BROADCAST OWNERSHIP RULES
F.C.C. Will Permit Owning 2 Stations In Big TV Markets (NYT)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Parental (Not Expert) Guidance Suggested (WSJ)
INTERNET
Students Learn Business Skills, Help Small Entrepreneurs (SJM)
Web Opens Hard-To-Reach Market to Advertisers (USA)
Hacker Vandalizes Security Site (SJM)
Filters Debated in Michigan (CyberTimes)
Is Linking Legal? (CyberTimes)
Wireless Way to Web (ChiTrib)
MERGERS
Deutsche Telekom To Buy One2one For $11.1 Billion (WSJ)
AT&T, British Telecom to Buy Stake In Canada Wireless
Firm Rogers Cantel (WSJ)
LEGISLATION
House Votes, 217-210, to Approve Spending Bill Totaling
$37.7 Billion (WSJ)
Committee Markup (House)
FCC OPEN MEETING
FCC Seeks to Promote Universal Service in Tribal Lands and
Other Insular Areas (FCC)
FCC to Explore Ways to Extend Terrestrial and Satellite
Wireless Services to Individuals Living on Tribal Lands (FCC)
FCC Adopts Pricing Flexibility and Other Access Charge Reforms (FCC)
FCC Revises Local Television Ownership Rules (FCC)
FCC Revises Rules for Calculating Audience Under National
Television Ownership Rule (FCC)
FCC Amends Broadcast and Cable/MDS Ownership Attribution Rules (FCC)
BROADCAST OWNERSHIP RULES
F.C.C. WILL PERMIT OWNING 2 STATIONS IN BIG TV MARKETS
Issue: Broadcast Ownership
"The race is on," read one memo to top corporate officers at a broadcast
network. The Federal Communications Commission voted yesterday to relax
television station ownership rules -- allowing a single company or network
to own two TV stations in the same market. Carter writes, Networks and other
big station companies want to own more than one station in a market because
it increases their presence in areas that are becoming increasingly crowded
with other viewing options, like cable and satellite channels. It also
allows them to save money on programming and personnel costs and gives them
another outlet for shows they own. "For the economic model, it's great to
own two stations in one market," said Paul Sweeney of Salomon Smith Barney.
"I think we are going to start seeing a lot of big-ticket deals." Andrew Jay
Schwartzman, the president of the Media Access Project, a Washington-based
public interest firm, said that while he had hoped for more in the way of
insuring diversity in station ownership, the FCC deserved to be praised for
succeeding in the most important area of closing loopholes in stations
ownership restrictions that had rendered the existing rules unfair. "Now if
you run it, you own it," Schwartzman said. "It had become like the Wild
West. People who played by the rules were being penalized. I think overall
[FCC Chairman] Bill Kennard did a good job under severe political pressure."
[The FCC was busy yesterday -- see summaries of other decisions below]
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-station-ownership.html)
See Also:
RULES ON TV STATIONS LOOSENED
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99080602
11,FF.html)
FCC OPENS UP BIG TV MARKETS
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/06/094l-080699-idx.html)
FCC Relaxes Its Rules on TV-Station Ownership
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A3, AUTHOR: Kathy Chen and Martin Peers]
(http://www.wsj.com)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
PARENTAL (NOT EXPERT) GUIDANCE SUGGESTED
Issue: Media & Society
Theodore Dalrymple is critical of the latest suggestions by the American
Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy said that children under two should not
watch television and that parents (and doctors) should take a greater
interest in what children watch. He states that his disdain for television
is pretty apparent. Dalrymple says if he could, he'd make children watch the
farming news everyday for two years so that they would develop a hatred for
TV. "How life should be lived is not a technical question to be decided by
committees of experts... The reason that parents should take an interest in
the activities -- or perhaps I should call them the passivities -- of their
children is because they are responsible for the moral welfare and growth of
their children. This inescapable responsibility is antecedent to any
research-based recommendations of expert committees, however eminent their
members, and cannot be abrogated... If there are indeed parents who, because
of the Academy's recommendations, start to take an interest in what their
young children watch on television, I can only say that such parents appall
me only a little less than those who continue to take no interest whatever.
I hesitate to use the word abuse in these times in which everyone thirsts to
be a victim, but to leave children to the mercies of a television screen is
abusive, and it requires no pediatricians to tell us so."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A10, AUTHOR: (Theodore Dalrymple is the pen
name of Anthony Daniels, a British physician and contributing editor of
City Journal.)]
(http://www.wsj.com)
INTERNET
STUDENTS LEARN BUSINESS SKILLS, HELP SMALL ENTREPRENEURS
Issue: E-Commerce/EdTech
Virtualis, a Silicon Valley company, is teaching high school students what
they need to know to be successful in e-commerce -- everything from the art
of Web design to the art of a handshake. The San Jose Chamber of Commerce
and Virtualis have developed a program to train a select group of students,
who will then help local small businesses get online. "This is a great
opportunity for them to talk to adults and solve adult problems," said
Dennis Barbata, the school's technology coordinator. "We have to put the
tools in the hands of students so they can compete in the 21st century."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: K. Oanh Ha]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/eagle080699.htm)
WEB OPENS HARD-TO-REACH MARKET TO ADVERTISERS
Issue: E-commerce
Web advertisers have realized they can get a much more defined audience by
advertising on the Web versus TV or radio. NetNoir serves 2.9 million black
households and, according to Forrester Research, Blacks are adopting the
Internet the faster than the rest of the population. Wall Street has taken
note of the Hispanic American population at 2.9 million, an on-line
community that is more penetrated than Caucasians on the Web. However, one
of the groups being left out of the Web advertising market are gays and
lesbians. "The fact that the group faces not-so-subtle forms of
discrimination makes them more cohesive and more likely to interact in an
on-line community," says David Alschuler, an analyst with the Aberdeen
Group. The Web can be more efficient than print because gays and lesbians
might not be out of the closet and feel they cannot read specific
publications in public. Still, finding mainstream advertisers for a gay
lifestyle Web site can be tricky -- especially since some sites feature
direct links to adult content. Advertisers do not look kindly on such content.
[SOURCE: USA Today (12B), AUTHOR: Greg Farrell]
(http://usatoday.com/)
HACKER VANDALIZES SECURITY SITE
Issue: Security
AntiOnline in Beaver (PA), a popular site specializing in news about
hackers and security, was hacked itself on Thursday. A hacker was able to
discover, and tamper with, hidden code on one of the site's pages. The
problems were fix in about an hour, but the attack raised concerns
about the vulnerability of the organizations that people depend on to
learn about protecting their own sites. "There is no absolute security,"
said James Adams, chief executive officer of Infrastructure Defense Inc.,
which works to protect companies against hackers. "All you can do is try to
keep ahead of the game. For anybody to claim they're totally secure, it's
not true."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Ted Bridis (Associated Press)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/727614l.htm)
FILTERS DEBATED IN MICHIGAN
Issue: Filtering
The only public library in Georgetown Township (MI) has placed filters on
all its computer terminals except one where it charges patrons $100 to have
an unrestricted view of the Internet. Though free-speech activists say this
violates the First Amendment rights of adults, Township Supervisor, Henry
Hilbrand says there is no violation under the new Michigan State law on
public filtering. He says the law is ambiguously worded and that the
library's interpretation is just. There has also been widespread local
support: "We were flooded with calls from people in the community who are
saying 'Finally someone stood up for what's right' and 'I'm glad they
declared war on Internet porn," said Sheryl VanderWagen, director of the
library. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan said the $100
fee was "outrageous" and said they would look into the filtering policy.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/articles/06michigan.html)
IS LINKING LEGAL?
Issue: Internet
The law on linking is currently "up in the air," especially in regards to
"deep links." Deep links can point specifically at a Web page or content in
a site, sometimes bypassing any identification or advertisements on the
site. Though there are no court opinions in the U.S. that directly address
this subject, says Jeffrey R. Kuester, a lawyer with Thomas, Kayden,
Horstemeyer & Risley in Atlanta, some lawyers believe that "deep linking"
should be limited -- others do not. "I don't think an intellectual property
owner should be able to stop most deep links," said Carl Opperdahl, a
cyberlaw expert at Oppendahl & Larson, a law firm in Frisco (CO). "The
eventual goal of the Web is for everything to be linked to everything else.
If someone says, 'You can't link to my page,' well, they are missing the
point of the Web." Emily Madoff, an intellectual property lawyer at Wolff
Popper in New York says that property owners who create content should have
a right to determine how surfers experience their Web sites. In particular,
she said, if an owner's home page or another page laden with ads is
bypassed by a deep link, then the linked-to Web site owner will soon be out
of business. What to do? One lawyer says, ask for permission to deep link.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/cyberlaw/06law.html)
WIRELESS WAY TO WEB
Issue: Wireless/Internet Access
"You don't have to sell anybody now on the idea that a cell phone is useful
for their business...But we're not yet to that point with wireless data,"
says Dan Croft of American Mobile Satellite Corp. The next generation of
cell phone will come fully equipped to receive information from the Web or
prepackaged information services. "Most people today think of the Web as a
destination, but that will change as people begin to see it as an engine to
fulfill transactions," said Mike Ozburn, vice president and general manager
of Nextel Online. "A wireless customer planning a business trip may enter
his destination information and get back options for plane and hotel
reservations to confirm with the click of a button. This will be available
anytime, anywhere without booting up, dialing in or any other nonsense." "We
in the wireless world see the Internet as the pipe that lets us gain entry
wherever we need to go," said Croft.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99080602
16,FF.html)
MERGERS
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM TO BUY ONE2ONE FOR $11.1 BILLION
Issue: Mergers
The German Telecom giant, Deutsche Telekom, has agreed to acquire One2One,
from Cable & Wireless and MediaOne. Many European companies were attracted
to One2One because of the huge cellular demand in Britain. Deutsche Telekom
is hoping to exploit synergies between T-Mobile, its existing cellular
subsidiary, and On2One. After acquiring One2One, Deutsche Telekom will have
some 12 million mobile subscribers in the European cellular communications
market. Deutsche Telekom is also likely to find it much easier to acquire
one of the soon-to-be offered licenses for the next generation of
mobile-phone service in Britain.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal Staff]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB933920025528981057.htm)
AT&T, BRITISH TELECOM TO BUY STAKE IN CANADA WIRELESS FIRM ROGERS CANTEL
Issue: Merger
AT&T and British Telecommunications (BT) invested a $934 million in Rogers
Cantel Mobile Communications, a Canadian company. The joint investment
gives AT&T and BT a 33% equity stake in Canada's largest wireless provider,
with 1.7 million cellular and digital subscribers. John Zeglis, AT&T's
president, said this investment will give Canadian customers access to a
global network, as well as more products and services such as Internet
access on wireless phones. AT&T also agreed to buy MetroNet Communications
in March of this year to expand its Canadian presence in a deal worth $2.4
billion. Analysts say the move reflects increasing consolidation in the
Canadian telecommunications market. Alfred T. Mockett, president and chief
executive of BT Worldwide, said BT, AT&T and Rogers Canel plan to work
together on the next generation of wireless communications to develop
global calling plans for one set fee. This is the second time AT&T and BT
have joined forces to make a deal and chose Canada because they have a
higher concentration of wireless consumers than the U.S. The companies say
they will likely work together in the future to take on giants such as
MCIWorldcom.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B4, AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein and Solange
De Santis]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB933858931897643293.htm)
See Also:
AT&T and British Telecom Invest $1 Billion in Toronto Company
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Timothy Prichard]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/canada-telecom.html)
LEGISLATION
HOUSE VOTES, 217-210, TO APPROVE SPENDING BILL TOTALING $37.7 BILLION
Issue: Legislation/Budget Issues
The House of Representatives approved a $37.7 billion spending bill last
night by a slim 217-210 vote. The bill makes deep cuts in Commerce
Department programs and freezes spending for major regulatory agencies. The
Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal
Communications Commission are denied any funding increases and must live
with a combined budget at least $92 million below the Administration's
request for the new fiscal year. Over $250 million is cut from
other accounts to pay debts owed to international organizations such as the
United Nations. This vote came after regional telephone companies won an
amendment to overturn the decades-old uniform accounting system imposed on
the telephone industry by the Federal Communications Commission. The
accounting system served the FCC when telephone rates were set on a cost
basis. With the advent of deregulation and changes in how rates are set,
regional bell operating companies (RBOC's) said the requirements were
outdated. The RBOC's also said the FCC should be satisfied if the phone
companies follow general accounting principles such as the system used by
the SEC. SBC Communications and other RBOC's were involved in lobbying
Congress and the industry estimates it could save as much as $270 million a
year by no longer having to keep a second set of books for the FCC. By
shedding the extra accounting costs, the RBOC's hope to gain ground against
their long-distance rivals such as AT&T and MCIWorldcom, which opposed the
same amendment brought by Representative Billy Tauzin (R-LA). Consumer
groups and rival long-distance companies criticized the action as a victory
for special-interest politics. John Windhausen, president of a trade group
representing smaller companies now competing with the same regional
telephone companies, said consumers could suffer and the amendment
represents an "abuse of the legislative process."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: David Rogers]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB933897450228060932.htm)
COMMITTEE MARKUP
Issue: Legislation
1) H.R. 1714 ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT, was
ordered reported to the House, amended, by a voice vote (see News Release
http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/eeae8466ba03a215852567...
4b4d11/c40d48774b04bb02852567c400601e67?OpenDocument). 2) H.R. 1858 CONSUMER
AND INVESTOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT OF 1999, was ordered reported to the
House, amended, by a voice vote (see News Release
http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/eeae8466ba03a215852567...
4b4d11/678dfe07eee8c84e852567c4005e302d?OpenDocument). 3) H.R. 486 COMMUNITY
BROADCASTERS PROTECTION ACT OF 1999, was ordered reported to the House,
amended, by a voice vote (see
http://www.benton.org/News/Extra/broad080399.html for summary).
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/eeae8466ba03a2158525677f0
04b4d11/d8ec6f2ac726193f852567c2005b8c50?OpenDocument)
FCC OPEN MEETING
FCC SEEKS TO PROMOTE UNIVERSAL SERVICE IN TRIBAL LANDS AND OTHER INSULAR AREAS
Issue: Universal Service
From News Release: As part of its efforts to extend the full range of modern
telecommunications services to all Americans, the FCC has begun to address
impediments to deployment and subscribership in unserved and underserved
areas. While nearly 95% of all households in the United States have
telephone service today, Indians living on reservations and on tribal lands
have significantly lower rates of telephone subscribership. The FCC is
seeking comment on unserved and underserved areas as part of a Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted Thursday. The Telecommunications Act
of 1996 provides that "consumers in all regions of the nation, including
low-income consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas,
should have access to telecommunications and information services . . . ."
Through decisions adopted over the past two years, the FCC has been striving
to ensure that consumers have access to and can afford the services
supported by federal universal service support mechanisms. The goal is to
ensure that the country does not become divided into information "haves" and
"have-nots." Despite these efforts, the FCC has recognized that certain
regions of the nation remain unserved or inadequately served. In the Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, comment is sought to ascertain the
availability of, and to understand the possible impediments to, deployment
and subscribership in unserved and underserved areas of the Nation. In
addition, the FCC seeks comment on a range of possible modifications to its
high-cost, low-income and rural health care support mechanisms that are
designed to promote deployment and subscribership in these areas. The FCC
invites interested parties to comment on the implementation of section
214(e)(3) of the Act, which concerns the ability of the FCC and state
commissions to order carriers to provide service in unserved areas,
including the possibility of using a competitive bidding mechanism. The FCC
also sought comment on the implementation of section 214(e)(6) of the Act,
which authorizes the FCC to designate carriers not subject to the
jurisdiction of a state commission as eligible telecommunications carrier.
Common Carrier Bureau Contact: Valerie Yates 202-418-1500
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9055.doc)
FCC TO EXPLORE WAYS TO EXTEND TERRESTRIAL AND SATELLITE WIRELESS SERVICES
TO INDIVIDUALS LIVING ON TRIBAL LANDS
Issue: Wireless/Universal Service
In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted Thursday, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) began exploring a number of possible
terrestrial and satellite wireless policy initiatives to promote greater
access to telecommunications services for individuals living on tribal
lands. In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress directed the FCC to
help ensure that all Americans have access to affordable telecommunications
services. The relatively low incomes of most individuals living on tribal
lands and the rural environment of most tribal lands have contributed to
extremely low telephone penetration rates. Because telephone service is a
necessity in our modern society, this lack of access puts the Indian
community at a tremendous disadvantage. In today's Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, the FCC seeks comment on ways wireless and satellite technology
can be used to provide basic telephone service and other telecommunications
services to tribal lands, particularly in remote areas where wireless
alternatives could be significantly less expensive than wireline service.
The FCC also seeks comment on how to provide greater incentives for
terrestrial and satellite wireless carriers to extend service to tribal
lands. In addition, the FCC seeks comment on whether to extend any
terrestrial or satellite wireless initiatives adopted in this proceeding to
individuals living in other unserved areas. Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau contact: Joel Taubenblatt at (202) 418- 1513; TTY at (202) 418-7233;
or e-mail jtaubenb( at )fcc.gov
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/1999/nrwl9031.html)
FCC ADOPTS PRICING FLEXIBILITY AND OTHER ACCESS CHARGE REFORMS
Issue: Telephone Regulation
From the News Release: Thursday the Commission adopted an Order that allows
competition, rather than regulation, to determine prices for interstate
access services, thus providing customers more choices among services,
carriers, and rates. The Order gives the nation's largest telephone
companies progressively greater flexibility in setting interstate access
rates as competition develops, gradually replacing regulation with
competition as the primary means of setting prices. Long distance companies
purchase interstate access service from local telephone companies to reach
end user customers. Today's Order changes rules that govern the provision
of interstate access services by local exchange carriers (LECs) subject to
price cap regulation to make them more compatible with the development of
competition in the marketplace. These reforms will enable those companies
to compete more efficiently, and customers of interstate access service
should benefit from increased choices among carriers and lower overall
rates. The Order grants greater pricing flexibility to price cap LECs as
competition for specific services develops, while ensuring that such
flexibility neither deters efficient entry nor results in unreasonable rate
increases for customers without competitive alternatives. Common Carrier
Bureau contact: Tamara Preiss, 202/418-1520
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9054.wp)
FCC REVISES LOCAL TELEVISION OWNERSHIP RULES
Issue: Broadcast Ownership
The FCC Thursday revised its local market television ownership rules - the
"TV duopoly" rule and the radio-television cross ownership (or
"one-to-a-market") rule to reflect changes in the media marketplace. In a
Report and Order, the Commission said the revised rules reflect the growth
in the number and variety of media outlets in local markets, including cable
and direct broadcast satellite, and the Commission's desire to permit
broadcasters to realize the efficiencies of common ownership where
consistent with its ongoing concern for diversity and competition in
broadcast markets. The changes are intended to strengthen the potential of
free over-the-air broadcast services to compete, particularly failed and
failing broadcast stations, and to continue to provide public service
benefits in the video marketplace. The FCC said the new rules would promote
diversity of ownership by imposing "minimum voice" floors in local markets
that must be met before owners could be eligible for the duopolies and
radio-TV crossownerships provided for in the new rules. It said it was also
adopting "failed station", "failing station" and unbuilt station waiver
standards, and grandfathering existing Local Management Agreements (LMAs),
to help promote additional media outlets in a market.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1999/nrmm9019.html)
See also:
F.C.C. WILL PERMIT OWNING 2 STATIONS IN BIG TV MARKETS
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-station-ownership.html)
RULES ON TV STATIONS LOOSENED
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99080602
11,FF.html)
FCC OPENS UP BIG TV MARKETS
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/06/094l-080699-idx.html)
FCC RELAXES ITS RULES ON TV-STATION OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A3, AUTHOR: Kathy Chen and Martin Peers]
(http://www.wsj.com)
FCC REVISES RULES FOR CALCULATING AUDIENCE UNDER NATIONAL TELEVISION
OWNERSHIP RULE
Issue: Broadcast Ownership
From the News Release: The FCC Thursday revised its national TV ownership
rule to clarify that no market will be counted more than once when
calculating whether a group station owner complies with the rule's 35%
aggregate national audience reach limit. In a Report and Order, the
Commission said that owners of television stations that have an attributable
interest in another TV station in the same market, or that operate a
satellite station in the same market, would not have to include those
additional same-market outlets in calculating its 35% national aggregate
television audience reach cap. The FCC said that the public interest would
not be served by double-counting the audience of a market when calculating
an entity's national audience reach. The Commission clarified, however, that
a station owner with an attributable interest in a station in a separate
market (including time-brokered LMAs and satellite stations would have to
count that additional audience as part of its national aggregate audience.
It said the clarifications were being made in conjunction with its decisions
in two other Orders adopted today to revise its local broadcast ownership
rules and its television attribution rules. It said that the changes would
not be expected to cause any existing group television station owner to
exceed the 35% national aggregate reach cap. Pursuant to the national TV
ownership rule, a station's audience reach is defined as consisting of the
total number of television households within the television market for that
station. UHF stations are attributed with 50% of the audience within the
market (the UHF Discount). The Commission said it would begin utilizing the
Designated Market Areas (DMAs) compiled by A.C. Nielson, a commercial
ratings service, for national and local audience figures. Previously the
markets were defined as the Area of Dominant Influence (ADI) established by
Arbitron, another commercial audience-rating service. It said that DMAs are
now used for cable must-carry and retransmission consent determinations, and
that Arbitron no longer updates its county-by-county market definitions.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1999/nrmm9018.html)
FCC AMENDS BROADCAST AND CABLE/MDS OWNERSHIP ATTRIBUTION RULES
Issue: Ownership
From News Release: The FCC has revised its broadcast and cable/MDS ownership
attribution rules. The attribution rules define what constitutes a
"cognizable interest" for purposes of applying the ownership rules. A
Report and Order adopted Thursday improves the precision of the attribution
rules and makes them more clear to financial markets. Regulatory certainty
for the attribution rules is necessary to prevent disruptions in the flow of
capital into broadcasting. Through these changes, the FCC and the industry
will be better able to identify the real interests that companies hold in
broadcast properties. Mass Media Bureau contacts: Mania K. Baghdadi, Roger
Holberg at (202) 418-2120.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1999/nrmm9020.wp)
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we're outta here. Have a great weekend.