For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
Your Money or Your License
More Kids TV, But Better?
McCain DTV Conversion Bill Slates $1 Billion for Converter Boxes
Lawmakers Seek to Halt DTV Transition Plan
Comcast=92s DTV Triple Play
DIVERSITY
As Media Audience Fragments, Trust -- Not Objectivity -- Is What Matters
Newsrooms Haven't Changed Much
Cable Lags In Diversity: Survey
QUICKLY
Tech's Future
Nextel Lays Out Objections to 800 MHz Rebanding Plan
Users Find Too Many Phish in the Internet Sea
A PUC Consumer Champ Draws Ire
TELEVISION
YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LICENSE
Media watchdog Parents Television Council (PTC) plans to challenge perhaps=
=20
hundreds of local TV license renewals coming due for FCC review over the=20
next three years. Other organizations -- including the United Church of=20
Christ and the Alliance for Better Campaigns -- are also challenging=20
license renewals. The activists hope to take advantage of the FCC's=20
obligation to judge each station's performance serving their community's=20
local-programming needs, including educational shows and local-news and=20
campaign coverage. Since media conglomerates have spent millions assembling=
=20
national station groups, a growing chorus of critics charge they're=20
boosting profits by airing reality shows, celebrity journalism, and prime=20
time shows laden with sex and violence. At the same time, critics say, the=
=20
networks are abandoning their obligation to serve the programming needs of=
=20
communities. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps predicts activists' efforts=20
will end what he sees as a renewal process that requires broadcasters to do=
=20
little more than mail in a postcard asking to stay in business another=20
eight years. "The FCC can do something about licensing by reinstituting a=20
serious, honest-to-God license-renewal process," he told Congress after the=
=20
FCC relaxed broadcast rules in 2003. Although the FCC has rarely denied=20
renewals, the threats raise the specter of costly legal battles to defend=20
station holdings. The TV industry will collectively spend millions=20
defending shows in staff-level FCC renewal proceedings, and any FCC action=
=20
could have greater repercussions in the industry -- from which shows are=20
chosen by stations to how the shows are sold or written.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA454236?display=3DTop+of+the+W...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
Alliance Eyes License Challenges
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA454028?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
MORE KIDS TV, BUT BETTER?
On September 9 the FCC adopted new rules that will require digital=20
broadcasters who multicast to provide an additional three hours of=20
children's educational/information programming for each new channel they=20
air. That means there could be a lot more children's programming available=
=20
on digital TV -- but will it be better? Some are skeptical. Some critics of=
=20
broadcasters say many stations meet a three-hour weekly quota by airing=20
cartoons and other programs with little informational value. American=20
University professor and longtime kids-TV advocate Kathryn Montgomery=20
worries that the networks will spread their current libraries "as thinly as=
=20
possible" to comply. At the heart of the debate is the FCC's reluctance to=
=20
spell out exactly what qualifies as educational programming. In 1996, the=20
agency left it to broadcasters to decide, spurring complaints that stations=
=20
sometimes tried to sneak in shows like The Flintstones by arguing that they=
=20
taught kids about prehistoric life. Several station groups were embarrassed=
=20
when those attempts came to light, and few go that far anymore, but the=20
debate over quality continues.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA454244?display=3DWashington&r...
ral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
MCCAIN DTV CONVERSION BILL SLATES $1 BILLION FOR CONVERTOR BOXES
On Wednesday, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) is=20
likely to propose -- as part of the Spectrum Availability for Emergency=20
Response and Law Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Service Act (the=20
SAVE LIVES Act) -- a $1 billion subsidy for digital television convertor=20
boxes to help speed the transition to digital-only TV broadcasting. The=20
FCC will have firm deadlines for deciding outstanding digital TV issues: 1)=
=20
signal carriage requirements (Jan 2005), 2), 2) broadcaster public interest=
=20
obligations (Jan 2006) and 3) DBS carriage of local broadcast signals (Jan=
=20
2006). The legislation will also direct the Department of Homeland Security=
=20
to study public safety communications in the next year, including: 1) the=20
need for additional spectrum allocation, 2) the ability of public safety=20
entities to utilize wireless
broadband applications, and 3) the communications capabilities of first=20
receivers against proposed increases.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
See also --
Reuters:=20
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3DHSJFUEJIGPRM2CRBAE...
Y?type=3DtechnologyNews&storyID=3D6274959
LAWMAKERS SEEK TO HALT DTV TRANSITION PLAN
Democratic Congressmen Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Rick Boucher of=20
Virginia on Friday urged the FCC to give up on a plan to require=20
broadcasters to make the switch to digital-only TV in 2009. Under current=20
law, broadcasters don't have to make the switch until 85% of the homes in=20
their markets are able to receive DTV signals -- something that's not=20
expected to happen for a decade or more. But in a major change that's=20
expected to go to a vote as soon as this fall, FCC Chairman Michael Powell=
=20
is proposing to modify the agency's regulations to count cable's=20
subscribers toward the penetration cap by 2009, clearing the way for an=20
immediate conversion. In a letter to Chairman Powell, the Members of=20
Congress allege that the FCC's plan runs afoul of the wishes of Congress:=20
"Indeed, abandoning Congress's 85% standard without simultaneously=20
developing a comprehensive policy to address the estimated 70 million=20
analog legacy sets would be illegal as a matter of law and reckless as a=20
matter of public policy. Accordingly, we implore you to postpone this vote=
=20
until further congressional hearings and discussions with your agency can=20
be held."
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D6325
See also:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA454235?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
COMCAST'S DTV TRIPLE PLAY
In a letter sent to the FCC last week, cable giant Comcast said=20
negotiations with digital TV stations broadcasting high-definition (HD)=20
pictures/sound could result in the following: carriage of the HD signal;=20
analog carriage of the HD signal (because nearly two-thirds of Comcast=20
subscribers are still analog-only); and simulcast carriage of the HD signal=
=20
in =93compressed digital=94 format to accommodate subscribers without HD=
boxes.=20
Comcast said it would have to set aside 6 Megahertz for the analog feed,=20
between 2 and 4 MHz for the HD feed, and 0.6 MHz for each compressed=20
digital version =97 a 10-1 digital-to-analog ratio that suggests that only=
=20
one or two 6 MHz analog channels would be needed in most markets to carry=20
every DTV station in that compressed digital format. By offering this=20
scenario, Comcast=92s point was that during and after the broadcasters=92=20
transition to digital, cable companies would have to set aside substantial=
=20
bandwidth to ensure that its subscribers received broadcast programming in=
=20
a manner compatible with the equipment in their homes. Comcast=92s scenario=
=20
was also intended to demonstrate that a requirement that cable companies=20
carry every programming service that a DTV station can cram into its=20
digital bitstream would place additional burdens on cable=92s channel=
capacity.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA454247?display=3DTop+Stories
(requires subscription)
DIVERSITY
AS MEDIA AUDIENCE FRAGMENTS, TRUST -- NOT OBJECTIVITY -- IS WHAT MATTERS
While it is often couched as a moral issue, the question of journalistic=20
objectivity has an economic basis. To reach a mass audience, a news medium=
=20
has to be trusted by people with many conflicting points of view. Any sign=
=20
of a narrow or special interest could undermine that trust. That's starting=
=20
to change as the mass audience breaks up and its members seek information=20
sources that fit their existing worldviews. As a reader, you can expect a=20
period of confusion while writers and editors try to figure out the new=20
rules. The business of journalism is less about reaching many people with=20
the same message, and more about sending many different messages to smaller=
=20
groups of people. That shift explains Fox News far better than any=20
right-wing leanings its owner might have. Rupert Murdoch makes money by=20
=93narrowcasting=94 to a specialized audience, and to that audience, the=20
reporting really does seem fair and balanced. Today, technology -- driven=20
by computers -- makes specialized production and specialized information=20
possible. As the audience fragments, trust is still important, but it=20
should be based on getting the facts right, not on the pseudo-objectivity=20
that comes from a journalist concealing his or her views.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism at the=20
University of North Carolina]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20040920/opcom20.art.htm
NEWSROOMS HAVEN'T CHANGED MUCH
There are more minorities in newsrooms than there were a year ago, but it's=
=20
not like you'd notice. An annual survey by the Radio-Television News=20
Directors Association and Ball State University shows that, on average, the=
=20
percentage of minority newsroom hires hasn't changed much in a decade. In=20
1994, minorities made up 18.0% of the TV-newsroom workforce; this year,=20
they are 21.8%. Although the news is welcome, some of the increase may be=20
due to better research methodology. And minority hiring at TV stations=20
isn't growing as fast as the minority population in the US. Possibly,=20
broadcasters' efforts to recruit minority hires may have lessened because=20
the U.S. Court of Appeals kept remanding the FCC's Equal Employment=20
Opportunity rules back to the agency. With or without rules, TV and radio=20
stations employ far more minorities than do newspapers, which have never=20
faced government regulation on hiring. Minorities make up 12.5% of=20
newspaper staffs.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA454175?display=3DSpecial+Repo...
eferral=3DSUPP
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA454176?display=3DSpecial+Repo...
eferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CABLE LAGS IN DIVERSITY: SURVEY
According to the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in=20
Communications=92s (NAMIC) Multi-Ethnic Employment in the Telecommunications=
=20
Industry report, there=92s been little progress in recent years with regard=
=20
to promoting minorities to the executive ranks in cable companies. NAMIC=20
president Jenny Alonzo says cable has been proactive in attracting=20
minorities, but hasn't adequately helped them move up the corporate ladder.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: R. Thomas Umstead]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA454252?display=3DTop+Stories
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
TECH'S FUTURE
Hewlett-Packard has been wrestling with fundamental questions: Does=20
computing technology have a place in villages where electricity is fitful?=
=20
Can it improve people's lives? How can villagers living in poverty pay for=
=20
the latest digital wonders? And HP came up with answers. In place of=20
standard electricity, HP designers created the portable solar charger.=20
Instead of selling gear outright, HP rents the equipment to entrepreneurs.=
=20
During the first 50 years of the info-tech era, about 1 billion people have=
=20
come to use computers, the vast majority of them in North America, Western=
=20
Europe, and Japan. But those markets are maturing. Computer industry sales=
=20
in the U.S. are expected to increase just 6% per year from now to 2008. To=
=20
thrive, the industry must reach out to the next 1 billion customers. And=20
many of those people will come not from the same old places but from=20
far-flung frontiers like Shanghai, Cape Town, and Andhra Pradesh (India).=20
"The robust growth opportunities are clearly shifting to the developing=20
world," says Paul A. Laudicina, managing director at management consultant=
=20
A.T. Kearney.
Lean more about these emerging markets and who's competing there at the URL=
=20
below.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Steve Hamm]
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_39/b3901013.htm
For more see Technology Can Be The Multiplier, an interview with Sarbuland=
=20
Khan, the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Information &=20
Communications Technologies Task Force.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2004/tc20040917_6825.htm
NEXTEL LAYS OUT OBJECTIONS TO 800 MHz REBANDING PLAN
Nextel filed objections with the FCC last week to the rebanding plan meant=
=20
to clear up interference problems between the carrier and public safety=20
users. A key issue Nextel has been raising is whether the order made 2=20
major financial miscalculations. First, Nextel is arguing, the FCC erred in=
=20
not giving it back $400 million to reimburse the costs of filtering=20
equipment it will need to install to make available to public safety the=20
additional 2 MHz in the 800 MHz band it offered in June, in the closing=20
days of negotiations over the FCC=92s order. Second, Nextel is arguing that=
=20
the Wireless Bureau erred in how it calculated the value of the spectrum it=
=20
will receive at 1.9 GHz as a key part of the plan. In the order, the FCC=20
looked at several possible benchmarks -- and low proposals by Nextel and a=
=20
high proposal by Verizon Wireless -- before concluding that the proper=20
per-MHz POP price is $1.70. That translates to $4.86 billion for 10 MHz=20
nationwide. Based on Nextel=92s proposal, the carrier is now asserting, the=
=20
real price should be $300 million-$700 million less.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Howard Buskirk]
(Not available online)
USERS FIND TOO MANY PHISH IN THE INTERNET SEA
A recent flood of fake Citibank e-mail messages demonstrates the growing=20
arsenal of technical and psychological tricks that online tricksters,=20
called phishers, are using to get people to divulge personal information.=20
Hackers first coined the term phishing in the mid-1990's to refer to the=20
art of stealing America Online accounts. But e-mail messages collected by=20
the Anti-Phishing Working Group, an industry association, show that=20
phishers are now going where the money is. In the group's June report, the=
=20
most recent available, it said it had seen 492 different mass-mailings=20
intended to fool Citibank customers. That compared with 285 aimed at eBay=20
users. The messages, and the fake Web sites they direct recipients to, are=
=20
loaded with tricks that in some cases circumvent the tips once given to=20
consumers about how to avoid online fraud.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/technology/20phish.html
(requires registration)
See Also:
Money Increasingly Is Motive
For Computer-Virus Attacks
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109563248885821801,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
A PUC CONSUMER CHAMP DRAWS IRE
California Public Utilities Commissioner Carl Wood's term expires at the=20
end of the year and he is running for the top spot of an AFL-CIO regional=20
organizing and coordinating body. He's gained the support of the=20
Communications Workers of America, California's largest telecommunications=
=20
union. But some are uneasy with this support given that Commissioner Wood=20
is proposing a 20% hike in wholesale telephone rates which CWA also=20
supports. Wood was appointed to the PUC six years ago to represent=20
organized labor's concerns. He has supported measures that help utilities=20
pay higher wages. Most of his increase in the SBC rate case, he said, is=20
based on his projections of higher labor costs. AT&T, MCI and a slew of=20
smaller companies and consumer advocates say that a bump in the wholesale=20
rate not only would drive up the cost of phone service but also could cause=
=20
many carriers to exit the business in California, killing competition=20
altogether.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-wood20sep20,1,1828436...
ry?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(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.
--------------------------------------------------------------