January 2006

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

PRIVACY
Senators Focus on Wiretapping Program
FCC Probes Selling of Cell Phone Records

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Activist Group Officials Discuss 2006 Telecom Landscape
FCC OK's Raycom Liberty Purchase
New Balance Buys Cable-TV Stake
In Latest Deal, Google Steps Further Into World of Old Media
VNU Buys Majority Stake in BuzzMetrics
Warm and Fuzzy TV, Brought to You by Hamas

QUICKLY -- FCC Meeting Agenda Revised; CBS to=20
Debut Micro-Series; After Alito: What Now?; The=20
Establishment Journalist; Internet users judge=20
Web sites in less than a blink; City Can't Bar=20
Cell Towers on Looks Only; Overhaul Urged For=20
D.C. Libraries; China has 111 million Internet Users

PRIVACY

SENATORS FOCUS ON WIRETAPPING PROGRAM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Neil King Jr. neil.king( at )wsj.com]
Early next month, the Senate Judiciary Committee=20
will hold hearings on President Bush's=20
wiretapping program. The central question may be=20
'Is it legal?' Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez=20
will argue that President Bush has the right to=20
authorize the National Security Agency to conduct=20
widespread wiretaps outside legal channels. A=20
definitive answer is unlikely to come from=20
Congress and lawyers are instead turning to the=20
courts. Two civil lawsuits filed yesterday -- one=20
in Detroit by the American Civil Liberties Union=20
and another in New York by the Center for=20
Constitutional Rights -- opened another front in=20
the battle, and showed some of the hazards that=20
lie ahead. Both suits allege that the U.S.=20
government violated the privacy and free-speech=20
rights of certain named plaintiffs -- including=20
lawyers, journalists and academics -- by possibly=20
eavesdropping on their communications without a=20
warrant. The two suits seek to have the program=20
ruled unconstitutional. But in both cases, the=20
plaintiffs have no evidence that they were caught=20
up in the NSA program. Without evidence of harm=20
-- or what is called legal standing -- neither case is likely to go far.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113753396533348864.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)
* White House Disputes Gore on NSA Spying
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR200601...
1361.html
(requires registration)
* The wiretaps shouldn't bug us
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Max Boot]
[Commentary] As long as federal surveillance=20
remains targeted on the country's enemies, not on=20
the president's, the public will continue to yawn=20
at hyperbolic criticisms of the commander in chief.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-boot18jan18,0,182...
6.column?coll=3Dla-news-comment
(requires registration)

FCC PROBES SELLING OF CELL PHONES RECORDS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Arshad Mohammed]
The FCC said yesterday that it is investigating=20
the sale of private cell phone records, a move=20
privacy advocates said was welcome but long=20
overdue. Numerous Web sites say they are able to=20
provide records of incoming and outgoing cell=20
phone calls, some for less than $100. While such=20
records are routinely used by law enforcement=20
agencies, experts warn that they can be exploited=20
by criminals, such as stalkers or abusive=20
spouses. The practice of using trickery to obtain=20
the records from phone companies has been the=20
subject of news reports for months. FCC Chairman=20
Kevin J. Martin disclosed the investigation in a=20
Jan. 13 letter to Rep. Edward J. Markey=20
(D-Mass.), and it drew wider notice after the=20
FCC's two Democratic commissioners issued=20
statements about it yesterday. The FCC's=20
enforcement bureau is investigating how companies=20
obtained such records and whether phone companies=20
had not followed rules designed to prevent such=20
information from getting into the wrong hands,=20
Chairman Martin said. Experts say such records=20
are sometimes obtained by people who impersonate=20
cell phone customers and dupe their wireless=20
providers into releasing the data despite=20
safeguards designed to prevent this. The use of=20
fraud to obtain such information is subject to=20
the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission,=20
which told Markey in a separate letter that it=20
had brought cases against firms that sell such=20
information but would not comment on any current investigations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR200601...
1451.html
(requires registration)
* Statement from Commissioner Copps:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263222A1.doc
* Statement from Commissioner Adelstein:=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263216A1.doc
* For more on this and other privacy issues,=20
visit the Electronic Privacy Information Center
http://www.epic.org/

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

ACTIVIST GROUP OFFICIALS DISCUSS 2006 TELECOM LANDSCAPE
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
Media ownership, Internet neutrality and video=20
franchising are likely to be the biggest issues=20
in telecommunications and media reform for 2006,=20
according to officials from the media policy=20
reform group Free Press. Ben Scott, director of=20
Free Press' Washington office, said the media=20
ownership issue "will return in 2006, maybe in=20
February, maybe in April, or maybe in the=20
summer." Scott and the others said it is=20
imperative for media activists to fight for=20
"network neutrality," or the principle that cable=20
and telecom companies not be permitted to dictate=20
the content, software or devices that consumers=20
use to access the Internet. Mr. Scott also said=20
the group does not care whether video franchising=20
is done locally, statewide or nationally, as long=20
as there are "baseline protections" for=20
consumers. Referring to Texas legislation last=20
year creating a statewide franchise, he said,=20
"There are a lot of localities that are better=20
off under that statewide bill then they were before."
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-VHAJ1137530916371.html

FCC OK's RAYCOM LIBERTY PURCHASE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC has approved Raycom's $987 million=20
purchase of Liberty Corp./Cosmos Broadcasting's=20
15 TV stations. The combined company will have=20
four impermissible duopolies: Wilmington, N.C.,=20
Columbia, S.C.; Toledo, Ohio and Albany, Ga. But=20
the FCC granted Raycom six-month waivers to=20
operate those stations while it looks for a buyer=20
and the FCC works on a court-ordered rewrite of=20
FCC rules governing who can own how many=20
stations, and where. (And that'll be done in six=20
months? Sure.) In addition, if the company has=20
not sold the stations by the end of the FCC's=20
waiver period, Raycom agrees to a consent decree=20
stipulating that, upon the filing of the decree,=20
Raycom has another 90 days to divest -- with an=20
extra 60 days if DOJ wants to be extra nice --=20
after which Justice can appoint a trustee to sell=20
them itself. Raycom also promised the Antitrust=20
Division of the Justice Department "to operate=20
the stations in the overlap markets as separate=20
entities and maintain competition between them=20
pending divestiture." ("We promise.")
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6300020?display=3DBreaking+Ne...
referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

NEW BALANCE BUYS CABLE-TV STAKE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter=20
Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com and Suzanne Vranica ]
Why buy ad time on a show when you can own the=20
network? New Balance will join workout guru Jake=20
Steinfeld, Time Warner and Comcast in forming=20
exercisetv, an on-demand network that will be=20
available on both operators' cable systems. The=20
deal marks one of the deepest commitments an=20
advertiser has made to on-demand, a relatively=20
new cable service that enables viewers to watch=20
programs whenever they want simply by pressing a=20
button on their remote control. New Balance won't=20
be running conventional 30-second ads on=20
exercisetv because on-demand services allow=20
viewers to fast forward through both the programs=20
and the commercials. Instead, New Balance will=20
promote its products by getting many of the video=20
participants to wear the company's shoes and=20
clothing. New Balance also will sponsor graphic=20
overlays that will run during the videos, giving=20
viewers advice on subjects like the best way to=20
warm up for a workout. Cable companies first=20
began offering video-on-demand over five years=20
ago, but advertisers have been wary about the=20
medium until recently. In the early years, many=20
cable subscribers couldn't get the service and=20
many who could didn't know they had it because=20
operators were slow to market on-demand. Some=20
cable companies also were slow to give=20
advertisers the detailed viewing statistics they=20
wanted. But on-demand availability and usage has=20
greatly increased. About 45% of cable subscribers=20
pay about $15 a month extra for a digital tier,=20
which is needed for on-demand. While viewers=20
usually have to pay to watch recent movies=20
on-demand, companies like Comcast and Time Warner=20
have greatly increased the amount of free content=20
on their services. More than 12 million homes use=20
on-demand more than once a month and that figure=20
should rise to 30 million by the end of 2009.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113755121068749292.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)
* Ads Coming to On-Demand TV
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/business/media/18comcast.html?pagewanted=
=3Dall

IN LATEST DEAL, GOOGLE STEPS FURTHER INTO WORLD OF OLD MEDIA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kevin Delaney kevin.delaney( at )wsj.com]
Google has brought in billions of dollars in=20
revenue by brokering advertisements that appear=20
on Web sites. Now it is taking its ad machine=20
beyond the Internet in an ambitious quest to=20
place ads in traditional media such as newspapers=20
and radio. Google will pay $102 million in cash=20
for dMarc Broadcasting. (The company will pay up=20
to an additional more than $1.1 billion over=20
three years if dMarc meets certain targets.)=20
DMarc runs an online system for advertisers to=20
buy radio airtime. It then automatically slots=20
the advertisers' commercials into radio stations'=20
computers for broadcast. The acquisition could=20
open enormous new markets to the search company.=20
But it could also test the limits of Google's=20
automated ad-placement technology that brought it=20
more than $3 billion in online ad revenue in=20
2004. Most people think of Google as a place to=20
go to gather information. But in a business=20
sense, Google operates as a huge clearinghouse=20
for advertisers. At the heart of Google's=20
advertising operation is an automated system that=20
auctions off the right to place advertisements on=20
its search-results pages when an Internet user=20
types in certain key words. Most of its=20
advertisers simply log into the system to place=20
their ads and make their bids. They pay only when=20
someone clicks on the ad. Google also brokers the=20
sale of ads that appear on other Web sites --=20
sometimes tied into key words and sometimes not.=20
The radio deal is the latest of a series of=20
recent moves by Google in which it aims to bring=20
its Internet advertising expertise to bear on=20
old-media markets. Since last year, Google says=20
it has been placing ads on behalf of advertisers=20
in three magazines and the Chicago Sun-Times=20
newspaper. And Chief Executive Eric Schmidt late=20
last year acknowledged in an interview that the=20
company is considering extending its ad system to TV advertising as well.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113750713079248534.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)

VNU BUYS MAJORITY STAKE IN BUZZMETRICS
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
VNU announced Tuesday it had agreed to acquire a=20
majority interest in BuzzMetrics, a=20
privately-held research firm that monitors=20
consumer opinions of TV shows expressed on the=20
Internet. The financial commitment is part of=20
BuzzMetrics=92 plan to acquire Intelliseek which=20
provides similar services to BuzzMetrics. The=20
deal extends VNU=92s media measurement capabilities=20
into the consumer-generated media such as blogs and public message boards.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D100...
4582

WARM AND FUZZY TV, BROUGHT TO YOU BY HAMAS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Craig Smith]
Hazim Sharawi, whose stage name is Uncle Hazim,=20
is a quiet, doe-eyed young man who has an easy=20
way with children and will soon preside over a=20
children's television show here on which he'll=20
cavort with men in larger-than-life, fake-fur=20
animal suits on the Gaza Strip's newest=20
television station, Al Aksa TV. But Captain=20
Kangaroo this is not. The station, named for=20
Islam's third holiest site, is owned by Hamas,=20
the people who helped make suicide bombing a=20
household term. "Our television show will have a=20
message, but without getting into the tanks, the=20
guns, the killing and the blood," said Mr.=20
Sharawi, sitting in the broadcast studio where he=20
will produce his show. "I will show them our=20
rights through the history," he said, "show them,=20
'This is Nablus, this is Gaza, this is Al Aksa=20
mosque, which is with the Israelis and should be=20
in our hands.' " The new station is part of the=20
militant Palestinian group's strategy to broaden=20
its role in Palestinian politics and society,=20
much as Hezbollah did in Lebanon. The station=20
began broadcasting terrestrially on Jan. 7, and=20
Hamas is working on a satellite version that=20
would give it an even wider reach, like=20
Hezbollah's Al Manar TV, which is watched throughout the Arab world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/international/middleeast/18hamas.html
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

FCC MEETING AGENDA REVISED
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Same time, same place for the FCC meeting Friday,=20
but dropped from the agenda were presentations=20
from the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy=20
Analysis and the Office of Workplace Diversity.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263218A1.doc

CBS TO DEBUT MICRO-SERIES
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Just hold it 'til the next break.... Continuing=20
the evolution of television marketing, CBS said=20
Tuesday that it will broadcast a "micro-series"=20
in seven installments of a minute or less, and=20
will also make it available online and by cell=20
phone. "The Courier," described by the network as=20
a serialized drama about a man risking his life=20
to rescue his kidnapped wife, will debut Jan. 24=20
during the first-act commercial break of "CSI:=20
Miami" and conclude during "Criminal Minds" on=20
Feb. 1. The first chapter will be 60 seconds; the=20
rest will be 40 seconds in length and will air in=20
the first-act break after 9 p.m. on series including "Cold Case."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR200601...
1892.html
(requires registration)

AFTER ALITO: WHAT NOW?
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Danny Schechter]
[Commentary] If we had better media, we would not=20
be facing Bush's takeover of the Supreme Court.=20
Media reform must become part of the equation.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/30868/

THE ESTABLISHMENT JOURNALIST
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Norman Solomon]
[Commentary] Ted Koppel's new gig as an NPR news=20
analyst brings back bad memories of his fawning support of Henry Kissinger.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/30896/

INTERNET USERS JUDGE WEB SITES IN LESS THAN A BLINK
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kamakshi Tandon]
Internet users can give Web sites a thumbs up or=20
thumbs down in less than the blink of an eye,=20
according to a study by Canadian researchers.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=
=3D2006-01-17T203950Z_01_N17291661_RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-CANADA-WEBSITES.xml

CITY CAN'T BAR CELL TOWERS ON LOOKS ONLY, COURT SAYS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
Cellphone towers may be ugly, but that's not=20
reason enough for cities to block their=20
construction, a federal appeals court ruled=20
Tuesday. In the nation's first appellate ruling=20
on an increasingly contentious local issue, the=20
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down=20
parts of a La Ca=F1ada Flintridge law that had=20
allowed the city to withhold building permits on=20
public rights of way for purely aesthetic=20
reasons. Similar ordinances in cities across=20
California and the nation have slowed efforts by=20
wireless companies to offer better coverage and=20
advanced services they say their 200 million=20
customers demand. Municipal officials counter=20
that they have a responsibility to protect their=20
residents from a proliferation of unsightly infrastructure.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-tower18jan18,0,2737...
.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage
(requires registration)

OVERHAUL URGED FOR DC LIBRARIES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Debbi Wilgoren]
More than $450 million is needed to properly fix=20
the District's public library system, a task=20
force said yesterday, because the buildings=20
suffer from years of neglect and should be almost=20
entirely rebuilt. A draft report released=20
yesterday calls for adding at least 400 computers=20
in the city's 27 libraries, replacing half of the=20
books in the next three years and expanding and reorganizing staff.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR200601...
1471.html
(requires registration)

CHINA INTERNET USERS HIT 111 MILLION IN 2005
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The number of Web users in China, the world's=20
second largest Internet market, grew by 18=20
percent in 2005 to 111 million, the Economic=20
Daily reported on Wednesday. Only 8.5 percent of=20
the country's 1.3 billion people now had access to the Internet.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=
=3D2006-01-18T030843Z_01_SHA66703_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHINA-INTERNET.xml
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online=20
news summary service provided by the Benton=20
Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday=20
through Friday, this service provides updates on=20
important industry developments, policy issues,=20
and other related news events. While the=20
summaries are factually accurate, their often=20
informal tone does not always represent the tone=20
of the original articles. Headlines are compiled=20
by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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