Don't forget that the=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-253766A1.docForum=20
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-253766A1.docon=20
Media Concentration is tomorrow night at Hamline University in St. Paul,=20
Minnesota. 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM
A glimpse of our shared media future? If you have 8 mins and the bandwidth=
=20
to spare, take a look.
http://letitblog.com/epic/
DIGITAL TV
Senate To Pass DTV Switch Advisory
FCC DTV Plan on 2005 Front Burner
New Standard Expected to Push Over-Air Interactive TV=92s Success
BROADCASTING
Activists Dominate Content Complaints
Self-Censorship and Syphilis
A Media Blackout: Media Outlets Refuse Union Advertising
INTERNET
Agreement Apparently Reached in Senate on E-Rate/Universal Service
Blogging in America: A View from the Old World
QUICKLY -- Adelstein Sworn In; Tracking Online Radio Audiences;
Transforming the BBC
DIGITAL TV
SENATE TO PASS DTV SWITCH ADVISORY
Today the Senate is expected to pass the intelligence reform bill which=20
includes a resolution calling for TV stations to begin all-digital=20
transmissions and return their old analog channels to the government =93as=
=20
early as=94 Dec. 31, 2006, turning a portion of the old channels over to=20
local fire, police and other public safety departments. The =93sense of the=
=20
Congress=94 is intended to give the FCC, broadcasters and the telecom=20
industry an idea of what direction Congress wants to take the digital TV=20
(DTV) transition. The wording of the resolution is a bit of a victory for=20
broadcasters, who don't want to be saddled with the obligation, even a=20
recommended one, to give up their old channels so soon. Congress will take=
=20
up legislation on the DTV transition early next year.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA486122.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
FCC DTV PLAN ON 2005 FRONT BURNER
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell plans early next=
=20
year to revive his effort to end the digital-TV transition by 2009. Powell=
=20
had hoped to bring the issue to a vote in November or December, but that=20
got sidetracked due to the need to write new local-phone-competition rules=
=20
within a few weeks. "Once we get [the phone rules] passed, DTV moves to the=
=20
front burner,=94 a senior FCC source said Tuesday. The first open meeting of=
=20
the FCC in 2005 is scheduled for January 13.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA486101.html?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
NEW STANDARD EXPECTED TO PUSH OVER-AIR INTERACTIVE TV'S SUCCESS
In five years you could be interacting with your television in an entirely=
=20
new way. Watching a shopping channel, you could punch a "Buy" button=20
instead of calling a 1-800 number. You could receive customized news,=20
weather and traffic reports. So predicts Advanced TV Systems Committee=20
(ATSC) President Mark
Richer. ATSC is working on an over-the-air, interactive TV standard, the=20
Advanced Common Application Platform (ACAP), which is expected to be=20
completed and published in the next several months. Information about ACAP=
=20
is available at www.atsc.org.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Tania Panczyk-Collins]
(Not available online)
BROADCASTING
ACTIVISTS DOMINATE CONTENT COMPLAINTS
According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency=
=20
complaints in 2003 -- 99.8% -- were filed by the Parents Television=20
Council, an activist group. This year, the trend has continued, and perhaps=
=20
intensified. Through early October, 99.9% of indecency complaints -- aside=
=20
from those concerning the Janet Jackson =93wardrobe malfunction=94 during=
the=20
Super Bowl halftime show broadcast on CBS -- were brought by the PTC,=20
according to the FCC analysis dated Oct. 1. "It means that really a tiny=20
minority with a very focused political agenda is trying to censor American=
=20
television and radio,=94 said Jonathan Rintels, president and executive=20
director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, an artists=92 advocacy=
=20
group.
[SOURCE: MediaWeek.com, AUTHOR: Todd Shields]
http://www.mediaweek.com/mediaweek/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
_id=3D1000731656
PTC Demands a Recount
The Parents Television Council is calling for a congressional investigation=
=20
of FCC accounting practices; the group says that the FCC is undercounting=20
the number of complaints it receives about indecency.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA486102?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See also:
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D6872
SELF-CENSORSHIP AND SYPHILIS
[Editorial] Another story about a rejected ad; this time an anti-syphilis=20
public service ad rejected by five Los Angeles broadcasters. It "seems=20
another example of the self-censorship that broadcasters are imposing as=20
the Federal Communications Commission cracks down on material it deems=20
objectionable." One broadcaster said the ad struck an "inappropriate"=20
lighthearted tone about a "serious matter." Yet multiple studies have shown=
=20
that public health messages playfully encouraging people to protect=20
themselves against disease are generally much more effective at changing=20
behavior than stern, moralistic ones. A more likely explanation for the=20
reluctance of KCBS and the other stations is that they didn't want to risk=
=20
incurring the wrath of the FCC. The editorial concludes, "FCC Chairman=20
Michael Powell's policies, initially aimed at encouraging broadcasters to=20
respect community standards of decency, now may be threatening public=20
health. Not to mention public discourse, which inevitably suffers in a=20
nanny society in which acceptable content is determined by a group=20
convinced that its "values" are handed down from on high."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: LA Times Editorial Staff]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-syph8dec08,1,5315...
story?coll=3Dla-news-comment
See the ad for yourself at
http://www.latimes.com/syphilishttp://www.latimes.com/syphilis
(requires registration)
A MEDIA BLACKOUT: MEDIA OUTLETS REFUSE UNION ADVERTISING
[Commentary] Major corporate media outlets often reject advertising from=20
labor unions. This means that the same outlets that will not cover labor=20
for free, in many cases will not even sell working people 60 seconds of the=
=20
public's airwaves for hard-earned money. Even people well aware of the=20
media's failings in covering labor issues have no way of knowing that the=20
media is also censoring union ads. This unfair and unbalanced practice is,=
=20
of course, not reported on by the media. Rejecting union ads or any other=20
ads (except political campaign ads) is perfectly legal, and no explanation=
=20
for the decision to reject a particular ad is required. But ad sales=20
executives are completely open about their motivations. If, they say, an ad=
=20
from a union will be viewed negatively by a corporation that buys more=20
advertising than the union does, the union ad gets rejected. Thus the=20
collective wealth of working people cannot compete in our "democratic=20
media" against the wealth of corporate owners unless the union spends as=20
much as the corporations =96 and even then ads can be rejected or required=
to=20
become corporate friendly.
[SOURCE: International Labor Communications Association, AUTHOR: David=
Swanson]
http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=3Dmodload&name=3DNews&file=3Dar...
e&sid=3D1158
INTERNET
AGREEMENT APPARENTLY REACHED IN SENATE ON E-RATE/UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Sens Snowe (R-Maine) and Rockefeller (D-WV) have led an effort to break a=20
stalemate on the Universal Service Fund provision that=92s part of a trio of=
=20
telecom bills awaiting congressional action (HR-5419). Senate Commerce=20
Committee Chairman McCain (R-AZ) has had a hold on the bill because the=20
House wouldn't consider his bill to create a national boxing commission. It=
=20
appeared the two other measures -- on spectrum trust fund relocation and=20
E-911 funding -- may not get voted on. Sens Snowe and Rockefeller have=20
gotten 32 Senators to sign a bi-partisan letter highlighting the effect a=20
FCC-imposed accounting change could have on the E-rate program. =93The=
recent=20
suspension of funding for telecommunications services for schools and=20
libraries has caused significant hardship for these institutions across the=
=20
country, especially those in rural areas. The suspension has also=20
threatened to drive up consumers=92 telephone bills,=94 Sen Rockefeller=
said.=20
Sen Snowe said the one-year extension would give Congress time to devise a=
=20
permanent solution to the accounting problem. =93We owe it to rural phone=20
companies and their consumers, to schools
and libraries, and to low-income communities to get this fixed now,=94 she=
said.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
FCC Chairman Powell and the US Telecom Association have voiced support for=
=20
the legislation (see links below).
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-255022A1.doc
http://www.usta.org/news_releases.php?urh=3Dhome.news.nr2004_1206
BLOGGING IN AMERICA: A VIEW FROM THE OLD WORLD
[Commentary] The emergence of blogs is now a part of the American media=20
landscape. Organizations with hundreds of staff -- including professionally=
=20
trained journalists and small armies of fact-checkers -- are now measured=20
as equals to a single person working out of a basement. Shouldn't we be=20
concerned about the state of American news when rumors and second-hand=20
commentary become as important as breaking global events and investigative=
=20
reports? Why aren't more American editors standing up to challenge this=20
trend? Today's blogs are so popular that nobody dares suggest that they=20
raise more problems than they solve. With bloggers, you jump directly from=
=20
breaking news to opinion. This is a major disruption and, by the way, a=20
major misunderstanding of what journalism is: when you are articulated and=
=20
well informed, it's rather easy to become an opinion giver, but it is much=
=20
more difficult to fact-check the news and avoid manipulation by the=20
government or big companies and interests. You need a staff, editors in a=20
newsroom; all that has existed in media organizations for a century.
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Bertrand Pecquerie, Director, World=20
Editors Forum]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert296.shtml
QUICKLY
Federal Communications Commission member Jonathan Adelstein was sworn in=20
Tuesday for a new term expiring June 30, 2008.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA486106?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-255070A1.doc
ADVERTISERS WEIGH NEW RATINGS FOR ONLINE-RADIO PROGRAMMING
Arbitron, the ratings service, last week teamed with comScore Networks, a=20
measurer of Web activity, to provide traditional-style broadcast ratings=20
for the online-radio industry. Why? Some advertising seers predict a=20
not-too-distant future in which old-fashioned radio as we know it ceases to=
=20
exist -- thanks to iPods, satellite radio and portable devices that will do=
=20
for listeners what video-on-demand services and digital video recorders do=
=20
for viewers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg=20
brian.steinberg( at )wsj.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110246919902293952,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
(requires subscription)
PLAN TO TRANSFORM THE BBC
In a plan released Tuesday, the BBC will cut some 2,900 jobs, redirecting=20
resources into program production including journalism, drama, comedy,=20
music, learning, children's, sporting and national events.
[SOURCE: British Broadcasting Corp Press Release ]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/12_december/...
lans.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------