March 2013

In 2010, the Federal Communications Commission established a to expand the number of radio stations owned by American Indian Tribes broadcasting to Tribal lands. The Tribal Priority is a FCC rule through which Tribes or Tribally owned or controlled entities may more easily obtain broadcast radio licenses in both the AM and FM bands. The Tribal Priority is intended not only to provide radio service tailored to specific Tribal needs and cultures, but to increase ownership of such radio stations by Tribes and Tribally owned entities. In doing so, the Tribal Priority also fosters localism and diversity of ownership. The need for Tribal radio stations is clear.

Media and entertainment executives are more likely to work outside regular business hours than professionals in most other industries -- and they’re more likely to be single. That’s according to a global survey by Accenture about work/life balance issues.

The survey found that about 37% of M&E executives said they frequently work on holidays and weekends. That was higher than in any of the 26 other industry sectors Accenture surveyed. More than a quarter (28%) of media and entertainment professionals said they frequently do work while on paid time off (i.e., vacation), with only executives in the medical products industry claiming a higher rate, at 33%. Meanwhile, 31% of M&E types said they don’t have a significant other in their lives -- also the highest response rate among the sectors represented in the survey. Interestingly, however, just 39% of media and entertainment industry execs consider themselves workaholics, which was in line with the average of 40% across all sectors.

[Commentary] On February 27, the House Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) broadband stimulus programs: the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) directed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Department of Commerce and the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) run by the Rural Utilities Service in the Department of Agriculture. Larry Strickling, the head of the NTIA, and RUS Administrator John Padalino testified before the Subcommittee. On February 11, the New York Times previewed this week’s hearing noting that rural areas certainly suffer a lack of high-speed Internet access. While about 88 percent of urban households in the United States have access to high-speed cable Internet service, only 40 percent of rural households do, according to NTIA’s and the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map About 20 percent of United States households have access to fiber optic Internet service, the fastest connection, compared with 86 percent in Japan and two-thirds in South Korea. But in the haste to get broadband everywhere, some grant planners appeared not to have taken into account the current condition of infrastructure.