=20
Day)
The House Commerce Committee will discuss "Preparing Consumers for the End=
=20
of the Digital Television Transition" on Thursday (see link below). For=20
this and other upcoming media policy events, see=20
http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
MEDIA & SOCIETY
The Internet and Campaign 2004
White House Approves Pass for Blogger
White House Mum on PR Contracts
Where're the Ratings, Dude?
FCC: Nip/Tuck Not Obscene
IN CONGRESS
Cable Under Attack
Barton: =9206 Cutoff Has Legs
Let Congress Set Media Limits
NTIA Reauthorization
TELECOM
Consumer Advocates Fear Losing AT&T's Voice
COMMENTARY
Careless Spectrum Auctions Waste Taxpayer Asset, Analyst Says
Regulatory Parity and Other Misgivings
Chamber Made
ED TECH
FCC Issues Contract to Evaluate E-Rate Program
72% of Districts will Expand Distance Ed
QUICKLY -- Center for Public Integrity; Recycling TV; TV & Teens; Video on=
=20
Demand; Jay Keithley Named FCC's Acting Chief, Consumer & Governmental=20
Affairs Bureau; Fighting Piracy with Price
MEDIA & SOCIETY
THE INTERNET AND CAMPAIGN 2004
The Internet became an essential part of American politics in 2004. Fully=20
75 million Americans =AD 37% of the adult population and 61% of online=20
Americans -- used the Internet to get political news and information,=20
discuss candidates and debate issues in e-mails, or participate directly in=
=20
the political process by volunteering or giving contributions to=20
candidates. A post-election, nationwide survey by the Pew Internet &=20
American Life Project and the Pew Research Center for The People & The=20
Press shows that the online political news consumer population grew=20
dramatically from 18% of the U.S. population in 2000 to 29% in 2004. There=
=20
was also a striking increase in the number who cited the Internet as one of=
=20
their primary sources of news about the presidential campaign: 11% of=20
registered voters said the Internet was a primary source of political news=
=20
in 2000 and 18% said that in 2004. See much more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Lee Rainie, John Horrigan,=20
Michael Cornfield]
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/150/report_display.asp
See also --
* Internet Passes Radio for Political News
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3DMZK0CA2F0PUYUCRBAE...
Y?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D7818670
* Pew Finds Surge for Web as Source of Political News, As Newspapers Sink
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
_id=3D1000828005
WHITE HOUSE APPROVES PASS FOR BLOGGER
Garrett M. Graff is to be ushered into the White House briefing room to=20
attend the daily press "gaggle." Is it a big deal? Graff is considered the=
=20
first blogger to be granted a daily White House pass for the specific=20
purpose of writing a blog. He's the editor of fishbowlDC, a blog about the=
=20
news media in Washington. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary,=
=20
said he had met with the White House Correspondents Association and they=20
had decided to let Mr. Graff in. "It is the press corps' briefing room and=
=20
if there are any new lines to be drawn, it should be done by their=20
association," he said. Graff said he was surprised at the help he received=
=20
from "real" reporters covering the White House, given what he described as=
=20
the animosity between some bloggers and the mainstream news media. Jay=20
Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University says Graff is helping=
=20
to expand the definition of what constitutes the press, just as radio and=20
television once pushed those boundaries.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katharine Seelyee]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/technology/07press.html
(requires registration)
See also --
* At a Suit's Core: Are Bloggers Reporters, Too?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/technology/07blog.html
(requires registration)
* Apple goes to the source
http://news.com.com/Apple+goes+to+the+source/2010-1071_3-5601664.html?ta...
nefd.ac
WHITE HOUSE MUM ON PR CONTRACTS
On January 28, a couple dozen high-profile House Democrats sent the White=20
House a letter asking for information on all public relations and=20
advertising contracts with government agencies. They requested a reply by=20
March 1, but there has been no reply at all from the Administration. The=20
request cited "secret publicity campaigns to promote administration=20
priorities" including an investigation that "revealed that the Department=20
of Education paid a conservative commentator [Armstrong Williams, though=20
the letter did not name him] to support the No Child Left Behind Act in=20
television and radio appearances," plus another contract with a commentator=
=20
unearthed following the Williams revelation. President Bush has said the=20
play-for-pay practice must end; the FCC is investigating the Williams=20
broadcasts for possible payola violations.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508851?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
WHERE'S THE RATINGS, DUDE?
Television networks have been pressing Nielsen Media Research, the company=
=20
that measures TV audiences, to quantify college-campus viewing for years,=20
without success. In addition to colleges, the ratings company doesn't=20
monitor viewing in bars, hotels, prisons, offices or military housing,=20
among other out-of-home venues. Nielsen has declined to incorporate all=20
this viewing into its regular monitoring, citing cost and technology=20
problems involved in maintaining a "sterile" sample, with precise data on=20
the number of viewers and their exact viewing time per person. Meanwhile,=20
colleges, wary of opening the gates to outsiders conducting research on=20
their students, have been leery of providing access. To help capture and=20
measure out-of-home TV viewing, Nielsen now is testing several new devices,=
=20
among them a gadget that clips onto clothing and records the sound of any=20
TV a person may encounter during the day -- whether at the gym, the office=
=20
or at home. Fox and other networks that cater to younger viewers may soon=20
get a clearer picture of how many campus viewers they may be missing. In=20
coming weeks, Nielsen plans to release data from a two-year study of=20
college-student viewership. Viacom, owner of MTV Networks, Time Warner and=
=20
Fox commissioned the study in the hopes of nudging Nielsen into regularly=20
measuring TV viewing in college dormitories and residences -- and to gain=20
ammunition in negotiating ad hikes.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes brooks.barnes( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111016036647771860,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
FCC: NIP/TUCK NOT OBSCENE
Although available only on pay TV systems, Nip/Tuck has been the subject of=
=20
many complaints filed with the FCC. A variety of complainants asked the FCC=
=20
to fine cable network FX on grounds that the show is indecent and/or=20
obscene. The FCC decided that the show is not obscene. The Supreme Court's=
=20
test for determining whether content is obscene is a high bar: an average=20
person, applying contemporary community standards, must find the material,=
=20
taken as a whole, appeals to =93prurient interest,=94 depicts sex acts in a=
=20
patently offensive way and, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or=
=20
scientific merit. As to the indecency complaints, the FCC does not regulate=
=20
indecent programming on pay TV services.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508743?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA508752.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also hear --
* Context is Everything
Last Veteran's Day, 66 ABC affiliates cancelled a scheduled broadcast of=20
"Saving Private Ryan," because of its spattering of profanity. The=20
affiliates said they were uncertain, in the post-Janet, post-Bono climate=20
of decency enforcement, about what would pass FCC's muster. This week, the=
=20
Commission unanimously ruled that "in light of the overall context of the=20
profanity," the movie was not indecent.
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=3Draotm/otm030405a.ra
IN CONGRESS
CABLE UNDER ATTACK
A long look at last week's news that key leaders in Congress now back=20
extending indecency regulation to pay TV and radio systems. Edgier cable=20
networks like FX and MTV could be forced to corral shows containing sex=20
scenes, profanity and bathroom humor to late-night and early-morning hours,=
=20
like broadcast TV stations do. Alternatively, cable could be forced to sell=
=20
channels =93a la carte=94 or one by one, so parents could pick and choose=
the=20
programming they want coming into their homes. Lobbyists for broadcasters=20
appear to love the idea; lobbyists for cable vow to fight it.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508877.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA508865.html&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
BARTON: '06 CUTOFF HAS LEGS
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) told a=20
National Association of Broadcasters audience last week that he'll soon=20
introduce a bill setting 2006 as the deadline for the transition to=20
digital-only TV broadcasting. The bill will have other provisions dealing=20
with making affordable converter boxes available to low-income households=20
that don't subscribe to cable or satellite. He also said he thinks he has=20
the vote to pass the bill in the House. Broadcasters oppose a hard date in=
=20
2006 because they say consumers aren't ready to acquire millions of boxes=20
to keep their analog sets working, and because they don't know whether=20
cable systems will be allowed to downconvert their digital signals to=20
analog at the headend. Rep Barton said his purpose is to provide certainty=
=20
for ending the transition, which will allow analog spectrum to be recovered=
=20
and reallocated to public-safety groups. Some of the spectrum will be sold=
=20
at auction to broadband-wireless companies.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA508764.html?display=3DPolicy&refer...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
Preparing Consumers for the End of the Digital Television Transition
Hearing by the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
Thursday, March 10, 2005 1:00 PM 2322 Rayburn House Office Building
Witness List Not Yet Finalized
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/03102005hearing1451/hearing...
LET CONGRESS SET MEDIA LIMITS
Congress may be best placed to decide what restrictions should apply to=20
media ownership, rather than the Federal Communications Commission, said=20
departing Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree Friday. Congressional action=20
would give the industry certainty with little chance of the sort of lengthy=
=20
court challenges that have tied up ownership regulations in the past, he=20
said. He also said one of his biggest frustrations while at the agency was=
=20
failing to set a final framework for completing the transition to digital=20
television. "I think the defenders of the status quo are finding fewer and=
=20
fewer places to turn," Ferree said. "Congress or the commission in the next=
=20
year are going to have to come up with a way to get us to the end in some=20
reasonable time frame."
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DtopNews&storyID=3D7806396
NTIA REAUTHORIZATION
The Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to consider reauthorizing the=20
National Telecom & Information Administration on Thursday, though no bill=20
has been introduced yet. A bill similar to the NTIA reauthorization bill=20
that passed the Commerce Committee last year (S-1478), may be introduced=20
this week. Before the measure passed last year, Sen. Sununu (R-NH)=20
introduced an amendment that would have killed the Technologies=20
Opportunities Program (TOP). The amendment was easily defeated, largely on=
=20
objections by Sen. Burns (R-MT), who favors the program=92s boost to=20
telemedicine. The Bush Administration, as in the past, has proposed in the=
=20
2006 budget eliminating the $14 million TOP program. The budget devotes $21=
=20
million to NTIA in 2006, a $4 million increase.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily]
(Not available online)
See http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=3D232861
TELECOM
CONSUMER ADVOCATES FEAR LOSING AT&T'S VOICE
AT&T's days of playing spoiler to the Bells are just about over. The=20
company has announced plans to be bought by SBC Communications. Once that=20
deal closes, AT&T will become, for all practical purposes, a Bell company=20
itself. With AT&T out of the picture, some worry that consumers will lose=20
their strongest advocate. =93The AT&T-SBC merger removes from the scene a=20
major competitor who can express in a forceful way the opposite view of=20
things,=94 says James Baller, a lawyer who often represents small towns in=
=20
their fights with the Bells. =93I think that is a very scary prospect.=94=
With=20
AT&T's powerful voice silenced, Baller worries that small-fry rivals and=20
others will be ignored the next time telecom rules and policies are=20
drafted. Mark Cooper, director of the Consumer Federation of America, says=
=20
he thinks that with AT&T out of the picture, the Bells will steamroll their=
=20
rivals =97 in the regulatory arena, in the courts and in Washington. =93SBC=
can=20
almost justify the purchase price of AT&T for the political payoff alone,=94=
=20
Cooper says. Gene Kimmelman, director of the Consumers Union, worries that=
=20
without AT&T to stand up for the rights of small entrants and new=20
competitors, the USA risks being stuck with rules that unfairly favor the=20
Bells. =93A lot of people don't appreciate how much marketplace shifts drive=
=20
political shifts,=94 says Kimmelman. =93AT&T was the leader in the attempt=
to=20
create local phone competition.=94 Now that AT&T has vanished from the=20
political debate, he says, =93The entire fight has disappeared.=94 Andy=
Lipman,=20
a partner with Swidler Berlin in Washington, says AT&T's special brand of=20
swagger will be hard to replace. =93AT&T merging with SBC is like the United=
=20
States pulling out of NATO,=94 Lipman quips. =93All the other countries are=
=20
going to have to pay multiples of what they historically did just to=20
maintain their current defense posture.=94 The =93countries,=94 in this=
case,=20
are the consumer groups that relied on AT&T for support and guidance.=20
Lipman notes AT&T often took the lead in drafting legal briefs that=20
consumer groups would submit, under their own names, to local, state and=20
federal regulators. (The Bells do the same for their support groups.)
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050307/1b_attcover07.art.htm
COMMENTARY
CARELESS SPECTRUM AUCTIONS WASTE TAXPAYER ASSET, ANALYST SAYS
Government needs to gradually auction off spectrum on a =93reasonable=20
schedule=94 if it wants to get maximum value for the =93taxpayer-owned=
asset,=94=20
said Capitol Solutions CEO David Taylor in a technology forum Friday held=20
by Citizens Against Government Waste. There are right and wrong ways to=20
auction spectrum, Taylor said. Selling it off in large chunks will result=20
in lower bids, while announcing auctions sporadically -- creating the=20
impression it=92s now or never to buy -- leads to
overbidding, as in the UK in 2000. Only a steady supply of spectrum=20
auctioned at regular intervals will lead companies to make rational=
decisions.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Greg Piper]
(Not available online)
REGULATORY PARITY AND OTHER MISGIVINGS
[Commentary] Since the beginning of broadcast regulation, radio licensees=20
have argued that they should be treated just like newspapers -- after all,=
=20
they said, they are both in the communications business. Fortunately, the=20
courts could be relied upon to answer: Broadcasters are given a free=20
federal license to use public property to communicate while newspapers do=20
not require a license to use their printing presses or paper or ink. Well,=
=20
they=92re at it again. This time they have a fancy new name for it --=20
"regulatory parity." And it=92s not just the broadcasters -- all the=20
communications companies are joining in this new variation on an old theme.=
=20
Lloyd describes the efforts of telephone, cable and broadcast companies to=
=20
be treated equally and the actions currently being taken by legislators as=
=20
a response.
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Mark Lloyd]
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=3DbiJRJ8OVF&b=3D387675
CHAMBER MADE
[Commentary] Reaction to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's report =93Sending=
the=20
Right Signals: Promoting Competition Through Telecommunications=20
Reform.=94 The report bemoans that regulation has caused the industry to=20
sink into =93a depressed economic condition.=94 It calls for closing=
networks=20
to sharing, ending regulated wholesale prices, giving valuable spectrum to=
=20
commercial wireless operators, ending common carrier rules and raising=20
funds for universal service from general tax revenues.
http://www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com/
ED TECH
FCC ISSUES CONTRACT TO EVALUATE E-RATE PROGRAM
The FCC has given a nonprofit consulting group, the National Academy of=20
Public Administration (NAPA), a contract worth up to $750,000 to see if the=
=20
Commission can improve how it runs the E-rate program. The FCC wants to=20
find out if the current process can be improved and how other federal=20
agencies handle other multi-billion dollar grant programs. NAPA will be=20
given $400,000 for an analysis of the current system and alternatives used=
=20
by others, a process that=92s expected to take 5-6 months. The FCC has the=
=20
option of paying $350,000 for a 2nd phase in which NAPA would make specific=
=20
recommendations for improvements if required.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
Learn more about NAPA at:
http://www.napawash.org/
72% OF DISTRICTS WILL EXPAND DISTANCE ED
According to the first federal study of distance education, 72% of public=20
school districts in the United States plan to expand distance-learning=20
programs. The popularity of distance education has spread from colleges to=
=20
earlier grades, as students in more than one-third of U.S. school districts=
=20
take courses over the Internet or through video conferences. The main=20
reason is that districts want to offer courses students can't get at their=
=20
own schools.
[SOURCE: eSchool News]
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=3D5560
Dept of Ed Press Release:
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/03/03022005a.html
Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School=20
Students: 2002=AD03:
http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=3D2005010
QUICKLY
THE DIGGING LIFE
16 years ago, TV producer Charles Lewis left "60 Minutes" to found the=20
Center for Public Integrity. In the years since, the Center has become the=
=20
largest non-profit investigative journalism organization in the world,=20
uncovering some of last decade's most important political stories.
[SOURCE: On the Media]
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=3Draotm/otm030405e.ra
THE GREENING OF TV
After seeing TV content recycled so many times in their lives, Sens. Ron=20
Wyden (D-OR) and Jim Talent (R-MO) have introduced legislation that would=20
give consumers a $15 tax credit for recycling their old TVs and computers.=
=20
Electronic waste is a main contributor to hazardous lead, mercury and=20
cadmium in landfills.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508688?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
WHAT A TEEN WANTS
How TV chases an elusive demo.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Anne Becker]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508875.html?display=3DFeature...
erral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
THE TRANSFORMING FORCE OF VIDEO-ON-DEMAND
With 21.5 million subscribers, Comcast is the nation's largest cable TV=20
company as well as a pioneering player in the business of turning TV sets=20
into video library machines, enabling consumers to watch anything they want=
=20
anytime they want. But what will video on demand (VOD) mean for=20
advertisers? As profound as the impact of VOD is for viewers, the potential=
=20
for marketers, and their advertising agency partners, is equally tremendous.
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Lisa Sanders]
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=3D44463
JAY KEITHLEY NAMED ACTING CHIEF, CONSUMER & GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS BUREAU
FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell has named Jay Keithley to be acting chief of=
=20
the Commission's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, following the=20
departure of current bureau chief K. Dane Snowden on March 11. Keithley=20
has been the bureau's deputy chief for policy since June 2004. Prior to=20
joining the Commission, Keithley was director of government relations and=20
regulatory counsel at PCIA, The Wireless Infrastructure Association, in=20
Washington, DC. Before that he had been vice president for regulatory=20
affairs at Sprint Corporation, Washington, DC; vice president , public=20
affairs, at United Telecom, Inc., Washington, DC; general counsel at United=
=20
Telephone Company of Indiana, Inc., Warsaw, IN; and chief trial attorney at=
=20
The National Credit Union Administration, Washington, DC. From 1974 to=20
1978 he was a captain, Judge Advocate, in the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed=
=20
in Washington, DC. As deputy bureau chief, Keithley was responsible for=20
oversight of the consumer policy division, the disability rights office and=
=20
the reference information center and dealing with issues=20
involving telemarketing rules, CAN-SPAM, slamming rules enforcement,=20
implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensuring the=20
public has convenient and reliable access to all Commission public=
documents.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257182A1.doc
MOVIE, MUSIC GIANTS TRY NEW WEAPON AGAINST PIRATES: PRICE
Rampant piracy in places like China, Russia and Mexico has prevented=20
Hollywood studios and major record labels from tapping the full growth=20
potential of those tantalizing markets. Now, some media companies are=20
trying to reverse the tide by cutting prices on legitimate DVDs and CDs low=
=20
enough to challenge the pirates at their own game.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kate Kelly kate.kelly( at )wsj.com, Ethan=
=20
Smith ethan.smith( at )wsj.com and Peter Wonacott peter.wonacott( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111015143350171693,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
* No, not the director, silly. Revolutionary War Gen. Casimir Pulaski.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------