For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Let's Define the Public Interest
=91Reports': Not Necessarily the News
OWNERSHIP
FCC Considers Options for Expanding LPFM Service
If Studios Get to Curb TV Shows on the Web, Let's Ask Quid Pro Quo
Diller's IAC Nears Deal for Jeeves
Shari Redstone Waits in Wings To Head Viacom
INTERNET REGULATION
FEC Considers Restricting Online Political Activities
Justices Take Up Future of Net Access
Source: FCC to Dress 'Naked' DSL
QUICKLY -- Journalistic Issues in Apple Lawsuit
MEDIA & SOCIETY
LET'S DEFINE THE PUBLIC INTEREST
[Commentary] The authors, two past-members of a Presidential Advisory=20
Committee, call on the FCC to define the public interest obligations of=20
digital television broadcasters. Public-interest obligations, they write,=20
encourage broadcasters to reach the greatest number of viewers with content=
=20
that is not peripheral but central to their lives. They conclude: "If=20
broadcasting is continually seen as just a business, like the toaster=20
business, a short-sighted focus on narrow, profitable market segments may=20
prevail. The result will be less and less programming that benefits the=20
broadest segments of society. And TV could soon be seen as just a big box=20
filled with yesterday's technology. When broadcasters embrace their roles=20
as journalists and protectors and proponents of the public interest, we=20
benefit far beyond what TV stations can recover in advertising: People are=
=20
engaged as citizens; government power is checked; waste and fraud are=20
exposed; and we can value our televisions as much as broadcasters value our=
=20
well-being. Without public-interest obligations, our country's most=20
time-honored broadcast values of competition, diversity, localism and=20
democracy might all be toast."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Charles Benton and Jim Goodmon]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA511880.html?display=3DOpinion...
erral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
'REPORTS': NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS
Former White House press secretary Michael McCurry says the media, not=20
President Bush, are to blame for airing government-produced =93video news=20
releases=94 that mimic independent TV news reports. He said the intent is=
not=20
to mislead. They do it, he said, out of =93desperation that the public out=
=20
there doesn't have a clue what it is that people are doing with their tax=20
dollars =85 because you all (the media) aren't covering that.=94 McCurry=
said=20
the media have forced the government to =93package=94 the news, and=
reporters=20
should =93try covering the things that the government really does and report=
=20
on things that really work instead of assuming that everything is waste,=20
fraud and abuse.=94 Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News=
=20
Directors Association, said the government has an obligation to identify=20
its VNRs. But she said =93the burden is on newsrooms to make sure viewers=20
know where they're getting this material.=94 Last week, Sen. John Kerry, the=
=20
2004 Democratic presidential nominee, asked the Federal Communications=20
Commission to investigate how often TV stations had broadcast =93news clips=
=20
produced by the federal government.=94
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mark Memmott]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050321/a_vnrs21.art.htm
OWNERSHIP
FCC CONSIDERS OPTIONS FOR EXPANDING LPFM SERVICE
On Thursday, the FCC adopted a order and notice of proposed rulemaking that=
=20
modifies the rules governing low power FM (LPFM) radio service, seeking=20
comment on a number of ownership and technical issues for this service and=
=20
imposing an immediate six-month freeze on application grants of FM=20
translator new station construction permits. The Commission seeks comment=20
on the following issues related to LPFM ownership and application rules: 1)=
=20
Whether LPFM authorizations should be transferable and, if so, whether=20
transferability should be broadly permitted or limited to special=20
circumstances; 2) Whether to extend from 30 days to 90 days the deadline=20
for submission of a time-share proposal after a mutually exclusive group of=
=20
LPFM applicants is announced; 3) Whether to permit renewal of licenses=20
granted under involuntary time-sharing, successive license term procedure;=
=20
4) Whether to permanently restrict ownership of LPFM stations to local=20
entities; and 5) Whether to permanently prohibit multiple ownership of LPFM=
=20
stations.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257524A1.doc
Order: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-75A1.doc
Commissioner Copps:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-75A2.doc
Commissioner Adelstein:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-75A3.doc
IF STUDIOS GET TO CURB TV SHOWS ON THE WEB, LET'S ASK QUID PRO QUO
Commentary] At a hearing last month, two of the three judges on the U.S.=20
Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington appeared to agree with the=20
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, the American Library=20
Association and other groups who argue that the Federal Communications=20
Commission overstepped its congressionally derived authority when it=20
promulgated the "broadcast flag" rule, a technical modification to a=20
broadcast digital TV signal that prevents a recording of a show from being=
=20
uploaded to the Internet. Picking up on the scent of defeat, the Hollywood=
=20
lobby is moving the battle to Congress. Gomes supports --or, at least, does=
=20
not oppose -- the broadcast flag, but thinks Hollywood should provide a=20
tradeoff -- allowing for the creation of legal services that facilitate=20
downloading of video entertainment. He concludes: "The studios must pick=20
some sort of digital-rights-management software to protect their=20
intellectual property, and then agree on a reasonable licensing system that=
=20
will allow people to legally buy those products online.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Lee Gomes lee.gomes( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111135923839384566,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
DILLER'S IAC NEARS DEAL FOR JEEVES
An announcement could come today that Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp=20
has purchased the fifth-largest Web-search service, Ask Jeeves, for around=
=20
$2 billion in stock, marking an aggressive move by the electronic-commerce=
=20
company into the Internet's most competitive arena. A deal would highlight=
=20
the strong interdependence of search and Web commerce online. Web sites=20
such as IAC's Expedia and Match.com get much of their online traffic from=20
search engines, with consumers clicking either on the search results or=20
search-related ads the sites have bought. The tie-up with a search engine=20
could make their approach to getting customers through search more=20
effective. Ask Jeeves garners 70% of its revenue from advertisements=20
brokered by Google, but placed on its sites. Over time, IAC, could shake up=
=20
the two search engines' commercial relationship.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis K. Berman=20
dennis.berman( at )wsj.com & Kevin J. Delaney kevin.delaney( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111136320151184666,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
Also in --
NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/business/21deal.html
SHARI REDSTONE WAITS IN WINGS TO HEAD VIACOM
Shari Redstone, daughter of Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, is playing an=
=20
increasingly active role in the company. Her main job is running the=20
company's theater chain in Boston, but she's also on the Viacom board and=20
has lately been attending more internal meetings and helping her father=20
schmooze investors. Mr Redstone has promised to step down as CEO of Viacom=
=20
by 2007, but has also indicated the company may split into two and he might=
=20
let Co-Presidents Tom Freston and Les Moonves run those companies. He'll=20
remain the controlling shareholder and chairman and pass that on to Ms=20
Redstone when he dies.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Carol Hymowitz carol.hymowitz( at )wsj.com=
=20
& Joe Flint joe.flint( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111136989554384823,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
More on Viacom in NYTimes:=20
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/business/media/21mtv.html
INTERNET REGULATION
FEC CONSIDERS RESTRICTING ONLINE POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
The Federal Election Commission has begun considering whether to issue new=
=20
rules on how political campaigns are waged on the Internet, a regulatory=20
process that is expected to take months to complete but that is already=20
generating considerable angst online. The agency is weighing whether -- and=
=20
how -- to impose restrictions on a host of online activities, including=20
campaign advertising and politically oriented blogs. The rise of the=20
Internet as a political tool, the variety of ways in which it can be used=20
to promote a campaign and the fact that most federal election laws were=20
written long before the Internet became a household word have combined to=20
present the agency's commissioners with plenty of knotty legal questions to=
=20
consider. Should bloggers who work for political campaigns, for example, be=
=20
required to disclose that relationship? Should their writings include a=20
disclaimer indicating that they were paid for by a campaign? What if a=20
campaign supporter links his Web site to a candidate's home page? Is that=20
considered a campaign contribution subject to government regulation? What=20
if an independent blogger endorses a candidate? Or posts a campaign's news=
=20
release? Are those contributions?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Faler]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51986-2005Mar20.html
(requires registration)
JUSTICES TAKE UP FUTURE OF NET ACCESS
Brand X Internet Services is leading a legal attack on the cable TV=20
industry and federal regulators. The Brand X challenge has ended up in the=
=20
U.S. Supreme Court, becoming what experts call one of the most important=20
telecommunications cases before the high court in recent years. Brand X and=
=20
other Internet service providers, including giant EarthLink, want access to=
=20
cable TV companies' high-speed connections to serve customers, the way they=
=20
do over local phone lines. The Internet companies say access rights are=20
crucial to their survival. Customers are increasingly abandoning slow=20
dial-up connections in favor of high-speed service, which in a majority of=
=20
cases is sold by cable operators. The ISPs also contend that a loss to the=
=20
cable industry would clear the way for approval of a stalled Federal=20
Communications Commission rule giving phone carriers the same right to deny=
=20
access to Internet service providers. (see story below) That would leave=20
customers with only cable and phone monopolies to provide Internet service.=
=20
Oral arguments are scheduled for March 29. A decision is likely this summer.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:James S. Granelli]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-brandx21mar21,1,40819...
tory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)
SOURCE: FCC TO DRESS 'NAKED' DSL
As early as today, the Federal Communications Commission may suspend public=
=20
utility commission regulations in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, California=20
and Louisiana that forced Bellsouth to sell high speed Internet access --=20
DSL, or digital subscriber line service -- separate from its local phone=20
service. In the past, the two services had been inextricably linked. The=20
FCC decision would have a profound effect on the few thousand people in the=
=20
four states who now get "naked" DSL from Bellsouth. It would also affect=20
the millions of homeowners who would go with a separate DSL offering given=
=20
the chance. The possible precedent for the Bells could even affect cable=20
operators that sell broadband and telephony on fiber-optic networks,=20
services that are much faster than the Bells' DSL.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
http://news.com.com/Source+FCC+to+dress+naked+DSL/2100-1037_3-5627726.ht...
ag=3Dnefd.top
QUICKLY
Dancing Around Journalistic Issues in a Lawsuit Over Apple Secrets
DANCING AROUND JOURNALISTIC ISSUES IN A LAWSUIT OVER APPLE SECRETS
A Santa Clara County Superior Court decision did not address whether a=20
company's interest in protecting corporate secrets trump any privilege=20
protecting the identity of a reporter's sources.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Glater]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/technology/21law.html
(requires registration)
See more -- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/technology/21apple.html
Commentary: Apple ruling puts all of us in danger
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/11170453.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------