favorite holiday)
*** We're taking a break next week -- no fooling -- and will be back=20
Monday, April 11 ***
MEDIA & SOCIETY
A PBS We Deserve
White House's ONDCP Nixes VNRs
Can Justice Scalia Solve the Riddles Of the Internet?
TELECOM
Options Expand Despite Telecom Mergers
Consumer Groups Oppose Sprint-Nextel Merger
For Second Time, Qwest Raises Bid To Win MCI
European Telecom Deals Resume
QUICKLY -- 2005 Broadcaster of the Year Defends Local TV; Viacom: Retrans=20
Consent Working Well; Ads that Pay You; New Domain Name System Report;=20
Sex.com; Moore's Law & the Well; Happy April 1
MEDIA & SOCIETY
A PBS WE DESERVE
[Commentary] The American right and the American left are bashing PBS. This=
=20
has become such a regular sport that there are some who may have simply=20
stopped taking the threat to PBS seriously. Others, particularly those in=20
the public broadcasting community, may take this as a sign that public=20
broadcasting in the U.S. is on the right path; that is, if the right and=20
the left are unhappy, PBS must be in the sensible middle. Both of these=20
views are wishful thinking. The value of public broadcasting to our society=
=20
is important enough for us to understand these problems and work to solve=20
them. Why is public broadcasting valuable? The interests of private=20
corporations dominate communications in the United States. No matter how=20
much we might hope they will act in the public interest, commercial=20
broadcasters are not in business to inform the public, they are in business=
=20
to sell space to advertisers and make a profit. And no matter how much we=20
might hope they will be socially responsible, we do not reward them for=20
being socially responsible. U.S. consumers and investors tend to prefer=20
companies focused on the bottom line. But we need something more in a=20
democracy. We must be willing to pay for it.
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Mark Lloyd]
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3D14253003&BRD=3D2318&PAG=3D46...
pt_id=3D484045&rfi=3D6
WHITE HOUSE'S ONDCP NIXES VNRs
The White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) says it=20
will no longer use video news releases to promote its anti-drug messages.=20
In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, ONDCP Director John=20
Walters said that GAO's Feb. 17, 2005, guidance on VNR's made their further=
=20
use by his office" impracticable." "The ONDCP Media Campaign has not=20
produced a VNR since well before the GAO [2004] ruling on the HHS VNRs May=
=20
19 [that they constituted covert propaganda because the source was not=20
identified]," Walters said in a letter to GAO. "Further, ONDCP believes=20
that the GAO guidance on "prepackaged news stories" issued to federal=20
agencies on Feb. 17, 2005, sets forth a requirement for viewer notification=
=20
which is inherently incompatible with contemporary newsgathering methods,=20
thus rendering VNR's impracticable. In any event, ONDCP has no plans to=20
produce any further VNRs." It was unclear whether ONDCP was saying it was=20
not practical for it to label the VNR's, or to count on broadcasters not to=
=20
edit out the disclosure if it did.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA514236?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also --
BUSH'S MEDIA CO-CONSPIRATORS
The latest revelation is that various agencies under President Bush are=20
sending out hundreds of government-made "news videos" to local television=20
stations.
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Jim Hightower, jimhightower.com]
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/21636/
Also see second item at this URL:
In a Fox News interview, Laurence Moskowitz, the CEO and President of=20
Medialink Worldwide, defended video news releases (VNRs). "If the=20
government doesn't use VNR as a tool, I believe they would be negligent,"=20
he said. Medialink is the largest global producer of VNRs. Moskowitz=20
estimated that some 4,000 VNRs are produced by corporate and government=20
sources each year. Bob Priddy, the chair of the Radio-Television News=20
Directors Association, said airing VNRs without the sponsor being=20
identified breaks the Association's code of ethics. "If people take canned=
=20
material, whether it's from a government agency or anywhere else, and they=
=20
don't tell their audience who or where it is coming from, they are lying to=
=20
their consumer," he told Fox.
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/
* Fake News? We Told You So, Ten Years Ago
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3518
CAN JUSTICE SCALIA SOLVE THE RIDDLES OF THE INTERNET?
[Commentary] Has the Internet, the most powerful information pump the world=
=20
has ever known, drowned the incentive to create in words or images? Has the=
=20
Internet effectively displaced the antique notion of the profit-motive with=
=20
a newer, unstoppable reality that everything on the Internet is, if it=20
wants to be, "free"? How is it that millions of Americans who wouldn't=20
cross the street against a red light will sleep like lambs after=20
downloading onto their computers a Library of Alexandria's worth of music=20
or movies -- for free? Peter, It may seem quaintly old school to suggest=20
that people should stop downloading culture without paying simply because=20
it's the right thing to do. But that may be the best option available. For=
=20
starters, if "the people" don't solve this problem themselves, Congress=20
will, and you won't like the solution. No matter what the Supreme Court=20
decides about Grokster's 15 minutes of fame, this is a philosophical issue=
=20
for the long run. The Web isn't just a technology; it's become an ideology.=
=20
The Web's birth as a "free" medium and the downloading ethic have=20
engendered the belief that culture -- songs, movies, fiction, journalism,=20
photography -- should be clickable into the public domain, for "everyone."=
=20
What a weird ethic. Some who will spend hundreds of dollars for iPods and=20
home theater systems won't pay one thin dime for a song or movie. So Steve=
=20
Jobs and the Silicon Valley geeks get richer while the new-music artists=20
sweating through three sets in dim clubs get to live on Red Bull. Where's=20
the justice in that?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Daniel Henninger]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111232125427395146,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_opinion
(requires subscription)
TELECOM
OPTIONS EXPAND DESPITE TELECOM MERGERS
Sure mergers are turning back the clock so the telecommunications industry=
=20
looks more like the Ma Bell era, but don't you worry... if you'll just fork=
=20
up the bucks for broadband, you can have cheap telephone service. "If these=
=20
mergers are allowed to occur, we're forcing consumers to pay a lot of money=
=20
to get the same level of competition they were getting under the 1996=20
Telecom Act," Kenneth DeGraff, a policy advocate for the Consumers Union,=20
puts it much better than I can. Consumer groups argue that the four Bells=20
still control the majority of the residential telephone market. Three Bells=
=20
are also top wireless players: SBC and BellSouth co-own top cell provider=20
Cingular, and Verizon Communications owns a stake in No. 2 mobile operator=
=20
Verizon Wireless. And broadband and VoIP options? Consumer groups say those=
=20
aren't a realistic alternative, because broadband connections still are not=
=20
available in every community.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon, Ben Charny and Jim Hu]
http://news.com.com/Options+expand+despite+telecom+mergers/2100-1037_3-5...
97.html?tag=3Dnefd.lede
CONSUMER GROUPS OPPOSE SPRINT-NEXTEL MERGER
Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Consumers Union (CU) urged the FCC=
=20
to deny a proposed merger of Sprint and Nextel. =93FCC approval of this
transaction will harm consumers by allowing one entity to control an=20
excessive amount of mobile broadband communications spectrum in many=20
markets throughout the country. The public and consumer interest... could=20
be affected by the anti-competitive harms" of the merger they said in filed=
=20
comments. Alternatively, the groups said, the FCC should require=20
=93substantial divestitures of spectrum to repair harm to actual and=20
potential competition.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Susan Polyakova]
(Not available online)
FOR A SECOND TIME, QWEST RAISES BID TO WIN MCI
Third time is a charm, right? Qwest Communications International yesterday=
=20
pressed ahead in its efforts to win MCI , adding $1.1 billion in cash to=20
its previous bid for a total offer of $8.9 billion. MCI's board of=20
directors had said that it rejected Qwest's previous bid of $8.45 billion,=
=20
although it was higher than Verizon's, because the company is not as=20
financially strong.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17518-2005Mar31.html
(requires registration)
WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111229432521194494,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/business/01phone.html
* If the Old Merger Was a Disaster, Why Not Try Another One?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/business/01norris.html
USAToday:=20
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050401/1b_qwest01.art.htm
LATimes:=20
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-qwest1apr01,1,564916....
y?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
EUROPEAN TELECOM DEALS RESUME
They weathered the storm, but did they learn the lesson? Some of Europe's=20
largest telephone companies are empire building again. Telefonica SA, of=20
Madrid; Stockholm-based TeliaSonera AB; Telecom Italia SpA, of Rome, and=20
Vodafone Group PLC, of Newbury, England, recently have struck, or are=20
completing, deals to fill out their international operations. This burst of=
=20
activity underlines how the European telecommunications industry is=20
earmarking some of the =8055 billion ($71.2 billion) in cash it generates=20
annually for expansion after several years of retrenchment and paying down=
=20
debt. This time, European telecos are generally pursuing operations with=20
leading positions in their home markets. Telephone-service providers with=20
large subscriber bases in one country tend to be far more profitable than=20
their smaller rivals because of the high fixed costs involved in running=20
national networks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: David Pringle david.pringle( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111230678922094748,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_stock_market_quarterly_review
(requires subscription)
Related story --
* Cellular Service in Turkey Gets Another Bidder
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/business/worldbusiness/01tele.html
QUICKLY
FRANK STANDS UP FOR LOCAL TV
Receiving Broadcasting&Cable's 2005 "Broadcaster of the Year" award,=20
Post-Newsweek Stations CEO Alan Frank said that local broadcasters are=20
ahead of the technology curve: =93We change, but we are always local.=94
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA514277?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
VIACOM: RETRANS CONSENT WORKING WELL
At the request of Congress, the FCC is studying the impact of=20
retransmission consent -- or the right of TV stations to seek compensation=
=20
for carriage -- on the pay-TV market. Responding to claims by cable and=20
satellite operators that retransmission fees are driving up pay TV rates,=20
Viacom told the FCC that pay TV rate increases have "far outstripped=20
programmers=92 license fee increases." Cable giant Time Warner, on the other=
=20
hand, said retransmission consent has developed into an =93onerous=94 burden=
=20
and urged the FCC to ask Congress to =93re-evaluate=94 the scheme.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA514278.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
PAY PER VIEW COMES FULL CIRCLE IN TEST
Advertisers love to remind ad-weary viewers that commercials keep broadcast=
=20
television free. Now, facing heavy pressure to prove that their marketing=20
investments are working, some advertisers are going a step further: They're=
=20
paying people to watch. Selected consumers will get as much as $100 in=20
cash, along with coupons and prizes, in return for watching TV spots and=20
offering up information on their viewing habits, in a test of a new=20
technology designed to help marketers better gauge the reach and=20
effectiveness of their ads. "People get paid for plasma and blood, too, but=
=20
the quality of their blood or plasma may not be worth the expense," warns=20
one media-buying executive.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Suzanne Vranica=20
suzanne.vranica( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111232062219695130,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
SIGNPOSTS IN CYBERSPACE
Signposts in Cyberspace: the Domain Name System and Internet Navigation=20
examines the performance and prospects of the Domain Name System from=20
technical and institutional perspectives, and also looks at how navigation=
=20
technologies and institutions facilitate finding and accessing Internet=20
resources.
[SOURCE: Computer Science and Telecommunications Board]
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/cstb/pub_dns.html
See also:
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/cstb/project_dns.html
Feds Complete Internet Traffic Report
The US Department of Commerce just finished a report on Internet traffic=20
that Congress requested seven years ago. Lawmakers had demanded the $1=20
million study, ultimately called "Signposts in Cyberspace," under a 1998=
law.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR:Ted Bridis, Associated Press]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/11280598.htm
APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS SEX.COM RULING
A federal appeals court last week may have written the final chapter to a=20
sordid legal saga that helped establish Internet domain names as property.=
=20
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Stephen Cohen's appeal of a=
=20
2001 federal court ruling that he pay businessman Gary Kremen $65 million=20
for stealing the domain name Sex.com in 1995 and building it into a=20
multimillion-dollar business.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050401/sexdotcom.art.htm
Happy Birthday wishes to....
* Moore's Law (40):=20
http://news.com.com/FAQ+Forty+years+of+Moores+Law/2100-1006_3-5647824.ht...
ag=3Dnefd.lede
* The Well=20
(20):=20
http://news.com.com/The+Well+celebrates+20th+birthday/2100-1025_3-564944...
ml?tag=3Dnefd.lede
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com]
APRIL MEDIA FOOLS
This is disturbing -- As fake news and media scams continue to proliferate,=
=20
Rory O'Connor celebrates some longstanding activists who are also merry=20
media pranksters.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Rory O'Connor]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert345.shtml
Also --
* Don't Read This. It Could Be a Trick.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/nyregion/01fools.html
* Lesson No. 1: Remember what day it is
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0401/p18s02-hfes.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here. Please don't say pina colada if you don't mean=20
it. See you again April 11.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------