For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
With over 80,000 comments filed in the FCC's Localism inquiry, the National
Association of Broadcasters has requested and received an extension on the
due date for Reply Comments. They are now due Monday, January 3, 2005 -- so
get reading!
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-3657A1.doc
TELEVISION POLICY
Major Networks May Challenge Rationale of Media Ownership Regulation
Broadcasters, FCC Clash on DTV Plan
DTV-Deadline Push Crashes
TV Stations Slow to Invest in New Time Delay Tools
PTC, McCain Slam a la Carte Report
Congress Approves Funds for Public Broadcasting
Guard Story Not Political, Says Redstone
INTERNET
E-Rate Accounting Problem Awaits Action
Telecom Giants Oppose Cities On Web Access
Between Big Media and Brotherly Love
Growth of High-Speed Internet Disappoints Some Experts
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Senate Passes Scaled-Back Copyright Measure
Providing Videogames, Movies In a Family-Friendly Format
TELEVISION POLICY
MAJOR NETWORKS MAY CHALLENGE RATIONALE OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP REGULATION
NBC Universal, News Corp. and Viacom on Monday informed the United States
Supreme Court that they're seriously considering urging the high court to
overturn its landmark Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC decision -- the case
that established the bedrock legal rationale for subjecting broadcasters to
media ownership regulation and other special rules. In its 1969 Red Lion
decision, the high court said that the fact that broadcasters used a scarce
government resource to deliver their programming over the air justified
special Federal Communications Commission regulation of the industry in the
public interest.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6779
BROADCASTERS, FCC CASH ON DTV PLAN
The trade press is abuzz with news that broadcasters are organizing a
coalition, led by NBC Universal, dedicated to derailing a Federal
Communications Commission plan that would likely terminate analog TV in the
United States Dec. 31, 2008. An official announcement on the creation of
the coalition is expected today and will include the National Association
of Broadcasters, ABC and CBS affiliate groups, minority and rural
representatives and some broadcast unions. It will go by the name Coalition
for a Smart Digital TV Transition. [The name "Coalition for Slowing the
Digital TV Transition to a Snail's Pace" was already taken.] The Coalition
of the (un)willing is taking their message to Congress given House Energy
and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) support for a Dec. 31,
2006 deadline for the transition to digital-only TV broadcasting. He
supports set-top subsidies to ensure that at least the poor continued to
have access to free TV could with funding coming from the auction of the
returned analog spectrum. The FCC is also considering a plan that would end
the transition by 2009 and is considering a December vote on that plan.
Putting the public first (as always) "[t]he Coalition is united in asking
the FCC not to act in December 2004, before the American public can weigh
in on its plan," the group told a gathering of key Hill staffers Monday.
B'casters Trying to Derail Ferree Plan
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA482700.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
Broadcasters Push DTV-Decision Delay
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482314.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
DTV-DEADLINE PUSH CRASHES
The intelligence reform bill stalled in Congress this week, so that means
provisions that would set a hard date for the return of analog TV licenses
for channels 62 and higher. The bill could still move in December but
disputes about other provisions are holding it up. The spectrum would be
allocated by public safety officials; their lack of spectrum is seen as a
contributing factor to the difficulties of emergency workers on 9/11.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482315.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
TV STATIONS SLOW TO INVEST IN NEW TIME DELAY TOOLS
Despite recent profanity utterances during live broadcasts, which could
result in FCC indecency fines, many
TV stations are slow to adopt new technology that would automatically bleep
out indecent content, several technology
suppliers said. Smaller TV stations in particular are unprotected, largely
for financial reasons, they said. Radio stations, however, are adopting the
technology, mainly because of the view that FCC indecency enforcement comes
down harder on radio.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
PTC, McCAIN SLAM A LA CARTE REPORT
The Parents Television Council, claiming that cable television is flooded
with obscene and pornographic content, ripped a Federal Communications
Commission report that found that the per-channel sale of cable networks
would cause more harm than good, even for subscribers who want to block
indecent content. "The FCC's report on 'a la carte' was hopelessly
inadequate, as it barely mentioned the prime reason why so many people want
cable choice: Cable is completely awash in raunch," PTC executive director
Tim Winter said in a prepared statement. Because of the PTC's
dissatisfaction with the FCC's study, Winter said his group would ask the
agency to prepare a new report on indecent cable programming and demand
that the cable industry yield on the a la carte issue. The PTC released a
study last week that included excerpts from Comedy Central, MTV: Music
Television, E! Entertainment Television, Spike TV, TBS and FX that the
group said proved that basic "cable was awash in raunch" that had to be
stopped if a la carte were not an option.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA482272.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
CONGRESS A[PPROVES FUNDS FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Over the weekend, the Congress approved the final FY 2005 omnibus
appropriations measure. It included $400 million for CPB in FY 2007; $39.7
million in digital transition funds for FY 2005; and $40 million in public
television interconnection funds for FY 2005. In addition to the CPB
accounts, the omnibus funded the following public broadcasting programs:
Ready to Learn -- $23.5 million for FY 2005; Ready to Teach -- $14.4
million for FY 2005; and Public Telecommunications Facilities Program
(Department of Commerce) -- $21 million for FY 2005. All FY 05 funding is
subject to an .83 percent across-the-board reduction, including CPB's
current year FY 2005 appropriation, approved in 2002. In addition, three
board members who were up for confirmation were also approved over the
weekend--Claudia Puig, Univision Radio; Gay Hart Gaines, Regent, board of
Mount Vernon; Ernest J. Wilson III, professor, University of Maryland.
Wilson was for a second term, the other two had been recess appointments.
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Press Release]
http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=388
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482435.html?display=Breaking+...
GUARD STORY NOT POLITICAL, SAYS REDSTONE
Although he keeps a distance from the decisions of CBS News, Viacom
Chairman Sumner Redstone said he does not believe 60 Minutes' story about
President Bush's National Guard service was politically motivated. If it
were, he added, everyone would be fired. [So, come on all you
conservatives, its OK to watch my TV network news again.] He also commented
on the Monday Night Football fiasco saying the intro was inappropriate, but
not illegal.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482701.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
INTERNET
E-RATE ACCOUNTING PROBLEM AWAITS ACTION
The E-rate accounting problems have not been fixed yet by Congress and
could mean steep increases in consumers' long distance bills. For E-rate
recipients this could also mean shutting down existing services that might
not be receiving subsidies soon. The problem with the legislative fix
suggested during the lame-duck Congress is that it has now been scored by
the Congressional Budget Office with Congress estimating it would increase
the program's budget.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane, Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
TELECOM GIANTS OPPOSE CITIES ON WEB ACCESS
Many cities have plans to turn their municipalities into vast Wi-Fi hot
spots with free or very low-cost wireless Internet connections. But, writes
Drucker, that's bad news for the large Bell telephone companies and cable
operators, who are looking to their digital-subscriber-line (DSL) and
cable-modem businesses for growth. Legislation awaiting the governor's
signature in Pennsylvania would make it illegal for any "political
subdivision" to provide to the public "for any compensation any
telecommunications services, including advanced and broadband services
within the service territory of a local exchange telecommunications company
operating under a network-modernization plan." Critics denounce this
legislative tactic, arguing that the U.S. lags behind other countries in
broadband Internet access because the phone and cable companies have been
slow to roll out the service in some areas. "We should be encouraging our
municipalities to take a major role in broadband, the way other countries
are doing," says James Baller, a big-hearted attorney in Washington, D.C.,
who represents local governments on telecommunications issues. The telecom
companies argue that it is unfair for them to have to compete against the
government. They say that the legislation enables them to improve service
to their customers by investing in their networks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110116864041881375,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
BETWEEN BIG MEDIA AND BROTHERLY LOVE
[Commentary] Banish the notion that America's communications industry helps
nurture technological innovation that makes media more accessible to
average Americans. The reality today is that we live in an era where large
corporations work hand-in-hand with lobbyists and compliant legislators to
stifle any technology that returns control of our media system to the
public. The latest evidence lies hidden within proposed legislation that
would effectively kill efforts in Philadelphia to provide citywide wireless
access at little or no charge.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert292.shtml
GROWTH OF HIGH-SPEED INTERNET DISAPPOINTS SOME EXPERTS
Some coverage of the Department of Commerce report, A Nation Online:
Entering the Broadband Age. The number of Americans using fast Internet
connections doubled from 2001 through late 2003, still below some
expectations and especially low among minority groups and people in rural
areas. Only 1 in 7 blacks and fewer than 1 in 8 Hispanics lives in a
household with broadband service while one in four white Americans used
high-speed connections at home. In urban areas, 40.4% of households used
fast connections; only 24.7% of rural users did. Significant numbers of
rural residents said they couldn't subscribe to high-speed services because
none was available. Most Americans who did not use fast connections said
service was either too expensive or they did not need it.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Ted Bridis, Associated Press]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041123/a_internet23.art.htm
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
SENATE PASSES SCALED-BACK COPYRIGHT MEASURE
The Senate has voted to outlaw several favorite techniques of people who
illegally copy and distribute movies -- secretly videotape movies when they
are shown in theaters AND hackers and industry insiders who distribute
music, movies or other copyrighted works before their official release
date. Left out were several more controversial measures that would
criminalize the actions of millions of U.S. Internet users who copy music
and movies for free over "peer to peer" networks like Kazaa. The bill also
shields "family friendly" services like ClearPlay that strip violent or
sexually explicit scenes from movies. Hollywood groups say such services
violate their copyrighted works by altering them without permission.
Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge said, "Consumers won a major
victory when the Senate passed legislation removing the most egregious
elements of the omnibus copyright bill that had previously been under
consideration. We strongly support the version of the Family Movie Act,
included in the bill, which gives families more control over how they watch
movies and television, preserving the right to skip over commercials. The
bill will benefit consumers, both in their entertainment choices now, and
from the innovation in technology that will result in coming years."
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=DZYT5QPY22MLICRBAEZS...
See also:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482582?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
http://www.publicknowledge.org/pressroom/pressrelease.2004-11-22.6500991518
PROVIDING VIDEOGAMES, MOVIES IN A FAMILY-FRIENDLY FORMAT
eGames and other small businesses have pursued their own niche --
family-friendly entertainment -- saying there's a rising demand for games
and movies without the profanity, sex and violence often featured in the
top sellers of large movie studios and videogame publishers. While eGames
develops original content, a handful of start-ups have found a market
offering family-friendly versions of Hollywood-produced entertainment.
Principle Solutions sells a filter, TVGuardian, which mutes objectionable
words in television programming and DVDs by reading the closed-captioning
signal for the hearing-impaired. CleanFlicks Media produces edited copies
of movies for rental and sale that cut what company President Allan Erb
deems unnecessary sex and violence, as well objectionable language. Film
studios and the Directors Guild of America are suing CleanFlicks and
several other firms that sell electronic filters, alleging copyright and
trademark infringement. CleanFlicks says there has been no violation of the law
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Loftus peter.loftus( at )dowjones.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110117376262381535,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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