January 2006

The FCC has an open meeting this morning (catch it at
http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/). For this and other upcoming media
policy events, see http://www.benton.org

PRIVACY
Google to Buck U.S. on Data Request
Barton Vows to Protect Cellphone Data

CONTENT
Stevens Touts Progress On TV, Radio 'Indecency'

OWNERSHIP
Should GE cancel NBC Universal?
TV News Stars Move to NPR And Sound Off

QUICKLY -- Spectrum Management Advisory Committee; Politics and
Information Pipelines; Nexstar: $40M from Retrans Deals; Out with Old
Media, in with -- What?; Entertainment: The Broadband Killer App;
Digital music sales triple in 2005; Is TV Marti Worth It?;
Wireless: Driving U.S. Innovation and Economic Growth; Global mobile
subs to grow 20% in 2006; Cell Phone NOT Linked to Cancer; An Armey
Of One; Disclosure and Word-of-Mouth Marketing

PRIVACY

GOOGLE TO BUCK US ON DATA REQUEST
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kevin J. Delaney kevin.delaney( at )wsj.com]
Google says it will "vigorously" oppose a Justice Department legal
motion filed late Wednesday requiring it to disclose information
about consumer Web searches, the latest test of Internet companies'
willingness and ability to shield information from government
inspection. The standoff steers clear of some of the most hot-button
privacy issues, since it involves only anonymous data about Web
queries, rather than information that identifies what specific users
are searching for. But the development comes amid controversy about
government monitoring of Internet and telephone communications on
national security grounds, and any private sector cooperation with
that. It also follows cases where U.S. Internet companies have either
turned over personal data about a user to Chinese authorities or cut
off an individual's Web site, either in acknowledged or apparent
cooperation with the Chinese government. Google's stance contrasts
with that of some of its Internet rivals. A Justice Department
spokesman said Yahoo, Microsoft's M0SN unit and America Online unit
were also subpoenaed in late August in the case and have complied
with requests for search data. Some privacy advocates say Google
should retain less data about users, and for shorter periods, in
order to reduce the risk of privacy infringement by the government or
others. "The broader question is why is Google keeping so much
information at all," said Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based Internet
civil-liberties group. "If you are a heavy user of Google, that is
the closest thing to a printout of the contents of your brain that
modern technology has yet devised."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113768643206350928.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
* U.S. Obtains Internet Users' Search Records
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-google20jan20,0,518...
(requires registration)

BARTON VOWS TO PROTECT CELLPHONE DATA
[SOURCE: Reuters]
House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton says he will propose
making it illegal to get cell phone records under false pretenses and
"substantially increase the penalties" if telephone companies release
consumer telephone records without consumers' permission.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
* Chairman Stevens Reacts to Third Party Access to Phone Records
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=250518

CONTENT

STEVENS TOUTS PROGRESS ON TV, RADIO 'INDECENCY
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
What was I thinking yesterday morning? I forgot to include a link to
the Senate Commerce Committee's hearing on decency. Now you've missed
hearing Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) declare victory in the battle
over transmitting material deemed unsuitable for families on
television or radio, whether delivered by broadcast, over cable or
via satellite. He took credit for industry developments leading to
new options for households served by 70 percent of pay-television
providers. One such development came at the hearing when EchoStar CEO
Charles Ergen unveiled the satellite company's family tier of 40
channels for $20/month. Sen Stevens noted that he had been criticized
for resisting a Senate Commerce Committee vote on House-passed
legislation to up indecency fines on broadcast television from
$32,500 per incident to $500,000. He said the House bill would be too
strict on broadcasters and performers and would not address the
significant issue of indecency on cable television. Thursday's
hearing featured at least two strands of argument: what parents and
other viewers expect when it comes to curbing "indecent" broadcast
material, and what obstacles are keeping pay-television providers
from offering family-friendly bundles of channels.
There's lots of coverage of the hearings, links to stories below.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-PUVB1137702406629.html
* Decency
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1698
* Protecting Children on the Internet
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1699
* Stevens: Let Market Test Family Tiers
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6300810.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
* Congress takes issue with family TV tiers
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060120/indecency20.art.htm
* Industry Pledges to Publicize V-Chip, Program Blocking
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10018...
* NAB: Give Content Control a Chance
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6300668?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Valenti: Parents Already Can Control Indecency
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6300594?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* SAG: Limit Indecency Bill To Station Fines
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6300666?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Rating system urged for adult Internet content
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
* Entertainment Industry To Push Blocking Technology
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113770597598651158.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

OWNERSHIP

SHOULD GE CANCEL NBC UNIVERSAL?
[SOURCE: CNN|Money, AUTHOR: Paul R. La Monica]
With NBC's ratings suffering, Wall Street debates whether General
Electric still needs a media unit. Barry Ritholtz, chief investment
officer with Ritholtz Capital Partners, a hedge fund that focuses on
media and technology stocks, adds that the biggest benefit of owning
NBC is that it helps GE control its image and present itself in a
favorable light. But how effective can NBC be at accomplishing this
goal for GE lately given that ratings have lagged that of other major
networks (especially with the key 18-49 year-old demographic) for the
past season and a half?
http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/19/commentary/mediabiz/index.htm
* How NBC Plans To Skate Out Of Last Place
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113772614068951620.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

TV NEWS STARS MOVE TO NPR AND SOUND OFF
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com]
Network news is increasingly generating prospects for NPR in part
because some broadcast journalists think the networks are veering
away from serious, in-depth reports. Many television journalists say
they are fed up with the move toward consumer-friendly
news-you-can-use and away from weightier subjects like foreign
affairs and government. And many also see news of any sort as an
increasingly low priority for their employers. NPR has 25.3 million
listeners, up from 22 million in 2004.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113772679531051643.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

QUICKLY

SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The NTIA has reopened the nomination period for the Spectrum
Management Advisory Committee. The Department will accept nominations
postmarked or electronically transmitted on or before January 31,
2006. The Secretary of Commerce intends to appoint representatives
from a balanced cross-section of stakeholder interests in spectrum
management and policy reform, including non-federal government users,
state, regional and local sectors, technology developers, and
manufacturers, academia, consumer groups, and service providers with
customers in both domestic and international markets. The Department
of Commerce seeks high level individuals with broad expertise in and
capable of representing those sectors and interests on policy issues
relevant to the Committee. Members will be appointed for a two-year
term and may be reappointed for additional terms. Members of the
Committee will be appointed as Special Government Employees and will
serve without compensation. Nominations should include a resume or
curriculum vita, and should also include a statement summarizing the
qualifications of the nominee and identifying the sector or interest
(if individual) for which the nominee has expertise.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2006/spec_advisory_011806.htm

NOT A BAD TIME TO TAKE STOCK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peggy Noonan]
[Commentary] Eleven years ago the Democrats lost control of Congress.
Then they lost the presidency. But just as important, maybe more
enduringly important, they lost their monopoly on the means of
information in America. They lost control of the pipeline. Or rather
there are now many pipelines, and many ways to use the information
they carry. The other day, Dana Milbank, an important reporter for
the Washington Post, the most important newspaper in the capital,
wrote a piece deriding Judge Alito. Once such a piece would have been
important. Men in the White House would have fretted over its
implications. But within hours of filing, Mr. Milbank found his
thinking analyzed and dismissed on the Internet. But where does this
leave us? With our mass media busy with reluctant reformation . . .
with the old network monopoly over and done . . . with something new,
we know not what, about to take its place . . . with the Democratic
Party adjusting to the loss of its megaphone . . . Where does that
leave us? I think it leaves us knowing that, more than ever, the
Republican Party -- the party ultimately helped by the end of the old
monopoly and the reformation of news media -- must be a good party, a
decent one, and help our country.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113773108407451747.html?mod=todays_us_op...
(requires subscription)

NEXSTAR PULLS IN $40 MILLION FROM RETRANS DEALS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. will reap in excess of $40 million,
most of it in cash, from its most recently negotiated
retransmission-consent deals with 145 cable operators, the company's
CEO said Thursday.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6300809.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

OUT WITH OLD MEDIA; IN WITH -- WHAT?
[SOURCE: CNN|Money, AUTHOR: Justin Fox]
[Commentary] In the new information age, network television,
newspapers and magazines no longer have the economic advantages they
enjoyed in the past. But who will take on their vital
"community-building, consensus-shaping" role? "And how are they going
to make it work economically?"
http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/17/technology/pluggedin_fortune/

ENTERTAINMENT: THE BROADBAND KILLER APP
[SOURCE: firstmile.us]
Americans spend billions on movies, television, live concerts and
sporting events in addition to the print media that reports on these
events. Many believe that broadband is and can continue to be a
significant distribution medium to help fill our insatiable need for
entertainment. "Entertainment: The Broadband Killer App" is a
FirstMile.US Perspective authored by an entertainment industry
insider that is tired of watching the industry flail over the notion
that broadband delivery of entertainment is evil. The paper
describes today's problems in the entertainment industry and makes
pragmatic recommendations for solutions - encouraging the
entertainment industry to position filmed entertainment as a killer
app for the Internet.
http://www.firstmile.us/pubs/entkillerapp/

DIGITAL MUSIC SALES TRIPLE TO $1.1 BILLION IN 2005
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Adam Pasick]
Worldwide digital music sales surged threefold to $1.1 billion in
2005, the industry trade body said on Thursday, as consumers flocked
to buy music for their computers, iPods and mobile phones. Revenues
are split roughly 60-40 between online music services like Apple's
iTunes Music Store and mobile phone revenues such as "ringtunes" that
contain excerpts of songs, the International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry said. Digital music now makes up about 6
percent of the industry's total sales, up from virtually nil two
years ago. However, overall revenues are still in decline, falling
from $13.4 billion to $13.2 billion in the first half of the year.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

BROADCASTING A VISION OF DEMOCRACY INTO A VOID
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Carol J. Williams]
The U.S. has sunk nearly $200 million into TV Marti's programming
aimed at Cuba. But one scholar estimates it has 'nearly zero viewership.'
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-marti20jan20,0,6...
(requires registration)

WIRELESS: DRIVING US INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
NTIA Head Michael D. Gallagher spoke at the WCA International
Symposium and RV Expo and concluded: 1) The President has a vision
for making advanced technologies available to all Americans -- by
creating the economic and regulatory environment to enhance
competition and promote innovation. 2) The Bush Administration is
committed to spectrum policies that create a domestic and
international environment for economic growth by removing barriers to
the implementation of U.S. technologies and services. 3) U.S.
broadband adoption continues to be strong and the President's goal
will ensure that all Americans have the personal and economic
benefits of high-speed Internet applications and services.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2006/MGallagher_WCA_011806.htm

GLOBAL MOBILE SUBS TO GROW 20% IN 2006
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Global growth of subscriptions for wireless services will slow to 20
percent in 2006 from 23 percent last year, with the biggest gains in
emerging markets, especially some African countries, according to a
Strategy Analytics report released on Thursday. The research firm
said that much of the growth will come from areas in Africa, Asia and
Latin America, as more established wireless markets have fewer people
left who have yet to buy their first cellphone. By the end of 2006
there will be 2.5 billion mobile subscribers, up from 2.1 billion at
the end of 2005, the report said. This includes about 400 million
people with two phones or a separate subscription for laptop data services.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...

NO RAISED CANCER RISK FROM MOBILE PHONES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Patricia Reaney]
Using a mobile phone does not increase the risk of developing the
most common type of brain tumor, according to a study on Friday.
After a four-year survey, scientists at the Institute of Cancer
Research in London and three British universities found no link
between regular, long-term use of cell phones and glioma.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...

AN ARMEY OF ONE
[SOURCE: Riedel Communications]
[Commentary] Who knew that former House Majority Leader Dick Armey
was so concerned with Indiana politics? The Co-Chair of FreedomWorks
recently wrote a letter seeking regulatory relief for AT&T in the state.
www.riedelcommunications.blogspot.com

DISCLOSURE DOESN'T HAMPER WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Matthew Creamer]
Should the ordinary Joes enlisted to spread buzz about products and
services tell others that they're part of a marketing program? The
answer is a resounding yes, according to new research, from
Northeastern University assistant professor Walter Carl, that culled
data from more than 800 word-of-mouth agents and the people to whom
they talked up brands. Rather than being put off by the notion of a
friend or relative was engaging them with a commercial message, many
participants didn't seem to care.
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47532
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...and we are outta here. Have a great weekend. See you Monday.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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