NARUC and NASUCA are meeting this week in Nashville. For these and other
upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TODAY'S QUESTION: Is "Saving Private Ryan" fit for primetime?
Communications Daily reports that the FCC received a number of complaints
about the broadcast last week.
WASHINGTON AGENDA
USF Funding Controversy Likely a Top 'Lame-Duck' Agenda
Adelstein Likely to Get New Term
CEA, NAB Look for Hard Date for Completing DTV Transition
Will Madison Avenue Be Bushwhacked?
VoIP Backers Should Celebrate Bush Win
MEDIA
Big Media Getting Bigger
Meredith Creates Duopoly-Lite
Web Publishers Move Toward Standardizing Ad-Viewership Data
WASHINGTON AGENDA
USF FUNDING CONTROVERSY LIKELY A TOP 'LAME-DUCK' AGENDA
A number of communications-related issues could be addressed as Congress
returns to town this week. Senate Appropriations Chairman Stevens
(R-Alaska) is considering taking action on the accounting problems with the
Universal Service Fund that have halted E-rate funding and could jeopardize
subsidies for rural telephone companies. A quick legislative fix may be a
temporary exemption of accounting regulations on the fund, so the new
Congress can study and act on the issue next year. Other items that may get
attention are: renomination of FCC Commissioner Adelstein (see story
below), efforts to create a spectrum relocation trust fund (HR-1320), E-911
legislation, the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act, the Internet tax
moratorium, and broadcast decency. Apparently, there's little White House
support for an overhaul of the intelligence system this session, so
adoption of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations -- including speeding the
transition to digital-only TV broadcasting (see story below) -- seems
unlikely. This lame-duck Congressional session is not expected to last more
than two weeks.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
ADELSTEIN LIKELY TO GET NEW TERM
Unpack those bags, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, you may be an
unexpected winner in the 2004 election. Today, President Bush is expected
to renominate Adelstein and ask Congress to include his confirmation in a
package of 85 judicial and other federal posts that lawmakers are expected
to approve by the end of the week. If that happens, Commissioner Adelstein
will have a new five-year term. There's also conflicting rumors about
another FCC Commissioner serving past an expired term. Sen John McCain
supposedly pushed to replace Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy with Commerce
Committee aide Bill Bailey, but FCC Chairman Powell and Abernathy say the
White House has not informed them of such a switch.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA480196.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CEA, NAB LOOK FOR HARD DATE FOR COMPLETING DTV TRANSITION
There's apparently growing support for setting a hard date for completing
the transition to digital-only TV broadcasting. Broadcasters apparently
favor 2009 as the date, if cable systems transmit broadcasters' full
digital signals by the end of the DTV transition and either make analog
signals available to households to households that don't adopt digital TVs.
Digital TV set makers also think it is important to set such a deadline
once and for all as a necessary step for achieving economies of scale that
would make future DTV sets affordable for the masses.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins, Paul Gluckman]
(Not available online)
WILL MADISON AVENUE BE BUSHWACKED?
What will the second term for President Bush mean for advertisers? They
might be a little nervous. Broadcast indecency and violence are likely to
get a lot of attention and a moral groundswell could have a chilling effect
on sponsorship of content for the gay and lesbian community. Many also
believe that the Bush Administration's stance on media ownership will
negatively impact Madison Avenue. Advertisers believe mega-mergers dilute
program diversity. The concentration of ownership stifles the variety of
media content, which, in turn, limits the ability of marketers to
efficiently reach targeted audiences that favor niche programming. There
may also be a crackdown on advertising aimed at children.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Joe Mandese]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA480207.html?display=Advertisi...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
For concerns about marketing to children see:
How marketers hook kids, and why we should worry
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:Lyn Millner ]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20041115/born.art.htm
VOIP BACKERS SHOULD CELEBRATE BUSH WIN
[Commentary] The FCC's vote last week on Internet telephone service "nicely
captures the long-running discord between the Democrats' regulatory
fetishism and the Republicans' regulatory restraint." The Commission's
Republican majority, led by Chairman Michael Powell, decided "VoIP must be
freed from the clutches of busybody state utility commissioners." Democrats
decried the decision's erosion of the federal-state regulatory partnership
and the unanswered questions about issues like universal service. "The
Democrats on the commission simply have been more skeptical of markets, and
the Republicans have been more skeptical of regulation," says James
Gattuso, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former deputy chief at
the FCC. "It's almost a classic situation of burden of proof: The
Republicans seem to be saying, 'Prove to us you need regulation,' and the
Democrats seem to be saying, 'Prove to us markets will work.'" McCullagh
ends: "But given today's political reality, Powell and his Republican
allies probably have done as much as they could to help nurture VoIP and
bring high-speed connections to Americans' homes. The two Democratic
commissioners have not."
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
http://news.com.com/VoIP+backers+should+celebrate+Bush+win/2010-1071-545...
MEDIA
BIG MEDIA GETTING BIGGER
Apparently the old adage "eat or be eaten" applies to Internet journalism,
too. At the fifth annual Online News Association meeting, the buzz was "Big
Media gets bigger." CBS MarketWatch was purchased by Dow Jones, a direct
competitor that has lagged, not led, the revolution to publish free news on
the Internet -- despite the potential to break news during market hours.
Now the most direct Internet competitors of the Dow Jones-MarketWatch
alliance include Street.com (a smaller Web-only outlet), Forbes, Fortune
and Business Week (all magazines) and Yahoo Finance (an aggregation site).
Sources at the conference said The Washington Post is close to acquiring
Slate, another Web pioneer of original Web content. Slate, which is owned
by Microsoft, focuses on political reporting, much like the Post does.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Jeff Pelline]
http://news.com.com/Big+media+getting+bigger/2100-1024_3-5452023.html?ta...
MEREDITH CREATES DUOPOLY-LITE
It is great to how creative corporations can be to serve their commercial
interests. Although duopolies are not allowed under FCC rules in Kansas
City, Meredith Broadcasting has purchased from Sinclair the "nonlicense
assets" of WB affiliate KSMO for $26.8 million. The company already owns
the CBS affiliate there. Those assets comprise the building, tower and
staffers, however, B&C reports, that is more like a hefty upfront payment
than the actual value of those assets. Meredith will seek a failed-station
wavier from the FCC, which can allow otherwise impermissible duopolies if
it is to save a distressed station. It will pay $6.7 million for the
license -- probably far less than it is worth -- if FCC rules ultimately
permit it to own a duopoly in KC.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA480187.html?display=Breaking+...'&referral=SUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also:
TVWeek
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6717
WEB PUBLISHERS MOVE TOWARD STANDARDIZING AD-VIEWERSHIP DATA
The Internet is one of the few places where advertisers have relied on
publishers to tell them how widely ads are distributed, without third-party
confirmation making advertisers have been cautious about spending on the
medium. But now Web sites are agreeing to standardize the reporting of
ad-viewership numbers, also known as impressions, and for the first time
agreeing to have the numbers audited. Unlike other media, Internet
publishers don't have to rely on sampling. They can examine their Web logs
and see exactly how many times an ad was served to readers. Using the new
standards, they will use consistent methods for counting those readers
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Carl Bialik carl.bialik( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110048058975973783,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also:
Ad Network Monitors Web Habits
Tacoda, an online marketing company, will announce today the creation of a
network of 60 Web sites that allow its members to display ads based on how
people surf through the network. Tacoda's service, called AudienceMatch,
will not know who those surfers are, just where they visit.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/15/technology/15ecom.html
(requires registration)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------