Today, the Institute for Public Representation of Georgetown University Law=
=20
Center and the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ are=20
holding a book party for Kay Mills' new book, Changing Channels, The Civil=
=20
Rights Case that Transformed Television. This book tells the story of the=20
license renewal challenge brought by the United Church of Christ against=20
television station WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi in 1964.
For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
NAB to Ask FCC to Reconsider Multicast
Media Matters Accepts Murdoch Challenge
Next Up on Fox: Ads That Can Change Pitch
Legal Or Not, P2P TV Is Coming
INTERNET
House Aide: Telecom Reform to Focus on Internet Issues First
Members Flag Regulation Exemptions for Bells
Internet Feeding, not Beating, other Media
Britain Gets a New Broadband Divide
Saving the Internet
Top Down and Bottom Up
INDECENCY
Support for Tougher Indecency Measures, But Worries About
Government Intrusiveness
Broadcasters Narrow In on Indecency
MERGERS
House Judiciary Leaders Raise Concerns Over Telecom Mergers
Groups Urge Opposition of Adelphia Sale to Time Warner-Comcast
QUICKLY -- As Apple Suit Shows, 'Journalism' Is Broad; Bill Targeting=20
Content Pirates Passes
TELEVISION
NAB TO ASK FCC TO RECONSIDER MULTICAST
The National Association of Broadcasters is seeking a new ruling from the=20
Federal Communications Commission on a hot-button issue called multicast=20
must-carry. Although broadcasters are legally entitled to cable carriage of=
=20
a single programming service, the NAB insisted that the law actual mandates=
=20
carriage of all programming services that a station can pack into its=20
digital bandwidth. That is currently about five or six programming streams.=
=20
The NAB is expected to make a FCC filing later this week in a regulatory=20
step that postpones a court battle with the agency and the cable industry.=
=20
James Goodmon, CEO of Capitol Broadcasting Co. Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., said=
=20
cable's resistance to multicast must-carry was designed to block=20
competition from TV stations that wanted to use their digital capacity to=20
air 24-hour news and weather channels. =93I absolutely think that we need=20
[multicast] must-carry because cable has programming that they want to=20
protect against our local news channels," Goodmon said. =93It is not a=20
[cable] capacity issue. It is also not an issue of C-SPAN coming off all=20
over America.=94
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA526373.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
MEDIA MATTERS ACCEPTS MURDOCH CHALLENGE
In a letter to Rupert Murdoch, Media Matters for America has accepted a=20
challenge "show Fox News has any bias in it." The letter includes an=20
attachment with examples that Media Matters has compiled, which demonstrate=
=20
that conservative voices on Fox far outnumber progressive voices; that Fox=
=20
anchors, reporters, and ostensibly non-ideological guests routinely inject=
=20
pro-Republican opinion into "news" programs; and that even Fox's "hard=20
news" anchors and reporters regularly distort the news to further the GOP=20
agenda. And since one good challenge deserves another, MM4A ends the letter=
=20
with: Because we suspect your challenge was rhetorical, rather than a=20
reflection of a sincere desire to assess Fox News' "balance," I suggest=20
submitting these examples to a mutually-agreed-upon panel for review. Let's=
=20
let a neutral body, rather than the CEO of Fox News' parent company, decide=
=20
if Fox News "has any bias in it."
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: David Brock]
http://mediamatters.org/items/200504200004
See coverage in:
B&C:=20
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA526489?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
NEXT UP ON FOX: ADS THAT CAN CHANGE PITCH
In a move that could help redefine broadcast-TV advertising, News Corp.'s=20
Fox plans to offer marketers tweakable ads -- spots that can be digitally=20
altered to contain elements relevant to particular viewers at the time they=
=20
are seen. By changing voiceovers, scripts, graphic elements or other=20
images, for instance, advertisers could make an ad appeal to teens in one=20
instance and seniors in another. Tailoring commercials has emerged as a new=
=20
goal in the ad industry, thanks to a plethora of media outlets and the=20
increasing fragmentation of audiences. While digital technology already=20
gives cable carriers the ability to offer adjustable ads -- sometimes even=
=20
by ZIP Code -- advertisers who wanted to customize their pitches in the=20
not-too-distant past often had to create separate spots. The Fox effort=20
could let an advertiser modify a single ad in various ways, minutes before=
=20
it airs. Perhaps more significantly, it brings the practice to a major=20
broadcast network for the first time.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg=20
brian.steinberg( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111403096671212390,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
LEGAL OR NOT, P2P TV IS COMING
Magna Global media analyst Brian Wieser reports that while his company does=
=20
not see peer-to-peer content sharing becoming a mass market for video=20
content in the same way it has for audio, it will become a young-targeted=20
niche market that studios, distributors and marketers have to deal with. He=
=20
argues that content providers should not just protect their old models of=20
distribution through lawsuits and other purely defensive tactics. Instead,=
=20
Wieser said, studios should start thinking creatively about product=20
distribution for "the day when producers and/or networks are forced to=20
provide their content in online, on-demand environments."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA526436?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
INTERNET
HOUSE AIDE: TELECOM REFORM TO FOCUS ON INTERNET ISSUES FIRST
The House Commerce Committee plans to deal with telecom reform in separate=
=20
bills, starting with Internet issues, Brendon Weiss, aide to Rep Fossella=20
(R-NY) said Tuesday at an Federal Communication Bar Association seminar.=20
Weiss said the panel wants to start circulating a draft Internet bill by=20
mid-May. The committee leadership hopes to have a bill on the floor this=20
year or early next. Other issues -- like universal service reform -- will=20
come later. Weiss said the IP bill would be based on several =93principles:=
=94=20
1) IP and broadband services are =93inherently interstate=94 and thus =93to=
the=20
extent they are regulated at all they should be regulated at the federal=20
level.=94 (not at state or local level). 2) The =93net freedoms=94 concept=
=20
advanced by ex-FCC Chairman Michael Powell and others. Net freedoms=20
includes assurances consumers can use networks without interference and can=
=20
attach their own devices if there=92s no harm to networks. 3) VoIP providers=
=20
should have to give consumers access to 911 dispatchers. 4) They also=20
should =93accept each other=92s voice traffic and compensate each other for=
the=20
termination of voice traffic.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
MEMBERS FLAG REGULATION EXEMPTIONS FOR BELLS
The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a=20
hearing Wednesday called How Internet Protocol-Enabled Services Are=20
Changing the Face of Communications: A Look at Video and Data Services.=20
Representatives from SBC and Verizon used the opportunity to promote the=20
Internet protocol (IP) video services they soon will be offering -- and to=
=20
urge Members of Congress to exempt the services from some regulations that=
=20
apply to cable. Rep Ed Markey (MA), the ranking Democrat on the=20
subcommittee, aggressively questioned testifiers about rollout of these new=
=20
services, highlighting plans to focus on just the most affluent households.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
For more on the hearing, see=20
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/04202005hearing1483/hearing...
More coverage in --
News.com:=20
http://news.com.com/Bells+fiber+plans+spark+political+flame+war/2100-103...
5678536.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
B&C:=20
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA526456?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Multichannel News:=20
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA526486.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
Also see --
Don't Make Me Have To Punish You!
http://www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com/www.riedelcommunications.blog=
spot.com=20
INTERNET FEEDING, NOT BEATING, OTHER MEDIA
A new study by Forrester Research and Headlight Vision found that broadband=
=20
Internet users are actually turning to the Web for deeper content and=20
entertainment info without forsaking other media. Broadband users are two=20
to three times more likely to download video than dial-up customers,=20
including movie clips, trailers, news video, sports events and cartoons.=20
And they are twice as likely to use the Internet to augment their decisions=
=20
about which movies to see. According to the study, 64% of broadband users=20
watch TV or read newspapers or mags at the same time that they are online.=
=20
That number jumps to 71% for wireless broadband users.
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Pamela McClintock]
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117921271?categoryid=3D1009&cs=3D1&s=3...
=3D0
BRITAIN GETS NEW BROADBAND DIVIDE
Talk of a broadband divide used to be centered on the haves and the=20
have-nots of high-speed access as a result of BT's feet dragging over=20
rolling out ADSL to rural areas. But now that the majority of those who=20
want it -- around 96 percent of the country according to BT -- have access=
=20
to a broadband-enabled exchange, the protesters appeared to have been=20
appeased. However, the increasing perceived need for faster access through=
=20
fatter pipes is threatening to change the rules of the game once again and=
=20
create a new broadband divide -- now based around costs and speed rather=20
simple access.
[SOURCE: ZDNet UK, AUTHOR: Graeme Wearden]
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/communications/broadband/0,39020424,39195176,...
tm
SAVING THE INTERNET
Because of broadband, the Internet as we have known it is going to change=20
-- the only question is how. There's a fight going on over that question,=20
and at stake is nothing less than the Internet's potential as a medium for=
=20
free expression, civic involvement, and economic innovation. Unfortunately,=
=20
unless the government changes course and begins to restrain the=20
increasingly concentrated power of the companies that sell Internet access,=
=20
the Internet's vaunted freedom and openness will dissolve as these private=
=20
interests gain leverage over our most precious communications medium.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Barry Steinhardt and Jay Stanley]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert358.shtml
TOP DOWN AND BOTTOM UP
[Commentary] I really don't understand Verizon's hostile attitude toward=20
free wi-fi, and especially municipal wi-fi. the two services seem to me to=
=20
be complementary, not competitive. The more those companies criticize the=20
municipal wi-fi approach, the more it makes me wonder what, exactly,=20
they're afraid of.
[SOURCE: Tech Central Station, AUTHOR: Glenn Harlan Reynolds]
http://www.techcentralstation.com/042005D.html
INDECENCY
SUPPORT FOR TOUGHER INDECENCY MEASURES, BUT WORRIES ABOUT GOVERNMENT=20
INTRUSIVENESS
The latest Pew Research Center nationwide survey finds that 75% of=20
Americans favor tighter enforcement of government rules on TV content=20
during hours when children are most likely to be watching. Sizable=20
majorities also back other anti-indecency proposals currently before=20
Congress, including steeper fines (69%) and extending network standards for=
=20
indecency to cable television (60%). But Americans have ambivalent views=20
about the appropriate role for government in curbing sex, violence and=20
indecency in the entertainment media. They have doubts about the=20
effectiveness of government action, and believe that public pressure =AD in=
=20
the form of complaints and boycotts =AD is a better way of dealing with the=
=20
problem. They also blame audiences more than the media industry for=20
objectionable material. Significantly, Americans see greater danger in the=
=20
government's imposing undue restrictions on the entertainment industry,=20
than in the industry producing harmful content (by 48% vs. 41%).
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center]
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=3D241
More coverage in --
AdAge: http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=3D44815
BROADCASTERS NARROW IN ON INDECENCY
Broadcasters gathered in Las Vegas this week are obsessed with indecency.=20
Or, at least, the regulation of indecency by the FCC. The Commission's new=
=20
chairman, Kevin Martin, will likely be an even tougher indecency regulator=
=20
than former Chairman Powell under who's watch indecency fines rose to=20
record levels. As FCC chairman, Mr. Martin must walk a fine line between=20
his public views, which are popular with social conservatives, and the=20
political reality that broadcasters have a way of getting Congress to=20
listen when they are unhappy with regulators. Media companies want to see=20
fewer, not more, decency requirements. Some broadcasters say they are=20
frustrated that the line between what is acceptable and what isn't is so=20
vague -- and that cable and satellite TV and radio don't have to worry=20
about the issue.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111403586473212557,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
See also --
Indecency-Complaint Form Omits Indecency
The Office of Management and Budget has approved two new FCC complaint=20
forms, including one for indecency complaints. The FCC says the new=20
complaint forms make the process easier and less time consuming, and will=20
insure that the complaint contains the minimum amount of information the=20
Commission needs to process it.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable: AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA526480?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FCC complaint page: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html
MERGERS
HOUSE JUDICIARY LEADERS RAISE CONCERNS OVER TELECOM MERGERS
The House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing Wednesday on=20
consolidation in the telecommunications industry. Leaders from both sides=20
of the aisle expressed concern that consolidation was undermining the=20
intent of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Pending mergers of SBC and=20
AT&T, Verizon and MCI would leave two firms controlling 80% of the business=
=20
and nearing two-thirds of all Bell customers.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
Link to hearing info: http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=3D142
GROUPS URGE OPPOSITION OF ADELPHIA SALE TO TIME WARNER-COMCAST
The Center for Digital Democracy, the Media Access Project, Common Cause,=20
Free Press and the Center for Creative Voices in Media have sent letters to=
=20
mayors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Maine, New York,=20
Puerto Rico, Montana, Idaho and Washington warning that the sale of=20
Adelphia to Time Warner-Comcast will not be in the public interest of=20
cities and local franchising authorities that oversee cable rates. The=20
letter pledged to =93protect the public=92s rights=94 by demanding strict=20
regulatory scrutiny of a sale, adding that they would challenge the sale at=
=20
the federal, state and local level in each Adelphia market being=20
transferred in the purchase.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
See letter at:=
http://www.creativevoices.us/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=3D114
See also --
Judge Approves Big Breakup Fee In Adelphia Deal
Time Warner and Comcast took a major step toward acquiring Adelphia=20
Communications as a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved a $440 million fee=
=20
that Adelphia would have to pay the joint bidders if the deal isn't=
completed
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111404121931912668,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
As Apple Suit Shows, 'Journalism' Is Broad
AS APPLE SUIT SHOWS, 'JOURNALISM' IS BROAD
[Commentary] There has been a lot of foolishness in the press of late=20
questioning whether webloggers and online publishers deserve the=20
professional label "journalist." The argument seems to be that only people=
=20
who are officially affiliated with big media conglomerates and whose work=20
is distributed on paper or by broadcast or cable should be allowed to bask=
=20
in the tremendous respect and reverence bestowed on certified newshounds by=
=20
a grateful public. The truth is that the only useful way to define=20
"journalist" is functionally: As anyone who hunts down suppressed,=20
overlooked or misunderstood information of public interest (even trivial=20
interest) and presents or explains it to an audience. The medium of=20
publication is irrelevant. Newspapers, magazines and TV and radio services=
=20
aren't invariably exemplars of serious news gathering; many are brainless,=
=20
irresponsible or purveyors of propaganda. Conversely, although many weblogs=
=20
and websites are outlets for wingnuts and noodniks, many others provide=20
trenchant and incisive news and analysis.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Michael Hiltzik]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-golden21apr21,1,27057...
olumn?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)
BILL TARGETING CONTENT PIRATES PASSES
Both houses of Congress have now passed the Family Entertainment and=20
Copyright Act, a bill that will crack down on the illegal distribution of=20
pirated copies of movies and songs, but allow technologies like ClearPlay=20
to sanitize copies of films, DVD's or TV shows without violating copyright=
=20
laws.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA526370?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------