For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
OWNERSHIP
Comcast Drops Disney Bid
WAR AND MEDIA
Patriot Act Suppresses News Of Challenge to Patriot Act
The Media: U.S. Protests Broadcasts by Arab Channels
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Internet Tax Debate
Birds Get to Keep Sticks
Deal Pushing a la Carte Plan
Washington Wakes Up to Spyware, Adware
Telecommunications Policy: A Look Ahead
Notebaert on Telecom Act Rewrite
COMPETITION
Battling the Cable Guy
AT&T to Bid To End Phone Deadlock
VoIP Vision Becomes Reality
QUICKLY
Industry, Public Interest Groups Oppose FBI Move to Regulate VoIP
Viacom Ready To Go To Court Over Indecency
Rural Public TV Stations Receive Grants from Department of Agriculture
Activists Urge Congress to Add E-Vote Printers
OWNERSHIP
COMCAST DROPS DISNEY BID
After the Disney board issued a statement of confidence in CEO Michael
Eisner Tuesday, Comcast has decided to end its $59.9 billion bid for the
company. Comcast may now turn its eye to acquiring Adelphia Communications
which is exploring options for a sale. The Center for Digital Democracy's
Jeff Chester views Comcast's decision as a victory for public interest
groups opposing large media mergers. "It wasn't just the negative response
from investors that helped to undermine the proposed deal. There was a
strong expression of opposition from citizen groups, unions, cable
subscribers and many others. Comcast knew that it faced a bitter fight in
Washington, and
with an impending national election, time was running out."
See Mr. Chester's remarks at
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/Comcast-Disney.html
[SOURCE: Multichannel News/Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Mike
Farrell/Brigitte Greenberg]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA413366?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/business/media/29DISN.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/business/media/29cable.html
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/page/0,,2_1070,00.html
WP: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51629-2004Apr28.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51654-2004Apr28.html
USAToday: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040429/6158842s.htm
LATimes: Smaller Media Deals Likely
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-media29apr29,1,165368...
"The desire to do deals is coming back, but it's much more nuanced and
careful acquisitions that are being considered," said Tom Wolzien, a media
industry analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein.
WAR AND MEDIA
PATRIOT ACT SUPPRESSES NEWS OF CHALLENGE TO PATRIOT ACT
The American Civil Liberties Union disclosed yesterday that it filed a
lawsuit three weeks ago challenging the FBI's methods of obtaining many
business records, but the group was barred from revealing even the
existence of the case until now. "It is remarkable that a gag provision in
the Patriot Act kept the public in the dark about the mere fact that a
constitutional challenge had been filed in court," Ann Beeson, the ACLU's
associate legal director, said in a statement. "President Bush can talk
about extending the life of the Patriot Act, but the ACLU is still gagged
from discussing details of our challenge to it." The challenge centers on
provisions in the legislation which allow the FBI to request financial
records and other documents from businesses without a warrant or judicial
approval. The ACLU says such requests, known as "national security
letters," are being used much more broadly than they were before the
Patriot Act. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the
existence of a Patriot Act.
See http://www.aclu.org/ for more info from the ACLU.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dan Eggen]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51423-2004Apr28.html
(requires registration)
THE MEDIA: US PROTESTS BROADCASTS BY ARAB CHANNELS
The Bush administration, frustrated by what it calls "inflammatory" reports
by Arabic television channels, has in recent days protested to foreign
government officials, confronted Arab news executives and put together a
list of supposed abuses. American policymakers and military officials say
their efforts in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East are being undercut
by politically motivated and erroneous reports by satellite channel Al
Jazeera, financed by Qatar, and Al Arabiya, based in Saudi Arabia.
Officials say they are especially unhappy with broadcasts that focus on
civilian casualties without providing the broader context of the war or
give excessive time to the remarks of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists.
With satellite-TV dishes sprouting on rooftops in major cities like
Baghdad, Mosul and Basra, allied commanders say they have few defenses in
the information air wars against Al Jazeera's reporting.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Christopher Marquis]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/international/middleeast/29JAZE.html
(requires registration)
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
INTERNET TAX DEBATE
Another day of debate in the Senate on the Internet access tax ban. State
and local governments urged Congress to not to cut their tax revenue. More
than one half of the states are pulling out of their budget deficits, a
report (http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2004/040428.htm) released by the
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) said. "There is no
deficit," a spokesman for NCSL said, adding that many states have large
surpluses. "This is particularly interesting to the Internet tax debate,"
the study said, "since so many governors have claimed that their state
needs more revenue to help their budget gaps." The spokesman said state
taxation of the Internet is unconstitutional since it's interstate, and
"the only reason [Sen Lamar] Alexander [R-TN] wants to tax the Internet is
because he doesn't like the Internet."
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Ian Martinez]
(Not available online)
BIRDS GET TO KEEP STICKS
The House Telecommunications Subcommittee on Wednesday approved the
Satellite Home Viewer Enhancement and Reauthorization Act giving satellite
companies the right to carry local broadcast stations, requiring them to
carry all stations in any market where they carry any. The bill allows for
satellite companies to continue the "two dish" system, but all local
broadcasters must be included on the same dish. The legislation does not
give satellite companies the ability to deliver distant digital signals to
customers not yet able to get a digital signal. But the bill would require
the FCC to study the issue and report to Congress by the end of 2005. The
bill would have to be reauthorized again after December 31, 2009.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton & Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA413381?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
See Also:
House Panel Adopts One-Dish Rule
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA413384?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
LATimes:
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-rup29.7apr29,1,951122...
DEAL PUSHING A LA CARTE PLAN
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) is pushing a la carte legislation, with the support
of small cable operators and consumers groups, that would seek to dilute
the power of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox to enforce expanded-basic carriage of
their large stable of cable networks. A la carte cable and satellite
choices would not be mandated, programming suppliers would be barred from
denying cable and direct-broadcast satellite carriers the opportunity to
sell channels a la carte. Rep Deal plans on offering his proposal as an
amendment to the Satellite Home Viewer Enhancement and Reauthorization Act.
American Cable Association president Matt Polka said he is supporting Rep
Deal's approach because the alternative approach -- mandated a la carte
sale of all channels -- was not acceptable. "Consumers do not have choice
and cable operators do not have choice," Mr. Polka said. "We are supporting
it because Mr. Deal has had the courage to raise the issue of choice."
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA413566?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
Consumers Union writes, A la Carte Amendment Big Step Toward Choice,
Control Over Cable Bills
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/001017.html
WASHINGTON WAKES UP TO SPYWARE, ADWARE
Official Washington is becoming officially fed up with the proliferation of
spyware and adware. "It may be this year's spam, if you will," Rep. Jay
Inslee (D-WA) said in an interview. "We're recognizing that we have privacy
rights at stake that could be abused and you have this increasing
infestation of pop-up ads. That's a great impediment to people's use of
this technology." Computer makers and security firms say that spyware and
adware problems have increased nearly tenfold in the last year. The House
Energy and Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection will hold a hearing
today on spyware and two bills are addressing the problem. Rep Inslee's
bill would punish malicious spyware authors with criminal penalties, grant
state attorneys general the power to bring civil cases, and regulate the
use of spyware technology by federal police like the FBI. Rep Mary Bono
(R-CA) is also preparing a bill. her proposal would hand the FTC broad
enforcement power, ordering the agency to publish regulations that describe
how to uninstall spyware and adware. The measure also bans spyware and
adware that does not obtain explicit consent from an end user and that does
not offer a warning before installation. Both bills would preempt state laws.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-5201819.html?tag=cd.top
TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY: A LOOK AHEAD
Members heard testimony on suggested revisions of telecommunications law
and alternative regulatory frameworks that policymakers should consider in
any future reform of telecommunications policy. Senator McCain presided.
Links to prepared statements at the URL below.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1166
See also:
USTA statement:
http://www.usta.org/news_releases.php?urh=home.news.nr2004_0428_02
NOTEBAERT ON TELECOM ACT REWRITE
Speaking at a Progress and Freedom Foundation lunch, Qwest CEO Dick
Notebaert said he is not pushing for nor optimistic about rewriting the
Telecom Act of 1996, noting that it took 6-8 years to pass the last major
overhaul of US telecom policy. But if Congress does turn its attention to
it, Mr. Notebaert believes reforming universal service should be a top
priority. He believes policymakers should decide what they want to do with
the fund -- connect low income households or increase broadband penetration
-- and then decide how to raise the money. He believes the subsidies are
really a tax and should be called that.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
COMPETITION
BATTLING THE CABLE GUY
Facing competition from cable's bundling of television, telephone and
high-speed Internet service, phone companies are looking to provide their
own bundles which include local, long distance and cell phone service,
high-speed Internet and, yes, pay television. Small, independent phone
companies in pockets of the U.S., Canada and elsewhere have led the charge
in tapping advances in digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet technology
and video compression to offer TV and movies on demand to customers. They
are doing this over ordinary copper phone lines, which once were seen as
too low-tech for such services. While cable companies and phone companies
push into each others' markets with discounted service bundles, some
financial analysts fear the result could be a costly battle with no clear
winners, other than perhaps consumers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Heinzl mark.heinzl( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108319226641496560,00.html?mod=mm%5Fm...
(requires subscription)
See also:
Bells Join Race to Offer TV
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108319235106996564,00.html?mod=mm_med...
AT&T TO BID TO END PHONE DEADLOCK
With the rules for leasing rates set to expire and the government
pressuring the industry to agree to new terms on its own, AT&T will propose
that it pay more for leasing the regional phone companies' switches,
sophisticated computers that help route calls. In exchange, AT&T wants the
regional companies to lower the cost for using "the local loop," the wires
that actually connect to homes. AT&T says it will then move away from a
reliance on the Baby Bells for switching. Telecom analyst Scott C. Cleland
of the Precursor Group said the Baby Bells will undoubtedly want more than
what AT&T is offering, but that the proposal represents a possible
breakthrough. "It's a very significant development," Cleland said. "This is
AT&T proactively saying, 'We need to and want to wean ourselves off of
relying on the Bells.' "
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Griff Witte]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51881-2004Apr28.html
(requires registration)
LATimes:
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-att29apr29,1,5818066....
VOIP VISION BECOMES A REALITY
Why is now the time for adopting Internet telephone service (VoIP)?
Next-gen voice technology has matured and is ready for primetime
deployment. Broadband penetration has reached meaningful levels.
Competition among big players is intense as local providers, long-distance
carriers and cable companies eye each others' businesses and customers --
and even start-up specialists are putting incumbents on notice. Carriers
desperately need new revenue and to lower their total cost of network
ownership, especially as competition intensifies and margins slip. If
carriers don't act now, there is a very real and painful potential of being
left out of the equation as businesses of all sizes move to VoIP.
But questions still remain: How will carriers operationalize the new
systems and services? Is there a killer app? Does the market need one?
What are the successful VoIP business models? Will the regulatory
environment support or hinder VoIP overall? Will regulators create an
unfair playing field? Will VoIP's benefits exceed its threats for incumbent
operators? Are IP networks reliable and resilient enough for the tidal wave
of latency-sensitive IP communications?
[SOURCE: Telephony's Online Update, AUTHOR: Kevin Mitchell of Infonetics
Research kevin( at )infonetics.com]
QUICKLY
INDUSTRY, PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS OPPOSE FBI MOVE TO REGULATE VOIP
A diverse group of companies, trade associations and public interest groups
from across the political spectrum filed a joint statement at the FCC
urging rejection of an FBI petition to extend controversial wiretap design
mandates to the Internet. In a separate filing, CDT said that a recent
report by the Department of Justice Inspector General shows that the 1994
law relied on by the FBI is fundamentally broken even as applied to
traditional telephone networks and is especially ill-suited to the Internet.
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology]
(http://www.cdt.org)
Joint Statement of Industry and Public Interest Groups [pdf], April 27, 2004:
http://www.cdt.org/digi_tele/20040427industrycaleareply.pdf
CDT Reply Comments [pdf], April 27, 2004:
http://www.cdt.org/digi_tele/20040427cdtcaleareply.pdf
VIACOM READY TO GO TO COURT OVER INDECENCY
Free speech is "what America is about," Viacom president Mel Karmazin told
an audience at a breakfast hosted by Syracuse University's Newhouse School.
"We are fighting in Iraq for freedom. Don't you think people ought to be
able to listen to programming that appeals to them? If it doesn't appeal to
you, change the channel, shut off the radio. Do whatever you want, but if
you don't like the word 'anal sex' it doesn't make it indecent. It may be
offensive." There is a legal definition of what's indecent, he said, and
Howard Stern's show doesn't qualify. Indecency enforcement is a "dangerous
slippery slope," said Mr. Karmazin. "What's amazing is that so many
journalists have not been that supportive" of broadcasters' First Amendment
rights.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA413583?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
RURAL PUBLIC TV STATIONS RECEIVE GRANTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Eighteen public television stations serving rural communities will receive
$14 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is the
second round of funding from a Rural Utilities Service grant program to
assist public television stations in the transition from analog to digital
broadcasting. Converting to digital broadcasting will expand rural
residents' access to educational and agricultural information and news.
Public television stations rely largely on viewer support and business
contributions for the bulk of operating budgets. In many rural areas, the
cost of the digital transition exceeds these financial resources. To assist
stations with the cost of the conversion, Congress directed that $14
million of the distance learning/telemedicine funds in the USDA Rural
Development 2004 appropriations bill be used to support the transition
effort. APTS launched the Rural Broadband Coalition in 2001 to address the
digital conversion needs of stations serving rural America. The goal of the
coalition is to work with Congress to find funding to help rural stations
finance the conversion. Such funding needs to transition from analog to
digital broadcasting include a new antenna, transmitter or translator and
digital management facilities. Many stations also produce local programming
and therefore, need to purchase digital cameras, editing and mastering
systems to create this original content.
[SOURCE: Association of Public Television Stations Press Release]
http://www.apts.org/html/pressroom/RUS2.htm
ACTIVISTS URGE CONGRESS TO ADD E-VOTE PRINTERS
VerifiedVoting.org, founded by David L. Dill, a Stanford Professor of
Computer Science, is asking Congress to require electronic voting terminals
to print out ballots so votes can be verified and recounted. Rep. Rush Holt
(D-NJ) has introduced a bill that would require e-voting terminals to
produce a paper trail. Rep Holt's bill has attracted 134 sponsors since it
was introduced a year ago, but Congress has not yet taken action. An aide
said the House of Representatives Government Reform Committee has scheduled
a hearing in May, but the House Administration Committee, which has
authority over the bill, has shown no interest.
For more information on the advocacy efforts, see
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=497...
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