OWNERSHIP
Critics: FCC Stacks Deregulation Deck
EchoStar, Hughes Ask FCC for Delay
Hispanic Reporters Seek Equality
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
House Approves Web Radio Royalty Deal
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Mobile Money Spinner for Women
OWNERSHIP
CRITICS: FCC STACKS DEREGULATION DECK
Last week, the FCC released a dozen economic studies that generally
supported the agency's intentions of loosening of broadcast ownership
limits. Critics quickly responded to the research, implying that FCC
coordinated the conclusions to favor deregulation. Mark Cooper, research
director for the Consumer Federation of America, said that an FCC attorney
who used the research to defend new deregulation against court challenges
would "get his brain handed to him." Although FCC chairman Michael Powell
set an April deadline for revising the ownership rules, fellow commissioner
Michael Copps insisted last week that the inconclusive nature of the
"bare-bones" studies makes the seven-month timetable too ambitious. He said
the FCC should hold field hearings across the country to inform a large
cross-section of Americans about the issue and better gauge public opinion.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
(http://www.tvinsite.com/broadcastingcable/index.asp?layout=story_stocks&art
icleid=CA250511&doc_id=103905&pubdate=10/07/2002)
ECHOSTAR, HUGHES ASK FCC FOR DELAY
EchoStar Communications Corp. and Hughes Electronics asked the FCC Monday to
delay a decision on their proposed merger, which would create the largest
pay-TV service in the country. The companies asked for an extension until
October 28 to discuss "major revisions" with the Justice Department, which
is reviewing the merger for antitrust implications. "There are many
important consumer benefits at stake, so we are asking the FCC not to rush
to judgment before the DOJ completes its review," EchoStar spokesman Marc
Lumpkin said. The companies have also asked FCC chairman Michael Powell to
conduct a public hearing on the matter.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Robert Gehrke]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56125-2002Oct7.html)
HISPANIC REPORTERS SEEK EQUALITY
Hispanic broadcasters in Chicago are fighting to be treated equally when it
comes to compensation in television. Currently, on-air employees and anchors
working for an NBC-owned, Spanish-language Telemundo station are paid a
median salary of $54,000. This contrasts with the $78,000 median salary
received by employees of NBC's English-speaking local affiliate. The
American Federation of Television of Radio Artists says it will ask
advertisers to boycott Telemundo affiliate unless parent NBC agrees to boost
pay and benefits for the Spanish-language TV station's reporters.
[SOURCE: Chicago Business, AUTHOR: Kelly Quigley]
(http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=6738)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
HOUSE APPROVES WEB RADIO ROYALTY DEAL
A last-minute change enabled the US House of Representatives to approve a
royalty-payment deal on Monday between small Internet broadcasters and the
music industry. The deal would allow Webcasters to pay a percentage of
revenue or expenses to artists and record labels whose songs they use,
rather than pay the flat rate set by the Library of Congress this summer.
Webcasters claimed that the rate, .07 cents per listener per song, could
drive many of them out of business, exceeding revenue from advertising or
other sources. Small Webcasters are defined as those who will have taken in
less than $1 million in total from 1998 until the end of 2002. Trade groups
for both sides expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-10-07-web-radio-update_x.
htm)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
MOBILE MONEY SPINNER FOR WOMEN
Technology is creating opportunities for many people in developing
countries, but one of the most exciting trends is empowering women to use
mobile phones and improve their livelihoods. Mobile phones in Gazipur -- a
village on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh -- are allowing women to
establish small businesses. Grameen women, as they are called, receive loans
from Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh NGO. The women then build local businesses
around their phone, such as offering communications services to residents in
their village. The mobile phone program allows women to earn money and send
their children to school, as well as earn more respect from family members.
"I can send my child to school which I couldn't before," said one program
participant. "I don't have to worry about going to a doctor as I [now] have
the money to pay him."
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2254231.stm)
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