For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
No Issue Is Too Obscure For a Political TV Ad Campaign
What's Next in Evening News? Stay Tuned
Support Wanes for 2006 Analog Cutoff
Fox: 'Married' Not Indecent
Indecency Alcatraz Could Afflict Cable
Cable Talks, Wall Street Listens
Time Warner, Comcast Snare Adelphia
INTERNET
Martin Needs Brand X Clarity
Rules Aimed at Digital Misdeeds Lack Bite
France Detects a Cultural Threat in Google
TELECOM
Save the Pay Phone -- a Suddenly Endangered Species
Verizon buys 13 percent stake in MCI
Battle for Italian Phone Unit Whittled Down to One Group
QUICKLY -- GM Pulls LA Times Ads; Rethinking the DMCA; Cox Out at CPB;=20
Senate Commerce Committee Agenda
TELEVISION
NO ISSUE IS TOO OBSCURE FOR A POLITICAL AD CAMPAIGN
Finally, people can turn to television to keep up with obscure policy=20
decisions facing the nation. Unfortunately, it is paid advertising and now=
=20
news coverage of those issues they will find. Washington's airwaves are=20
perpetually blanketed with messages for or against various tax bills and=20
telecommunications policies. But now such issue ads are getting wider=20
exposure, over greater geographic areas and with heftier price tags, as=20
both conservatives and liberals ratchet up their use of the tactic. The=20
increase in issue-specific political advertising is one consequence of the=
=20
hotly contested 2004 elections. Recent restrictions on donations to=20
political parties led many donors to allocate their money to less=20
well-known outside interest groups. In 2004, such groups raised $400=20
million, more than double the amount raised in 2002. Interest groups hope=20
TV ads will help them sustain interest in their causes until the next=20
presidential election, three years away.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Yochi J. Dreazen=
yochi.dreazen( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111318107529403096,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
WHAT'S NEXT IN EVENING NEWS? STAY TUNED
The Big Three broadcast TV networks have been losing audiences to 24-hour=20
cable news, Internet sites, and other sources of instant headlines. All=20
that competition, say many media analysts, will eventually force networks=20
to experiment with the content, style, and format of the evening news.=20
Minus the ads, the average newscast is just 19 minutes, according to Andrew=
=20
Tyndall, who analyzes the network news at The Tyndall Report. That lends=20
itself to summarizing the day's events rather than providing the added=20
value of in-depth reporting. So newscasts may face the same change that=20
newspapers have made -- emphasizing news analysis over news reporting. ABC=
=20
News announced that it will make its coverage available on a variety of=20
media platforms. In addition to ABC News Now, a 24-hour news digital=20
channel, it will provide broadband news and video on demand for cellphones=
=20
and computers.
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR:Stephen Humphries]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0411/p11s01-ussc.html
See also:
Web Giants Go With Different Angles in Competition for News Audience
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Chris Gaither]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-news11apr11,1,6617164...
ry?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)
SUPPORT WANES FOR 2006 ANALOG CUTOFF
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) favors=20
Dec. 31, 2006 as the deadline for the transition to digital-only television=
=20
broadcasting in the US. But his target puts enormous pressure on Congress=20
to find a quick solution for 73 million analog TV sets that rely=20
exclusively on free, over-the-air TV and would go dark without a set-top=20
box or a connection to cable or satellite television. So apparently, the=20
new earliest date Congress will consider for a deadline is Dec 31, 2007.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA516226.html?display=3DPolicy&refer...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FOX: 'MARRIED' NOT INDECENT
The 169 stations carrying the Fox Television Network are expected to=20
challenge the Federal Communications Commission's indecency crackdown by=20
refusing to pay the proposed $1.18 million FCC fine for a raunchy Married=20
by America episode featuring strippers and whipped cream. The stations are=
=20
essentially daring the government to haul them into court. Under federal=20
law, stations are under no legal obligation to pay FCC indecency fines=20
unless the Justice Department takes them to court and wins a judge's order.=
=20
If Fox stations refused to pay a fine for Married by America, they would be=
=20
exercising a legal strategy communications lawyers often threaten but=20
rarely use. Lawyers say Justice is unlikely to sue any station that fails=20
to pay the standard fine. Despite the easy escape, however, nearly all=20
stations pay up because they don't want to annoy the FCC, which controls=20
license renewals, cable-carriage disputes and other regulatory actions=20
critical to a station's survival. But after a year of one record-breaking=20
fine after another, broadcasters are eager to fight the FCC over indecency.=
=20
Besides, lawyers for Fox Television's 35 stations and the network's 134=20
affiliates are gambling that the FCC's legal case is so weak that even the=
=20
lure of preserving the biggest indecency fine in history won't pull Justice=
=20
into court.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA516254.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
INDECENCY ALCATRAZ COULD AFFLICT CABLE
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and House Energy=
=20
and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) would like to see=20
cable operators to create at least one programming tier devoid of sex and=20
profanity. But if cable doesn't accept their invitation, do these leaders=20
have the votes to pass legislation to expand indecency regulation to pay TV=
=20
and radio services? Apparently sentiment on Capitol Hill is now running=20
against cable. Indecency regulation, while designed to address content=20
concerns, could also undermine cable=92s expanded-basic tier =97 the vehicle=
=20
for delivering consumers the highest number of channels at the lowest=20
per-channel price.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA516417.html?display=3DTop+Stories&...
rral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
For more on indecency see:
A Man of Few Words
[Commentary] After hearing from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin in San Francisco,=
=20
the cable industry didn't know any more about where his leadership is=20
heading than the day he was appointed.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: J. Max Robins=
bcrobins( at )reedbusiness.com]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA516399.html?display=3DNews&re...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CABLE TALKS, WALL STREET LISTENS
A $95 billion upgrade has made cable systems into a giant computer network,=
=20
enabling a rich array of products -- from elaborate telephone services to=20
networked videogaming. Now Wall Street, being Wall Street, wants to know=20
how its helping cable's bottom line.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Higgins and Anne Becker]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA516397?display=3DFeature&refe...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also:
Cable sees tech as door to growth
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:David Lieberman]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050411/tiers.art.htm
TIME WARNER, COMCAST SNARE ADELPHIA
After nearly one year of negotiations and a last-minute bid from=20
Cablevision Systems, Time Warner and Comcast have apparently emerged as the=
=20
winners of Adelphia's 5.3 million cable subscribers, striking a deal in=20
principal worth about $18 billion in cash and stock. In addition to $2=20
billion in cash, Comcast is contributing its 21% interest in Time Warner=20
Cable in return for about 2 million subscribers. It is not clear whether=20
those systems will come from Adelphia, Time Warner Cable or a mixture of=
both.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA516169.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
INTERNET
MARTIN NEEDS BRAND X CLARITY
New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin considers=20
broadband policy a top priority, but his agenda in this area will likely be=
=20
shaped by the Supreme Court decision in the Brand X Internet Services case.=
=20
In the Brand X case, the Supreme Court is expected to rule in a few months=
=20
whether the FCC properly classified cable-modem service as an unregulated=20
information service. If the court disagrees and rules that cable-modem=20
service is a regulated telecommunications service, the Martin FCC has to=20
decide whether to strip away common-carrier regulations from cable and=20
perhaps even from its broadband-access competitors. The agency has until=20
May 5 to act on a petition by SBC Communications asking it to forbear from=
=20
applying common-carrier rules to its =93IP [Internet-protocol] platform=20
services,=94 including the right to exclude competing Internet-service=20
providers. If the commission fails to deny the petition =97 a clear=20
possibility, because the FCC is split 2-2 between Republicans and Democrats=
=20
=97 the SBC petition is automatically deemed granted. The FCC will also be=
=20
looking to the Supreme Court for guidance on what to do next on media=20
ownership rules.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA516227.html?display=3DPolicy&refer...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
RULES AIMED AT DIGITAL MISDEEDS LACK BITE
At least a dozen federal and state bills covering privacy protection,=20
phishing and spyware have been introduced on Capitol Hill and in state=20
capitals this year. The bills are designed to staunch consumer losses.=20
Identification theft cost consumers, banks and credit card companies $11.7=
=20
billion through the 12 months ended in April 2004, says researcher Gartner.=
=20
Phishing scams, fraudulent e-mails or websites that trick computer users=20
into surrendering personal information, burned U.S. consumers for $500=20
million in the 12-month period ended September 2004.Damages from spyware,=20
software that quietly monitors the activities of Internet users: More than=
=20
$200 million to U.S. consumers last year.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:Jon Swartz]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050411/netlawcover.art.htm
See also:
Bigger phishes ready to spawn
http://news.com.com/Bigger+phishes+ready+to+spawn/2100-7349_3-5656070.ht...
ag=3Dnefd.lede
FRANCE DETECTS A CULTURAL THREAT IN GOOGLE
Google planned to scan 15 million English-language books and make them=20
available as digital files on the Web. But Jean-No=EBl Jeanneney, president=
=20
of the French National Library, believes the move would further strengthen=
=20
American power to set a global cultural agenda. Europe, he said, should=20
counterattack by converting its own books into digital files and by=20
controlling the page rankings of responses to searches. His one-man=20
campaign bore fruit. At a meeting on March 16, President Jacques Chirac of=
=20
France asked Mr. Jeanneney and the culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de=20
Vabres, to study how French and European library collections could be=20
rapidly made available on the Web.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Alan Riding]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/11/technology/11google.html
(requires registration)
TELECOM
SAVE THE PAY PHONE -- A SUDDENLY ENDANGERED SPECIES
According to the Federal Communications Commission, the number of pay=20
phones in the US dropped to 1.5 million in 2003, down from 2.1 million five=
=20
years earlier -- as the number of cellphone users surged. But state=20
legislatures around the country are considering legislation to preserve pay=
=20
phones especially where a lack of phone access poses a risk to residents'=20
safety, health, or welfare. 6.5% of American households have no telephone.=
=20
Many use pay phones as their primary means of communication. Supporters say=
=20
that resisting the demise of the pay phone -- even as cellphone coverage=20
continues to expand and costs go down -- is an attempt to close the gap=20
between the technological "haves" and "have nots."
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Sara B. Miller]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0411/p01s02-uspo.html
VERIZON BUYS 13 PERCENT STAKE IN MCI
Verizon Communications said Saturday it agreed to buy the 13.7% stake in=20
MCI held by its largest shareholder, Mexican telecommunications magnate=20
Carlos Slim Helu, for $1.1 billion in cash. Although the move may anger=20
other MCI shareholders receiving a lower price for their shares, Verizon is=
=20
trying to strengthen its bid to purchase MCI by removing a potential critic=
=20
of the merger.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://news.com.com/Verizon+buys+13+percent+stake+in+MCI/2100-1036_3-566...
.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
BATTLE FOR ITALIAN PHONE UNIT WHITTLED DOWN TO ONE GROUP
Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian telecommunications magnate with ambitious=20
growth plans, got the green light over the weekend to attempt a 12.1=20
billion euro ($15.65 billion) buyout of the Wind telecommunications=20
business of Italy. If completed, the deal would be Europe's largest-ever=20
leveraged buyout. Mr. Sawiris, the chairman and chief executive of Orascom=
=20
Telecom Holdings, Egypt's largest phone company, edged out a group of=20
investors led by the private equity firm Blackstone Group, whose offer was=
=20
valued at about 11.9 billion euros. Wind is Italy's third-largest mobile=20
phone company, with 28 million customers, but the potential transaction's=20
importance would stretch far beyond the company's presence in Italy.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Heather Timmons]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/11/business/worldbusiness/11wind.html
(requires registration)
QUICKLY
ADVERTISER REGISTERS OBJECTION
Marketers have been turning on media outlets for offenses real and=20
perceived, for almost as long as there has been advertising space and=20
commercial time to buy. Although marketers and media companies do business=
=20
together, they are not in the same business, a distinction that manifests=20
itself in fractious disputes caused by the tension between the media's=20
right to say what they please and marketers' right to advertise where they=
=20
please. The uneasy relationship between advertiser and advertisee made news=
=20
again when General Motors said last week that it would stop running its=20
advertising in The Los Angeles Times until further notice. The decision,=20
generated by what a G.M. spokeswoman, Ryndee Carney, described as=20
inaccurate coverage, has put a significant amount of ad revenue for the=20
newspaper in jeopardy. Lauren Rich Fine, the analyst who follows media and=
=20
advertising stocks for Merrill Lynch, wrote in a research note Friday,=20
"There is obviously no positive to this story, unless you are a journalist=
=20
believing in standing up to an advertiser." By one estimate, from The Wall=
=20
Street Journal, G.M. spends more than $10 million a year to advertise in=20
The Times, owned by the Tribune Company. G.M. is the nation's biggest=20
automaker and its second biggest advertiser, behind Procter & Gamble. The=20
Times is the biggest newspaper in the state that is the nation's biggest=20
buyer of cars, trucks, minivans and other vehicles.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/11/business/media/11adcol.html
(requires registration)
RETHINKING DCMA
[Commentary] Time and again since its 1998 passage, the Digital Millennium=
=20
Copyright Act has proved to be one of the worst-ever pieces of technology=20
legislation.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Charles Cooper]
http://news.com.com/Rethinking+the+DMCA/2010-1030_3-5659364.html?tag=3Dn...
ac
KATHLEEN COX OUT AT CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Friday evening it will=20
replace President Kathleen Cox, its president for 10 months. CPB had just=20
hired an executive as Cox=92s second in command who will serve as acting=20
president: Ken Ferree, former chief of the FCC=92s powerful Media Bureau.
[SOURCE: Current]
http://www.current.org/cpb/cpb0507cox.shtml
See Current's coverage of Ferree's March hiring:
http://www.current.org/cpb/cpb0506ferree.shtml
CPB Press Release: http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=3D402
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE AGENDA
Monday: Hearing on S. 241, Universal Service Fund Exemption From=20
Anti-deficiency Act
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=3D1443
Wednesday: S. 714, The Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=3D1457
Thursday: Full Committee Mark-up (includes: S. 714, The Junk Fax Prevention=
=20
Act of 2005 and S. 432, The Minority Serving Institution Digital & Wireless=
=20
Technology Opportunity Act of 2005)
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=3D1458
[SOURCE: US Senate]
http://commerce.senate.gov/
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------