For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
BROADCASTING/CABLE
Coalition Moves TV Public Interest Battle to Hill
House Raises Penalties for Airing Indecency
Parents Control Kids, TV Doesn't
Upton: Congress Might Address Multicasting
Radio Changes its Tune
MEDIA & POLITICS
Bush Administration Blurs Media Boundary
Conservatives and Rivals Press a Struggling PBS
PBS Chief: 'Buster' Didn't Boot Her
Broadcasters Seek a New Voice
INTERNET
Philadelphia Hopes for a Lead in the Wireless Race
Unbound Down Under
Probe Looks at Possible Web-Phone Blockage
Grants Help 131 Rural and Minority Public Radio Stations
Enhance Local Internet Services
Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction Closes, raising over $2 Billion
QUICKLY -- Why We Care about SpongeBob; Qwest & MCI; Telecom Mergers & Job=
=20
Market; FTC Approves MGM Purchase of Mandalay; New Report on Broadband over=
=20
Power Lines
BROADCASTING/CABLE
COALITION MOVES TV PUBLIC INTEREST BATTLE TO HILL
Broadcasters=92 failure to win multicast must-carry rules at the FCC=
provides=20
an opening to get public interest broadcasting laws adopted in Congress,=20
said members of the Public Interest, Public Airwave Coalition Wednesday.=20
The group already has found some =93sympathetic ears=94 on both sides of the=
=20
aisle, said Meredith McGehee,
Media Policy Program Director at the Campaign Legal Center. The coalition=20
is seeking rules that would require broadcasters to air 3 hours per week of=
=20
local, civic and electoral affairs programming between 7 a.m. and 11:35=20
p.m. on their principal channel, with at least 50% between 5 p.m. and 11:35=
=20
p.m. At least 75% of the programming would have to be first run on=20
non-principal channels. =93What we=92re really focused on is getting this=20
information to adult Americans where they=92re watching television,=94=
McGehee=20
said. The coalition criticized broadcasters for their unwillingness to=20
embrace public interest obligations during the run-up to the FCC vote on=20
multicast must-carry. Now that the fight has moved to Capitol Hill, they=20
hope broadcasters will be more willing to compromise. =93NAB has already=
been=20
working the Hill desperately for multicast must carry -- that=92s the=20
political landscape we want to take advantage of.=94
(As part of the PIPAC effort, the Benton Foundation release the "Citizen=92s=
=20
Guide to the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television=
Broadcasters,"
a practical, hands-on guide for citizens who care about television=92s role=
=20
in their lives and want to maximize the public benefits that come from the=
=20
public=92s airwaves. Find the guide at www.benton.org)
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
See more comments from Meredith McGehee at:
http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/attachment.html/Kaplan+press+conferen...
df?id=3D1331
HOUSE RAISES PENALTIES FOR AIRING INDECENCY
In a 389-38 vote, the House passed legislation intended to raise the=20
maximum indecency fines for broadcast stations and performers from $32,500=
=20
and $11,000, respectively, to $500,000. It also toughens enforcement by=20
requiring the FCC to act more swiftly on complaints and makes one indecency=
=20
fine a factor in license renewals and three an automatic trigger for a=20
license revocation hearing. The $500,000 is a maximum, and the bill also=20
allows the FCC to take into account various factors in deciding on a fine=20
amount, including ability to pay, size of market, or whether the=20
broadcaster had or should have had knowledge of the violation or had any=20
control over it.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504633.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Additional coverage --
* TVWeek: http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7321
* Wall Street Journal:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110858074258356683,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_personal_journal
* WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30651-2005Feb16.html
* USAToday:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050217/a_capcol17.art.htm
* LA Times:=20
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indecency17feb17,1,11...
0.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
* White House Backs Smut Bill
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504620?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
* Broadcasters Hammered on Hill
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504488?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
In a related story...
The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday postponed its planned hearing on=20
obscenity enforcement. No new hearing date was given.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504706.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
REACTION --
* Creative Voices in Media:
=
http://www.creativevoices.us/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=3D108&PHPSE...
D=3Df694297090f7df5640838c3d12a1533a
http://creativevoices.typepad.com/blog/
* AFTRA: http://www.aftra.org/legislative/docs/indecency_alert.htm
* Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Regulation/wm666.cfm
PARENTS CONTROL KIDS, TV DOESN'T
[Commentary] Children have no business watching racy TV programming. So=20
whose fault is it when they do? Politicians say it's Hollywood's fault.=20
Hollywood says it's the parents' fault. Parents say it's the politicians'=20
fault for not stopping Hollywood. Harrop says the problem isn't that the=20
programming is available on TV; it's that kids are watching. And parents=20
have tools to control what their children watch. First there's the V-chip.=
=20
It lets adults block certain programming based on one of eight ratings.=20
Second, parents can remove TVs from kids' rooms. Parents can keep better=20
track of TV viewing when it takes place in the family room. And as a last=20
resort -- parents can always "smash the television set."
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Froma Harrop]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p09s02-coop.html
UPTON: CONGRESS MIGHT ADDRESS MULTICASTING
Congress would consider new cable-carriage rights for digital-TV stations=20
if private negotiations fail to produce results, House Telecommunications=20
and the Internet Subcommittee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said Wednesday.=
=20
Rep Upton said he hoped that cable and broadcasters would conclude a=20
multicast-carriage deal akin to the one recently announced between the=20
National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the Association of=20
Public Television Stations. Cable operators currently voluntarily carry the=
=20
digital signals of more than 500 digital-TV stations, largely HDTV=20
programming. The United States has 1,366 commercial TV stations, according=
=20
to the FCC. Currently, 20.5 million households rely exclusively on free,=20
over-the-air broadcasting. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) has said that lawmakers=
=20
would be committing political suicide if broadcast-only consumers were=20
harmed by an abrupt cutoff of analog-TV service.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA504727.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
RADIO CHANGES ITS TUNE
The radio business may be undergoing its biggest shakeup ever. So many new=
=20
digital technologies are beckoning to its traditional listeners that it's=20
hard to know what radio _is_ anymore. It's no longer limited to the=20
airwaves, thanks to cable TV's music offerings, the Internet, and one day,=
=20
perhaps, cellphones. It's not strictly live because online "podcasters" and=
=20
others let you download music to play at your convenience. About the only=20
thing that really separates radio listening from, say, uploading music to=20
an iPod is that on radio, someone else plays deejay. That spells upheaval=20
for the industry. But for consumers, the result looks mostly positive: more=
=20
choices of programs and more control over when they can hear them.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR:Gregory M. Lamb]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p14s02-stct.html
MEDIA & POLITICS
BUSH ADMINISTRATION BLURS MEDIA BOUNDARY
First came video "news releases" produced by the Bush administration using=
=20
a TV news format. Then came three conservative columnists who got big=20
paychecks from federal agencies. Now, there's Jeff Gannon (not his real=20
name), a journalist (maybe) who gained surprisingly easy access to the=20
president, only to lob a sympathetically slanted question. Taken together,=
=20
these recent controversies suggest that the Bush administration may be=20
pushing that craft of message management into new territory - and testing=
=20
the limits of presidential public relations. Since President Bush took=20
office, contracts for public relations work with the federal government=20
have jumped from $39 million to $88.2 million last year, according to a=20
report by Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee. These=
=20
contracts cover everything from promoting the newly revised food pyramid to=
=20
funding major initiatives from schools to Social Security. In a preemptive=
=20
move last month, senior House Democrats called on the White House to halt=20
"use of propaganda" to push the president's plan to create private or=20
personal accounts in Social Security. Democrats are requesting all=20
materials created for radio, TV, or newspapers and other venues to promote=
=20
the plan.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Gail Russell Chaddock]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p01s01-uspo.html
(requires registration)
See also --
Commentator Caught Up in Controversy Tries to Move On
[SOURCE: New York Times]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/politics/17williams.html
(requires registration)
CONSERVATIVES AND RIVALS PRESS A STRUGGLING PBS
Public television is suffering from an identity crisis, executives inside=20
the Public Broadcasting Service and outsiders say, and it goes far deeper=20
than the announcement by Pat Mitchell that she would step down next year as=
=20
the beleaguered network's president. Some public television executives said=
=20
that running PBS was a thankless job, and that managing a far-flung network=
=20
composed of independent fiefs around the country was a particularly=20
daunting assignment. They also said they were facing larger issues that=20
would challenge any executive, like increased competition from the cable=20
industry. Corporate underwriters have been less willing to finance PBS=20
programs, which has left the network increasingly dependent on Washington,=
=20
where Republicans criticize its programming as elitist and liberal. PBS=20
hopes to relieve some of the pressure by creating a huge endowment from the=
=20
proceeds of reselling the spectrum used by its stations when they trade=20
their current broadcast positions for new high-definition stations later in=
=20
the decade. But that will take persuading the same Congressional and=20
administration officials who have objected to its programming. Lobbyists=20
for public television stations are supporting legislation that would put=20
some of the money in a trust fund for public television. Senator=20
Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat sponsoring the legislation=20
along with Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Republican of Maine, has called for=20
the trust fund to be administered by an independent agency following the=20
sort of procedures used by the National Science Foundation and the National=
=20
Institutes of Health. But criticism is not just coming from the right: "I'm=
=20
concerned that PBS is so desperate for funding and support from the=20
Republican-dominated Congress that they're willing to sell their legacy,"=20
says Jeffrey Chester, the executive director of the Center for Digital=20
Democracy and a longtime advocate of more money for public television..=20
"They could forgo their historic mandate to do cutting-edge programming and=
=20
replace it with Bush-administration-friendly educational content."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Tierney and Jacques Steinberg]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/business/media/17pbs.html
(requires registration)
* LA Times: PBS, Fighting for Relevance, Loses Its Chief
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-pbs17feb17,1,719086...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage
* Communications Daily reports that more people are satisfied with PBS=20
programming than that offered by commercial broadcasters, according to a
Roper Media poll commissioned by PBS. The study found that 38% of the 1,000=
=20
respondents are =93very satisfied=94 with PBS
programming. PBS also beat network broadcasters as the most trusted source=
=20
for news and public affairs programs. A majority (52%) said federal funding=
=20
for PBS was too low, and most believe PBS funds are well spent. PBS ranked=
=20
2nd behind the military as the most valuable service taxpayers get.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily]
(Not available online)
PBS CHIEF: 'BUSTER' DIDN'T BOOT HER
The controversy over Buster visiting a family with two mothers is not --=20
not, she repeats -- the reason PBS President Pat Mitchell will step down=20
after her current contract expires in 2006. She insists that she told the=20
PBS board when she signed her current three-year pact that it would be her=
=20
last. She has a big agenda for the 15 months -- bolstering sources of=20
sustainable funding and expediting the transition to digital television.=20
Mitchell has managed to antagonize both liberals and conservatives since=20
late last month with her fluid position on the recent "Buster" episode. In=
=20
each episode of the children's educational series, funded in part by the=20
Department of Education's Ready to Learn initiative, Buster meets actual=20
people who teach him about things that are special in their state. In the=20
controversial episode, he is taught about farm life and maple sugaring in=20
Vermont, by young children from two families that each have two mothers.=20
Vermont offers civil unions to gay couples. In other episodes, Buster has=20
met Mormons in Utah, the Hmong in Wisconsin, people from the Gullah culture=
=20
in South Carolina, an Orthodox Jewish family and a Pentecostal Christian=20
family.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31087-2005Feb16.html
(requires registration)
* USAToday:=
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050217/d_pbs17.art.htm
* LA Times: PBS, Fighting for Relevance, Loses Its Chief
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-pbs17feb17,1,719086...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage
BROADCASTERS SEEK NEW VOICE
National Association of Broadcasters president Eddie Fritts has formally=20
announced his intention to retire. After more than 20 years of leading=20
broadcasters=92 primary trade group, Fritts notified board members today=
that=20
he wants a search for a successor to begin. Among the successes NAB cites=20
under Fritts are passage of the 1992 Cable Act and the 1996=20
Telecommunications Act; passage of legislation that rolled back an FCC=20
low-power FM initiative; elimination of the fairness doctrine, and passage=
=20
of legislation allowing satellite companies to deliver local TV stations.=20
Media Access Project President Andrew Schwartzman took issue with the=20
"success" label on rolling back LPFM. Calling it an example of what is=20
wrong with NAB, he said "This service should be embraced as a farm team=20
for the next generation of broadcasting, and not fought off as an infidel."=
=20
Mr. Schwartzman, frequently on opposite sides of Fritts on broadcast=20
issues, said of the resignation, "While we disagreed with the NAB many more=
=20
times than we agreed with them, I value Eddie Fritts' constant commitment=20
to civility and willingness to try to settle our differences."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA504491.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
More coverage --
* Broadcasters Seek a New Voice (2nd item)
When Edward O. "Eddie" Fritts came to Washington in 1982 to become the top=
=20
lobbyist for the broadcast industry, then-Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR) snarled,=
=20
"The NAB can't lobby its way out of a paper bag." Twenty-three years later,=
=20
Fritts has built the NAB into one of the nation's most powerful lobbies.=20
Fritts expects a new president to be picked in six to eight months. After=20
he leaves, he will be set to make even more than his annual NAB salary and=
=20
benefits, estimated at $1 million. Fritts says that he will either form his=
=20
own consulting firm or join a large political firm, buy into some broadcast=
=20
companies and "serve on a board or two." "I learned early on you've got to=
=20
keep your head down," Fritts said. "They use live ammo here."
Washington Post:=20
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30727-2005Feb16.html
* LATimes: "The one thing we've been able to convince policymakers of," he=
=20
said, "is free, over-the-air broadcasting is still very important in=20
today's society to consumers."
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fritts17feb17,1,57767...
tory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)
* Multichannel News:=20
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA504490.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
* TVWeek: http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7317
* NAB Press Release:=20
http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/Releases/021605Fritts.htm
* Communications Daily reports that the NAB was $2.86 million in the red=20
for fiscal 2004 ended March 31.
INTERNET
PHILADELPHIA HOPES FOR A LEAD IN THE WIRELESS RACE
City officials in Philadelphia envision a seamless mesh of broadband=20
signals that will enable the police to download mug shots as they race to=20
crime scenes in their patrol cars, allow truck drivers to maintain Internet=
=20
access to inventories as they roam the city, and perhaps most important,=20
let students and low-income residents get on the net. Experts say the=20
Philadelphia model, if successful, could provide the tipping point for a=20
nationwide movement to make broadband affordable and accessible in every=20
municipality. From tiny St. Francis (Kansas) to tech-savvy San Francisco,=20
more than 50 local governments have already installed or are on the verge=20
of creating municipal broadband systems for the public. But Philadelphia's=
=20
plan has prompted a debate over who should provide the service, and whether=
=20
government should compete with private industry, particularly in=20
hard-to-reach rural areas or low-income urban communities.=20
Telecommunications and cable companies say that municipal Internet networks=
=20
will not only inhibit private enterprise, but also result in poor service=20
and wasted tax dollars. They have mounted major lobbying campaigns in=20
several states to restrict or prohibit municipalities from establishing=20
their own networks.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Dao]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/technology/17wired.html?hp&ex=3D110870...
&en=3Df1e64f65642d068d&ei=3D5094&partner=3Dhomepage
(requires registration)
UNBOUND DOWN UNDER
Wireless broadband is attractive because it typically offers Internet=20
linkups almost anywhere within its coverage range, which can be an entire=20
metropolitan area. That's different from the popular Wi-Fi networks, which=
=20
provide service only within a range of a few hundred feet at "hot spots"=20
inside coffee shops, hotels, airports and homes. Wireless broadband also=20
often works inside a moving car or train, unlike Wi-Fi. Most consumers use=
=20
wireless broadband as a replacement for fixed-line broadband in their=20
homes, such as digital-subscriber line services purchased from phone=20
companies. But many also like the convenience of being able to move the=20
modem from home to other sites. And people who relocate frequently also can=
=20
take the modem with them, saving the trouble of canceling an old Internet=20
account and signing up for a new one. In Australia, the government sold off=
=20
radio spectrum for such services relatively cheaply. Privately held=20
Personal Broadband snapped up its license in 2001 for only about US$7.5=20
million. In Europe, by contrast, many phone companies paid billions to=20
governments for third-generation cellphone licenses, allowing them to=20
introduce phones and other devices with high-speed Web access. Now, some=20
analysts wonder if those hefty fees were worth it, and if wireless=20
broadband can offer some of the same services more efficiently and cheaply.=
=20
Some wireless-broadband operators are also gearing up to offer regular=20
voice service over their Internet networks, just as some cable-TV companies=
=20
in the U.S. are offering newfangled voice over Internet protocol phone=
service.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Rebecca Buckman=20
rebecca.buckman( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110858206160156717,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
PROBE LOOKS AT POSSIBLE WEB-PHONE BLOCKAGE
Federal regulators launched an investigation into whether a rural phone=20
company blocked access to Vonage, an Internet-phone service that was=20
competing for the phone company's customers, a situation that highlights a=
=20
major, potential problem as phone and cable companies control an array of=20
communications services. The situation became public earlier this week when=
=20
Prof. Larry Lessig of Stanford Law School, an advocate of Internet freedom,=
=20
mentioned Vonage's problem at an industry conference in Boulder, according=
=20
to a technology Web site called www.advancedIPpipeline.com. According to an=
=20
article on the Web site, FCC Chairman Powell, who was attending the=20
conference, said, "We're very actively on this case and we're taking it=20
pretty seriously."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo=20
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110860446864257325,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
Additional coverage --
Wash Post:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31082-2005Feb16.html
GRANTS HELP 131 RURAL AND MINORITY PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS ENHANCE LOCAL=20
INTERNET SERVICES
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will award Internet Service=20
Acquisition Grants to help 131 rural and minority public radio stations=20
enhance their listener and community service via the Web. CPB is investing=
=20
a total of $3 million over the next three years in the grant program.=20
Approximately 200 grantees with rural and/or minority status are eligible=20
for $5,000 per year for the next three years. Under the terms of the grant=
=20
program, eligible stations could receive a maximum of $15,000.
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Press Release]
http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=3D397
BROADBAND PCS SPECTRUM AUCTION CLOSES, RAISING OVER $2 BILLION.
The Federal Communications Commission's auction of broadband Personal=20
Communications Services (PCS) licenses ended on Tuesday, raising gross=20
revenues of $2,253,802,000 and, after applying bidding credits, total net=20
revenue of $2,043,230,450. Pending the remaining steps in the application=
=20
process, this auction marks the completion of an important chapter in=20
putting these spectrum licenses to work for the American public. This=20
auction included spectrum returned to the Commission through its recent=20
settlements in bankruptcy litigation, including the settlement with=20
NextWave Communications reached last April and other license cancellations.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256841A1.doc
QUICKLY
WHY WE CARE ABOUT SPONGEBOB -- WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT UCC ADS
[Commentary] Over the past few weeks, hundreds of Bloggers have linked to=20
the United Church of Christ story about our unequivocal welcome to=20
SpongeBob. James C. Dobson=92s, founder of Focus on the Family, has attacked=
=20
SpongeBob and other cartoon characters for their tolerance towards families=
=20
headed by same sex partners has brought national attention to an issue that=
=20
thousands of Americans experience in a very personal way =AD they don't feel=
=20
welcome =AD in their places of worship and in their communities. The attack=
=20
on SpongeBob and the refusal of the networks to run UCC's ad is the same=20
issue - do we live in an inclusive society where diversity is embraced or=20
have we as a society turn people away? The SpongeBob debate is a great way=
=20
to draw attention to the issue, but real battles are happening within=20
agencies like the FCC that regulate the airwaves. We need to make sure that=
=20
the voices of you who agree are also allowed to be heard. So please, keep=20
on Blogging about SpongeBob, but also join us in writing to the FCC to make=
=20
sure that the public airwaves are accessible not just to those who advocate=
=20
intolerance, but to those who advocate inclusiveness.
[SOURCE: Accessible Airwaves, AUTHOR: Rev. Robert Chase]
http://www.accessibleairwaves.org/
QWEST RELEASES PROPOSAL DETAILS FOR SPURNED BID TO ACQUIRE MCI
MCI received an bid from Qwest before accepting a offer to be purchased by=
=20
Verizon. But Qwest isn't sure it is done fighting for the long distance=20
company. Qwest released details of the proposed terms of its spurned bid=20
for MCI , saying it was seeking to "eliminate any public confusion" about=20
the terms of the offer. Qwest said that the total effective value of its=20
bid to MCI shareholders, including $1.60 a share in dividends, was about $8=
=20
billion -- more than $1 billion above Verizon's offer. There have been=20
concerns voiced from some MCI shareholders that the company turned down a=20
higher offer from Qwest.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110859489217656995,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_money_and_investing
(requires subscription)
Also in --
WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30967-2005Feb16.html
TELECOM MERGERS AS A WINDOW ON JOB MARKET
Four years ago, the telecom industry had the dubious distinction of leading=
=20
the nation in layoffs. Now, it looks as if the industry, in the midst of a=
=20
major consolidation, could be one of the top job cutters again. But this=20
time, employment specialists don't think the job prospects for all those=20
supervisors, engineers, accountants, and personnel specialists will be as=20
bleak. Unlike 2001, those out of work won't be fighting for jobs with=20
unemployed dotcomers. The layoffs also come at a time when the economy is=20
growing, not in recession. And online bulletin boards report they have job=
=20
postings for people in the business.
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Ron Scherer]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p02s01-usec.html
(requires registration)
FTC Approves MGM Purchase of Mandalay
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-rup17.11feb17,1,98210...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
REPORT OF THE BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES TASK FORCE
State regulators have been looking at issues raised by the provision of=20
high-speed Internet access of power lines. On Tuesday they released a=20
report will their initial findings.
[SOURCE: National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners]
http://www.naruc.org/displayindustryarticle.cfm?articlenbr=3D24314&start...
=3D1
http://www.naruc.org/associations/1773/files/bplreport_0205.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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