For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELEVISION
FCC Seeks Input on Video Competition, Including Bells=92 Plans
TV seen following Net model
Evening News Looks Long-Term
Cable Is Up Late, Plotting TV Talk Shows' Demise
On RFD-TV, A Horse Is a Horse, Not 'Mr. Ed'
OWNERSHIP
Remove the Barriers to Minorities in Media
Cable, Consumer Groups Clash Anew
Radio Daze
BROADBAND
BPL Industry Gung Ho on Tex. Video Competition Bill
Web access may be as close as an electrical outlet
Bristling Over Municipal Broadband In Bristol, Va.
PEOPLE
Martin Emerges as =91Doer=92 Chairman; Some Criticize
Management Style
Telecom Legislation Prompts New Lobbying Registrations
QUICKLY -- Qwest, Union Resume Contract Negotiations; MTV Says PTC Is Off=
=20
Base; Cox Challenges Okla. Ruling On Rival SBC; Sprint Completes=20
Acquisition Of Nextel; FCC Proposes Forfeitures for USF Violations; What=20
You Can't Say Will Hurt You
TELEVISION
FCC SEEKS INPUT ON VIDEO COMPETITION, INCLUDING BELLS' PLANS
The FCC wants input on a variety issues for its annual video competition=20
report, including obligations Bells may incur to as they start to sell=20
their own pay-TV services. The notice of inquiry (NOI) for the 12th annual=
=20
assessment of the market for delivering video programming also requests=20
analyses of how conglomeration affects programming and seeks opinions on=20
the DTV transition. The NOI, issued Fri., stalled amid an 8th-floor tussle=
=20
over deregulating DSL, and was pulled from the Commission=92s August meetin=
g=20
agenda. The FCC also wants information on cable and DBS rates and service=
=20
quality; from 1998 through last year, monthly rates for certain cable=20
products rose 32%. The Commission wants to know the effect companies=20
including Cablevision, Comcast, DirecTV and Time Warner, which own both TV=
=20
programming and distribution businesses, =93have on other video distributor=
s=92=20
abilities to obtain programming.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Jonathan Make]
(Not available online)
* FCC News Release:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260525A1.doc
* Notice of Inquiry:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-155A1.doc
* Commissioner Copps:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-155A2.doc
* Commissioner Adelstein:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-155A3.doc
* FCC Launches Cable-Competition Report
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA634715.html?display=3DBreaking+News
TV SEEN FOLLOWING NET MODEL
Amid a battle to rule the living room of the future, cable television and=
=20
phone companies are ripping a page from playbooks written by Google Inc.=20
and Yahoo Inc. to help navigate through the thousands of shows made=20
possible by next-generation TV. Rather than passively flipping through a=20
conventional electronic program guide much in the same way they would a=20
print TV Guide, viewers are more likely to actively search for programs as=
=20
they would on a Web site. These search capabilities become more important=
=20
as pay television services fill up advanced services such as=20
video-on-demand and digital video recorders (DVR) with more programming.=20
Borrowing ideas from the Internet is tinged with irony at a time when the=
=20
very archetypes for how to improve TV -- Google and Yahoo -- are both=20
planting stakes in the entertainment market. Yahoo, run by former Hollywood=
=20
veteran Terry Semel, has refashioned itself as an entertainment company.=20
Google has vowed to one day sell access to video. All told, TV's shift=20
could have broad implications in the $65 billion U.S. TV advertising=20
market. Broadcast television networks that base their advertising rates on=
=20
the programming schedule, are already bracing for the impact of DVRs. The=
=20
programming schedule business model could well disappear if viewers stopped=
=20
channel surfing for shows.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kenneth Li]
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&...
ryID=3D2005-08-12T043842Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-212424-1.xml
EVENING NEWS LOOKS LONG-TERM
While the demise of the nightly news has been predicted for many years, the=
=20
money is actually not bad for the No. 1 and No. 2 newscasts, says a network=
=20
executive, but =93it's awfully hard to be No. 3.=94 Today, that distinction=
=20
falls to CBS. Perhaps the network might make more money by dropping its=20
evening newscast and giving that precious time back to its=20
owned-and-operated stations for an extra half-hour of local news. The=20
evening newscasts still command a sizable audience, and all of them are at=
=20
least marginally profitable. Furthermore, they help support the bigger=20
moneymakers in the morning. Says Heyward, =93Evening news is not only viabl=
e,=20
but critical to the mix.=94 The evening newscasts are far from the=20
institutions they were before the age of cable TV and the Internet. In the=
=20
1960s and '70s, the newscasts, along with a handful of major newspapers,=20
had the ability to set the nation's news agenda. No more. According to=20
Nielsen Media, back in the '70s, 35% of all households tuned into Walter=20
Cronkite or John Chancellor on an average night. A decade ago, the evening=
=20
news' share was still 24%. Today, just 18% watch. But while the audience=20
has plunged, revenues have not. Despite the shrinking audience, broadcast=
=20
networks each year generally coax more money out of advertisers for the=20
viewers who do tune in. And despite the rise of the morning shows,=20
evening-news shows account for an even higher portion of broadcast news=20
revenues than in 1999. That's because prime time newsmagazines -- once a=20
thriving billion dollar business -- have largely been displaced by reality=
=20
shows. So the evening news now generates around 22% of broadcast-news=20
revenues, up from 19% in 1999.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA634736?display=3DNews&referral=
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CABLE IS UP LATE, PLOTTING TV TALK SHOWS' DEMISE
Although the networks still attract far more viewers between 11 p.m. and 1=
=20
a.m., their primacy is slowly being eroded =97 with potentially worrisome=
=20
results. Cable steadily nibbled away at broadcasters' share of the=20
lucrative prime-time audience over the last 10 years. Yet late night=20
remains one of the few times of the day when big networks keep a commanding=
=20
lead (another is 7 to 9 a.m.). If the trend continues and viewers keep=20
fleeing to cable after 11 p.m., analysts say, advertiser dollars will=20
follow. It could represent a cultural change as well. Young viewers, TV=20
veterans say, are increasingly migrating to cable because the programming=
=20
isn't subject to content restrictions from the Federal Communications=20
Commission and is often spicier -- if not necessarily raunchier -- than=20
that found on traditional networks. During its late-night block, Comedy=20
Central allows profanity it doesn't permit during other times of day. The=
=20
11 p.m. "Daily Show," for example, ran a clip of columnist Robert Novak's=
=20
recent on-air tirade on CNN =97 and didn't bother to bleep the expletive he=
=20
uttered before storming off the set. The message in all this seems clear:=
=20
As in so many other arenas, the old media paradigms are crumbling.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Scott Collins]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-latenite15aug15,1,8...
3.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage
(requires registration)
ON RFD-TV, A HORSE IS A HORSE, NOT 'MR. ED'
The Federal Communications Commission requires satellite companies to allot=
=20
4% of their bandwidth for channels which can't sell ad time and which are=
=20
supposed to air informational or educational programming. RFD-TV is one of=
=20
those channels, covering rural issues. RFD-TV still has to pay for airtime,=
=20
which it does by collecting underwriting and sponsorships, in much the same=
=20
way public broadcasters do. RFD-TV hasn't yet paid for Nielsen ratings, but=
=20
subscriptions to its bimonthly, $30-a-year program guide and magazine have=
=20
climbed to 70,000 from 20,000 at the end of 2003. Last year, the magazine=
=20
generated some $2 million in revenue, enough to cover the channel's=20
operating costs for the year. The channel harkens back to a time when=20
agricultural news and farm life were considered almost mainstream. From the=
=20
1950s to the 1970s, several popular TV shows -- "Green Acres," "The Andy=20
Griffith Show," "The Real McCoys" -- resided in rural America. Early radio=
=20
programming emphasized farm news. But as more people moved to the city and=
=20
the suburbs, that kind of programming faded. RFD-TV is planning a half-hour=
=20
rural news show. With 10 minutes of news, four minutes of weather and eight=
=20
minutes of commodity market analysis, the planned "Rural Evening News" will=
=20
tackle stories that might get short shrift at regular news outlets, such as=
=20
the effect of a cold front on crops or the ramifications of a mad-cow=20
tissue study.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Timothy W. Martin=20
timothy.martin( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112405480320612673,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
us_marketplace
(requires subscription)
OWNERSHIP
REMOVE THE BARRIERS TO MINORITIES IN MEDIA
[Commentary] There has been notable progress for racial and ethnic=20
minorities in the United States in the media since the 1960s. Back then the=
=20
Kerner Commission was right on target when it charged that =93important=20
segments of the media failed to report . . . on the underlying problems of=
=20
race relations. They have not communicated to the majority of their=20
audience =AD which is white =AD a sense of the degradation, misery, and=20
hopelessness of life in the ghetto.=94 Many of that commission=92s=20
recommendations of expanded coverage, integration of the news staffs, and=
=20
training and recruitment of black journalists were implemented in the years=
=20
immediately after the riots. But as the FCC understood during the Carter=20
administration, the voice of minority groups in the media is limited by the=
=20
severe under-representation of minorities among broadcast licensees. Not=20
only do owners tend to hire employees who come from their same ethnic=20
group, they also tend to serve those audiences they are most familiar with.=
=20
A recent American Society of Newspaper Editors study found that minorities=
=20
made up 13.42 percent of employees at daily papers in 2004, as compared to=
=20
12.95 in 2003. And according to the latest RTNDA/Ball State University=20
Annual Survey, minorities comprised 21.2 percent of local television news=
=20
staffs in 2004, compared with 21.8 percent in 2003. But the local radio=20
minority workforce fell to 7.9 percent in 2004 from 11.8 percent in 2003.=
=20
The percentage of minorities in radio dropped in large part because of the=
=20
significant consolidation in the radio industry and the decimation of local=
=20
radio newsrooms even among black owners. Americans will never be able to=20
speak clearly and honestly with each other if one group of Americans=20
continues to control 98 percent of the federal licenses to the most=20
dominant form of local communication. Ethnic media will not be empowered to=
=20
speak to and for the communities it serves if the FCC does not take=20
seriously its obligation to remove the barriers that block minority=20
participation in the communications industry. How long do we have to wait=
=20
for the FCC to act?
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Mark Lloyd]
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=3DbiJRJ8OVF&b=3D959321
CABLE, CONSUMER GROUPS CLASH ANEW
After a protracted, multiyear struggle on Capitol Hill, Congress passed a=
=20
law in late 1992 that required the Federal Communications Commission to cap=
=20
the size of cable companies and ensure cable carriage of channels not owned=
=20
by cable operators. As a result of court setbacks and bureaucratic=20
inaction, valid FCC rules have been in effect for just a few months during=
=20
the entire 13-year period, an era characterized by a series of=20
cable-operator mergers that the federal government refused to block. But=20
cable ownership is back on the FCC agenda. With a deregulatory mindset,=20
former FCC chairman Michael Powell declined to push for new rules. Powell=
=20
successor Kevin Martin, who took office in March, has different ideas,=20
announcing in May that the agency would attempt to put new rules on the=20
books and defend them in court. Federal law requires the FCC to set=20
=93reasonable limits=94 on the number of subscribers served by a single cab=
le=20
company. It also calls for a cap on the number of channels an operator may=
=20
fill with its own programming. Furious that the FCC has let a top-heavy=20
cable industry emerge, Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America=
=20
and Free Press in joint comments called for rules that would assign greater=
=20
value to urban than to rural subscribers, apparently in an effort to break=
=20
up markets and regions dominated by a single cable company -- for example,=
=20
Comcast in Philadelphia or Time Warner in Los Angeles, after its merger=20
with Adelphia Communications. =93Setting a meaningful horizontal limit on t=
he=20
national reach of cable operators based on an advertising market weighted=
=20
measure of subscribers would be a major step in the right direction,=94 sai=
d=20
the consumer groups, adding that their formula would require Comcast to=20
sell 4 million subscribers and back away from the Adelphia deal. The Media=
=20
Access Project, a public-interest law firm that helped defeat Powell=92s=20
effort to relax broadcast-ownership rules, is planning to ask the FCC to=20
cap one cable company at 25% of all U.S. pay-TV subscribers. That cap would=
=20
force Comcast, at 29% after the Adelphia merger, to sell systems. MAP=20
attorney Harold Feld said that because he believes the FCC would never=20
force Comcast to sell, MAP would not ask for retroactive enforcement.=20
=93Given the commission=92s reluctance to order divestitures, we don't thin=
k=20
divestitures are likely,=94 Feld said.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA634624.html?display=3DPolicy
(requires subscription)
RADIO DAZE
Payola or no, the industry will still be in the hands of just a few=20
players, dominated by product churned out by Sony BMG and its three major=
=20
competitors -- EMI Group, Vivendi's Universal Music Group and Warner Music=
=20
Group -- and programmed by giants like Clear Channel Communications and=20
Viacom's Infinity unit. But radio does need to change its habits, and not=
=20
because the industry may be violating vague, often puzzling laws written=20
four decades ago. Radio needs to change the way it programs itself because=
=20
its audience is tuning out. Listenership has been dropping since 2003. And=
=20
after posting double-digit growth rates for most of the 1990s, radio ad=20
sales have slowed to a barely perceptible crawl: Last year advertising=20
revenue climbed just 2%, to $21.4 billion. If it wants to, though, the=20
business could help itself, simply by doing a better job of finding out=20
what listeners want. It can start by turning to the Internet. The Web can=
=20
provide radio program directors, and the record labels who try to persuade=
=20
them to play their music, with all sorts of useful data, if they're willing=
=20
to use it.
[SOURCE: Forbes.com, AUTHOR: Peter Kafka]
http://www.forbes.com/2005/08/09/radio-programming-music-cx_pk_0809radio...
int.html
BROADBAND
BPL INDUSTRY GUNG HO ON TEXAS VIDEO COMPETITION BILL
The nascent broadband over power line (BPL) sector is cheering the Texas=20
video franchising bill passed last week, calling it a model states can use=
=20
to speed utility deployments. The bill is the first of its ilk that =93trie=
s=20
to clarify=94 state regulatory issues for utilities to enter the BPL=20
business, says Brett Kilbourne, regulatory director of the United Power=20
Line Council (UPLC). The bill effectively removes BPL from municipalities=
=92=20
ambit, specifically denying them jurisdiction over rates, operations or=20
services related to BPL system construction, maintenance or operation.=20
Contending that BPL systems benefit electric utility operations, the bill=
=20
also would bar municipalities from imposing easement or right-of-way=20
obligations on BPL beyond what utilities already pay for electric purposes.=
=20
The measure clarifies BPL providers=92 open access obligations, said=20
Kilbourne. Giving utilities discretion in entering the BPL business, the=20
bill says once they do, they aren't obliged to provide open access. On=20
affiliate transactions, the bill would let a BPL firm charge a BPL operator=
=20
to use power lines. Similarly, a BPL operator could charge the utility for=
=20
utility services like automated meter reading and outage detection. When a=
=20
BPL system is installed on a telecom pole, the telecom firm should be paid=
=20
the =93customary=94 pole attachment fee, the bill says. CommDaily also repo=
rts=20
that Texas Gov Rick Perry (R) is likely to decide this week whether or not=
=20
to sign the bill. He had said he would sign no bill before the state=20
legislature agreed on education funding legislation.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Dinesh Kumar]
(Not available online)
* Telco Two-Step
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA634752.html
WEB ACCESS MAY BE AS CLOSE AS AN ELECTRICAL OUTLET
Broadband over Power Lines (BPL), with investments from big-name companies=
=20
including Google and IBM, is beginning to move beyond small trial projects=
=20
to deploying systems for large communities. Highly regulated power=20
companies, which operate as local monopolies, generally take a conservative=
=20
approach to new ventures, especially those outside their core mission. What=
=20
is winning them over has been the possibility of using BPL to improve=20
efficiency. With BPL, utilities can quickly identify where outages have=20
taken place, read meters remotely, and conduct preventive maintenance, such=
=20
as replacing a transformer before it fails, by monitoring unusual "noise"=
=20
on the system. While BPL faces strong competition in urban and suburban=20
areas already served by cable and phone companies, underserved rural=20
communities could benefit. But don't include single homes miles from any=20
others. An Internet signal degrades as it travels long distances over a=20
power line. The signal needs to be boosted along the way. Running service=
=20
to a single home is too costly, but service to clusters of perhaps 50 homes=
=20
or more is feasible.
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Gregory M. Lamb]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0815/p13s01-stct.html
BRISTLING OVER MUNICIPAL BROADBAND IN BRISTOL, VA
The city of Bristol, which overlaps the Tennessee and Virginia border, is=
=20
literally a town divided. The Virginian twin only recently emerged from=20
legal battles over efforts to offer telecommunications service, including=
=20
high-speed Internet, while the Tennessee city is pushing forward with plans=
=20
for a municipally owned fiber-optic network without the same legal trouble.
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Chloe Albanesius]
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-KXJR1123878279840.html
PEOPLE
MARTIN EMERGES AS 'DOER' CHAIRMAN; SOME CRITICIZE MANAGEMENT STYLE
After 5 months on the job, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, rumored to be=20
resigning back on April 1, is instead gaining a reputation as a politically=
=20
savvy consensus builder who gets things done quickly, a skilled negotiator=
=20
and one of the most knowledgeable chairmen ever on the issues. But he draws=
=20
criticism for being a top-down manager who doesn't delegate. Chairman=20
Martin personally ran negotiations with Democratic Commissioners Copps and=
=20
Adelstein that led to the wireline Internet access order=92s passage in=20
record time -- less than 6 weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court approved=20
similar FCC regulatory treatment for cable modem service. The order also=20
reflected Martin=92s political savvy, sources said. For example, the=20
compromises he offered the Democrats hardly were abhorrent to the=20
Republicans. He proposed measures assuring law enforcement access to DSL=20
and VoIP services and protecting rural telephone companies against revenue=
=20
declines. The order reportedly doesn't give the Bells everything they=20
wanted and will include some protection for competing LECs. In general, =93=
I=20
think he is a very accurate reflection of the White House and Republican=20
policy on the economy, technology and telecommunications,=94 said attorney=
=20
Andrew Lipman. Martin subscribes to the same =93broad themes of deregulatio=
n,=20
economic expansion, less government, fewer crutches to competitors and=20
letting everyone compete from the same starting place,=94 Lipman said. =93H=
e=92s=20
made clear that the number one issue is broadband deployment, which is the=
=20
only issue the White House has spoken on.=94
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
TELECOM REGISTRATION LEGISLATION PROMPTS NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
According to the latest filings with the Secretary of the Senate, it is a=
=20
good time to be a communications policy lobbyist. For example, Verizon this=
=20
year has hired 5 firms to lobby Congress on issues such as telecom and=20
broadband, spectrum allocation and regulatory parity in broadband=20
deployment. While some companies hire firms for specific issues such as=20
mergers or indecency legislation, others bring on board experts that have=
=20
key contacts on Capitol Hill on committees that oversee telecom. Shuffling=
=20
firms is commonplace, said one lobbyist, and often personal contacts lead=
=20
to a firm landing new clients. For instance, the former Bracewell Patterson=
=20
group added new clients including News Corp. when Rudolph Giuliani joined=
=20
its practice with an office in New York. Most companies that can afford it=
=20
hire multiple firms with specialized expertise.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tom Wonder, Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
QUICKLY
QWEST, UNION RESUME CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
Qwest, the fourth-largest U.S. local telephone company, is negotiating a=20
new contract with the Communications Workers of America which represents=20
25,000 of the company's workers. The two sides avoided a strike over the=20
weekend. Qwest is asking the union for help in cutting costs. The company,=
=20
based in Denver, has $17 billion in debt. The union has said the main=20
disputes in the bargaining were Qwest's proposals for mandatory overtime,=
=20
wages, health care and retiree benefits. The CWA's executive board Saturday=
=20
authorized a strike, but its president must set a date before the union=20
would strike. The union staged a two-week strike in 1998 against the=20
company, and agreed to a wage freeze two years ago. Qwest is the dominant=
=20
local telephone company in 14 states.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112404669072112644,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
us_marketplace
(requires subscription)
MTV SAYS PTC IS OFF BASE
MTV was taking issue Friday with a Parents Television Council study=20
suggesting its programming was filled with inappropriate language that=20
wasn't being identified with an L warning in its content ratings. "The=20
report is wrong," said MTV. "We do use descriptors when warranted and we=20
don't air vulgar language," said Jeannie Kedas, MTV spokeswoman.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA634284?display=3DBreaking+New...
eferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
COX CHALLENGES OK RULING ON RIVAL SBC
Cox Communications has filed a state Supreme Court challenge in Oklahoma,=
=20
alleging the state=92s utility regulators violated their own rules in a=20
proceeding late last month that gave landline pricing flexibility to SBC=20
Communications. The operator also petitioned the Oklahoma Corporation=20
Commission on Aug. 4 to reconsider its own order. The OCC voted 2-1 on July=
=20
28 on the SBC pricing flexibility request. In return for diminished=20
regulation, SBC was ordered to extend digital-subscriber line access to 68=
=20
rural communities. If completed, this will extend DSL to all of SBC=92s=20
switching facilities. Cox and the state=92s cable lobby opposed the move,=
=20
arguing there is insufficient competition to justify deregulation.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA634623.html?display=3DPolicy
(requires subscription)
SPRINT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF NEXTEL COMMUNICATIONS
Sprint completed its $35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications to=20
form Sprint Nextel. Announced in December, the acquisition creates a=20
cellular giant with more than 40 million subscribers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112407239456113054,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
us_marketplace
(requires subscription)
FCC PROPOSES ALMOST $1.5 MILLION IN FORFEITURES FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND=
=20
VIOLATIONS
On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission issued Notices of Apparent=
=20
Liability ("NALs") totaling almost $1.5 million against two=20
telecommunications carriers for apparently violating Universal Service Fund=
=20
("USF") and regulatory fee rules. The two corporations that are the subject=
=20
of the NALs are Telecom Management, Inc., and OCMC, Inc.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260537A1.doc
WHAT YOU CAN'T SAY WILL HURT YOU
[Commentary] The United States has a long and unfortunate history of=20
overreacting to the fears and anxieties of wartime and excessively=20
restricting the freedom of speech.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Geoffrey R. Stone, University of Chicago]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/opinion/15stone.html
(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.
--------------------------------------------------------------