For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Big Media + Big Bucks = Big Easy Boost
Emergency Communications In Areas Impacted By Hurricane Katrina
E-911 Bill Needed to Boost FCC Authority over VoIP Services
AGENDA
FCC Could Address Digital Radio Multicasting Next Meeting
Barton Baby Could Bounce DTV Bill Deadline
TELEVISION
Networks Get Gimmicky To Hype New Shows
Newest Export From China: Pirated Pay TV
INTERNET
Internet governance, what does it really boil down to?
ICANN meeting takes place in the shadow of US tough talk
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
BIG MEDIA + BIG BUCKS = BIG EASY BOOST
Amid ever more shocking images and mounting casualties, big media
corporations on Wednesday announced millions of dollars in aid to victims
of Hurricane Katrina, which has transformed the historic and heavily
populated city of New Orleans into a virtual underwater hell and decimated
areas of Mississippi and Alabama.
Walt Disney unveiled corporate contributions of $2.5 million: a $1 million
donation to the American Red Cross for immediate relief efforts; $1 million
for rebuilding efforts targeted at children's charities; and $500,000 for
volunteer centers. Viacom is planning a $1 million cash donation to the
American Red Cross and a worldwide employee matching gift program directed
to the agency. Its divisions CBS, BET, UPN, MTV Networks, Infinity Radio
and outdoor will develop special programming and offer ad space and airtime
for public service announcements from the Red Cross and other agencies.
Local TV and radio stations will do the same in their communities. Time
Warner, the world's biggest media company, said it will start by matching
$1 million in employee contributions made to the American Red Cross.
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Jill Goldsmith]
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=story&articleid=VR1117928389&p=0...
PROCEDURES TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS IN AREAS IMPACTED BY
HURRICANE KATRINA
The FCC announced procedures to help emergency communications services
initiate, resume, and maintain operations in the areas impacted by
Hurricane Katrina.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260835A1.doc
E-911 BILL NEEDED TO BOOST FCC AUTHORITY OVER VOIP SERVICES
At a Senate Commerce Committee field hearing in Great Falls, Montana,
speakers said the FCC has taken an important first step in regulating E-911
services for Internet telephone service (VoIP) providers, but legislation
is needed to ensure public access to emergency services. The hearing was
chaired by Sen Conrad Burns (R-MT) who introduced legislation (S1063) in
May that would mandate E-911 access for VoIP providers. The bill, which
would provide liability relief for emergency call-takers, would require a
national plan for implementing next generation E-911 systems.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
See links to testimony at
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1600
Also see --
* FCC and NARUC Announce Members of Joint Federal/State VOIP Enhanced 911
Enforcement Task Force
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260829A1.doc
AGENDA
FCC COULD ADDRESS DIGITAL RADIO MULTICASTING NEXT MEETING
The agenda for the September 15 FCC meeting will be released on Thursday,
so there's some news about what items will be on the list. The FCC is
likely to address digital radio multicasting and copyright protection
issues. Television is not the only type of broadcasting going digital.
Digital radio would provide radio stations the ability to offer more than
one signal. Digital radio multicasting would help broadcasters compete
with satellite radio and let them provide more local services, but it
raises concern about further concentrating radio ownership. Current limits
let a station own up to 8 stations -- 5 FM and 3 AM -- in a market. Last
year, when the FCC issued an inquiry into digital radio, Commissioner
Michael Copps said many questions remain, such as how digital radio can
enhance political discourse, the larger public interest obligations and the
effects of digital radio and multicasting on local competition. "What does
it mean for competition if a company that would be permitted to own 8 radio
stations in a market also obtains the ability to multicast many more
programming streams?" Commissioner Copps asked then. Other possible items
for the agenda: cellular competition and contributions to the universal
service fund. (And you thought all the fun ended with labor Day.)
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
BARTON BABY COULD BOUNCE DTV BILL DEADLINE
Although the House Budget Committee's deadline for preparing digital
television transition legislation is September 15, House Commerce Chairman
Joe Barton (R-TX) and wife Terri have scheduled Sept. 15 as the delivery
date for their new son. So can a new daddy get a little extra time? The
deadline is not statutory, but a congressional deadline that could have
some flexibility in it. Either way, one Senate source familiar with the
bill's crafting said he expected it would include a "no set left behind"
subsidy for every analog-only receiver, not just for those who met an
economic-needs test. The bill is also likely to contain a requirement that
TV sets include labels that spell out their capability, including the date
after which they would not operate without a digital converter. (Best
wishes for the Barton family.)
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6253082?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
TELEVISION
NETWORKS GET GIMMICKY TO HYPE NEW SHOWS
Drugstore prescription bags, water coolers and even $1 bills have become
the media the major broadcast networks are using to advertise new shows. So
what happened to the supremacy of the on-air promo? For decades, the big
television networks advertised new shows primarily through ads on their own
air. Radio, billboard and magazine ads were thrown in for key launches or
vanity projects. That worked fine when the major broadcast networks
commanded 90% of the TV audience. But the growth of cable channels has
eroded that share to less than 50%. More recently, growth of on-demand
cable, videogames and the Internet is adding to competition for people's
leisure time. As a result, the networks need a wider array of marketing
ploys. Marketing of new shows is crucial. Over the next three weeks, the
broadcast networks alone will start the new seasons of 77 returning shows
and introduce 31 new series. Just one new hit can transform a network, but
making a show stick isn't easy: Of the 31 shows the networks rolled out
last season, only 10 remain -- and some of those are on life support. But
as TV executives turn more to unconventional marketing methods to tout
their programs, some marketing experts see the move as an unspoken
admission from broadcasters that their commercials are weakening as sales
tools.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes brooks.barnes( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112562356746429842,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
NEWEST EXPORT FROM CHINA: PIRATED PAY TV
China has become the hotbed of a new technology that distributes live
television signals over the Internet, exposing the world's pay-TV operators
to the kind of online piracy that has plagued the music and movie
businesses. The technology, called peer-to-peer, or P2P, streaming TV,
enables viewers anywhere in the world to watch cable, satellite or
broadcast TV on the Web free of charge. Pirate services offer the programs
to anyone equipped with a high-speed Internet connection who downloads some
simple software. Underscoring the challenges for the law to keep up with
technology and its global reach, P2P television is emerging barely two
months after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the landmark Grokster
file-sharing case, which was seen as a victory for traditional media
companies. The court ruled that file-sharing companies may be liable for
copyright infringement if their products encourage consumers to illegally
swap songs and movies.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Geoffrey A. Fowler
geoffrey.fowler( at )wsj.com and Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112560377411829361,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
INTERNET
INTERNET GOVERNANCE, WHAT DOES IT BOIL DOWN TO?
How's this huge, influential and potentially-useful beast called the
Internet to be governed? Who is to call the shots? Carlos Afonso, strategy
director at APC member RITS and member of the UN-convened working group on
Internet governance takes a close look at how control of the Internet is
sought to be transformed, before a crucial crossroad comes up in the next
few months. This 50-page paper was commissioned by APC member Instituto del
Tercer Mundo (ITeM) as part of its WSISpapers series, also provides useful
historical background on the current Internet global governance system.
[SOURCE: Choike.org, AUTHOR: Carlos Afonso]
http://wsispapers.choike.org/internet_governance.pdf
ICANN MEETING TAKES PLACE IN THE SHADOW OF US TOUGH TALK
Just after the United States made clear it intention to retain control over
the Internet's root-servers, an ICANN meeting took place in Luxembourg.
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is a
California-based non-profit corporation created in 1998 to take over a
number of Internet-related tasks earlier performed on behalf of the US
Government by other organizations, notably the IANA. - RITS
[SOURCE: APC]
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=973254
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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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