BROADCAST LICENSES
Free Press, NAACP Target TV License
Journalists Petition FCC to Challenge Fox License Renewal
Puerto Rican Media/Community Group Urges FCC to
Yank License of Univision Station in San Juan
Staples Shuns Sinclair News
Upton Plans to Reintroduce Indecency Legislation
Of Desperate Housewives and Desperate Regulators
Media Bureau Announces Requirement to File Radio
Joint Sales Agreements
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Media: New Generations Steal The Show
Newspaper Domino Effect?
Times Co. to Buy Stake in Free Boston Paper
Why Can't I Be Comcast?
WIRELESS
Digital Democracy's Future Turns on Wireless Debate
Broadband Boondoggle in the Making
Consumers Gripe About Cell Phones in Survey
Cellphones, Net could have Saved Thousands from Waves
Wireless Industry Agrees to Study Standard to Boost Network Speed
HARDWARE
Why HDTV Hasn't Arrived In Many Homes
NCTA Wants to Talk Set-Tops with FCC
QUICKLY
Bell-Friendly IP-Video Bill Introduced
Verizon Applies for Cable Franchises in 3 States
Court Says RIAA Can't Subpoena ISPs Under DMCA
Nonprofits Receive $1 Million for Tech in Youth Civic Engagement,
At-Risk Youth & Homeless Programs
NAB Salutes Clear Channel Chief
BROADCAST LICENSES
FREE PRESS, NAACP TARGET TV LICENSE
As expected, media activists at Free Press and the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People late Monday petitioned the Federal
Communications Commission to deny Media General's request for permission to
keep both WMBB-TV Panama City, Fla., and the Jackson County Floridan, one
of the market's daily newspapers. Free Press and NAACP said Media General
has given no compelling reason why it should receive a waiver from the
FCC's ban on crossownership of TV stations and newspapers in the same
market. The company purchased the station in spring 2000 and the Floridan
in September of that year thinking the FCC would relax media ownership
rules. "Media General took the risk of gambling that the
newspaper-broadcast crossownership rule would be repealed or modified
before the WMBB-TV license would come up for renewal. Media General lost
that bet," wrote lawyers for Free Press and NAACP. The groups noted that a
side benefit of an FCC order to divest one of the Panama City outlets would
be creating an opportunity for a minority owner to acquire the property.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA491352.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
JOURNALISTS PETITION FCC TO CHALLENGE FOX LICENSE RENEWAL
Two Tampa (Florida) TV journalists have challenged the broadcast license
renewal of WTVT Fox-13 asserting it deliberately broadcast false and
distorted news reports. In a petition filed at the FCC the two claim that
the licensee is not operating in the public interest and "lacks the good
character to do so." The challenge stems from what the reporters describe
as a year-long experience working at the station where they resisted their
managers who, they allege, repeatedly ordered them to distort a series of
news reports about the secret use of an artificial hormone injected in
dairy cattle throughout Florida and nationally. The petition also charges
WTVT violated federal rules about keeping viewer complaints and comments on
file. The reporters say no communication regarding the dispute over the
hormone story was found in the files even though there were several
examples of letters that should have been there, they said. "The public
interest is by law the primary obligation of every broadcaster who uses our
public airwaves to make their corporate fortune, especially when
broadcasting the news," said one of the reporters in a release.
[SOURCE: Tampa Bay Business Journal, AUTHOR: Alexis Muellner]
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=4880057&url_num=20&ur...
PUERTO RICAN MEDIA/COMMUNITY GROUP URGES FCC TO YANK LICENSE OF UNIVISION
STATION IN SAN JUAN
Citing "cultural insensitivity" and failure to live up to required local
broadcast standards, an alliance of Puerto Rican media unions and community
groups is urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny license
renewal to the island's largest television station, WLII in San Juan, which
is operated by U.S. media conglomerate Univision. The Alliance of Puerto
Rican Artists and Support Groups, whose acronym in Spanish is APAGA,
charged that Univision has all but dropped local production of telenovelas
and game shows in favor of canned programming from Mexico and Venezuela,
the source of most of Univision's production. Puerto Rican programming has
dropped from about 50 programs a week down to only three since Univision
took over in 2002 under a local marketing agreement with station owner
Raycom Media. Besides causing substantial job loss locally, the station's
shift to foreign news and entertainment programming has had an insulting
and damaging impact on Puerto Rico's culture and language, APAGA stated.
[SOURCE: Communications Workers of America Press Release]
(http://www.heritage.org/Research/InternetandTechnology/index.cfm)
STAPLES SHUNS SINCLAIR NEWS
Office supply products chain Staples is pulling its advertising from
newscasts on Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations as of Jan. 10.
Anti-consolidation activist group Media Matters for America was trumpeting
the move, attributing it to its campaign against the broadcaster.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA491503.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See MMFA press release:
http://sinclairaction.com/press_release_3.html
More coverage --
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48745-2005Jan4.html
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-sinclair5jan05,1,7979...
Also see:
"The Point's" New Year's resolutions look an awful lot like the GOP's
http://mediamatters.org/items/200501040006
UPTON PLANS TO REINTRODUCE INDECENCY LEGISLATION
House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) will reintroduce
legislation aimed at increasing broadcast indecency fines. The legislation
passed in the House last year, but stalled in the Senate. The bill will
allow the FCC to fine on-air talent directly, a provision that sparked
controversy. The legislation would also institute a 180-day "shot clock"
for the FCC to decide on complaints. The bill would also make the FCC hold
a revocation hearing on any station cited 3 times for broadcasting indecent
content. Broadcasters fought this "3 strikes" rule hard in the Senate.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
See coverage in Broadcasting&Cable
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA491198.html?display=Breaking+...
See also --
Watch Your Language
Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil said the f-word on "The Tonight Show" Friday,
but after 10 p.m. -- outside the FCC's safe harbor for "decency." NBC
edited out the offending word for West Coast viewers. Still, given that
many kids get to stay up late on New Year's, some parents might have been
taken aback -- though unlike the Super Bowl fiasco, Neil's use of profanity
seems to have gone unnoticed by activist groups.
[SOURCE: Variety.com, AUTHOR: Josef Adalian jadalian( at )reedbusiness.com]
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=story&articleid=VR1117915677&p=0...
OF DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES AND DESPERATE REGULATORS
[Commentary] Expect the Parents Television Council to target "Desperate
Housewives" for indecency complaints now that Nielsen television ratings is
the most popular broadcast-network television show with kids aged 9-12.
"I've always been particularly troubled by the fact that so many
conservatives, who rightly preach the gospel of personal and parental
responsibility about most economic issues, seemingly give up on this notion
when it comes to cultural issues," Thierer writes.
[SOURCE: Cato Institute, AUTHOR: Adam Thierer]
http://www.cato.org/dailys/01-04-05.html
MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES REQUIREMENT TO FILE CERTAIN RADIO JOINT SALES AGREEMENTS
FCC rules require the filing of radio joint sales agreements (JSAs) that
result in attribution under the Commission's multiple ownership rules. So
parties with existing attributable JSAs in Arbitron Metro markets must file
such agreements with the Commission by February 22, 2005, and parties that
enter into such JSAs in the future must file the JSAs with the Commission
within 30 days of their execution. Upon filing, the JSAs will be placed in
the appropriate station license files and will be made available for public
inspection in the Commission's Reference Information Center.
(DA No. 04-4035). MB. Contact: H. Taft Snowdon at (202) 418-2742
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-4035A1.doc
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
MEDIA: NEW GENERATIONS STEAL THE SHOW
By all indications, 2005 will be a year in which just about every
traditional media company gives up market share to some next-generation
rival. Cable-TV operators will continue to lose subscribers to satellite,
and perhaps even to telephone companies. Networks will see even more
eyeballs defect to cable. And despite lawsuits and legal download sites,
the music industry will still confront more illegal downloads. The
challenges come in all shapes and sizes. Broadcast networks will look on as
they're zapped by a rising army of remote-wielding couch potatoes with
digital video recorders (DVRS). Film studios will see more movie-loving
teens forgo the neighborhood cineplex for video games and DVDs -- some of
which will play on new hardware platforms such as the Sony PlayStation
Portable, hitting the U.S. this spring. One immediate result of the
turmoil: consolidation.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Ronald Grover]
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_02/b3915441.htm
NEWSPAPER DOMINO EFFECT?
Is consolidation of local newspaper ownership on the way? Is your hometown
newspaper subject to the same Darwinian economics that play out with other
industries, or does it provide a unique public service that merits special
treatment? "Newspapers are not just any other kind of business. They're
about manufacturing journalism and democracy, not just computer chips or
steel," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital
Democracy. "They're living, breathing institutions that are of critical
importance to the democratic process, and the consolidation of newspapers
is just an American tragedy." The net effect when bigger chains gobble
smaller ones is that readers get less local coverage and fewer independent
voices from their papers, Chester said. "The thing about companies like
Pulitzer is they're newspaper-oriented companies, companies that don't have
major television interests or other media interests," he said. "In essence,
what these companies are doing by selling to these big chains is throwing
good newspapers to the ravenous wolves like Gannett."
[SOURCE: Arizona Daily Star, AUTHOR: Thomas Stauffer tstauffer( at )azstarnet.com]
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/allheadlines/54932.php
TIMES CO TO BUY STAKE IN FREE BOSTON PAPER
The New York Times Co., owner of The Boston Globe, said it will buy a 49
percent stake in Metro Boston, the free newspaper distributed to commuters.
Under the accord, the Globe will provide nonexclusive news stories, much as
wire services now do, to the Metro, which will remain editorially
independent. Metro, launched in Boston in 2001 and now profitable,
distributes about 180,000 papers a day, reaching an estimated 300,000
readers. For about half its audience, Metro is the only paper they read.
Metropolitan newspapers in several markets, including Chicago, Washington,
and Dallas, have in recent years launched free papers similar to Metro, a
tabloid targeting young readers with short news stories and a heavy diet of
arts, entertainment, and lifestyle features.
[SOURCE: Boston.com, AUTHOR: Robert Gavin rgavin( at )globe.com]
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/01/04/times_co_to_buy_stake...
WHY CAN'T I BE COMCAST?
[Commentary] I dream of having a bevy of high priced lawyers at my beck and
call that can swoop into small towns at the drop of a hat and intimidate
the locals. I want to develop the skill to talk out of both sides of my
mouth with ease and grace. I long to host a national political convention
just to remind the doubters which side their bread is buttered on. But more
than anything else, I want freebies! I want to have an ex-mayor now
governor in my hip pocket so that when the going gets tough I can get over
fifty million dollars in public subsidies and tax breaks to build a 57
story skyscraper tribute to myself in downtown Philly. But you can bet I
won't be a piggy about it, I'll actually create 600 jobs. And everyone will
be happy because those jobs only cost the Pennsylvania taxpayers ninety
thousand dollars a piece to create!
[SOURCE: Riedel Communications, AUTHOR: Bunnie Riedel]
http://www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com/
WIRELESS
DIGITAL DEMOCRACY'S FUTURE TURNS ON WIRELESS DEBATE
Are Wi-Fi networks the future of digital democracy? By providing
inexpensive, high-speed access to the Internet, these networks defy spatial
boundaries and historical precedent. What makes wireless networks so
attractive is their openness, which blasts conventional concepts of
Internet access, mobility and cost. Wi-Fi spans uncharted territory in
networking, enabling people to send and receive information, often free of
charge, from anywhere within range of a Wi-Fi base connection -- a
coffeeshop, park, a house or street corner. On the ground, countless
nonprofit organizations, government agencies and corporations large and
small are racing to establish networks using wireless technology. In the
realm of policy, meanwhile, advocates are pushing to expand the unlicensed
electromagnetic spectrum for community use. In both arenas, groups
advocating for free public networks face resistance from corporate players
that have long dominated the nation's telecommunications landscape.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Michelle Chen]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert305.shtml
BROADBAND BOONDOGGLE IN THE MAKING
[Commentary] The new Pennsylvania law which precludes any local
municipality from providing telecommunications services to its citizens is
a major speed bump on the road to providing broadband access to all
Americans. The law will have the effect of reducing competition while
slowing the availability of low-cost broadband access. If we are to ever
bring pervasive broadband access to the multitudes, cities should be able
to choose the best way to deliver broadband services to their citizens.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Ron Sege, CEO of Troops Networks]
http://news.com.com/Broadband+boondoggle+in+the+making/2010-7351_3-55114...
CONSUMERS GRIPE ABOUT CELL PHONES IN SURVEY
More than half of U.S. consumers are less than satisfied with their mobile
telephone service and give the lowest ratings to providers involved in
large mergers, according to a Consumer Reports survey. Poor call quality,
difficulty comparing service plans and less than helpful customer service
were problems cited in a survey from the magazine's September survey of
39,000 people in 17 major cities. The survey results, which were largely
unchanged from a similar study a year earlier, will be published along with
a separate look at the merits and drawbacks of Internet-based telephone
services in Consumer Reports' February issue.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=Y0RPUUCJAU1UICRBAEOC...
CELLPHONES, NET COULD HAVE SAVED THOUSANDS FROM WAVES
Tens of thousands died from the tsunamis last week because they didn't know
what was coming. That's an information breakdown, not an act of nature. Why
didn't warnings race around the Web ahead of the tsunami? We live at a time
when news of Scott Peterson's guilty verdict can spread in minutes from
cellphone text messages sent from inside the courtroom to millions of
people across the planet. Yet no one took advantage of the Web as the
tsunami dashed toward shorelines. Information couldn't have stopped the
tsunamis from destroying cities and villages. Yet if it saved even 1% of
the lives, that's 1,500 people. More than likely, timely information
could've saved tens of thousands more.
[SOURCE: USAToday]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050105/maney05.art.htm
WIRELESS INDUSTRY AGREES TO STUDY STANDARD TO BOOST NETWORK SPEED
Some 26 wireless carriers and telecommunications-equipment makers --
including Cingular, Vodafone, Qualcomm, Lucent Technologies and Motorola
-- have agreed to study the development of advanced wireless technology to
greatly increase the speeds offered by wireless networks. Third-generation,
or 3G, cellular networks can relay information at speeds far faster than
dial-up Internet connections, and even sometimes are comparable with wired
digital subscriber lines. Services generally using one of two technologies
-- either UMTS or EV-DO. Both standards are based on the CDMA technology
developed by Qualcomm.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110486572838716637,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
HARDWARE
WHY HDTV HASN'T ARRIVED IN MANY HOMES
The Consumer Electronics Show opens tonight in Las Vegas. Shortcomings in
existing products, battles over technical standards and fear of video
piracy are slowing manufacturers' ability to deploy new technologies from
high-definition TV to home networking to interactive TV. But, hey, they're
working on it. (Just not very quickly.) Take, for example, the issue of
content compatibility. Imagine that a movie purchased from a Best Buy store
could only be played on a DVD player that also was bought at Best Buy --
and not on a player from Circuit City or Radio Shack. That is, in essence,
what is happening in online music, the first big digital-content
battleground. The only major paid download service that works with Apple
Computer's iPod device is Apple's own iTunes, because of the copyright
protection used by the computer maker. In July, a rival online music
service, RealNetworks, cracked the Apple system with a technology called
Harmony so that customers who bought songs from RealNetworks could play
them on an iPod. Apple has taken steps to modify its offerings to prevent
iPods from working with Harmony.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com,
Phred Dvorak phred.dvorak( at )wsj.com & Don Clark don.clark( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110488131948416964,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See more coverage of the CE Show --
* USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050105/ces05.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050105/ces_side.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050105/ceshp.art.htm
* NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/05/technology/05gadget.html
NCTA WANTS TO TALK SET-TOPS WITH FCC
National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Robert Sachs has
asked for a face-to-face meeting between Federal Communications Commission
chairman Michael Powell and some "technical and business leaders" before
the FCC decides whether to hold to a July 2006 deadline for making cable
operators deploy set-tops with separate security modules and
channel-surfing functions.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA491128.html?display=Breaking+...
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA491129.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also see NCTA Press release:
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=563&showArticles=ok
QUICKLY
BELL-FRIENDLY IP-VIDEO BILL INTRODUCED
Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rich Boucher (D-Va.) Tuesday introduced
legislation from last year that would allow the Baby Bells to offer
Internet-protocol video free from traditional state and federal regulation.
The bill specifically shields IP-video providers from federal and state
regulation -- a deregulatory step that would seem to support SBC
Communications effort to offer pay-video services in competition with cable
without local franchises. The bill, first unveiled last July, is designed
to be a marker as Congress gives consideration to legislation that would
update the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA491504.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
VERIZON APPLIES FOR CABLE FRANCHISE IN 3 STATES
Verizon has been quietly applying for cable franchises as part of a plan
seeking interim regulatory relief for broadband services until the FCC
establishes an appropriate regulatory framework. The company is building
fiber networks out to homes and plans to provide commercial video as well
as videoconferencing, security services and enhanced services for the
disabled such as real-time signing for the hearing-impaired.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
COURT SAYS RIAA CAN'T SUBPOENA ISPS UNDER DMCA
The Recording Industry Association of America can't force ISPs to divulge
the identity of customers under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the
U.S. 8th U.S. Appeals Court, St. Louis, ruled Tuesday. The ruling
overturned a lower court decision, deciding whether the law can be used to
subpoena names, addresses and phone numbers of illegal file sharers.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Randy Barrett]
(Not available online)
See coverage in Multichannel News
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA491528.html?display=Breaking+News&...
NONPROFITS RECEIVE $1 MILLION FOR TECH IN YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AT-RISK
YOUTH & HOMELESS PROGRAMS
Nearly 50 community-based organizations from across the U.S. have received
nearly $1 million in grants through two unique capacity-building programs
designed by the CTCNet. Grants and technical assistance totaling $750,000
have been awarded to 37 Massachusetts community-based organizations meeting
the needs of
at-risk youth and homeless individuals, including people with disabilities,
through Connections for Tomorrow (C4T), a three-year collaboration with the
Alliance for Technology Access http://www.ataccess.org and TechMission
http://www.techmission.org.
[SOURCE: CTCNet Press Release]
http://www.ctcnet.org/index.htm
NAB SALUTES CLEAR CHANNEL CHIEF
Which one is not like the others? Edward R. Murrow, Bob Hope, Walter
Cronkite, Oprah Winfrey, Clear Channel Lowry Mays. Sorry, trick question.
They are all the National Association of Broadcasters' "Distinguished
Service Award" which recognizes broadcasters "who have made significant and
lasting contributions to the broadcasting industry." Clear Channel is the
largest radio station owner in the country with over 1,200 outlets, which
has brought it under fire from anti-media consolidation activists who argue
that such concentration is at odds with "local" broadcasting. The award
will be given April 18 in, where else, Las Vegas.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA491203.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See the NAB press release
http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/n2005/nab2005_dist_service_award.htm
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
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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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