MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Event: Tell the FCC to Let Black Radio Live
The Death of Local News
Rewrite FCC Rules on Cross-Ownership
EDTECH
FCC Adopts E-Rate Reform Rules
Beyond Bamboozlement
SPECTRUM
Regulators Expand Airwaves for Emergency Communication
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
EVENT: TELL THE FCC TO LET BLACK RADIO LIVE
[Commentary] Harrison Chastang, news director at KPOO 89.5 FM in San
Francisco, says it's imperative for Bay-Area African Americans to take part
in this Saturday's public hearing on FCC proposals to deregulate media
ownership rules. Chasting cites the cover story of the latest issue of Black
Enterprise magazine, which explores how recent media deregulation has
already allowed many African American radio stations to be taken over by
non-black corporate owners. "[T]otal deregulation of the broadcast industry
could encourage the extinction of the few remaining Black-owned stations,"
he says. And with less than one percent of people in radio management being
African American, it's becoming even more difficult for radio stations to
program news and entertainment of specific interest to the African American
community. The public forum will be held from 10am to 4pm in the Board of
Supervisors Chambers at San Francisco City Hall. Chasting's station, KPOO
89.5 FM, will carry a broadcast of the event live, and will stream it over
the Internet via their kpoo.com website.
[SOURCE: San Francisco Bay View; AUTHOR: Harrison Chastang]
http://www.sfbayview.com/042303/tellthefcc042303.shtml
http://www.kpoo.com
THE DEATH OF LOCAL NEWS
"Tune into the evening news on Madison, Wisconsin's Fox TV affiliate and
behold the future of local news," writes Paul Schmelzer of AlterNet.
Schmelzer quotes a series of remarks by commentator Mark Hyman mocking peace
activists and the progressive community as "wack jobs" and "the loony left."
What worries Schmelzer is the fact that Hyman isn't a local commentator, but
rather the vice president of corporate communications for Sinclair Broadcast
Group, which pipes his conservative commentary to its stations around the
country. Once the owner of a sole UHF station in Baltimore, Sinclair has
acquired 62 stations nationally that cover 24 percent of the US market. From
its Baltimore headquarters, Sinclair promotes what it calls a "revolutionary
news model" -- combining prepackaged news stories with snippets of "local"
news targeted to each of its stations around the country. The
Baltimore-based anchors are coached to make sure they pronounce local towns
correctly, and weatherman engage in light banter about tomorrow's weather as
if the anchors were actually based at the local station rather than
Baltimore. "We should all be conscious of the dangers that are present when
you have one newsroom producing the news," says John Nichols, associate
editor at The Capital Times in Madison and co-author with Robert McChesney
of the books Our Media, Not Theirs, and It's the Media, Stupid. "That's a
real possibility. It's a very dangerous future, but Sinclair is already
living in the dangerous future ."
[SOURCE: AlterNet; AUTHOR: Paul Schmelzer]
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15718
REWRITE FCC RULES ON CROSS-OWNERSHIP
[Commentary] "We're not supposed to talk about this subject; it's bad form,"
writes the editorial board of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The newspaper,
one of 12 dailies owned by Hearst Corp., says that up until now they've
avoided voicing an opinion on the media ownership debate because they
worried readers would believe that their business interests would trump
their editorial judgment. "But too much of the discourse has been weighted
toward one notion: that democracy is at risk," they continue. "There is
another side to this debate -- and it's worth exploration." The editorial
cites FCC statistics suggesting that the number of TV and radio stations in
10 markets surveyed has increased 195 percent since 1960, while the number
of independent owners is up by 139 percent. "As we said, we have a dog in
this fight," the editors conclude. "And it's bad form for us to say much
more. But we think there's another point to be made."
[SOURCE: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer; AUTHOR: Seattle P-I Editorial
Board]
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/118695_fcced.html
EDTECH
FCC ADOPTS E-RATE REFROM RULES
The FCC adopted new rules governing the Commission's E-Rate program, which
uses funds provided by long-distance carriers to finance Internet
connectivity subsidies in public schools and libraries. The program has come
under criticism from some congressional leaders amid cases of fraud and
abuse. The new rules would provide stronger oversight to the program,
barring anyone guilty of criminal conduct or civil liability related to the
program from participating for a minimum of three years. Additionally, the
rules would prevent funding for entities providing duplicative services in
the same area. The changes "represent the first stage in a more
comprehensive reform effort," Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy said. FCC
Chairman Michael Powell noted that despite the abuses, the program has been
highly effective. "The schools and libraries program has done a great deal
to strengthen our nation's networks of schools and libraries. Today, due in
no small part to the program, 99 percent of all public schools are connected
to the Internet."
[SOURCE: DC.Internet.com; AUTHOR: Roy Mark]
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2195701
BEYOND BAMBOOZLEMENT
[Commentary] "Before committing huge sums to new enterprises, schools need
to consider the likelihood of winning a major return on the investment,"
says author Jamie McKenzie. Though the consensus among Internet scholars is
that time spent on the Web by students is thoughtful and productive, the
combined threats of inadequate technology and misuse may hinder the value
that such technology can add to the learning environment. McKenzie cautions
school administrators against employing technology "for technology's sake,"
focusing instead on devices can be used for expanding worldviews, instilling
an affinity for collaborative problem-solving and enhancing reading, writing
and thinking skills. McKenzie concludes by listing 10 criteria that must be
met to justify edtech investment.
[SOURCE: From Now On; AUTHOR: Jamie McKenzie]
http://www.fno.org/apr03/bamboozlement.html
SPECTRUM
REGULATORS EXPAND AIRWAVES FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
In a 5-0 vote yesterday, the FCC moved to double the amount of spectrum
dedicated to first responder communication. Instead of the "slivers" of
unconnected bandwidth allowed under existing regulations, the larger chunk
of airwaves permit a wider range of broadband applications, such as video.
"The big lesson of September 11 was you have all of these people showing up
at a spot because of a national disaster and their devices couldn't
communicate," said FCC wireless chief John Muletta. The new rules would also
enable firemen to use helmet-mounted cameras to broadcast live feeds while
downloading building floor plans to a handheld device to find and rescue
people trapped in burning buildings, among other uses. It is not clear
whether less-funded public safety agencies could afford such high-tech
gadgets, though the hope is that they can use existing wireless devices.
[SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-04-24-airwaves_x.htm
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