June 2005

Four events of note as this late-Spring week begins: 1) Sen Ted Stevens
speaks to the Federal Communications Bar Association over chicken
sandwiches today, 2) FCC Chairman come to Chicago tomorrow to speak at
SuperComm (no word yet on leading 7th inning stretch at Wrigley), 3) the
Committee on Appropriations will consider $ for the FCC and other
agencies/departments tomorrow and 4) NCTA CEO Kyle McSlarrow will speak at
the Washington Metropolitan Cable Club on Tuesday. For these and other
upcoming media policy events (it is a busy week), see
http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

POLICYMAKERS
Martin Names Media Bureau Leadership
Copps' Plea: Lobby FCC
Political turmoil at PBS, NPR
Media Soft on Bush, Says Conyers

TELEVISION
More Than Meets the Eye
Bill's Impact Could Send Basic Cable Rates Soaring
FCC Seen Taking on 'Tough' DTV Tuner Enforcement
Telcos Are Timed Out in Texas
Bells' Eye D.C. After Texas Defeat

INTERNET
Not Much to do in Kids' Online Domain
Pending Brand X Ruling Could Prompt Forbearance, Hill Lobbying
You've Been Scammed Again? Maybe the Problem Isn't Your Computer
Watchdog Groups Urge FEC to Exclude Bloggers from Internet Regulation
PodCasting Rapidly Emerging
Internet Overwhelmingly Viewed As Most Trustworthy Medium for
Health Information According to New Consumer Survey

TELECOM
FCC Will Monitor E-911 Efforts by VoIP Providers, ILECs
Local-Telephone Luster Fades
Sprint Prepares to Cut the Cord
Telecommunications Regulatory Environment Criticized in New Report

JOURNALISM
The Source of Whose Troubles?
Press in Iraq Gains Rights But No Refuge

VIDEO GAMES
Voiceover Actors Seek Part of Video Game Profits
Push for California Violent Video Game Bill Stalls

POLICYMAKERS

MARTIN NAMES MEDIA BUREAU LEADERSHIP
On Friday, FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced his intention to appoint
Donna Gregg as the Media Bureau Chief. Chairman Martin also announced that
Roy Stewart will serve as Senior Deputy Chief of the Media Bureau and
Deborah Klein will serve as Deputy Chief of the Media Bureau. Ms. Gregg has
served as Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and General
Counsel of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and as a partner in the
communications practice of the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wiley Rein &
Fielding. She began her legal career as a staff attorney in the FCC's
former Cable Television Bureau. She has been a Senior Lecturing Fellow in
Telecommunications Law and Policy at Duke University School of Law and a
member of the Board of Directors of the North American Broadcasters
Association. Ms. Gregg received her B.A., with high distinction, from the
University of Michigan (Go Blue!), where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa,
and she received her J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Roy Stewart
has forty years of distinguished service at the Commission, representing an
unparalleled depth of knowledge and experience. He most recently served as
the Media Bureau's Chief of the Office of Broadcast License Policy. He
began his Commission career in the former Broadcast Bureau, serving as an
attorney in the Television Application Branch, Chief of the Transfer
Branch, and Chief of the Renewal and Transfer Division. Following the
reorganization of the Broadcast Bureau in 1982, Mr. Stewart was named Chief
of the Mass Media Bureau's Video Services Division, and he later served as
Chief of the Mass Media Bureau before the Bureau was merged with the Cable
Services Bureau into the Media Bureau. Mr. Stewart received his B.A. from
the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Cornell Law School. Deborah
Klein most recently served as Acting Chief of the Media Bureau. She
previously served as the Media Bureau's Chief of Staff, where she worked to
implement the Commission's policies relating to electronic media, including
broadcast and cable television, radio, and post- licensing satellite
issues. Prior to becoming Chief of Staff, she was Chief of the Consumer
Protection and Competition Division in the Cable Services Bureau. Before
joining the Commission in 1994, Ms. Klein served as an attorney at the
Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition. Ms. Klein received her
B.A. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and her J.D., magna cum
laude, from the University of Toledo College of Law (Go Rockets!).
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-259155A1.doc
Donna Gregg's Bio:
http://www.cpb.org/about/corp/bios/exec/gregg.html
* FCC's Martin Names Media Chiefs
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA606233?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Martin Names Gregg Media Bureau Chief
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA606228.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

COPPS' PLEA: LOBBY FCC (2nd item)
Michael Copps would like to land another five-year term as an FCC
commissioner after his tenure formally expires June 30. The Democrat
requires renomination by President Bush and confirmation by the Senate if
he's going to remain at the FCC -- and given that the President hasn't
announced his intentions, you'd think Commissioner Copps would observe the
Washington tradition of keeping his head down to avoid ticking off anyone
who might be able to poison his chances. But Copps has never been known as
a shy and unassuming Commissioner, and apparently he doesn't intend to
become one now. At the National Conference on Media Reform last month,
Copps urged anti-media consolidation activists to mount a grassroots
campaign when the FCC tries to rewrite broadcast-ownership deregulation
thrown out by federal judges last summer. B&C asks if Copps was targeting
new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is remarks about "screwing up" ownership
rules. Commissioner Copps' staff says he and the Chairman work amazingly
well together. [The question for B&C: should a Commissioner NOT try to
facilitate public participation in an important proceeding in order to keep
his/her job?]
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Mark Lasswell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA606265.html?display=News&refe...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

POLITICAL TURMOIL AT PBS, NPR
For many Americans, public TV means Sesame Street, Masterpiece Theatre and
Antiques Roadshow. But for Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, it came to mean liberal bias in its
news and public affairs programming. Now Tomlinson's makeover attempts have
made their own news: Angry chiefs at PBS and NPR; an investigation of
whether his actions amounted to illegal political interference; and
questions about whether he may have overreached. But conservative media
critic L. Brent Bozell said the corporation's "serious" plans to achieve a
better balance on views will allow PBS to "have more success, getting more
and more federal funding." Patricia Aufderheide, who teaches at American
University's Center for Social Media, says, "The issue should be providing
the information that viewers and listeners want and need, not questions of
balance. It will be interesting to see how PBS handles this challenge and
how the stations handle this intimidation."
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer, AUTHOR: Steve Goldstein]
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/11816016.htm

MEDIA SOFT ON BUSH, SAYS CONYERS
Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee,
says big media, especially cable news channels, are giving the Bush
Administration a free pass by focusing on celebrity news and other "trivial
matter" rather than examining White House policies. Rep Conyers based his
assertion on a new survey of cable news treatment of important or
high-profile stories by the Congressional Research Service, which gathers
data at lawmakers' request to help them write bills or prepare for
hearings. Conyers used the CRS sampling to charge that cable news outlets
gave big play to some inconsequential stories while largely ignoring a lot
of news casting Bush Administration policies in a negative light.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA606095.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
CRS Memo on Cable News Coverage of Various News Events
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/mediabias/crsmemo52305.pdf
* Congressional study shows large disparity in coverage of key stories
http://mediamatters.org/items/200505250003
In a related story --
* When the 'Daily Show' Becomes Your News
[Commentary] Almost 200 years ago, James Madison warned that "knowledge
will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own
Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." The
purpose of journalism is to help people make sense of change. But even
though news has never been so valuable, so accessible and so inexpensive,
study after study shows Americans under the age of 40 have never valued it
less.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: John McManus, Grade the News]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert389.shtml

TELEVISION

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Advocates for the deaf are hoping to pressure broadcasters into providing
more-frequent and more-accurate captioning, not just for emergencies but
for entertainment programming as well. Because of complaints by deaf
viewers, the FCC since February has fined six stations for failing to
provide required captioning during wildfires and tornado alerts in the past
two years. But it's not just the need to protect lives that is motivating
the group. Captioning of entertainment is also an important item on their
agenda, they say, because the ability to fully enjoy TV -- one of America's
most pervasive culture forces -- is critical to ensuring deaf people take
part in the country's social life. However, captioning of entertainment
shows is often filled with typos, they say. Deaf viewers recently peppered
TV chat rooms with complaints about Fox's May 10 episode of American Idol,
in which closed captions provided wrong phone numbers for casting votes.
Another frequent problem: Captioners make non sequiturs in dialogue by
mistakenly typing a word that sounds like the one intended for viewers.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA606215.html?display=News&refe...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

BILL'S IMPACT COULD SEND BASIC CABLE RATES SOARING
As proposed by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Joe Barton
(R-Texas), a bill regarding the digital TV transition would require cable
operators, after the transition, to place analog and digital local-TV
signals on the basic tier, which consumers must purchase before signing up
for any cable programming service. As long as cable operators continue to
need to please both analog- and digital-equipped customers, Rep Barton's
basic-tier mandate could send basic rates soaring, Hearn writes. Rep
Barton's approach would appear to mean that all-analog cable subscribers
would need to buy digital signals they can't view, and all-digital
subscribers would need to buy analog signals they don't want.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA606132.html?display=Policy&referra...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

FCC SEEN TAKING ON 'TOUGH' DTV TUNER ENFORCEMENT
The FCC will likely start strict enforcement of its DTV tuner requirement
after dismissing the consumer electronics (CE) industry's petition to
eliminate the July 1, 2005, deadline for DTV tuners in 50% of new 25-36"
sets, several industry sources told CommDaily. But it's unclear how the FCC
will force manufacturers to meet the deadline. "Conceivably they can use
their field agents that are all over the country. This is going to be tough
enforcement," a broadcaster said. The same broadcaster claims the CE
industry is trying to dump all analog sets into the market for the upcoming
holiday and Super Bowl season, when many sets are sold. "That's why they
have been pushing for a later deadline," the broadcaster said. CE has
denied such broadcast industry claims, saying leaving the schedule
unchanged on 25-36" sets would put those with built-in ATSC tuners at a
disadvantage to those that don't. Accepting the CE industry petition would
speed the DTV transition, not impede it, CE has said. CE wants to advance
by 4 months, to March 1, 2006, a deadline by which all such sets must have
ATSC tuning.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins, Paul Gluckman]
(Not available online)

TELECOS ARE TIMED OUT IN TEXAS
In a state-level development that has been closely watched throughout the
cable and financial industries, Verizon Communications and SBC
Communications failed to convince Texas legislators to let them forego
local franchises for their cable services. The telephone companies
expressed dismay at the Texas Legislature's failure to approve cable
franchise-reform policy this session, but both companies said that will not
stop their video plans. The legislative battleground now shifts elsewhere.
Verizon has proposed a bill in California that would relieve the telco of
the state's level-playing-field rules. That would guarantee Verizon could
launch its video product without a mandate that it do so outside its
telephone footprint. (Story includes short table on activities in other
states.)
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA606241.html&referral=SUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

BELLS' EYE DC AFTER TEXAS DEFEAT
Given their failure with the Texas state legislature, phone companies are
now switching the focus to Plan B -- asking Congress and the FCC to set a
national policy for granting permits to companies that will bring broadband
and pay-TV competition to cable. The Bell's aim is to establish nationwide
standards for franchise fees and service obligations that would apply to
every market. The Bells say the policy would let them roll out competition
quicker -- advancing the broadband rollout is a government priority -- by
eliminating lengthy negotiations with local authorities. But the cable
industry isn't going to give the phone companies an easy time winning a
quick fix. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association says any
changes to Bells' franchising rights should be included as part of a
broader review of regulations for all video service providers.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA606031?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

INTERNET

NOT MUCH TO DO IN KIDS' ONLINE DOMAIN
Two years after the government created the ".kids.us" Internet domain, it
is a lot like Oakland, CA -- there's not much "there" there for kids. "It's
disappointing, I wish it was fully deployed," said Illinois Republican Rep.
John Shimkus, who sponsored the bill that set up the domain in 2002. But
while Congress and administrator NeuStar Inc. set plenty of restrictions to
keep online predators and inappropriate content out of the domain, they
didn't provide many incentives to bring Web sites in, Internet experts say.
Web sites with a .kids.us address can't contain pornography, violence, or
references to drugs and alcohol. Message boards, chat services and other
interactive features are also prohibited from setting up shop unless the
operators can promise that kids won't be exposed to inappropriate material.
All material must pass a content review before it is posted, and .kids.us
sites can't link to sites outside the domain. The online real estate
doesn't come cheap. Users must pay an annual fee of roughly $150 to
register the name, and the content review costs an additional $250 per
year. Those looking for a .com name, by contrast, can pay as little as $7
per year.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=CW1I2ULTBXENCCRBAE0C...

PENDING BRAND X RULING COULD PROMPT FORBEARANCE, HILL LOBBYING
A ruling on the Brand X could come from the Supreme Court as early as today
(it is not likely, but possible). Oral arguments in March left many with
the impression the Justices are not likely send the case back to the 9th
Circuit. The other possible results -- a decision upholding the lower
court's ruling that the FCC was wrong to classify cable modem as an
information service, or a ruling applying the Chevron standard upholding
the information service classification -- will trigger both phone and cable
to take action. Cable is slightly better positioned in the case since it's
already largely unregulated, and a decision in its favor would leave the
status quo, whereas Internet Service Providers wouldn't gain the entry they
are seeking to cable's networks. As one cable industry source put it, if
cable wins, nothing changes and the industry retains its largely
unregulated status. Many bookies set their odds that cable will win, but if
it loses, it will likely seek forbearance at the FCC with cable urging the
Commission to reactivate its rulemaking dealing with regulatory
classification that was put on hold once the case went to court.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle, Jonathan Make]
(Not available online)

YOU'VE BEEN SCAMMED AGAIN? MAYBE THE PROBLEM ISN'T YOUR COMPUTER
Despite more than 10 years of exposure to the nature of Internet
communications - cheap, quick, anonymous, unverifiable - hoaxes, viruses
and outright fraud continue to spread. And while some of this can be
attributed to the endless stream of newcomers to the online free-for-all,
it isn't just newbies who forward chain e-mail messages, get duped by
implausible offers or enter their account numbers into fake online bank forms.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tom Zeller, Jr.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/06/technology/06link.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)

WATCHDOG GROUPS URGE FCC TO EXCLUDE BLOGGERS FROM INTERNET REGULATION
The Campaign Legal Center, along with other campaign finance watchdog
groups, last week filed comments with the Federal Election Commission
urging the agency to adopt new rules that would largely exempt individuals,
including bloggers, from regulation of their online political activities
when they operate on their own Web sites. The groups supported a regulation
proposed by the FEC that would apply campaign finance rules to paid ads
placed on another person's Web site.
[SOURCE: Campaign Legal Center]
http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/press-1688.html
* CDT Urges Federal Election Commission to Protect Individuals' Political
Speech on the Internet
http://www.cdt.org/
http://fec.cdt.org/

PODCASTING RAPIDLY EMERGING AS RADIO BUSINESS EXTENSION
Podcasting, the new medium burst from the confluence of iPods and audio
downloads, is advancing at incredible speed as more marketers and media
owners incorporate it as an extension of the radio business.
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Abbey Klaassen]
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45206
* Papers Turn to Podcasting, the Newest of Media
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4673646
* Infinity's All-News Stations To Offer Daily Podcasts Beginning 7/05
http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=129034&pt=todaysnews

INTERNET AND HEALTH INFORMATION
A new study of consumer attitudes toward healthcare information finds that
the Internet is seen as the most trusted media source for consumers,
decisively outstripping offline media when consumers want credible health
information.
[SOURCE: PRNewswire]
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/main.jsp?resourceid=2961879

TELECOM

FCC WILL MONITOR E-911 EFFORTS BY VOIP PROVIDERS, ILECS
The FCC released its E-911 order Fri., giving more details about its
decision to require VoIP providers to give customers full emergency calling
capabilities within 120 days. The Commission told VoIP providers and
traditional telephone companies it will "closely monitor" industry efforts
to bring full E-911 capability to VoIP customers. It also called for
comments on ways to bring E-911 capability to portable VoIP customers.
Telephone companies are a key part of this process because access to their
selective routers and trucks are needed.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
FCC Order:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-116A1.doc
FCC Press Release:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-258818A1.doc

LOCAL-TELEPHONE LUSTER FADES
After intense lobbying, large local-telephone companies finally got what
they wanted last year: new rules dictating that they no longer had to
provide rivals with access to their networks at a discount. Investors were
euphoric, and Bell shares rose. The party was short-lived, however, and
much of last year's gains have evaporated. Verizon Communications Inc.
shares have declined 13% since the beginning of the year, SBC
Communications stock is down roughly 9% and BellSouth shares have fallen
about 3%. What happened? Investors fear that local-phone companies face a
new threat from cable providers, which are aggressively entering the phone
business. They also are concerned that phone companies' multibillion-dollar
plans to enter the video business may flop. And they fret that a recent
wave of consolidation could hurt earnings for years.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey dionne.searcey( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111801964577051420,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

SPRINT PREPARES TO CUT THE CORD
From its merger with Nextel Communications, expected to close later this
summer, Sprint-Nextel are to form the largest independent wireless carrier
that has no corporate ties to a traditional phone provider. That puts
Sprint squarely in a different camp from its bigger competitors, Verizon
Wireless and Cingular Wireless. Those companies belong to empires ruled by
Verizon Communications and SBC Communications, already the two biggest
phone companies in the country. Verizon recently acquired MCI and SBC
acquired AT&T. The new strategy, as outlined by chief executive Gary D.
Forsee, means Sprint, along with cable companies, would market a megabundle
of entertainment and communications services. This would include
Internet-based phone service, high-speed Internet connections, and
television, music and entertainment viewable on a cellular phone. In that
world, consumers would be able to communicate through the air, and through
cable lines in their homes, without subscribing to services from the old
phone company.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR200506...
(requires registration)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT CRITICIZED IN NEW REPORT
CompTel/ALTS, an industry association representing competitive
communications providers, released a report last week that shows the United
States is lagging behind European countries when it comes to implementing
policies necessary for sustainable competition in the communications
sector. The report explains the precipitous drop in the United States'
international standing in broadband penetration.
[SOURCE: CompTel/ALTS Press Release]
http://www.comptelascent.org/news/recent-news/060205.html
* Text of report:
http://www.comptelascent.org/public-policy/federal-regulatory/documents/...

JOURNALISM

THE SOURCE OF WHOSE TROUBLES?
[Commentary] The use and abuse of unnamed sources is rampant, especially in
Washington, and the media all too often protect those with partisan
agendas. It's a long road from Felt telling Woodward to "follow the money"
to a Bush adviser telling the New York Times that John Kerry "looks
French." But such potshots have become routine in daily reporting. The
public, understandably, has become increasingly suspicious of blind quotes,
and sometimes unnamed sources are simply wrong. Perhaps a better lesson for
the press is the way that Woodward and Bernstein pored over phone lists and
knocked on doors late at night, the kind of shoe leather reporting that
seems less fashionable in an age of cable, blogs, Podcasts and the like.
There is still a burning need for original reporting amid the cacophony of
analysis, commentary and celebrity news.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR200506...
(requires registration)

PRESS IN IRAQ GAINS RIGHTS BUT NO REFUGE
Iraq is adjusting uneasily to its newfound press freedoms, which proponents
consider as important to cultivating democracy here as free and fair
elections. At least 85 journalists and other employees of news
organizations -- the vast majority of them Iraqis -- have been killed here
since March 2003, according to the International Federation of Journalists,
which opened an office in Baghdad in April to distribute safety information.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Finer]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR200506...
(requires registration)

VIDEO GAMES

VOICEOVER ACTORS SEEK PART OF VIDEO GAME PROFITS
On Tuesday, members of the Screen Actors Guild will announce whether they
will go on strike against video game companies, after months of on-and-off
discussions. (The talks also included the American Federal of Television
and Radio Artists.) The problem is that game makers will not give voiceover
actors extra fees if a game sells more than 400,000 units, a deal-breaker
for the Guild. But whether the actors decide to walk out or not, they have
already opened a Pandora's box by raising the question: Who deserves to be
compensated most for the success of a video game?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Laura Holson]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/06/technology/06voice.html?pagewanted=all
(requires registration)

PUSH FOR CALIFORNIA VIOLENT VIDEO GAME BILL STALLS
A bill before the California Assembly to ban the sale of violent video
games has been shelved because of a lack of support. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, whose Hollywood film career includes violent movies, has
not taken a position on the bill, which allows for $1,000 fines for
violators and requires violent video games to be labeled. The video game
industry bitterly contested the bill, and it expects it will have to do so
again. Video game developers and console makers say laws restricting game
sales are unnecessary because their $10 billion industry does a good job
stopping minors from buying "Mature"-rated games.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=Z5UZFDBYJUFNECRBAELC...
* Misstep on video violence
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050606/edit06.art.htm
* Parents need our help
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050606/oppose06.art.htm
* Industry's ratings guide
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050606/videobox.art.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------

The FCC will post the agenda for next week's open meeting today. For
upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

MEDIA POLICY
Big Media Want FCC Regs Case Heard
DTV Bill More Likely than Telecom Rewrite, Hill Panelists Say
Fight Over 'Balance' Hurting Public TV on Hill, Says Lawson
FCC To Review Cable Act Regs

TELECOM
Cutting the Phone Cord Isn't as Popular as Once Predicted
States to drivers: Hang up, Look Out

INTERNET
Study: These Factors Retard Digital Teaching
Beyond Kiwanis: Internet Builds New Communities
Companies Subvert Search Results to Squelch Criticism
Net Firm Focuses on Blurring the Line
Absent Voices, Missed Opportunity

MEDIA POLICY

BIG MEDIA WANT FCC REGS CASE HEARD
A group of large media conglomerates wants the Supreme Court to take up the
issue of how many media entities a company can own in any individual
market. Six cases that present the issue have been brought by media giants,
including the Tribune Co., NBC Universal, Viacom, Media General, the
Sinclair Broadcast Group, and the Gannett Co., as well as the National
Association of Broadcasters, and are set for review at the Court's private
conference today. A coalition of public interest organizations -- including
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the Center for Digital Democracy, the
Media Alliance, and the Consumer Federation of America -- urges the Court
not to get involved in the present cases, arguing that a lower court
decision to remand the proposed rules instead of vacating them makes
Supreme Court review of this decision premature. "Because many rules
challenged by Petitioners are not expected to be retained on remand, review
of those rules would likely be unnecessary," says the brief from Andrew
Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, the lead counsel for the
respondents. "Further, all of the rules at issue in this case may be
modified or repealed by the FCC during the next Congressionally-mandated
review of media ownership rules, which the FCC will conduct in 2006." The
Court, however, may choose not to hear these cases for a different reason:
The government decided to sit out this fight.
[SOURCE: Legal Times, AUTHOR: Bethany Broida]
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1117530311367

DTV BILL MORE LIKELY THAN TELECOM REWRITE, HILL PANELISTS SAY
Congress is likely to pass a digital television (DTV) transition bill this
year, but the prospect of a full telecom rewrite is more remote, according
to Congressional panelists speaking Wednesday at the Broadband Policy
Summit. The DTV bill introduced by House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe
Barton (R-TX) will be attached to the budget reconciliation bill scheduled
for completion mid-Sept. Using the budget bill could aid passage but
possibly limit the DTV provisions, panelists said. Meanwhile, Consumer
Electronics Association plans to release a study this week on what would
happen post-DTV transition to the 87% of viewers who get cable or satellite
and the 13% whose analog service will be cut off, said CEA President Gary
Shapiro. The National Association of Broadcasters claimed CEA is off the
mark with its 13% figure for homes that rely exclusively on broadcast TV.
Citing General Accountability Office figures, the NAB said the number is
19% or roughly 21 million homes totally reliant on broadcast signals.
"Whose numbers do you believe? The highly respected, non-partisan GAO, or a
shill for offshore TV manufacturers?" asked a NAB spokesman.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle, Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
* Hill Aides Differ On Overhaul Of 1996 Bill
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-BQWG1117658795944.html

FIGHT OVER 'BALANCE' HURTING PUBLIC TV ON HILL, SAYS LAWSON
Public broadcasters are bracing for a hard fight on the Hill to retain
funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other entities,
said John Lawson, President of the Association of Public TV Stations
(APTS). The House situation is very challenging, he said. With the budget
approved there virtually mirroring President Bush's budget, it really "ties
the hands" of the Labor-HHS Subcommittee that funds CPB. The President's
budget proposed to kill advance funding for CPB. In the Senate, public
broadcasters continue to "maintain strong bipartisan support," Lawson said,
but the President wants to eliminate or slash funding for 150 domestic
programs. "So our challenge in the Senate is maintaining funding for public
broadcasting as a priority for both Republican and Democrats."
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Dinesh Kumar]
(Not available online)

FCC TO REVIEW CABLE ACT REGS
Over the next 12 months, the FCC will look at a host of regulations with an
eye toward keeping, changing or jettisoning rules it adopted between 1993
and 1995, depending on their affect on small businesses. It has asked for
help in deciding, opening a public comment period that closes Sept. 5. With
the rules flowing from the 1992 Cable Act falling in that window, on the
table are the gamut of cable regs, from ownership limits, mandatory
broadcast station carriage on cable systems (must-carry), and cable rate
regulation, to nondiscriminatory program access, as well as some
broadcast-related regs -- Emergency Alert System technical standards,
competitive bidding procedures and some ex parte communications among
them.There are also a host of telephone regulations, from slamming to
telemarketing to rates of return.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA605400?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See the FCC's info on the proceeding at:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-1524A1.doc

TELECOM

CUTTING THE PHONE CORD ISN'T AS POPULAR AS ONCE PREDICTED
While the number of wireless-only households is increasing -- close to 6%
of all U.S. homes at the end of last year, according to Forrester Research
-- the trend isn't accelerating as quickly as many experts predicted. And
some consumers are reconsidering their decision to go wireless and are
reconnecting to a landline. Consumers cite a variety of reasons for needing
a fixed line: poor cellular coverage, the sense of security a home line
provides and the fact that many people still rely on landlines for Internet
service. Local landline service is also cheap enough -- $10 to $20 a month
for a stripped-down version in many cases -- that consumers don't feel
compelled to cut it even if they don't use it. (A typical landline customer
pays about $50 a month for unlimited local and long-distance calling, on
top of $10 or so in taxes.) Some people are also reluctant to cut the cord
because there are no directories for cellular numbers and they want
business contacts or long-lost friends to be able to find them.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Christopher Rhoads
christopher.rhoads( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111766944518948757,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

STATES TO DRIVERS: HANG UP, LOOK OUT
State lawmakers across the USA are cracking down on distracted driving as
research increasingly documents the perils of inattentiveness behind the
wheel. This year, 37 states have debated new laws restricting drivers' use
of cellphones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The rush comes as research at the University of Minnesota and the
University of Utah concludes that drivers talking on cellphones or fiddling
with the car radio sometimes perform as poorly as drunken drivers.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Larry Copeland]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050602/1a_lede02.art.htm
* Distracted-driver debate intensifies
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050602/a_distractedside02.ar...

INTERNET

STUDY: THESE FACTORS RETARD DIGITAL TEACHING
What's holding back the digital curriculum? A lot of things: too few
classroom computers, poorly conceived professional development, and a lack
of time to research and plan--to name three big factors, according to a new
report from the nonprofit Education Development Center (EDC). The study,
"Effective Access: Teachers' Use of Digital Resources in STEM Teaching,"
examines how high school teachers use digital libraries and other
electronic resources to support "science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics" (STEM) exploration and instruction.
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Robert Brumfield]
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5706

BEYOND KIWANIS: INTERNET BUILDS NEW COMMUNITIES
Five years after sociologist Robert Putnam documented the decline of
community involvement in his book Bowling Alone, a new spirit of civic
engagement is flourishing, largely because of 21st-century technology.
Cellphones, e-mails, instant text messaging and BlackBerries are helping
mobile, busy Americans link up with neighbors on their commutes to work, in
the middle of the night and on business trips. Technology, coupled with the
rising number of families who have school-age children and retirees who
have leisure time, is raising hopes that more Americans are again investing
"social capital."
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Haya El Nasser]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050602/1a_cover02.art.htm

COMPANIES SUBVERT SEARCH RESULTS TO SQUELCH CRITICISM
Although Google and other search engines will not spell out exactly how
their top secret algorithms work, some companies have found ways to
influence search results: search engine optimization (SEO) techniques that
go against accepted marketing techniques and into the muddy world of Web
page spam, also known as link farms and Google bombing.
[SOURCE: Online Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Mark Glaser]
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050601glaser/

NET FIRM FOCUSES ON BLURRING THE LINE
At entertainment site Heavy.com, what seems to be program content may well
be advertising. "Our goal is to be kind of an interface, where we have two
groups of customers: consumers and marketers," said Simon Assaad, the
34-year-old Melbourne, Australia, native who launched Heavy in 1998 with
partner David Carson
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jon Healey]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-heavy2jun02,1,3719835...
(requires registration)

ABSENT VOICES, MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: THE MEDIA'S SILENCE ON ICT POLICY
ISSUES IN 6 AFRICAN COUNTRIES
The report evaluates the nature of ICT policy coverage in
policy-influential media in Kenya, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Senegal.
http://www.catia.ws/Documents/Indexpage/ICT%20coverage%20report%20final.doc
Also at http://rights.apc.org/documents/absentvoices.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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