For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
TV Forces a Collective Responsibility
The Bigotry of Low Expectations
The Unasked Question
Hill To Deal With Katrina Communications
New Orleans Stations Improvise
Volunteers and Astrodome Resident Families Build Emergency Radio Station
Help For Storm-Affected Broadcasters
How Public Broadcasters are Faring after Katrina
Katrina Costs Cable Millions as Billing Stops
Joint Statement from FCC Commissioners
Technology: Free Phones, Buses, Web Assistance
The Web and Hurricane Katrina
TELEVISION
Hurricane Unearths Feud Between Broadcasters, Cable
NCTA: Multicasting Could Cost Billions
Stevens Stalls DTV Until Relief Package in Place
GAO Releases Report on Information Campaign Regarding DTV Transition
Accounting for Taste (V-chip & indecency)
What Does Fall Hold for TV News?
OWNERSHIP
FCC: Winter of Discontent
Consolidation/Smut Connection Asserted
The Wall Street Journal at Sea
Murdoch calls New Web Summit (no, you are not invited)
Magazines: The Global Carveout
QUICKLY -- Chief justice nominee carries slim record on tech; News Junkies=
=20
find Wikipedia more than Encyclopedia; Things to hate about cable news;=20
Court cases don't scare file swappers; Dot Triple X; DVR Penetration Slows;=
=20
Digital Gamers Reduce TV Viewing
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
TV FORCES A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
[Commentary] you already can sense a shift in TV's approach as newscasts=20
move from the on-the-fly immediacy of those emotional early reports, which=
=20
left viewers so shocked and chagrined, to carefully planned televised=20
events. Reporters now share the scene with stars: Katie Couric co-anchored=
=20
NBC's Today show Tuesday morning from a flooded New Orleans street; Diane=
=20
Sawyer led a Good Morning America town meeting from a shelter in=20
Donaldsonville, La.; Oprah Winfrey did her show on the scene. Soon the=20
stars will depart, other stories will push their way to the fore, and much=
=20
of the coverage will consist of studio-bound anchors and commentators=20
talking over video. Clearly, the story of the destruction of New Orleans is=
=20
not over. But as the story shifts from what happened to why it happened,=20
other news outlets will take over. In-depth analysis is not television's=20
strong point; policy debates do not respond well to TV's dramatic=20
storytelling technique -- one that tends to stress sentiment over context=
=20
and emphasize individual suffering over collective impact. Yet no matter=20
how it covers the debate to come, there's no question the debate itself has=
=20
been framed by television's coverage and might not even exist without it.=
=20
When disaster struck, TV's newscasters did what they do best: They showed=
=20
us what was happening as it happened, a service we too often take for=20
granted. Television made it impossible for government officials to say the=
=20
situation was under control; we could see that it wasn't. Television made=
=20
it impossible for government officials to say they couldn't get into New=20
Orleans to help You cannot fix what you refuse to see. Television showed us=
=20
the damage done by Katrina and forced us to examine our collective=20
responsibility for the sorrow and pity that followed. That public service=
=20
will resound long after the cameras move on.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Robert Bianco]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050907/d_topstrip07.art.htm
THE BIGOTRY OF LOW EXPECTATIONS
[Commentary] All along Hurricane Katrina's Evacuation Belt, in cities from=
=20
Houston to Baton Rouge to Leesville, Louisiana, the exact same rumors are=
=20
spreading faster than red ants at a picnic. The refugees from the United=20
States' worst-ever natural disaster, it is repeatedly said, are bringing=20
with them the worst of New Orleans' now-notorious lawlessness: looting,=20
armed carjacking, and even the rape of children. "By Thursday," the Chicago=
=20
Tribune's Howard Witt reported, "local TV and radio stations in Baton=20
Rouge...were breezily passing along reports of cars being hijacked at=20
gunpoint by New Orleans refugees, riots breaking out in the shelters set up=
=20
in Baton Rouge to house the displaced, and guns and knives being seized."=
=20
The only problem--none of the reports were true. As Katrina wiped out New=
=20
Orleans' communications infrastructure, and while key federal officials=20
repeatedly expressed less knowledge than cable television reporters,=20
panicky rumors quickly rushed in to fill the void. Many of them have shared=
=20
the exact same theme -- unspeakable urban ultra-violence, perpetuated by=20
the overwhelmingly black population.
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Matt Welch, Reason]
http://www.alternet.org/story/25116/
THE UNASKED QUESTION
Early in the week, discussions began online about the way much of the TV=20
coverage of Katrina's impact was ignoring obvious questions of race and=20
class. On Wednesday, Slate media critic Jack Shafer accused TV news of=20
skirting one of the most visually clear aspects of the story =AD- that blac=
ks=20
in New Orleans were more directly hurt than whites. Mark Jurkowitz, media=
=20
analyst for the Boston Phoenix speaks about the questions left largely=20
unasked and unanswered.
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=3Dotm/otm090205a.mp3
HILL TO DEAL WITH KATRINA COMMUNICATIONS
Look for the communications problems of first responders in New Orleans to=
=20
come up even before the DTV hard-date hearings expected in the House and=20
Senate in the next week or two. For its part, the House Commerce Committee=
=20
is planning to delay or reschedule an 11 a.m. hearing on Medicaid Wednesday=
=20
in favor of a Katrina-related hearing where Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) is=
=20
expected to bring up the issue of emergency communications. A witness list=
=20
has not been finalized, but one source said an FCC speaker has been lined=
=20
up. According to a Senate source, the Homeland Security Committee's hearing=
=20
next week is expected to include a review of public safety communications.=
=20
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Steven (R-Alaska) is also a member=
=20
of that committee.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6254402?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
NEW ORLEANS STATIONS IMPROVISE
Broadcast stations of New Orleans have to be creative to get back on the=20
air. One station is moving operations to a sister station in Mobile,=20
Alabama. Another has moved to Jackson, Mississippi. WWL never lost its=20
signal, though it had to abandon its French Quarter studios. The station=20
has been broadcasting from Louisiana State University and an emergency=20
studio at its transmitter site, with the Louisiana Public Broadcasting=20
station carrying the signal. WWL is also simulcasting its coverage online.=
=20
Spanish-language KGLA AM has put out an urgent call for advertisers so that=
=20
it can remain on the air. The station is broadcasting warnings to the=20
Hispanic community, but it has no income. For any good Samaritan=20
advertisers in the area, the station is owned by Crocodile Broadcasting, a=
=20
minority-owned company headed by Ernesto Schweikert=20
(ernesto_s( at )tropical1540.com).
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano/John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6254373?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
New Orleans Radio Needs Advertisers
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6254216?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
VOLUNTEERS AND ASTRODOME RESIDENT FAMILIES BUILD EMERGENCY RADIO STATION
Relief volunteers and Independent Media organizers in Houston, Texas, in=20
collaboration with residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina, have gotten=20
permission from the Federal Communications Commission and the City of=20
Houston, Texas to build a 30 watt radio station to serve the people and=20
families currently living at the Houston Astrodome and adjacent=20
buildings. But a lack of final permission from officials at the Astrodome=
=20
is keeping the station from going on the air. The radio volunteers, led by=
=20
a community media publishing group called Houston Indymedia, are working=20
with volunteer professional engineers and technicians from all over the=20
United States to get this station on the air. The FCC acted on Saturday to=
=20
approve the station, and quickly, the City of Houston gave the project a=20
letter of official support. The Prometheus Radio Project, a not-for-profit=
=20
organization that builds Low Power FM radio stations all around the United=
=20
States, has worked throughout the weekend to facilitate the legal and=20
timely launch of this radio station.
To donate to the Houston project, please call the Prometheus Radio Project=
=20
at 215-727-9620, or visit them online at http://www.prometheusradio.org, or=
=20
visit http://houston.indymedia.org.
[SOURCE: Prometheus Radio Project press release]
http://www.prometheusradio.org/katrina_ten_thousand_radios_release.doc
HELP FOR STORM-AFFECTED BROADCASTERS
The Broadcasters=92 Foundation, which quietly exists to give aid to=20
broadcasters or their families who have fallen on hard times, is looking=20
for ways to help the broadcasters hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The=20
foundation has an endowment of $1.5 million and has given ~1.6 million in=
=20
aid since 1995. Helping Katrina victims is its biggest effort since the=20
organization was founded in 1942. There could be 100-200 broadcasters who=
=20
were severely impacted by the hurricane.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: P.J. Bednarski]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6254205?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
HOW PUBCASTERS ARE FARING AFTER KATRINA
Current is offering an online resource on Katrina's impact on public=20
broadcasters, relief offered from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting=
=20
and the response from National Public Radio.
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Karen Everhart, Jeremy Egner and Mike Janssen]
http://www.current.org/katrina.shtml
KATRINA COSTS CABLE MILLIONS AS BILLING STOPS
Cable operators -- which stopped billing some subscribers affected by=20
Hurricane Katrina -- likely will lose
tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, plus the cost of=20
restoring operations, analysts said. Cable One
and Cox are among Gulf Coast cable operators that suspended billing in=20
disaster areas, firm officials said Tuesday.
Comcast is issuing credits =93case by case=94 and area by area, a spokesman=
said.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Jonathan Make]
(Not available online)
JOINT STATEMENT FROM FCC COMMISSIONERS
In addition to its other tragic consequences - including tremendous loss of=
=20
life and widespread property damage - Hurricane Katrina severely shook the=
=20
communications network in the Gulf Coast and restoring all these links will=
=20
be as challenging a communication mission as we have ever=20
confronted. Dedicated employees from wireline, wireless, broadcast, cable,=
=20
and satellite companies are working around the clock to restore=20
communications services to millions of customers. We commend the rapid=20
response we have witnessed from all segments of the communications=20
industry. We know that the industry, like those of us at the Commission,=
=20
is sparing no effort in restoring service to the Gulf Coast. The Commission=
=20
has been in continual contact with the industry and has taken prompt=20
action, where necessary, to provide regulatory relief to facilitate=20
restoration efforts. For example, the Commission has created opportunities=
=20
for providers to deploy alternative means of communication in the affected=
=20
region. We have also assisted in performing coordination activities=20
between the industry and federal emergency authorities as appropriate. We=
=20
will continue doing everything within our power to ensure the vitality of=
=20
the nation's communications network. We are confident that all service=20
providers will do the same. Our deepest thanks go out to the thousands of=
=20
communications company employees who, at great sacrifice, have been working=
=20
nonstop for the past week to repair the communications infrastructure that=
=20
is relied upon by the entire nation. And, above all, our thoughts and=20
prayers are with the countless victims of this tragedy and their families.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260871A1.doc
TECHNOLOGY: FREE PHONES, BUSES, WEB ASSISTANCE
With power and telephone service down in the hardest-hit areas of the Gulf=
=20
Coast, communications gear for rescue workers is one major need. Tech and=
=20
telecom companies are digging through their warehouses and sending=20
everything from batteries to buses to the area. In addition, SBC=20
Communications set up 1,000 free telephones in the Houston Astrodome, where=
=20
many evacuees are living. Lenovo is donating about 1,800 computers and Dell=
=20
1,000 =97 many to shelters. Intel is helping coordinate wireless data cente=
rs=20
in the Astrodome and plans to buy additional computers. Cingular Wireless=
=20
and T-Mobile were allowing hurricane victims to make free phone calls from=
=20
their retail stores. T-Mobile is also offering its wireless Internet=20
service for free in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Michelle Kessler]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050907/tech07.art.htm
THE WEB AND HURRICANE KATRINA
* Blogs Provide Storm Evacuees With Neighborhood-Specific News
As the world's news media show the big picture of the devastation left by=
=20
Hurricane Katrina, some Web sites are finding ways to provide specific=20
information to those hungry for details about their homes and local landmar=
ks.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR200509...
1995.html
(requires registration)
* Internet helps reunite survivors
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050907/a_missing07.art.htm
* Internet is bulletin board for Katrina victims
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=
=3D2005-09-04T200203Z_01_BAU472051_RTRIDST_0_NET-INTERNET-DC.XML
* Nearly 100,000 seek family on Katrina site-Red Cross
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=
=3D2005-09-06T135302Z_01_MCC649531_RTRIDST_0_NET-FAMILIES-DC.XML
* Katrina children seeking parents shown on Web site
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=
=3D2005-09-06T143717Z_01_ROB600012_RTRIDST_0_NET-CHILDREN-DC.XML
TELEVISION
HURRICANE UNEARTHS FEUD BETWEEN BROADCASTERS, CABLE
Broadcasters and cable industry lobbyists announced multimillion-dollar=20
efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina -- and then argued about how=
=20
the disaster's lessons should affect a key policy issue dividing the=20
industries. NAB had planned the lobbying blitz before the onslaught of=20
Katrina -- but, in its discussions with lawmakers, broadcasters planned to=
=20
use the hurricane as evidence of the importance of multicasting, NAB=20
spokesman Dennis Wharton said. Wharton said Cox Communications, the cable=
=20
operator in New Orleans, failed to carry NBC's Weather Plus, a free=20
multicast channel aired on the digital spectrum of NBC affiliates. Cable=20
operators must air only the primary signal, and the FCC has twice rejected=
=20
NAB's efforts for mandatory "multicast must-carry." Said Wharton, "This=20
demonstrates that in New Orleans, there can be real value to having a=20
24-hour weather channel." "To suggest that the other broadcasters that were=
=20
carried by cable, or any of the national cable networks, were not providing=
=20
more-than-adequate, 24-hour consistent coverage of this hurricane is=20
completely ridiculous," countered NCTA spokesman Brian Dietz.
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-VSHI1126039336581.html
NCTA: MULTICASTING COULD COST BILLIONS
Forcing multicast must-carry on cable operators could cost the federal=20
government billions of dollars if courts found that the carriage obligation=
=20
was an unconstitutional seizure of private property, the National Cable &=
=20
Telecommunications Association said in a letter Tuesday to Congress. The=20
NCTA is hoping that Congress will pass legislation this fall that ends the=
=20
transition to digital broadcasting without expanding cable=92s carriage=20
obligations. Meanwhile, broadcasters have made multicast must-carry a=20
legislative priority.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6254374.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
See NCTA's letter to Congress:=20
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=3D623&showArticles=3Dok
STEVENS STALLS DTV UNTIL RELIEF PACKAGE IN PLACE
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has put digital=
=20
television transition legislation on hold until the Senate acts on a=20
Hurricane Katrina relief package. The committee will be eyeing a =93whole=
=20
series=94 of steps, including =93how we can buoy up communications in disas=
ters=20
of this size,=94 Sen Stevens said. Leaders in the Senate will meet today to=
=20
discuss what a possible relief package will look like. The Commerce=20
Committee has jurisdiction over such issues as communications, global=20
warming, energy prices and economic matters. Meanwhile, the House Commerce=
=20
Committee said it has no intention of slowing digital TV legislation. That=
=20
committee will begin discussing the impact of Katrina today with testimony=
=20
expected from the Federal Communications Commission and BellSouth. Congress=
=20
is unlikely to meet the Sept. 16 reconciliation deadline, leading many to=
=20
predict an extension of that deadline.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle]
(Not available online)
DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION: ISSUES RELATED TO AN INFORMATION CAMPAIGN=20
REGARDING THE TRANSITION
The Government Accountability Office spoke with television industry=20
executives government officials, telecommunications experts, and=20
representatives from industry trade and consumer groups about the=20
transition to digital television. In a report released Tuesday, GAO=20
provides 1) stakeholder views on Americans=92 knowledge of the DTV=20
transition, 2) stakeholder views on how government and industry might most=
=20
effectively communicate critical DTV information, and 3) information on=20
efforts by Germany and the United Kingdom to inform their citizens about=20
the DTV transitions taking place in those countries. Many stakeholders=20
believe that Americans do not fully understand the digital TV transition=20
and see advertising as the best way to rectify this situation. (GAO-05-940R)
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office]
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-940R
ACCOUNTING FOR TASTE
Remember the V-chip? It=92s an electronic circuit that can be used to filte=
r=20
out shows you deem offensive. Recently a group of media companies banded=
=20
together to better publicize the device, which seems awfully altruistic.=20
After all, why would CBS want to help us block out CSI? The answer: they=
=20
hope to show that parents are better arbiters of taste than Uncle Sam, who=
=20
appears to be gearing up to clamp down on decency standards. Salon=92s=20
Michael Scherer says that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is among those leading=
=20
the charge.
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=3Dotm/otm090205c.mp3
WHAT DOES FALL HOLD FOR TV NEWS?
As television network news divisions went into overdrive last week to cover=
=20
the unrelenting aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, scrambling to provide daily=
=20
necessities to their crews on the ground and assemble special reports that=
=20
lifted news ratings at all three networks, behind-the-scenes broadcasters=
=20
were contending with another challenging reality: Their news operations=20
face potentially drastic changes this fall, and no one is sure of the=20
direction things will take. It's a time of soul-searching and open=20
questions about the future at all three networks -- even top-ranked NBC,=20
where News president Neal Shapiro, who began negotiating his departure last=
=20
spring, is stepping down from his post.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Matea Gold]
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-anchors5sep05,0,6352077.story
OWNERSHIP
FCC: WINTER OF DISCONNECT
The Federal Communications Commission's four-year campaign to deregulate=20
the media industry has frozen to a halt, trapped in the pack-ice of=20
politics and negative publicity. That has left industry players once=20
hopeful of a major climate change on the issue to hunker down until the=20
impasse over media mergers is broken. Telecommunications regulators have=20
been struggling to revise federal broadcast ownership rules since 2001,=20
when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck=
=20
down revisions issued by the FCC two years earlier for not going far enough=
=20
in revamping the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The agency's job got even=
=20
murkier when another appeals court in Philadelphia last summer struck down=
=20
the subsequent regulatory rewrite for going too far. For now, broadcasters=
=20
remain barred in all but the biggest markets from operating two-station=20
"duopolies." They also are forbidden from buying a TV station in cities and=
=20
towns where they already own a daily newspaper. Proponents of consolidation=
=20
say existing restrictions on media mergers are inhibiting investment and=20
growth in the industry. These critics favor allowing a large round of=20
consolidation, leaving a half-dozen or so large companies. With capital to=
=20
spend on emerging technologies and programming, these media giants could=20
roll out new services, such as "datacasting" to PDAs and high-definition=20
TV, and broaden their revenues. Although FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has=20
pledged to jump-start the media ownership rewrite, Democratic commissioners=
=20
Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have pressured him to conduct a lengthy round=
=20
of public hearings on the issue around the U.S. and to commission a series=
=20
of in-depth economic studies on the impact of consolidation on programming=
=20
diversity, independent station owners and other topics.
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.thedeal.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=3DTheDeal/TDDArt...
e/TDStandardArticle&bn=3Dnewsby%2FMEDIAPUBLISHING.gif&c=3DTDDArticle&cid=3D=
1125016629280
CONSOLIDATION/SMUT CONNECTION ASSERTED
The Center for Creative Voices in Media's Executive Director Jonathan=20
Rintels and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps are getting together Sept. 8 at=
=20
the Press Club in Washington to unveil a report the center says "offers=20
compelling evidence of a link between media consolidation and indecency."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6254379?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* PTC Crows Hilton Ads Were a Bust
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6254188?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AT SEA
The great chronicler and champion of capitalism has become a poor example=
=20
of it. No major media company has suffered a string of bad luck and=20
management missteps that quite compares to the recent bum run of Dow Jones,=
=20
the company that owns the Journal. Over the past five years, its stock has=
=20
plummeted 45 percent=97trailing the New York Times Company and the S&P=20
average by 25 percentage points. Where it once aspired to conquer the=20
global market, this spring it shrunk its European and Asian editions into=
=20
tabloids, a step many consider a prelude to their euthanizing. The domestic=
=20
situation is less grim, but only a bit. With ads scarce, it often publishes=
=20
waiflike editions of the Journal. In five years, there have been four heads=
=20
of ad sales. a substantial offer could spur a sale. For all its troubles,=
=20
the Journal remains quite a prize, and there are many potential suitors who=
=20
could fire up a bidding war. Michael Bloomberg has salivated over Dow Jones=
=20
in the past, although his company likely won't make a major move as long as=
=20
he=92s ruling in absentia. Arthur Sulzberger Jr. doesn't have such=20
restraints. Two years ago, The New Yorker reported that he sent the=20
Bancrofts a letter, via Hammer, announcing the New York Times Company=92s=
=20
interest in a deal. Hammer and Kann rebuffed Sulzberger without even asking=
=20
the Bancrofts first. But nobody really quibbled with the logic of the=20
rejection. =93The Bancrofts worry that the Wall Street Journal and the Time=
s=20
are natural competitors,=94 says a source close to the family. They would=
=20
never abide the two Gray Ladies shacking up together, because they can't=20
see the Journal receiving the attention it deserves within the Times=20
company. Don Graham and the Washington Post are far more natural buyers.=20
But the most obvious buyer might be Rupert Murdoch.
[SOURCE: New York Magazine, AUTHOR: Franklin Foer]
http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/media/features/12899/
(long article)
MURDOCH CALLS NEW WEB SUMMIT
Rupert Murdoch has summoned his most senior executives for the second=20
summit in seven months on News Corporation's Internet strategy. The=20
broadcasting and publishing group=92s executive committee will gather this=
=20
weekend. The summit comes as Mr Murdoch received an important show of=20
support on Tuesday from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal=92s Kingdom Holding=20
Company. The Saudi prince, a long-time shareholder, converted his=20
non-voting shares in News Corp to a 5.46 per cent stake of the voting=20
shares and said he might buy more =93if the situation warrants.=94 Since th=
e=20
first gathering in February, Mr Murdoch has spent $580m on buying Intermix,=
=20
which operates social networking site My-Space.com, and bought Scout Media,=
=20
a sports website company. He is reported to have held talks to buy Blinkx,=
=20
a video search engine.
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d21bd7d0-1efb-11da-94d5-00000e2511c8.html
(requires subscription)
MAGAZINES: THE GLOBAL CARVEOUT
Magazine publishing mergers and acquisitions may reduce the number of=20
global players. Hachette, Hearst and Time are expected to be among the=20
survivors. VNU is "almost certain" to sell off its U.S. business media=20
unit, which publishes Billboard, Adweek and Hollywood Reporter. "The=20
question everyone's asking is how do you grow in a saturated market," says=
=20
Mark Edmiston, a managing director at investment bank boutique AdMedia=20
Partners, of what's driving global consolidation. "The answer is you=20
can't." It's not lost on Edmiston that, with few exceptions, U.S.=20
publishers are the last of their brethren to address this question. And=20
that they're getting to it now stems not from global unity but economic=20
necessity: The enviable growth that defined our domestic publishing market=
=20
for decades is, simply, no more.
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Richard Morgan]
http://www.thedeal.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=3DTheDeal/TDDArt...
e/TDStandardArticle&bn=3Dnewsby%2FMEDIAPUBLISHING.gif&c=3DTDDArticle&cid=3D=
1125016628798
QUICKLY
CHIEF JUSTICE NOMINEE CARRIERS SLIM RECORD ON TECH
On Monday, Sept. 12, John Roberts will begin facing questions from the=20
Senate Judiciary Committee in hearings widely expected to result in his=20
confirmation as Chief Justice. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has=20
suggested that Roberts may be prone to yielding authority to federal=20
agencies in questions of technology. The organization has expressed hope=20
that he would act cautiously before expanding regulatory power. In a 2003=
=20
case, Roberts wrote an opinion for the court that upheld a Federal=20
Communications Commission order setting a deadline by which all televisions=
=20
with a display size of 13 inches or greater and certain other VCRs and DVD=
=20
players had to possess a tuner capable of receiving digital TV signals.=20
Roberts also participated on a three-judge panel in 2003 that ultimately=20
decided a noteworthy spat between Verizon Internet Services and the=20
Recording Industry Association of America. The court ruled that the=20
recording industry couldn't continue its practice of subpoenaing Internet=
=20
service providers like Verizon for the names of alleged illegal file=20
swappers without first obtaining a judge's consent.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
http://news.com.com/Chief+justice+nominee+carries+slim+record+on+tech/21...
1028_3-5851480.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
NEWS JUNKIES FIND WIKIPEDIA MORE THAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
The Wikipedia, which has surged this year to become the most popular=20
reference site on the Web, is fast overtaking several major news sites as=
=20
the place where people swarm for context on breaking events. Traffic to the=
=20
multilingual network of sites has grown 154 percent over the past year,=20
according to research firm Hitwise. At current growth rates, it is set to=
=20
overtake The New York Times on the Web, the Drudge Report and other news=20
sites. But the rising status of the site as the Web's intellectual=20
demilitarized zone, the favored place people look for background on an=20
issue or to settle a polemical dispute, also poses challenges for the=20
volunteer ethic that gave it rise.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Eric Auchard]
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&sto...
D=3D2005-09-06T211135Z_01_ROB676217_RTRIDST_0_TECH-BIZFEATURE-WIKIPEDIA-DC.=
XML
NEWS YOU CAN LOSE
Things to hate about cable TV news: 1) musical emotional cues, 2) undated=
=20
video footage, 3) conspicuous lack of maps illustrating where the camera=20
and reporters are when reporting, 4) the fundamental dishonesty of 24/7=20
coverage, 5) the opportunism of Fox News Channel's Geraldo Rivera, 6) the=
=20
absence of context and continuity, 7) the lack of input from knowledgeable=
=20
outsiders, and 8) the absence of self-criticism.
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Jack Shafer]
http://www.slate.com/id/2125683/
COURT CASES DON'T SCARE MUSIC FILE SWAPPERS AWAY
Despite two huge court losses for file-sharing firms, unauthorized online=
=20
song and movie swapping is at an all-time peak.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jefferson Graham]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20050907/filesharing07.art.htm
DOT TRIPLE X
What's in a name? For the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and=20
Numbers (ICANN), domain names are the way to organize a chaotic global=20
Internet. But when ICANN proposed a .XXX domain for adult-content, it=20
sparked a political fight. Those debating the new .XXX suffix are an uneasy=
=20
alliance of pornographers, the Christian right, conservative countries and=
=20
the U.S. government. Brooke speaks to Bret Fausett, a lawyer and advisor to=
=20
ICANN, about how names can hurt you.
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=3Dotm/otm090205d.mp3
DVR PENETRATION SLOWS
Digital video recorder (DVR) penetration has slowed, and new data from the=
=20
biggest suppliers suggests that future growth may not accelerate as=20
anticipated. DVRs have made network executives weak in the knees, given=20
their easy-to-use ad-skipping functionality. Originally the product of=20
pioneers like TiVo (which added just 40,000 subscribers in second quarter),=
=20
increasingly major cable and satellite providers have been offering their=
=20
customers DVR subscriptions. Yet unlike the adoption of previous hot=20
entertainment technologies which saw popularity explosions, like the Web or=
=20
DVDs, Magna Global predicts that in most markets, DVRs adoption will surge=
=20
at first and then lose considerable steam. One reason that adoption has=20
been less than spectacular, says Magna, is that DVRs are simply difficult=
=20
to market -- either because consumers don't 'get' DVRs or just don't seen=
=20
the technology as being compelling. Magna also contends that vendors'=20
strategy to charge a premium for DVR service limits its potential.
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Mike Shields]
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D100...
5227
DIGITAL GAMERS REDUCE TV VIEWING FURTHER
During the last year, America's hard-core game players have shifted four=20
more hours of their weekly TV-watching time to online activities, according=
=20
to a new survey by Ziff David Media Game Group. The study, "Digital Gaming=
=20
in America," also reports that the number of hard-core game-playing=20
households increased by 900,000 from 18.9 million to 19.8 million over the=
=20
same year's time.
[SOURCE: AgAge, AUTHOR: Kris Oser]
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=3D45987
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------