MEDIA & SOCIETY
Social Security Withholding PR Documents
Adelstein Says Media Mergers Deserve More Scrutiny than Telecom
Adelstein Fears Uproar Over Analog Cutoff
FCC Fines 3 TV Stations for Violating Closed Caption Rules
Black History and Ads Don't Mix, Activists Say
Adelphia Nixes Triple-X
INTERNET
Ads Embedded in Online News Raise Questions
Online Ad Spending Hits New High
Groups Send Letters to States in Support of Municipal Broadband
Wireless's New Hookup
The Latest Initiative in Congress: Blogging
TELECOM
FCC Finds That AT&T Unlawfully Avoided Paying Universal Service and
Access Fees On Its Prepaid Calling Cards
European Telecoms Are Leading Push For Convergence
Qwest Moves Closer To New Bid for MCI
Consumer Groups Call for Hearings on Telecom Merger Wave
QUICKLY -- Airwaves for All; LA Radio Market; Clear Channel, Stern end=20
Legal Dispute; Is Cablevision for Sale?; FCC's Digital Must Carry Decision=
=20
Released
MEDIA & SOCIETY
SOCIAL SECURITY WITHHOLDING PR DOCUMENTS
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) claims that the=
=20
Social Security Administration is withholding documents regarding its $1.8=
=20
million contract with PR firm Fleischman-Hillard and possibly information=20
on other contracts. CREW filed requests for documents in January after the=
=20
Department of Education confirmed that it paid TV commentator and columnist=
=20
Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote the Bush Administration=92s No Child=
=20
Left Behind program. CREW then filed FOIA requests with Social Security and=
=20
21 other federal agencies to learn whether they had similar contracts to=20
promote White House initiatives. The Freedom of Information Act requires=20
federal agencies to respond to FOIA requests within 20 days, but SSA has=20
not responded to CREW=92s request. CREW charges that the Social Security=20
Administration, which is obligated to act independently of White House=20
legislative initiatives, has been using taxpayer dollars to push the Bush=20
Administration=92s controversial plan to let workers invest a portion of=20
their Social Security contributions on Wall Street.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505968?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
ADELSTEIN SAYS MEDIA MERGERS DESERVE MORE SCRUTINY THAN TELECOM
Media mergers need to be held to a higher level of scrutiny than telecom=20
acquisitions, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein told reporters at a news=
=20
conference Wed. =93It has a direct impact on our free exchange of ideas and=
=20
on our very democracy. The other mergers have impacts on our marketplace,=94=
=20
he said. Until there is certainty in the marketplace of the impact on=20
mergers, no more mergers or waivers should be granted unless the companies=
=20
prove that what they=92re doing is serving the public interest, Commissioner=
=20
Adelstein said. =93It=92s so important that we don't allow any additional=20
mergers to take place until we know the broader impact on the media=20
industry and the
people who rely on that for a diversity of ideas.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins, Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
ADELSTEIN FEARS UPROAR OVER ANALOG CUTOFF
Consumers left without television service due to a poorly planned=20
digital-TV transition would react harshly, Federal Communications=20
Commission member Jonathan Adelstein said Wednesday. The FCC has a plan,=20
currently on hold, that calls for ending the digital-TV transition Dec. 31,=
=20
2008. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) favors=
=20
Dec. 31, 2006, and he is close to introducing a bill that may include that=
=20
date. But Commissioner Adelstein shares the view with some on Capitol Hill=
=20
that Congress and the FCC need to ensure that 73 million analog-TV sets=20
(including 45 million in homes that do not subscribe to cable and=20
satellite) do not go dark once analog-TV service is turned off. =93I think=
if=20
there is a cutoff of analog service, we=92re going to have an amazing uproar=
=20
from the public if there is not really a lot of effort made to prepare the=
=20
public and give them the tools they need to be able to receive television=20
signals in their homes,=94 Commissioner Adelstein told reporters
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA506167.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FCC FINES 3 TV STATIONS FOR VIOLATING CLOSED CAPTION RULES
For the first time, the FCC proposed to fine three San Diego TV stations a=
=20
total of $65,000 for violating the Commission=92s emergency closed=
captioning=20
rules. McGraw-Hill, licensee of KGTV (Ch. 10, ABC); Midwest TV, licensee of=
=20
KFMB-TV (Ch. 8, CBS); and Channel 51, licensee of KUSI-TV (Ch. 51, UPN)=20
were each fined for their coverage of a wildfires emergency in San Diego in=
=20
2003. The wildfires caused loss of life, injuries and extensive property=20
damage, the FCC said. The stations failed to make accessible, in a timely=20
manner, to persons with hearing disabilities emergency information that=20
they provided aurally in their programming, the Commission said. As video=20
programming distributors, the stations are required to provide the deaf=20
with the same access to such information that they provide to listeners=20
either through a method of closed captioning or by using another method of=
=20
visual presentation, such as crawls or scrolls on the screen.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
See the Notices --
Midwest Television:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-455A1.doc
Channel 51 of San Diego:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-456A1.doc
McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-457A1.doc
Additional coverage --
* B&C:=20
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA506005?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
BLACK HISTORY AND ADS DON'T MIX, ACTIVISTS SAY
Advertisements tout laxatives, cars, even yoga classes under the guise of=20
paying homage to African American history. Educators and some civil rights=
=20
activists say they are bothered by what they consider exploitation of a=20
season meant to honor the contributions of black Americans. But marketing=20
experts say the trend is not surprising in a nation that once considered=20
draping advertising banners across the base of the Statue of Liberty.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Avis Thomas-Lester]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48571-2005Feb23.html
(requires registration)
ADELPHIA NIXES TRIPLE-X
X and XX are OK, but XXX is getting nixed on Adelphia Communications cable=
=20
systems. The Los Angeles Times reported Feb. 2 that the company had=20
broadened that lineup to include XXX-rated films, but after receiving=20
criticism, Adelphia will change course again. Adult films are among the=20
most profitable products cable and satellite TV operators sell. They earn=20
relatively low profit margins on their basic plans, but keep 80%-90% of the=
=20
money from adult programming sales.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Jim Finkle]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA505973?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
INTERNET
ADS EMBEDDED IN ONLINE NEWS RAISE QUESTIONS
Using an online news article's words as ads poses new questions for=20
reporters and their publishers, said Aly Col=F3n, who teaches ethics at the=
=20
Poynter Institute, a journalism education organization. The biggest risk,=20
he said, may be turning off readers. "If we want to be taken seriously for=
=20
the work that we do as journalists, we should try to devise a way of=20
presenting our material so the users, the readers, know that we are first=20
and foremost about the news," he said. Forbes.com recently experimented,=20
but dropped the practice citing reporters' unease. But the New York Post=20
has started linking ads to article text.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nat Ives]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/business/media/24post.html
(requires registration)
ONLINE AD SPENDING HITS NEW HIGH
Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Internet Advertising Bureau=20
finds that Internet advertising grew to a new high of $2.7 billion in the=20
fourth quarter of 2004. Estimates for all of 2004 online revenue totaled=20
just under $9.6 billion -- a 32% increase over the $7.3 billion spent in=20
2003. That tops the biggest previous ad spend year until now -- the dot-com=
=20
boom year 2000 when annual ad revenue reached $8.1 billion. The fourth=20
quarter of 2004 spiked nearly 24% over the same quarter in 2003, when it=20
was $2.2 billion. And, the total online ad spend is 17% higher than it was=
=20
in the third quarter of 2004, when it was $2.3 billion. The estimated ad=20
spend total is reached by surveying and aggregating 2004 fourth-quarter=20
data from the top 15 online ad sellers.
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Kris Oser]
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=3D44383
GROUPS SEND LETTERS TO STATES IN SUPPORT OF MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
A group of 67 national organizations, community networking projects, and=20
regional, state and local groups from across the U.S. sent a letter in=20
support of community Internet and municipal broadband to states considering=
=20
banning such services. =93The signatories to this letter oppose any state or=
=20
federal policies that would impose a blanket ban or significant impediment=
=20
to any city, county or state entity from providing broadband services to=20
their citizens,=94 the letter said. The signatories called on all states=20
considering such legislation to =93reject it as harmful to the interests of=
=20
their citizens.=94 The letter rebutted the municipal broadband opponents=92=
=20
argument of governments monopolizing broadband or discriminating against=20
competing private networks. =93Every signatory to this letter agrees that=20
federal, state and local policies should encourage deployment of broadband=
=20
networks in a competitive and technologically neutral manner,=94 the letter=
=20
said: =93The reality has been that local governments only spend money to=20
build systems when they believe a need exists, and that these local systems=
=20
encourage private companies to deploy and invest in competitive systems.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Susan Polyakova]
(Not available online)
See also --
* Citizens' Group Defends Rights Of Cities To Build; Networks
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew "Don't call me Crew" Clark]
http://www.drewclark.com/
* Profiles of Municipal and Community Broadband Networks
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Ben Scott, Free Press and Naveen=20
Lakshmipathy, Kartik Ramachandran, and Matt Barranca, New America=
Foundation]
http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Doc_File_2245_1.pdf
WIRELESS'S NEW HOOKUP
Thanks in part to a whimsically named wireless connection technology called=
=20
ZigBee, homes, PCs, automobiles, and even certain branches of government=20
may all function very differently in the not-too-distant future. ZigBee is=
=20
a new networking standard that allows a variety of low-power devices to=20
communicate over an unregulated portion of the radio spectrum. It stands to=
=20
join a crowded wireless technology field that already includes cell-phones,=
=20
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and others. But unlike those other standards, ZigBee can=20
run for years on inexpensive batteries, eliminating the need to be plugged=
=20
into electrical power. Hence, it holds huge promise in such areas as energy=
=20
conservation, home automation and agriculture. Although ZigBee's underlying=
=20
radio-communication technology isn't revolutionary, it goes well beyond=20
single-purpose wireless devices, such as garage door openers and "The=20
Clapper" that turns light on and off. It allows wireless two-way=20
communications between lights and switches, thermostats and furnaces,=20
hotel-room air-conditioners and the front desk, and central command posts.=
=20
It travels across greater distances and handles many sensors that can be=20
linked to perform different tasks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: William M. Bulkeley=20
bill.bulkeley( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110920408888362616,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
THE LATEST INITIATIVE IN CONGRESS: BLOGGING
Blogging, the Web-based craft of diary-keeping and commentary, is taking=20
root on Capitol Hill. The nonprofit Congressional Management Foundation,=20
which helps educate Congress on running its business, says at least four=20
members -- Representatives Mike Pence (R-Indiana), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and=20
Katherine Harris (R-Fla), and Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) -- have taken=
=20
up the task on a continuing basis. (Others have used temporary blogs to=20
document trips, said Brad Fitch, the foundation's deputy director.) The=20
Congressional bloggers praise the power, popularity and potential of=20
blogging, citing it as one of the most frequently visited parts of their=20
Congressional Web sites. While popular political blogs like Wonkette, MyDD=
=20
and Daily Kos serve as an alternative to traditional news sources and allow=
=20
their authors to purvey commentary, Congressional blogs are extremely tame.=
=20
In many cases, staff members -- not the legislators themselves - post=20
entries, and they rarely link to other blogs, as most blogs do.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Wingfield]
http://tech.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/technology/circuits/24cong.html
(requires registration)
TELECOM
FCC FINDS THAT AT&T UNLAWFULLY AVOIDED PAYING UNIVERSAL SERVICE & ACCESS=20
FEES ON ITS PREPAID CALLING CARDS
Bad AT&T. Bad. Bad. Bad. The Federal Communications Commission today found=
=20
that AT&T unlawfully avoided paying millions of dollars of universal=20
service contributions and other fees related to a long-distance calling=20
card service marketed by the company. The Commission rejected an assertion=
=20
by AT&T that its practice of inserting advertisements in the calling card=20
service transformed it into an unregulated "information service" not=20
subject to universal service assessments. The advertisements are=20
incidental to the underlying telecommunications service offered to the=20
cardholder, the Commission found, and do not change the regulatory status=20
of the service. The Commission ordered AT&T to file revised universal=20
service contributions forms for the entire period that AT&T has provided=20
its calling card service. In its November 2004 filings with the Securities=
=20
and Exchange Commission, AT&T reported that it had avoided $160 million in=
=20
universal service contributions on the card since 1999.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-256921A1.doc
* Text of Order:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A1.doc
Statements from Commissioners --
* Powell: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A2.doc
* Copps: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A3.doc
* Adelstein:=
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-41A4.doc
* Reaction from Senate Commerce Committee:
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=3D232531
In a related story, the FCC is fining Zoo.com $20,000 for not making=20
universal service contributions for prepaid long distance service.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-449A1.doc
More coverage --
* WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48740-2005Feb23.html
* WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110920354500762586,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
* USAToday:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050224/2b_fcc24.art.htm
EUROPEAN TELECOMS ARE LEADING PUSH FOR CONVERGENCE
Many companies are working on dual-mode handsets that can easily switch=20
between fixed-line networks and cellphone networks, depending on which is=20
more accessible. After technical glitches that delayed the project by about=
=20
a year, British fixed-line operator BT Group plans to launch its service=20
with the new handsets, dubbed Bluephone, this spring in conjunction with=20
mobile-phone company Vodafone Group. If successful, it could spur U.S.=20
carriers to follow suit. European operators have been chipping away at the=
=20
idea of convergence in other ways. In the fall, Swiss telecom company=20
Swisscom began selling a card that plugs into a laptop PC to provide=20
broadband access via a Wi-Fi hotspot when a customer is, for example,=20
waiting in a hotel lobby. The hotspot provides a wireless connection over a=
=20
short distance to reach the fixed-line network. If the customer leaves the=
=20
hotel and hops into a cab, the card maintains the same broadband=20
connection, but this time through a connection with an advanced cellular=20
network.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Gabriel Kahn gabriel.kahn( at )wsj.com,=20
Serena Saitto serena.saitto( at )dowjones.com & Cassell Bryan-Low=20
cassell.bryan-low( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110920088394362526,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
QWEST MOVES CLOSER TO NEW BID FOR MCI
Expect a modified bid for MCI from Qwest as early as today. A rising number=
=20
of shareholders are urging MCI to consider any new Qwest bid. Yesterday,=20
Elliot Associates LP, which owns about 2.72 million MCI shares, said in a=20
letter to MCI's board that it was displeased with the proposed Verizon deal=
=20
(Verizon won with a lower bid than Qwest) and wants MCI to consider any=20
subsequent bid by Qwest.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Almar Latour almar.latour( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110921238181362848,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_money_and_investing
(requires subscription)
See also --
* Qwest Displays Tenacity in MCI Bid
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-qwest24feb24,1,360597...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
CONSUMER GROUPS CALL FOR HEARINGS ON TELECOM MERGER WAVE
Citing the acceptance of a lower bid and the unique competitive threat of=20
the proposed Verizon-MCI merger, two of the nation=92s largest consumer=20
groups sent A letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee calling for=20
immediate investigations into the merger wave in the telecommunications=20
industry.Text of letter available at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/001888.html...
e
QUICKLY
AIRWAVES FOR ALL (2nd item)
A new report to be released today by the Center for the Public Integrity, a=
=20
nonpartisan research group, found that MS Communications LLC holds licenses=
=20
to operate 203 low-power television stations around the country, the=20
second-largest collection of such licenses after the state of Alaska. But=20
MS Communications has yet to broadcast any programming. Mark Silberman, the=
=20
company's managing partner, says he wants to offer service in underserved=20
areas, but he has been unable to due to regulatory uncertainty at the FCC.=
=20
"It's the uncertainty and they keep changing the rules," he said. He said=20
that many of the channels his licenses are for could be used for other=20
purposes, so he has had to find new markets with less potential=20
uncertainty. "I've been working on this for 13 years. I'm 72 and I've made=
=20
no progress."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ann Grimes]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110919790726662457,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
* Two-hundred Channels and Nothing on -- Literally
http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid=3D602&sid=3D200
FCC RULES MAY FORCE INDIE 103.1 FM TO CHANGE ITS TUNE
Although Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1 is owned by Entravision=20
Communications, a Santa Monica-based Spanish-language media company, it=20
went on the air 14 months ago under a so-called joint sales agreement with=
=20
Clear Channel, the largest radio station operator in the U.S. and the owner=
=20
of eight stations in the L.A. market. Under the joint sales agreement,=20
Clear Channel's advertising staff sold time on Indie 103.1 at rates lower=20
than those offered by the region's dominant rock powerhouse, KROQ-FM=20
(106.7), which is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. Clear Channel's=20
salespeople also pitched ad time in bundled deals with its other stations,=
=20
such as KIIS-FM (102.7) and KBIG-FM (104.3). Revised Federal Communications=
=20
Commission regulations redefine joint sales agreements in such a way that=20
Indie 103.1 constitutes Clear Channel's ninth station in the market, and=20
federal media rules bar any company from owning more than eight. Clear=20
Channel will end the agreement April 1. Rolling Stone magazine has dubbed=20
Indie 103.1 "America's coolest commercial station."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Geoff Boucher]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indie24feb24,1,408475...
ry?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)
CLEAR CHANNEL, STERN DROP SUITS
Last June, Howard Stern sued Clear Channel seeking $10 million in licensing=
=20
fees he said Clear Channel should have paid him after it dropped his radio=
=20
show in February amid indecency concerns. He also said Clear Channel=20
violated the terms of its contract by not notifying him that it was=20
dropping the show. Clear Channel, of San Antonio, countersued for $3=20
million in July, saying Mr. Stern violated the contract by not conforming=20
to federal decency standards. The suits were filed in U.S. District Court=20
for the Southern District of New York. But both sides now say "No blood, no=
=20
foul;" they have asked the court to drop both cases with prejudice, meaning=
=20
they can't refile their suits. Neither side is admitting wrongdoing.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110921553953862914,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
IS CABLEVISION ON THE BLOCK?
With the sale of Rainbow DBS=92 satellite assets, a recent ownership=20
restructuring with News Corp and a high stock price, speculation continues=
=20
that Cablevision may be for sale.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA505991.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
* Dolan: Cablevision Considering Sale of Rainbow Channels
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7348
The FCC released the Dual and Multicast Carriage Issues Report and Order
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-27A1.doc
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------