CONTEXT IS GOD
Google and God's Mind
PTC: Nets Still Diss Religion
Ryan Indecent, Says NRB Chief
Attention, FCC: You've Got Mail
POLICYMAKERS
Sununu Sees Telecom Act Ready for Vote by Mid-2006
Governor Picks Two to Replace PUC Members
Consumers Union Launches Telecom, Media Web Site
MEDIA
MoveOn.org Accepts Sinclair Challenge
Media Wish List for 2005
FCC Denies LPFM License
CABLE
Cable Rate Increases No Surprise, But Consumer Groups Angry
On-Demand TV Expands Via Underused Fiber Highways
QUICKLY -- SBC & the E-Rate; Report on Telephone Service Quality;
Report on Do-Not-Call List; Al Manar television a terrorist org
CONTEXT IS GOD (or, at least, King)
GOOGLE AND GOD'S MIND
[Commentary] Google is digitizing library holdings to create the electronic
equivalent of "the mind of God." Could this digital system be the death of
libraries? Don't count on it. There's a big difference between
"information" and "knowledge" and you can't deliver the latter with short
passages of books. The books in great libraries are much more than the sum
of their parts. They are designed to be read sequentially and cumulatively,
so that the reader gains knowledge in the reading. Gorman writes: "I am all
in favor of digitizing books that concentrate on delivering information,
such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and gazetteers, as opposed to
knowledge. I also favor digitizing such library holdings as unique
manuscript collections, or photographs, when seeing the object itself is
the point (this is reportedly the deal the New York Public Library has made
with Google). I believe, however, that massive databases of digitized whole
books, especially scholarly books, are expensive exercises in futility
based on the staggering notion that, for the first time in history, one
form of communication (electronic) will supplant and obliterate all
previous forms."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Michael Gorman is president-elect of
the American Library Association]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-nugorman17dec17,1...
(requires registration)
PTC: NETS STILL DISS RELIGION
According to Parents Television Council's sixth annual study of television
and religion, the television networks are including more religion in their
programming, but references to organized religion were overwhelmingly
negative. "Negative depictions of personal faith are systemic in much of
the creative community," said Frank Wright, president of the National
Religious Broadcasters. TV and film writers appear to be vying for an
industry "merit badge for attacking religious faith." Regardless of the
motivations, the consequence of overwhelmingly negative depictions could
seed widespread antipathy towards people of faith throughout society. "This
results in a dehumanization of people that tends to produce the potting
soil that leads to persecution." He compared the media climate towards
religious to the degradation of Jews before the Holocaust or black
Americans during slavery and Jim Crow. PTC President Brent Bozell said
there's nothing wrong with occasional negative depictions of religion, but
that the degree of unfavorable depictions today is way out of balance with
Americans' general positive outlook on faith and does not accurately
reflect the role of religion in American life. "When overall coverage is
negative, that coverage is out of sync with public opinion." Currently the
Catholic Church, still reeling from the clergy scandals, bears the brunt of
snide jokes on TV but similar attacks were levied against fundamentalist
Christians in years past. Christians are easier game for these sort of
characterizations, he surmised, because Jews and other religious minorities
have suffered so much persecution in the past that unfavorable depictions
would generate a torrent of backlash in society. Christian faith is due the
same the level of respect, he said.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting and Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA488288?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
RYAN INDECENT, SAYS NRB CHIEF
Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters, said that
stations should not have an open-ended right to air "Saving Private Ryan,"
which includes extreme violence and soldiers swearing, in hours when
children are likely to be watching. "Chairman Powell asserts that context
is crucial in deciding whether a show is indecent. While that is certainly
true, it is incomplete." The likelihood that children would have been in
the audience when the show aired should have been the deciding factor, he
said. "When there are children likely in the viewing audience, indecency
must be restricted." The FCC's Media Bureau has recommended dismissing the
complaint and FCC chairman Michael Powell has voted in favor of the
bureau's recommendation. The other four commissioners have not cast their
votes.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA488607?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
ATTENTION, FCC: YOU'VE GOT MAIL
[Commentary] Readers are responding the Goodman's call to contact the FCC
and say they are offended by the Parents Television Council's attempts to
decide what is indecent broadcasting. So he's asking his audience to rise
again -- or for the first time -- to clog the FCC with protests against
programming that's "Creatively indecent:" Hope & Faith -- 7th Heaven --
Listen Up -- The Swan...
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Tim Goodman]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/1...
POLICYMAKERS
SUNUNU SEES TELECOM ACT READY FOR VOTE BY MID-2006
Sen John Sununu (R-NH) predicts comprehensive telecommunication reform
including a plan on the digital television transition could be ready for a
vote by June 2006. But he also predicts that "Nothing will be agreed to
until everything is agreed to." Concerning Universal Service, he said the
fund was not intended to benefit surburban schools or upper-class people
living in rural areas. He thinks funds should be restricted to Americans
who really need the subsidy. He sees 6-8 sessions held by Sens Stevens and
Inouye with "grassroots" and consumer organizations during early 2005
followed by drafting of legislation. Asked about the FCC's phone
competition order adopted Wednesday, he said it was "almost entirely bad
news" for competitive carriers.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
See also --
Sununu: New Bill to Address IP Video
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA488567.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
GOVERNOR PICKS TWO TO REPLACE PUC MEMBERS
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is remaking the California Public Utilities
Commission in his image appointing "twin" Danny DeVito -- hold it! back on
script -- nominating Silicon Valley businessman and Steve Poizner (R) and
San Francisco attorney Dian Grueneich (D) to the five-member PUC to replace
outgoing Commissioners Loretta M. Lynch and Carl Wood. Pundits believe Gov
Schwarzenegger can expect a more friendly reception from the commission, a
powerful entity that regulates companies that provide electricity, natural
gas, telephone service and water to homes and businesses across the state.
But consumer activists are worried. "He apparently worships at the church
of deregulation," said Mindy Spatt, spokeswoman for the Utility Reform Network.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Marc Lifsher]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-puc17dec17,1,968372.s...
(requires registration)
CONSUMERS UNION LAUNCHES TELECOM, MEDIA WEB SITE
Consumers Union launched a web site (www.hearus.now.org) that is designed
to provide consumers with information on telecom and media industry
developments, help them shop for products and services, and make it easier
to lobby lawmakers and policy-makers on issues. "This web site addresses
the explosion of activist groups and energized consumers who are frustrated
by the government's hands-off approach when it comes to dealing with their
concerns over higher bills, poorer
service, and the fact a handful of companies control their communications,"
said Gene Kimmelman, senior director-public policy for Consumers
Union. "It's important consumers have one place to go where they can
understand how policies affect their pocketbooks. . . . HearUsNow.org not
only explains these issues, it gives consumers the tools to fight for their
interests. Our goal is to have success stories, where a consumer in San
Francisco can learn from someone in Philadelphia the methods and
challenges of creating an open wireless network in their community," said
Morgan Jindrich, director of HearUsNow.org. "We want to link consumers
throughout the nation so they have the power to take on these major issues
and big corporations. We want to put the power back in consumers' hands."
[SOURCE: TR Daily, AUTHOR: Paul Kirby pkirby( at )tr.com]
MEDIA
MOVEON.ORG ACCEPTS SINCLAIR CHALLENGE: "WE'LL GLADLY SEND AN EMAIL WITH A
SINCLAIR MESSAGE"
MoveOn.org, a SinclairAction.com supporter, accepted a challenge from
Sinclair Broadcast Group to allow Sinclair to produce a message that
MoveOn.org would email to its members. "If Sinclair will agree on a way to
share its license to broadcast into millions of homes, we'll gladly send
our members an email with a Sinclair message," said Eli Pariser, executive
director of MoveOn.org. In accordance with the terms of the license
agreements for the 62 television stations it owns or operates, Sinclair
Broadcast Group is able to broadcast over the public airwaves at no cost.
In return, Sinclair has a responsibility to provide reasonable opportunity
for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance.
"The largest owner of television stations in the country is now equating
itself with an advocacy organization, rather than a media outlet," said
David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America. "This
highlights a pattern we've seen with members of the conservative media
attempting to draw false equivalencies in order to support their arguments.
The real issue is that Sinclair Broadcast Group is abusing its stewardship
of the public airwaves by not providing airtime for opposing viewpoints."
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America]
http://mediamatters.org/items/200412160005
MEDIA WISH LIST FOR 2005
What are the five things Penenberg would most like to see in 2005? 1)
Google News should become a for-profit enterprise so it can be sued and the
courts can determine what is "fair use" when it comes to posting headlines
and lead paragraphs, 2) Bloggers break news, 3) Dismantle the FCC so the
campaign against indecency ends, 4) The end of Nielsen and comScore, and 5)
Media reasserts its role as government watchdog: It's time for news
organizations to stop chasing the almighty dollar and reassert themselves
as righters of wrong. This means reinstituting walls between the editorial
and marketing sides of the business, and staying away from money grabbers
like IntelliTxt, a product that embeds advertising links into the bodies of
news stories. Journalism is more than a business, it's a calling. Media
organizations must treat it that way -- otherwise Americans' trust of the
news media will continue to plummet, and we'll all lose.
[SOURCE: Wired.com, AUTHOR: Adam L. Penenberg]
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,66048,00.html
FCC DENIES LPFM LICENSE
The FCC denied Angelo State University's petition application for review of
a decision to deny the university a low-power FM radio license.
Commissioners Copps and Adelstein issued a joint statement: "We concur
that, under our rules, Angelo State University's request is a major
change. Nevertheless, our action today prevents the University from
contributing to localism, diversity and competition on the airwaves in the
San Angelo community. To promote the broadest use of the spectrum, we
should consider granting additional flexibility or opening another filing
window for the many schools and other noncommercial entities that, like
Angelo State University, want to offer new low power FM radio services
wherever possible."
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-233A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-233A2.doc
CABLE
CABLE RATE INCREASES EXPECTED, BUT CONSUMER GROUPS ANGRY
Cable companies are planning to increase rates in 2005 about the same
percentage as last year, but many hikes will exceed the annual 3.2%
inflation rate. Although companies said they're offering more services and
higher quality along with price hikes, consumer groups are disgruntled with
the pace of increases and packaging of high-end service. "I've become
adamant about this -- the cost of monthly service has doubled since the
Telecom Act. The companies say you get double the amount of channels, but
people have not increased the time they watch," said Mark Cooper, Director
of Research at the Consumer Federation of America. Cooper's complaint is
that the cable company packaging forces consumers to pay for more channels
than they may want or would have time to watch. "While they've more than
doubled the offerings, they don't give me the choice." Consumer groups are
holding out hope for action in Congress next year on a la carte, a plan
that the FCC may have quashed when it released a report casting doubt on
the amount of money consumers would save with the pay-per-channel scheme.
"We think a la carte is the way to go -- we're hoping Sen. Stevens will
look at it," said Consumers Union analyst Susanna Montezemolo. "I think
there is support at a bipartisan level to do something," she said, adding
that her group is "slowly" starting to plan for next year.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Anne Veigle, Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
ON-DEMAND TV EXPANDS VIA UNDERUSED FIBER HIGHWAYS
"All services, all devices, one network." Cable companies are renting
unused fiber optic networks to deliver television, telephone and high-speed
Internet services using Internet technology. Until now, cable systems have
relied primarily on satellite technology to deliver programs and movies to
their thousands of distribution points, known as "head ends," that are the
nerve center of each local cable system. Cable programming networks such as
ESPN and HBO transmit content via satellite to satellite "dish farms"
attached to the head ends, which pipe the programming through fiber-optic
and coaxial cable to homes. The move is another sign that cable companies
are shifting away from traditional scheduled programming to shows that are
available whenever viewers want to watch them. The fiber-optic networks
will make it possible for digital-cable subscribers to click their remotes
to view tens of thousands of hours of content stored on cable company
servers -- the same way Internet users click on a mouse to get Web pages
and other online content stored on distant servers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Grant peter.grant( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110324155837102806,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
SBC CONSENT DECREE
SBC Communications agreed to pay the U.S. government $500,000 to end an
investigation into how the company used federal subsidies for Internet
access in schools.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-rup17.3.2dec17,1,6493...
(requires registration)
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-3893A1.doc
FCC RELEASES REPORT ON QUALITY OF TELEPHONE SERVICE
The FCC has released a report entitled Quality of Service of Incumbent
Local Exchange Carriers. This report summarizes quality of service data
for 2003 submitted by major incumbent local exchange carriers (regional
Bell operating companies and Sprint), as well as smaller price-cap
incumbent local exchange carriers. The following are highlights of some key
quality of service indicators for 2003: 1) Overall, the percent of switches
with outages in the major incumbent holding companies has steadily declined
over the past 5 years; 2) Average complaints per million lines were
comparable for all individual major incumbent holding companies in 2003
following declines for the past two reporting periods; 3) Smaller carriers
on average had consistently longer installation intervals than major
incumbent carriers, but had comparable average repair intervals; 4) Average
residential installation intervals declined or remained the same for all
but one major incumbent holding company, while residential repair intervals
increased for all but one major incumbent holding company; and 5) This
year's summary report includes data from all reporting incumbent local
exchange carriers for the first time.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-255389A1.doc
http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/iatd/recent.html
ANNUAL REPORT ON THE NATIONAL DO-NOT-CALL REGISTRY
The FCC released a report on the list aimed at blocking unwanted
telemarketing calls. As of September 30, 2003, *51,968,777* telephone
numbers had been placed on the national do-not-all registry.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-3890A1.doc
State Department May Designate TV Channel Terrorist
The State Department plans to designate Al Manar television -- the channel
of the Lebanon-based anti-Israel extremist group Hezbollah -- a terrorist
organization.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-tv17dec17,1,1406...
(requires registration)
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...and we are outta here. Do NOT shop until you drop... this is supposed to
be fun. We have a break coming: Dec 24-Jan 2.
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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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