MORE TALK OF INDECENCY
Hearing Today: H.R. 3717, the 'Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004
FCC's Martin Ponders Indecency on Pay TV, Radio
Stevens: Keep Heat on Broadcasters
POLICYMAKERS
Key Legislators Talk Telecom Policy
Norquist Taking the Heat on Broadband
PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Public Broadcasting Faces Crucial Year in Congress
PBS HD Channel to Launch March 1
QUICK HITS
Hearing: Reauthorization of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act
Voluntary Collective Licensing
Lifting the Curtain on E-Voting
Bundles of Trouble: The FCC's Telephone Competition Rules
Study Says Media Usage is Double Current Measures
MORE TALK OF INDECENCY
HEARING: H.R. 3717, BROADCAST DECENCY ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2004
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (Commerce)
Today, February 26, 2004 at 09:30 AM (eastern) 2123 Rayburn House Office
Building
To testify: ABC TV President Alex Wallau; Alan Wurtzel, NBC; Gail Berman,
Fox Broadcasting; Bud Paxson, Paxson Communications; Harry Pappas, Pappas
Telecasting; John Hogan, Clear Channel. Find link to Webcast at URL below.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/02262004hearing1216/hearing...
FCC'S MARTIN PONDERS INDECENCY ON PAY TV, RADIO
Speaking to the Reuters Technology, Media and Telecommunications Summit,
FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin noted that regulators are considering if
television and radio signals delivered via satellite and cable should
adhere to the same indecency standards as broadcast stations. Satellite
radio and television providers are licensed by the FCC, which could
potentially hold them accountable, Commissioner Martin said. But he
conceded that companies like Sirius Satellite Radio could argue that since
consumers pay for their products, they would not have to comply.
Commissioner Martin would like to see the FCC affirm local television
stations' right to offer alternative programing if they object to a show
and for cable companies to allow customers to block channels they find
offensive and not have to pay for them.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=reutersEdge&storyID=4439539
STEVENS: KEEP HEAT ON BROADCASTERS
In a related story, the likely Senate Commerce Committee chairman, Ted
Stevens (R-AK), told the Quello Symposium on communications policy that the
bill moving through the House to increase indecency fines by tenfold does
not go far enough, given what broadcasters make selling ads. Sen Stevens
said Congress needs to look at indecency and TV violence, and to consider
mandating a family hour.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA386262?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
In a related story...
HOWARD STERN SHOW SUSPENDED ON CLEAR CHANNEL
Clear Channel announced that it will not air the Howard Stern show on
stations in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Rochester, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; San
Diego; Pittsburgh; and Louisville, Ky., until the company is "assured that
his show will conform to acceptable standards of responsible broadcasting."
[SOURCE: wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107776280485639689,00.html?mod=mm%5Fm...
POLICYMAKERS
KEY LEGISLATORS TALK TELECOM POLICY
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) spoke to a Media
Center Forum on a wide range of issues including media ownership, the
transition to digital TV and public television. 1) Concerning media
ownership, Sen McCain said "there are many who believe that what happened
with Clear Channel is a miner's canary for the rest of the broadcasting
industry." Although a self-called "de-regulator" and small government
advocate, Sen McCain said regulation of how American receive their
information and knowledge is a special category. He would like to see the
consolidation trend slowed noting that the FCC's relaxation of ownership
rules went too far. For example, in Los Angeles, one corporation could own
three TV stations, eight radio stations, one Internet service and "several
other media outlets." In Sen McCain's home state, USAToday publisher
Gannett owns both the Arizona Republic and Ch. 12 which he finds nothing
wrong with. But if the corporation were to be allowed to own two or three
more stations, "I think that would have dangerous implications." Sen McCain
said, "once consolidation takes place, I don't think there's any way you
can force anybody to unload their property, and I wouldn't be in favor of
that as well. So before that happens, we at least should have far more
careful scrutiny" of media consolidation "than the FCC has given it."
Concerning the proposed Comcast-Disney merger, Sen McCain said he's "very
worried about vertical integration." 2) The senator blamed the National
Association of Broadcasters for the slow pace of the digital television
transition, although he saw some hope with the costs of DTV sets falling
from unaffordable to very expensive. "I would think it will be another 3
or 4 or 5 years before we could start getting some of that analog spectrum
back," he said adding that it will be long overdue. 3) Sen McCain said he
has "always been skeptical" of public TV, conceding "I'm not the greatest
fan." Nevertheless, he said he thinks PTV "is fine," but said he hopes one
day "they can get enough donors to support themselves."
House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) spoke to members of
the Association of Public Television Stations about the transition to
digital TV, reauthorization of public broadcasting, the next budget for
public broadcasting, indecency and reform of the Telecommunications Act of
1996. 1) On digital
transition, public TV came in for praise for being "leaders in
multicasting." Concerning the APTS plan to return analog spectrum early,
Rep Upton said, "We want to help you return the analog... and that's
something we want all broadcasters be able to do." The Congressman is
planning a roundtable discussion on DTV in the spring and will invite PTV
leaders. 2) A General Accounting Office report expected in April may set
the groundwork for a reauthorization of public broadcasting in 2005 -- the
last time that was done was 1989. 3) Public broadcasting may suffer
appropriations cuts because difficulties with the budget. 4) Rep Upton
saluted public TV stations for an "unblemished" record of broadcast
"decency and thoughtfulness." 5) Telecom Act reform is very unlikely in
2004, but Rep Upton plans to begin hearings in order to set the groundwork
for a re-write of the Act by the next Congress.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Paul Gluckman & Dinesh Kumar]
(Not available online)
NORQUIST TAKING HEAT ON BROADBAND
The presidents of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, the Pacific Research
Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute as well as scholars at
the Hoover Institution and the Manhattan Institute have all signed a letter
to White House informal advisor Grover Norquist accusing him of being
pro-regulatory when it comes to broadband policy. "Your position on
telecommunications deregulation is contrary to the views of the vast
majority of free-market economists and policy analysts," the letter states.
"Your continuing advocacy of the pro-regulation position is destructive to
the cause of limited government. To the extent your efforts are successful,
the effect will be to reduce capital formation, slow job creation, impede
productivity growth and stifle individual liberty and economic freedom."
Norquist said he remains a proponent of deregulating telecom. If the
scholars who wrote yesterday's letter have a proposal for a national
broadband policy that they want him to support, he said, "that's news to me."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Griff Witte]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6925-2004Feb25.html
PUBLIC BROADCASTING
PUBLIC BROADCASTING FACES CRUCIAL YEAR IN CONGRESS
Public broadcasting and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) face
a crucial year in Congress. Through its recent appointments to the CPB
board and its budget proposals, the Bush Administration has sent signals
that it wants to limit the editorial independence of public broadcasting.
Some Members of Congress, too, have criticized certain public broadcasting
programs as biased and have called for more government oversight. This
criticism makes public broadcasting all the more vulnerable in a year when
the CPB faces congressional reauthorization. A reauthorization bill gives
opponents of public broadcasting forums for their attacks and legislative
avenues for making public broadcasting less about serving the public
interest and more about avoiding controversy. "The editorial independence
of public broadcasting must be saved," said Common Cause President and CEO
Chellie Pingree. "With media consolidation so pervasive, in some
communities the only locally owned media outlet is the public television
station and radio station. Public broadcasting remains our last, best hope
of informing citizens about issues vital to our democracy as it does not
depend on commercial revenues and ratings for its existence.
There's much more at the URLs below.
[SOURCE: Common Cause Edit Memo]
http://www.commoncause.org/news/default.cfm?ArtID=284
http://www.commoncause.org/publications/022404_PBS_Edit_Memo.pdf
The House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
(Appropriations) held a hearing on CPB funding yesterday.
http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutTheCommittee.S...
PBS HD CHANNEL TO LAUNCH MARCH 1
PBS will become on March 1 the first broadcaster to provide a fully
packaged 24/7 channel consisting entirely of High Definition and Widescreen
content. The PBS HD Channel will be available from local PBS stations that
have transitioned to digital broadcasting, as well as through local digital
cable systems that have agreed to retransmit the digital signal of their
local public television station. There are currently 236 local PBS stations
on the air with digital signals, reaching more than 85 percent of U.S. TV
households. The PBS HD Channel joins a suite of PBS digital services,
including PBS KIDS Channel and PBS YOU ("Your Own University") and the VOD
cable package,
"PBS KIDS on Demand."
[SOURCE: PBS Press Release]
http://www.pbs.org
QUICK HITS
HEARING: REAUTHORIZATION OF THE SATELLITE HOME VIEWER IMPROVEMENT ACT
On Tuesday Rep Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts,
the Internet, and Intellectual Property (Judiciary), said of renewal of the
Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA), "there are some areas I
think we can agree on. Inevitably, I think we are moving towards
reauthorization, perhaps for 5 years, and we can talk about more of the
details later on." Satellite operators are looking for expanded rights to
offer distant network signals into some local markets, arguing that it
could help speed the transition to digital television.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary and
Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Jeanene Timberlake]
http://boss.streamos.com/real-live/hjudiciary/4749/100_hjudiciary-live_0...
VOLUNTARY COLLECTIVE LICENSING
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced the release of a report
outlining its favored solution to the music file-sharing controversy. The
EFF white paper recommends that the music industry adopt a model similar to
that used by radio stations today, known as voluntary collective licensing.
The proposal suggests a way that artists and copyright holders can get paid
and music fans can share music freely at a reasonable charge without
feeling like criminals. "Voluntary collective licensing aligns the
interests of the music industry with music fans," said EFF Senior
Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann, "The more people share
music, the more artists and copyright holders should receive compensation
for their creations."
The report, entitled "A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
of Music File Sharing," is part of the organization's "Let the Music Play"
campaign.
[SOURCE: Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Advisory]
http://www.eff.org/share/20040224_eff_pr.php
LIFTING THE CURTAIN ON E-VOTING
On March 2, primary voters in California, Georgia and Ohio will use
e-voting systems for the first time and will be a precursor to the expected
50 million voters who will cast electronic ballots for president this
November. But there has been very little media coverage of the inherent
problems with these systems by traditional outlets. Online news magazine
Salon contributor Farhad Manjoo demonstrated how a moderately knowledgeable
techie could hack into Diebold machines and tamper with election results.
"If you've got a copy of Access and can get physical access to the county
machine -- or, some activists say, if you discover the county's number and
call into the machine over a phone line -- the vote is yours to steal,"
Manjoo wrote. Because of the threat to democracy, substantial debate on
e-voting's effects on the democratic process is still required,
Lewellen-Biddle Taylor write, and the broadcast media, in keeping with
their FCC license obligations, has a duty to provide it.
[SOURCE: Media Channel, AUTHOR: Mark Lewellen-Biddle and Danielle Taylor]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert147.shtml
BUNDLES OF TROUBLE: THE FCC'S TELEPHONE COMPETITION RULES
A Heritage WebMemo on FCC rules on unbundled network elements (UNEs) that
have been challenged in court. The rules, the result of provisions in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, aimed to increase competition in the local
telephone service market. But the rules get it wrong, argues Gattuso: 1)
Rather than fostering real competition, the rules undercut it by allowing
competitors to lease facilities at artificially low prices. 2) The FCC
erred in relying on state-by-state regulation in this case; federal
regulation is appropriate because telecommunications service is a key part
of interstate commerce. Whatever the court decide, Gattuso concludes, the
FCC should review UNE rules to reflect real competition from wireless and
Internet telephony.
[SOURCE: Heritage Foundation, AUTHOR: James L. Gattuso]
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Regulation/wm432.cfm
STUDY SAYS MEDIA USAGE IS DOUBLE CURRENT MEASURES
Ball State University Professors Michael Holmes and Bob Papper have written
Middletown Media Studies, a new report on how media usage is measured. The
researchers find that phone surveys and diaries grossly underestimate media
consumption. When comparing reports of media use by phone, by diary entry
and by actual observation, the researchers found that people underestimate
the hours they watch TV by one-half. They also found that people spend up
to one-fourth media-use time using more than one medium simultaneously.
Nielsen Media Research dismissed the study pointing out that in 55 markets,
People Meters are activated as soon as someone turns on the TV. The study
was funded the university's $20 million grant from the Lilly Endowment.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA386366?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang (ktaglang( at )etpost.net) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------