MEDIA POLICY
Stevens Controls Telecom Agenda
EchoStar Fighting HDTV-Carriage Mandate
Senate Passes Film Anti-Piracy Bill
Phone Companies Enter the Internet TV Business
JOURNALISM
The Costly Right to Know
U.S. Journalists Fare Well on Test of Ethics, Study Finds
The GOP Media Machine Churns On
TELECOM
Merger Bells About to Ring For MCI?
Cellphone Companies Win on the PUC's Bad Call
CONTENT
AFA Praises Spellings Over Buster Busting
PTC Doesn't Want Its MTV
Once-Conservative Adelphia Adds Hard-Core Porn to Cable
QUICKLY -- Super Bowl Ads Worth the Price?; Progress & Freedom Foundation
Fdn Launches Legislative Effort; Retransmission Fights Looming; DirecTV
Fined; Net Scams on the Rise
MEDIA POLICY
STEVENS CONTROLS TELECOM AGENDA
As expected, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has eliminated the
Telecommunications Subcommittee, which his predecessor as Commerce
Committee chairman, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), had wanted to run. Sen Stevens
will keep media and telecom oversight under his control as the committee
prepares what could be a massive rewrite of telecommunications law.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA500538?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See Commerce Committee Press Release:
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=231216
ECHOSTAR FIGHTING HDTV-CARRIAGE MANDATE
Last year, EchoStar won concessions from Congress to import the
high-definition, digital TV (HDTV) signals of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox under
certain prescribed circumstances. The company told Congress HDTV
importation was necessary because local stations were failing to supply
viewers with enough HDTV programming. But, just to prove it can use both
sides of its mouth, EchoStar is now telling the FCC it wants to carry
digital-TV stations only in standard-definition, even if those stations are
transmitting HDTV signals. The direct-broadcast satellite provider is
urging the FCC to avoid imposing an HDTV mandate, mainly because such a
ruling would be so burdensome in terms of bandwidth consumption as to
constitute a likely violation of the company's First Amendment rights. A
decision on the issue could come at the FCC's Feb 10 meeting.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA500743.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
SENATE PASSES FILM ANTI-PIRACY BILL
The Senate approved by unanimous consent the Family Entertainment and
Copyright Act that would make it a federal crime to record a movie as it
played in a theater. The bill, which has yet to be considered by the House,
would also clarify that DVD-playing software does not violate copyrights if
it enables viewers to skip limited portions of a movie without changing the
underlying disc. The provision is designed to protect products that let
viewers avoid potentially offensive scenes of sex and violence.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Jon Healey]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-rup2.5feb02,1,1519086...
(requires registration)
PHONE COMPANIES ENTER THE INTERNET TV BUSINESS
[Commentary] A major change in how Americans receive TV is now
underway. Phone giants such as SBC and Verizon are building networks to
deliver what is known as IPTV--Internet Protocol Television. By using
broadband Internet connections, including fiber optics, these companies
will soon be sending multiple streams of high-quality video to TVs. Users
will also be able to go online, receive email, text messages and Web access
via their television as well. New home entertainment hubs--made by
Microsoft, H-P, and many others--will easily permit one to send video and
other media to other devices in the home. In our fast-developing mobile
Internet society, this content will also be received via cell phones,
personal digital assistants, and other devices. But among the key questions
are whether these significant changes in the electronic media marketplace
will really open up new opportunities for content producers and the public.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/marketwatch/IPTV.html
JOURNALISM
THE COSTLY RIGHT TO KNOW
[Editorial] The People for the American Way Foundation would like to know
the secret numbers of immigrants who were rounded up after the terrorist
attacks and never heard from as their court records were sealed. But the
Department of Justice is demanding the foundation pay $400,000 for the
collection of that information. The group pursuing the information wants to
know how many requests the government made to seal proceedings and what
rationales were offered. Vital security information is not part of the
request, just an honest idea of government lawyers' resort to stealth. It's
hardly a secret that when national security is heightened, the values of
government accountability, an informed citizenry and robust journalism can
get short shrift. Close to a dozen reporters, for example, have been served
with subpoenas or threatened with jail sentences in the past year for
refusing to reveal confidential sources to federal investigators. It is
encouraging that two concerned members of the House Judiciary Committee,
Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, and Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat,
have proposed a Free Flow of Information Act that would mandate guidelines
to rein in prosecutors. We agree strongly with Mr. Pence that journalists'
promises of confidentiality are essential to the flow of information the
public needs about its government.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/opinion/02wed2.html
(requires registration)
US JOURNALISTS FARE WELL ON TEST OF ETHICS, STUDY FINDS
In a new study, journalism turns out to be one of the most morally
developed professions in the country, ranking behind only seminarians,
physicians and medical students. Journalists who did civic journalism or
investigative reporting scored significantly higher than those who did not.
Tom Rosenstiel of Columbia University's Project for Excellence in
Journalism says the findings echo what the Pew Research Center found in a
survey of journalists in 1999. "Most of them got into the business out of a
sense that journalism helps democracy work and that they are helping their
fellow citizens," he says. "Journalists get in this business out of an
overriding sense of wanting to serve the public interest. They work bad
hours, are grossly underpaid, they are derided by other media in Hollywood
and increasingly distrusted by the public. So if you're not motivated by a
sense of public mission, there's not a lot of reason to do it."
[SOURCE: USAToday]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050202/d_mediamix02.art.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050202/d_mediamix02_chart.ar...
Are bloggers journalists? Do they deserve press protections?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0202/p03s02-usju.html
THE GOP MEDIA MACHINE CHURNS ON
[Commentary] Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher are not breaking new
ground in accepting money for favorable coverage. The ethical line
separating conservative "journalism" from government propaganda has long
since been wiped away.
[SOURCE: AlterNet/Consortium News, AUTHOR: Robert Parry]
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21149/
See also --
Lobbing Softballs and Grenades
http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/02/lobbing-softballs-and-grenades....
TELECOM
MERGER BELLS ABOUT TO RING FOR MCI?
With SBC taking over AT&T, Wall Street turns its eyes on MCI as the next
possible acquisition. Although smaller than AT&T, MCI is a similar company.
The companies have suffered similar problems in recent years as their core
business of providing telephone service became less relevant and profitable
in a changing industry. Both made their names as major consumer brands
offering residential long-distance service, but they shed much of that
retail trade in favor of larger business clients. Both operate global
networks, but they don't sell wireless or video service, two of the
fastest-growing areas in the telecommunications industry. The two have been
allies in recent regulatory battles against the regional phone companies,
and both are trying to shore up eroding sales by focusing on selling phone
and Internet service to business and government customers. Analysts think
Verizon is the likely buyer for MCI -- and that its just a question of
"when" and "how much" not "if."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55822-2005Feb1.html
(requires registration)
More on expected job cuts due to SBC-AT&T merger:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110728281636642497,00.html?mod=todays...
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050202/sbc02.art.htm
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-sbc2feb02,1,941926.st...
AT&T innovations led to demise:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110729925236542968,00.html?mod=todays...
Yeah for SBC! (editorials)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110730692039243225,00.html?mod=todays...
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110730594446443181,00.html?mod=todays...
CELL PHONE COMPANIES WIN ON PUC'S BAD CALL
[Commentary] The California state Public Utilities Commission suspended
what was the nation's first bill of rights for cellphone customers, before
it had a chance to get going. Now cellphone companies will not have to
publish their rates on the Internet, give new subscribers 30 days to back
out of a contract that weds them to a cellphone service for longer than
some people stay married, and to explain to you what all those charges
are actually for. Companies that find the regulations too "complex and
sweeping" should try reading the fine print on their own contracts. What
they're really afraid of is that the contagion of democracy will spread.
Imagine if other states got wind of this "consumer bill of rights" idea, if
other states insisted that cellphone companies tell the whole truth,
legibly. Although some politicians are considering doing by legislation
what the PUC suspended as regulation, just three telecom companies put
about two million bucks into California political campaigns in 2004 (half
of it coming in the six months after the PUC approved this phone "consumers
bill of rights.") Whom do you think the pols will look out for, someone who
can write those kinds of checks, or a one-vote schmo with a $7 beef on a
$40 cellphone bill?
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Patt Morrison]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-morrison2feb02,1,...
(requires registration)
CONTENT
AFA PRAISES SPELLINGS OVER BUSTER BASHING
Rev. Donald Wildmon and the American Family Association are sending new
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings a big "thank you" for bashing
PBS' Buster for visiting a family with two mothers. AFA applauded Sec
Spellings and is organizing a online thank you letter campaign saying,
"Please send a thank you to Secretary Spellings for her bold
stand. Homosexuals are using their public attack on Secretary Spellings to
keep her from taking similar actions in the future and to scare others from
following her lead. We must not let that happen."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA500489?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
PTC DOESN'T WANT MTV
On Tuesday, the Parents Television Council released an analysis of 171
hours of MTV programming over its Spring Break week March 20-27, and said
it found that the cable service was delivering "8.9 un-bleeped profanities
per hour, and an additional 18.3 bleeped profanities per hour," plus "nine
sexual scenes per hour," with "18 sexual depictions and 17 instances of
sexual dialog or innuendo" on top of that." The study found that MTV's
reality shows had more sex than the music videos, and that the winner of
most sexual segments was, not surprisingly, Spring Break Fantasies, at 32
per hour. The study found that MTV's reality shows had more sex than the
music videos, and that the winner of most sexual segments was, not
surprisingly, Spring Break Fantasies, at 32 per hour. PTC called MTV
profoundly influential on children, saying it was watched by 73% of boys
and 78% of girls 12-19. PTC was pitching the study as ammunition for
requiring cable companies to give consumers more control over their cable
lineups, including offering their channels a la carte.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA500535?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also see --
MTV Tags PTC Report as Unfair
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA500812.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
ONCE-CONSERVATIVE ADELPHIA ADDS HARD-CORE PORN TO CABLE
Adelphia Communications has quietly become the nation's only leading cable
operator to offer the most explicit category of hard-core porn. "People
want it, so we are trying to provide it," Adelphia spokeswoman Erica Stull
said. "The more Xs, the more popular." Five years ago, Adelphia stirred a
local controversy by dropping Spice -- a popular soft-porn channel -- from
newly acquired cable systems here because Adelphia founder John Rigas
considered X-rated programming immoral. Adelphia, which filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection in 2002, currently is on the block. During the
last year, in an effort to bolster Adelphia's bottom line, the company's
new management has begun offering softer porn in various areas of the
country and, in recent months, has introduced the hardest-core programming
in a few markets.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Sallie Hofmeister]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-adelphia2feb02,1,19...
(requires registration)
QUICKLY
IS A SUPER BOWL AD WORTH $80,000 A SECOND?
Is it worth $80k per second to run a Super Bowl ad? Well, yes, it seems it
is. The reason lies not just in the largest audience available (54% of
Americans plan to watch the game). It's also because the Super Bowl is
virtually the only forum left where consumers watch ads for fun and talk
about them rather than trying to avoid them. Super Bowl advertisers also
get considerable added value from intensive publicity on TV talk shows and
newspapers in the days prior to and after the game. Half the people
watching the game will be watching just to see the ads and 58% of all
viewers say they pay closer attention to ads during the Super Bowl than
those they see every day.
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Jack Neff]
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=42448
DIGITAL AGE COMMUNICATIONS ACT
Policymakers from the last five presidential administrations are joining
forces with The Progress & Freedom Foundation to draft model communications
policy legislation. Their collective goal is to ensure deregulated
competition in services and platforms now, while crafting language that can
anticipate future technologies and services. The project, called The
Digital Age Communications Act (DACA), was launched at a press conference
today and comes as Congress is considering an overhaul of communications
law. PFF has a pro-business philosophy, and among its supporters are the
Bells, NCTA, CTIA, USTA, Sprint, Nextel, Level 3, Western
Wireless, Comcast, Disney, EchoStar, Motorola, News Corp., Sony Music,
Time Warner, Viacom, Vivendi Universal and high technology companies.
[SOURCE: Progress & Freedom Foundation Press Release]
http://www.pff.org/news/news/2005/020105daca.html
http://www.pff.org/daca/
http://www.pff.org/daca/050201dacaessays.pdf
http://www.pff.org/daca/advisorycomm.html
http://www.pff.org/daca/workinggroups.html
ACA LAWYER: BRACE YOURSELF FOR RETRANS
The upcoming round of retransmission talks kicks off in October. The
American Cable Association Tuesday warned small cable operators to start
preparing for retransmission-consent negotiations now -- such as
determining what position their companies will take on cash compensation or
on dropping a TV station -- and offered them a primer on how to get ready
for the testy talks with broadcasters that will begin in nine months.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA500811.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
DIRECTV FINED OVER SUBSIDIARY'S EXPORT VIOLATION
DirecTV's subsidiary Hughes Network Systems sold equipment that can be used
for voice and data transmission systems to China, India, South Korea,
Turkey and South Africa, according to a settlement with the State
Department. The company agreed to pay a $5 million fine for violating
export control regulations and a 2003 agreement restricting its sales of
commercial technology to military services.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Renae Merle]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55821-2005Feb1.html
(requires registration)
IDENTITY THEFT, NET SCAMS ROSE IN '04 -- FTC
Americans lost at least $548 million to identity theft and consumer fraud
last year as the Internet provided new victims for age-old scams, according
to government statistics released Tuesday. The U.S. Federal Trade
Commission said it received 635,000 consumer complaints in 2004 as
criminals sold nonexistent products through online auction sites like eBay
or went shopping with stolen credit cards.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=4ES2JPXIA3LGWCRBAEKS...
For more info see:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/02/top102005.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------
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. For upcoming media
policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------