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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Secrecy Is at Issue in Suits Opposing Spy Program
NEWS FROM CONGRESS
Welcome Mat Out for Network Neutrality Advocates
TV: The Bells' Next Battle
FCC to Feel Unfamiliar Heat From Democrats
Senators Help NTIA Spend Emergency Bucks
NEWS FROM FCC
Spiked Study Leads to New FCC Query
Martin at Center of Media Controversies
OWNERSHIP
Chandlers May Fight for More Tribune Board Seats
BROADCASTING
TV's Response to Broadband Video Examined
TELECOM
Gains in Wireless, Broadband Help Lift AT&T's Earnings
CHILDREN & MEDIA
Pope: Teach Children to Use Media Responsibly
QUICKLY -- Atlanta Selects EarthLink for Municipal Wireless Network;
The Black Stake in Media Reform; Is Hollywood too timid for the war
on terror?; A new kind of digital divide; U.S. confirms loss in
Internet gambling trade case; Students get message: Leave phones at home
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
SECRECY IS AT ISSUE IN SUITS OPPOSING SPY PROGRAM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Adam Liptak]
The Bush administration has employed extraordinary secrecy in
defending the National Security Agency's highly classified domestic
surveillance program from civil lawsuits. Plaintiffs and judges'
clerks cannot see its secret filings. Judges have to make
appointments to review them and are not allowed to keep copies.
Judges have even been instructed to use computers provided by the
Justice Department to compose their decisions. But now the procedures
have started to meet resistance. At a private meeting with the
lawyers in one of the cases this month, the judges who will hear the
first appeal next week expressed uneasiness about the procedures.
Lawyers suing the government and some legal scholars say the
procedures threaten the separation of powers, the adversary system
and the lawyer-client privilege. Justice Department officials say the
circumstances of the cases, involving a highly classified program,
require extraordinary measures. The officials say they have used
similar procedures in other cases involving classified materials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/washington/26nsa.html?ref=todayspaper
(requires registration)
* Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Warrantless Wiretaps Sought
A lawsuit challenging the legality of the National Security Agency's
warrantless surveillance program should be thrown out because the
government is now conducting the wiretaps under the authority of a
secret intelligence court, according to court papers filed by the
Justice Department yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR200701...
(requires registration)
NEWS FROM CONGRESS
WELCOME MAT OUT FOR NET NEUTRALITY ADVOCATES
[SOURCE: The Politico, AUTHOR: Daniel Reilly]
With the new Congress, the political landscape is shifting for
telecom advocates. Democrats generally favor net neutrality. To do
otherwise, they maintain, would create a two-tiered pricing scheme
that would make Internet access more expensive for ordinary
consumers. Companies such as AT&T spent more than $12 million in
campaign donations over the last four years trying to get an anti-net
neutrality law passed in a more industry-friendly Republican-led
Congress. Now, they are considering defensive strategies to block
pro-net neutrality measures. the telecom firms are still adjusting to
the new congressional landscape, and it remains to be seen whether
they will continue their all-out ad blitz. Last summer, at the peak
of the net neutrality debate, the telecom firms were spending up to
$1 million a week on television and print ads to campaign against net
neutrality. The telecoms must also contend with others in the net
neutrality fight such as Google and Yahoo, which are all flexing
their newfound lobbying muscle for net neutrality. Overall, chances
appear slim for a wholesale revision of the nation's
telecommunications law. The telecoms will continue to spend millions
to try to kill net neutrality, while the Baby Bells will continue to
enter the cable television market on a state-by-state basis. Still,
net neutrality advocates say this might be their year for success.
Until those issues are resolved, the entire slate of
telecommunications issues, including financing the transition to
digital TV, regulation of wireless telephone providers and spectrum
allocation, will probably move to the back burner.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0107/2462.html
TV: THE BELLS' NEXT BATTLE
[SOURCE: Forbes.com, AUTHOR: Tim Doyle]
On February 1, Federal Communications Commissioners will face the
Senate Commerce Committee -- and probably questions about why the
Commission's Republican majority voted to override certain state and
local laws that govern applications by AT&T and Verizon to sell TV
service and to require local governments to act on those applications
within three months. Whether the new FCC rule will stand up to legal
and political challenges remains to be seen. Lawsuits from towns
loom. Newly powerful Democrats don't like what they consider an
infringement on their own power. Moreover, 10 states have established
their own fast-track processes for TV applications and don't like the
FCC meddling either. "The only certainty in the FCC action is that
this gives AT&T and Verizon more leverage in negotiating with
cities," says Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin. "From there, it is
very unclear on how it proceeds. There are a lot of variables: cable
companies, the legalities." Like many FCC decisions, the matter may
drag on for years in courts.
http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebeltway/2007/01/24/beltway-business-f...
FCC TO FEEL UNFAMILIAR HEAT FROM DEMOCRATS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Charles Babington]
As congressional Democrats prepare to give the Federal Communications
Commission its toughest scrutiny in years, a rivalry between the
powerful agency's two most prominent Republicans is raising questions
about its readiness to handle barbed questions and stiff challenges.
The Republican-controlled FCC has sparred infrequently with
Republican-controlled congresses. But the Democratic-run 110th
Congress is about to heat up the grill, starting with a Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday.
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, a Republican with close ties to the
Bush administration, will be the focus of Democrats' criticisms. But
some industry analysts think those lawmakers may try to find an ally
in Commissioner Robert M. McDowell, another young Republican loyalist
with a reputation for intelligence and political ambition. The two
have clashed on at least three significant issues in the past several
months, creating what some see as a rift that could be ripe for exploitation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR200701...
(requires registration)
COMMERCE HELPS NTIA SPEND EMERGENCY BUCKS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairmen Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Ted
Stevens (R-Alaska) have introduced a bill to give the National
Telecommunications & Information Administration more direction on how
to spend $1 billion that was appropriated for emergency
communications. The grants are to help police, fire and medical
personnel better communicate in times of disaster, a response to the
communications problems during 9/11.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6409882?title=Article&spacede...
* Press release from Sen Stevens
http://stevens.senate.gov/pr_detailed.cfm?prid=464
NEWS FROM FCC
SPIKED STUDY LEADS TO NEW FCC QUERY
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: John Dunbar]
When the government decided to take a hard look at how well
broadcasters were serving their communities, two economists at the
Federal Communications Commission got a research idea: They would
look at whether locally owned TV stations produced more local news
than stations owned by companies based outside the area. They found
that local ownership resulted in more local news coverage. They also
realized they had turned up what one of the researchers, economist
Keith Brown, called "inconvenient facts." The findings were at odds
with what their agency, under heavy lobbying from the broadcast
industry, had endorsed. The months-long study was spiked by the
agency with "no plausible explanation," Brown says. He suspects it
was because the conclusions were at odds with the shared position of
the FCC and the broadcast industry: that media ownership rules were
too restrictive and should be loosened. Economic research reports
were at times altered to reflect a more favorable view of lifting
ownership caps, and at least in some cases they were spiked altogether.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/01/25/national/w111805...
NC NATIVE AT CENTER OF MEDIA CONTROVERSIES
[SOURCE: Media General News Service, AUTHOR: Marilyn Rauber]
A profile/puff piece on FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. "Rumors are rife
that Martin, a Harvard-trained lawyer, may use the FCC as a
stepping-stone to politics with a capital "P" in North Carolina.
Insiders point to his crackdown on indecency on television as an
issue that plays well with the folks back home."
http://washdateline.mgnetwork.com/index.cfm?SiteID=alb&PackageID=46&fuse...
* FCC Chairman's Wife Testifies in Libby Trial
Cathie Martin, wife of Federal Communications Commission chairman
Kevin Martin, testified Thursday at the perjury trial of I. Lewis
"Scooter" Libby, offering a version of events that appeared to
undermine her former colleague's defense.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6410235.html?display=Breaking+News
OWNERSHIP
CHANDLERS MAY FIGHT FOR MORE TRIBUNE BOARD SEATS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis Berman
dennis.berman( at )wsj.com and Sarah Ellison]
With Tribune Co.'s deadline for board nominations weeks away, a new
issue has emerged in the battle for control of the newspaper and TV
empire: the possibility that its biggest shareholder, the Chandler
family, could mount a proxy fight for additional board seats. As
Tribune has cooled on the proposal for the Chicago media company
submitted by the Chandlers before last week's auction deadline, the
company has begun girding for a proxy challenge from the family. The
Chandlers have three seats on Tribune's 11-member board and could use
a proxy contest to win two more. While they wouldn't have majority
control, they would have more leverage in board deliberations.The
Chandlers hope to avoid such a battle. But a contest is likely if
Tribune's board doesn't pursue a transaction to the family's liking.
The Chandlers have reminded Tribune of a Feb. 8 deadline for nominees
to the board, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The family is hoping the company will extend the deadline as a way to
keep its options open. Tribune's annual meeting is set for May 9 in
Chicago. The prospect of a proxy battle only heightens the pressure
on Tribune's board as it weighs three proposals for the future of the
company. One is from the Chandler family itself, which holds a 20%
ownership stake in Tribune via the merger of Tribune and Times-Mirror
Co. in 2000.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116977794260988542.html?mod=home_whats_n...
(requires subscription)
BROADCASTING
TV'S RESPONSE TO BROADBAND VIDEO EXAMINED
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
A new report from Broadband Directions finds that the broadcast TV
industry's longstanding formula for success is under assault from new
technologies and new consumer behaviors. In particular, broadband
video holds the most disruptive potential for the industry since it
is the first open video delivery platform. Yet broadband video also
offers the broadcasters a significant range of new opportunities that
the industry is beginning to exploit. Networks, the report finds, are
taking a gradual approach, for now using broadband mainly as a new
delivery path for their existing TV programs. Local TV stations, the
report continues, recognize both opportunities and threats in the new
medium, and their early responses are more diverse and experimental.
With only modest exceptions, however, broadcasters have not yet
pursued community-building around video clips on their sites. This
arena is currently dominated by sites such as YouTube and MySpace,
which have experienced explosive growth. The report also examines the
broadband video initiatives of 50 local stations around the United
States. Of the 50 local station web sites analyzed, 40, or 80%, now
provide broadband video. Yet these initiatives vary widely. The
reports finds that local stations are currently experimenting with at
least eight different broadband video approaches. "Local stations
have much to gain from broadband's new opportunities, and also much
to be concerned with given broadband's disruptive potential,"
Richmond said. He added, "Our analysis shows that most local stations
recognize this and are selectively moving forward to determine how to
succeed in the broadband era."
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/01/25/daily.7/
* The Broadcast TV Industry and Broadband Video:
Confronting New Challenges, Embracing New Opportunities
http://www.broadbanddirections.com/report-2006_Q4.html
TELECOM
GAINS IN WIRELESS CUSTOMERS HELP LIFT AT&T'S EARNINGS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Laurie Flynn]
Capping a whirlwind year of merging and rebranding that has come to
characterize the telecommunications business, AT&T reported a 17
percent increase in quarterly profits yesterday driven by a sizable
increase in wireless subscribers. Bright spots in AT&T's report were
its wireless and high-speed Internet businesses. The wireless
business is seen as the main driver of growth, with that operation
adding a net 2.4 million customers for a total of nearly 61 million.
Wireless service revenue was up 13.1 percent, while wireless data
revenue grew 68.6 percent. The company's high-speed Internet business
grew 23 percent. AT&T's traditional consumer phone lines totaled 25.3
million at the end of December, down 5 percent from 26.7 million a
year ago, illustrating the challenge the company faces as it adapts
to the decreasing demand for wire-line phone service. In its final
quarter as an independent company, BellSouth had profit of $1.2
billion, 29 percent higher than a year earlier. Revenue increased 4.6
percent, to $9.1 billion. During the quarter, BellSouth added 183,000
new high-speed Internet connections, but access lines were down 6.4
percent compared with last year. The report from AT&T came a day
after Cingular issued a quarterly earnings report for the last time.
On Wednesday, Cingular reported its quarterly profits more than
tripled to $782 million as it added 2.4 million new subscribers. That
report led AT&T shares to gain almost 4 percent. For the full year,
AT&T reported $7.36 billion in net income, or $1.89 a share, a 54
percent increase over the $4.79 billion, or $1.42 a share, last year.
Revenue was $63.1 billion, a 44 percent increase from $43.8 billion in 2005.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/technology/26phone.html
(requires registration)
See also --
* AT&T's Delivery of TV Hits a Glitch
AT&T's rollout of its new television service is being delayed by
glitches in the Microsoft Corp. technology that helps power the
Internet-based system. The phone giant has begun offering the service
in 11 markets, but problems with the Microsoft software have slowed
the rollout, AT&T Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said in an
interview. AT&T has decided against heavy marketing of the TV service
because it doesn't want demand to increase until the problems are
solved, he said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116977140774288415.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
CHILDREN & MEDIA
POPE: TEACH CHILDREN TO USE MEDIA RESPONSIBLY
[SOURCE: Catholic World News]
In his message for the World Day for Social Communications, Pope
Benedict XVI highlights the need for proper formation in two fields:
the education of children and the direction of the mass media. Noting
the growing influence of the mass media on a society that relies so
heavily on the free flow of information, the Pope observes: "Reality,
for many, is what the media recognize as real." The remarkable
ability of the media to shape public perceptions and beliefs calls
for Christians to exercise their influence in two ways: to help
people learn to use the media intelligently, with a strong critical
sense; and to press the media for responsible treatment of world
affairs. In the family, schools, and parishes, the Pope continues,
"training in the proper use of the media is essential for the
cultural, moral and spiritual development of children." Parents have
the primary responsibility in this realm, he said, and "should have
the encouragement and assistance of schools and parishes in ensuring
that this difficult, though satisfying, aspect of parenting is
supported by the wider community." Responsible use of the media, Pope
Benedict points out, is an "exercise of freedom." Real freedom, he
said, involves the deliberate choice of "all that is good, true, and
beautiful." While parents help their children to attain this freedom,
the Pope went on, their effort will be greatly eased if the media
themselves promote human dignity. In the media world, the Pope said,
workers are subject to "special psychological pressures and ethical
dilemmas" that arise from the pressures of competition, the
temptation to sensationalize coverage, and the demand for immediate
gratification and entertainment. The "entertainment" supplied by many
media outlets, he noted, involves the exaltation of violence and the
trivialization of sexuality. These tendencies, he said, ultimately
foster attitudes that lead to "violence, exploitation, and abuse."
The Pope exhorted media executives to "safeguard the common good, to
uphold the truth, to protect individual human dignity and promote
respect for the needs of the family."
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=48840
QUICKLY
ATLANTA SELECTS EARTHLINK TO BUILD MUNICIPAL WIRELESS NETWORK
[SOURCE: EarthLink press release]
Atlanta will soon join the ranks of major municipalities across the
US that have embraced Wi-Fi. The City has selected EarthLink to
build, own and operate a municipal
Wi-Fi network. Pending a final contract with the City, EarthLink
will provide high-speed Internet access for residents, businesses and
visitors to Atlanta with upload and download speeds up to 1 Mbps. In
addition, EarthLink will work with the City to provide qualifying
residents with discounted Internet access. As part of its commitment
to open access, EarthLink will enable multiple, competing providers
to offer their services to consumers and businesses over its network.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/0...
THE BLACK STAKE IN MEDIA REFORM
[SOURCE: Black Agenda Report, AUTHOR: Bruce Dixon]
[Commentary] Mass media are the circulatory systems of modern human
societies. The second amendment guarantees freedom of the press so
media can act as a check on abuses by government and the powerful,
not a mouthpiece for the wealthy and powerful. More than 3,500
activists from around the country met in Memphis earlier this month
to teach, learn, discuss and discover how to bring about a more
democratic media regime in this country. But what does the media
reform movement mean for African Americans?
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&...
IS HOLLYWOOD TOO TIMID FOR THE WAR ON TERROR?
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Klavan, novelist]
[Commentary] Thanks to political correctness, you don't see much
about the greatest conflict of our time on the big screen. "It's a
shame for so powerful an art form to become irrelevant because we
can't find a way to dramatize the central event of our time. It's a
shame that we live under the tireless protection of lawmen and
warriors and don't pay tribute to them. And purely in artistic terms,
it's a shame that so many great stories are just waiting to be told
and we're not telling them."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-klavan26jan26,1,2...
(requires registration)
A NEW KIND OF DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: Minnesota Public Radio, AUTHOR: Sanden Totten]
The so-called digital divide has threatened to leave rural areas
behind. But last year rural America made some headway on the issue
according to a study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Windom, Minnesota is a perfect example. Three years ago it would have
been the kind of town people feared would be left out of the digital
revolution. When Windom's dominant phone company, Qwest, decided
against setting up a broadband network a few years back, the town had
a choice: get with the digital revolution on its own or be left in
the dust. They chose to build Windomnet. It launched a little over a
year ago and it cost close to 10 million dollars. But towns without a
strong telecommunications back-bone don't have much of a future.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/01/16/close_divide/
US CONFIRMS LOSS IN INTERNET GAMBLING TRADE CASE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Doug Palmer]
The United States has suffered a new setback in a four-year-old legal
battle with Antigua and Barbuda over U.S. restrictions on Internet
gambling, a U.S. trade official said on Thursday. At issue is an
April 2005 World Trade Organization ruling against U.S. prohibitions
on online horse race betting. Since then, the U.S. Congress has
passed additional legislation to ban betting over the Internet.
Gretchen Hamel, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's
office, confirmed press reports that a WTO panel "did not agree with
the United States that we had taken the necessary steps to comply"
with that ruling.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
STUDENTS GET MESSAGE: LEAVE PHONE AT HOME
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Judy Keen]
Schools across the USA are cracking down on students whose cellphones
disrupt classes and make it easier to cheat. Many states banned
electronic devices in schools more than a decade ago when pagers and
portable music players became popular, says Tom Hutton, a lawyer with
the National School Boards Association. The laws were aimed at
pagers, then a tool for drug dealers. After the 1999 Columbine school
shootings and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, schools yielded to
parents' desire to have instant contact with their children and
tolerated phones. "Now they're starting to tighten up enforcement,"
says Ken Trump of National School Safety and Security Services, a
consulting company based in Cleveland. "While technology has opened
up many positive things, it also has a dark side." School officials
say they're trying to stop students from answering phones and sending
text messages during class and taking photos of tests.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070126/a_cellphones26.art.htm
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary
service provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted
Monday through 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 tone of the original articles.
Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we
welcome your comments.
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