For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
JOURNALISM
FCC on Video News Releases
Yahoo 'Hybrid' Now Dominates News Web Sites
Blog Censorship Gains Support
New House Bill Protects Political Bloggers
Advertising, Editorial Lines Blur as Bloggers' Salaries Tied to Traffic
Call Them What You Will, Bloggers Won't Shut Up
OWNERSHIP
FCC Trumps Court To Aid Ailing Station
In Media, Size Does Matter
Watson on Media Consolidation, Radio
Berlusconi's Family to Reduce Shares in Broadcast Company
MCI Could Face Legal Hurdle Over Verizon Bid
INTERNET
Congressional Broadband Efforts Likely to Highlight IP Services
ADVERTISING
Networks Take On the Time Machine
Ad Firms Follow Customers Around the Web
QUICKLY -- Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee Assignments; Web Censors=
=20
In China Find Success
JOURNALISM
FCC ON VIDEO NEWS RELEASES
The FCC has recently received a large number of requests that it consider=20
whether the use of "video news releases" or "VNRs," by broadcast licensees,=
=20
cable operators, and others complies with the Commission's sponsorship=20
identification rules. VNRs are essentially prepackaged news stories, that=20
may use actors to play reporters and include suggested scripts to introduce=
=20
the stories. These practices allow such externally prepackaged news stories=
=20
to be aired, without alteration, as broadcast or cable news. Some of the=20
parties contacting the Commission have suggested that broadcast licensees=20
and cable operators may have aired VNRs with news stories containing=20
material paid for, prepared and/or provided to them by or on behalf of=20
commercial, governmental and other entities without disclosing, at the time=
=20
of the airing, the source of and the circumstances surrounding their=20
acquisition of such material. On Wednesday, the FCC reminded broadcast=20
licensees and cable operators that air VNRs, as well as all entities and=20
individuals involved in the production and provision of the material at=20
issue, of their respective disclosure responsibilities under the=20
Commission's sponsorship identification rules. These rules are grounded in=
=20
the principle that listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to=
=20
persuade them with the programming offered over broadcast stations and=20
cable systems. For the reasons noted in the FCC's Public Notice, and as=20
provided for in the statutory provisions and in the Commission's rules,=20
whenever broadcast stations and cable operators air VNRs, licensees and=20
operators generally must clearly disclose to members of their audiences the=
=20
nature, source and sponsorship of the material that they are viewing. The=
=20
FCC promised to take appropriate enforcement action against entities that=20
do not comply with these rules. The Public Notice is confined to the=20
disclosure obligations required under Section 317 and our rules thereunder,=
=20
and does not address the recent controversy over when or whether the=20
government is permitted to sponsor VNRs, which is an issue beyond the=20
Commission's jurisdiction.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-84A1.doc
Statements by Commissioners:
Copps: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-84A2.doc
Adelstein: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-84A3.doc
Coverage:
* FCC: Disclose Those Political VNRs
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA524900?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111344720582006777,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
* WashPost:=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51375-2005Apr13.html
YAHOO 'HYBRID' NOW DOMINATES NEWS WEB SITES
A decade into the consumer Internet revolution, industry executives and=20
analysts say users favor sites that offer information from more than one=20
news organization. In six of the past 14 months, Yahoo's news site has=20
drawn more unique visitors than any rival, displacing longtime news leader=
=20
CNN.com, according to research firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Yahoo has=20
agreements to display or link to content from about 100 news organizations,=
=20
from USA Today to French news service Agence France Presse. Users can=20
search through about 7,000 additional online news sources that Yahoo=20
catalogs for information. Yahoo's rise comes as some traditional news=20
organizations rethink their online strategies. Some that have offered free=
=20
content are now considering charging for some items. "Is Yahoo a threat to=
=20
the business model of traditional news organizations? Yeah," says Paul=20
Grabowicz, director of the New Media program at the University of=20
California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. "But it's not a threat=
=20
that's going to go away. And if it's not Yahoo, it's somebody else."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kevin J. Delaney=
kevin.delaney( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111343722734506550,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
BLOG CENSORSHIP GAINS SUPPORT
Web hosting company Hostway this week released the results of its poll of=20
2,500 Americans on blogging. 80% of respondents did not believe that=20
bloggers should be allowed to publish home addresses and other personal=20
information about private citizens. 72% favored censorship of personal=20
information about celebrities, and 68%, information about elected or=20
appointed government officials such as judges or mayors. However, more than=
=20
one-third of respondents had never heard of blogs before participating in=20
the survey, and only around 30% of participants had actually visited a blog=
=20
themselves.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Renai LeMay]
http://news.com.com/Blog+censorship+gains+support/2100-1028_3-5670096.ht...
ag=3Dnefd.top
NEW HOUSE BILL PROTECTS POLITICAL BLOGGERS
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent=20
the federal government from extending campaign finance laws to the=20
Internet. The bill mirrors a companion measure in the Senate that was=20
introduced last month by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
http://news.com.com/New+House+bill+protects+political+bloggers/2100-1028...
669806.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
ADVERTISING, EDITORIAL LINES BLUR AS BLOGGERS' SALARIES TIED TO TRAFFIC
The Internet has been lauded for providing advertisers with exact metrics=20
on how their ads perform, but it also can be turned against writers and=20
journalists, especially at sites that live and die by traffic. About.com=20
pioneered pay for Guides that's tied to traffic growth, and now Gawker=20
Media is also paying a base salary for its stable of bloggers, along with=20
bonuses for increased traffic. While this blurring of the Chinese wall=20
between advertising and editorial could hurt the credibility of the nascent=
=20
operations, few journalists can ignore the economic viability of their=20
publications.
[SOURCE: Online Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Mark Glaser]
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050412glaser/
CALL THEM WHAT YOU WILL, BLOGGERS WON'T SHUT UP
[Commentary] Rather than fruitlessly debating whether bloggers are=20
journalists, we should ponder how our newly transformed news environment=20
can best function. Newspapers have a huge stake in this debate. Young=20
people no longer get their news exclusively from the morning papers,=20
evening network newscasts or other traditional outlets. Increasingly, they=
=20
go online to find news -- and read bloggers that professional journalists=20
deem so dangerous.
[SOURCE: Media Is Plural, AUTHOR: Rory O'Connor]
http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/
OWNERSHIP
FCC TRUMPS COURT TO AID AILING STATION
The FCC Wednesday essentially nullified a court's order that Tribune sell=
=20
TV station WTXX Hartford (CT) to come into compliance with the Commission's=
=20
ban on crossownership of TV stations and local newspapers. Since 2001,=20
Tribune has been under FCC orders to sell either WTXX or the Hartford=20
Courant newspaper, which the company acquired as part of its purchase of=20
Times-Mirror. Now, Tribune has permission to keep the station until 2007,=20
when licenses for WTXX and another Hartford station owned by Tribune, WTIC,=
=20
must be renewed. FCC Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein=20
approved the WTXX waiver even though they fiercely oppose relaxation of=20
media ownership limits. In this case, the public interest is served by the=
=20
waiver because they believe the station probably would go dark if Tribune=20
was forced to sell now. Also they were pleased that their fellow=20
commissioners relied on specific public interest criteria, such as=20
Tribune's improvements to WTXX programming, in approving the waiver=
extension.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA524896?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FCC Order: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-83A1.doc
Statement by Copps and Adelstein:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-83A2.doc
IN MEDIA, SIZE DOES MATTER
Synergy. Media executives all profess to hate the word, but for years the=20
principle has guided consolidation in the industry. Dividing Viacom into=20
two pieces may diminish the opportunities for one part to benefit from the=
=20
other. Viacom is a charter member of the synergy club, using reports from=20
its CBS news operation to provide feeds to MTV and the Black Entertainment=
=20
Television channels. When Viacom converted its Nashville Network into the=20
hot Spike TV cable channel, it boosted ratings growth by airing two of=20
Viacom's hit CSI shows -- which air on CBS. Granted, the prices Spike paid=
=20
were steep -- an estimated $1.9 million per episode for CSI: New York last=
=20
year -- but having negotiators from within the group on both sides of the=20
table no doubt helped keep the show in the family. So why the split? With=20
Viacom's stock down by 17% over the last year, the company's chairman,=20
Sumner Redstone, wants to get some value for his faster-growing cable=20
channels (which include MTV, Nickelodeon, and Noggin), while allowing his=20
more traditional assets to weather the smirks of Wall Street investors who=
=20
think the radio market has seen better days. Still, that unit produces=20
hefty cash flow -- the radio stations alone mint some $1 billion a year --=
=20
and Redstone figures it could use that cash to buy up shares or increase=20
dividends. That could allow both stocks to lure investors
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Ronald Grover]
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2005/nf20050413_9680_db01...
m
WATSON ON MEDIA CONSOLIDATION, RADIO
Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), chair of the House Entertainment Caucus, spoke=20
to the Future of Music Coalition on Tuesday. She said a consolidated U.S.=20
media market increasingly is susceptible to manipulation, not only by=20
corporate owners, but by the government -- a trend that has had a bad,=20
homogenizing effect on the music industry. Nationwide corporate radio=20
playlists that =93repeat songs over and over again=94 shortchange=
independent=20
musicians and keep the public from hearing diverse music and new artists.=20
=93Seeking out original sound on the radio today is like looking for prime=
=20
time television without a reality show,=94 she said. =93Both are results of=
a=20
profit-driven approach to programming that emphasizes the bottom line at=20
the expense of creativity.=94 As independent radio stations vanish, so does=
=20
coverage of local interests and news and =93in some ways, the local=
standards=20
seem to go into oblivion,=94 Rep Watson said. She noted that since the=20
Telecom Act, the number of radio station owners has dropped 34%. In=20
programming proliferation of partisan talk radio has =93left no middle=
ground=20
for actual substantive discussions of public policy.=94 =93Our radio=20
broadcasting sector is facing a crisis where consolidation has not only=20
killed the radio star, but is close to destroying the entire platform for=20
free expression of ideas.=94 Saying the Bush Administration has
capitalized on a media market in =93dire need of proper checks and=
balances,=94=20
Rep Watson claimed more than 20 federal agencies and offices have spent=20
more than $250 million to produce =93fake news clips=94 and hire =93so-calle=
d=20
commentators to secretly promote the White House=92s priorities.=94 Rep=
Watson=20
likened current legal and legislative debates over the evolution of TV,=20
radio and online media to previous battles over traditional media.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
(Not available online)
BERLUSCONI'S FAMILY TO REDUCE SHARES IN BROADCAST COMPANY
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family said on Wednesday that it was=20
selling a 2 billion euro ($2.58 billion) stake in the broadcasting company=
=20
Mediaset, a move intended in part to dilute accusations that the holdings=20
constitute a conflict of interests.Fininvest, the family's holding company,=
=20
announced that it would place nearly 17 percent of Mediaset - Italy's=20
largest private broadcaster, with three television channels - on the=20
market, reducing its share to 34.3 percent. The sale comes a week after Mr.=
=20
Berlusconi's center-right government suffered a devastating defeat in local=
=20
elections.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Elisabetta Povoledo]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/international/europe/14italy.html
(requires registration)
MCI COULD FACE LEGAL HURDLE OVER VERIZON BID
MCI could face legal challenges if it proceeds with its plan to ask=20
shareholders to approve a takeover offer from Verizon Communications Inc.=20
that is less rich than what it has agreed to pay MCI's biggest shareholder.=
=20
Merger attorneys and law professors say there is nothing wrong with Verizon=
=20
paying a premium for Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Hel=FA's shares. But=
the=20
$2.62-a-share difference between that price and Verizon's general offer to=
=20
MCI shareholders, plus more potential upside from the free call option,=20
does wedge the door open for a legal argument against MCI's board asking=20
its shareholders to vote on the lower-priced deal. The argument, attorneys=
=20
say, would be that MCI's board didn't try to seek the highest price=20
possible from Verizon. The higher price paid to Mr. Slim, the argument=20
goes, shows that MCI didn't exercise its duty of care to the rest of the=20
MCI shareholders.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com=20
and Dennis K. Berman dennis.berman( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111344063442306648,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_money_and_investing
(requires subscription)
INTERNET
CONGRESSIONAL BROADBAND EFFORTS LIKELY TO HIGHLIGHT IP SERVICES
How will Congress address high-speed Internet access? Oh, let us count the=
=20
ways. Look for legislation that would create a regulatory class for=20
Internet Protocol platforms covering services such as VoIP, video over IP=20
and standard broadband, whether delivered by cable providers, phone or=20
power companies. The House will likely seek to keep these services mostly=20
free of regulation, especially by the states. But will probably try to=20
ensure that VoIP meets public service obligations such as 911 and the=20
Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which would allow=
=20
police to wiretap Internet phone calls. But even issues that don't seem=20
directly related to broadband could have some affect -- the transition to=20
digital television and reform of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and=20
E-rate program. Congress may also get involved in limiting municipal=20
networks. House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) says some=20
Members are concerned that local governments have advantages over industry=
=20
on issues such as rights of way. Rep Upton said it was seen as a =93soft=20
subsidy.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
ADVERTISING
NETWORKS TAKE ON THE TIME MACHINE
A new Accenture study says 2% of ads are skipped in all U.S. households. By=
=20
2009 that figure should rise to 22%. In addition, 40% of U.S. homes should=
=20
have DVR devices by then, up from 8% at present, the consulting firm says.=
=20
Consumers have long recorded programs for later viewing, and the nation's=20
broadcast networks for years have promoted programs as must-see, don't-miss=
=20
occurrences. With time-shifting, ad-skipping devices such as digital video=
=20
recorders gaining more of a TV-room roost, however, getting couch potatoes=
=20
to watch a show at its specified time is taking on new importance. That=20
makes networks increasingly eager to lend scheduled programs the sheen of a=
=20
live sports event or one-time-only spectacular.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111343624772306526,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
AD FIRMS FOLLOW CUSTOMERS AROUND THE WEB
[Commentary] A bunch of young companies increasingly are tagging, tracking=
=20
and analyzing us as we move across different Web sites. Their goal is to=20
display ads they deem relevant based partly on our surfing histories, which=
=20
they record using tiny "cookie" files stored on our computers, and other=20
technology
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Leslie Walker walkerl( at )washpost.com]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51579-2005Apr13.html
(requires registration)
QUICKLY
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Senators Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Co-Chairmen=20
of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today=20
announced the Committee=92s Subcommittee assignments.
[SOURCE: Senate Commerce Committee]
http://commerce.senate.gov/pdf/subassignments.pdf
WEB CENSORS IN CHINA FIND SUCCESS
The Chinese government is succeeding in broadly censoring what its citizens=
=20
can read on the Internet, surprising many experts and denting U.S.=20
government hopes that online access would be a quick catalyst for=20
democratic political reform.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51712-2005Apr13.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.
--------------------------------------------------------------