For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
Who Owns TV Stations?
Loosen Up, Already
Local News Wakes Up
Media Could Get Millions More Ad Dollars
TV Underserves Disabled, Bush Told
Merger of TV and Web May Hit Cable Industry Before It's Prepared
JOURNALISM
Williams Deal Mismanaged, Not Illegal, Says DOE
The Truth About VNRs
Fox's Sandstorm
For Every Story, An Online Epilogue
INDECENCY
White House Clarifies Indecency Stand
Disney=92s Balancing Act on Indecency
QUICKLY -- Comstock Out of Running for FCC; Who Will be Next to Run NAB?;=20
Tighter Reins On Lobbyists?; Is Verizon Redlining?; CEA Downgrades 2005 DTV=
=20
Forecast; filmmakers vs. "Family-Friendly" Editors; Mobile Broadband; ICANN=
=20
Bosses Slam Net-phone Regulation; The Truth about Cell Phones and the D Not=
=20
Call List
TELEVISION
WHO OWNS TV STATIONS?
The Top 25 Station Groups are ranked according to the percentage of the=20
109.6 million U.S. TV homes they reach, as measured by Nielsen Media=20
Research. Stations' reach is calculated to correspond with FCC ownership=20
rules (listed as coverage FCC in the tables below). The FCC method=20
discounts by half the reach of UHF stations, those channel 14 and above.=20
The ranking also shows reach without the discount (coverage total). If a=20
group owns other stations in a market, those stations' coverage is not=20
counted in the group's total. Media conglomerates looking to grow national=
=20
and local footprints, small group owners hoping to cash out, and investment=
=20
bankers eager for commissions all predicted a wild market for station=20
transactions following the FCC=92s 2003 deregulation of broadcast- ownership=
=20
rules. But the expected rush of transactions was smothered at birth by=20
legal challenges that ultimately resulted in federal appeals judges=92=20
throwing out deregulation that would have permitted the biggest station=20
groups to get bigger and would have opened the door to many more ownership=
=20
combinations of local TV, radio and newspaper groups.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: George Winslow/Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525332.html?display=3DSpecial...
ort&referral=3DSUPP
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525331.html?display=3DSpecial...
ort&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
LOOSEN UP, ALREADY
[Commentary] Without any ownership-rule relief, local stations now facing=20
increased, unregulated competition from hundreds of cable and=20
satellite-delivered systems are finding themselves in dire times,=20
threatening their position and ability to serve their communities. So who=20
wins by further regulating over-the-air television stations? Who wins by=20
the delay in changing local-ownership rules and the lack of adequate=20
consideration of those changes to the rules for small- and medium-market=20
television stations? Clearly, not broadcasters who are prevented from=20
becoming more efficient and are saddled with further expensive obligations=
=20
that their competitors do not face. And clearly, not the communities served=
=20
by these broadcasters. It is time for the FCC -- with its new chairman and=
=20
commissioners -- and Congress to recognize that relief is necessary and=20
that further obligations threaten the system of local broadcasting that has=
=20
served these communities for more than 50 years.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Mark R. Fratrik, a vice president of=20
BIA Financial Network]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525381.html?display=3DOpinion...
erral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
LOCAL NEWS WAKES UP
Across the country, stations are waking up to the early shift. Changing=20
lifestyles=97longer work hours and earlier bedtimes=97are sapping the=
audience=20
for evening news. In contrast, the morning audience is growing. In 2004,=20
25% of American homes were watching TV at 6:30 a.m., compared with 15% in=20
1991, according to Nielsen Media Research. At 6 a.m., the tune-in levels=20
jumped to 20% from 11%. Drawn by cheaper spots and strong ratings, national=
=20
advertisers are jumping aboard the early-morning bandwagon, and stations=20
are exploiting new ways to make money in the morning: One example is by=20
selling sponsorships for the weather and traffic.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525318?display=3DFeatures&ref...
l=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
MEDIA COULD GET MILLIONS MORE AD DOLLARS
A task force commissioned by the Campaign Finance Institute said in a=20
report Friday that public funding limits should be raised to match levels=20
for the general election. Greater public support for primaries is=20
necessary, the report concluded, because of competitiveness and the rising=
=20
expense of party primaries. "Without a sound system, future campaigns could=
=20
well be limited to front-runners and rich people," the institute said.=20
Specifically, the task force urged raising the primary spending limit per=20
candidate from $50 million to $75 million, the same as general elections.=20
The public amount of matching funds should be capped at $20 million per=20
candidate.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525160?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CFI Press Release: http://www.cfinst.org/pr/041205.html
So the Voters May Choose...
Reviving the Presidential Matching Fund System
http://www.cfinst.org/presidential/report2/pdf/VotersChoose.pdf
TV UNDERSERVES DISABLED, BUSH TOLD
The National Council on Disability in a letter to President Bush Friday=20
said White House homeland-security initiatives should include requiring TV=
=20
programmers to do more to ensure that disabled persons have access to=20
emergency information during terrorist attacks and other disasters. NCD=20
called for the FCC to better enforce requirements that stations, cable=20
operators and DBS providers make emergency information available to people=
=20
with hearing and vision disabilities. Among the TV industry's shortcomings,=
=20
NCD said, is that news crawls frequently block visibility of closed=20
captioning, thus robbing those with hearing difficulties of the often more=
=20
comprehensive voiced information. For instance, NCD noted that deaf people=
=20
experienced "heightened anxiety and confusion" during the 2001 terrorist=20
attacks because of the lack of captioning on broadcast systems. Similar=20
problems on California TV stations kept many from knowing that their=20
neighborhoods were threatened by the wildfires of 2003.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525177?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See NCB Press Release: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/news/2005/r05-486.htm
Saving Lives: Including People with Disabilities in Emergency Planning
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/saving_lives.htm
MERGER OF TV AND WEB MAY HIT CABLE INDUSTRY BEFORE IT'S PREPARED
The Internet is coming to TV whether cable companies like it or not. Phone=
=20
giants like SBC Communications and Verizon Communications, which are racing=
=20
to offer TV over the new fiber networks they're building, plan to deliver=20
their signals using an Internet technology known as IP TV. While cable=20
companies broadcast all their channels at once to the TV, blocking those=20
that aren't paid for, with IP TV, SBC and Verizon will deliver only=20
programs that viewers request. That essentially makes a limitless amount of=
=20
content available, just as there's no cap on the number of Web sites. For=20
programmers, total integration would open the door wider to file swapping=20
and piracy. For cable operators, it raises the specter of viewers going=20
directly to content providers for shows and films, bypassing the middleman.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111377749479709036,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
JOURNALISM
WILLIAMS DEAL MISMANAGED, NOT ILLEGAL, SAYS DOE
The Department of Education's public relations contracts with Ketchum=20
Communications and conservative columnist Armstrong Williams may not have=20
violated any "significant" laws or regulations, but they were severely=20
mismanaged, with the result that DOE paid for work that was not received,=20
that "most likely" didn't reach its target audience, and that was "of poor=
=20
quality," the DOE Inspector General (IG) John P. Higgins has concluded.=20
Williams was paid $240,000 to endorse the "No Child Left Behind" program.=20
While the report concluded that the payment went "solely to the production=
=20
of ads and airtime," it found "the Department has no assurance the ads=20
received the airtime for which it paid." In addition, because "the body of=
=20
the Ketchum proposal also indicated that Mr. Williams would regularly=20
comment on NCLB (no child left behind) during the course of his broadcasts,=
=20
the appearance is that the department may have been paying for more than=20
just the advertising," the IG's report concluded.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525535?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Review of Formation Issues Regarding the Department of Education's Fiscal=20
Year 2003 Contract with Ketchum, Inc. for Media Relations Services
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/aireports/a19f0007.doc
THE TRUTH ABOUT VNRs
[Commentary] The reality is that the news business won't survive on=20
self-produced content alone. It is na=EFve to think otherwise. But using=20
voiced reports without attribution is self-defeating and will ultimately=20
undermine the relationship between news provider and viewer. Though on=20
opposite ends of the spectrum, the news professional and the PR=20
professional are united by one defining factor: The success of both=20
professions rests entirely on credibility.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Shoba Purushothaman, CEO of The=20
NewsMarket]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525378.html?display=3DOpinion...
erral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
* Fake News Flack Ducks Behind First Amendment
You know that the PR industry is getting desperate the moment they cite=20
George Orwell in their own defense. Such is the sad state of affairs at D S=
=20
Simon Productions, the flacks who've built a business out of dressing up=20
video news releases (VNRs) to look, sound and feel like real news.
[SOURCE: MediaCitizen, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/04/fake-news-flack-ducks-behind-fi...
html
FOX'S SANDSTORM
[Commentary] The style of Fox News Channel is having two dangerous effects:=
=20
1) the popularity of the approach leads cable competitors to mimic it,=20
which in turn debases the quality of the news available to that segment of=
=20
the TV audience, and 2) it threatens to destroy public confidence in all=20
news. The plan at FNC is not so much to convince the public that its=20
particular view is correct but rather to sell the notion that what FNC=20
presents is just another set of biases, no worse than the biases that=20
routinely drive the presentation of the news on ABC, CBS or NBC. FNC=20
doesn't try to convince that it has a corner on the truth, just that the=20
rest of the news business is grinding partisan axes all the time and that=20
none deserve to be taken seriously as seekers of truth. What is at risk is=
=20
not a reputation for infallibility; everyone knows that even the best=20
newspapers and most careful broadcasters make mistakes. But it has been=20
generally accepted that the mainstream media at least try to get it right.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: William Raspberry willrasp( at )washpost.com]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61709-2005Apr17.html
(requires registration)
FOR EVERY STORY, AN ONLINE EPILOGUE
The rise of the blogosphere remains one of the most exciting communications=
=20
developments in decades, giving ordinary folks the chance to bite back at a=
=20
media establishment widely viewed as arrogant. It's little surprise that=20
mainstream media types don't like being questioned, challenged and chided=20
by critics typing from their basements and bedrooms. But the increasingly=20
caustic nature of some online criticism is prompting many journalists to=20
complain that their honesty and motivation are being trashed along with=20
their work.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61803-2005Apr17.html
(requires registration)
INDECENCY
WHITE HOUSE CLARIFIES INDECENCY STAND
"What I mean when I said 'indecency' is that there are decent standards out=
=20
there and people should meet them. Or they should just turn it off."=20
President Bush did not say that last week (I'm just sad there's, like, 350=
=20
days until April 1). But White House spokesperson Trent Duffy did try to=20
clarify the President's April 14 remarks on indecency saying President Bush=
=20
was actually endorsing the House bill that would increase the fines for=20
broadcast radio and TV indecency, but not addressing cable and satellite TV.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525149?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also --
Bush Misspoke on Cable Indecency
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA525313.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
DISNEY'S BALANCING ACT ON INDECENCY
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association=92s official position is=
=20
that a cable indecency law would violate the First Amendment and that the=20
best way to empower parents that want to filter racy content is to offer=20
channel-blocking tools, such as digital set-top boxes. But if necessary to=
=20
inject some fairness in the law, Disney would not object to indecency=20
regulation of cable=92s expanded-basic tier. That Disney is outside the=
cable=20
tent is more than a cosmetic problem, largely because the company owns such=
=20
marquee brands as ESPN, Disney Channel and Toon Disney and because the=20
company would be a formidable ally in helping kill cable indecency=
legislation.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA525200.html?display=3DPolicy&refer...
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
QUICKLY
COMSTOCK TAKING HIMSELF OUT OF RUNNING FOR FCC POST
Earl Comstock, one of the leading candidates for a Republican vacancy at=20
the Federal Communications Commission, has taken himself out of the running=
=20
for the post, sources said Friday. Mr. Comstock, who is a lawyer at Sher &=
=20
Blackwell in Washington, had the backing of Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D7656
(requires free registration)
THE NEXT FRITTS: PLACE YOUR BETS
There are three early favorites in the race to become the next head of the=
=20
National Association of Broadcasters: CBS Executive VP Marty Franks,=20
Disney/ABC lobbyist Mitch Rose, and David Kennedy, CEO of radio group=20
Susquehanna Media. Franks is a former Democratic House and Senate staffer=20
whose current job includes running CBS=92 digital-TV operations; Rose is=20
former chief of staff to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens;=20
and Kennedy is immediate past chairman of the NAB=92s joint TV/radio board=
=20
and is co-chairman of the committee searching for Fritts=92 replacement.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Staff]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA525206?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
BUZZ GETS LOUDER FOR TIGHTER REINS ON LOBBYISTS
Do-gooders and constant complainers aren't the only people calling for=20
repair of lobbying disclosure. Anyone with even a passing acquaintance with=
=20
the system for disclosure knows that it doesn't work. Expect bi-partisan=20
legislation to be introduced as early as this week. Birnbaum offers the=20
following to improve lobbying laws: 1) Require lobbyists to say who they've=
=20
lobbied and about what; 2) Expand the definition of lobbying to include=20
"grass-roots" activities. 3) Demand more frequent and more complete=20
disclosures. 4) Lengthen the time former government officials must wait=20
before lobbying. 5) Curtail fundraising by professional lobbyists.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum=20
kstreetconfidential( at )washpost.com]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61206-2005Apr17.html
(requires registration)
WEALTHY TARGETS
Some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Verizon=92s footprint have been the=
=20
first to receive its fiber-delivered FiOS Internet Service, and they may=20
eventually be the first communities to get the telco=92s upcoming video=20
product. A look at the demographics of the 55 communities where Verizon=20
recently launched FiOS Internet shows that the average median household=20
income in these localities is $81,920. That=92s nearly twice the national=20
median household income average of $41,994, according to U.S. Census Bureau=
=20
data analyzed by Multichannel News.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Steve Donohue]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA525531.html&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CEA DOWNGRADES 2005 DTV SHIPMENT FORECAST 25%
The Consumer Electronics Association has revised its forecast for digital=20
TV sales in 2005 from 20 million to 15 million. The group said it=20
overstated the effect of the FCC=92s DTV tuner mandate and misread the=20
commitment of broadcast and cable TV to accelerating the transition to=20
digital television.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Paul Gluckman]
(Not available online)
NOW ON DVD: THE SANITIZER'S CUT
A look at the battle between filmmakers and the self-proclaimed=20
"family-friendly" editors who delete scenes containing sexuality, violence=
=20
or crude language from the DVD releases of Hollywood movies. The edited=20
DVDs are resold or rented to parents and others who want a "clean" version=
=20
of the movie.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61565-2005Apr17.html
(requires registration)
INTEL SEES MOBILE BROADBAND STARTING IN 2006
WiMax is seen as a longer-range successor to Wi-Fi, the wireless computer=20
standard popularized in coffee shops and used in homes and restaurants.=20
WiMax enables broadband Internet connections over several miles or=20
kilometers, currently to fixed locations but next year also to mobile=20
devices such as laptops or small computers. It should be available to=20
consumers late in 2006.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Tarmo Virki]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3DKUAIS1GTD12VUCRBAE...
A?type=3DtechnologyNews&storyID=3D8196392
ICANN BOSSES SLAM NET-PHONE REGULATION
Vinton Cerf, chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and=20
Numbers, told an Internet governance roundtable in Sydney, Australia, that=
=20
in his personal opinion the best way to approach VoIP is without=20
regulation. "A problem in the regulatory world," he said, "is that=20
communications media is particularly associated with the delivery service."=
=20
Consequently, Cerf said, regulators could not differentiate between=20
regulation of normal telephony and VoIP, because to a casual observer they=
=20
appeared to be the same technology, even though they were delivered over=20
radically different mediums. If legislators choose to define VoIP the same=
=20
way they do normal telephony, Cerf warned, "they will discover that they=20
have legislated themselves into a pretty big corner."
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Renai LeMay]
http://news.com.com/ICANN+bosses+slam+Net-phone+regulation/2100-7352_3-5...
14.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
THE TRUTH ABOUT CELL PHONES AND THE NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY.
If you've received an e-mail telling you that your cell phone is about to=20
be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number=
=20
database, rest assured that this is not the case. Telemarketing to cell=20
phone numbers has always been illegal in most cases and will continue to be=
=20
so. In response to recent e-mail campaigns urging consumers to place their=
=20
cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Trade=
=20
Commission and Federal Communications Commission issue an advisory to give=
=20
consumers the facts.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-258164A1.doc
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------