December 2005

The Senate Commerce Committee meets today for a Decency Forum Follow-up=20
Meeting. For this and other upcoming media policy events, see=20
http://www.benton.org

INDECENCY, CABLE & A LA CARTE
Cable Operators May Offer Family-Friendly Package
'Family Friendly' Plan Sets Cable Rift
The Economics of Indecency
Cable TV Pressured to Clean Up Offerings
Minority Groups Oppose A La Carte
PTC: Confine "Indecency" To Cable
Religious Broadcasters Favor Choice
Legislators Get Eyeful on Indecency
Indecency Actions Still a No-Show

OWNERSHIP
Hollywood Rewrite: Viacom Outbids GE To Buy DreamWorks
HarperCollins Plans to Control Its Digital Books
An Industry Unwilling to Play by Rules of 'Fair Use'
Bring It On-Line
AOL Co-Founder Calls for Split of Time Warner
Sesame Street Goes Global: Let's All Count the Revenue

POLICYMAKERS/AGENDA
Barton Abandons Bid To Vote On Telecom Bill
Sen. Sununu Slams Universal Service Program
Two New Names Surface For Republican FCC Seat
Harold Heading to FCC Media Bureau

JOURNALISM
Bad News, Too Often Traveling First Class?
Firm Files Believable, Newsy Copy, for a Price
Hollywood Gives the Press a Bad Name

QUICKLY -- Tempe on track to debut citywide Wi-Fi network in February; SBC=
=20
Sues Walnut Creek (CA); Gigot Thanks Tomlinson; Digital Dumps

INDECENCY, CABLE & A LA CARTE

CABLE OPERATORS MAY OFFER FAMILY-FRIENDLY PACKAGE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Arshad Mohammed]
At this morning's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on indecency, the=20
National Cable and Telecommunications Association apparently plans to=20
announce that some cable operators -- including giants Comcast and Time=20
warner -- intend to offer packages of family-friendly channels. Just what=
=20
may be in these packages is unclear and will be decided by the companies on=
=20
their own.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR200512...
1144.html
(requires registration)

'FAMILY FRIENDLY' PLAN SETS CABLE RIFT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Joe Flint, Peter Grant and Amy Schatz=
]
A split has developed within the entertainment industry as several major=20
cable operators signaled their willingness to give in to regulatory=20
pressure by providing a so-called family-friendly package of programming,=
=20
despite resistance from many cable programmers. The cable operators are=20
breaking ranks with the major entertainment companies that own most of the=
=20
country's cable and broadcast channels. The entertainment companies are=20
concerned about the impact of a family-friendly tier on their revenue and=
=20
who would determine what qualifies as a family-friendly channel. They also=
=20
worry about what would happen to channels that don't meet that=20
qualification. The escalating tensions likely will have broad repercussions=
=20
in an industry where relations between cable operators and cable channels=
=20
are never easy. Operators and entertainment companies frequently bicker=20
over terms for carriage of TV channels: in some extreme cases, disputes=20
lead to TV channels being taken off the air for a few days. What=20
entertainment companies can do to stop cable operators creating a new tier=
=20
of programming isn't clear. One possibility, industry executives said, is=
=20
that network owners could contend tiers were in violation of their=20
contracts with cable operators. In the future, large entertainment=20
companies that own numerous networks will likely fight fiercely to get them=
=20
on family tiers, using their most popular channels as leverage. Even if a=
=20
few million consumers decided to drop their current cable service and sign=
=20
on for only family-friendly channels, that could have big financial=20
ramifications. Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, for example, costs cable operators=
=20
about $2.50 per-subscriber per-month. If ESPN wasn't a part of a=20
family-friendly tier and lost three or four million of its 90 million=20
subscribers, that could translate into tens of millions of dollars it would=
=20
have to replace.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113435740418519914.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)

THE ECONOMICS OF INDECENCY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
Just days after FCC Chairman Kevin Martin launched an attack on indecent=20
programming on basic cable, major operators seem to be coming to heel,=20
hurriedly drafting plans for special tiers of family-friendly programming,=
=20
Comcast and Time Warner Cable are hoping to head off harsh regulation that=
=20
could force systems to offer all basic channels =E0 la carte -- the same wa=
y=20
they sell pay movie channels like HBO -- which could create financial havoc=
=20
for both systems and networks. The two operators spent last week talking=20
with programmers and combing through network-affiliation contracts to see=
=20
what kind of family packages they can offer. Neither company expects to=20
finalize plans quickly but may broadly outline a family-tier plan at a new=
=20
indecency hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee scheduled for=20
Monday, Dec. 12. Programming executives worry that a family tier presents=
=20
the same hazards as =E0 la carte, or individually priced channels. Heavy=20
tiering could leave some networks with fewer subscribers, license fees and=
=20
ad sales exacerbated by greater marketing costs. The family networks could=
=20
actually be the ones that suffer.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6290435?display=3DNews&referral=
=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also:
* Cable a la Carte: Choice vs. Cost?
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/index.html/content/dec2005/tc2005...
7_647629.htm

CABLE TV PRESSURED TO CLEAN UP OFFERINGS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times 12/9, AUTHOR: Sallie Hofmeister]
The Federal Communications Commission has warned the nation's two leading=
=20
cable TV companies that unwanted conditions could be imposed on their=20
proposed acquisition of a rival if they do not agree to curb the=20
proliferation of sexually explicit programming. Faced with what some are=20
describing as an ultimatum, Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. have sought=
=20
to satisfy FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin's demands by pressuring the rest of=
=20
the industry to come to a consensus on how to respond, said these sources,=
=20
who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the regulatory=20
approval process.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-adelphia9dec09,1,7457334.story?coll=
=3Dla-headlines-business&ctrack=3D1&cset=3Dtrue
(requires registration)

NCTA's Pres. McSlarrow Warns Cable Against Further FCC Involvement
[SOURCE: MediaWeek 12/8, AUTHOR: Anthony Crupi]
National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow=20
offered an unambiguous assessment of where the industry stands in the face=
=20
of heightened federal regulations, telling a group of investors and=20
analysts in New York Thursday morning, "If you let the government in now,=
=20
ten years from now you're going to be screwed." "A la carte is just such an=
=20
extreme, Big Government micromanagement of the public sector," McSlarrow=20
said. Rather than go down that path, McSlarrow said he believes that=20
cable's menu of parental controls options should continue to be pushed by=
=20
operators, an idea that has found favor with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D100...
7265

MINORITY GROUPS OPPOSE A LA CARTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sixteen organizations representing minority interests have written the=20
leadership of the House and Senate Commerce Committees opposing any attempt=
=20
at a la carte cable legislation. "According to overwhelming evidence on the=
=20
public record," wrote the groups "such 'pay-per-channel' regulations would=
=20
likely result in price hikes for consumers while decimating minority and=20
other new cable programmers who are now able to air programming focused on=
=20
African-American and Hispanic audiences."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6290486?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

PTC: CONFINE "INDECENCY" TO CABLE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 12/7, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate Commerce Committees,=20
Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, is proposing=20
that cable remain free of FCC indecency regulation. He'd like to see=20
Congress "quickly" pass legislation to boost broadcast indecency fines to=
=20
$500,000 per incident and to require cable to provide channels a la carte=
=20
so that viewers can reject unwanted content. If they will do that, he says,=
=20
then =93if the industry wants to air this indecent programming, it can do s=
o=20
on cable television, which is not governed by federal indecency=20
regulations. The top-six media companies own two-thirds of the networks on=
=20
cable, so they have innumerable delivery vehicles on which they can air=20
this material. Thus, their artistic freedom is insured."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6289725?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS FAVOR CHOICE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 12/9, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee, Trinity Broadcasting and 15=
=20
other religious broadcasters have come out in favor of digital multicast=20
must carry of broadcasters signals on cable. But these broadcasters oppose=
=20
a "pure" a la carte cable scenario that lets viewers pick and choose among=
=20
program offerings. The broadcasters are not dead set against the choice=20
afforded by a family-friendly programming tier, which FCC chairman Kevin=20
Martin has proposed and at least one cable operator, Cablevision, has=20
backed. But they write that "such a package is NOT a substitute for=20
must-carry." They feel that in an a la carte world, not enough households=
=20
would subscribe to their programming.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6290392?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

LEGISLATORS GET EYEFUL OF INDECENCY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 12/7, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Congressional Research Service, the public-policy research arm of=20
Congress, has issued two reports considering the legal ramifications of=20
changes to FCC indecency enforcement. One is on the constitutionality of=20
applying the FCC's indecency restrictions to cable and satellite and the=20
second is on the prospects for a challenge to the FCC's ruling that even=20
fleeting, adjectival use of the f-word is indecent. The cable report says=
=20
that it "seems uncertain whether the court would find that denying minors=
=20
access to 'indecent' material on cable TV would constitute a compelling=20
governmental interest."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6289815.html?display=3DBreaki...
News&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

INDECENCY ACTIONS STILL A NO-SHOW
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 12/7, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With only three weeks left in the year, FCC commissioners still have not=20
been presented with a package of proposed indecency fines and complaint=20
dismissals for their sign-off. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has indicated that=
=20
releasing them together could help give broadcasters better direction about=
=20
what the FCC thinks does and doesn't violate its ban on indecent broadcast=
=20
programming between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The FCC has proposed no indecency=20
fines in 2005. One reason may be that a number of major media=20
companies--including Viacom, Clear Channel, and Emmis Communications--have=
=20
settled a host of those complaints already with both dollars and pledges to=
=20
crack down on content the FCC doesn't like. Still, 189,362 complaints had=
=20
been filed in 2005 against 720 broadcast and cable programs, according to=
=20
the FCC's last published count.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6289627?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

OWNERSHIP

HOLLYWOOD REWRITE: VIACOM OUTBIDS GE TO BUY DREAMWORKS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Merissa Marr merissa.marr( at )wsj.com,=20
Kate Kelly and Kathryn Kranhold]
Yesterday, Viacom announced plans to acquire closely held DreamWorks, the=
=20
live-action film studio that made hits like "Saving Private Ryan" and=20
"American Beauty," for $774 million, plus the assumption of about $840=20
million of net debt. The deal also will give Viacom the right to distribute=
=20
movies from DreamWorks Animation SKG, a separate public company. To help=20
pay for the deal, Viacom plans to recruit outside investors to contribute=
=20
as much as $1 billion of the total $1.6 billion package.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113416622175118798.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)

HAPERCOLLINS PLANS TO CONTROL ITS DIGITAL BOOKS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg=20
jeffrey.trachtenberg( at )wsj.com and Kevin J. Delaney]
In the latest salvo in the fight over the future of books on the Internet,=
=20
one of the country's biggest publishers said it intends to produce digital=
=20
copies of its books and then make them available to search services offered=
=20
by such companies as Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and=20
Amazon.com., while maintaining physical possession of the digital files.=20
News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers Inc. hopes to head off the prospect=
=20
of these big Internet companies taking charge of books that it has=20
purchased, edited and published. Its move to digitize its active backlist=
=20
of an estimated 20,000 titles and as many as 3,500 new books each year=20
comes at a moment when technology companies and the publishing industry are=
=20
wrestling over rights and economic models for books online. HarperCollins's=
=20
effort to make search companies use its digital copies is an aggressive=20
response to anxieties felt by publishers worried that they will lose=20
control over their intellectual property.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113435527609919890.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)

AN INDUSTRY UNWILLING TO PLAY BY RULES OF 'FAIR USE'
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Michael Hiltzik]
[Commentary] Scarcely a week passes without the entertainment industry=20
warning us that its business model is about to be exterminated by some new=
=20
technology. The Internet, satellite radio and TiVo are among the mortal=20
threats that have sent media executives scurrying to Washington with=20
proposals to rein them in, tax them, even ban them. The music labels, TV=20
networks and movie studios never propose to alter their own models to=20
accommodate new technologies =97 they merely insist that everybody else=20
change to accommodate them. When they don't get their own way with=20
lawmakers, they take it out on consumers. Media companies detest fair use.=
=20
They regard your ability to make a backup copy of a CD as a lost=20
opportunity to sell you a new disc. They worry that a song parody by "Weird=
=20
Al" might be mistaken in a store for the real thing. They don't understand=
=20
why a critic with the knives out for a book should be permitted to quote=20
from it in a review. If they had their druthers, you'd pay them a few bucks=
=20
every time you played a DVD at a party or put songs on a mix CD to give to=
=20
a friend.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-golden12dec12,1,57249...
column?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

BRING IT ON-LINE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
Across the country, TV stations are taking on newspapers, Web sites and all=
=20
comers online -- and challenging them with video and exclusive online=20
newscasts. Indeed, many stations say they are just beginning to flex their=
=20
broadband muscles, offering rich video clips of dramatic news and=20
displaying real-time traffic reports and weather by a local meteorologist.=
=20
The market for online news is exploding. Twenty-nine percent of Americans=
=20
say they go online regularly for news, up from virtually zero a decade ago,=
=20
according to the Pew Research Center. The migration has caused tectonic=20
shifts across media sectors, shrinking the audience for TV news -- both=20
national and local -- and sending shockwaves through the newspaper=20
industry, which has seen readership tumble sharply in the past decade.=20
According to the Pew study, 71% of adults 18-29 say they get their news=20
online, yet only 46% say they regularly watch local TV news. In the early=
=20
1990s, 75% of Americans said they watched local news.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6290218?display=3DFeature&ref...
al=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

AOL CO-FOUNDER CALLS FOR SPLIT OF TIME WARNER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Siklos & Andrew Ross Sorkin]
As Time Warner nears a decision on a big alliance with Google or Microsoft=
=20
for its America Online unit, Stephen M. Case, the co-founder of AOL, has=20
spoken out against the plan, aligning himself with the thinking of the=20
financier Carl C. Icahn, who has pushed for a breakup of Time Warner. Mr.=
=20
Case, who recently resigned as a Time Warner director, wrote in an essay in=
=20
The Washington Post on Sunday that "although I played a key role in=20
bringing AOL and Time Warner together six years ago, it's now my view that=
=20
it would be best to 'undo' the merger by splitting Time Warner into several=
=20
independent companies and allowing AOL to set off on its own path."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/technology/12time.html?hp&ex=3D1134450...
&en=3D9705cbb6a1b95605&ei=3D5094&partner=3Dhomepage
(requires registration)

SESAME STREET GOES GLOBAL: LET'S ALL COUNT THE REVENUE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Doreen Carvajal]
Thirty-six years after the original "Sesame Street" had its debut in the=20
United States, Elmo has left his familiar neighborhood for a fresh wave of=
=20
globalization, bound for countries that are discarding dubbed American=20
versions for homegrown productions inhabited by characters with names like=
=20
Nac, Khokha and Kami. The makeovers - in places like Bollywood, Paris,=20
Tokyo and South Africa - are transforming what it means to be a Muppet. One=
=20
result is new licensing income from global co-productions that are=20
subsidizing more treats for the Cookie Monster back in Sesame Workshop's=20
New York headquarters. Revenue at Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational=
=20
organization, increased 4 percent, to $96 million, last year, primarily=20
because of new income from international licensing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/business/media/12sesame.html?pagewanted=
=3Dall
(requires registration)
See also:
* Sesame Goes Interactive
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6290488?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

POLICYMAKERS/AGENDA

BARTON ABANDONS BID TO VOTE ON TELECOM BILL
[SOURCE: CongressDaily 12/8, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
Apparently, House Commerce Committee Chairman is giving up his quest for a=
=20
subcommittee vote this week on draft telecommunications legislation, after=
=20
committee Republicans and Democrats balked at his quick time-frame.=20
Chairman Barton had hoped for a subcommittee markup next week to create=20
momentum for a full committee vote in March and a House floor vote at some=
=20
point in the spring of 2006. There no appears to be consensus to continue=
=20
to discuss the legislation at least through February. (More on what a new=
=20
draft of the legislation may look like at the URL below.)
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-SADO1134082921701.html

SEN SUNUNU SLAMS UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROGRAM
[SOURCE: Technology Daily 12/7, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, sharply=
=20
criticized the $6 billion universal service program and said it should be=
=20
reined in -- putting him odds with several powerful committee colleagues=20
who want to maintain or expand its size and scope. "Universal service is a=
=20
tax. We should call it a tax," he said during remarks late Wednesday=20
afternoon to the Progress and Freedom Foundation, which supports capping=20
the fund's size. "It distorts the marketplace. There's no question about=20
it." He blamed the fund for protecting archaic business models and=20
undermining technological innovation. While he acknowledged that it=20
benefits some consumers who otherwise cannot afford phone service, he=20
argued that it prevents telecom companies from rolling out new technologies=
=20
to other citizens. "It results in inequity and inequality in that it is a=
=20
redistribution of wealth," Sen Sununu said, contending that some recipients=
=20
of the money -- particularly schools and libraries in rural but otherwise=
=20
economically sound areas -- should not be benefactors. Sen Sununu said=20
Congress should cap the fund's size and avoid creating "an open-ended=20
entitlement," but emphasized that he does not oppose its existence. He said=
=20
the subsidy could be reduced without necessarily compromising its=20
effectiveness, and argued that a well-structured $5 billion fund could be=
=20
far more effective than today's $6 billion effort. Conversely, he said,=20
"you could spend $10 billion on a program that's an absolute disaster."
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-CEWS1134081001692.html

TWO NEW NAMES SURFACE FOR REPUBLICAN FCC SEAT
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Two more names surfaced last week as possible choices to fill a Republican=
=20
vacancy at the FCC: lobbyist Robert McDowell and communications attorney=20
William Crispin. McDowell is senior vice president and assistant general=20
counsel with CompTel, which represents many Bell competitors, including=20
Internet phone providers. Crispin, a communications lawyer for 25 years,=20
heads up Crispin and Associates, whose clients include wireless carriers=20
Qualcomm, NextWave Telecom and Nextel.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-VCRF1133994150047.html

HAROLD HEADING TO FCC MEDIA BUREAU
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Rosemary Harold is leaving law firm Wiley Rein & Fielding to become deputy=
=20
chief of the Federal Communications Commission=92s Media Bureau, which=20
oversees the cable, broadcasting and satellite-TV industries.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6290107.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)

JOURNALISM

BAD NEWS, TOO OFTEN TRAVELING FIRST CLASS?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently started to criticize press=20
coverage of the war in Iraq, saying it is too negative. Privately, at=20
least, some journalists say Rumsfeld has a point. But there is no shortage=
=20
of critics. David Halberstam, the author and former Vietnam correspondent=
=20
whose reporting led John F. Kennedy to demand that the New York Times=20
recall him, says Rumsfeld is starting to resemble that era's Pentagon=20
chief, Robert McNamara. "When the policy doesn't work, shoot the=20
messenger," Halberstam says. "When the policy doesn't work or is seriously=
=20
flawed, you go after the press, and certainly that happened in Vietnam.=20
What was particularly odious is that if we were writing pessimistically,=20
they'd say we were insulting the soldiers of an ally and insulting the U.S.=
=20
military. As the people in the field were suppressed, they turned to the=20
journalists, and we became their outlets." Michael Ware, Time's Baghdad=20
correspondent, calls Secretary Rumsfeld's remarks administration spin. "It=
=20
is so far from the truth on the ground it's almost indescribable," he says.=
=20
"The defining quality of the Iraq story is the horror. It is a war, and it=
=20
is awful, and bloody, and vicious, and brutal on all sides. To devote your=
=20
energies to making that day's story the opening of a health clinic is=20
almost irresponsible."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR200512...
1228.html
(requires registration)

FIRM FILES BELIEVABLE, NEWSY COPY, FOR A PRICE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Annys Shin]
Meet NewsUSA Inc, a 70-person company that churns out audio clips,=20
newspaper copy and radio scripts, all based on information provided by=20
paying clients -- corporations, associations and others. Reformulated into=
=20
journalistic style, with a pitch for the client included as unobtrusively=
=20
as possible, the articles are distributed free to newspapers and radio=20
stations around the country. Invoking the credible tone of traditional news=
=20
media for commercial purposes, the articles find their way into the=20
advertising supplements of major dailies. They fill out the news pages of=
=20
staff-strapped small-town or community newspapers. They get airplay in the=
=20
guise of consumer tips -- often rounded out with a mention of a Web site or=
=20
a company that can solve problems like hair loss or how to set up a bridal=
=20
registry. Though news placement services have been around for more than 50=
=20
years, they have recently come under fire after articles and columns=20
commissioned by the Bush administration appeared in U.S. and Iraqi=20
newspapers without disclosing who paid for them. But such criticism is not=
=20
likely to end a practice that for first-time authors, small trade=20
associations, and even well-known corporations such as Home Depot Inc. and=
=20
Volkswagen AG offers a handsome payoff: the ability to place a message=20
before a mass audience for much less than the cost of buying traditional ad=
s.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR200512...
0636.html
(requires registration)

HOLLYWOOD GIVES THE PRESS A BAD NAME
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
[Commentary] Has the public been taught, movie by movie, to loathe and=20
suspect the press? Maybe not, but the movies in which the press is seen as=
=20
holding business and government to account -- how the press likes to think=
=20
of itself -- are far outnumbered by the films in which the news media come=
=20
off as entirely unaccountable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/business/media/12carr.html?pagewanted=...
ll
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

PHOENIX SUBURB ON TRACK TO DEBUT CITYWIDE WI-FI NETWORK IN FEBRUARY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Michelle Roberts]
Tempe, the Phoenix suburb that is home to Arizona State University, is due=
=20
to have wireless Internet available for all of its 160,000 residents in=20
February, becoming the first city of its size in the USA to have Wi-Fi=20
throughout. Tempe officials hope that by making high-speed Internet as=20
accessible as water or electricity across its 40 square miles, it will=20
attract more technology and biotech companies and the upwardly mobile=20
employees they bring. An increasing number of cities are looking at using=
=20
Internet access as an economic development tool. Few have gotten as far as=
=20
installing systems, =93but most cities are realizing that it may be somethi=
ng=20
that they want to do,=94 said Cheryl Leanza, legislative counsel for the=20
National League of Cities.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051212/a_tempe12.art.htm

SBC SUES WALNUT CREEK
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
SBC is suing Walnut Creek (CA) because the city has insisted that work=20
permits needed to upgrade its phone plant are subject to municipal cable=20
franchising. The suit reasserted the telephone company's argument that its=
=20
planned video service does not meet the federal definition of a cable=20
service. It is, instead, an interactive on-demand service and not subject=
=20
to local franchising.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6290179.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)

WSJ's Gigot to Tomlinson: "[T]hank [you] for defending the importance of=20
balance and diversity on public television"
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America]
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512060006

'DIGITAL DUMPS' HEAP HAZARDS AT FOREIGN SITES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Grossman]
The Basel Action Network (BAN) has found that junked computer equipment is=
=20
adding to the considerable hazardous waste problems in Nigeria, which lacks=
=20
facilities to properly handle it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR200512...
0664.html
(requires registration)
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policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
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