For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
INTERNET REGULATION
FEC Signals Light Hand On Internet Campaigning
Lawyer: Brand X Case About Cable Blocking
QUICKLY -- Does Municipal Supply of Communications Crowd-Out Private=20
Communications Investment?; Music and Video Downloading Moves Beyond P2P;=20
Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer; Time Warner=20
Joins 'Indie' Film Company With HBO, New Line; Chinese Crack Down On=20
Student Web Sites
INTERNET REGULATION
FEC SIGNALS LIGHT HAND ON INTERNET CAMPAIGNING
The Federal Election Commission released a notice of proposed rulemaking=20
yesterday asking for public comment on whether to apply federal campaign=20
contribution limits on online political advertising campaigns. The=20
six-member panel also indicated it has not decided to impose, but is=20
leaning against imposing, restrictions on independent bloggers or bloggers=
=20
who work for political campaigns. The agency then plans to hold a public=20
hearing on the issue and then, this summer or possibly this fall, vote on=20
the final regulations.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Faler]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61433-2005Mar23.html
(requires registration)
See NPRM at: http://www.fec.gov/agenda/2005/mtgdoc05-16.pdf
* More politicians write blogs to bypass mainstream media
Politicians are beginning to see blogs are more than forums for snoops. To=
=20
some, they are the ultimate cyberspace soapbox. They are looking to the Web=
=20
as a way to bypass the media and get out their own message - unvarnished=20
and unedited. "I'm not surprised that [blogs] are being adopted by people=20
inside the establishment -- they're perceived as very real, very intimate,"=
=20
says Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. "It's a=
=20
way of having constituents feel very in touch."
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Mark Sappenfield]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0324/p02s01-uspo.html
* Bloggers have rights too
Commentary from Rep John Conyers (D-MI)
http://news.com.com/Bloggers+have+rights+too/2010-1034_3-5632544.html?ta...
nefd.ac
LAWYER: BRAND X CASE ABOUT CABLE BLOCKING
The Supreme Court case on the regulation of cable=92s high-speed-data=
service=20
is =93massively important=94 and =93about search engines not having to pay=
cable=20
companies to get favored treatment or being discriminated against because=20
Yahoo! has paid for faster treatment and Google can't get it,=94 Media=
Access=20
Project President Andrew Jay Schwartzman said Wednesday. He wants the Court=
=20
to say that cable must provide nondiscriminatory access to competing=20
Internet-service providers not only as matter of law, but as a means of=20
preserving an Internet uncorrupted by commercial self-interest. =93It=92s=20
massively important. It is about the future of the Internet. It is about=20
the artist getting information out and not having it blocked,=94 he told=20
reporters.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA512632.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also --
Supreme Court Hears Two Key Internet Cases
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo=20
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111162931330288368,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
DOES MUNICIPAL SUPPLY OF COMMUNICATIONS CROWD-OUT PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS=20
INVESTMENT?
There are 2,007 municipalities across the United States that provide=20
electricity service to their constituents. Of these, over 600 provide some=
=20
sort of communications services to the community. An important policy=20
question is whether or not public investment in communications crowds out=20
private investment, or whether such investment encourages additional entry=
=20
by creating wholesale markets and economic growth. AES tests these two=20
hypotheses =AD the crowding out and stimulation hypothesis =AD using a=
recent=20
dataset for the state of Florida. It finds strong evidence favoring the=20
stimulation hypothesis, since public investment in communications network=20
increases competitive communications firm entry by a sizeable amount.
[SOURCE: Applied Economic Studies, AUTHOR: George S. Ford=
gford( at )aestudies.com]
http://www.aestudies.com/library/crowdout.pdf
MUSIC AND VIDEO DOWNLOADING MOVES BEYOND P2P
About 36 million Americans -- or 27% of Internet users -- say they download=
=20
either music or video files and about half of them have found ways outside=
=20
of traditional peer-to-peer networks or paid online services to swap their=
=20
files, according to the most recent survey of the Pew Internet & American=20
Life Project.
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Mary Madden, Lee=
Rainie]
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/153/report_display.asp
INTERNET AND MULTIMEDIA 2005: THE ON-DEMAND MEDIA CONSUMER
One in 10 Americans show a heavy preference to control their media and=20
entertainment, according to the latest study from Arbitron Inc. and Edison=
=20
Media Research -- Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media=20
Consumer. The study focuses on new devices and services that allow=20
Americans to exercise more control over the media they consume. Topics=20
include DVRs, portable MP3 players and other on-demand technologies.
[SOURCE: Arbitron]
http://www.arbitron.com/home/content.stm
TIME WARNER JOINS 'INDIE' FILM COMPANY WITH HBO, NEW LINE
In a move that delivers one of the hottest independent film distributors=20
into the arms of a media conglomerate, the small but powerful Newmarket=20
Films movie distribution business has been sold to two units of Time=20
Warner. The transaction removes one of the last truly independent film=20
distributors from the landscape.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kate Kelly kate.kelly( at )wsj.com and=20
Merissa Marr merissa.marr( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111160878255187883,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
LATimes:=20
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-newmarket24mar24,1,57...
6.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
CHINESE CRACK DOWN ON STUDENT WEB SITES
Universities across China are tightening controls on student-run Internet=20
discussion forums as part of a Communist Party campaign to strengthen what=
=20
it calls "ideological education" on campuses. The crackdown has caused=20
widespread resentment among students and prompted at least two=20
demonstrations in recent days.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Philip P. Pan]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61334-2005Mar23.html
(requires registration)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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