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TELEVISION
Stakes Higher in Battle Over TV Indecency
EchoStar Questions DirecTV's Local HD
Can NBC Universal Measure Up?
CBS Plans to Change Evening News Format
Cox to File FCC Complaint vs. Nexstar
COMPUTER NETWORKS
NCTA Takes Aim at Brand X
Road Map to a Digital System of Health Records
QUICKLY -- Report on exit polls to be released this week; Sen. Wants to
See Fed Ad Budgets; FCC Consent Decree Announced; Blockbuster Considering
New Bid for Rival Chain; FBI Retires Carnivore; Verizon's Spam Policy
Criticized; Telemarketing Alliance Enters India; 'Phishing' Scams Spread; 2
Plead Guilty in Piracy Case; Americans on Trial in China In Piracy Case
TELEVISION
STAKES HIGHER IN BATTLE OVER TV INDECENCY
FCC Chairman Michael Powell says the Commission will make a priority of
enforcing indecency rules. The issue has gained a special appeal to
politicians, who know it is an important issue for some voters. And the
complaints keep rolling in. Commission statistics show that radio and
broadcast and cable TV complaints have escalated astronomically, from 111
in 2000 to 1,068,802 in 2004. With the exception of the half-million Super
Bowl protests, 99.9 percent of them have come from the Parents Television
Council, which says it has more than one million members. The council hires
people to watch everything that's broadcast in prime time, and a lot of
cable programming, too, taking note of what they consider offensive
occurrences. Higher-ups determine whether the incidents are worth a fuss,
and then the call goes out to the membership, which protests not only to
the FCC but also to advertisers. Advertisers are leery, but few have
shifted strategies in a culture that frequently rewards the edgy show while
it is being vilified. Producers seem most insulated, basically going about
their business, while the networks that buy their shows fret. Station
owners may be the most nervous, after an apparently precedent-setting
decision in which the FCC fined all Fox stations that aired a network
showed deemed indecent.
[SOURCE: Knight Ridder, AUTHOR: Jonathan Storm]
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/living/10664978.htm
See the Center for Creative Voices blog for some of the effects of the
FCC's stepped-up enforcement:
http://creativevoices.typepad.com/blog/
ECHOSTAR QUESTIONS DIRECTV'S LOCAL HD
In a Jan. 14 filing to the FCC, EchoStar attorneys also claimed that
DirecTV's plans to offer hundreds of high-definition, digital television
signals does not justify the Commission forcing EchoStar to do the same
thing. EchoStar argued that DirecTV's plan to provide 1,500 TV stations in
HDTV in 2007 rests on the use of four Ka-band satellites, which are
susceptible to rain fade "in large regions of the country" and remain
"relatively untested for direct-to-home video delivery." EchoStar added
that in addition to rain-fade problems, DirecTV's new Ka-band satellites
will share spectrum with terrestrial microwave services, perhaps limiting
delivery of HD services on a scale not envisioned by DirecTV. EchoStar also
used the filing to warn the FCC that requiring carriage of local TV
stations in HD format would eat up channel capacity, forcing it to abandon
some local markets or to bump channels that it already provides.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA497246.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CAN NBC UNIVERSAL MEASURE UP?
GE said in a report to investors last year that it viewed media as a major
catalyst for industrial growth and that it wanted to build a "major scale"
media business. If the company is going to be "world's best content
company," it will need to make an acquisition or two. But what's left to
buy for a multinational media conglomerate? One possible partner is Time
Warner. NBC Universal would benefit from Time Warner's immense library of
programming. And Time Warner, which lacks a national distribution system as
powerful as those of Viacom, CBS, and News Corp.'s Fox and DirecTV, would
benefit from NBC's national network of TV stations. Time Warner's cable
operations have only 10.9 million subscribers nationwide. Satellite
operator EchoStar, with some 10.4 million subscribers and a national
footprint, would also be a good strategic fit for NBC Universal. However,
that combination would be very expensive. If no huge deals like this are
available, GE will have to consider smaller, strategic ones. The challenge
is finding companies that are willing to sell such properties.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Steve Rosenbush]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2005/tc20050118_9579_t...
CBS PLANS TO CHANGE EVENING NEWS FORMAT
Still responding to Memogate, Viacom's Les Moonves told TV critics that CBS
is considering a major shake-up of its presentation of the news as it plans
for anchor Dan Rather's departure. That appears to include employing
multiple anchors and, perhaps, a role for fake news anchor Jon Stewart of
Comedy Central. CBS News has been in third place in the evening news for
years. Moonves said CBS would try to use the opportunity to attract younger
viewers who tend not to watch network news in large numbers. CBS has always
had an older audience across the board than its rivals, but under Mr.
Moonves's leadership, the network has surged to the lead in entertainment
programming this year in the audience group favored by many advertisers,
18-to-49-year-old adults.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter & Jacques Steinberg]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/arts/television/19cbs.html
(requires registration)
COX TO FILE FCC COMPLAINT VS. NEXSTAR
In the midst of a nearly three-week-long retransmission-consent dispute
with Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Cox Communications today plans to file a
complaint with the FCC claiming Nexstar is not negotiating in good faith.
Nexstar, seeking cash for carriage for its TV stations, has been in a
retransmission-consent battle with both Cox and Cable One, pulling signals
for several of its stations from both cable operators effective Jan. 1.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA497364.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
COMPUTER NETWORKS
NCTA TAKES AIM AT BRAND X
On Tuesday the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA),
along with cable operators Time Warner, Cox and Charter filed a brief with
the U.S. Supreme Court in the "Brand X" case regarding the appropriate
classification of cable's Internet services for regulatory purposes. They
argue that the Ninth Circuit Court disregarded long-established case law
when it overturned the FCC in the case and ordered cable operators to
carry rival Internet-service providers over their broadband networks. Court
doctrine requires judges to defer to "expert federal agencies" like the FCC
when they implement statutes that don't provide clear direction on all
legal questions. The main question before the justices is whether the FCC's
"hands-off for now" classification of cable Internet services is
reasonable. "The answer is clearly yes," wrote attorneys for the National
Cable & Telecommunications Association.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA497362?display=Breaking+News&...
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA497357.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See the court filing at:
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=568&showArticles=ok
ROAD MAP TO A DIGITAL SYSTEM OF HEALTH RECORDS
Converting to digital records, health authorities agree, would reduce
medical errors and improve efficiency, saving both lives and dollars. But
how do we get from where we are -- a fragmented health system from paper
records and prescriptions -- to where we want to be -- information on a
patient inside a doctor's office being sent freely to hospitals,
laboratories, specialists, insurers and researchers. Yesterday, a group of
13 health and information technology organizations gave the Bush
administration its recommendations for just such a road map for a national
health information network. The group's report suggesting the principles
that should guide the creation of such a network made an emphatic call for
open, nonproprietary technical standards for communication across the
network. The federal government, the report says, should guide the
development of a health network with a light hand by providing some initial
financing and endorsing basic technical standards, but should set up a
separate "standards and policy entity" to handle the task.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/technology/19health.html
(requires registration)
QUICKLY
MEDIA GROUP SAYS REPORT ON EXIT POLLS WILL BE PUBLIC
Pollsters Warren Mitofsky and Joseph Lenski have some 'splaining to do.
What went wrong with the exit polls on Election Day? On Tuesday, a
representative of the media companies that have received the report pledged
full disclosure by Friday.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mark Memmott]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050119/a_media19.art.htm
HARKIN WANTS TO SEE FED AD BUDGETS
Sen Tom Harkin (D-IA) plans to introduce a bill requiring all federal
agencies to report their ad budgets to Congress and to include a disclosure
in those ads that the spot is being paid for with taxpayer money.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA497385?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FCC CONSENT DECREE ANNOUNCED
The FCC and Radio & Investments Inc have entered into an agreement in which
the company will pay a $20,000 fine and agrees that it engaged in an
unauthorized transfer of control of two Franklin (LA) radio stations.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-106A1.doc
BLOCKBUSTER CONSIDERING NEW BID FOR RIVAL CHAIN
You eat him? No, I eat him. Even though Hollywood Entertainment last week
to be purchased by Movie Gallery for about $850 million, Blockbuster, the
nation's largest movie-rental chain, confirmed Tuesday that it was still
interested in buying the rival chain.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-blockbuster19jan19,1,...
(requires registration)
FBI RETIRES CONTROVERSIAL E-MAIL SURVEILLANCE TOOL
The FBI has all but retired its controversial e-mail wiretap system
formerly known as Carnivore, turning instead to commercially available
software, according to two recently released reports to Congress. FBI
agents, after receiving a court warrant, install Carnivore on the suspect's
Internet service provider and filter out his e-mail messages, Web browsing
activities and other online communications. (Does it make you feel better
that the system has been replaced by commercially-available software?)
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=7363057
VERIZON'S SPAM POLICY CRITICIZED
In its effort to reduce unsolicited e-mail, spam, for its DSL customers,
Verizon may have been a bit overzealous, blocking all email from
geographical regions were spammers operate. The move has resulted in
legitimate inbound e-mail from Europe and Asia being blocked, damaging some
people's businesses.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19567-2005Jan18.html
(requires registration)
TELEMARKETING ALLIANCE ENTERS INDIA
The American Teleservices Association is opening its first international
office -- in India. The group represents 550 domestic corporate members
which include the nation's major call centers. A growing number of
American and foreign firms are operating abroad. The group will provide
educational information to show telemarketers how to comply with state and
federal laws, including the federal government's National Do Not Call Registry.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caroline E. Mayer]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19568-2005Jan18.html
(requires registration)
DESPITE EFFORTS TO CONTAIN THEM, 'PHISHING' SCAMS SPREAD
"Phishing" scams -- those phony e-mail messages demanding that recipients
verify their financial data by clicking a link to log into a fake version
of their bank or credit card issuer's site -- are not going away. The
number of online financial scams grew dramatically in fall 2004, according
to the Anti-Phishing Working Group and other security experts. Learn how
phishing and "carding" are done at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19511-2005Jan18.html
(requires registration)
2 PLEAD GUILTY IN PIRACY CASE
The Justice Department said Tuesday that two men had pleaded guilty to
violating copyrights on peer-to-peer networks, marking the first federal
criminal convictions for file sharing. The men were part of a loosely
organized file-sharing community called the Underground Network. According
to the Justice Department, the men each operated an online hub that let
people exchange video games, computer programs, and digital music and movie
files. Denizens of the Underground Network use a type of file-sharing
software called Direct Connect, which lets them copy files from each
other's computers.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jon Healey]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-piracy19jan19,1,59124...
(requires registration)
AMERICANS ON TRIAL IN CHINA IN PIRACY CASE
US Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans recently visited China asking the
country to step-up efforts to curb piracy of intellectual property. Now two
US citizens accused of selling about $1 million of movies online are on
trial with two alleged Chinese accomplices. The group on trial is suspected
of using the Internet to sell more than 180,000 counterfeit DVDs to buyers
in 25 countries.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110610188112729826,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
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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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