October 2010

Rush: FCC Should Approve Comcast/NBCU This Year

Add Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) to the list of legislators who have asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve the Comcast-NBC Universal deal.

In a letter to all five FCC commissioners, Rep Rush said that the deal should be approved before the end of the year so the public can "reap the benefits without delay." He did not ask for any conditions on the deal, according to a copy of the letter. Rep Rush cited Comcast's diversity commitments to ownership, programming, procurement, employment and more as argument for that public benefit, particularly for minority business owners who will get to control 10 new cable channels over the next eight years and the more immediate opportunity to own an Los Angeles TV station. Comcast is divesting the station and has pledged to seek a minority buyer. He also cited pledges to make more diverse on demand content available and to put $20 million into a venture capital fund.

Rep Rush, also told the FCC that former agency chairman Kevin Martin's new role as the voice of opposition against the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger is "highly suspect." Martin is representing a half-dozen clients opposed to the deal and is a principle of one of them: the National Coalition of African American Owned Media. The coalition has close ties with the Entertainment Studios, a black-owned enterprise that is one of the few, or perhaps only, programmers that would benefit financially from the conditions being sought by the African American group.

Holder Pledges To Help Resolve Public Safety Spectrum Dispute

Attorney General Eric Holder said that trying to resolve the dispute over what should be done with a chunk of spectrum that public safety officials want to use for an interoperable public safety broadband network and the Federal Communications Commission wants to auction is one of his department's top priorities.

In a speech to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which along with other public safety groups has called for Congress to reallocate the D-block spectrum for public safety use, AG Holder said the Justice Department has "facilitated a series of discussions concerning the public safety broadband network, including the future of the D-block." He said the department, working with the relevant stakeholders, has been trying to "determine a path forward" to make sure the "communication needs of state, local, and tribal law enforcement are met." AG Holder added, "This is a Cabinet-level priority. It is a Justice Department priority. And I will continue to advocate for meaningful, affordable access to radio spectrum when and where you need it. This continues to be a personal priority for me."

Broadcasters Are the Big Winners Again This Election Season

[Commentary] Want to know who the big winners will be next Tuesday on Election Day? That's already been decided. The answer: Your local broadcasters.

It's something most voters don't stop to consider in all the uproar about negative ads, Citizens' United, and the need for campaign finance reform. The people who are making most -- over 90%, by most estimates -- of the money from all the obnoxious and ubiquitous ads this fall have names unfamiliar to most people: Belo, Young Broadcasting, Cox, Fisher Broadcasting, Media General. And big names, of course, like ABC, Tribune, Gannett, NBC Universal. Why don't we see any stories about the broadcasters feasting at the trough each election year? Simple: They own the stations that would air those stories. And they're not about to assign them, either. (We gotcha "public service" right here, pal).

What's Bloomberg's beef with Comcast NBC merger? The TV Dial

Why does Bloomberg, best known for its financial terminals, care about the merger between Comcast and NBC Universal? The television dial.

Specifically, Bloomberg is concerned that a merger of the cable and media giants could relegate rivals -- such as the Bloomberg TV channel -- to cable television's boonies. The New York-based financial information powerhouse has met with members of the Federal Communications Commission to ask that any approval of the merger come with the condition that Comcast put the Bloomberg TV channel near competitor CNBC. It may sound like an old media problem, but analysts and legal experts say Bloomberg's concerns about its television interests point to broader questions about how a combined Comcast-NBC Universal could unfairly use its clout to undercut competitors.

PTC, Former Exec Spar Over Allegations of Unethical Fundraising

A former Parents Television Council executive said that he had witnessed ethical violations at the council involving "grotesque" fund-raising practices and gross membership overcounts. A New York Times story this week said PTC was on the defensive in the wake of those charges as well as "dwindling" finances and some court decisions smacking down the FCC for its handling of indecency enforcement. The employee, former VP of Development Patrick Salazar, claimed that PTC had inflated its membership to try and raise more money and would throw away surveys or petition requests that came back without donations enclosed. He said he resigned and that PTC's claim he had been fired was "laughable."

Army sees video to troop cell phones in 2 years

The Army could be streaming surveillance video images from unmanned planes to solders' cellphones in about two years. The Army remains committed to the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) as the main means for disseminating video images to the battlefield, a big program that is still under development and should be fielded in 2014, said Tim Owings, deputy program manager for Army unmanned aerial systems. But technology developments and rapid advances in encryption software mean smaller-scale self-contained 4G networks could also be an option for allowing troops to see video images in about two years, Owings said.

Court shuts down LimeWire music-sharing service

Federal Judge Kimba Wood granted the music industry's request to shut down the popular LimeWire file-sharing service, which had been found liable for copyright infringement. The ruling halts one of the world's biggest services for letting consumers share music, movies and TV shows for free over the Internet. Saying that LimeWire's parent Lime Wire LLC intentionally caused a "massive scale of infringement" involving thousands of works, Judge Wood issued a permanent injunction that requires the company to disable its "searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality."

FCC Tech Experience Center

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Managing Director announced that it is accepting donations for the new FCC Technology Experience Center (FCC TEC), an on-site technology lab that will provide FCC employees and invited guests hands-on experience with the latest communications devices and solutions.

The Technology Experience Center will provide access to an array of technical communications devices designed for personal or business use. "Today's world of technology is always changing, and we are establishing the Technology Experience Center to allow FCC employees to keep pace with this change," said Steven VanRoekel, the FCC's Managing Director. "The goal of FCC TEC is to promote better employee understanding of the current state of technology in the industries in which the Commission oversees."

Judge blocks North Carolina attempt to get Amazon sales data

Judge Marsha Pechman has blocked North Carolina's Department of Revenue request for names and addresses information from Amazon for purchases by NC residents.

Although the state said it did not need or want specific item information, and that it had removed the initial Amazon database dump from its computers, it continued to hang onto the CDs holding this information. Combining that information with names and addresses would allow the state to see a person's entire seven-year Amazon purchase history. Amazon objected to the request on First Amendment grounds. It did not object to the state's request for tax information, but it refused to turn over personally identifying information so long as the state could link this to individual purchases.

Judge Pechman ruled: "The First Amendment protects a buyer from having the expressive content of her purchase of books, music, and audiovisual materials disclosed to the government," wrote Pechman. "Citizens are entitled to receive information and ideas through books, films, and other expressive materials anonymously... The fear of government tracking and censoring one's reading, listening, and viewing choices chills the exercise of First Amendment rights."

Homeland Security tries new approach to IT collaboration

The Homeland Security Department is trying a new management model to encourage its component agencies to work more harmoniously on information technology projects, the department's chief information officer said.

The approach, called enterprise governance, involves bringing together DHS agencies with similar responsibilities and having them collaborate on IT systems, according to CIO Richard Spires. For instance, right now there are nearly 50 systems for screening people coming to and leaving the United States. Under the new setup, agencies involved in screening, including the Transportation Security Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection, would work together on streamlining technology. "You need [to be] where everybody gets on the same page," Spires said during the 2010 American Council for Technology/Industry Advisory Council's Executive Leadership Conference. "If they get to know each other and they start to understand each other's issues, like in screening, they can come together in a way that's very powerful."

Benton

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