December 2005

Why does content matter? Find out today at a Capitol Hill discussion hosted
by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund
(http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/834). For this and other upcoming
media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
U.S. Is Given Failing Grades By 9/11 Panel
Spectrum Policy Gets "F" in Preparedness
Markey Expects 'Hard' DTV Date To Move
VoIP Firms Seek Delay In FCC Rules
Broadcasters' Foundation Offers Katrina Aid

CONTENT
Television Executives Rethink Ratings System
Will Fair Use Survive?

TELECOM
Cellphone Firms Responding to Signals of Dissatisfaction
As Telecom Shifts, Providers Seek New Connections

QUICKLY -- Rumsfeld Says the Media Focus Too Much on Negatives in Iraq;
BellSouth Disputes New Orleans Report; Congress Gets Food-Marketing
Recommendations; Court blocks Illinois video game sales regulation; ICANN
postpones decision on sex domain

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

US GIVEN FAILING GRADES BY 9/11 PANEL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dan Eggen]
The federal government received failing and mediocre grades yesterday from
the former Sept. 11 commission, whose members said in a final report that
the Bush administration and Congress have balked at enacting numerous
reforms that could save American lives and prevent another terrorist attack
on U.S. soil. The 10-member bipartisan panel -- whose book-length report
about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks became a surprise bestseller -- issued a
"report card" that included 5 F's, 12 D's and two "incompletes" in
categories including airline passenger screening and improving first
responders' communication system. The panel sharply criticized Congress for
failing to enable first responders to communicate easily by setting aside
part of the broadcast spectrum for their use. A pending budget bill would
open part of the spectrum for first responders in 2009, but the Sept. 11
panel said that date is "too distant given the urgency of the threat."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR200512...
(requires registration)
* 9/11 Panel Issues Poor Grades for Handling of Terror
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/politics/06panel.html?pagewanted=all

SPECTRUM POLICY GETS "F" IN PREPAREDNESS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The 9/11 Public Disclosure Project has given spectrum policy an F grade in
emergency preparedness, which it will upgrade to a C+ if current DTV
transition hard-date legislation passes. The project, made up of former
members of the 9/11 Commission, recommends a 2007 hard date, saying 2009 is
"too distant given the urgency of the threat." (See below a prediction that
the date will become even more distant.) House Commerce Committee Chairman
Joe Barton (R-TX) countered saying that "the benefits of adopting a hard
date for the digital television transition are numerous and significant.
For years, our first responders have had to make do with antiquated radio
equipment while waiting for the airwaves they were promised. Our
digital-television transition bill will make it easier for these public
servants to catch criminals, fight fires and save lives." The House bill
provides $500 million for first-responder equipment, which Barton also
pointed to. The Senate bill, however, would provide double that amount. In
the same report, Ken Tomlinson's efforts at the Board for International
Broadcasting got pretty high marks. The government got a B for
international broadcasting operations to the Arab and Muslim world that
were launched under Tomlinson, who chairs the Broadcasting Board of
Governors. The report pointed to growing budgets and audience shares but
added that "we need to move beyond audience size [and] expose listeners to
new ideas and accurate information about the U.S. and its policies, and
measure the impact and influence of these ideas."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6289214?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

MARKEY EXPECTS 'HARD' DATE TO MOVE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In an interview with cable network C-SPAN, Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) said he
thinks the 2009 target date for the end of analog TV broadcasts will be
delayed because House Republican leadership is not setting enough money
aside to subsidize digital-to-analog converter boxes for the poor and
elderly. Rep Markey has been one of the most vocal critics of the
House-passed DTV transition bill. Unlike the bipartisan Senate version that
allocates $3 billion to a subsidy that would cover everyone, the House
version requires viewers to actively seek out the subsidy, and would only
put $960 million towards it. The auction of returned analog TV spectrum is
expected to generate from $10 billion to perhaps as much as $30 billion.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6288850?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

VOIP FIRMS SEEK DELAY IN FCC RULES
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
Since the end of November, the FCC has required that Internet telephone
service companies provide location-based 911 service. But more than a dozen
Voice over Internet Protocol -- VoIP -- providers want to delay enforcement
of the requirement. In reports to the FCC, compliance rates have varied
greatly -- from 0 to 100%, in fact. Many carriers that provide "fixed"
service or VoIP capabilities to a single location reported full compliance.
But companies that offer "nomadic" service -- such as Vonage America and
AT&T -- reported compliance of 26 percent and 66 percent, respectively.
Nomadic service enables a customer to plug has phone adaptor into any
broadband connection and obtain telephone service. Public safety groups,
Internet telephone companies and several members of Congress have united
around a proposal to appoint an FCC administrator to help facilitate wide
compliance by nomadic providers. Sources said this suggestion is under
consideration by the FCC.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-ATKX1133813783897.html

BROADCASTERS' FOUNDATION OFFERS KATRINA AID
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: P.J. Bednarski]
The Broadcasters' Foundation, which gives money to broadcasters who fall on
hard times for any variety of reasons, says it has so far given away
$250,000 to 250 radio and TV broadcasters in areas affected by Hurricane
Katrina. Each of the broadcasters received an initial $1,000 grant.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6289217?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

CONTENT

TELEVISION EXECUTIVES RETHINK RATINGS SYSTEM
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jube Shiver Jr]
Former Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti helped
to organize a meeting Monday of television and cable executives concerned
about the attention Washington policy makers are giving programming
containing sex, violence and profanity. The meeting followed the Open Forum
on Decency last week in Washington in which Senate Commerce Committee
Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) threatened to pass legislation to crack
down on TV indecency unless the industry policed itself better. One
participant, who declined to be identified because participants promised
not to talk about the meeting publicly, called it a "spirited discussion"
among media executives with "very different views." Apparently,
participants discussed ways to improve the 10 yr-old V-Chip rating system,
but some executives at the meeting expressed concern that tinkering with
the ratings system might produce further confusion among parents about how
to use the content-blocking technology.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-decency6dec06,1,77474...
(requires registration)
* Cable Execs Downplay Chances of a la Carte Pricing
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=8997
(requires free registration)

WILL FAIR USE SURVIVE?
[SOURCE: Brennan Center for Justice: Marjorie Heins and Tricia Beckles]
Are increasingly heavy assertions of control by copyright and trademark
owners smothering fair use and free expression? The product of more than a
year of research -- including many firsthand stories from artists,
scholars, bloggers, and others -- this report paints a striking picture of
an intellectual property system that is perilously out of balance. The
report suggests the need for strengthening fair use so that it can be an
effective tool for anyone who contributes to culture and democratic
discourse. The report finds: 1) Artists, writers, historians, and
filmmakers are burdened by a "clearance culture" that ignores fair use and
forces them to seek permission (which may be denied) and pay high license
fees in order to use even small amounts of copyrighted or trademarked
material. 2) The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the DMCA) is being
used by copyright owners to pressure Internet service providers to take
down material from their servers on the mere assertion that it is
infringing, with no legal judgment and no consideration of fair use. 3) An
analysis of 320 letters on the Chilling Effects website, an online
repository of threatening cease and desist and "take down" letters, showed
that nearly 50% of the letters had the potential to stifle protected
speech. The report recommends: A) creating a clearinghouse for information,
including sample replies to cease and desist and "take down" letters; B)
outreach to Internet service providers who are instructed by companies to
take down sites with material they claim as copyright-protected; C) changes
in the law to reduce the penalty for guessing wrong about fair use; and D)
the creation of a national pro bono legal support network.
http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/WillFairUseSurvive.pdf

TELECOM

CELLPHONE FIRMS RESPONDING TO SIGNALS OF DISSATISFACTION
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
A Consumer Reports magazine survey released Monday ranked cellphone
consumers' satisfaction level with carriers below that of health
maintenance organizations and cable TV companies. Rather than rely solely
on efforts to widen coverage, improve reception and curtail dropped calls,
cellphone companies are explaining the fine print in contracts, offering
more generous return policies or adjusting their calling plans to reduce
exorbitant overage charges. Building a better reputation is all the more
important as fiercely competitive companies face a saturated market that
forces them to chase one another's customers. Whether the efforts are
paying off is unclear. Some private surveys suggest they aren't, but
statistics compiled by the Federal Communications Commission indicate that
they may be. The number of complaints to the federal agency dropped 16% in
the first nine months this year from the same period last year. And the
number of gripes about billing and rates -- by far the biggest single
category -- fell 13%. A recent study by marketing information firm J.D.
Power & Associates found that overall satisfaction with wireless service
providers dropped 10% during 2004, the biggest year-over-year change since
it began studying such performance in 1995. Unlike the FCC statistics, J.D.
Power's report surveys consumer attitudes nationwide, said company analyst
Kirk Parsons. "Normally, the FCC only gets people who are really mad, so
the complaints are not like a general consumer study and are not
representative of the country as a whole," he said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-nicefones6dec06,1,179...
(requires registration)

AS TELECOM SHIFTS, PROVIDERS SEEK NEW CONNECTIONS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey
dionne.searcey( at )wsj.com, Jesse Drucker and Sarmad Ali]
Battling for customers in a quickly changing communications landscape,
telephone companies are starting to roll out a range of new gadgets and
services that combine wireless, landline and Internet access. For
consumers, the strategy could mean further discounts for packages of
Internet, landline and wireless services -- and a wider selection of
services and gadgets. To pave the way for the new strategy, phone companies
have purchased wireless and long-distance providers in deals valued at more
than $100 billion in the past two years: SBC Communications bought longtime
rival AT&T, a long-distance company, and renamed itself AT&T; Verizon is
close to finishing the acquisition of MCI.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113383802531714808.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

QUICKLY

RUMSFELD SAYS THE MEDIA FOCUS TOO MUCH ON NEGATIVES IN IRAQ
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Cloud]
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday that news media
organizations were focusing too much on casualties and mistakes by the
military in Iraq and were failing to provide a full picture of the progress
toward stabilizing the country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/international/middleeast/06rumsfeld.ht...
(requires registration)
* Gloves Off: Rumsfeld Attacks Press on Iraq Coverage
When public support for the Vietnam War sank in the late-1960s, President
Nixon, often via his vice president, Spiro Agnew, blamed the "nattering
nabobs" in the media (in speeches crafted by William Safire and Patrick
Buchanan). Is history about to repeat itself?
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...

BELLSOUTH DISPUTES NEW ORLEANS REPORT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
A Washington Post story Saturday quoted New Orleans officials as saying
that BellSouth, angry about the city's new free municipally owned Wi-Fi
network, had rescinded an offer to hand over one of the telco's damaged
buildings as a new police headquarters. But BellSouth is disputing that
report.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6289232.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

CONGRESS GETS FOOD MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With obesity overtaking cancer as the nation's number-one health risk, the
National Academies will deliver to Congress today a study of food marketing
to kids.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6289073?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
For information on the public briefing, see http://www.nationalacademies.org/

COURT BLOCKS ILLINOIS VIDEO GAME SALES RESTRICTION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lisa Baertlein]
A federal judge in Illinois has blocked a pair of laws that would have made
it illegal to sell or rent violent or sexually explicit video games to
minors, finding that the laws violate free speech rights.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...

INTERNET BODY POSTPONES DECISION ON SEX DOMAIN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan]
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has again
postponed a decision on a controversial ".xxx" domain for sex sites because
some participants in a quarterly meeting in Vancouver have not had enough
time to review application materials. ICANN said in June that it would move
ahead with the .xxx domain, but postponed work in August after the United
States and several other governments asked it to take more time to solicit
input.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
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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
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headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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