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Headline Highlights April 2008
May 7, 2008 April showers, of course, bring May flowers. But the first full month of Spring also witnessed the flowering of a number of key telecommunications debates. Just add water and -- presto -- there's some controversy. Here's a quick recap of developments concerning the digital television transition, the public interest obligations of broadcasters, media ownership, and universal, open broadband.
Benton to FCC: Use USF to Accelerate Transition to Broadband
April 18, 2008 In comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission, the Benton Foundation argues that the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) is a crucial element in reaching the nation's goal of ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet service. Akin to the nation's transition from analog to digital television technology, Benton believes we are moving from traditional, plain, old telephone service (POTS) to broadband, using USF support to accelerate this transition that promises to make life more livable, businesses more productive, jobs more plentiful, and the Internet more accessible. Benton proposes that rather than an immediate flash cut in the current USF system's analog support, a five-year timetable for transitioning subsidies from analog to digital --with a hard analog shut-off date -- will put the United States on a more sure-footed broadband trajectory. However, at the dawn of this Digital Age, those who could benefit the most from this economically empowering technology are also those most likely to be left without access because of where they live or how much money they make.
Media Power in Wrong Hands Brings Neither "Peace of Mind nor Serenity of Spirit"
April 16, 2008 In the second of a series of interviews published by the Benton Foundation, Minority Media & Telecommunications Council Executive Director David Honig asks, "What could be a more inefficient deployment of resources than having the entrepreneurial, managerial and creative wealth of a third of the country unable to find expression in the nation’s most powerful industries?" Honig, who for over 30 years has devoted his life to advocating for greater diversity and minority participation in media and telecommunications, points out that people of color are 34% of the nation’s population, yet they hold only about two percent of the asset value of our nation’s broadcasting industry -- and far less in cable and telecom. This no accident or the result of market forces: for decades, the Federal Communications Commission was an active participant in preventing people of color from working in or attaining ownership of licensed facilities that used the public’s airwaves. The effects are not seen just in ownership, but employment, too. Whereas the Radio-Television News Directors Association finds that just 6.2% of radio journalists are people of color, MMTC dug deeper and found that English language, non-minority owned radio newsrooms employment is just 0.5% minority -- that's about where radio stood in 1950!
Intersection of Race and Telecomm Policy: Andrew Schwartzman
March 24, 2008 On March 18, Sen Barack Obama delivered a speech called "A More Perfect Union." Many have viewed the speech as a challenge to the nation to address our "racial stalemate." Beginning today, the Benton Foundation is taking the opportunity to host a dialogue on the intersection of race and telecommunications policy. In this Q&A with Media Access Project President & CEO Andrew Jay Schwartzman, we ask about the US's history of legalized discrimination the effects that can still be seen today. We invite you to add your voice to the discussion.
Public Interest Obligations in the 21st Century: Where Do We Go from Here?
March 3, 2008 At a press event focused on the FCC's localism proceeding, Benton Foundation Chairman Charles Benton noted that the Commission first asked for public input on the public interest obligations of digital television broadcasters nearly 13 years ago. Less than a year from the end of the digital television transition, Benton said, "It is with some urgency that we gather today to say, again, that the FCC must issue clear guidelines to ensure that broadcasters adhere to the law and serve the local educational, informational, civic, minority, disability and security needs of the children and adults in the communities that TV stations are licensed to serve."
Broadcast Localism
February 21, 2008 For over 12 years, the Federal Communications Commission has been considering how the transition to digital television technology and the increased capacity it offers TV broadcasters should impact the compact between television stations and the communities they are licensed to serve. By law and FCC rules, these stations are licensed to serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. Over the years, this has meant different things, but the overriding mandate has been that stations must serve the interests of local communities, not the station owner’s own commercial interests. After much deliberation, the FCC has concluded that there needs to be improved communication between broadcasters and the communities they are licensed to serve. To facilitate improved communications, the FCC is asking for public comment on proposals to improve: 1) License Renewal Procedures and Processing Guidelines, 2) Renewal Application Announcements, 3) the Service Delivered to Underserved Audiences and 4) Remote Television Operation. The FCC recently published the filing schedule for the new, proposed localism rules. Comments are due Friday, March 14, 2008 and Reply Comments are due Monday, April 14, 2008.
Headline Highlights -- Policy Developments January 2008
February 7, 2008 Although media attention in January turned understandably to the presidential primaries, the telecom policy world continued to spin. Like the elections around the country, these developments will have a huge impact in 2009 and beyond.
Universal Service Reform and Universal Broadband
February 1, 2008 On January 29, 2008, the FCC launched 3 proceedings asking for public comment on reforming the Universal Service Fund and recommendations made by the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service (Joint Board) in November. The Joint Board’s proposal includes a recommendation that the current definition of services supported by the federal USF be expanded to include high-speed, broadband Internet access.
More than Rhetoric Needed to Close Broadband Gap
January 31, 2008 On January 30, 2008, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration released Networked Nation: Broadband in America, a report that concludes that "a reasonable assessment of the available data indicates" that President Bush's 2004 objective of affordable access to broadband for all by 2007 has been realized "to a very great degree." The Administration's "mission Accomplished" rhetoric does not match reality.
Headline Highlights -- Media and Telecom Policy Developments December 2007
The weeks in between Thanksgiving and the end of the year were "unseasonably" busy in 2007.
Getting to Universal, Affordable Broadband
December 20, 2007 On the eve of a missed national broadband goal, the Benton Foundation releases Universal Affordable Broadband for All Americans, a report and roadmap for making broadband access as universal as telephones are today.
New Ownership Rules Necessitate Clearer Public Interest Obligations
December 18, 2007 The FCC lifted the ban on common ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same local communities. Charles Benton said, "The Commission missed the mark today, both in its decision and how it reached it."
Headline Highlights -- Media and Telecom Policy Developments November 2007
December 3, 2007 November did not see a holiday slowdown in the world of telecommunications policy.
Tribune gets tax breaks; public interest gets lumps of coal
November 30, 2007 The season of giving began early this year when FCC Chairman Kevin Martin gave a gift worth hundreds of million of dollars to billionaire Sam Zell and the Tribune Company.
Benton Applauds Joint Board Decision on Broadband
On Tuesday, November 20, 2007, the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service recommended the current definition of services supported by the federal Universal Service Fund be expanded to include high-speed, broadband Internet access.
Disclosure important, but PIOs needed, too
November 27, 2007 The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules aimed at improving the information local television broadcasters provide to the communities they are licensed to serve.
Headline Highlights -- Policy Developments September 2007
September 28, 2007 Here's a look at some of the major developments since Labor Day concerning the transition to digital broadcasting, universal broadband, Network Neutrality, and media ownership.
Testimony of Charles Benton at FCC Media Ownership Hearing
September 20, 2007 Read Charles Benton's testimony at the FCC's media ownership hearing in Chicago.
Chicago's Media: Big, But Not Diverse
September 19, 2007 Benton released a survey of recent research on the state of the media in Chicago.
FCC Considering Digital Public Interest Obligations Over 12 Years, Benton and CLC Remind McDowell
November 20, 2007 FCC Commissioner Robert M. McDowell asked, "If anyone knows of an FCC proceeding where there has been more opportunity for debate over an 11-year period, please let me know." The Benton Foundation and the Campaign Legal Center have an answer.
