For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
TV on Steroids
Sharpen Focus on Children, Coalition Urges FCC
The Dangers of Second-Hand TV: What You Watch Can Affect Your Kids
Digital TV Sales to Improve, Study Says
TELECOM
The Spread of Hidden Fees
The Broadband Problem: Anatomy of a Market Failure and a Policy Dilemma
Technology Advisory Council to Hold Meeting
PRIVACY
California Lawmaker Moves to Block Google's Gmail
LABOR
CWA: Comcast Is Anti-Union
TELEVISION
TV ON STEROIDS
No, not a story about satellite's MLB package...that would be steroids on
TV. This is about the capacity of digital television broadcasters to
multicast. Hickey has examples of what broadcasters are and are planning to
do with multicasting: all-news channels, all-weather channels, "zoned"
newscasts and even state versions of C-SPAN. John Lawson, president of the
Association of Public Television Stations, calls multicasting "public
television's second chance." Public stations typically haven't attracted
large audiences on a regular basis, he points out, "but digital allows us
to fulfill the promise that the founders of public television had back in
the 1950s, namely to provide a wide range of services to people who may be
underserved." But performance is not meeting promise yet, especially among
commercial broadcasters. About 1,200 of the country's 1,600 television
stations have made the expensive transition to the digital. Just 215
stations currently are multicasting and only around 130 are offering news
on those collateral channels. But multicasting may die, broadcasters warn,
if they do not get full must carry rights for all their digital signals on
cable systems. Pundits say broadcasters may win those rights, but public
interests advocates [including the Benton Foundation] are urging the FCC to
define broadcasters' public interest obligations before deciding digital
must-carry. The activists fear that broadcasters will promise anything to
gain access to those crucial cable homes, and having got it, will
conveniently forget about their pledges. "They promise a lot but they have
a terrible record of keeping promises," says Jeffrey Chester, executive
director of the Center for Democratic Media. "But on this issue they'll
have to blink and swallow some castor oil to get what they want." He's
against handing the broadcasters the key to a "digital Fort Knox" free of
charge. See more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Neil Hickey, CJR's editor at
large]
(http://www.heritage.org/Research/InternetandTechnology/index.cfm)
SHARPEN FOCUS ON CHILDREN, COALITION URGES FCC
The Children's Media Policy Coalition -- by Children Now and comprised of
public health, education and advocacy groups -- is asking the FCC to ensure
that any increased channel capacity due to the DTV conversion translate
into an increase in the amount of children's programming. The Coalition is
highlighting DTV's potential to give parents detailed information about the
nature of the shows and the V-chip, acting not only as a filter but an
indicator of programming that is beneficial for children. And, as DTV can
be a more interactive experience, regulators should put into place
safeguards so that programming remains separate from commercials. There is
a possibility that children could click on a Scooby Do character during
programming and be moved to the Scooby Do Web site, where gifts and games
are sold, said Coalition attorney James Bachtell. For more, see "Digital
Television: Sharpening the Focus on Children" at
http://www.childrennow.org/media/medianow/mnspring2004.htm
[SOURCE: Communications Daily]
(Not available online)
THE DANGERS OF SECOND-HAND TV: WHAT YOU WATCH CAN AFFECT YOUR KIDS
This health column explores the recent studies linking TV viewing by
children under two and attention problems, but cautions that turning off
the TV may not be the best remedy. The data for the study was collected in
the 1980s when children's programming choices were limited; most of the TV
viewed by kids then, Parker-Pope suggests, was probably "regular TV
programs watched by other members of the household." Daniel R. Anderson,
psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst who has
studied television's impact on child behavior and development, says it's
actually television playing in the background that may most interfere with
a developing mind. Dr. Anderson compared toddler play habits in a quiet
setting and while a television played "Jeopardy!" nearby. Even though the
toddlers didn't watch the game show, turning the TV on changed their
playtime, prompting them to spend half as much time with a toy before
moving on to another toy. The study suggests that background television can
be a subtle distraction and might interfere with concentration and focus.
It's also likely that parents watching TV are more distracted and
interacting less with kids. And some children's educational programming has
also proved to be beneficial for kids. Slow-paced shows like "Sesame
Street" "Gullah Gullah Island" "Blue's Clues"
"Dora the Explorer" and "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" are recommended by
researchers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Tara Parker-Pope]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108180292691680546,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
DIGITAL TV SALES TO IMPROVE, STUDY SAYS
Research firm In-Stat/MDR is predicting that digital TV set shipments will
reach 93 million units in 2008, up from a projected 17 million units this
year. Credit for the increase goes to: the FCC mandate on integrating
digital tuners in the U.S., increasing numbers of terrestrial broadcasters
in Europe going digital, and the price differential between an analog and
digital set coming down to a reasonable level. According to Michelle
Abraham, a Senior Analyst with In-Stat/MDR, "There are two important trends
in the TV set market today. CRTs are being replaced with flat panels and
microdisplays in direct view and rear projection TVs (RPTVs). Digital
tuners are being integrated alongside analog tuners in large TV set markets
like North America, Europe, and Japan." Abraham believes that these two
trends are opportunities for many companies that are not traditional
suppliers of TV sets, like PC manufacturers, to enter the market. They are
also creating opportunities for traditional TV set manufacturers to expand
and target new markets. As TV sets move from analog to digital, there are a
few new features being integrated into sets in addition to flat panels
displays and digital tuners. The ability to connect sets to a home network
will increasingly become popular in countries with high broadband
penetration, enabling the download of EPG data, viewing of PC content, and
surfing the web on the sets. The report price is $3,495.
[SOURCE: In-Stat/MDR Press Release]
http://www.instat.com/press.asp?Sku=IN0401231ME&ID=931
TELECOM
THE SPREAD OF HIDDEN FEES
BellSouth this week will start levying a "regulatory cost recovery fee" of
$2.97 a month for new DSL customers. The company advertises that service
for $29.95 a month -- or about 10% less than what it will really cost after
the new fee is added. SBC added a similar charge of $1.84 a month in
February. SBC calls the fee "Federal Universal Service Fund Fee" on its
bills. Verizon says it's planning to add a similar fee of between $2 and $3
beginning in mid-May. "Wireless companies are calling them regulatory
recovery fees, but in fact the money is going directly to the companies to
spend on whatever they need," says Morgan Jindrich, a researcher at the
Center for Public Integrity, and author of a report on the issue. Indeed,
carriers include the fees in their average customer revenue figures that
are closely watched by Wall Street.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com
and Almar Latour almar.latour( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108181234600780813,00.html?mod=techno...
(requires subscription)
See more from the Center for Public Integrity at:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid=250&sid=200
THE BROADBAND PROBLEM: ANATOMY OF A MARKET FAILURE AND A POLICY DILEMMA
Speaking at a New America Foundation event, Brookings Institute Senior
Fellow Charles Ferguson warned that in five years "there will be a half
dozen large nations that will have information infrastructures that will be
quite substantially superior to those in the United States." He said the
FCC's pro-monopoly agenda is a major reason for low broadband deployment in
the US. To improve deployment he suggested: 1) A need for open architecture
-- it is "very important that telecom companies open their platforms to
competing ISPs." Many businesses, he suggested, would pay for installing
fiber from their headquarters to a teleco's central office "if they had
confidence that the system was really open." 2) Promoting federal and local
governments "to begin constructing their own fiber networks." He also
encouraged government subsidies for fiber deployment. Mr. Ferguson is the
author of "The Broadband Problem: Anatomy of a Market Failure and a Policy
Dilemma." More on NAF event at
http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=event&EveID=358
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Susan Polyakova]
(Not available online)
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL TO HOLD MEETING
The FCC's Technological Advisory Council will hold its fifth meeting under
its renewed charter Friday, April 23, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commission
Meeting Room, TW-C305 at 445 12th Street S.W., Washington, D.C. The Council
was formed to provide the Commission with technical insights concerning
innovations in communications and related industries. The Council is a
Federal Advisory Committee and is comprised of a broad array of well-known
technologists and chaired by Dr. Robert Lucky. At this fifth meeting under
the Council's new charter, the Council will discuss Broadband Wireless and
Spam. Members of the general public may attend to observe the meeting.
There will be no public oral participation unless requested by the Chair,
but the public may submit written comments to Jeffery Goldthorp, the FCC's
Designated Federal Officer for the Technological Advisory Council, before
the meeting. Mr. Goldthorp's e-mail address is Jeffery.Goldthorp( at )fcc.gov,
mail delivery address is: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th
Street, SW., Room 7-A325, Washington, DC 20554
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-997A1.pdf
See a draft agenda at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-997A2.pdf
PRIVACY
CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER MOVES TO BLOCK GOOGLE'S GMAIL
State Sen. Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) is drafting legislation that would ban
Google's free e-mail service "Gmail" because of privacy concerns. Gmail
subscribers get more storage space than other free email service
subscribers, but in return must allow the company technology scan their
incoming e-mail, then deliver targeted ads based on key words in the
messages. For instance, a user receiving a message about a friend's flu
symptoms might also receive ads for cold and flu remedies or trips to
Miami. We think it's an absolute invasion of privacy. It's like having a
massive billboard in the middle of your home," said State Sen Figueroa.
Industry analysts see the service as a key product for Google because it
would boost revenues from advertisers and expand its business. More than
two dozen privacy groups in the United States and Europe have demanded that
Google suspend Gmail's launch until privacy issues are adequately
addressed. The groups charged, among other things, that scanning e-mail for
ad placement poses unnecessary risks of misuse and that the system sets
"potentially dangerous precedents and establishes reduced expectations of
privacy" in e-mails. For more see "Google's Mail Program Highlights General
Privacy Concerns" at http://www.cdt.org/
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lisa Baertlein]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=LRE0420OQJ1FUCRBAELC...
LABOR
CWA: COMCAST IS ANTI-UNION
Communications Workers of America -- America's largest communications and
media union, representing over 700,000 men and women in both private and
public sectors -- is accusing Comcast -- the largest cable company in the
United States, serving more than 21 million cable subscribers -- of
encouraging employees to decertify local unions already in existence and
trying to prevent other employees from organizing. About 2,190 of the MSO's
workers are currently union-represented -- fewer than 5% of its total work
force of 59,000 in 35 states and down from 3,500 in November 2002. The
union has accused company managers of riding in trucks with workers to talk
privately about the drawbacks of unions, used anti-union videos and more
strictly enforced rules for union activists. The company says the declining
union numbers mean that workers believe they have a good relationship with
management and don't need representation.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA409944?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
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