://www.dtv.gov/
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR:Mike Langberg mike( at )langberg.com]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/10045252....
template=3DcontentModules/printstory.jsp
FCC FIELD HEARING ON INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION SET FOR DEC 9
Saint Paul, Minnesota will host a FCC field hearing on media consolidation=
=20
and implications for media policy as it relates to next year's expected=20
reopening of the Telecommunications Act. FCC Commissioners Michael Copps=20
and Jonathan Adelstein will preside. They want to hear what the public=20
feels the Commission should do about its media ownership regulations in the=
=20
wake of last June's decision by a federal appeals court overturning=20
deregulation by the FCC's GOP majority. "We have now heard from the court,=
=20
the Congress and the American people that the commission got it wrong when=
=20
it tried to unleash further consolidation of our local media," the two said=
=20
in a joint statement. "The commission now has a second chance to do the=20
right thing. Field hearings will serve as a critical first step in laying=20
the foundation for media ownership rules that serve the public interest." A=
=20
spokesman for Michael Powell said, "The chairman applauds his colleagues=20
for their efforts to seek the public's input to our broadcast ownership=20
rules."
See Press Release at=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-253766A1.doc
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D6619
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM SAID NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME
Comments are due today at the FCC on how to overhaul Emergency Alert System=
=20
for the digital age. Critics contend the system is antiquated in the=20
post-9/11 world and point out that the system is voluntary at the state and=
=20
local level. =93It can be slow, prone to error, has not kept up with the=20
times and demands of broadcasters, and is in no way optimized for a visual=
=20
medium,=94 said an industry executive. =93For the FCC to be more concerned=
=20
about mandating the message gets on the air, and less about making sure the=
=20
message gets to the broadcaster -- it makes one question their priorities.=
=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Michael R. Abramowitz]
(Not available online)
NAB DISSES JSA CHANGE
Under the typical joint sales agreement, a station owner authorizes another=
=20
station in the market to sell some or all of its ad time in return for a=20
fee or cut of the revenue. More extensive local marketing agreements, which=
=20
give the lead partner more say over programming and other core operations=20
of the brokered station, have been considered to be duopolies since 1999.=20
The FCC is proposing to consider two stations in the same market commonly=20
owned when they enter a joint sales agreement. The change would mean that=20
in markets with fewer than eight separately owned stations, joint sales=20
agreements could effectively be banned because co-owned stations, or=20
"duopolies," are forbidden in markets that small. Not so fast, says the=20
National Association of Broadcasters -- small-market and lower-rated TV=20
stations could be forced to cut news or even go out of business if the=20
Commission makes it harder for them to hire outside brokers to sell ads.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA475835.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
INTERNET
SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY LEADERS CONFIRM VALUE OF E-RATE
Integrating technology into the classroom and ensuring that there is=20
sufficient money to achieve that goal are the top two challenges facing=20
school districts in the area of technology, according to a survey report=20
issued today by the National School Boards Association. Forty-six percent=20
of survey respondents say that integrating technology into the classroom is=
=20
the biggest challenge while 47 percent say it is technology funding. Six=20
percent say that closing the digital divide is their biggest technology=20
challenge. More than 65 percent of the survey respondents said that the=20
federal E-rate program has been either very important or somewhat important=
=20
in helping their school set and meet technology goals. 22 percent say they=
=20
do not participate in the program. At the same time, respondents expressed=
=20
concern over the FCC's action to suspend new grants from the E-rate program=
=20
=AD 45 percent say the action has affected their district. In response to=
=20
how the FCC action has affected their district, 61 percent of those say=20
they are unable to budget for next year and 32 percent say they are unable=
=20
to use their district=92s savings to cover other critical education costs.
There's more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: National School Boards Association Press Release]
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc.asp?TRACKID=3D&VID=3D2&CID=3D90&DID=3D34656
DINGELL QUESTIONS POWELL ON E-RATE FUND FREEZE
On Wednesday, Rep John Dingell (MI), the ranking Democrat on the House=20
Commerce Committee, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell asking=20
about the E-rate funding freeze. The 11 question in all include: 1) What=20
was the legal basis for imposing new accounting procedures on the program?=
=20
2) Was this on the Commission's own initiative or That of the Office of=20
Management and Budget? 3) Why does the FCC, an independent agency, take=20
directives from the Administration on this matter? 4) Were all=20
Commissioners consulted before the funding freeze decision was made? 5)=20
Will consumers have to pay a greater percentage of their long distance=20
bills to fund the E-rate program? 6) When will E-rate funds begin to flow=20
again? 7) What actions will the Commission take to ensure that E-rate funds=
=20
are available in a timely fashion in the future?
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
http://www.house.gov/commerce_democrats/press/108ltr154.pdf
USAC PRIORITIES FOR MAKING FUNDING COMMITMENTS
The FCC began treating funding commitment decision letters (FCDLs) issued=20
for the Universal Service Schools and Libraries and Rural Health Care=20
Support Mechanisms as budgetary obligations on September 30, 2004. At that=
=20
time, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) began tracking=20
the amount of unobligated Universal Service Fund (USF) monies on hand to=20
support new funding commitments. USAC expects that, going forward, at=20
various times, it may have less unobligated cash than the total dollar=20
value of new commitments ready to be issued. USAC does not know precisely=20
when it will be able to resume issuing FCDLs for Schools and Libraries and=
=20
Rural Health Care providers but it has estimated that it will resume=20
issuing FCDLs by late November, if not sooner. In consultation with the=20
FCC, USAC has set forth principles for processing FCDLs based on a series=20
of priorities: 1) FCDLs for Prior Years will be Processed First, 2) Funds=20
will be Used in the Mechanism for which They were Collected, 3)=20
Telecommunications Services and Internet Access have Priority over Internal=
=20
Connections, 4) Priority Based on Date of Completion of Application Review,=
=20
and 5) Determination of Commitments to Issue.
USAC staff will work in close coordination with FCC staff to implement=20
these prioritization principles.
[SOURCE: Universal Service Administrative Company]
http://www.universalservice.org/new/2004.asp#102704
10 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BROADBAND
From the home office in San Francisco, here's News.com's top 10 things you=
=20
should know about broadband. 1) Broadband technology could add $500 billion=
=20
a year to the U.S. economy, 2) Some cities have created wireless broadband=
=20
networks for police and other safety agencies, 3) Patients who use=20
broadband communication report "dramatic" improvements in health care=20
["Doctor, it hurts when I click like that." "Don't click that, silly."], 4)=
=20
The government provides $2 billion in low-interest loans for broadband=20
access in rural areas, 5) A new Supreme Court ruling has been used to block=
=20
broadband projects by local governments, 6) Online games have driven=20
broadband development in South Korea, 7) The Seoul government spent $24=20
billion to build a national high-speed backbone network, 8) Satellite TV is=
=20
a case study for alternative providers trying to break into the broadband=20
market, 9) Some U.S. homes may have a half dozen options for broadband=20
service in a few years, and 10) WiMax and other next-generation wireless=20
broadband systems are beginning to emerge.
The URL below provides links to stories that flesh out these headlines.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com]
http://news.com.com/Digital+Agenda+10+facts+you+should+know+about+broadb...
2009-1034_3-5429373.html
BROADBAND BY 2007: A LOOK AT THE PRESIDENT'S INTERNET INITIATIVE
A discussion of President Bush's goal of universal, affordable access to=20
broadband technology by the year 2007.
[SOURCE: Heritage Foundation, AUTHOR: James L. Gattuso, John M. Kneuer,=20
David McIntosh, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, and Peter Pitsch]
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Regulation/hl852.cfm
See also Bush vs Kerry on Tech Issues (including broadband)
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/10045257.htm
BROADBAND ORDERS RELEASED
Earlier this week the FCC releases two orders adopted early this month=20
regarding the provision of broadband services to the home. Both decisions=20
were somewhat controversial with strong dissent from Commissioners in the=20
minority. Links to the orders and Press Release summaries follow below.=20
Links to statements from Commissioners can be found at the Commission's=20
home page http://www.fcc.gov
[SOURCE: FCC]
* Broadband Over Power Lines
PR: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-253125A1.doc
Order: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-245A1.doc
* Granting BOC Petitions for Forbearance From Section 271 Requirements for=
=20
"Broadband Elements"
PR: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-253492A1.doc
Order: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-254A1.doc
QUICKLY
UPDATE ON MEDIA POLICY FROM CENTER FOR CREATIVE VOICES IN MEDIA
CCVM's October newsletter is now available. Its headlines are: Budding=20
Media Reform Movement Builds Momentum; Stop Another Big Giveaway to Big=20
Media; and Government Censorship of =93Indecent=94 and =93Gratuitously=
Violent=94=20
TV Programming. And let's face it... these creative types know how to=20
write! Get a look at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Center for Creative Voices in Media]
http://www.creativevoices.us/cgi-upload/news/news_article/1004Newsletter...
LAYBOURNE: INDUSTRY HAS AMNESIA
Receiving the Horizon Award for visionary leadership from The Media=20
Institute, Oxygen cable network founder Geraldine Laybourne said the cable=
=20
industry has lost its way. She argued it has "developed amnesia,"=20
forgetting that independent content helped create the business. She said it=
=20
was wrong to think that leverage is the only way to build on that success.=
=20
When starting Oxygen in 1998, she and her partners joked that it could be=20
the last independent cable network to get wide distribution. Sadly, that=20
may turn out to be true, she told a Washington audience Wednesday night.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA475858.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
US, ANTIGUA BREAK OFF TALKS ON INTERNET GAMBLING
The United States and the tiny Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda have=
=20
broken off talks to resolve a high stakes dispute over the U.S. ban on=20
Internet gambling, a U.S. trade official said on Thursday. Trade officials=
=20
said Antigua and Barbuda was expected to formally notify the World Trade=20
Organization on Nov. 4 that it wants to resume the litigation process. That=
=20
would clear the way for the WTO to publicly release the panel ruling and=20
for the United States to proceed with its appeal.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D6...
64
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we're outta here. Have a great weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------