January 2006

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COPPS, TATE SWORN IN AS FCC COMMISSIONERS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Michael Copps and Deborah Taylor Tate were sworn in as FCC commissioners on
Tuesday. This is the second term for Commissioner Copps and it will run
through June 30, 2010. He has been a member of the Commission since 2001.
"The last four and a half years have been tremendously transformative for
the world of telecommunications and the media. The future holds even
greater challenge. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues
on the Commission, with the Congress, and with all other stakeholders to
help bring the most advanced, accessible, and cost-effective communications
system in the world to all American consumers," Commissioner Copps said.
Deborah Taylor Tate said, "Today, I was honored to have Chairman Kevin
Martin administer the oath of office to start my term as a Commissioner of
the [FCC]. During my time on the FCC, I will work to be a voice for
families and consumers. I will endeavor to bring a spirit of consensus and
bi-partisanship to the FCC; a willingness to build on what Chairman Martin
and my fellow commissioners have begun. I pledge my steadfast commitment
to work closely with Congress, the talented staff of the FCC, and all
interested stakeholders to tackle the complicated issues facing the United
States in this new digital age.
* Copps Press release
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263036A1.doc
* Tate Press Release
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263034A1.doc
* Tate Press Statement
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263035A1.doc
* Commissioner Tate's new web site
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/tate/

PUBLIC INTEREST MEDIA
Another Communication is Also Possible
Brokeback Media
Which is More Important for Spectrum Policy: the FCC or USDOT?

OWNERSHIP
Study Shows Local Ownership Makes Difference in TV News
Digital Divide Widens Even More
A Trial in Separation

FUTURE OF MEDIA
The media industry in an Internet age
Movies May Hit DVD, Cable Simultaneously
Electronics Show Moves Beyond Gadgets
A New Reason to Buy a High-Definition TV
Marketer's Tactic Signals Big Shift In a TV Ad Ritual

QUICKLY -- U.K. cities to get blanket Wi-Fi coverage; Verizon Gets OK To
Offer Cable in Maryland County; New Universal Service Report; Is it time to
cut your landline for good?; Position Available at Free Press

PUBLIC INTEREST MEDIA

ANOTHER COMMUNICATION IS POSSIBLE
[SOURCE: Center for International Media Action, AUTHOR: Hilmi Toros]
"Another Communication is Possible" -- one that treats information as a
right rather than merchandise, breaks up media concentration and
hob-knobbing between owners and government. But can they be realized in a
world in which information moving with astonishing speed is "packaged" by
media moguls almost anywhere? With a handful of media groups controlling
what people in many lands will read, hear or see, the world is suffering
from "information insecurity," says Ignacio Ramonet, President of Media
Global Watch. According to Andrew Calabrese of the University of Colorado,
deregulation in the United States, leading to bigger concentration of media
ownership, also ushered a quid pro quo relationship between media tycoons
and the government. Media bosses discourage dissent from the US policy in
Iraq for fear offending a government that, in turn, helps big media owners
get even bigger. "There is nothing genetically inferior with Americans," he
quips, "except the quality of oxygen they breathe in information clouds
their minds." As to how best to fight news domination by the few, Giulietto
Chiesa, now a European Parliament Deputy and also a veteran writer for the
Italian daily La Stampa, sees opportunities. One is forming an alliance
with prominent personalities in the entertainment world and literature, and
recruiting them for the fight against information concentration and
manipulation.
http://www.mediaactioncenter.org/?q=node/575

BROKEBACK MEDIA
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Danny Schechter, MediaChannel.org]
[Commentary] The State of the Media 2005 report published earlier in the
year read: "The traditional press model -- the journalism of verification
-- is one in which journalists are concerned first with trying to
substantiate facts. It has ceded ground for years on talk shows and cable
to a new journalism of assertion, where information is offered with little
time and little attempt to independently verify its veracity." What can be
done about this? The same Pew Research Center study suggested: "To adapt,
journalism may have to move in the direction of making its work more
transparent and more expert, and of widening the scope of its searchlight.
Journalists aspire in the new landscape to be the one source that can best
help citizens discover what to believe and what to disbelieve -- a shift
from the role of gatekeeper to that of authenticator or referee. To do
that, however, it appears news organizations may have to make some
significant changes. They may have to document their reporting process more
openly so that audiences can decide for themselves whether to trust it.
Doing so would help inoculate their work from the rapid citizen review that
increasingly will occur online and elsewhere."
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/30331/

WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR SPECTRUM POLICY THE FCC OR THE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION?
[SOURCE: Truth, Justice, and Telecom Policy AUTHOR: J.H. Snider]
Which has more influence on spectrum policy: the FCC or the various
federal, state, and local departments of transportation? If current
technological trends continue, the departments of transportation,
especially the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), could
end up a strong second. In 1999, the FCC allocated 75 MHz of dedicated
spectrum for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and in December 2003
it adopted service rules for the band, called Dedicated Short-Range
Communications Services (DSRC). ITS uses a band a spectrum close to that
used today for WiFi networks and one might ask why USDOT needs a dedicated
short-range communications services band for ITS when unlicensed could do
the same job. if the government spends $3 to $10 billion dollars developing
this ITS network beginning around 2009, why doesn't it add WiFi
functionality on the adjacent 5 GHz unlicensed band for a very modest
additional expenditure? Second, the entire world is moving to short-range
wireless networks because that is the only way to achieve super high speed
broadband speeds with high quality of service. Why should we be banning
exactly the type of roadside broadband network architecture for mobile
Internet service that clearly uses the spectrum most efficiently and is the
most technologically advanced?
http://quixote.blogs.com/telecompolicy/2006/01/the_federal_com.html

OWNERSHIP

STUDY SHOWS LOCAL OWNERSHIP MAKES DIFFERENCE IN TV NEWS
[SOURCE: Muskogee (OK) Daily Phoenix, AUTHOR: Cathy Spaulding]
Corporate or local control of a city's television station can make a
difference in what viewers see, a team of Northeastern State University
professors said. In a paper, "Chain versus Local Ownership: Toward an
investment Model of News Quality," communication professors David K. Scott
and Mike Chanslor examined the quality of television news offered by three
Tulsa stations. The paper argues that because local news could be expensive
to produce, some news organizations could use generic video feeds or
stories produced by the station's parent chain that Scott and Chanslor
contend have "little to no local news value." "The results of this research
offer support to critics who voice concern over the effects of increased
concentration of ownership," Chanslor said. "In this case, the effects of
large corporate ownership on local news detrimentally impact the FCC's
public policy goal of localism, news that is part of the vital function of
the press."
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051226/NEWS0...

DIGITAL DIVIDE WIDENS EVEN MORE
[SOURCE: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, AUTHOR: Rev. Mark McCleary, National
Black Church Initiative's Minister Alliance]
[Commentary] If the Bell telephone monopolies get their way, only a very
few will ever experience the true promise of the 21st century's digital
age. The giant telephone monopolies -- AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth and Qwest
-- have launched an unprecedented push to effectively eliminate the only
non-discrimination provision in federal law that prohibits redlining by any
telecom company providing "video services." They ask legislators to bless a
dubious business plan to bring their new TV services only to wealthy
neighborhoods. The Bells argue they don't have the resources to comply with
the non-discrimination provisions, which would require a far more ambitious
build-out of fiber networks than they seem prepared to undertake. They
claim local governments are too pesky, that negotiating local franchise
agreements with them is unreasonably bureaucratic. The Bells earned five
times the revenues as did the cable companies. Further, the telephone
networks were built with decades of government subsidies. Their sheepish
claim they should be held to a lower standard than the cable industry,
which never had such government handouts, doesn't meet the laugh test.
Further, Congress changed the laws in 1996 to invite Bell entry into the
cable industry. Since then, the Bells have obtained local franchise
agreements in California, Virginia, Florida, Utah and Texas -- a fact that
debunks their complaint about local bureaucracy. When it comes to entry
into the cable industry, the only one standing in the way of the telephone
companies are the telephone companies themselves. America ranks 16th among
industrialized nations in broadband deployment and our digital divide
threatens to become a digital gulf. Rather than moving us to the "future
... faster," as its advertising campaign promises, the Bell cartel seems
intent on moving us backward to a 19th-century reality where communications
services are available only to the aristocratic class.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253125_digitaldivide23.html

A TRIAL IN SEPARATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Levingston]
In a move that could hold lessons for other media companies seeking
higher-growth avenues in the new entertainment environment, CBS officially
broke away from Viacom this week. Besides television operations that
include cable sports, the Showtime channel, the UPN network and a group of
stations, CBS also has radio, outdoor advertising and publishing interests.
CBS faces challenges in the digital entertainment revolution (on-demand
viewing, Internet television and mobile video), such as piracy of its
programs and the potential loss of advertising revenue as viewers watching
shows on digital video recorders fast-forward through ads. The defection of
Howard Stern to Sirius Satellite Radio will drag on revenue at CBS Radio.
But yesterday, investors drove the stock price higher in the belief that
the network's strong television programming will translate into a flow of
cash when the shows are repackaged for digital platforms.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR200601...
(requires registration)
* Moonves puts faith in strong CBS content
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060104/2b_moonvees04.art.htm

FUTURE OF MEDIA

THE MEDIA INDUSTRY IN AN INTERNET AGE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] Music companies, television and radio networks, newspapers and
magazines are all facing upheaval as the Internet changes how people
receive information and entertainment. The producers of content -
everything from news to soap operas - are losing their grip on
distribution. The Internet has become a vast network for the free
distribution of all kinds of content. You no longer to need buy a newspaper
to read news or switch on the radio to hear a radio broadcast. The lone
voice of the town cryer has given way to the babble of broadband networks.
This creates a host of challenges for those that have made a business from
selling content through tightly controlled distribution networks. Not only
must they find a way to adapt what they do to a more open world, but new
competitors are springing up, from small companies to individuals with
their weblogs and podcasts. The first lesson is that it is useless to
resist. There is a second lesson in the music industry: that upheaval does
not simply mean destruction. The fact that distribution is becoming more
open does not eliminate the value of good content. Whether they pay by
watching advertisements or subscribing, people will still seek out
interesting and original news and entertainment. Some of it will come to
them in new forms, from blogs and other "user-generated content", but
plenty will be researched, scripted and edited in the traditional way.
There will be more competition and uncertainty in the new world but some
things will be the same.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/991e65a0-7cc6-11da-936a-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)

MOVIES MAY HIT DVD, CABLE SIMULTANEOUSLY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride( at )wsj.com,
Peter Grant and Merissa Marr ]
Cable companies and major studios are discussing strategies to release
movies through video-on-demand cable services the same day they come out on
DVD. Although the talks have been in progress for several months without an
agreement, people familiar with the matter say some studios could do a
trial run of the strategy early this year. Such a move would mark a major
shift in the way Hollywood distributes movies -- and demonstrate how eager
studios are to boost sales and cater to tech-savvy consumers. Historically,
movie studios have staggered distribution points -- called "windows" in the
industry -- to maximize revenue. A movie is generally released first to
theaters, then several months later on DVD. Weeks or months after that, the
movie is released through video-on-demand and on other platforms, with
pay-per-view and regular television release coming last. Now, declining
box-office figures and slower growth in DVD sales, along with the emergence
of new technology, have prompted talk of collapsing or eliminating the
traditional windows. The idea raises many complex questions, from pricing
to piracy prevention. And studios need to weigh whether releasing movies
earlier to video-on-demand would cut into DVD sales. But on balance,
studios and cable operators hope that they will make more money if they
give consumers quicker access to movies they want, in the form they want them.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113634253382637201.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

ELECTRONICS SHOW MOVES BEYOND GADGETS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove]
Although it has been traditionally about the latest gadget, the
International Consumer Electronics Show, which opens this week in Las
Vegas, is adapting to a world in which technology is about more than just
the device. What's equally important is the data -- whether it's streaming
music or digital photos -- and the means through which we get that data,
such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and digital broadcasts. In some ways, it's a new
show -- grabbing, for the first time, the undivided attention of those who
have nothing to do with the gadgets but play influential roles in the
future of the industry. CES doesn't reveal what's next for consumers as
much as it gives techies a chance to showcase what they hope will be the
next ground-breaking, life-changing technology.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/01/AR200601...
(requires registration)

A NEW REASON TO BUY A HIGH-DEFINITION TV
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield nick.wingfield( at )wsj.com]
No, its not the looming switch to digital broadcasting in 2009 -- its
videogames. Game-industry executives expect two of the biggest new products
in the games industry -- Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the forthcoming
PlayStation 3 from Sony Corp. -- to drive sales of the expensive HDTV sets.
The Xbox 360, which sold out at nearly all retail stores across the U.S.
since it was released in late November, is the first console for which all
games come in high definition, rather than just the smattering of such
titles for the original Xbox. Most gaming systems don't come with a screen
and instead are hooked up to a television set. While Xbox 360 works with
older analog TV sets, the games are far more impressive on HDTVs. In a sign
of how intertwined the next generation of game consoles is becoming with
HDTVs, Microsoft executives -- including Chairman Bill Gates in tonight's
keynote -- at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas plan to disclose
data showing that the company's Xbox 360 system is helping HDTV set sales.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113633376846237022.html?mod=todays_us_pe...
(requires subscription)

MARKETER'S TACTIC SIGNALS BIG SHIFT IN A TV AD RITUAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin julia.angwin( at )wsj.com and
Suzanne Vranica]
The upfront took root in 1962, when in a promotional gambit, ABC decided to
launch all its programs just after Labor Day -- the week new car models
were unveiled and advertised. The process became more formal in the late
1970s when networks began guaranteeing advertisers the size of its
audiences. If ratings for a given show fell short, the networks would make
up the difference by running, free of charge, extra commercials. This
arrangement gave marketers some protection against the risk of buying ad
time in advance. It was nonetheless a sellers market. To get space on an
established hit, networks often made companies also buy time in weaker
slots. In effect, advertisers had to place bets on untested shows. With
only about 22 hours in a network's prime-time schedule, advertisers worried
about being locked out altogether and rushed to finalize deals. Networks
hold back about 20% of their inventory to sell later in the year, but
prices often rise as shows become hits. In recent years, the upfront system
enabled networks to maintain control even as their audiences declined. In
the 2004-2005 television season, which ended last May, broadcast networks
attracted 35% of the TV audience, down from 57% 10 years ago, according to
Nielsen Media Research. In the same period, the big four broadcast networks
nearly doubled upfront sales to $8.3 billion from $4.5 billion, says
Goldman Sachs. Past efforts by advertisers to change the upfront have
failed. In 1975, faced with price increases of 25%, ad agency J. Walter
Thompson decided to boycott the upfront, according to Erwin Ephron, an
industry consultant. But prices didn't fall later in the year and the
agency ended up paying a lot for weak programs, he recalls. Allstate is the
nation's second-largest insurer after State Farm Mutual Automobile
Insurance Co. It's a typical network-TV advertiser, a mass-market brand
that wants potential customers to see an Allstate ad once a week. Even with
a shrinking audience, network TV is one of the few ways to do that. In
recent years, the insurer says it has spent about $100 million to $125
million of its annual $275 million advertising budget on national TV. Not
all of that is spent on the upfront; Allstate also reserves funds to buy
ads later in the year. Allstate began thinking about cutting its upfront
commitment last January. The company's analysis suggested prime-time ads
had become less effective than other, less expensive outlets. The insurer
has steadily cut upfront spending since 2003 and put more money into cable,
Web sites and special marketing ventures, such as sponsoring Nascar events.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113634466072137260.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

QUICKLY

UK CITIES TO GET BLANKET WI-FI COVERAGE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Andy McCue]
The United Kingdom has unveiled plans for citywide Wi-Fi networks that will
give residents in nine cities high-speed wireless Internet access from
laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. The first phase of the project, due to be
completed by March 2006, will see citywide Wi-Fi hot spots rolled out in
Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham
and Oxford, along with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea,
Camden and Islington. The networks are being built by European wireless
provider The Cloud. They will be open to any Internet service provider that
wants to offer services. Blanket wireless coverage will be provided in the
cities through Wi-Fi equipment fitted on lampposts and street signs. People
who want to use the wireless network will pay one of the ISPs for access,
and revenues will be split between The Cloud, the local council and the ISPs.
http://news.com.com/U.K.+cities+to+get+blanket+Wi-Fi+coverage/2100-7351_...

VERIZON TO OFFER CABLE IN MARYLAND
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dina ElBoghdady]
Verizon Communications broke into Maryland's cable television market as the
Howard County Council voted unanimously last night to grant the company a
franchise, giving the telecommunications giant another victory in its
effort to expand its array of services nationwide. Under the agreement,
Verizon could start rolling out cable television service in parts of the
county in early March, though it has yet to announce pricing. The New York
company would have three years to build a fiber-optic network in the
eastern, most populated part of the county and a total of seven years to
reach the more rural areas. Verizon has won similar agreements in six other
states, including Virginia, which has approved franchises in Fairfax
County, Fairfax city, the town of Herndon and the Marine base in Quantico.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR200601...
(requires registration)

FEDERAL-STATE JOINT BOARD STAFF RELEASES MONITORING REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission/Joint Board on Universal Service]
The staff of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service has
released its most recent Monitoring Report on Universal Service. This
report reflects information on the telephone industry filed with the FCC
through May 2005. The report addresses the various universal service
support mechanisms, which amounted to nearly $5.7 billion in 2004. In
2004, disbursements among the four categories of universal service
mechanisms were: 61.5% for high-cost support; 24.8% for schools and
libraries support; 13.4% for low-income support; and 0.3% for rural health
care support. Data presented in the report includes: Industry Revenues
and Contributions; support for Low Income, High Cost, Schools & Libraries,
and Rural Health care programs; rates; quality of service; network usage;
and other issues. The report may also be downloaded from the Wireline
Competition Bureau Statistical Reports Internet site, which can be reached
at http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats Wireline Competition Bureau
contact: Alexander Belinfante at (202) 418-0944; TTY (202) 418-0484.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-262993A1.doc

IS IT TIME TO CUT YOUR LANDLINE FOR GOOD?
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Tom Regan]
[Commentary] According to a Harris Interactive Technology Research poll
taken last spring, 9 percent of Americans have already switched from
landlines to cellphones, another 5 percent were considering it within the
next year, and a whopping 47 percent of Americans had given the idea some
thought. Last summer the FCC released a report showing that the number of
cellphones in the United States had surpassed the number of landlines -
181.1 million cellphones versus 177.9 million landlines. But landlines
don't have batteries that run out and never need to be recharged in the
middle of a call (unless you're using a cordless phone). The way most
landline agreements work, it's pretty hard to "go over your minutes" and
get billed extra. Some users find their cellphones have poor reception. And
emergency responders may not know where you are when you call 911 on a cell
phone. Respondents in the Harris Interactive Poll also cited two other
reasons for not switching to mobile phones only: the need for Internet
access (high speed DSL service or dial-up) and lack of plans with good
pricing. The reality is that for now, most people see cellphones as a
realistic choice as the "second phone" in the house, or for a small
business. Even people who only use cellphones for voice conversations might
get a basic landline for Internet access or as a fax line. But even if you
want a landline, there is an increasingly common way to get that line --
Voice over Internet (VoIP).
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0104/p17s01-coop.html

POSITION AVAILABLE: ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT
Free Press has an immediate opening for an Administrative & Development
Assistant. We are seeking a team player and problem solver to help us
coordinate fundraising activities, manage communication with the public,
and carry out routine administrative tasks. Candidates must have strong
communication skills, attention to detail, and demonstrated ability to work
accurately under pressure. Proficiency with MS Office programs and
Filemaker database software required. This position is based in our
Northampton MA office. Deadline for applications is January 12, 2006.
Applications will be reviewed on January 12 and every two weeks thereafter
until search is closed. Free Press is an equal opportunity employer. Free
Press encourages and values a diverse workforce, and we seek diversity
among applicants for this position. Women and people of color are strongly
encouraged to apply. Contact: Kimberly Longey, Managing Director, Free
Press 413-585-1533, ext 33
http://www.freepress.net/
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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
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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