December 2005

For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

BROADCASTING
Media Firms, Children's Advocates Reach Accord in Kids' TV Dispute
Media Bureau Bears Down on Licensing
Putting Their Names All Over the News
Legislators Push Bill To Force Broadcasters To Give Up Spectrum
Second Act of the Broadcasters
Media, tech companies team up on high-definition TV

CABLE
PTC, CWA: Family Tier Is Insufficient
The Best of Several Bad Options Is Still a Bad Option

INTERNET
Telecoms want their Products to Travel on a Faster Internet
Trying to Take Ownership
FCC Chief backs Net Phone Taxes

QUICKLY -- New Report on Educational Media for Babies, Toddlers, and=20
Preschoolers; Martin Meets Press on His Birthday; FCC's Inspector General=
=20
Report to Congress; Bush to Sign Executive Order On FOIA Requests; 2006=20
Predictions; Number of music file-swappers falls; Sentenced to a=20
cell(phone); Saudi Prince Claims Veto Power over Fox News Coverage

BROADCASTING

MEDIA FIRMS, CHILDREN'S ADVOCATES REACH ACCORD IN KIDS TV DISPUTE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz( at )wsj.com]
Viacom, Walt Disney, Fox Entertainment Group, General Electric Co.'s NBC=20
Universal and Time Warner are all part of an agreement reached with=20
child-advocacy groups that could head litigation over new children's=20
television rules slated to take affect January 1, 2006. Under the=20
agreement, the cable-TV industry would get relief from a current FCC rule=
=20
that counts promos for other children's shows within the 10.5 or 12-minute=
=20
limit on commercials allowed during an educational broadcast. Broadcasters=
=20
would get more latitude to pre-empt some children's programming for=20
sporting events -- a particular concern for West Coast stations.=20
Programmers, meanwhile, would be barred from directly linking Internet=20
sites for children to sites that sell related merchandise. Apparently, the=
=20
deal was presented to the FCC this week. Getting approval from the FCC for=
=20
the Internet advertising provision could be tricky. The agency has taken a=
=20
hard line on so-called host selling, which prohibits a show's characters=20
from hawking products to viewers 12 years old or younger or confusing them=
=20
into thinking they are watching a show instead of an ad. The deal could end=
=20
broadcasters' threats to challenge children's television obligations as=20
unconstitutional and could settle a dispute over whether the Federal=20
Communications Commission has the authority to impose regulations on=20
digital broadcasts and the Internet. More broadly, it sets a framework for=
=20
what obligations broadcasters must meet as they offer new digital channels.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113461830710223202.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)

MEDIA BUREAU BEARS DOWN ON LICENSING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
FCC Media Bureau Chief Donna Gregg said Wednesday that one of her bureau's=
=20
primary focuses in the coming months will be on "streamlining and=20
expediting" the broadcast-licensing process. In a speech, she said "the=20
media itself has the responsibility for the kind of service it provides. I=
=20
believe the commission has the role of providing assistance, favorable=20
conditions, encouragement and, when necessary, leadership," she said, but=
=20
added, "Sometimes the best thing we can do is exercise restraint." She also=
=20
said the public must assume its responsibility as informed consumers, with=
=20
help from the FCC. she said the FCC has "an important role in equipping=20
consumers with the information and the tools they need to make satisfying=
=20
[media] choices." Gregg also took the opportunity to defend the media from=
=20
what she said was increasing bashing in, well, the media. Gregg said she=20
was concerned that the media were a target of "derision and displeasure,"=
=20
citing some historic knocks like former FCC Chairman Newton Minow's "vast=
=20
wasteland" characterization, and general criticisms like "idiot box" and=20
"chewing gum for the eyeballs," as well as shots from TV reviewers and=20
bloggers. said that the state of the media is "strong," citing the number=
=20
of "free over-the-air" TV stations (1,749) and radio (13,599), cable=20
viewers (108.6 million), and revenues -- $1.3 billion for all media in=20
2004, according to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers study, and a projected $1.8=20
trillion by 2009. She also pointed to the reliability and resilience of the=
=20
media, demonstrated by its performance during the recent hurricanes, and=20
its popularity--one-third of Americans' time is spent with some form of=20
media, the majority of that with TV (4.3 hours per day, according to Nielse=
n).
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6291637?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

PUTTING THEIR NAMES ALL OVER THE NEWS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Levingston]
Clear Channel Communications radio stations in Madison (WI) and Milwaukee=
=20
are turning back the clock. Starting in January, the news on WIBA-AM in=20
Madison will deliver its report from the Amcore Bank News Center. The=20
station has sold naming rights to its newsroom to Amcore, a regional=20
institution operating in southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Iowa.=20
About two years ago, WISN-AM in Milwaukee introduced listeners to its=20
newscast from the PyraMax Bank News Center. The banks do not sponsor the=20
newscasts exclusively and will not impose strictures on the broadcasts. But=
=20
under the arrangement, the shows are closely identified with the=20
institutions. The agreements reflect the proliferation of corporate=20
sponsorships in recent years -- think FedEx Field and MCI Center -- and the=
=20
pressure many newsrooms feel to boost revenue. Close alliances between=20
companies and news enterprises, however, raise a special set of issues=20
related to journalistic integrity, ethicists say.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR200512...
2225.html
(requires registration)

LEGISLATORS PUSH BILL TO FORCE BROADCASTERS TO GIVE UP SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Reps. Jane Harman (D-CA) and Curt Weldon (R-PA) urged House Speaker Dennis=
=20
Hastert (R-IL) to force some television broadcasters to relinquish their=20
spectrum immediately to emergency responders. The proposal, detailed in a=
=20
letter to Hastert, is meeting with resistance from The Walt Disney Co.,=20
Viacom/CBS, Univision, Paxson Communications and other broadcasters whose=
=20
stations would be knocked off the air. The lawmakers asked Speaker Hastert=
=20
to schedule a floor vote on the Homeland Emergency Response Operations Act=
=20
or HERO Act, introduced by Rep Harman last April 14. The measure, which has=
=20
38 cosponsors, would require broadcasters operating on four channels -- 63,=
=20
64, 68 and 69 -- to vacate the frequencies by Jan. 1, 2007. Reps Harman and=
=20
Weldon are pushing to get the bill on the suspension calendar -- which=20
requires a two-thirds majority for passage -- before Congress leaves for=20
the year.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-TBQC1134596735647.html

SECOND ACT OF BROADCASTERS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: John Gapper]
[Commentary] One immutable belief of the media industry is that television=
=20
networks are in decline as viewers switch to cable channels, skip=20
advertisements with digital video recorders and watch video iPods. But=20
networks are not only refusing to go gently; they are even perking up a=20
bit. Their viewing share has been sinking for a long time but has levelled=
=20
out. The six networks still get a 47 per cent share of prime-time viewing =
=96=20
hardly death=92s door. Advertisers and their agencies, which are irritated=
=20
about having to pay more to reach fewer viewers, are switching at least=20
some of their dollars to other channels, such as the Internet. The balance=
=20
of power between seller and buyer is shifting: after several years of sharp=
=20
increases, rates for network advertising rose only modestly this year.=20
Networks are responding by trying to find new outlets for programmes and=20
taking a share of the revenues. This is not entirely new: they already=20
syndicate programmes to cable after they have been shown on their main=20
channels. Now they are allowing shows to be downloaded on to iPods for=20
$1.99 an episode, or watched as video-on-demand for 50c an episode with ads=
=20
and $1 without.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f368ffc4-6cd2-11da-90c2-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)

MEDIA, TECH COMPANIES TEAM UP ON HIGH-DEFINITION TV
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
Several media and electronics companies on Wednesday said they are=20
developing technology guidelines that could make it easier for people to=20
enjoy high- definition television programing throughout their home-=20
entertainment systems. The guidelines would allow people to transfer high-=
=20
definition TV and movies, audio and other entertainment between their=20
television sets, computers and other gadgets without the hassle of multiple=
=20
connecting wires and remote controls, the High-Definition Audio-Video=20
Network Alliance said.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&sto...
D=3D2005-12-14T222616Z_01_KNE459750_RTRUKOC_0_US-HDTV.xml
* HANA Makes It Official
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6291686?display=3DBreaking+News

CABLE

PTC, CWA: FAMILY TIER IS INSUFFICIENT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
So we have the promise of cable family tiers, we're done with this messy=20
indecency stuff, right? Wrong. The Parent's Television Council (PTC), whose=
=20
members have filed a large portion of all the indecency complaints at the=
=20
FCC, will join with Concerned Women of America (CWA) Thursday in a=20
conference call press conference declaring that the announced tiers aren't=
=20
sufficient and that they will join to push for full-blown cable a la carte.=
=20
Together, CWA and PTC comprise some 1.5 million members. More receptive to=
=20
the tiering plan were Jerry Fallwell's Moral Majority and the Faith and=20
Family Values Coalition, both praised the tier, but both also oppose a la=
=20
carte cable, fearing it could push religious channels off the dial.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6291657?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

THE BEST OF SEVERAL BAD OPTIONS IS STILL A BAD OPTION
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Paul McLeary]
[Commentary] "Family-friendly" cable tiers have the potential to do plenty=
=20
of harm to small, experimental channels and programs, and to media=20
diversity in general. Consider the fate of smaller channels, like Current=
=20
TV, which is doing something genuinely new by running viewer-generated news=
=20
items and documentaries. Would Current have a fighting chance under this=20
new program? The way the system works now, large cable companies in effect=
=20
subsidize smaller channels when they bundle them into their cable packages,=
=20
but with this new, pure choice model, the chance of a viewer accidentally=
=20
discovering interesting, new programming is cut down substantially.What's=
=20
more, there's the danger of a trickle-down effect. The family plan could=20
very well pressure cable channels into censoring some of their shows in=20
order to make them more palatable to the family bundles -- thus reducing=20
the already slim pickings offered for mature, thoughtful adults on cable=20
television. And what does "family-friendly" mean, exactly, and who decides=
=20
what shows are included under this broad heading?
http://www.cjrdaily.org/politics/the_best_of_several_bad_option.php

INTERNET

TELECOMS WANT THEIR PRODUCTS TO TRAVEL ON FASTER INTERNET
[SOURCE: Boston Globe 12/13, AUTHOR: Hiawatha Bray bray( at )globe.com]
AT&T and BellSouth are lobbying Capitol Hill for the right to create a=20
two-tiered Internet, where the telecom carriers' own Internet services=20
would be transmitted faster and more efficiently than those of their=20
competitors. The proposal is certain to provoke a major fight with Google,=
=20
Yahoo, Time Warner, and Microsoft, the powerful owners of popular Internet=
=20
sites. The companies fear such a move would give telecommunications=20
companies too much control over a fast-growing part of the Internet. The=20
battle is largely over video services. Several major telecom companies are=
=20
working on ways to deliver broadcast-quality television over the Internet.=
=20
Currently, online video can be slow to download and choppy to watch, even=
=20
with higher-speed Internet services. The proposal supported by AT&T and=20
BellSouth would allow telecommunications carriers to offer their own=20
advanced Internet video services to their customers, while rival firms'=20
online video offerings would be transmitted at lower speed and with poorer=
=20
image quality. Rep Edward J. Markey (D-MA) says, '"I don't understand why=
=20
we would tinker with the model that has been so wildly successful." Rep=20
Markey says he's engaged in ''intense private negotiations" with telecom=20
companies and congressional colleagues in search of a compromise.
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/12/13/telecoms_want_t...
r_products_to_travel_on_a_faster_internet/

TRYING TO TAKE OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
[Commentary] Behold, the Internet, poster child for free marketers. But=20
with 2006 looming as a watershed year for congressional action on the=20
Internet's future, it would be good if all concerned dissected the notion=
=20
that the Internet grew so well because it was never regulated -- or at=20
least took a close look at the truth's other half. Compared with, say, the=
=20
banking, utility or telephone systems, the Internet is indeed barely=20
regulated. But what gave the Internet its disruptive power and exhilarating=
=20
appeal was that it was barely *owned*. Suddenly, the mom-and-pop store in=
=20
Des Moines could advertise and sell to the world, without paying the=20
freight of someone else's marketing apparatus. Intellectual and artistic=20
works could be shared rapidly, at little or no cost. Games could be created=
=20
and distributed without ever having to manufacture a physical item. We may=
=20
think of it as the information superhighway, but really the Net has been a=
=20
gigantic bypass, circumventing barriers to entry and whole swaths of=20
middlemen (think travel agents or, I'm sad to say, newspaper owners) who=20
are now trying to figure out how to survive. It's been a ride akin to the=
=20
opening of the Wild West, with booms and busts, a goodly share of=20
lawlessness, and the thrilling sense that anything was possible because=20
everything was so wide open and cheap. No one owned the Internet itself=20
(there's no patent on it), and its rules were the province of a handful of=
=20
volunteers whose motivation was purely to make it work. You paid a small=20
fee to get on, and the sky was the limit after that. But much of the=20
lobbying and jockeying over the past several years have been efforts to=20
restore order by assigning property-like rights to cyberspace wherever=20
possible. But as Congress rethinks telecommunications policy next year,=20
let's hope it looks hard at this equation and is absolutely sure that this=
=20
new Internet will be better than the one we have now.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR200512...
2360.html
(requires registration)

FCC CHIEF BACKS NET PHONE TAXES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
Imposing new taxes on a wider swath of Internet phone users is likely to be=
=20
one of the Federal Communications Commission's top priorities next year,=20
Chairman Kevin Martin said Wednesday. The policy at issue is the thorny=20
question of which phone service providers are forced to contribute to the=
=20
Universal Service Fund, a multibillion-dollar pool of money that's used to=
=20
subsidize telecommunications services in rural and other high-cost areas,=
=20
schools and libraries. The mammoth fund -- $4.7 billion was distributed=20
during the first nine months of this year--has been beset by charges of=20
mismanagement and fraud during its seven-year history. Right now,=20
long-distance, wireless, pay-phone and telephone services are required to=
=20
contribute a fixed percentage of their revenues to the fund, which they do=
=20
by tacking additional fees onto their customers' bills. But it still=20
remains unclear how those taxes apply to voice over Internet Protocol=20
(VoIP) providers. Some of those companies--particularly larger=20
ones--already contribute to the fund, either directly or via the telephone=
=20
companies whose wires they use to provide their services. Vonage, which has=
=20
more than a million subscribers, imposes a "regulatory recovery fee" of=20
$1.50 on each customer phone number. But without a mandate in place,=20
government regulators and politicians say they fear that as technology like=
=20
VoIP becomes more widespread as a traditional telephone replacement, the=20
fund will shrink.
http://news.com.com/FCC+chief+backs+Net+phone+taxes/2100-7352_3-5995488....
l?tag=3Dnefd.top
* FCC Chief Tells VoIP Firms More Regulation Is An Option
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-SPUR1134595067178.html

QUICKLY

NEW REPORT ON EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOR BABIES, TODDLERS AND PRESCHOOLERS
[SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation]
In recent years, there has been a big increase in new electronic media=20
products for very young children, including those as young as one month=20
old. A driving force behind this new market is the advertising and package=
=20
labeling that makes claims about the educational benefits of specific=20
products. A Teacher in the Living Room? Educational Media for Babies,=20
Toddlers, and Preschoolers examines the educational claims about=20
commercially available educational media products (videos and DVDs,=20
computer software, and video games) for very young children and what kind=
=20
of research has been conducted to substantiate the educational claims.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia121405pkg.cfm
* See Baby Touch a Screen. But Does Baby Get It?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/national/15toys.html
(requires registration)
* Educational Claims of Kids' Videos Lack Support
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3D5053816
* Products fail to produce Einsteins
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20051215/bl_line15.art.htm

MARTIN MEETS PRESS ON HIS BIRTHDAY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
FCC Chairman did not "meet the press" much in the last year, so some=20
reporters cornered him after a speech yesterday. He answered questions on=
=20
cable a la carte (no idea when a new report on it will be made available),=
=20
the Adelphia merger (doesn't now the Media Bureau's timetable) and the=20
family tier (waiting for details).
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6291692.html?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(requires subscription)

FCC'S INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT TO CONGRESS
[SOURCE: FCC Office of the Inspector General]
A report on the major accomplishments of the OIG from April 1-September 30,=
=20
2005. Includes OIG efforts to audit the E-rate program,
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-262534A1.pdf

BUSH TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER ON FOIA REQUESTS, BUT 'SUSPICION' REMAINS
[SOURCE:Associated Press]
The White House is issuing a new policy easing public access to government=
=20
information in response to complaints by news organizations that too much=
=20
is withheld under the landmark disclosure law. The policy change requires=
=20
each federal agency to designate a senior official as the chief FOIA=20
officer, who must take a close look at the agency's FOIA programs and come=
=20
up with a plan to improve them.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
t_id=3D1001698703

DEFINING MEDIA IN '06
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Defining the media has becoming increasingly difficult. From old media like=
=20
television and magazines to the products of the new millennium: the ipod=20
and video on demand.
http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoStory.aspx?isSummitStory=3Dfalse&storyId=
=3DFEEDROOM126025

IN THE YEAR 2006: ONLINE TV SECESSION, SUVIVALISM
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Marissa Newhall]
The Trends Research Institute releases its =93Top Trends 2006=94 today, the=
=20
15th report of its kind from the social, economic and political trend=20
forecasting think tank predicts: 1) Online TV, the ultimate in media=20
convergence, will signal the decline of the communication industry's=20
monopoly on broadcast news and entertainment and 2) Entertainment that=20
pokes fun at the consumption habits of the wealthy elite will become=20
popular as reality TV's projection of =93real life=94 becomes increasingly=
=20
inaccurate.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20051215/d_trends15.art.htm

NUMBER OF MUSIC FILE-SWAPPERS FALLS, STUDY SAYS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: John Borland]
The number of United States households that swap music illegally online has=
=20
dropped significantly since the Supreme Court's summer ruling against=20
peer-to-peer software companies, research firm NPD Group said Wednesday.=20
However, the number of actual music files being traded has stayed high,=20
indicating that the most active downloaders remain online, the research=20
company said.
http://news.com.com/Number+of+music+file-swappers+falls%2C+study+says/21...
1027_3-5995350.html?tag=3Dnefd.top

SENTENCED TO CELL(PHONE)
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Marilyn Gardner ]
Cellphones give a sense of staying connected, but a new study finds the=20
devices are actually interfering with family life.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1215/p13s01-lifp.html

SAUDI PRINCE CLAIMS VETO POWER OVER FOX NEWS COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress]
During last month's street riots in France, Fox News ran a banner during a=
=20
news segment, reading: =93Muslim riots.=94 Billionaire Saudi Prince al-Wali=
d=20
bin Talal, who=20
http://www.forbes.com/2005/09/06/alwaleed-murdoch-billionaires-cx_gl_0906a=
utofacescan02.htmlowns=20
5.5% of Fox News, was=20
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/12/saudi-prince-calls-murdoch/unhappy=20
with the tagline: "I picked up the phone and called [Fox News parent=20
company News Corp. CEO Rupert] Murdoch=85 (and told him) these are not Musl=
im=20
riots, these are riots out of poverty. Within 30 minutes, the title was=20
changed from 'Muslim Riots' to 'Civil Riots.'" Talal gained notoriety after=
=20
9/11 when he=20
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/10/11/rec.giuliani.princeblamed U.S.=20
policies for the terrorist attacks. Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti=20
refused to confirm or deny that the call took place but=20
"http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/12/saudi-prince-calls-murdoch/acknowled=
ged=20
the network changed the banner after receiving complaints."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=
=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=
=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------