BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY JULY 11, 2008
Sure, summer is here and life is easy, but the policy world continues to turn... For upcoming media policy events see http://benton.org/calendar
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Stop the new FISA
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
McCain Adviser: We're Outspending Obama Three-To-One On TV Ads
Obama Is Catching Up to McCain In Television-Ad Spending
Two campaign speeches, one JFK moment?
When Is An Ad Starring A Candidate Not About The Candidate?
OVERSIGHT/NOMINATIONS
Senate Democrats In No Rush To Confirm Cheney Deputy To Critical Commerce Post
Dingell, Markey: NTIA Not Prepared For Unredeemed DTV Coupons
OMB Rejects FCC Leased Access Rules
Greater Oversight of Universal Service Fund Needed
Broadcasting Board of Governors Nomination and Withdrawal
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC's Martin: Comcast Broke Network Neutrality Rules
Network Neutrality Debate Goes Online (of course)
Who Killed the Online Journalism Review and Will It Live Again?
QUICKLY -- NAB: Viewers Acting to Be DTV-Ready; FCC Plans White Space Device Field Tests; Frustration Continues for Leased-Access Programmers; Connecticut Judge Stands Pat On AT&T U-verse Service; Best Buy Adds Common Sense Media DVD Reviews; It’s All Over Now, Violet Blue; TWC Sells 80,000 SubscribersWomen break to front of tech
STOP THE NEW FISA
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Chris Hedges]
[Commentary] Journalist and author Hedges writes that if the sweeping surveillance law signed by President Bush on Thursday -- giving the U.S. government nearly unchecked authority to eavesdrop on the phone calls and e-mails of innocent Americans -- is allowed to stand, we will have eroded one of the most important bulwarks to a free press and an open society. This law will cripple the work of those of us who as reporters communicate regularly with people overseas, especially those in the Middle East. It will intimidate dissidents, human rights activists and courageous officials who seek to expose the lies of our government or governments allied with ours. It will hang like the sword of Damocles over all who dare to defy the official versions of events. It leaves open the possibility of retribution and invites the potential for abuse by those whose concern is not with national security but with the consolidation of their own power. He concludes, "[T]this law is not about keeping us safe, which can -- and should -- be done in a constitutional manner and with judicial oversight. It is about using terrorism as a pretext to permit wholesale spying and to silence voices that will allow us to maintain an open society."
http://benton.org/node/15155
* President Bush Signs FISA Amendments Act
http://benton.org/node/15151
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
MCCAIN ADVISOR: WE'RE OUTSPENDING OBAMA THREE-TO-ONE ON TV ADS
[SOURCE: TalkingPointsMemo, AUTHOR: Greg Sargent]
On A McCain conference call about the combined $94 million he and the republican National Committee have in cash on hand, campaign manager Rick Davis claimed that they were outspending the Obama campaign by a large margin. "We have spent up until last week probably over $10 million more than Obama has in the last two months on television advertising," Davis said, adding: "From April to this point, we've spent almost three times the amount of TV spending that Obama has." Is it true?
http://benton.org/node/15148
OBAMA IS CATCHING UP TO MCCAIN IN TELEVISION-AD SPENDING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Aaron Rutkoff]
In the three weeks since Barack Obama launched his first general-election television ad he has all but erased John McCain's three-month headstart in ad spending on the airwaves. The McCain campaign has spent more, with an estimated $15 million spent on TV since late March, according to figures compiled by TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group. But since June 20, Sen Obama has spent an estimated $11 million. The Obama campaign has increased ad spending to $650,000 a day, exceeding the $175,000 daily rate of the McCain team, according to media analyst Evan Tracey, the chief operating officer at CMAG. "At that speed, Obama will have caught up by next week," Mr. Tracey said.
http://benton.org/node/15153
TWO CAMPAIGN SPEECHES, ONE JFK MOMENT?
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR:]
Through the 2008 primary election season, two candidates -- Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican former governor Mitt Romney -- received more media attention about their faith than any of the other candidates combined. For both, the attention raised concerns about their religious identities and culminated in public speeches delivered at pivotal points in their campaigns.
http://benton.org/node/15147
WHEN IS AN AD STARRING A CANDIDATE NOT ABOUT THE CANDIDATE?
[SOURCE: TalkingPointsMemo, AUTHOR: Eric Kleefeld]
A new series of ads by the Oregon Democrats raises an interesting question: Is the state party trying to evade campaign finance rules by running so-called "issue ads" -- which ostensibly aren't supposed to be about the candidates -- that just so happen to star their nominee for Senate?
http://benton.org/node/15135
OVERSIGHT/NOMINATIONS
SENATE DEMOCRATS IN NO RUSH TO CONFIRM CHENEY DEPUTY TO CRITICAL COMMERCE POST
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
The White House’s selection of Neil Patel, a senior aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, to run a division of the Commerce Department that shapes telecom policy has languished for four months and is not expected to see Senate action. Several congressional and telecom insiders questioned how Patel, with relatively little communications experience, got the nod and at time when the acting administrator has received mostly positive reviews from Democrats and Republicans. Patel has no broadcast experience, though he previously served as assistant general counsel at an Internet service provider. He advises Vice President Cheney on several issues, including telecom policy. NTIA is overseeing a $1.5 billion coupon program designed to assist analog-dependent TV viewers. The next several months will be particularly risky because Congress would likely lower the boom if glitches strand millions of citizens without TV reception. The nomination is one of 189 pending in the Senate, most of which are not likely to be approved before Congress adjourns.
http://benton.org/node/15150
DINGELL, MARKEY: NTIA NOT PREPARED FOR UNREDEEMED DTV COUPONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Dingell-gram for Ms. Meredith Baker. House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and telecom Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) have sent National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Meredith Baker a letter suggesting that the NTIA's digital-to-analog convertor box coupon program has been mismanaged and is going to run out of money. The chairman want to know how NTIA will resolve a big problem: NTIA has $160 million to process and mail out 33.5 million $40 coupons. But millions of coupons are going unredeemed -- $3 million worth have already expired, according to the NTIA -- and the chairmen are concerned that there aren't administrative funds to process the re-cycling of those coupons for new requests.
http://benton.org/node/15149
OMB REJECTS FCC LEASED ACCESS RULES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The Office of Management and Budget has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission's new leased access rules violate the Paperwork Reduction Act, a law designed to minimize the burden of bureaucratic red tape on unregulated industries. OMB repeatedly faulted the agency for failing to take into account the additional costs, additional staffing, and risks to proprietary information that the rules would impose on cable operators. OMB, for example, invalidated the FCC's decision to reduce from 15 days to 3 days the amount of time the cable operators have to provide terms and conditions to would-be programmers. It also faulted the FCC for failing to demonstrate: 1) “[It had] taken reasonable steps to minimize the burden on [cable].” 2) “There are reasonable mechanisms in place to protect proprietary and confidential information." 3) “[It had] taken reasonable steps to minimize the burden on respondents.” The action by OMB was setback for leased access programmers that have been seeking better terms and conditions from cable operators. According to a cable attorney, the FCC has the authority to vote to overturn OMB's action, but such a move is considered unlikely because a federal appeals court in Cincinnati stayed all the rules in May.
http://benton.org/node/15146
GREATER OVERSIGHT OF THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND HIGH COST PROGRAM NEEDED
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The Government Accountability Office released a report questioning the Federal Communications Commission's oversight of the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) High Cost program, a multibillion dollar, nationwide program aimed at ensuring affordable access to communications services in largely rural areas. The GAO finds that USF funding is distributed in a manner that may cause disparities in the availability of telecommunications services in different rural communities. GAO found that to strengthen management and oversight of the program, the FCC should establish short-term and long-term performance goals and measures. GAO also determined that the FCC should implement mechanisms to ensure that expenditures are cost-effective. The GAO report was requested by Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI) and Joe Barton (R-TX), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Reps. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and John Shimkus (R-IL), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. The Members of Congress said the report highlights the need for a comprehensive review of the USF program.
http://www.benton.org/node/15142
BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS NOMINATION AND WITHDRAWAL
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
In January 2007, President Bush nominated Mark McKinnon to be a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for a term expiring August 13, 2009, a position he had already obtained in a recess appointment. On July 10, McKinnon's nomination was withdrawn and the President instead nominated Clifford D. May for the BBG slot. May is the President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a policy institute focusing on terrorism created two days following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. A veteran news reporter, foreign correspondent and editor (at The New York Times and other publications), he has covered stories in more than two dozen countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, China, Uzbekistan, Northern Ireland and Russia. He is a frequent guest on national and international television and radio news programs, providing analysis and participating in debates on national security issues. He writes a weekly column that is nationally distributed by Scripps Howard News Service and he is a regular contributor for National Review Online, The American Spectator and other publications. From 1997 to 2001, he served as the Director of Communications for the Republican National Committee. holds masters degrees from both Columbia University's School of Public and International Affairs and its School of Journalism. He earned his BA from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. In addition, he holds a certificate in Russian language and literature from Leningrad University.
http://www.benton.org/node/15141
COMCAST BROKE RULE BY BLOCKING INTERNET ACCESS, FCC CHAIR SAYS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: John Dunbar]
On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he will recommend that Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, be punished for violating agency Network Neutrality principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet. "The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers access to the Internet," Chairman Martin said. "We found that Comcast's actions in this instance violated our principles." He said Comcast has "arbitrarily" blocked Internet access, regardless of the level of traffic, and failed to disclose to consumers that it was doing so. Company spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice denied that it blocks Internet content or services and that the "carefully limited measures that Comcast takes to manage traffic on its broadband network are a reasonable part" of the company's strategy to ensure all customers receive quality service. Chairman Martin will circulate an order today recommending enforcement action against Comcast among his fellow commissioners, who will vote on the measure at an open meeting on August 1.
http://benton.org/node/15154
NETWORK NEUTRALITY DEBATE GOES ONLINE (OF COURSE)
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
On July 8, Comcast's Joe Waz wrote that Free Press wants to "punish Comcast for engaging in network management that Free Press believes violates the Federal Communications Commission’s Internet Policy Statement." But, he argued, FCC Commissioners have said the Internet Policy Statement is not enforceable, and the law is very clear on that basic point. On July 9, Free Press' Marvin Ammori responded saying, "We want to ensure that all Americans, not just big corporations and their lobbying gangs, have a seat at the table in policy debates. We also want to protect the free and open Internet that we have always enjoyed. And finally, we want to make sure that lawmakers punish any company that tries to illegally insert itself as gatekeeper between consumers and online content. Unfortunately for the cable giant, what Free Press and the public want is the exact opposite of what Comcast wants. Comcast wants to monopolize your Internet connection, block online competitors, and control what consumers do online. Comcast wants to turn the Internet into cable TV, where every Web site has to cut a special deal with them to get carried or else get blocked. And Comcast wants to be above the law while doing this."
http://benton.org/node/15140
WHO KILLED THE ONLINE JOURNALISM REVIEW AND WILL IT LIVE AGAIN?
[SOURCE: Media Shift, AUTHOR: Mark Glaser]
For more than 10 years, the Online Journalism Review was published by the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Southern California as a place to follow the struggles and triumphs in the nascent field of online journalism. But on June 16, editor Robert Niles posted a note to the site titled, Goodbye, explaining that USC was suspending publication of OJR and that he would be leaving the school. Why? The short answer is that the Annenberg School is going through a major transition, with a new dean, Ernest Wilson, and a new director of the journalism school (which lives within the overall school of communications), Geneva Overholser. They are reconsidering many programs, and want to rethink the way that OJR operates at the school. But there’s a larger story behind the rise and fall (and possible rebirth) of OJR, relating to academia and its own struggles putting online journalism into curriculum in a meaningful way.
http://benton.org/node/15139
QUICKLY
NAB: VIEWERS ACTING TO BE DTV-READY
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: ]
According to a new survey released today by the National Association of Broadcasters, 64 percent of U.S. households that rely exclusively on free, over-the-air television have already taken some type of action to prepare for the Feb. 17, 2009, switch to all-digital broadcasting. Those actions include either learning about or applying for a $40 TV converter box coupon provided by the federal government, as well as shopping for a DTV converter box.
http://benton.org/node/15143
FCC PLANS WHITE SPACE DEVICE FIELD TESTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Starting July 14, the Federal Communications Commission is launching field tests of "prototype" white-spaces devices -- laptops and smart radios that will share the spectrum with TV broadcasters if the FCC concludes that they do not interfere with digital-TV reception. The FCC has been testing the devices in its labs but it said Thursday that it was ready to start field-testing. The sites will be in suburban Maryland, where the FCC's test lab is also located, as well as in Washington (DC) and will include rural, residential and urban areas, as well as an airport and a sports and entertainment venue, like a theater.
http://benton.org/node/15144
FRUSTRATION CONTINUES FOR LEASED ACCESS PROGRAMMERS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The head of the Leased Access Programmers Association wrote Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin to express his continuing frustration with what he said is a lack of access to cable systems, specifically via Internet delivery of Internet-protocol-TV signals. LAPA president Charlie Stogner has asked the FCC to act on a petition for relief he filed over the issue of how a signal is delivered to the cable headend. Stogner pointed out that while some cable operators, including Comcast, don't charge for Internet delivery, others do, and at least one cable operator refused to accept an Internet-delivered signal at all. Stogner is concerned that a court's stay of new FCC leased access rules put that and other complaints in limbo.
http://benton.org/node/15145
CONNECTICUT JUDGE STANDS PAT ON AT&T U-VERSE SERVICE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
AT&T has failed to convince a federal judge in Connecticut to vacate a legal precedent declaring that its U-verse service is a cable service. The company petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut to declare as moot that court's 2007 ruling striking down a finding by the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control from 2006. The most recent AT&T motion asked the judge to amend her final judgment, arguing that the whole dispute became moot in October of last year when the Connecticut legislature approved its state franchising bill. The new legislation created video franchise regulation. That regulation did not rely on a legally defining U-verse in order for AT&T to qualify to deliver video in the state. But the court decided that while the state franchising law resolved the issue of franchising, there are “live issues” that will remain until the Federal Communications Commission or a court decides that elements of the Cable Act do or don't apply to AT&T's video service. Therefore, Judge Arterton refused to amend her previous rulings.
http://benton.org/node/15138
BEST BUY ADDS COMMON SENSE MEDIA DVD REVIEWS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Best Buy decided to add Common Sense Media reviews of TV shows and movies to the DVD section of BestBuy.com beginning this week. Best Buy already features Common Sense reviews of video games on the site. The DVD reviews will include information on violence, sex and profanity. Common Sense, the nonprofit group that advocates for parental oversight of children's media consumption, has also been pushing for a government- and industry-funded, broad-based media-education initiative.
http://benton.org/node/15137
IT'S ALL OVER NOW, VIOLET BLUE
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Joe Uchill]
What happens when a bog suddenly decides to remove all reference to someone and all the posts said person ever made on a site?
http://benton.org/node/15136
TWC SELLS 80,000 SUBSCRIBERS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Time Warner Cable said late Thursday that it has reached an agreement to sell systems in several non-strategic markets with about 80,000 subscribers to Windjammer Communications for an undisclosed sum. Windjammer was created specifically for the deal and consists of Boston private equity concern MAST Capital Management and Jupiter, Fla.-based small cable operator Communications Construction Services.
http://benton.org/node/15134
WOMEN BREAK TO FRONT OF TECH
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
Estimates of the number of female CEOs at high-profile tech companies are hard to come by, but they easily outnumber women CEOs on the Fortune 500 list. Fueling the growing ranks of C-level executives (CEO, chief operating officer, chief information officer ) are more engineering and computer science graduates. The number of female engineering graduates in 2005, the last year for which statistics are available, was nearly 13,200, up 8% from 2000. The number of female computer-science college graduates rose 7%, to 11,235, in the same time frame, according to the National Science Foundation.
http://benton.org/node/15152
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... and we are outta here. Thanks for your patience this week. Have a great, Cubs weekend.