Benton RSS Feed

Three items for next week: 1) on Wed the FCC will release the agenda for=20
its 12/15 meeting; 2) on the 9th, Commissioners Copps & Adelstein will=20
attend a forum on media ownership in MN (see link to agenda below); and 3)=
=20
the Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age=20
meets one week from today. For these and other upcoming media policy=20
events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

OWNERSHIP
Media Consolidation a Threat, Blethen tells Portland Audience
FCC's Powell Sees Long Road for Media Rules
Agenda for Media Concentration Meeting
Viacom to Buy Sacramento Station from Sinclair
North Dakota Radio Station to Clear Channel

PUBLIC TELEVISION
Mitchell Lays Out PBS Funding Initiative

CONTENT
Since When Does Conflict Turn Off the Networks?
The Nascar Nightly News: Anchorman Get Your Gun
Don't Expect the Government to Be a V-Chip
The Unreal World

CABLE
Powell: Regs Would Hike Modem Rates
Comcast Floats New Set-Top Deadline
Rural Consumers Require Greater Flexibility In
Choosing Television Programming

QUICKLY -- News about the Internet; TV Time, Unlike Child Care, Ranks High=
=20
in Mood Study

OWNERSHIP

MEDIA CONSOLIDATION A THREAT, BLETHEN TELLS PORTLAND AUDIENCE
According to Frank Blethen, board chairman of Blethen Maine Newspapers and=
=20
the Seattle Times, consolidation of media ownership threatens American=20
democracy because it saps investment in local journalism and stifles=20
controversial coverage that conflicts with corporate interests. Citizen=20
involvement policy making both at Congress and the FCC may be the only=20
remedy. Blethen offered his views as the featured speaker Wednesday at the=
=20
monthly breakfast meeting of the Portland Community Chamber. An outspoken=20
critic of media consolidation, Blethen is publisher and chief executive=20
officer of The Seattle Times and a fourth-generation newspaper owner. He=20
distributed a written list of what he considers principles for reclaiming=20
America's media. His first priority is to maintain current FCC rules,=20
including minority ownership requirements and public service obligations.=20
He also supports new legislation to ban companies from owning both=20
television stations and newspapers in the same market. Radio ownership=20
rules should be rolled back to 1996, when regulations were relaxed.
[SOURCE: Maine Today, AUTHOR: Tux Turkel tturkel( at )pressherald.com]
http://business.mainetoday.com/news/041202blethen.shtml

FCC'S POWELL SEES LONG ROAD FOR MEDIA RULES
FCC Chairman Michael Powell is predicting that it could take as long as=20
seven years for "reestablishment of both a framework and a national=20
consensus" on media ownership rules. The FCC attempted to loosen media=20
ownership regulation in 2003, but the new rules were challenged and then=20
rejected in court and later reversed by Congress. Andrew Schwartzman, the=20
lead attorney who persuaded the appeals court to put the relaxed media=20
rules on hold, said there already was a political consensus on what the=20
regulations should be. "The chairman's problem is he doesn't like it," he=20
said. "It is clear that the American public and a majority of Congress, if=
=20
not the leadership in the House, thinks only modest change is needed in=20
media ownership rules." "We believe there is a pressing need for a quick=20
resolution to broadcast ownership rules that hamstring the ability of local=
=20
radio and television stations to compete with giant cable and satellite=20
providers," spokesman Dennis Wharton said.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DtopNews&storyID=3D6981407
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-media3dec03,1,7403594...
ry?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business

AGENDA FOR MEDIA CONCENTRATION MEETING
Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein Thursday announced=
=20
the agenda for the forum on media concentration to be held in St. Paul (MN)=
=20
on December 9. The hearing will be organized into two panels - "Local News=
=20
and Information," and "Media Diversity." After the panels, there will be=20
an opportunity for members of the general public to make comments. The=20
purpose of the hearing is to give citizens outside of Washington, DC, an=20
opportunity to voice their opinions about media consolidation and to offer=
=20
comments on how the agency can develop protections that provide citizens=20
with viewpoints from a diversity of sources and enhance the marketplace of=
=20
ideas.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-254939A1.doc

VIACOM TO BUY SACRAMENTO STATION FROM SINCLAIR
Viacom has agreed to purchase KOVR-TV, the CBS affiliate in Sacramento (CA)=
=20
from the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $285 million. With UPN-affiliated=20
KMAX-TV, the purchase gives Viacom its 9th duopoly. The station, the only=20
one owned by Sinclair on the West Coast, produces local news programs from=
=20
early-morning through late-night. It is expected to be a good fit with=20
KMAX, which has five hours of local news on weekdays and four hours on=20
weekends. Sacramento is the 19th-largest TV market in the country.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Michele Greppi]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D6846

NORTH DAKOTA RADIO STATION TO CLEAR CHANNEL
Commissioners Copps and Adelstein respond to Clear Channel's acquisition of=
=20
KDAM(FM), Hope, North Dakota: The FCC approved Clear Channel's acquisition=
=20
of a radio station in a market in which Clear Channel already controls over=
=20
50% of the market and Clear Channel and the next largest owner together=20
control over 90%. Given this extreme level of market concentration, we=20
cannot support grant of this transfer absent additional information on the=
=20
public interest benefits of the transaction. Yet, here, the majority has=20
not even considered the public interest benefits or harms. We are troubled=
=20
by the trend toward greater and greater consolidation of the media,=20
particularly in smaller radio markets, and this Commission's acceptance of=
=20
such levels of concentration with hardly any analysis. For a robust=20
marketplace of ideas to survive, every community deserves to have a=20
diversity of sources of information available to its members - not just=20
those who live in the largest cities. We find that the amount of=20
concentration at issue here is potentially very harmful to competition, to=
=20
the listening public and to America's deeply held values of localism and=20
diversity.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-232A2.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-232A1.doc

PUBLIC TELEVISION

MITCHELL LAYS OUT PBS FUNDING INITIATIVE
Speaking at The Future of Public Television conference in Chicago, Pat=20
Mitchell, president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service, said=20
Thursday her organization is launching the Enhanced Funding Initiative to=
=20
help develop new sources of funding and increase revenues in a diverse=20
media market. Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and former Netscape CEO James=
=20
Barksdale will lead the effort with the National Policy Committee of PBS's=
=20
board overseeing the effort. It will include the Corporation for Public=20
Broadcasting, the Association of Public Television Stations and National=20
Public Radio and seek input from public interest groups and other=20
interested parties. Participants will review research and gather=20
information on various approaches to enhancing funding for public=20
television, including the feasibility of building a federal trust fund=20
based on the proceeds of early-returned analog spectrum from public=20
television stations to add to the current federal funding mix. The results=
=20
of the meetings will be compiled into a report to PBS's National Policy=20
Committee that will analyze current funding models, examine potential=20
solutions for bolstering funding and describe how such a proposal would be=
=20
executed. The process will start this month and run for three to six months.
John Lawson, president and CEO of the Association of Public Television=20
Stations (APTS) also spoke at the conference. In his address, titled "DTV:=
=20
Public Television's Second Chance," Lawson laid out his vision of the=20
unique role that digital technology must play in the future of all public=20
television stations. Whether it is through the provision of greater=20
programming services to communities through multicasting, or the potential=
=20
to generate new streams of revenue through datacasting, Lawson encouraged=20
public television stations to embrace digital technology. Lawson stressed=20
the importance of the local public television station, working with their=20
producers at the local level and PBS nationally, to develop digital=20
content, particularly in education, to renew public television stations'=20
missions after the digital conversion. After his remarks, Lawson was joined=
=20
in a panel discussion by Joe Bruns (WETA), Sherri Hope Culver (WYBE), James=
=20
Pagliarini (TPT), Sandra Session-Robertson (WCEU) and Dan Schmidt (Network=
=20
Chicago). The station leaders discussed the innovative ways their stations=
=20
are meeting the needs of their local communities.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Christopher Lisotta]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D6844
For more information on the Future of Public Television conference which=20
continues today see:
http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/pbs/

CONTENT

SINCE WHEN DOES CONFLICT TURN OFF THE NETWORKS?
[Commentary] A UCC minister responds to the decision by television networks=
=20
not to run a church ad welcoming homosexuals and other minorities. If=20
advocacy is truly the objection, then ads from the armed services should=20
also be banned because recruitment of soldiers is clearly advocacy for war,=
=20
she writes. Shockley believes the networks should either let the church buy=
=20
the time to welcome people who feel excluded from some Christian churches=20
or send news crews to UCC's 6,000 churches that openly accept gays and=20
lesbians. "To neither cover us as news nor allow us to buy time because=20
we're too controversial is to deny us our freedom of speech and our freedom=
=20
of religion." Right-wing/fundamentalist Christianity has so dominated the=20
media that many Americans don't believe liberal/progressive Christianity=20
even exists. The fundamentalist message is the de facto Christian message=20
because such groups have the money to not only buy airtime but to have=20
their own shows. And every time Jerry Falwell blames gays or feminists for=
=20
society's ills, he shows up on the news.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Madison Shockley, United Church of=
Christ]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-shockley3dec03,1,...
899.story?coll=3Dla-news-comment
(requires registration)

THE NASCAR NIGHTLY NEWS: ANCHORMAN GET YOUR GUN
When TV news organizations start repositioning themselves to pander to=20
Nascar dads and "moral values" voters, it's a problem for everyone. There's=
=20
a war on. TV remains by far the most prevalent source of news for=20
Americans. We need honest information to help us navigate, not bunkum=20
skewed to flatter one segment of the country, whatever that segment might=
be.
[SOURCE: New York Times 12/5, AUTHOR: Frank Rich]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/arts/05rich.html?oref=3Dlogin&oref=3Dl...
(requires registration)

DON'T EXPECT THE GOVERNMENT TO BE A V-CHIP
[Commentary] As one deeply suspicious of government involvement in the=20
regulation of content, I understand and often agree with those who stand up=
=20
for the cherished value of free speech. But as a parent, I respect the=20
desire of the American people for a minimum level of decency on the public=
=20
airwaves - particularly where their children are concerned. The often=20
unenviable task of striking a balance between these two competing values=20
falls to the Federal Communications Commission. Context remains the=20
critical factor in determining if content is legally indecent. That context=
=20
and the specific facts of each program are reasons the government can't=20
devise a book of rules listing all the bad stuff. Further the=20
Communications Act expressly forbids the FCC from banning a program before=
=20
broadcast, and any such effort might very well run afoul of the First=20
Amendment. If one slices through the rhetoric, you'll find that most=20
opponents of the agency's strong enforcement efforts believe that the=20
government simply should not impose any decency standard at all. Berating=20
citizens who believe in values and reasonable limits is insulting and=20
polarizing and distracts from the legitimate issues of this policy debate.=
=20
Critics of the law should instead focus their efforts on changing the law,=
=20
if that's what they want. Until then, the American people have a right to=20
expect that the FCC will continue to fulfill its duty of upholding the law,=
=20
while being fully cognizant of the delicate First Amendment balance that=20
must be struck.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Michael Powell]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/03/opinion/03powell.html
(requires registration)

THE UNREAL WORLD
The formula for every successful reality show is an easily understandable=20
premise steeped in some social belief that provokes an audience reaction of=
=20
=93Oh, my god! =85What=92s wrong with you?=94 Viewers may be drawn to=
reality TV by=20
a sort of cinematic schadenfreude, but they continue to tune in because=20
these shows frame their narratives in ways that both reflect and reinforce=
=20
deeply ingrained societal biases about women, men, love, beauty, class and=
=20
race. The genre teaches us that women categorically =93are=94 certain things=
=97=20
for example, no matter their age, they=92re =93hot girls,=94 not self- aware=
or=20
intelligent adults.
[SOURCE: Ms. Magazine, AUTHOR: Jennifer Pozner ]
http://www.msmagazine.com/fall2004/unrealworld.asp

CABLE

POWELL: REGS WOULD HIKE MODEM RATES
Applying traditional phone-industry rules to cable-modem service would=20
raise consumer rates by about 10% or $1 billion, predicts FCC Chairman=20
Michael Powell. His comments came one day before the U.S. Supreme Court is=
=20
scheduled to decide whether to hear Brand X Internet Services vs. FCC, a=20
case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that threatens=20
cable-modem service with traditional telecommunications obligations such as=
=20
open access to Internet-service providers, universal-service payments and=20
interconnection with other telecommunications carriers. Consumer groups and=
=20
various ISPs support the Brand X ruling, saying that it would expose=20
cable-modem service to greater competition and make broadband access more=20
affordable.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA484860.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)

COMCAST FLOATS NEW SET-TOP DEADLINE
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to ban cable-operator=20
distribution of new integrated digital and hybrid boxes after July 2006,=20
but cable giant Comcast has a proposal that would give cable operators=20
until at least 2008 to discontinue the deployment of set-tops. An=20
integration ban would mean that all new cable boxes except analog-only=20
units would need to support CableCards -- devices inserted into set-tops=20
that store the conditional-access codes to guard against signal theft.=20
Comcast and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association claimed=20
that the integration ban would raise the price of set-tops. They also=20
argued that the ban is unnecessary because the market offers=20
CableCard-enabled digital-TV sets that receive one-way cable programming=20
without set-tops.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA484803.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)

RURAL CONSUMERS REQUIRE GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN CHOOSING TELEVISION=
PROGRAMMING
The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) is concerned=
=20
that a study conducted by the FCC=92s Media Bureau on the sale of video=20
programming services discounts the possibility of customers being able to=20
choose a la carte video programming. NTCA believes that certain consumers=20
could benefit from having the option to subscribe to a la carte services.=20
NTCA=92s members provide cable TV and other video programming services to=20
customers in rural areas. However, small providers lack negotiating=20
leverage and are forced to buy packages that do not reflect their=20
customers=92 preferences. In addition, as smaller providers have limited=20
capacity on their networks, having to purchase bundled packages that may=20
include unwanted programming restricts their flexibility in other program=20
offerings. According to the Media Bureau=92s "Report on the Packaging and=20
Sale of Video Programming Services to the Public," consumers who subscribe=
=20
to more than nine channels likely would face an increase in their monthly=20
bills under an a la carte regime. As such, the price increase would be felt=
=20
by the average consumer, who watches approximately 17 different channels,=20
including broadcast stations, the study concludes. But NTCA contends that=20
these results, in fact, may indicate that those whose viewing preferences=20
are more focused actually could see a decrease in expenditures, if allowed=
=20
to subscribe to video programming on an a la carte basis.
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications Cooperative Association Press Release]
http://www.ntca.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?content_item_id=3D2768&folder_id=3D298

QUICKLY

Domain Names Body Meets with Full Agenda
The Internet Corporation on Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is meeting=20
in Cape Town, South Africa, with a full agenda framed by ICANN's newly=20
released strategic plan and the recent formation of a UN working group on=20
Internet governance with potential implications for ICANN.
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology]
(http://www.cdt.org)

US netizens: white, wealthy and full of it - shock!
A survey by the US Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and=
=20
Information Administration shows that the Internet has entrenched the=20
divide between rich and poor, and the races. Statistics reveal an Internet=
=20
that's overwhelmingly white, wealthy and urban. The pace of Internet=20
adoption has tapered off to a trickle, with a substantial part of the=20
population not interested in the Internet at any price.
[SOURCE: The Registar, AUTHOR: Andrew Orlowski]
http://www.theregister.com/2004/12/01/us_doc_internet_survey/

Nielsen/NetRatings estimates that there are now over 100 million Internet=20
users in Europe and more than half connect using broadband.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3DZTAEC0O3XXAVICRBAE...
Y?type=3DtechnologyNews&storyID=3D6979104

Telecom Experts Suggest Pace of Technological Change & Competition Makes=20
Existing Laws Passe
A report released Wednesday by the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC)=20
reveals that some regulators believe that a new paradigm for Internet=20
Protocol (IP)-based networks and applications providers is best left to=20
market forces with minimal regulation at the federal and state levels.=20
Officials note that important social policies such as E-911, universal=20
service, and access for law enforcement and people with disabilities should=
=20
be ongoing topics of interest for regulators.
[SOURCE: New Millennium Research Council Press Release]
http://www.newmillenniumresearch.org/news/mr12-1-04.pdf

TV Time, Unlike Child Care, Ranks High in Mood Study
A team of psychologists and economists is reporting today what many=20
Americans know but do not always admit, especially to social scientists:=20
that watching television by oneself is a very enjoyable way to pass the=20
time, and that taking care of children - bless their little hearts - is=20
often about as much fun as housework.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/03/health/03mood.html
(requires registration)
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here (to watch TV and kids!). Thanks for reading this=20
far -- have a great weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

TODAY'S QUESTION: Is it really a good idea to give phone companies the
right to deny municipalities the ability to deploy their own networks? (see
first story below)

TELECOM POLICY
Law Restricts Municipal Wi-Fi Networks
TV Stations Urge Go-Slow Approach on Wi-Fi
NCTA Raises TV-Interference Concerns
Nation's Advocates Propose Wireless Consumer Protections
Bright House Seeking 'Naked' DSL Ruling
FCC Should Embrace 'Dynamic Deregulation'

MEDIA POLICY
APTS Applauds the Continued Growth in Federal Support
for Public Television
PBS Deal With Comcast Seen as Militating Against
Mission & Values
Fighting FCC on Indecency
TV Executives Urge Taking Wider View of Family Friendly Programming
EchoStar Says It Can't Provide Local Emergency Alerts
Libel Case Could Chill Speech Online
The Fight for Docu-Democracy

WORTH A LISTEN? -- Digital Generations; Payola Persists

FROM THE BLOGSPHERE -- Pegasus News; Media as Election '04 Loser

TELECOM POLICY

LAW RESTRICTS MUNICIPAL WI-FI NETWORKS
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) said late Tuesday night that he had
signed into law a large telecommunications bill placing severe restrictions
on the ability of cities and towns to offer telecommunications services, an
item that was heavily lobbied by Verizon and other big telephone companies
in similar legislation across the country. The legislation signed by Gov.
Rendell gives phone companies the right to deny municipalities the ability
to deploy their own networks, which could hinder the deployment of Wi-Fi
networks throughout the state. Gov. Rendell said that the bill's provision
limiting municipal competition was a "problem." However, he pointed to
Verizon's agreement to waive its right to stop Philadelphia's plan for a
Wi-Fi network, and said the state would "work with other municipalities on
projects that they have established or propose to establish in order to
ensure that, to the extent that they are now viable, they will also have
the opportunity to succeed." The legislation also contains a potentially
lucrative provision giving phone companies like Verizon large incentives to
promise to modernize their networks. Some have criticized that provision
since companies would be eligible for the incentives after filing the
modernization plans, but before the upgrades have actually taken place.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110185892280287396,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23826-2004Nov30.html

TV STATIONS URGE GO-SLOW APPROACH ON WI-FI
Public and commercial broadcasters are asking the FCC to delay plans to let
wireless local area computer networks (known as Wi-Fi) and other unlicensed
communications devices operate on vacant TV channels. The FCC proposal
"would produce many detrimental and unintended consequences to America's
free, over-the-air television service but fails to present any meaningful
method for resolving such problems," the National Association of
Broadcasters wrote in comments filed with the FCC Tuesday. "The public
would be ill-served by its adoption." The Association for Public Television
Stations agrees with that assessment. Until broadcasters have picked their
permanent channels and real-world testing of the devices proves that there
will be no interference, introduction of the new service puts at risk the
billion-plus dollars that public stations have invested in construction of
digital television facilities. The Wi-Fi Alliance, an association that
certifies interoperability of wireless local area network products,
however, is eager for the FCC to move forward. It asked the Commission to
allow telecom companies great leeway in choosing which
interference-mitigation techniques they believe work the best rather than
forcing a particular method on the industry.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA484384.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

NCTA RAISES TV-INTERFERENCE CONCERNS
Allowing unlicensed wireless-Internet providers to share broadcast-TV
spectrum could disrupt cable-system access to TV stations that have
mandatory carriage rights, the National Cable & Telecommunications
Association said Tuesday. NCTA said the FCC's proposal, particularly in
urban areas, could foster so much congestion that "an electromagnetic
cloud" could emerge, "making it nearly impossible to identify a single
source of interference in the presence of many such sources." Each TV
market is allocated 402 megahertz of spectrum -- enough bandwidth to
accommodate 67 TV stations. But the average consumer has access to about
seven stations due to market conditions and interference issues that
require channel spacing among stations.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA484376.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

NATION'S ADVOCATES PROPOSE WIRELESS CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
An organization of the nation's consumer utility advocates believes that
over 160 million wireless customers need to be protected from unscrupulous
advertising, poor service and anti-competitive practices. The National
Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) unanimously passed
a resolution earlier this month at its annual meeting in Nashville,
Tennessee, calling for state and federal action to adopt and enforce
service quality and consumer protection standards for wireless companies.
NASUCA believes that the important areas that should be applied to all
wireless companies and made mandatory include: 1) Clear and uniform
disclosure of all rates and charges at the point where a consumer is
purchasing a service plan. Customers need to know up front about any
activation, airtime, roaming, long-distance and early termination fees; 2)
Providing customers with the full terms and conditions of service. This
information should include equipment return, cancellation and replacement
policies, contract extension guidelines and a method for agreeing or
declining inclusion in directory assistance listings; 3) Itemized billing
to clearly separate company-imposed charges from those fees and taxes
mandated or authorized by a federal, state or local government. Customers
need the ability to make educated decisions, including knowing which fees
are comparable; 4)Distribution of accurate calling area maps and disclosure
of coverage gaps; and 5) Details of how emergency 9-1-1 services are
accessed, including variations from customers' expectations from
traditional home telephone service.
[SOURCE: Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates]
http://www.nasuca.org/newsroom/PR-wireless%20resolution.doc

BRIGHT HOUSE SEEKING 'NAKED' DSL RULING
Cable companies are asking the FCC to direct every incumbent phone company
"to port numbers without delay and to offer 'naked' DSL, i.e., DSL on a
line without voice service also on it." Doing so would make it easier for
cable companies to sell their Internet telephone services to current phone
company customers. Verizon and BellSouth require customers of their DSL and
local-phone services to drop both if the customer just wants to change
local-phone providers and will not transfer customers' telephone numbers to
new phone providers until both local service and DSL are dropped.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA483829.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

FCC SHOULD EMBRACE 'DYNAMIC DEREGULATION'
Randolph May, senior fellow with The Progress & Freedom Foundation, has
developed a new scorecard designed to measure whether the Commission is
acting in a deregulatory, pro-competitive manner. To act consistently with
the "Dynamic Deregulation Vision" (last seen on Batman), May set four
benchmarks for the FCC; it should: 1) finish freeing broadband facilities
from unbundling obligations, 2) remove local switching from the unbundling
requirements, 3) remove high capacity loops from the unbundling regime, and
4) take specific actions to ensure prompt implementation of its UNE decision.
[SOURCE: Progress and Freedom Foundation Press Release]
http://www.pff.org/news/news/2004/112904troscorecard.html

MEDIA POLICY

APTS APPLAUDS THE CONTINUED GROWTH IN FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC TELEVISION
In the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005, funding for
public broadcasting grew by more than $11 million, with the most
significant increases coming in the form of federal support for digital
infrastructure. While advance funding for the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting remained steady at $400 million in FY 2007, pre-rescission
funding for the new satellite system to interconnect local stations was $40
million, up from $9.9 million the previous year. Congress allocating $40
million to CPB to support the digital transition of local stations, $21
million for the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), and
$10 million for public television stations serving rural populations to
build out their digital infrastructure. Congress also provided
pre-rescission funding levels of $23.5 million for Ready To Learn, an
increase of nearly $1 million, and $14.4 million for Ready To Teach, two
important educational programs that support curriculum-based content and
community-based outreach.
[SOURCE: Association of Public Television Stations Press Release]
http://www.apts.org/news/approps05.cfm

PBS DEAL WITH COMCAST SEEN AS MILITATING AGAINST MISSION AND VALUES
Public TV stations are mostly ambivalent about PBS's decision to lend its
name to a commercial children's channel being launched in partnership with
Comcast, HIT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop. Comcast and HIT would
invest $75 million in the channel, set for launch in fall 2005. PBS and
Sesame Workshop will put up no cash but will get 15% equity each for the
PBS brand, broadcast cross-promotion and goodwill. But some stations fear
the unabashedly commercial nature of the venture will give lawmakers on
Capitol Hill and in the states an excuse to drastically cut or even
eliminate funding for public broadcasting. PBS COO Wayne Godwin says some
producers were ready to take there shows to the new network with or without
PBS, but now PBS and Sesame Workshop are in position to shape the
programming philosophy of the new channel and have influence over the kinds
of commercials that will be show [Arthur juice box, anyone?]. Critics
include Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting which warns that
commercialism "corrupts" PBS's mission.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Dinesh Kumar]
(Not available online)

FIGHTING FCC ON INDECENCY
Has the FCC, in its string of rulings this year, confined itself to the
powers defined by the Supreme Court in FCC vs. Pacifica (the 1978 case that
featured George Carlin and the prohibition of seven dirty words)?
Broadcasters believe the agency has exceeded its bounds. In Pacifica, the
court had reprimanded the Pacifica Foundation for allowing Carlin's riff to
play on its New York radio station during the afternoon when a young boy
was listening. The high court in a 5-to-4 vote affirmed the agency's power
to regulate indecent broadcasts. The court's majority emphasized "the
narrowness of our holding." Its dissenters expressed fear the court had set
broadcasting on a path toward airing "only what is fit for children." The
high court said broadcasting has limited free-speech protections only for
two reasons: It is "uniquely pervasive" because it reaches into homes, and
it is "uniquely accessible to children, even those too young to read."
There is little doubt the environment surrounding broadcasters has changed
since the ruling.
[SOURCE: MediaWeek.com, AUTHOR: Todd Shields]
http://www.mediaweek.com/mediaweek/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
There's more on the recent indecency campaign at:
The Great Indecency Hoax
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/arts/28rich.html?oref=login
(requires registration)

TV EXECUTIVES URGE TAKING WIDER VIEW OF FAMILY FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Family Friendly
Programming Forum (FFPF), and the National Council for Families & TV held
the Family Friendly Programming Symposium on Tuesday at which broadcast
executives warned that care should be given when seeking programming with
family oriented appeal because the definition of family has changed. They
also noted that although many people say there needs to be more safe,
family programming on the air, when asked if they would watch it, the
answer is no.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Valerie Milano]
(Not available online)

ECHOSTAR SAYS IT CAN'T PROVIDE LOCAL EMERGENCY ALERTS
EchoStar said it can't receive, process and relay emergency alerts to the
550 Emergency Alert System (EAS) local areas. "The difficulties of
obtaining this capability are likely insurmountable," EchoStar said in
reply comments on the FCC's review of EAS. The company wouldn't specify the
costs of such a system, an EchoStar
spokesman said, saying only that the price in resources and bandwidth would
be "nearly inestimable."
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)

LIBEL CASE COULD CHILL SPEECH ONLINE
Last week the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil
Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU) filed a friend-of-the-court
brief in a case that could undermine a federal statute protecting the free
speech of bloggers, Internet service providers, and other individuals who
use the Internet to post content written by others. The case in question is
a libel suit filed against women's health advocate Illena Rosenthal after
she posted a controversial opinion piece on a Usenet news group. The piece
was written not by Rosenthal, but by Tim Bolen, a critic of plaintiff Terry
Polevoy. In their brief, EFF and the ACLU argue that Section 230 of the
federal telecommunications Act of 1996 protects Internet publishers from
being held liable for allegedly harmful comments written by others. Similar
attempts to eliminate the protections created by Section 230 have almost
universally been rejected, until a California Court of Appeals radically
reinterpreted the statute to allow lawsuits against non-authors. The case
is being reviewed by the California Supreme Court
[SOURCE: Electronic Frontier Foundation]
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_11.php#002132

THE FIGHT FOR DOCU-DEMOCRACY
[Commentary] Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 demonstrated that there is a
large global market for dissenting perspectives that can compete for
mainstream movie goers and attention. Beyond the proliferation and success
of compelling well made films there is a deeper meaning to this phenomenon
that directly impacts on the media and democracy fight. The docu-explosion
is part of the emergence of an oppositional culture responding to the
decline of quality in our media system, the uniformity of its approach to
news and information and growing distrust it has spawned.
[SOURCE: Mediachannel.org, AUTHOR: Danny Schechter]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert293.shtml

WORTH A LISTEN?

DIGITAL GENERATIONS
Monday: A report on how some rural communities are installing their own
high-speed Internet connections. New research indicates that speed is the
determining factor in who uses the Internet.
Tuesday: Cell phones, PDAs, computers and MP3 players may seem a bit
confusing to the average adult but for kids born in the digital age, these
devices are second nature. A 13-year old and his family talk about what it
means to grow up as a part of the Net Generation.
[SOURCE: Morning Edition]
http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3&prgDate=29-Nov-2004
http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3&prgDate=30-Nov-2004

PAYOLA PERSISTS
In 1960, legendary disc jockey Alan Freed was indicted for accepting music
industry money in exchange for radio air time. The scandal sparked
anti-"payola" legislation, but loopholes have persisted. Last month, New
York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer launched an investigation into modern
forms of pay-for-play by the major record labels. Brooke speaks with New
Yorker columnist James Surowiecki about "spot buys" and the gaming of the
Billboard charts.
[SOURCE: On the Media]
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=raotm/otm112604c.ra
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_112604_payola.html

FROM THE BLOGSPHERE

A LOCAL MEDIA REVOLUTION?
A new local news company called Pegasus News is aiming to reinvent local
market content and advertising, according to its Website. The company says
its beta test will take place in Dallas, Texas in late 2005 and eventually
launch in every top-25 U.S. market with a monopoly newspaper. "Within a
month of launch, the most broadly interesting and immediate content from
that site will be published in a daily tabloid print newspaper," the site
says. The core principles of Pegasus News are: 1) Local news and
information is aggressively, inherently, totally local, 2) Users have so
many choices of medium, that we cannot afford not to distribute content
through as many media as technologically possible, 3) Media is a
conversation, not a monologue, 4) Engaged consumers are better than paying
consumers, and 5) All products and services are as precise and precisely
priced as technology will allow.
http://blog.pegasusnews.com/
[SOURCE: CyberJournalist.net]
http://www.cyberjournalist.net/

Writer Says Media is Election's Big Loser: 21 Times
Mega bloggers and syndicated columnists said it. College students and
ranting professors said it. Bob Dole said it. The real loser, the big loser
in '04 was The Media.
[SOURCE: PressThink]
http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Back to business in DC with comments due this week on broadcast localism
and unlicensed use of spectrum; forums on universal service and
intellectual property; and the Supreme Court considering cable modems and
media ownership rules. For these and other upcoming media policy events,
see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

MEDIA, ELECTIONS & GOVERNING
$1.6 Billion Spent on Political TV Ads in 2004
In a Sign of the Times, Ukrainian TV Interpreter Makes Bold On-Air Move
Anchor's Ouster Stirs Furor Over Berlusconi's Oversight of Media

MEDIA POLICY
Boxing Bill Has Congressional Telecom Work in Clinch
FCC Reiterates Tougher Smut Rules
In Battle Over Values, Will the Family PC Be the Next Target?
Comcast: FCC Should Ease Regulation
TV, Today and Tomorrow

TELECOM POLICY
FCC Warns SBC on Net Phones
Adelstein's Supporters Helped Win Renomination

QUICKLY TV Lobbying; Cingular to Sell Assets; Film Studios Win Suit Against
Web Site;
"Serious" Video Games; Europe Stalls ContentGuard Deal

MEDIA, ELECTIONS & GOVERNING

$1.6 BILLION SPENT ON POLITICAL TV ADS IN 2004
Candidates, parties and independent groups spent more than $1.6 billion on
television ads in 2004, a record for any campaign year and double the
amount spent in the 2000 presidential election. A total of 1,950,737
political spots aired this year on 615 stations in the nation's top 100
markets. At 30 seconds each, that would be the same as 677 solid days of
advertising. The deluge of ads swamped the meager campaign coverage that
most local stations offered this fall. According to the Lear Center Local
News Archive, in presidential battleground states, a half-hour of local
news averaged almost six minutes of campaign advertising, but only three
minutes of campaign news. Forty-five percent of all campaign stories were
about strategy or horserace, while only 29 percent focused on campaign
issues. Ad watch stories, which truth-check the political commercials, made
up less than one percent of campaign stories in the study's sample.
"Television air time is the number one cost center for candidates in
competitive races," said Meredith McGehee, president of the Alliance for
Better Campaigns. She characterized the heavy ad spending as "an enormous
election-year windfall for broadcasters, who receive free licenses to
operate on the publicly-owned airwaves."
[SOURCE: Alliance for Better Campaigns Press Release]
http://bettercampaigns.org/press/release.php?ReleaseID=65
See also:
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6800

IN A SIGN OF THE TIMES, UKRAINIAN TV INTERPRETER MAKES BOLD ON-AIR MOVE
Ukraine's state TV channel wasn't broadcasting demonstrations by hundreds
of thousands of supporters of Viktor Yushchenko, the pro-Western candidate
who believes that the presidency was stolen from him through
government-sponsored fraud, so the channel's sign-language interpreter
adopted guerrilla tactics to break the information blockade. Conspiring
with her makeup artist, Ms. Dmytruk tied an orange ribbon inside her
sleeve. Orange is the color of Mr. Yushchenko's campaign, and of the
spreading protest movement that many Ukrainians now call the Orange
Revolution. Then after interpreting the news broadcast for the deaf on Nov.
25, Ms. Dmytruk bared her wrist. "Everything you have heard so far on the
news was a total lie," she says she told viewers in sign language.
"Yushchenko is our true president. Goodbye, you will probably never see me
here again." But a funny thing happened on her way to oblivion... she was
greeted with hugs from her shocked colleagues and even the station's
technicians and the staffs of the daily children's show and other
nonpolitical programs decided to join the strike over the coverage, some of
them inspired by Ms. Dmytruk's broadcast. A few hours later, the evening
newscast opened with a pledge to resist censorship in the future. Ms.
Dmytruk was also back on the air the next morning. Management at the two
other main television networks caved in the same day and allowed balanced
reporting. The break of the government's stranglehold over mass media
proved a turning point in Mr. Yushchenko's campaign to annul the official
results of the Nov. 21 election.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Yaroslav Trofimov
yaroslav.trofimov( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110168408811185171,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/international/29media.ready.html?oref=...

ANCHOR'S OUSTER STIRS FUROR OVER BERLUSCONI'S OVERSIGHT OF MEDIA
When he first started running for public office more than a decade ago,
Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media tycoon who became prime minister,
was often ribbed as Sua Emittenza -- "His Broadcastership." Allegations
that his vast television and publishing empire posed a serious conflict of
interest with running the country have followed him ever since. The latest
controversy surrounds the dismissal of one of Italy's most popular and
respected anchormen, Enrico Mentana, from the nightly newscast on the
Berlusconi-owned Channel 5. After 13 years, Mentana was taken off the air,
given other duties and replaced by the editor of Panorama, a
Berlusconi-owned magazine. Mentana's removal immediately raised concerns
that Berlusconi was acting to assure the media's bland obedience. Mentana
was known for independence and for occasionally airing reports critical of
the prime minister or his right-wing party.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Tracy Wilkinson]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-media29nov29,1,4...
(requires registration)

MEDIA POLICY

BOXING BILL HAS CONGRESSIONAL TELECOM WORK IN CLINCH
The spectrum relocation trust fund, enhanced 911 (E-911), junk faxes, and
the universal service fund anti-Deficiency Act modification. All these
items are being held up because of boxing. No, I'm not being metaphorical.
The House has passed legislation dealing with all these issues, but the
Senate has not acted because Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain wants
ensure action on a bill designed to give boxers more protection and lessen
the influence of promoters. The House has considered, but not acted on, a
similar bill. Sources supportive of either Sen McCain or his House
counterpart, Rep Joe Barton (R-TX) used harsh rhetorical language to pin
blame on the other. Each source said the opposing politician's stubbornness
would lead to schools losing E-rate funding, safety lapses due to no E-911
funding and a dearth of spectrum for wireless services.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily 11/26, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)

FCC REITERATES TOUGHER SMUT RULES
In a proposed fine against Beasley Broadcast Group's WQAM(AM) Miami, the
FCC took pains to reiterate its toughened indecency standards for radio and
TV. Beasley argued that the broadcast in question "makes use of 'innuendo
and double entendre' that would not have an 'inescapable and understandable
sexual or excretory import' to children, and cannot therefore give rise to
a finding of indecency." The FCC disagreed, saying they "clearly relay
sexual images that are patently offensive." Beasley also argued the
excerpts were short and out of context and that they did not violate the
community standards of Miami. The FCC countered that they were long enough,
were clearly intended to pander and titillate, and that they did violate a
"reasonable person" standard. The Commission wrote, "We reiterate our
recent statement that multiple serious violations of our indecency rule by
broadcasters may well lead to license revocation proceedings. We also
remind broadcasters that separate utterances within a single broadcast may
be considered separate violations for purposes of determining forfeitures
under our indecency rules."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA483315?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

IN BATTLE OVER VALUES, WILL THE FAMILY PC BE THE NEXT TARGET?
[Commentary] If the country goes on a values campaign, how long will it
take for the Internet-enabled PC to become a target? Politicians,
especially conservative ones, regularly take on "Hollywood values" as
shorthand for a poisonous social force; that was part of the dynamic of the
recent political campaign. But they haven't yet in great numbers taken what
could be considered the next logical step: moving from the living room to
the den to do the same with the Internet and the computer. There was a
Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington this month about Internet
pornography at which witnesses made the case that the situation with erotic
material online was analogous to the worst sort of drug epidemic. Using the
language of addiction would make an anti-porn crusade a matter of public
health rather than public morals. Yet it's hard to see anything close to a
social consensus developing around that issue, the way there might be for
one involving ultraviolent video games. Right now, the U.S. television
networks are very busy looking over their shoulders as they decide the
sorts of things they should put on the air. It isn't hard to imagine a
similar kind of response occurring among people responsible for various
parts of the computer industry, even if they don't have anything like the
same sort of direct control over content that broadcasters do. The computer
and the Internet have established themselves as an integral part of many
homes; small wonder if some people will begin to wonder what is being let in.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Lee Gomes lee.gomes( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110168430408285177,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

COMCAST: FCC SHOULD EASE REGULATION
With the Federal Communications Commission nearing release of its annual
pay-TV-competition report to Congress, Comcast is urging the agency to roll
back rules that the cable giant said are inconsistent with a competitive
pay TV market. Specifically, Comcast wants a rule that would totally
deregulate all cable systems in a state where direct-broadcast satellite
penetration exceeds 15%. Current rules require cable operators to prove
that an individual franchise area has 15% penetration by pay TV rivals.
Comcast's proposal would result in total cable deregulation in 41 states,
according to data the National Cable & Telecommunications Association
submitted to the FCC July 23. Comcast also urged the FCC to "initiate a
review" of its program-access rules, which require Comcast to sell its
satellite-delivered programming to EchoStar and DirecTV. The FCC, Comcast
said, should eliminate the rule prior to its October 2007 sunset, or at
least allow the company to withhold programming from EchoStar and DirecTV,
which are allowed to secure exclusive program rights with affiliated and
unaffiliated programmers and not sell those services to cable operators.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA483302.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

TV, TODAY AND TOMORROW
BusinessWeek has a special report on digital television this week and
identifies three drivers for DTV adoption: broadband Internet, wireless
home networking, and high-definition broadcasting. Included in the package
of articles is a look at the "spectrum showdown." Broadcasters received
free electronic airwaves -- which are technically owned by the public and
controlled by the federal government -- for digital transmissions. In
return, they had to give back the airwaves they now use for their old
analog broadcasts, which had been doled out over several decades. But they
didn't have to return it until 85% of U.S. households receive digital
signals or the year 2006, whichever came later. Now patience is running out
for the broadcasters to turn in that valuable piece of the sky. The year
2006 is just around the corner, and carriers are now sending digital
signals that reach 85% of households in just about all of the nation's 210
TV markets (even though not all those households have digital-ready TVs).
The spectrum is very valuable to wireless technologies from cell phones to
wireless, high-speed Internet access. But regulators and lawmakers have
lacked the political will so far to boot the powerful broadcasters out of
their analog space.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/tc_special/tc_04hdtv.htm

TELECOM POLICY

FCC WARNS SBC ON NET PHONES
The FCC told phone giant SBC Communications to make sure a new pricing plan
it is offering to Internet phone companies isn't a back-door attempt to
levy higher fees on an emerging technology, or the company could face an
investigation. In a statement released Friday, FCC Chairman Michael Powell
said it appears that a new tariff SBC last week said it would charge
doesn't necessarily raise questions because it's not mandatory and Internet
phone companies can continue to use lower-cost alternatives. But, he added,
"should we conclude that this tariff is being used to justify the
imposition of traditional tariffed access charges on [Internet phone]
providers or to discriminate against SBC's competitors, the commission will
take appropriate action including, but not limited to, initiating an
investigation."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110150508756684437,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
See also:
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://news.com.com/FCC+is+watching+SBCs+VoIP+charge/2100-7352_3-5468448...
Statement by FCC Chairman Powell:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-254681A1.doc

ADELSTEIN'S SUPPORTERS HELPED WIN RENOMINATION
The renomination of FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein to another FCC term
surprised many industry observers who thought his chance to stay on the FCC
ended with the defeat of his mentor, Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle
(D-SD). But apparently Daschle's defeat itself jump-started Adelstein's
stalled nomination. Commissioner Adelstein's strong focus on rural issues
helped him win the support of rural commercial interests and Republicans in
rural states around the country -- including John Thune (R-SD), the man who
defeated Daschle. Before the election, Adelstein's main foe appears to have
been President Bush's chief political adviser Karl Rove who did not want to
do anything that could appear to be a help for Daschle. Several sources
questioned why President Bush would re-appoint a commissioner who held
opposite views on several issues -- particularly media ownership -- but one
offered a well-known saying to describe Bush's rationale: "The devil you
know is better than the devil you don't." Several sources speculated that
while other candidates for the Democratic seat may have offered a change
from Adelstein on some fronts, the Administration still needed to find a
Democrat for the seat who would be supported by Senate Democrats. As one
industry source told us, once the political war of the elections ended,
both Republicans and Democrats had interests in putting the fighting aside
and moving nominees that both could agree on. Adelstein was just one of
the more than 170 nominees that the Senate agreed to.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily 11/29, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)

QUICKLY

RETURNING TO THE GENRE HE STARTED
A look at the godfather of TV lobbying, Ben Goddard. In 1993, several chief
executives of health insurance companies approached Goddard and his partner
in media consulting, Rick Claussen. President Bill Clinton had just
proposed a sweeping health care program. If he got his way, one of the
executives told Goddard, "I'm out of business." Goddard suggested a radical
solution -- an advertisement nicknamed "Harry and Louise" after the
fictional couple that did all the talking. To the shock of many insiders,
it killed the president's initiative and launched a lobbying-by-television
wave. Goddard now says he foresees rapid growth in the already widely used
method. He also expects an increasing use of innovative formats, especially
via the Internet.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18417-2004Nov28.html
(requires registration)

CINGULAR TO SELL ASSETS TO ALLTEL AS PART OF AT&T WIRELESS DEAL
Alltel, the country's sixth-biggest cellular carrier with 8.2 million
subscribers, will buy licenses, network equipment and subscribers from
Cingular Wireless for $170 million to help Cingular meet federal
divestiture requirements as part of its purchase of AT&T. Roughly 200,000
customers will be transferred to Alltel as part of the deal which will need
approval by federal regulators.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110147884694084250,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

FILM STUDIOS WIN $24 MILLION AGAINST WEB SITE
Hollywood's major movie studios said they won a $23.8 million judgment
against a California company and its Malaysian owner for operating a Web
site that charged customers to download illegally copied movies.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=H5TNDIUFKQ4G2CRBAE0C...

VIDEO GAMES TEACH MORE THAN HAND-EYE COORDINATION
Video games, often maligned as having little or no redeeming value, are
becoming a way for firefighters, soldiers, currency traders and college
administrators to hone their skills. See more about "serious games" at the
URL below.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=CU1XBRYWMAJP0CRBAEKS...

EUROPE STALLS CONTENTGUARD DEAL
Since April, Microsoft and Time Warner have been trying to purchase
ContentGuard, a pioneer in digital rights management (DRM). But, in an
indication of just how important the world of digital rights has become,
the deal has been stalled while the European Commission considers whether
the purchase would give Microsoft a monopoly in the digital-rights
management market.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Victoria Shannon]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/29/technology/29newecon.html
(requires registration)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

With over 80,000 comments filed in the FCC's Localism inquiry, the National
Association of Broadcasters has requested and received an extension on the
due date for Reply Comments. They are now due Monday, January 3, 2005 -- so
get reading!
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-3657A1.doc

TELEVISION POLICY
Major Networks May Challenge Rationale of Media Ownership Regulation
Broadcasters, FCC Clash on DTV Plan
DTV-Deadline Push Crashes
TV Stations Slow to Invest in New Time Delay Tools
PTC, McCain Slam a la Carte Report
Congress Approves Funds for Public Broadcasting
Guard Story Not Political, Says Redstone

INTERNET
E-Rate Accounting Problem Awaits Action
Telecom Giants Oppose Cities On Web Access
Between Big Media and Brotherly Love
Growth of High-Speed Internet Disappoints Some Experts

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Senate Passes Scaled-Back Copyright Measure
Providing Videogames, Movies In a Family-Friendly Format

TELEVISION POLICY

MAJOR NETWORKS MAY CHALLENGE RATIONALE OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP REGULATION
NBC Universal, News Corp. and Viacom on Monday informed the United States
Supreme Court that they're seriously considering urging the high court to
overturn its landmark Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC decision -- the case
that established the bedrock legal rationale for subjecting broadcasters to
media ownership regulation and other special rules. In its 1969 Red Lion
decision, the high court said that the fact that broadcasters used a scarce
government resource to deliver their programming over the air justified
special Federal Communications Commission regulation of the industry in the
public interest.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6779

BROADCASTERS, FCC CASH ON DTV PLAN
The trade press is abuzz with news that broadcasters are organizing a
coalition, led by NBC Universal, dedicated to derailing a Federal
Communications Commission plan that would likely terminate analog TV in the
United States Dec. 31, 2008. An official announcement on the creation of
the coalition is expected today and will include the National Association
of Broadcasters, ABC and CBS affiliate groups, minority and rural
representatives and some broadcast unions. It will go by the name Coalition
for a Smart Digital TV Transition. [The name "Coalition for Slowing the
Digital TV Transition to a Snail's Pace" was already taken.] The Coalition
of the (un)willing is taking their message to Congress given House Energy
and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) support for a Dec. 31,
2006 deadline for the transition to digital-only TV broadcasting. He
supports set-top subsidies to ensure that at least the poor continued to
have access to free TV could with funding coming from the auction of the
returned analog spectrum. The FCC is also considering a plan that would end
the transition by 2009 and is considering a December vote on that plan.
Putting the public first (as always) "[t]he Coalition is united in asking
the FCC not to act in December 2004, before the American public can weigh
in on its plan," the group told a gathering of key Hill staffers Monday.
B'casters Trying to Derail Ferree Plan
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA482700.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
Broadcasters Push DTV-Decision Delay
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482314.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

DTV-DEADLINE PUSH CRASHES
The intelligence reform bill stalled in Congress this week, so that means
provisions that would set a hard date for the return of analog TV licenses
for channels 62 and higher. The bill could still move in December but
disputes about other provisions are holding it up. The spectrum would be
allocated by public safety officials; their lack of spectrum is seen as a
contributing factor to the difficulties of emergency workers on 9/11.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482315.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

TV STATIONS SLOW TO INVEST IN NEW TIME DELAY TOOLS
Despite recent profanity utterances during live broadcasts, which could
result in FCC indecency fines, many
TV stations are slow to adopt new technology that would automatically bleep
out indecent content, several technology
suppliers said. Smaller TV stations in particular are unprotected, largely
for financial reasons, they said. Radio stations, however, are adopting the
technology, mainly because of the view that FCC indecency enforcement comes
down harder on radio.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)

PTC, McCAIN SLAM A LA CARTE REPORT
The Parents Television Council, claiming that cable television is flooded
with obscene and pornographic content, ripped a Federal Communications
Commission report that found that the per-channel sale of cable networks
would cause more harm than good, even for subscribers who want to block
indecent content. "The FCC's report on 'a la carte' was hopelessly
inadequate, as it barely mentioned the prime reason why so many people want
cable choice: Cable is completely awash in raunch," PTC executive director
Tim Winter said in a prepared statement. Because of the PTC's
dissatisfaction with the FCC's study, Winter said his group would ask the
agency to prepare a new report on indecent cable programming and demand
that the cable industry yield on the a la carte issue. The PTC released a
study last week that included excerpts from Comedy Central, MTV: Music
Television, E! Entertainment Television, Spike TV, TBS and FX that the
group said proved that basic "cable was awash in raunch" that had to be
stopped if a la carte were not an option.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA482272.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

CONGRESS A[PPROVES FUNDS FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Over the weekend, the Congress approved the final FY 2005 omnibus
appropriations measure. It included $400 million for CPB in FY 2007; $39.7
million in digital transition funds for FY 2005; and $40 million in public
television interconnection funds for FY 2005. In addition to the CPB
accounts, the omnibus funded the following public broadcasting programs:
Ready to Learn -- $23.5 million for FY 2005; Ready to Teach -- $14.4
million for FY 2005; and Public Telecommunications Facilities Program
(Department of Commerce) -- $21 million for FY 2005. All FY 05 funding is
subject to an .83 percent across-the-board reduction, including CPB's
current year FY 2005 appropriation, approved in 2002. In addition, three
board members who were up for confirmation were also approved over the
weekend--Claudia Puig, Univision Radio; Gay Hart Gaines, Regent, board of
Mount Vernon; Ernest J. Wilson III, professor, University of Maryland.
Wilson was for a second term, the other two had been recess appointments.
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Press Release]
http://www.cpb.org/programs/pr.php?prn=388
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482435.html?display=Breaking+...

GUARD STORY NOT POLITICAL, SAYS REDSTONE
Although he keeps a distance from the decisions of CBS News, Viacom
Chairman Sumner Redstone said he does not believe 60 Minutes' story about
President Bush's National Guard service was politically motivated. If it
were, he added, everyone would be fired. [So, come on all you
conservatives, its OK to watch my TV network news again.] He also commented
on the Monday Night Football fiasco saying the intro was inappropriate, but
not illegal.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482701.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

INTERNET

E-RATE ACCOUNTING PROBLEM AWAITS ACTION
The E-rate accounting problems have not been fixed yet by Congress and
could mean steep increases in consumers' long distance bills. For E-rate
recipients this could also mean shutting down existing services that might
not be receiving subsidies soon. The problem with the legislative fix
suggested during the lame-duck Congress is that it has now been scored by
the Congressional Budget Office with Congress estimating it would increase
the program's budget.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane, Edie Herman]
(Not available online)

TELECOM GIANTS OPPOSE CITIES ON WEB ACCESS
Many cities have plans to turn their municipalities into vast Wi-Fi hot
spots with free or very low-cost wireless Internet connections. But, writes
Drucker, that's bad news for the large Bell telephone companies and cable
operators, who are looking to their digital-subscriber-line (DSL) and
cable-modem businesses for growth. Legislation awaiting the governor's
signature in Pennsylvania would make it illegal for any "political
subdivision" to provide to the public "for any compensation any
telecommunications services, including advanced and broadband services
within the service territory of a local exchange telecommunications company
operating under a network-modernization plan." Critics denounce this
legislative tactic, arguing that the U.S. lags behind other countries in
broadband Internet access because the phone and cable companies have been
slow to roll out the service in some areas. "We should be encouraging our
municipalities to take a major role in broadband, the way other countries
are doing," says James Baller, a big-hearted attorney in Washington, D.C.,
who represents local governments on telecommunications issues. The telecom
companies argue that it is unfair for them to have to compete against the
government. They say that the legislation enables them to improve service
to their customers by investing in their networks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jesse Drucker jesse.drucker( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110116864041881375,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

BETWEEN BIG MEDIA AND BROTHERLY LOVE
[Commentary] Banish the notion that America's communications industry helps
nurture technological innovation that makes media more accessible to
average Americans. The reality today is that we live in an era where large
corporations work hand-in-hand with lobbyists and compliant legislators to
stifle any technology that returns control of our media system to the
public. The latest evidence lies hidden within proposed legislation that
would effectively kill efforts in Philadelphia to provide citywide wireless
access at little or no charge.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert292.shtml

GROWTH OF HIGH-SPEED INTERNET DISAPPOINTS SOME EXPERTS
Some coverage of the Department of Commerce report, A Nation Online:
Entering the Broadband Age. The number of Americans using fast Internet
connections doubled from 2001 through late 2003, still below some
expectations and especially low among minority groups and people in rural
areas. Only 1 in 7 blacks and fewer than 1 in 8 Hispanics lives in a
household with broadband service while one in four white Americans used
high-speed connections at home. In urban areas, 40.4% of households used
fast connections; only 24.7% of rural users did. Significant numbers of
rural residents said they couldn't subscribe to high-speed services because
none was available. Most Americans who did not use fast connections said
service was either too expensive or they did not need it.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Ted Bridis, Associated Press]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041123/a_internet23.art.htm

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

SENATE PASSES SCALED-BACK COPYRIGHT MEASURE
The Senate has voted to outlaw several favorite techniques of people who
illegally copy and distribute movies -- secretly videotape movies when they
are shown in theaters AND hackers and industry insiders who distribute
music, movies or other copyrighted works before their official release
date. Left out were several more controversial measures that would
criminalize the actions of millions of U.S. Internet users who copy music
and movies for free over "peer to peer" networks like Kazaa. The bill also
shields "family friendly" services like ClearPlay that strip violent or
sexually explicit scenes from movies. Hollywood groups say such services
violate their copyrighted works by altering them without permission.
Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge said, "Consumers won a major
victory when the Senate passed legislation removing the most egregious
elements of the omnibus copyright bill that had previously been under
consideration. We strongly support the version of the Family Movie Act,
included in the bill, which gives families more control over how they watch
movies and television, preserving the right to skip over commercials. The
bill will benefit consumers, both in their entertainment choices now, and
from the innovation in technology that will result in coming years."
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=DZYT5QPY22MLICRBAEZS...
See also:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA482582?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
http://www.publicknowledge.org/pressroom/pressrelease.2004-11-22.6500991518

PROVIDING VIDEOGAMES, MOVIES IN A FAMILY-FRIENDLY FORMAT
eGames and other small businesses have pursued their own niche --
family-friendly entertainment -- saying there's a rising demand for games
and movies without the profanity, sex and violence often featured in the
top sellers of large movie studios and videogame publishers. While eGames
develops original content, a handful of start-ups have found a market
offering family-friendly versions of Hollywood-produced entertainment.
Principle Solutions sells a filter, TVGuardian, which mutes objectionable
words in television programming and DVDs by reading the closed-captioning
signal for the hearing-impaired. CleanFlicks Media produces edited copies
of movies for rental and sale that cut what company President Allan Erb
deems unnecessary sex and violence, as well objectionable language. Film
studios and the Directors Guild of America are suing CleanFlicks and
several other firms that sell electronic filters, alleging copyright and
trademark infringement. CleanFlicks says there has been no violation of the law
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Loftus peter.loftus( at )dowjones.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110117376262381535,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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