August 8, 2008 (McCain's Tech Policy)
"The FCC's action in this case shows it intends to uphold the principles and we believe, therefore, that there isn't a need for further legislation."
-- Tom Tauke, Verizon
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for 08.08.08 (Celebrating 20 years of night games at Wrigley Field)
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
McCain's Tech Policy Would Be Like His Computer Skills -- Yikes!
No Obama Ads on Gas Station TV
Politically Divided Talk-Radio Team Has Denver Firmly in Its Grip
ADVERTISING
Yahoo to Make Targeted Ads Optional
Faster, higher, stronger — and digital
NCAA Refuses to 86 Alcohol Ads
DIGITAL CONTENT
Libraries step into the age of iPod
Verizon on FCC Comcast/Network Neutrality Decision: Wait and See
BROADCASTING
Many Seniors Unaware of DTV Transition
Senate OKs DTV Border Fix Act
ACLU: FCC indecency regime no longer constitutional
DTV Still Plagued by Hearing Problems
Verizon: White-Spaces Devices Failed So Far
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC asks appeals court to dump E-911 rules
'Cybersecurity commission' to proffer advice to next president
INTERNET/BROADBAND
New York City and State Each Craft Broadband Policies
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
MCCAIN'S TECH POLICY WOULD BE LIKE HIS COMPUTER SKILLS -- YIKES!
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] As bad as it is that Sen John McCain (R-AZ) isn't familiar with, and doesn't use, a computer for even little things, that's just a symptom of something far more serious. Use of a computer and the Internet is one thing. A whole different level of awareness are the elements and philosophy that go into making an economic and technological policy that govern how everybody else uses computers and the Internet. Unfortunately, his broad policy history isn't simply one of being oblivious. It would be actively harmful to our economy and our standing in the world because it would chill competition and innovation at least as much, if not more, than the misguided policies we have now. It's a history of siding largely with the big telephone and cable companies, of opposing an Open Internet. The more control over Internet access the big telecom companies assumed, the lower our rankings. We once had a good policy, but little by little it was taken out by former Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell, hand-picked for the FCC by McCain. With it went the competition McCain wants, so now most people have at most two choices for real Internet service, rather than the dozens we had 10 years ago. That's McCain's view, contradictions and all. Talk about deregulation and free markets, do nothing to enable competition, help the big guys. We've seen what direction that type of thinking has taken us. Perhaps if McCain were more Internet-literate he would have seen that.
http://benton.org/node/15964
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NO OBAMA ADS ON GAS STATION TV
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Ken Wheaton]
Gas Station TV, contrary to an Obama campaign press release issued on Tuesday morning, will not be running ads from Barack Obama -- or any other campaign for that matter. The reasons have less to do with politics and more to do with political ad clutter. "We're providing our traditional clients a non-cluttered environment," he said. "It's just best for our consumers and our advertisers to stay out of politics." Indeed, some of the company's ad clients had been asking if their messages would be crowded out of the market by political ads this election season -- as could happen in numerous markets throughout the country as presidential and congressional ads start to take over much of the ad time at local TV affiliates. Obama's Florida Communications Director Mark Bubriski said, "It looks like Gas Station TV doesn't want the American people to know about Senator Obama's plan to offer working families a $1,000 energy rebate that would be funded by a tax on oil company profits." GSTV reaches about 17.5 million consumers each month who are practically sitting ducks for advertising. There they are, pumping gas, with nothing to do
http://benton.org/node/15954
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POLITICALLY DIVIDED TALK-RADIO TEAM HAS DENVER FIRMLY IN ITS GRIP
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Dan Frosch]
In a city steeped in talk radio lore, two of Denver's most popular hosts have changed their focus. With the city abuzz over the Democratic National Convention coming to town this month, the co-hosts of the "Caplis & Silverman" show, both prominent lawyers, have all but stopped debating the regular lineup of salacious Colorado stories and instead taken to arguing over the presidential election. Politically charged talk radio is nothing new to Denver. This is the city where Alan Berg, a talk show host who was Jewish, was gunned down in his driveway in 1984 by white supremacists who wanted to silence him. His death became the inspiration for Eric Bogosian's play "Talk Radio" and Oliver Stone's movie of the same name. A memorial plaque hangs near the Clear Channel-Denver studio where Mr. Caplis, 51, and Mr. Silverman, 52, broadcast. Colorado has been a crucible of dynamic news over the years, and the resulting headlines — from the Columbine High School killings to the Kobe Bryant rape trial — have provided fodder for Mr. Caplis, a personal injury lawyer, and Mr. Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney turned defense lawyer.
http://benton.org/node/15956
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ADVERTISING
YAHOO TO MAKE TARGETED ADS OPTIONAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Peter Whoriskey]
Internet giant Yahoo is set to announce today that it will allow users to shut off targeted advertising on its Web sites, a move that comes as a congressional committee continues to air concerns about consumer privacy. Last week, the House Commerce Committee asked Yahoo and 32 other Internet companies to provide more information about the surfing data they collect from Web users and how the data are used to customize advertising. As many media companies struggle to make money from their Web sites, members of Congress and the industry appear to be in the early stages of a high-stakes negotiation over what kind of advertising ought to be allowed. While Yahoo's new policy may make it harder for the company to make money from ads -- targeted pitches generally fetch higher prices -- company officials said offering more privacy options could attract more users.
http://benton.org/node/15960
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FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER -- AND DIGITAL
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Bruce Horovitz, Laura Petrecca, Theresa Howard]
Millions of Americans will watch the Olympics but never turn on a TV set. The Beijing Games will be the first Olympics in which a chunk of viewers — up to 5% — will watch their Olympic coverage via personal computers or mobile phones, estimates Dean DeBiase, CEO of TNS Media, which measures media outlets globally. And those viewers are the coveted trendsetting ones marketers want to reach. The best place to reach them: social media. Some 73% of Americans who have Internet access viewed video online in May, according to a recent Nielsen study. More than 154 million Americans will watch online videos this year, up 12% from last year, according to eMarketer's latest report. More than one in three mobile phone owners have video-capable cellphones, Nielsen reports. More than 147 million people worldwide now participate in a social network via their mobile phones, eMarketer reports. Here's how savvy Olympic marketers will digitally tap in: digital games; blogging; sharing videos; sharing ideas digitally; snatching search terms; and advertising in cabs.
http://benton.org/node/15958
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NCAA REFUSES TO 86 ALCOHOL ADS
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
The NCAA is rejecting calls to alter its policy allowing beer and wine-cooler spots on college-sports telecasts, saying the policy is already conservative enough. The NCAA currently allows alcohol advertising for products that don't exceed 6% alcohol levels -- effectively limiting commercials for alcohol to beer and wine coolers. It also allows only 1 minute per hour of any telecast to be devoted to alcohol ads. The NCAA Division 1 executive committee announced its decision to reaffirm the current policy today after a meeting in Indianapolis. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that according to TNS Media Intelligence, Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller spent nearly $30 million to advertise during the 2007 NCAA March Madness basketball championships. Further limits on alcohol ads could have threatened the size of the rights fee the NCAA generates from that and other telecasts, potentially impacting scholarship money and school revenues.
http://benton.org/node/15952
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DIGITAL CONTENT
LIBRARIES STEP INTO THE AGE OF iPOD
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Paul Thomasch]
Hoping to draw back readers, libraries have vastly expanded their lists of digital books, music, and movies that can be downloaded by their patrons to a computer or MP3 player -- and it doesn't cost a cent. Available in thousands of libraries across the country, the programs work like this: First you need a library card, access to the web, and some easily downloadable software -- the Adobe Digital Editions, the Mobipocket Reader or the OverDrive Media Console. At that point, just browse around the library's website, select some titles, add them to a digital book bag and click the download button. If the title isn't available, it can be placed on hold for downloading later. Depending on the library and title, the item remains on your computer for one to three weeks before disappearing, meaning you don't have to bother with returning a book, CD or DVD to the actual library.
http://benton.org/node/15950
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VERIZON ON FCC COMCAST DECISION: WAIT AND SEE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Asked by reporters what the impact on Verizon would be of the Federal Communications Commission's decision that Comcast violated its network-management guidelines, Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president and a former congressman, said he's anxious to see the FCC's order. He did not rule out taking the decision to court if it was written in a way that could cause problems for his company. The FCC asserted jurisdiction, he said, adding, "No court has made a judgment on whether or not it has jurisdiction and we'll see if Comcast challenges it." Tauke outlined the triage for dealing with issues like Network Neutrality. His first choice is industry self-regulation. If you avoid the problem, he said, you obviate the need to address it with regulation or legislation. His second choice is the sort of case-by-case approach the FCC has adopted, although there remain those questions about the FCC's authority, since its guidelines are not rules. Those approaches are sufficient without Congress stepping in to impose network neutrality laws, he suggested.
http://benton.org/node/15948
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BROADCASTING
RLTV POLL: MANY SENIORS UNAWARE OF DTV TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Almost one in four seniors is not aware of the digital-TV transition, and that number increases to one in three for those with less formal education. Seniors disproportionately watch over-the-air TV and have been identified by the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters and others as one of the target populations that will be most affected by the switch to full-power DTV in February 2009. Retirement Living TV said its research suggested that the transition will affect almost 70 million households, or 23% of the total. The network found that 31% of seniors without a college education are not aware of the transition and say they haven't heard about it.
http://benton.org/node/15946
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SENATE OKs DTV BORDER FIX ACT
[SOURCE: Broadcast Engineering, AUTHOR: ]
The Senate last week passed the Digital Television Border Fix Act of 2007 (S.2507) that would set up a way for television broadcasters along the U.S.-Mexican border to continue broadcasting in analog and digital after the Feb. 17, 2009 DTV transition. The measure would establish a means for border stations to apply to the Federal Communications Commission to seek permission to stay on the air with their analog transmissions for years following the nationwide DTV transition deadline. The act, introduced last year by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Companion legislation, H.R. 5435, has been introduced by Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) in the House. The Senate approved the bill to give broadcasters along the border the ability to effectively postpone the completion of their DTV transition "so border residents' access to important public safety information is not threatened," Sen Hutchinson said. The bill would allow stations within 50 miles of the border to seek FCC permission for continued simulcast of analog and digital transmissions for up to four years after the DTV deadline.
http://benton.org/node/15962
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ACLU, DGA, AFTRA GANG UP ON FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The American Civil Liberties Union -- joined by the Directors Guild of America, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and several others -- told the Supreme Court the Federal Communications Commission has no business regulating any speech short of outright obscenity. ACLU et al said the court must go beyond a narrow ruling on whether or not the FCC violated the Administrative Procedures Act by not giving broadcasters sufficient notice of its decision to start finding fleeting profanities indecent. Instead, they said, the court "cannot avoid the constitutional issues that are at the heart of this case." They also argued that the discretion over what content is or isn't indecent inherent in the FCC's indecency-enforcement regime is "unconstitutional censorship." However, the groups stopped short of challenging the spectrum-scarcity rationale that underpins broader regulation of broadcasting.
http://benton.org/node/15944
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DTV STILL PLAGUED BY HEARING PROBLEMS
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Jim Barthold]
Digital television sound, based on Dolby Digital, is delivering TV sound with the promised CD quality, providing a rich, new aural dimension for consumers seeking the theater-like experience in their homes. But the standard continues to be plagued by loudness spikes and, what's worse, lip sync troubles. Engineers throughout the TV production and distribution food chain are working on remedies. Dolby believes some of them lie in better education and closer adherence to the protocols for using the system. Dolby is also working with cable companies and broadcasters to help them understand the system.
http://benton.org/node/15942
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VERIZON: WHITE-SPACES DEVICES FAILED SO FAR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Broadcasters may have a potential and powerful ally on the white-spaces issue. Verizon Communications executive vice president and former congressman Tom Tauke said Thursday that the issue was on the company's radar and that its principal concern was over potential interference to others -- its own customers in particular. Calling it a "significant" issue, Tauke referenced the FCC's ongoing testing of the unlicensed devices "to determine whether or not you can use the white space in various ways without causing interference." So far, he said, "Nobody has passed the test."
http://benton.org/node/15941
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC ASKS APPEALS COURT TO DUMP E-911 RULES
[SOURCE: RCR Wireless News, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Silva]
The Federal Communications Commission asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to throw out enhanced 911 location accuracy rules approved last November but not yet put into effect, pointing to public safety groups' recent disclosure that they would settle for a relaxed standard. Late last month, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and the National Emergency Number Association told the FCC its previous advocacy measuring wireless E-911 accuracy at public safety answering point level proved unworkable in practice and that they were to accept compliance measurements at the county level.
http://benton.org/node/15939
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'CYBERSECURITY COMMISSION' TO PROFFER ADVICE TO NEXT PRESIDENT
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
[Commentay] Transitions between presidential administrations are typically influence-peddling, power-consolidating, appointee-vetting exercises run by Washington insiders. Perhaps that's why the quintessential Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is trying to insert itself into the process. The private organization, which has close ties to the U.S. military and counts Henry Kissinger on its payroll, has gathered about 35 people and awarded them the official-sounding title of "Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency." Adding to the formality are some closed-to-the-public meetings and ex-officio members from federal agencies, congressional offices, and the nebulous "intelligence community." The group's mandate is unusually broad: developing a "forward-looking framework for organizing and prioritizing government efforts to secure cyberspace." But four of its members indicated on Wednesday that the commission is focused on compiling no more than five recommendations and will not be proposing legislation or suggesting dramatic changes.
http://benton.org/node/15937
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
New York City and State Each Craft Broadband Policies
NEW YORK CITY AND STATE EACH CRAFT BROADBAND POLICIES; CITY NIXES MUNI WI-FI
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
New York City should not create a comprehensive municipal wireless network, but should instead take targeted actions to increase the public availability of high-speed Internet service and encourage broadband adoption, city officials said last week. Among those actions include finding ways to get private providers to push fiber-optic wires into more parts of the city, including many industry parks that are currently unserved, officials and a consultant said at City Hall on July 30. The current hot topic in universal broadband is now fiber optics, judging by the New York City report.
http://benton.org/node/15935
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... and we're outta here. Have a great weekend and a peaceful Olympic games.
