For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
Barton to Broadcasters: Speed Up the Switch
Convention Oratory, Increasingly Shoved Aside
INTERNET
Hackers Are Discovering a New Frontier: Internet Telephone Service
Could U.S. Bid to Curb Gambling on the Web Go Way of Prohibition?
TELECOM
Bride or Bridesmaid? AT&T and MCI May Compete for Suitors
TELEVISION
BARTON TO BROADCASTERS: SPEED UP THE SWITCH
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is at the forefront of a push to make the transition
to digital-only television broadcasting by January 1, 2007. The idea is
gaining momentum in Washington as lawmakers eye the possible revenue that
the auction of analog TV licenses could bring in and wireless companies
push to pick up old broadcast channels to expand their services. Also
supporting the idea are the Manhattan Institute and the New American
Foundation -- the latter argues that broadcasters got a free ride when
digital channels were doled out to them at no upfront cost. For the 12
million households that do not subscribe to cable or satellite TV, Rep
Barton, the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, is suggesting a $1
billion subsidy for digital to analog convertor boxes. Broadcasters fret
over all the talk, fearing that they will end up spending $16 billion to go
digital while delivering to most viewers a picture little different from
the one available for decades. They also fear completing their end of the
DTV conversion before winning the right to secure cable and satellite
carriage for digital multicast channels or full high-definition
programming. Unless the overwhelming majority of viewers can be lured by
HDTV and other new digital services, broadcasters worry that they will have
gained nothing to reverse free over-the-air TV's long slide in market share.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA440878?display=Washington
(requires subscription)
CONVENTION ORATORY, INCREASINGLY SHOVED ASIDE
With broadcast network coverage of the conventions down this year, are
cable networks doing a good job of covering them? Perhaps not, if you
consider their job "we report, you decide." At Fox News, former Vice
President Al Gore's speech ran for all of 40 seconds before host Bill
O'Reilly broke in with his own commentary. Speeches by Sen Ted Kennedy
(D-MA) and Rev Al Sharpton (D-NY) were also on Fox for just a couple of
minutes. Some Fox executives see this approach as counterprogramming, since
the speeches are widely available elsewhere. "You could make a very good
case for not being here until Thursday -- even for the cable channels,"
said Brit Hume, Fox's Washington managing editor. "If we were inventing
this from scratch and there was no history here, no tradition, no custom,
we wouldn't design it this way. You wouldn't anchor from here, you just
wouldn't. Nobody has quite had the stones to say let's call a halt here."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32979-2004Aug1.html
(requires registration)
INTERNET
HACKERS ARE DISCOVERING A NEW FRONTIER: INTERNET TELEPHONE SERVICE
Thinking of making the switch to VoIP? Internet phones and the routers and
servers that steer and store the digitized calls are susceptible to the
bugs, viruses and worms that have plagued computer data systems for years.
Already, a few malicious attacks have shut down corporate Internet phone
networks, disrupting business at a cost of millions of dollars. With
Internet phones, hackers or disgruntled employees with access to a
company's phone server can eavesdrop on conversations by surreptitiously
installing software that can track voice packets. Worse, tapping phones by
hacking into servers and hard drives is easier than wiretapping, which
requires special equipment and more effort. Now, hackers can eavesdrop on
hundreds of calls without ever leaving home.
See more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ken Belson]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/02/technology/02virus.html
(requires registration)
COULD U.S.S BID TO CURB GAMBLING ON THE WEB GO THE WAY OF PROHIBITION?
Under the 1961 Federal Wire Act, betting on sports via telephone or the
Internet is illegal in the U.S. and many U.S. lawmakers and regulators
would like to shut down operations that run Web gambling sites catering to
Americans. But online gambling is legal in many other countries, and the
U.S. can't do much to prevent companies operating abroad from accepting
wagers from U.S. citizens. As a result, a gigantic online gambling market
has sprung up overseas. Last year, world-wide revenue from online gambling
totaled $5.7 billion, and a majority of the gamblers were American.
Prosecutors have gone after for credit card issuers for processing
credit-card payments for online gambling and notified the National
Association of Broadcasters that accepting money from Web gambling
advertisers could be considered "aiding and abetting" an illegal activity.
But some say U.S. law-enforcement efforts are "like trying to empty the
ocean with a teaspoon." The best hand the U.S. might play could be
regulation. By legalizing and regulating online gambling, the U.S.
government would make it safer for the 5.3 million Americans who are
already gambling in offshore online casinos -- and, perhaps, collect some
tax revenues as well.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin julia.angwin( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109139863475079918,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
TELECOM
BRIDE OR BRIDESMAID? AT&T AND MCI MAY COMPETE FOR SUITORS
AT&T and MCI have a history of competing: the final chapter of that battle
may be which company can sell itself off the quickest. Verizon or one of
the other Baby Bells seem the most likely buyers for the long distance
companies, but they are more likely to invest one of the telecom sector's
high-growth areas. Some bankers say the real value of AT&T or MCI is in
their hard assets, with only a small premium to be paid for their ongoing
businesses.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis K. Berman dennis.berman( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109140568139980089,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
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Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
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