BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2008
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Demand Free Press, Free Speech at Conventions
Thai Court Forces Premier From Office Over TV Cooking Show
Europe Takes Aim at Sexual Stereotyping in Ads
Zimbabwe bloggers shine a light on their troubled country
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Obama vs. McCain on media policy 2008
Governor Palin Is Asked To Release E-Mails
Don't be swept away by hype in the Palin campaign
Rural Virginia town goes high-tech, draws Obama
McCain Campaign Quietly Starts Buying Ad Time On The National Networks
AP Hits Palin for Not Taking Questions
Young Adults Overwhelmed By Election News Online, Study Says
DIGITAL TV
NAB: Wilmington Stations Receive 226 Calls
Wilmington Transition Issues: Programming Converter Boxes
Old antennas cause complaints in digital TV test
Border TVs Don't Speak Same Language On Analog Cut-Off
Digital Transition: Is The Industry Ready?
DIGITAL CONTENT
Comcast Wins Lottery on BitTorrent Appeal
Top Lawyer Is Selected As U.S. Mulls Google Suit
Communities need help finding information on the Web they can trust
NBC and Apple are back in tune
BROADCASTING/CABLE
FCC's Martin still takes no action on bundling
' 'Remote-Free TV' Debuts With Fox's 'Fringe'
Broadcasting Board of Governors Nominations Withdrawn
NAB To FCC: Don't Mandate Quiet Period
New York Investigates a Yardstick for Radio
WIRELESS
Sen Kohl Queries Cellular Execs On Pricing
Smartphone Sales Growth Hit By Slowing Economy
Sirius XM Having Trouble Paying Off Debt
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Consultant Backs Market-Based Broadband Policy
Terria seeks national broadband network 'monopoly'
Why Broadband Matters
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
DEMAND FREE PRESS, FREE SPEECH AT CONVENTIONS
[SOURCE: The Nation, AUTHOR: John Nichols]
[Commentary] Now that the Republican National Convention is done, the rush to get on with the business of the fall campaign makes it easy to neglect the serious civil liberties and freedom of the press concerns raised by the arrests that occurred in St. Paul during the convention. But what happened on the streets of St. Paul is just as important -- and just as troubling -- as what happened inside the city's Xcel Center. More than 800 people were rounded up by police forces. Many of those detained were, by all account, merely exercising their first amendment right to assemble in protest against their government -- or, in this case, their governing party. Of those arrested, roughly two dozen were working journalists. When security forces paid for with more than $50 million in US tax dollars detain reporters and photographers who step out of the cloistered confines of the convention hall to tell the full story of politics and protest in a convention city, it is not just journalism that is under assault. The Constitution, itself, takes a battering.
http://benton.org/node/16696
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THAI COURT FORCES PREMIER FROM OFFICE OVER TV COOKING SHOW
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Seth Mydans]
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was forced from office on Tuesday when a court ruled that he had violated the Constitution by accepting payments to appear on cooking shows while in office. His party said it would nominate Mr. Samak to succeed himself, an outcome that would seem to defy the spirit of the court ruling and to ensure that Thailand's political crisis would continue. Anti-government protesters cheered and wept when the verdict was read over radio and television, but there was no sign that they would end a two-week standoff in which they have blockaded the prime minister's office. The confrontation has hobbled the government, hit financial markets, damaged the country's vital tourist trade and raised fears of violence or a possible military coup.
http://benton.org/node/16699
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EUROPE TAKES AIM AT SEXUAL STEREOTYPING IN ADS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Doreen Carvajal]
In Madison Avenue's mind's eye, women are still preternaturally obsessed with the cleanliness of their kitchen floors, while men ruminate constantly about which shaving products will render them more attractive to the opposite sex. The European Parliament has set out to change this. Last week, the legislature voted 504 to 110 to scold advertisers for "sexual stereotyping," adopting a nonbinding report that seeks to prod the industry to change the way it depicts men and women.
http://benton.org/node/16698
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ZIMBABWE BLOGGERS SHINE A LIGHT ON THEIR TROUBLED COUNTRY
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Robyn Dixon]
With most of Zimbabwe's independent newspapers shut down by President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian regime, bloggers and cyberactivists fill the vacuum. It's a world peopled with intelligence agents from the old white-led Rhodesian government, pumping out news updates; fleeing journalists who have parachuted into the wide, blue freedom of the Internet; and emigres who left the country 10 or 15 years ago but can't get it out of their systems. But the most compelling blogs are from the people who have stayed home.
http://benton.org/node/16697
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MEDIA & ELECTIONS
OBAMA VS. MCCAIN ON MEDIA POLICY 2008
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Tim Wu]
[Commentary] Over the course of history, media and communications policies have sometimes proven the very mark of a government. The future of the Internet and the way Americans communicate will be shaped profoundly by the 2008 election. It will be a legacy for the victor. What are Sens McCain's and Obama's positions on how Americans communicate and get information -- and what role, if any, does government play in overseeing that process? Both campaigns have "tech plans" that include plenty of feel-good generalities. But behind them lie fundamental differences between the candidates and a rift between their main advisers. The essential difference lies in the view each candidate takes toward private power over the public media. McCain and his advisers put their faith in the private sector's ability to provide a full and healthy information environment, and regard most government intervention as counterproductive. Camp Obama, meanwhile, believes in the need for serious oversight over what it perceives as real potential for abuse. This philosophical divide will translate into real differences over the next four years.
http://benton.org/node/16695
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GOVERNOR PALIN IS ASKED TO RELEASE E-MAILS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Karl Vick]
Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) is being asked by a Republican activist to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public records request, including 40 that were copied to her husband, Todd. Palin had claimed executive privilege for documents copied to her husband, who is not a state employee, in responding to an open records request in June made by Andrée McLeod, an activist in Anchorage. The administrative appeal filed yesterday by McLeod's attorney, Donald C. Mitchell, argued that by copying Todd Palin on sensitive state correspondence, the governor and her aides shattered the privilege rightly afforded elected officials. "She has allowed Todd Palin -- who has not been elected by the people of Alaska, who is not a state employee -- to entangle himself apparently as he sees fit in the operations of the executive branch of the state government," Mitchell said. Todd Palin was frequently copied on e-mails relating to Alaska State Troopers and the union representing public safety employees, according to McLeod, who received four boxes of redacted e-mails in response to her request. At the time, both Sarah and Todd Palin were complaining to the state public safety commissioner about a disciplinary matter involving Sarah Palin's ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. Gov Palin also routinely does government business from a Yahoo address, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, rather than her secure official state e-mail address, according to documents already made public.
http://benton.org/node/16708
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DON'T BE SWEPT AWAY BY HYPE IN THE PALIN CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jerry Lanson]
[Commentary] Political campaigns of all stripes strive to "create their own realities." But Republicans have succeeded in turning the manipulation of myth into an art form. That's been evident this week as Rove protégé and Sen. John McCain's adviser Steve Schmidt has steadied the ship of Sarah Palin's rollout. First, he bullied the news media into submission. Then the campaign pushed an unrelenting portrayal of her as a maverick. If the public is to make sound decisions, to sort what's real from what's manufactured, the media must do their job with greater consistency and greater care. 1) The media should redouble efforts to unearth facts and spend far less time on speculation and titillation. 2) The media need to reexamine the meaning of journalistic objectivity. It is not to give equal weight and space to each side of an issue. It is to report fully and fairly. 3) The media should regularly explain what reporters do and why. Lanson concludes: "Only a vigilant media can keep Machiavellian calculations of contemporary campaigns from fooling enough people enough of the time to make such deceit the deciding factor in our elections."
http://benton.org/node/16707
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RURAL VIRGINIA TOWN GOES HIGH-TECH, DRAWS OBAMA
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The southwest Virginia town of Lebanon got an economic boost when two high-tech companies moved in -- making it an attractive site for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to bring his messages of hope and change. Many in economically distressed rural southwest Virginia earn a living mining coal or farming. But Lebanon's success at attracting high-tech industry has landed it in the Democrats' campaign spotlight. The high-tech industries in Lebanon are attracting politicians for now, but the town is hoping those industries attract more investment by businesses in the future.
http://benton.org/node/16706
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MCCAIN CAMPAIGN QUIETLY STARTS BUYING AD TIME ON THE NATIONAL NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Talking Points Memo, AUTHOR: Greg Sargent]
In an unusual move, the McCain campaign has quietly started buying ad time on the national networks, a strategy that for the most part hasn't really been pursued on a large scale in presidential campaigns for at least two decades. Since Friday, the first day after the GOP convention, the McCain campaign has purchased at least $500,000 worth of time on the national nets, with an eye towards advertising nationally during daytime TV shows, says Evan Tracey, who tracks ad buying for the Campaign Media Analysis Group. Among the shows McCain has bought time during, according to Tracey: The Price Is Right, Guiding Lights, and Days of Our Lives.
http://benton.org/node/16694
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AP HITS PALIN FOR NOT TAKING QUESTIONS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Sara Kugler]
Since being picked by Sen John McCain and nominated by the republican party, Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) has had little interaction with journalists. None of the candidates in this race has been so shielded from the media, so protected from any spontaneous situation, and Palin's unvarying remarks give the impression that she and her message are being tightly controlled. As before her convention speech, McCain's campaign is briefing Gov Palin for her first TV interview. Her only interaction with the media was a brief conversation with a small group of reporters on her plane Monday -- off the record at her handlers' insistence. Associated Press reporters were not on the plane, but an aide told the journalists on board that all Palin flights would be off the record unless the media were told otherwise. At least one reporter objected. Two people on the flight said the Palins greeted the media and they chatted about who had been to Alaska, but little else was said.
http://benton.org/node/16693
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YOUNG ADULTS OVERWHELMED BY ELECTION NEWS ONLINE, STUDY SAYS
[SOURCE: Northwestern University's Media Management Center]
Young adults often click away from 2008 election news online because they feel news sites bombard them with too much information and too many choices, according to a new study released by Northwestern University's Media Management Center. However, they do appreciate news sites that help them—and other new voters—understand the basics about the candidates, issues and election process. Among other research findings and recommendations: 1) Millennials prefer to get election news from and trust sites that are in the primary business of news. 2) They don't particularly like commenting about the news online or reading comments. 3) Attempts to infuse the news with social networking features, amateur content, humor and youth oriented content can backfire if they diminish the seriousness and professionalism young people expect from news Web sites.
http://benton.org/node/16692
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DIGITAL TV
NAB: WILMINGTON STATIONS RECEIVE 226 CALLS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the National Association of Broadcasters, the four major network-affiliate stations making the switch to all-digital broadcasting in Wilmington (NC) Monday received a total of 226 calls from viewers about the switch. Wilmington has an estimated 13,000 over-the-air, analog-only households -- the ones that would obviously be most affected by the end of analog broadcasts. The NAB said only one of the calls to the stations was from a viewer who was surprised by the switch, with the rest from viewers who had set up their DTV-to-analog converter boxes incorrectly, needed help adjusting their antennas or had other problems receiving a digital signal, and some who were still waiting to receive their $40 government subsidies for the boxes. In a release on the calls issued by the NAB, Andy Combs, general manager of WWAY-TV, said the lesson from those calls was that stations "need to urge their viewers to upgrade early so they can have their converter box ready to go and determine whether signal reception will be an issue in their household. Many reception issues are generally easy to resolve, but in some cases, in some areas, folks may need a better antenna. It's best to figure all of that out ahead of time."
http://benton.org/node/16691
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WILMINGTON TRANSITION ISSUES: PROGRAMMING CONVERTER BOXES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
The majority of trouble calls made by Wilmington residents dealing with the Sept 8 digital TV transition test were prompted because local viewers had not properly programmed the converter boxes they bought. Eleven communications majors from Elon University of North Carolina are helping with trouble calls to local broadcasters and at the Time Warner Cable call center in Wilmington. Most of the 130 calls handled by the students involved programming a converter box or repositioning an antenna. 50% of the callers were over-the-air only television viewers.
http://benton.org/node/16690
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OLD ANTENNAS CAUSE COMPLAINTS IN DIGITAL TV TEST
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: John Dunbar]
Problems with old-fashioned television antennas were the most common issue among residents of Wilmington, a city that volunteered to switch to digital broadcasting more than five months before the rest of the country. The troubles foreshadow the difficulties that viewers nationwide may face. It was clear that an ambitious public education campaign had paid off. Of the 172 calls that came in, only a few were from people who were unaware of the transition, said Connie Book, associate dean of the School of Communications at Elon and the lead professor of the research project. "Virtually everyone was aware," she said. "But being aware and doing something about it are two different things." Antenna problems were the No. 1 issue, Book said. "People were saying 'I'm not getting a picture' and they had a converter box," she said. "And we had to say 'your antenna is not powerful enough, or you don't have one, or it's pointed in the wrong direction, or the height needs to be raised.'"
http://benton.org/node/16705
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BORDER TVs DON'T SPEAK SAME LANGUAGE ON ANALOG CUT-OFF
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A group of English-language stations along the border with Mexico say they don't want the option of continuing to broadcast in analog for up to five years after the Feb. 17, 2009 switch to digital. That stand exposes a rift between Spanish-language and English-language stations on the border. The DTV Border Fix Act would allow qualified TV stations within 50 miles of the border to broadcast in analog until 2014. The bill would make the continued analog broadcasting optional, and has numerous caveats, including that the stations could not interfere with DTV stations, could not interfere with public-safety communications and could not prevent the auction of public spectrum. But one general manager says that the reality is that if some stations continue in analog, the rest will be under competitive pressures to do so as well, which would result in a confusing transition and additional expense by the stations who have to continue to simulcast. In a letter to the leadership of the House Commerce Committee, executives from almost a dozen stations say that allowing certain broadcasters to delay the transition for up to five years, as would the DTV Border Fix Act, "threatens to put viewers along the border in a state of limbo." The DTV Border Fix Act passed by voice vote in the Senate and is awaiting House action.
http://benton.org/node/16689
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DIGITAL TRANSITION: IS THE INDUSTRY READY?
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Diane Mermigas]
[Commentary] At the dawn of a new interactive age in which empowered consumers are reliably connected through nearly every electronic device but their TV sets, America's mass-media pastime is barely keeping up. Digital TV -- intended to open the door on interactive commerce and content -- is a transition in name only. The reality is that the majority of TV households will not have armchair interactive digital capabilities for some time. That means broadcasters that could use supplementary funds to offset as much as a 9% ad revenue decline in 2009 will not get it. Once the conversion is complete, just transmitting the same old TV signals in digital will not make the underlying interactivity available, which eventually will be the foundation for an entirely new economic business model. To accomplish that mission, producers of content and advertising will need to begin thinking, planning and executing in digital interactivity -- a process that can take years.
http://benton.org/node/16688
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DIGITAL CONTENT
COMCAST WINS LOTTERY ON BITTORRENT
[SOURCE: Tales from the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] The Panel on Multijurisdictional Litigation (PMJL) awarded the Comcast-BitTorrent Appeal to the DC Circuit. The DC Circuit has a reputation as being a pro-industry anti-regulatory bunch of judicial activists who don't give a squat about actual case law.
http://benton.org/node/16687
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TOP LAWYER IS SELECTED AS US MULLS GOOGLE SUIT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: John Wilke]
The Justice Department has quietly hired one of the nation's best-known litigators, former Walt Disney Co. vice chairman Sanford Litvack, for a possible antitrust challenge to Google's growing power in advertising. Litvack's hiring is the strongest signal yet that the US is preparing to take court action against Google and its search-advertising deal with Yahoo. The two companies combined would account for more than 80% of US online-search ads. For weeks, US lawyers have been deposing witnesses and issuing subpoenas for documents to support a challenge to the deal. Such efforts don't always mean a case will be brought, however. Litvack, who was the Justice Department antitrust chief under President Jimmy Carter, has been asked to examine the evidence gathered so far and to build a case if the decision is made to proceed.
http://benton.org/node/16686
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COMMUNITIES NEED HELP FINDING INFORMATION ON THE WEB THEY CAN TRUST
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O'Brien]
[Commentary] It's no secret that the landscape for news and information has shifted dramatically thanks to the Internet. Mostly, that's been a good thing as communities and those who live in them now have access to an unprecedented amount of news and information. But that tidal wave of data doesn't come without problems. Two prestigious institutions, the Knight Foundation and the Aspen Institute, want to do something about that and have teamed up to create the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. The commission is asking three big questions: 1) What are the information needs of communities in our American democracy? 2) What are the current trends affecting how community information needs are met? 3) What changes will ensure that community information needs will be better met in the future?
http://benton.org/node/16701
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NBC AND APPLE ARE BACK IN TUNE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Michelle Quinn]
NBC Universal ended its battle with Apple Inc. on Tuesday, restoring some of the most downloaded TV shows to the iTunes store. With the return of such series as "The Office," "Heroes" and "30 Rock," the companies ended a feud that erupted last September over Apple's insistence on a $1.99 price for all shows. Analysts said the two appeared to be meeting in the middle, with Apple agreeing to allow a little flexibility but not giving NBC carte blanche to change the prices of shows. The rift with NBC had been seen as a sign of Hollywood's fear that Apple was amassing too much power in digital media distribution.
http://benton.org/node/16700
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BROADCASTING/CABLE
FCC'S MARTIN STILL TAKES NO ACTION ON BUNDLING
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Ron Orol]
Roughly a year ago, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he would take action that would ban programmers from bundling channels they were selling to cable companies. But one year later, Chairman Martin hasn't introduced even a draft rule on the program bundling subject. On a Friday, conference call with reporters, Chairman Martin said not much was going on with the idea, which is known as wholesale programming unbundling. The quasi "a la carte" proposal would have been seen as a first step before Martin moved forward to require a full-out "a la carte" measure that would allow consumers to choose which channels they wanted, rather than the current system where individuals buy large packages of channels. That also, now seems unlikely.
http://benton.org/node/16682
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'REMOTE-FREE TV' DEBUTS WITH FOX'S 'FRINGE'
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
Fox will run a new program, "Fringe," with fewer ad breaks and charge more than usual for them. Fox will run "Fringe" with roughly half the standard amount of ads and network promos. "If there's one thing I believe will help TV in the future, it is finding ways to make advertising more relevant and to reduce clutter for consumers," said Kris Magel, exec VP-national broadcast director at Interpublic Group of Cos.' Initiative. "The more you can do that, the less they will seek to avoid it, and the less they seek to avoid it, the better they will remember it and the more it's worth."
http://benton.org/node/16681
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BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS NOMINATIONS WITHDRAWN
[SOURCE: The White House]
President George Bush (R) has withdrawn two nominations previously sent to the Senate for confirmation: 1) Joaquin F. Blaya, of Florida, to be a Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for a term expiring August 13, 2008 (Reappointment), which was sent to the Senate on October 18, 2007. 2) Dennis M. Mulhaupt, of California, to be a Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for a term expiring August 13, 2008, vice Blanquita Walsh Cullum, term expired, which was sent to the Senate on October 18, 2007.
http://benton.org/node/16679
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NAB TO FCC: DON'T MANDATE QUIET PERIOD
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The Federal Communications Commission shouldn't use the digital television transition next February to justify interfering in upcoming carriage negotiations between local TV stations and pay TV distributors, according to the National Association of Broadcasters. The NAB is fighting a cable industry proposal that would prevent local TV stations from pulling their signals from Dec. 31, 2008 to May 31, 2009 as a way of ensuring that carriage disputes don't interfere with the cutoff of analog TV signals on Feb. 17, 2009. "There is no chance that consumers will confuse a retransmission consent dispute that began in December or January with some kind of equipment failure or other snafu connected to the DTV transition in February," said Marsha MacBride, NAB's executive vice president of legal and regulatory affairs, in a Sept. 8 letter filed with the FCC. MacBride added that the FCC didn't have legal authority to stop TV stations from withholding signals from a cable or satellite TV company, regardless of the unique circumstances surrounding the DTV transition. "Regulatory interference in such negotiations was never contemplated by Congress, and is contrary to congressional intent," MacBride said.
http://benton.org/node/16704
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NEW YORK INVESTIGATES A YARDSTICK FOR RADIO
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
The New York attorney general's office said Tuesday that it was opening an investigation into the way that Arbitron, which measures audiences for radio stations, is deploying devices called personal people meters. The devices, which people carry with them, can pick up radio signals. Critics charge that Arbitron, which is switching over from a system in which people keep personal diaries of their radio listening, is not putting personal people meters in the hands of enough minority listeners, potentially skewing the ratings for minority-oriented radio stations. In a letter to Arbitron, which is based in New York City, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said he was worried that the new system was "neither reliable nor fair, and may have a dramatically negative impact on minority broadcasting in New York."
http://benton.org/node/16703
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WIRELESS
SEN KOHL QUERIES CELLULAR EXECS ON PRICING
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) wrote to executives of the four largest wireless telephone companies on Tuesday asking them to justify sharply rising rates for customers to send and receive text messages. Since 2005, the cost for a consumer to send or receive a text message over each service increased by 100 percent. The change "does not appear to be justified by rising costs in delivering text messages," Chairman Kohl wrote. "Text messaging files are very small, as the size of text messages are generally limited to 160 characters per message, and therefore cost carriers very little to transmit." He also expressed concern that it appears each of companies has changed the price at nearly the same time with identical increases.
http://benton.org/node/16683
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SMARTPHONE SALES GROWTH HIT BY SLOWING ECONOMY
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Adam Ewing]
Research firm Gartner said 32.2 million smartphones were sold in the second-quarter this year, a 15.7% increase from the year-earlier period, but flat compared to the first-quarter this year. The growth in sales of smartphones continues to slow, weighed by the weakening economy and slowing consumer demand. Last year's second-quarter smartphone sales saw robust growth of 55% on year. Smartphone sales made up 11% of total device sales in the quarter. The North America market grew 78.7% year on year during the quarter, making up for nearly 25% of the global smartphone sales.
http://benton.org/node/16680
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SIRIUS XM HAVING TROUBLE PAYING DEBT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Newly merged Sirius XM Radio said yesterday that it doesn't have enough cash to pay back the $300 million in debt due early next year but that it has not looked into selling its Northeast Washington building to raise money. Chief executive Mel Karmazin, addressing investors at Merrill Lynch's 2008 Media Fall Preview conference in Marina del Ray, Calif., yesterday, said that the credit market crisis has made it more difficult to raise funds but that he is confident that the satellite radio provider will resolve its debt troubles through bank financing. The company has more than $1.1 billion in debt that will come due in 2009, with $300 million in convertible senior notes due in February. Karmazin said the firm has been going through each line of expenses to cut costs and has found $425 million in savings, or $25 million more than previously expected. The savings have come from job cuts among the top executive ranks and sales and marketing staff. Other savings have come from merging programming and general and administrative expenses. Karmazin told analysts that regular radio "sucks" as an investment while the company he heads deserves more respect because of its growth prospects.
http://benton.org/node/16702
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
CONSULTANT BACKS MARKET-BASED BROADBAND POLICY
[SOURCE: TelecomWeb, AUTHOR: ]
Everyone's favorite telecom consultant Scott Cleland, president of Precursor LLC, is warning the telecom industry of "the dangers and unintended consequences of a more government- centric broadband policy." He's spotlighting what he calls "glaring flaws" in three pillar broadband assumptions that bias the broadband debate away from America's free-market success and toward the OECD's industrial policy orthodoxy. Here are the three "hidden biases" Cleland puts forth: 1) Denial that free-market competition works. 2) Denial that network utilization/cost matter in broadband policymaking. 3) Denial of wireless broadband competition and consumer demand for mobility. According to Cleland, the bottom line is this: "The case for a more government-centric national broadband policy depends on no one challenging its fragile pillar assumptions. Proponents know their 'straw man' argument is a superficially appealing, but substantively weak. Any rigorous inquiry into: progress measurement frameworks, network utilization/cost, or intermodal competition, will expose the obvious weakness of their policy argument."
http://benton.org/node/16685
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TERRIA SEEKS NATIONAL BROADBAND NETWORK 'MONOPOLY'
[SOURCE: The Australian, AUTHOR: Mitchell Bingemann]
The Australian government has not ruled out the possibility that the planned National Broadband Network could be run as a monopoly, effectively closing the door on competing broadband infrastructure investments. Telco consortium Terria yesterday said it would seek a guaranteed monopoly network if successful in its bid to build the network that would service 98 per cent of the nation. "Our proposition to the Government is that no party be allowed to expand the network and operate in competition to the national broadband network," said Terria bid manager Michael Simmons. Terria's announcement sparked the ire of rival bidder Telstra, which labelled the telco consortium as a "closet monopolist."
http://benton.org/node/16684
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WHY BROADBAND MATTERS
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
The Senate Committee on Commerce announced a Full Committee hearing on Why Broadband Matters, scheduled for Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.
The Committee will receive testimony regarding the consumer benefits of broadband service in areas such as education, job opportunities, telemedicine, and access to government resources.
http://benton.org/node/16678
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Happy Birthday, Cassidy!