Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 1/24/05

We will see you again FRIDAY; we're off to Ithaca!=20
(http://www.ithaca.edu/news/article.php?id=3D1603)

POLICYMAKERS
Powell Heads for Exit
Challenges Await Powell's FCC Successor

OWNERSHIP
Newspapers Face Antitrust Scrutiny
EchoStar's Satellite Purchase Not Likely a Cure-All
France Telecom Might Acquire Rest of Equant

CABLE
Cable, DOJ Pitch Modem Dereg
Cable Could Rule if it Plays its Cards Right
Comcast Gets Breather In McHenry

CONTENT
Tech Firms to Seek Legal Protection From Pirating
Osama Who? When No News Is 'Bad News'
Churches Spar with Media over Advertising
The New Wave of Homegrown Fare
Under-Used Power of the News
'NYPD Blue' Producer Deems TV Too 'Conservative'

INTERNET
Internet News Sites Are Back in Vogue
Intel Pushes D.C. Agenda
Search Engine Users
Hansan Holds E-Advocacy Advantage

QUICKLY -- Selling Advertisers on Radio; Music to Cell Phones; Summit on=20
Children, Media and Literacy; America at a Crossroads; How to Read a Column

REACTION TO POWELL ANNOUNCEMENT

POLICYMAKERS

POWELL HEADS FOR EXIT
As we reported Friday morning, FCC Chairman Michael Powell has announced=20
his resignation and will leave the Commission is March. Powell, 41, joined=
=20
the FCC in 1997, a Republican nominee of President Clinton, who had=20
previously appointed him chief of staff of the Justice Department=92s=20
Antitrust Division. President Bush elevated Powell to FCC chairman a few=20
days after his 2001 inauguration. Later, Powell was confirmed for a=20
five-year term, ending June 30, 2007. Powell=92s biggest controversy came in=
=20
June 2003, when he approved new broadcast ownership rules that allowed one=
=20
company to own three TV stations, eight radio stations, the cable system,=20
and the dominate daily newspaper in the country=92s largest markets. The=20
ruling sparked outrage among public-interest and consumer groups, and many=
=20
Capitol Hill lawmakers felt the FCC has pushed too far. Powell was a First=
=20
Amendment purist who had to change course in response to the proliferation=
=20
of reality TV programs with crass sexual content, shock jocks with toilet=20
mouths and a Super Bowl with a soft-porn halftime show finale. Although=20
Powell=92s preference was to let the media run wild under its First=
Amendment=20
free speech protections, he also recognized that the FCC had broadcast=20
indecency laws to enforce. =93Michael Powell had the right goal --=
expediting=20
the introduction of advanced technologies. He had the wrong mechanism --=20
letting the big boys do it,=94 said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of=20
Media Access Project, a group that helped block Powell=92s media-ownership=
=20
rules. =93He was good at philosophy, but bad at execution. He is a fine=20
speechmaker, but a poor politician.=94
* URLs below this summary will take you to additional coverage. For a=20
collection of responses to Chairman Powell's departure, see the end of this=
=20
email.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA498449.html?display=3DTop+Stories&...
rral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* NYTimes editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/opinion/24mon2.html
* News.com:=20
http://news.com.com/Mixed+legacy+for+FCCs+Powell/2100-1033_3-5545030.htm...
g=3Dnefd.top
* USA Today:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/1b_powellcover24.art...
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/2b_powellb0x24.art.htm
=
=
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/2b_powellreaction24....
.htm
* Alternet: http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21057/
* eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=3D54=
67
* Telephony:=20
http://telephonyonline.com/regulatory/news/powell_resign_fcc_012105/
* Beyond Janet Jackson's Breast: A Defense of Chairman Powell
"Mr Powell has endured one mortifying policy defeat after another. From a=20
battle over America's media-ownership rules to a scrap about telecoms=20
regulation, the courts, Congress, the media and even fellow Republican=20
commissioners have taken turns sticking the knife into the FCC's=20
soft-bellied chairman," writes the Economist, which defends Powell for his=
=20
efforts to bring the agency into step with the digital age.
[The Economist]
http://www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3D3576578

CHALLENGES AWAIT POWELL'S SUCCESSOR
The agenda for the next FCC Chairman will include: the rapid transition of=
=20
broadcasts to digital signals; the financial problems of the Universal=20
Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service for rural and low-income=20
Americans; and the haphazard system by which different telephone companies=
=20
compensate each other for completing their calls. The FCC faces a fight in=
=20
trying to force broadcasters to return old, analog spectrum by a certain=20
date and to switch completely to digital transmissions, which require much=
=20
less bandwidth. Mr. Powell's staff had been pushing last year to set 2009=20
as the year for the handover but backed off because of industry opposition=
=20
and the press of other business. On media consolidation, the FCC must=20
decide whether to seek Supreme Court review of an appeals-court ruling that=
=20
tossed out rules easing restrictions on media ownership. Without a=20
successful appeal, the five-member commission must begin working on=20
media-ownership rules all over again. Besides Chairman Powell, Commissioner=
=20
Kathleen Abernathy, his closest ally, also is widely expected to leave in=20
coming months.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo=20
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652198940933591,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
See also --
FCC Finds Itself Up to Its Neck in Hot Issues
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc24jan24,1,2091667....
y?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
Can Howard Stern now relax?
http://news.com.com/Can+Howard+Stern+now+relax/2010-1071_3-5545890.html?...
=3Dnefd.ac
FCC Faces A New Set of Challenges
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/business/media/24powell.html

OWNERSHIP

NEWSPAPERS FACE ANTITRUST SCRUTINY
Industry watchers are expecting a concentration of newspaper ownership this=
=20
year, but don't you worry, the Justice Department is all over it. The=20
Justice Department is investigating Gannett's proposed buyout of HomeTown=20
Communications Network, a Midwest community-newspaper publisher based in=20
Livonia (MI), and has opened a preliminary inquiry into the New York=20
Times's plans to take a 49% stake in Metro Boston, a free daily that=20
competes with the Boston Globe, which is also owned by the Times. In some=20
markets, advertisers have told the Justice Department that the pending=20
deals could give local publishers enough clout to raise ad rates in the=20
cities they serve. Competitors in Detroit and Boston, including the Boston=
=20
Herald, have also told the Justice Department that they believe the deals=20
would violate antitrust law. Bids for Pulitzer -- which owns the Arizona=20
Daily Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other dailies -- are due today and=
=20
analysts have said that the sale could fetch $1.5 billion, plus the=20
assumption of debt of about $300 million. Gannett, the nation's largest=20
newspaper publisher, is widely expected to be one of the leading bidders=20
for the company, continuing its role as an aggressive nationwide acquirer=20
of newspapers. Some analysts expect the Pulitzer deal to herald a new round=
=20
of buying.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: James Bandler james.bandler( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652653344033690,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

ECHOSTAR'S SATELLITE PURCHASE NOT LIKELY A CURE-ALL
EchoStar Communications's $200 million pact to purchase CableVision's Voom=
=20
satellite capacity may not be all the company needs to compete better with=
=20
DirecTV, which has more subscribers and deeper pockets. DirecTV, for=20
example, is challenging two of EchoStar's historical strengths: an=20
extensive rural-customer base and strong offerings of foreign programming=20
to ethnic groups in the U.S. By buying a top-of-the-line satellite that=20
will increase the number of channels Echostar can offer, the company may be=
=20
able to counter by expanding his lineup of foreign-television fare. But the=
=20
company may have to spend close to $1 billion by mid-2006 to comply with a=
=20
Congressional mandate to stop using dual antennas to serve some=20
subscribers. Once that practice is phased out, EchoStar still will face=20
escalating pressure to expand its satellite fleet to keep up with the=20
ambitious plans laid out by DirecTV, the No. 1 direct-to-home satellite=20
broadcaster. DirecTV has projected launching over the next few years at=20
least five new satellites that will allow it to deliver well over 1,000=20
high-definition channels. The initiative will come at a cost of roughly=20
$1.5 billion.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Andy Pasztor andy.pasztor( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652149119533565,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

FRANCE TELECOM MIGHT ACQUIRE REST OF EQUANT
France Telecom is expected to announce as early as today a plan to buy the=
=20
46% of telecom-services company Equant it doesn't already own, say people=20
familiar with the matter. Netherlands-based Equant provides=20
telecommunications services to large corporations, and was hit hard=20
following the collapse of the telecom investing bubble in the early part of=
=20
the decade. The competitive pressure in the global business-communications=
=20
industry in which Equant operates has ratcheted up since November when=20
France Telecom's British rival BT Group purchased U.S.-based Infonet=20
Services. In addition to BT Group, Equant also competes with AT&T and MCI.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis K. Berman=20
dennis.berman( at )wsj.com, Jason Singer jason.singer( at )wsj.com & Cassell=20
Bryan-Low cassell.bryan-low( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652070909833534,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)

CABLE

CABLE, DOJ PITCH MODEM DEREG
Providing high-speed Internet access should not trigger mandates designed=20
to open cable networks to all data competitors, the cable industry told the=
=20
U.S. Supreme Court in a filing last Tuesday. The National Cable &=20
Telecommunications Association, joined by three major cable companies,=20
asked the high court to shield cable-modem service from forced-access=20
mandates and back deregulatory policies adopted by the Federal=20
Communications Commission in March 2002. In its own brief in the case, the=
=20
Justice Department argued that application of open-access rules would raise=
=20
consumer rates and freeze cable=92s investment in broadband facilities. In=
=20
addition to having to open their lines, cable operators would be required=20
to contribute modem revenue to a telephone-subsidy program, perhaps pay=20
higher telephone pole-attachment fees and would need to absorb the cost of=
=20
engineering their networks for interconnection with other common carriers,=
=20
the DOJ said. =93Classifying cable-modem service as a telecommunications=20
service would drastically change the regulatory environment for cable-modem=
=20
service,=94 the DOJ said.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA498444.html?display=3DTop+Stories&...
rral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

CABLE COULD RULE IF IT PLAYS ITS CARDS RIGHT
Consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is offering advise to cable=20
companies in a new report, thinking they can beat the phone giants in the=20
race to dominate home entertainment and communications. The report urges=20
operators to roll out packages of sophisticated video, Internet and phone=20
services before companies such as BellSouth, SBC and Verizon complete a $10=
=20
billion investment in fiber-optic lines. Those lines will let them offer=20
cablelike TV along with phone and Internet services that will rival bundles=
=20
from cable operators, which are beginning to add phone service. See more at=
=20
the URL below.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/1b_cableoutlook24.ar...
m

COMCAST GETS BREATHER IN MCHENRY
The McHenry County (IL) Board agreed to postpone the vote on a resolution=20
that called for a federal probe of cable rates in the vast majority of=20
markets. The board, made up entirely of Republicans, will wait while cable=
=20
operator Comcast come up with some excuses for -- um, er -- while Comcast=20
explains recent system upgrades and rate increases. Illinois state Sen.=20
Pamela Althoff, a former cable broker and system investor, said she stepped=
=20
in to mediate differences between Comcast and county officials pressing for=
=20
the rate probe. A fast-growing community of 280,000, McHenry is not fertile=
=20
soil for a cable-rate rebellion. But Comcast=92s system upgrades --=
something=20
the company promised to do when it acquired the property -- and rate hikes=
=20
angered some board members, who felt the channel additions did not justify=
=20
the rise in monthly bills.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA498350.html?display=3DPolicy&refer...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

CONTENT

TECH FIRMS TO SEEK LEGAL PROTECTION FROM PIRATING
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments March 29 in a suit brought=
=20
by the motion picture and recording industries against Grokster, one of the=
=20
leading "peer-to-peer" filing-sharing services. Representatives of all=20
sides on the issue agree that the case could determine the fate of services=
=20
such as Grokster, KaZaa and Morpheus, which in the eyes of the=20
entertainment industry are responsible for the pirating of millions of=20
dollars in losses annually. Several large technology corporations will urge=
=20
the U.S. Supreme Court today to continue to shield businesses and=20
innovators from legal responsibility if their products or services are used=
=20
by consumers for illegal acts. The companies, including industry giants=20
Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, America Online and Apple Computer, will argue in=
=20
court filings that the innovations that have helped fuel U.S. economic=20
growth could grind to a halt if protections from liability were stripped=20
away. At issue is the continuing popularity of Internet file-sharing=20
services, whose software lets users swap digital music, videos and software=
=20
regardless of whether they are copyrighted works that should be paid for=20
each time they are sent to another consumer.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31332-2005Jan23.html
(requires registration)
See also --
USAToday:=
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050124/2b_riaa24.art.htm
Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3D1HRYYHRXO3GCMCRBAE...
A?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D7400119

OSAMA WHO? WHEN NO NEWS IS 'BAD NEWS'
A look at the business of news and how business news limits the information=
=20
delivered to us on television newscasts. Former-CBS foreign correspondent=20
Tom Fenton, in his forthcoming book "Bad News," castigates network news for=
=20
failing to adequately cover the rest of the world. The book is a stinging=20
indictment that gains force from his quarter-century of service in CBS's=20
London bureau. Fenton blames "corporate greed," saying he was "beaten down=
=20
by the corporate bean counters" and had "so many of my stories rejected" in=
=20
the decade before 9/11. CBS's London bureau, he writes, "doesn't do much=20
reporting any more. What it does is called packaging," assembling video and=
=20
facts gathered by outside organizations.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31306-2005Jan23.html
(requires registration)

CHURCHES SPAR WITH MEDIA OVER ADVERTISING
As religion moves more overtly into public life, its reception in the major=
=20
media has not always been warm. Churches and religious publishers reaching=
=20
out to the "unchurched" - those who may be spiritually inclined but=20
institutionally alienated - are finding that some media are rejecting their=
=20
advertising dollars. The United Church of Christ (UCC) and the United=20
Methodist Church (UMC) have been told "no," as has Zondervan, the leading=20
Bible publisher. Media outlets have the right to decide what they publish=20
or broadcast, but religious groups say the media are practicing a form of=20
censorship that is keeping them out of the marketplace of ideas. This is=20
not fair, they say, nor does it fulfill the media's responsibility to the=20
public.
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jane Lampman]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0124/p11s01-lire.html

THE NEW WAVE OF HOMEGROWN FARE
How do you compete with national programming like Oprah? Go local, of=20
course. Station managers nationwide are taking a hard look at their balance=
=20
of local and syndicated shows. Syndication costs are skyrocketing, yet hits=
=20
are rare. Stations spend heavily on syndicated shows -- upward of $100,000=
=20
a week in bigger markets. Plus, they often turn over half of the show's ad=
=20
time to syndicators in so-called barter deals. As stations cope with a=20
dearth of syndication hits and fend off cable networks, they've found local=
=20
fare a potent weapon. =93Broadcasters will stay alive by creating content=20
that resonates with their communities,=94 says Stacey Lynn Koerner,=20
Initiative Media's EVP of global research. =93That makes stations a=
must-have=20
for viewers and advertisers.=94 The local programming being created is extra=
=20
newscasts and lifestyle shows.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA498370.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

UNDER-USED POWER OF THE NEWS
While some stories gets lots of coverage, too many remain under-covered.=20
Doctors Without Borders released its 7th annual list of the year's Top 10=20
Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories. In a host of African countries,=20
North Korea, Colombia, Chechnya and elsewhere, lives are being cruelly cut=
=20
short by a staggering array of woes, but we remain largely ill-informed=20
about them. Last year, the Big Three nightly newscasts didn't air=20
significant reports on any of these regions, save Chechnya and North=20
Korea=97and the latter drew attention because of its nuclear threat, not its=
=20
humanitarian crisis. But they did devote plenty of attention to Martha=20
Stewart and Janet Jackson.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: J. Max Robins]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA498463.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
Christian Science Monitor:=
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0124/p09s02-coop.html

'NYPD BLUE' PRODUCER DEEMS TV TOO 'CONSERVATIVE'
Twelve years ago, Steven Bochco hoped his TV drama NYPD Blue would open the=
=20
door for more sophisticated prime time drama. But the pendulum has swung in=
=20
the opposite direction in the past five years, he says. After the=20
controversy generated in large part by Janet Jackson's "wardrobe=20
malfunction" during last year's Super Bowl halftime show telecast on CBS,=20
NYPD Blue has had to fight with ABC over content issues that never were=20
questioned in the past. Ultimately, he said, TV will go back to allowing=20
more adult drama. "You're never going to put the genie back in the bottle,"=
=20
Bochco said. "We're never going to see television go back to what it was 20=
=20
years ago."
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter/Reuters]
http://au.news.yahoo.com/050121/11/sotu.html

INTERNET

INTERNET NEWS SITES ARE BACK IN VOGUE
Internet news and information sites, long thought to be dot-gone relics of=
=20
1999, are making a big comeback in 2005. Online advertising is expected=20
reach $9.7 billion in 2004, or about 3.7% of United States advertising=20
spending, according to a recent Merrill Lynch report. Still, that number is=
=20
expected to grow 19% this year as the nation's largest advertisers shift=20
budgets from print and network television to cable and the Internet, the=20
report said. As a result, publishers are being forced to confront a=20
potential advertising inventory crunch. There is no physical limitation to=
=20
the number of Web pages, of course, but advertisers want to be placed on=20
the most popular pages and those which cater to their most profitable=20
audiences. And those kind of pages are in shorter supply.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Dash]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/technology/24marketwatch.html
(requires registration)

INTEL PUSHES DC AGENDA
Suffering eroding market share in its core business of supplying=20
microprocessors for PCs, Intel is trying to compensate by launching=20
products that will compete with TV stations and cable operators. The=20
company is waging three major policy fights against the TV business. One=20
Intel priority is to push the FCC, over broadcasters' objections, to make=20
TV stations share their channel space with high-speed wireless networks=20
that city government or other operators could set up without bothering to=20
get a license. The company is also trying to persuade Congress and the FCC=
=20
to set a quick deadline for making stations go all-digital and return their=
=20
old analog channels to the government. Intel is taking on cable operators,=
=20
too, by calling on the government to stick with rules designed to create=20
retail competition to the leased set-top boxes that have fattened=20
cable-industry profits for decades.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA498462.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

SEARCH ENGINE USERS
A new nationwide survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows=20
that Internet users are extremely positive about search engines and the=20
experiences they have when searching the Internet. But these same satisfied=
=20
Internet users are generally unsophisticated about why and how they use=20
search engines. They are also strikingly unaware of how search engines=20
operate and how they present their results.
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project Press Release, AUTHOR:=20
Deborah Fallows]
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/146/report_display.asp

HANSAN HOLDS E-ADVOCACY ADVANTAGE
If you've ever e-mailed your representatives or learned about them online,=
=20
chances are that you did so through Capitol Advantage without knowing it.=20
Capitol Advantage LLC all but owns the lucrative market in congressional=20
directories and transformed that prosaic business into a rudiment of=20
Internet lobbying, which is now the fastest growing and arguably the most=20
potent form of persuasion in the nation's capital. Capitol Advantage wasn't=
=20
the first company to use a Zip code system (though it popularized it). It=20
isn't the only firm that facilitates e-mailing to Congress (though it is,=20
by far, the largest.) Yet its program's simplicity, accuracy and low cost=20
have made it a foundation of cyber-democracy. Learn more about the=20
company's founder, Robert Hansan.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31160-2005Jan23.html
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

Infinity Unveils Campaign to Get Advertisers to Tune In to Radio
Starting today, Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting will splash ads touting the=
=20
benefits of radio ad campaigns across the pages of magazines like Brandweek=
=20
and Advertising Age. It is highlighting the benefits of interactive=20
advertising, like a recent campaign that got radio listeners to log onto a=
=20
Web site, answer questions about themselves and get matched up with the car=
=20
that best suits their personality. The ad helped sell thousands of cars=20
over a four-week period in the summer for DaimlerChrysler AG. The campaign=
=20
comes as radio companies are fighting an advertising malaise and growing=20
competition from new satellite radio broadcasters. Infinity's approach is=20
very different from that of rival Clear Channel Communications Inc., which=
=20
last year launched a high-profile "Less Is More" campaign aimed at cutting=
=20
the number of ads on the radio as a way of increasing the value and impact=
=20
of the spots that air. Large numbers of ads can lead listeners to change=20
stations or ditch the radio altogether for CDs or satellite radio. Infinity=
=20
is also trying to focus on bigger markets by selling off or trading away=20
some of its smaller-market stations. And it is experimenting with new=20
formats to boost listener ratings, and therefore advertising dollars.=20
Earlier this month, it took a once-influential alternative-rock station in=
=20
Washington, WHFS, and flipped it to Spanish-language pop.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110652400965733657,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)

Face the Music, Wireless Carriers
[Commentary] The cellular industry in Asia and Europe is doing fine=20
supplying mobile users with tunes. US outfits ought to stop blocking the=20
service.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Steve Rosenbush]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2005/tc20050114_5688_t...
.htm

Summit on Children, Media and Literacy
The U.S. Department of Education and PBS are hosting a Ready To Learn=20
summit titled "A Child's Life: Learning, Literacy and the Role of the=20
Media," to be held on Feb. 3-4, 2005 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in=20
Baltimore, MD. Aiming to examine the impact of media on children's=20
literacy skills, the invitation-only event offers participants an=20
opportunity to learn about and exchange information on current research,=20
insights and future projections as well as lay a foundation to forge new=20
partnerships among the public broadcasting, reading research, technology=20
and entertainment fields.
http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/news/20050119_pbsdepted.html

America at a Crossroads
The war-time experiences of American soldiers, the high-stakes=20
international struggle for the heart of Islam, the competing demands of=20
security and civil liberty, the trial of Saddam Hussein, and our nation=92s=
=20
readiness for terrorist attacks -- are among the issues that will be=20
explored in films funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through=
=20
its America at a Crossroads initiative. CPB announced today that it intends=
=20
to award research and development grants to ten production teams, and=20
expects to announce about 25 additional R&D grants in coming weeks.
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Press Release]
http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=3D392

How to Read a Column
As he steps out the door, William Safire offers some advise to readers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/opinion/24safire1.html

REACTION TO POWELL ANNOUNCEMENT

Powell's Statement
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256206A1.pdf
Highlights of tenure
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256206A2.pdf
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256210A1.pdf
Commissioner Michael Copps
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256208A1.pdf
Commissioner Kevin Martin
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256212A1.doc
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256213A1.doc