November 2007

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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Push for Diversity Task Force
Native American broadcasters ask FCC to delay new media ownership rules
FCC Seeks Data From Sirius, XM
IAC/InterActive to Split Into 5 Companies
Media giant's new CEO has some areas to work on

LABOR
Screenwriters on Strike Over Stake in New Media

ED TECH
Ed-tech groups issue urgent call to action

TELECOM
Groups Oppose Telecom Immunity
Google Enters the Wireless World

QUICKLY -- Poll finds nearly 80 percent of U.S.=20
adults go online; Is fake news now the standard?;=20
Clearing the Roadblocks to Telecommuting; Terms=20
of Service of Four Leading Broadband Providers

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

PUSH FOR DIVERSITY TASK FORCE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Twenty-one groups -- including the Rainbow/PUSH=20
Coalition, the National Hispanic Media Coalition,=20
the Urban League and the National Association of=20
Hispanic Journalists -- are actively urging=20
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin=20
Martin to form an independent minority task force=20
to deal with what they called a "media-diversity=20
crisis," saying the FCC has a "credibility=20
deficit" on the issue. "We appreciate that you=20
are open to the idea of creating a task force to=20
thoroughly study the policy goal of promoting=20
minority ownership of broadcast stations," the=20
groups wrote in a letter to Chairman Martin, =93but=20
we are alarmed by recent reports indicating that=20
you will not wait until the work of such a task=20
force is completed before issuing new rules that=20
may permit further media consolidation. This is=20
not acceptable.=94 The letter continues, "An=20
uninformed rush to eliminate ownership limits may=20
set back the expansion of minority ownership by a=20
generation and leave us little recourse. The=20
legacy of race and gender discrimination in the=20
broadcast industry is a disgraceful reality in=20
America today. It is not a problem that will be solved quickly or easily."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6497616.html?rssid=3D193

NATIVE AMERICAN BROADCASTERS ASK FCC TO DELAY NEW MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Decrying a "lack of information available in the=20
record about Native American media ownership," an=20
advocacy group for Native American broadcasters=20
has asked the Federal Communications to put off=20
any quick decisions about its media ownership=20
rules. Native Public Media, which represents 33=20
Native American radio stations, filed its=20
comments on November 1st, a day before the FCC=20
announced its last public hearing on its=20
broadcast ownership limits, to take place in=20
Seattle, Washington on November 9th. "Because the=20
Commission still has not sufficiently evaluated=20
the current status of ownership of media outlets=20
by Native nations or individual Native=20
Americans," the group wrote, "NPM urges the=20
Commission to further study Native station=20
ownership and any barriers to such ownership=20
before adopting final rules in these proceedings."
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/498
* More from NPM at:
http://www.nativepublicmedia.org/images/PDF/npm%20media%20ownership%20co...
nts.pdf

FCC SEEKS DATA FROM SIRIUS, XM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Corey Boles=20
corey.boles( at )dowjones.com and Sarah McBride ]
The Federal Communications Commission sent=20
questionnaires to XM and Sirius Satellite Radio=20
that provide an indication of areas where the FCC=20
could ask for concessions as part of any=20
satellite-radio merger approval. The request=20
sought detailed information about nearly every=20
aspect of their businesses, from exclusive=20
distribution contracts, to programming=20
arrangements, to technical questions about where=20
equipment is located. The FCC asked for=20
information on what channels duplicate each other=20
and could be consolidated following a merger, and=20
what opportunities might arise for niche content=20
providers. The FCC also asked for details on=20
interoperable technology that would allow=20
programming from both services to run on=20
satellite radios, which now typically can run=20
programming from just one service.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119432338363983723.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)
* FCC Seeks Raft of Info from XM, Sirius
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6497637.html?rssid=3D193

IAC/INTERACTIVE TO SPLIT INTO 5 COMPANIES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Geraldine Fabrikant]
Barry Diller will see if the parts of=20
IAC/InterActiveCorp, his grab bag of Internet=20
companies and services, are greater than the=20
whole. In a move that is aimed at bolstering=20
IAC=92s lagging share price, simplifying its=20
convoluted corporate structure and maybe even=20
placating his old partner John C. Malone, Mr.=20
Diller announced that he was breaking the $18=20
billion company into five publicly traded=20
businesses. The split is a sharp shift in=20
strategy for a company that had nurtured the=20
image of an opportunistic conglomerate eager to=20
acquire new and appealing businesses. It also=20
signals a rare retreat for Mr. Diller, who was=20
certain of his ability to persuade Wall Street=20
that his shopping bag of companies would pay off=20
for investors. But the company=92s share price was=20
off almost 14 percent for the year. The move,=20
which follows split-ups at Viacom, Belo=20
Corporation and E. W. Scripps & Company, is=20
further confirmation that the Wall Street fad for=20
media conglomerates has passed, replaced by a=20
vogue in pure-play media companies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/technology/06diller.html?ref=3Dtodaysp...
(requires registration)
* Hoping to Grow, Diller Prunes Empire
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119427094700182476.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)
* Diller to Split His Conglomerate 5 Ways
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR200711...
0252.html
* The Spinoffs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR200711...
1868.html
* IAC/InterActive splits into 5 companies
Abandoning its longtime strategy of being an Internet conglomerate.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20071106/iac06.art.htm

MEDIA GIANT'S NEW CEO HAS SOME AREAS TO WORK ON
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
Time Warner is one of the USA's most powerful=20
media companies, with some of the industry's most=20
highly prized assets. Still, with its share price=20
mired, many analysts expect to see big changes =97=20
including possible asset sales =97 after Jeffrey=20
Bewkes becomes CEO in January. 1) Cable systems:=20
Bewkes will be pressured to divest much, and=20
possibly all, of the 84% stake in Time Warner=20
Cable, which serves more than 13.5 million=20
customers in 33 states. The fear is that to=20
remain competitive cable operators will have to=20
put a lid on rate increases, while spending=20
heavily on equipment needed to keep pace with=20
rivals that plan to offer more than 100 HDTV=20
channels as the USA switches from analog to=20
digital TV. 2) Publishing: Bear Stearns estimated=20
in May that Time Warner could get up to $8.9=20
billion for the publishing unit. The thinking is=20
that print magazines =97 including Time, People,=20
Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Real Simple =97 no=20
longer fit with a company largely in the business=20
of transmitting video and sound. 3) Filmed=20
entertainment: "What would be helpful would be=20
the development of a new, strong franchise," says=20
UBS analyst Michael Morris. "We haven't seen=20
something with that level of cachet to emerge."=20
4) Cable networks: HBO, TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon=20
Network and CourtTV are in good shape, but they=20
may need more care and feeding than before as=20
competition intensifies. More than 160 channels,=20
as well as video on demand and Internet services,=20
now vie for viewers' time, and that could put=20
pressure on networks to boost spending for programming and promotion.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20071106/bewkes06.art.htm

LABOR

SCREENWRITERS ON STRIKE OVER STAKE IN NEW MEDIA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Cieply, David Carr, Brooks Barnes]
The writers strike began after producers made a=20
number of steps toward the writers in the course=20
of an 11-hour session, and writers countered by=20
abandoning their demand that DVD residuals be=20
doubled. The guild said the companies had dug in=20
their heels by, among other things, refusing to=20
grant the unions jurisdiction over most writing=20
directly for new media, and insisting on the=20
right to offer promotional showings of movies and=20
television shows in new media and elsewhere=20
without paying an additional fee. The companies=20
have also insisted on pegging residuals payments=20
for downloaded movies and shows at the same rate=20
historically used for DVDs and videocassettes =97 a=20
formula writers have regretted almost since the=20
moment they negotiated it two decades ago. In=20
effect, the sides finally got down to what they=20
were really fighting about: who will get what from the media of the future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/business/media/06strike.html?ref=3Dtod...
paper
(requires registration)
* Hollywood Is Going Off Script As Writers Gamble for Digital Pie
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119424475401682362.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
* Hollywood Strike Turns Punch Lines to Picket Lines
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR200711...
0138.html
(requires registration)
* Writers' strike: Fast-changing technology complicates talks between write=
rs
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1106/p01s04-ussc.html

ED TECH

ED-TECH GROUPS ISSUE URGENT CALL TO ACTION
[SOURCE: eSchool News]
The State Educational Technology Directors=20
Association (SETDA), the International Society=20
for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the=20
Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) have=20
release a position paper that makes an urgent=20
case for why -- and how -- school leaders should=20
integrate technology into instruction. "How will=20
we create the schools America needs to remain=20
competitive? For more than a generation, the=20
nation has engaged in a monumental effort to=20
improve student achievement. We've made progress,=20
but we're not even close to where we need to be,"=20
according to the paper. "It's time to focus on=20
what students need to learn--and on how to create=20
a 21st-century education system that delivers=20
results. In a digital world, no organization can=20
achieve results without incorporating technology=20
into every aspect of its everyday practices. It's=20
time for schools to maximize the impact of=20
technology as well." Profound changes in the=20
world's economy "make it imperative for the=20
nation to be much more strategic, aggressive, and=20
effective in preparing students to succeed," the=20
paper says. "The rest of the world is catching up=20
in terms of innovation, economic competitiveness,=20
and educational achievement." Schools can=20
prepare their students to succeed in this new=20
21st-century environment, the paper says--but=20
this will require "broad and intensive use of=20
technology." Two major obstacles stand in the=20
way, according to the report: The use of=20
technology in education today is too narrowly=20
conceived, and the assumption that schools=20
already are using technology widely is unfounded.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=3D7461
* Maximizing the Impact: Why Technology Must Play=20
a Pivotal Role in 21st Century Education
http://www.setda.org/web/guest/maximizingimpactreport

TELECOM

GROUPS OPPOSE TELECOM IMMUNITY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Corey Boles=20
corey.boles( at )dowjones.com and John Godfrey]
The American Civil Liberties Union, the=20
Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Brennan=20
Center for Justice urged lawmakers not to pursue=20
a compromise solution that would offer phone=20
companies immunity from their alleged=20
participation in the U.S. government's=20
warrantless-wiretapping program. The proposed=20
solution would allow court cases over the issue=20
against phone companies, including AT&T Inc. and=20
Verizon Communications Inc., to proceed. However,=20
the phone companies would be exempted from having=20
to pay financial penalties. The civil-liberties=20
groups said the compromise would allow the phone=20
companies to think their alleged participation in=20
the program had no consequences. The=20
telecommunications sector could face potentially=20
hefty costs fighting the litigation. The=20
civil-liberties groups have been opposed to the=20
idea that phone companies should receive immunity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119431385009683418.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)

GOOGLE ENTERS THE WIRELESS WORLD
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft and John Markoff]
Google has an ambitious plan to transform the=20
software at the heart of cellphones. The personal=20
computer is climbing off its desktop perch and=20
hopping into the pockets of millions of people.=20
The resulting merger of computing and=20
communications is likely to revolutionize the=20
telecommunications industry as thoroughly as the=20
PC changed the computing world in the early=20
1980s. Google, which wants to be as central to=20
the coming wireless Web as it is to today=92s=20
PC-dominated Internet, announced on Monday that=20
it was leading a broad industry effort to develop=20
new software technologies aimed at turning=20
cellphones into powerful mobile computers. If=20
successful, the effort will usher in new mobile=20
devices that as the iPhone has done, will make it=20
easier to use the Internet on the go. The phones,=20
which would run on software that Google would=20
give away to phone makers, could be cheaper and=20
easier to customize. "We=92re human beings and we=20
communicate, and that=92s what the Internet social=20
network phenomenon is all about,=94 said Robert=20
Pepper, a former policy chief at the Federal=20
Communications Commission. =93The Internet is going=20
mobile, and it=92s not just top down, its=20
one-to-one and many-to-many all at the same time,=20
and that=92s what the Google guys get."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/technology/06google.html?ref=3Dtodaysp...
(requires registration)
* Google, Bidding For Phone Ads, Lures Partners
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119427874851482602.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)
* Google Teams Up With Cell Industry
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR200711...
0434.html
* Google hopes to conquer the wireless world
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-google6nov06,1,248272...
tory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business

QUICKLY

POLL FINDS NEARLY 80 PERCENT OF US ADULTS GO ONLINE
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Four out of five U.S. adults go online now,=20
according to a new Harris Poll. The survey found=20
that 79 percent of adults -- about 178 million --=20
go online, spending an average 11 hours a week on=20
the Internet. The results reflect a steady rise=20
since 2000, when 57 percent of adults polled said=20
they went online. In 2006, the number was 77=20
percent. The poll also found that adults are=20
spending more time online at home and at work, up=20
two percent each at 72 percent and 37 percent=20
respectively, from 2006. More dramatically, 31=20
percent of those surveyed said they went online=20
elsewhere, up from 22 percent in 2006.=20
Demographically, the poll showed the online=20
population aligning more with the general population.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0559828420071106

IS FAKE NEWS NOW THE STANDARD?
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jonah Goldberg]
[Commentary] FEMA's fake news conference was=20
foolish. But what isn't in the TV news business=20
these days? While the network news broadcasts are=20
sustained by the consumers of denture cream,=20
adult diapers and pharmacological marital aides,=20
it's "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report"=20
that have a grip on the hip, iPhone crowd. And=20
plenty of those younger viewers seem to believe=20
that they can deduce what's going on in the real=20
world from jokes on a fake newscast. It's no=20
longer funny because it's true. It's true because=20
it's funny. The problem of parsing fact from=20
fiction, news from entertainment, has been=20
inherent to broadcast journalism from the=20
beginning. TV news is, and always has been, the=20
shallowest branch of journalism. This is why TV=20
journalism in particular operates like a trade=20
guild -- not because it's so hard to do but=20
because it's so easy. I also mind that TV news is=20
trying to be relevant to viewers not on the=20
AARP's mailing list. What I find dismaying is=20
that "relevance" is literally coming at the expense of reality.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-goldberg6nov06,1,...
6485.column?coll=3Dla-news-comment
(requires registration)

CLEARING THE ROADBLOCKS TO TELECOMMUTING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Stephen Barr]
Concerned that too few federal employees are=20
getting plugged into telecommuting, House=20
Democrats are drafting legislation that would=20
encourage agencies to allow eligible employees to=20
telework four days a month, on average. Reps.=20
Danny K. Davis (D-IL), chairman of the House=20
federal workforce subcommittee, and John Sarbanes=20
(D-MD) are the chief sponsors of the proposal,=20
which would require every federal agency to=20
establish a telework policy so more employees=20
could choose to work from home or at locations away from their primary offi=
ce.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR200711...
1586.html
(requires registration)

TERMS OF SERVICE OF FOUR LEADING BROADBAND PROVIDERS
[SOURCE: DrewClark.com]
A comparison of the fine print when you sign up=20
for broadband service from Comcast, Verizon, AT&T or Time Warner Cable.
http://www.drewclark.com/2007/11/terms-of-service-of-four-leading.shtml
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online=20
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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
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by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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