For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
MEDIA & POLITICS
CBS Dismisses 4 Over Broadcast on Bush Service
Sales Pitches Overwhelm Democratic Debate
TELEVISION/RADIO
Terrestrial-Radio Firms Get Serious
Would a Cleaned-Up 'Sopranos' Be Too Naughty for Sponsors?
Hispanic Television Networks Booming
FCC Upholds Fine on Calif. Broadcaster
Let's Talk About Beer
INTERNET
Internet Quest Gets Squashed
Competition Should be Fair
BitTorrent File-Sharing Program Floods the Web
U.S. Broadband A-OK
ED Outlines New Tech Priorities
TELECOM
Your Call (and Rants on Hold) Will Be Monitored
MEMOGATE PANEL REPORT & REACTION
MEDIA & POLITICS
CBS DISMISSES 4 OVER BROADCAST ON BUSH SERVICE
CBS yesterday dismissed four of its top journalists, including a
high-ranking news executive, after an independent panel concluded that a
September report that raised questions about President Bush's Vietnam-era
National Guard service never should have been broadcast. Leslie Moonves,
the chairman of CBS, issued a nine-page statement including, "As far as the
question of reporting is concerned, the bottom line is that much of the
Sept. 8th broadcast was wrong, incomplete or unfair. We deeply regret the
disservice this flawed '60 Minutes' Wednesday report did to the American
public, which has a right to count on CBS News for fairness and accuracy in
all it does." Several CBS employees said they took heart that the panel had
found that no political bias existed within the ranks of the Wednesday
edition of "60 Minutes" - a charge that had been widely repeated on the
Internet. A Wall Street Journal editorial (see link below) criticized the
panel's report for explaining what happened, but not why. The WSJ more than
hinted at political bias as motivation. In a statement issued to other news
organizations late yesterday, the segment's producer, Mary Mapes, said, "I
am very concerned that [Les Moonves'] actions are motivated by corporate
and political considerations -- ratings rather than journalism."
This is today's "the media eats itself" story. See links to additional
coverage at the end of this email.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jacques Steinberg & Bill Carter]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/media/11cbs.html
(requires registration)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110540645407122349,00.html?mod=todays...
(Editorial)
(requires subscription)
SALES PITCHES OVERWHELM DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
California voters had to decide on sixteen statewide ballot issues in
November in addition to local measures and candidates. To put it in
perspective, there was a 165-page voter guide. But for people relying on
their local TV newscast in the Bay Area, there was not much help in making
sense of it all. During the four weeks before the election, the average
station provided just 1 minute 24 seconds on coverage of ballot issues
during their self-identified premier hour of news. By contrast, during that
same hour of news, viewers saw 2 minutes 41 seconds of ads on those ballot
issues. See more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Grade the News, AUTHOR: Michael Stoll]
http://www.stanford.edu/group/gradethenews/pages2/propads.htm
TELEVISION/RADIO
TERRESTRIAL-RADIO FIRMS GET SERIOUS
"Radio -- you hear it here first" That's the tagline (no relation) for a
new ad campaign to convince people to continue to listen to broadcast radio
instead of paying for satellite radio services. Major radio companies from
Clear Channel to Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting to Entercom Communications
are devoting an estimated $28 million of their airtime to the promotion.
The spots will run at least through February and likely beyond that, and
also will expand to print format.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride at sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110540552429222312,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also --
WashPost:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64339-2005Jan10.html
WOULD A CLEANED-UP 'SOPRANOS' BE TOO NAUGHTY FOR SPONSORS?
Yesterday we read that HBO will make some upcoming movies available for
PBS, but will basic cable channels be willing to pay up to $1.8 million for
78 episodes of "The Sopranos"? As it did with "Sex and the City," HBO has
been producing alternate versions of each "Sopranos" episode as the series
is filmed. The actors loop, or replace, daring dialogue with tamer variants
that would pass muster on advertising-supported TV networks and stations.
The edited episodes of "Sex and the City" are to appear exclusively on TBS
until September 2005, when the local broadcast stations of the Tribune
Company will also start running them. The Sopranos "won't be palatable for
every advertiser," said John Rash, senior vice president and director for
broadcast negotiations at Campbell Mithun , owned by Interpublic, "but the
network that acquires it will surely be able to sell it" to sponsors. One
reason is that "the degree of tolerance by American advertisers and
audiences for violent content," Mr. Rash said, "is higher than for
programming with more salacious content" like "Sex and the City. At a
minimum, the entertainment industry, which traffics in content as
challenging, if not more aggressive, than 'The Sopranos,' will be a natural
advertiser," he added, listing movie studios and sellers of video games.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/media/11adco.html
(requires registration)
HISPANIC TELEVISION NETWORKS BOOMING
The University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth projects that
the Hispanic population will grow by 19% over the next five years, to
comprise 16% of the U.S. population in 2009. Hispanic purchasing power will
shoot up to $992.3 billion in 2009, up from $686.3 billion currently. Who
can help sell these Americans cars, pop and toothpaste? TV, naturally.
There are now TV 75 networks, both Spanish-language and English-language,
catering to U.S. Hispanic viewers.
[SOURCE: Miami Herald, AUTHOR: Christina Hoag]
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10593845.htm?1c
FCC UPHOLDS FINE ON CALIFORNIA BROADCASTER
The FCC Monday upheld a $20,000 fine against Pacific Spanish Network, a
California broadcaster that played a role in a massive barrage of
interference that affected more than one-dozen AM-radio stations in the
Western US. The interference came from three Mexican stations operating at
higher power levels and, in one case, a different channel, than approved by
U.S. and Mexican officials.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McCOnnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA494993?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
LET'S TALK ABOUT BEER
This just in from Will Rogers: Jones Radio Networks has announced it will
syndicate Beer Radio, a live weekend show dedicated to the 90 million beer
lovers nationwide that are passionate about fine beverages made with barley
and hops. "Beer Radio is one of the freshest ideas that talk radio has seen
in a long time," says Amy Bolton, VP/GM News & Talk for Jones Radio Networks.
[SOURCE: Radio Ink]
http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=126625&pt=todaysnews
INTERNET
INTERNET QUEST GETS SQUASHED
[Editorial] The move by Lafayette (LA) city officials to build a municipal
"triple play" video, phone and data system shows spunk a creativity. The
plan mirrors the action Lafayette's city fathers took a century ago when
they realized the private power companies were passing them by in favor of
larger, more lucrative markets in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. To survive,
they built their own municipal power system. The future of Lafayette
shouldn't be left to the whim of the big telecommunications companies,
insists City Parish President Joey Durel. Installing fiber-optic cable, he
credibly argues, is no different from laying down sidewalks or sewer lines.
Louisiana regulators are busy reviewing the case. But for Lafayette to
lose, there are a couple of things the regulators will have to ignore:
fairness and common sense.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: USAToday Editorial Staff]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050111/edit11.art.htm
COMPETITION SHOULD BE FAIR
[Commentary] A BellSouth executive argues that the company is all for
competition as long as it is fair. In the case of Lafayette (LA), city
officials have publicly stated that they intend to borrow in excess of $100
million over 25 years to build a fiber-to-the-home network to provide a
"triple play" of services using as collateral the monopoly electric
utility, which is owned by the citizens of Lafayette. City officials say
they do not intend to seek the approval of those citizen owners. To counter
it, BellSouth and the local cable TV operator, Cox Communications, have
worked on the Fair Competition Act which allows the Lafayette Utility
System and others to build their own networks, but it ensures that they
cannot unfairly cross-subsidize their new ventures with monopoly electric
revenues and taxpayer dollars. Furthermore, the legislation gave the
responsibility of developing appropriate cost-allocation and accounting
rules -- to ensure anti-competitive practices do not occur -- to the
Louisiana Public Service Commission, which is in the process of developing
those rules. BellSouth is not trying to thwart competition; we simply want
to ensure that competition is fair and that the playing field is not tipped
in favor of any competitor -- including a government-owned network.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:William A. Oliver, BellSouth]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050111/oppose11.art.htm
BITTORRENT FILE-SHARING PROGRAM FLOODS THE WEB
BitTorrent, which allows its users to retrieve video and other large files
on the Internet, has been downloaded 30 million times. It is so popular
that, by some estimates, it hogs a third of all traffic on the Internet.
Perhaps more than any other program, BitTorrent has enabled users to turn
the Internet into a vast television and movie network, where the latest
films and television series can be quickly downloaded free. The technology
offers a sophisticated and speedy way for users to share large files,
breaking them into small chunks and allowing users to begin sharing each
chunk almost immediately after downloading it. Some tech watchers say the
program, and others like it, ultimately will change the entertainment
industry. By breaking long-established rules, BitTorrent users may force
those rules to be rewritten.
[SOURCE: Seattle Times, AUTHOR: Kim Peterson kpeterson( at )seattletimes.com]
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002146729_bitt...
US BROADBAND A-OK
[Commentary] "What broadband crisis?" asks McCullagh. That the US ranks
11th in broadband adoption is misleading when one considers the population
density of the countries that rank above us. Broadband services are
available to all but a small fraction of Americans, he argues; people are
just not ready to fork over the bucks for high-speed Internet. Cultural
differences might explain why. Perhaps Americans prefer to read books
instead of staring at a PC? Or they'd rather watch television? Online
gaming and music downloading aside, there's still no killer app for
broadband in the United States. Compare that with South Korea, where you
can tune in to television programming delivered over the Internet and where
online gaming is a national sport. Regulators may use the ranking as an
excuse to push for more aggressive regulation, but McCullagh writes that
that would be a mistake. He concludes: "In reality, even though broadband
connections are readily available...Americans don't see the benefits
outweighing the costs. Over time, as more-compelling content comes online
and connection speeds zoom upward, this will change. Until then, there's no
national emergency that needs to be solved through new laws or more
government spending. It's simply a case of bureaucrats and other critics
objecting to the way Americans have chosen to spend their own money."
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh ]
http://news.com.com/U.S.+broadband+A-OK/2010-1071_3-5517695.html?tag=nef...
ED OUTLINES NEW TECH PRIORITIES
The US Department of Education offers seven recommendations for policy
makers and school leaders in its new National Education Technology Plan:
Strengthen ed-tech leadership at the state and local levels; Consider
innovative budgeting; Improve teacher training; Support eLearning and
virtual schooling initiatives; Encourage broadband access; Move toward
digital content; and Integrate data systems. For a discussion of the
recommendations and how the Department of Education formed them, see the
URL below.
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Corey Murray]
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5455
TELECOM
YOUR CALL (AND RANTS ON HOLD) WILL BE MONITORED
This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes. You may have
heard that so many times that you don't hear it anymore. But hundreds of
millions of calls to service centers are recorded and millions are
monitored. The business of assessing the behavior of operators has taken on
a new urgency in recent years. With so many companies selling similar
products at similar prices, competent and professional customer service
agents are more and more the difference between a sale and a lost
opportunity, a burnished brand and a tarnished one. That reality has turned
third-party call monitoring into a fast-growing industry watching over the
nation's six million call center operators as well as hundreds of thousands
offshore. "You could have a show on Broadway just playing the calls," said
Mike Schrider, president of J.Lodge, a call monitoring service.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ken Belson]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/11snoop.html
(requires registration)
MEMOGATE PANEL REPORT & REACTION
Full text of panel report:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/20050110_CBS_Report.pdf
Statement by Les Moonves:
http://www.viacom.com/press.tin?ixPressRelease=80604191
Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110537050478921610,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/media/11network.html
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62690-2005Jan10.html
USAToday:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050111/1a_offlede11.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050111/d_lede11.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050111/edtwo11.art.htm (Editorial)
LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-rather11jan11,1,...
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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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