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MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Media in the Campaign Crosshairs

DIVERSITY/OWNERSHIP
TV Newsrooms Lag on Diver
Broadcast Diversity: It's Good Business
A La Carte Would 'Destroy' Cable Diversity
White Knight Turns Pragmatist, and Newspapers Tremble Again
Tribune Likely to Forgo Bids And Set 'Self-Help' Plan
Media Firms Say Google Benefited From Film Piracy
Why digital music should be set free

TELEVISION
Rx for Retransmission
Teaching the Transition

INTERNET
Federal appeals court weighs Internet phone taxes
New Cop for High-Speed Net?

POLICYMAKERS
Markey Addresses E-Rate and other Top Technology Issues
Martin Backs Divvying Up Reclaimed Broadcast Spectrum

QUICKLY -- The Haiti File; FCC Study on Telephone Trends; Gibson
thinks old-style news more vital now; Coalition to push for open
airwaves; Nader's Public Citizen Taps YouTube; Radio Station Hopes
Green Becomes Gold; Judge Nixes Pole Hike

MEDIA & ELECTIONS

MEDIA IN THE CAMPAIGN CROSSHAIRS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
[Commentary] Expect to Presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton
(D-NY), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Sen. John McCain (R-AR) and former
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) pump up the volume on TV violence
and indecency, emergency communications, media ownership, food and
drug marketing, and campaign-finance reform. With the next president
scheduled to take office only four weeks before the switch is set to
be thrown on the digital conversion, the status of the DTV-converter
program will no doubt be an election issue as well. And the debate
over network neutrality -- or how much control Internet providers
should have over access, content, and bandwidth -- could interest top
Democrats, given the push it has gotten from left-leaning
political-action group MoveOn.org. An attempt to revive the fairness
doctrine by another contender, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), could
gain traction among candidates, like Sen Clinton, with a better shot
at the Oval Office. Rep Kucinich has made clear his intent to put
media concentration issues in the "center" of Washington via a series
of hearings. Patrick Maines, president of industry-backed First
Amendment think tank The Media Institute, argues in a sternly worded
memo (see link below) that Kucinich's push for the fairness doctrine
means that a "years-long assault on freedom of speech is gaining
traction." Maines argued that the media is losing the war against
speech freedoms. "Should the Democrats hold on to the Congress and
win the White House," he states, "this fact will become apparent to everyone."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415513.html?display=News
* Maines: Media Losing First Amendment War
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415568.html?display=Breaking...

DIVERSITY/OWNERSHIP

TV NEWSROOMS LAG ON DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
According to the Radio-Television News Directors' annual study of
diversity, blacks in TV newsrooms are at 9.5%. And 4.2% of all TV
news directors are African-American. Also, the study states, overall
minorities in TV newsrooms are at their second-highest level ever:
22.2%. Likewise, 13.2% of all TV news directors are minority, the
second-highest that number, too, has ever reached. But with the total
U.S. minority population at 33.6%, all employment numbers fall short.
"The number of people in broadcast news has declined in general,"
says Gary Wordlaw, a former news director and now general manager of
CBS-owned WUPL New Orleans. "So the number of minorities looks
greater proportionate to the total number. There's been no
significant change for years." To do that, there are clear steps that
TV stations and the companies that own them can take, some executives
say. First, the industry needs to make it easier to get promising
people into the employment pipeline by identifying and training them
earlier and by offering them paid internships.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415583.html?display=News

BROADCAST DIVERSITY: IT'S GOOD FOR BUSINESS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: David Honing, MMTC]
[Commentary] Recently, the Minority Media and Telecommunications
Council (MMTC), Clear Channel Communications and the National
Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation hosted a conference
to ensure that minorities and women have information and resources to
buy the significant number of media assets Clear Channel is
selling. Other broadcasters, like CBS Radio and Emmis, also have
sought diversity when selling broadcast assets. This is a welcome
development. The nation can't walk the walk when groups representing
a third of its people -- minorities -- and over half of its
population -- women -- can't unlock their full entrepreneurial and
management potential in influential industries. Minority ownership
still accounts for only 1.5% of broadcast-industry asset value; for
women-owned stations, it's about the same. In the midst of the
current media-ownership debate, we can agree these statistics are
unacceptable. Recruiting minority and female station buyers is not
just right, it's smart business. More bidders mean more money, which
means higher multiples paid by all bidders, including non-minorities.
It's not charity, nor is it supposed to be. It's a great opportunity
for all parties involved.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415590.html?display=Opinion

A LA CARTE WOULD 'DESTROY' CABLE DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Black Entertainment Television Chairman Debra Lee says that her cable
network has provided a diversity of views that are otherwise lacking
on broadcasting, and voiced her opposition to a la carte by saying it
would "destroy the diversity of cable." She continued to say that a
la carte " really flies in the face of the [cable] business model."
Lee said BET's news division is alive and well. BET canceled its 11
p.m. news about a year ago, but continues to offer cut-ins throughout
the day. They also provide specials and online news.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415531.html?display=Breaking...

WHITE KNIGHT TURNS PRAGMATIST, AND NEWSPAPERS TREMBLE AGAIN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katharine Seelye]
McClatchy sold The Minneapolis Star Tribune, the biggest paper in its
chain, in December for roughly have what it paid for it. The sale
sent a clear signal that some of the industry's premier properties
were eroding in value. Apart from its own woes, McClatchy's sale of
The Star Tribune could not have come at a worse time for the Tribune
Company, which has been on the auction block since last fall. "It's
instructive that the billionaires floating around in L.A. and Boston
who have expressed interest in some of these papers are all
unsophisticated about the newspaper business," said John Morton, an
industry analyst. "They don't know what's going on."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/business/media/12mcclatchy.html
(requires registration)

TRIBUNE LIKELY TO FORGO BIDS AND SET 'SELF-HELP' PLAN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah Ellison
sarah.ellison( at )wsj.com and Dennis K. Berman]
In the end, nobody is helping Tribune Co. It is going to have to help
itself. More than four months after Tribune put itself on the auction
block, the newspaper and television concern is leaning away from
accepting any of the offers made by outside bidders and instead
opting for a restructuring it would do on its own. Billed as a
self-help plan by the board members and advisers working on it, the
plan is widely expected to involve spinning off the company's
broadcast division and borrowing money to pay out a one-time cash
dividend to shareholders. A self-help plan would represent an
underwhelming conclusion to what has been a public tussle between
Tribune and its biggest shareholder, the Chandler family. It would
highlight the limited choices for newspaper companies facing restive
shareholders and difficult business conditions, with readers and
advertisers defecting from print to online media. One swing factor in
the outcome has been determining the value of the company's TV
stations. Private-equity firm Carlyle Group made an offer to buy the
TV stations for about $4 billion, but talks between Tribune and
Carlyle stalled as the two sides couldn't agree on price. Tribune
eventually determined spinning off the stations was a better option
because it could do such a transaction tax-free and avoid paying the
taxes that would be involved in a sale to Carlyle.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117125060946505507.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

MEDIA FIRMS SAY GOOGLE BENEFITED FROM FILM PIRACY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Matthew Karnitschnig
matthew.karnitschnig( at )wsj.com and Julia Angwin ]
A group of major media companies has accused Internet giant Google
Inc. of benefiting from the sale of pirated movies and providing
business support to two Web sites suspected of offering access to
illegal film downloads, according to several people familiar with the
matter. The allegations are an embarrassment for Google, which
assured the companies on Friday it would take measures to prevent a
recurrence of the episode. At the core of the media companies'
dispute with Google is their claim that Google deliberately directed
traffic to Web sites that were engaged in fostering piracy. Although
people familiar with the situation say the incident doesn't involve
large sums of money, several media executives say it has led them to
question Google's internal controls. Google told the studios on
Friday it would implement new procedures to prevent recurrences.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117125197567105533.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

WHY DIGITAL MUSIC SHOULD BE SET FREE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: John Gapper]
[Commenatary] The average iPod user has only 22 DRM-encrypted songs
on his or her device out of 1,000. The rest of the songs are either
pirated illegally from friends or copied legally from the owner's CD
collection. There is no excuse for piracy. Every so often, someone
tries to justify it by mumbling about how companies overcharge for
CDs and he is doing what Robin Hood would have done. But since any
pirate can buy a CD and distribute the music on it without
difficulty, DRM does not curb those that it should. Some music
industry executives hope one day to replace CDs with copy-protected
discs but that is a distant prospect. Until then, DRM merely affects
the law-abiding, who find it an annoying and inflexible encroachment
on their legitimate property rights.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e70775e0-ba05-11db-89c8-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)

TELEVISION

RX FOR RETRANSMISSION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Rocco Commisso, Mediacom]
[Commentary] When it comes to governing the relationship between
cable operators and broadcast-TV stations, "the industry has some
major issues to face," says Mediacom Communications CEO Rocco
Commisso. His set of prescriptions: 1) Discrimination should not be
acceptable. Broadcasters, like cable networks, should have published
rate cards reflecting the station's in-market ratings. 2) Local
monopolies on broadcast-network signals should be eliminated. Cable
operators should be allowed to import signals, especially when there
is an impasse. 3) Anti-competitive marketing campaigns should be
outlawed. A broadcaster should not be allowed to run marketing
campaigns and subsidize a customer's switch to another provider
during negotiations. 4) Eliminate the requirement that broadcast-TV
stations be part of the basic programming tier. If broadcasters'
signals can be placed on a separate tier of service, as is permitted
on satellite platforms, they should be separable on cable as well. 5)
Major broadcast networks should treat cable companies like broadband
users. Cable systems should be able to make agreements directly with
broadcast networks to take their full lineups or individual shows. 6)
Allow operators to share in the advertising revenues. Cable operators
should be entitled to two minutes of advertising on broadcast
stations per hour. 7) The good faith standards for retransmission
consent negotiations should be revisited. The FCC should outlaw any
form of discriminatory pricing, abusive tactics and anti-competitive
behavior by broadcasters. 8) Stop further relaxation of rules
governing media consolidation. Particularly, no broadcaster should be
allowed to own or operate more than one TV station in a market and
use retransmission consent to hold cable companies and their
customers hostage.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6415495.html?display=Opinion

TEACHING THE TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
With almost exactly two years to go, three major trade organizations
this week will detail a coordinated campaign to educate American
consumers that their rabbit-ear-style television sets could soon be
useless. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the
National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics
Association are in final planning stages for a press conference,
where they will unveil a nationwide public-relations offensive to
tell consumers that conventional, over-the-air analog television sets
will be obsolete early in 2009. The three trade groups, while often
in conflict, decided to create a unified campaign to inform 300
million U.S. citizens of the imminent change, in response to claims
from key Congressional leaders that their industries had the scale
and resources to do so.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6415556.html?display=Top+Stories

INTERNET

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT WEIGHS INTERNET PHONE TAXES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
A federal appeals court panel on Friday heard a challenge against
taxes that were extended last year to some Internet phone providers,
but the judges did not clearly signal how they might rule. Some
members of the three-judge panel at the U.S. District of Columbia
Circuit Court suggested the Federal Communications Commission had not
fully justified certain requirements it imposed in an order last
June. The panel appeared less swayed, however, by arguments that the
FCC had overstepped its authority in setting the mandate. At issue is
a unanimous FCC decision to require all voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) services that connect to the public-switched telephone network
-- as opposed to using peer-to-peer technology, such as Skype--to
contribute a percentage of their long-distance revenues to the
Universal Service Fund. The multibillion dollar pool of money
subsidizes telephone service in rural and low-income areas, certain
health care providers, and schools and libraries. Previously,
specific contribution requirements existed only for wireless and
wireline telephone carriers, leaving it less clear where VoIP fit
in. If the FCC's rules are upheld, Americans could continue to see
taxes levied on their VoIP bills--and at a steeper rate than on their
cell phone or wireline bills. That's a situation the relatively young
VoIP industry fears will drive away business.
http://news.com.com/Federal+appeals+court+weighs+Internet+phone+taxes/21...

NEW COP FOR HIGH-SPEED NET?
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Tom Abate]
When the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission delivered an
important speech last year about competition in cyberspace, she ended
her remarks by focusing on an issue that directly affects the 65
million U.S. households that have broadband Internet service. "We
will continue our consumer protection work," FTC chairwoman Deborah
Platt Majoras said at a conference in Aspen, Colo., "by, for example,
holding Internet service providers accountable for any false or
deceptive representations to consumers concerning the nature of the
Internet access provided." What Majoras meant by that remark should
start coming into focus later this week when the FTC convenes two
days of workshops designed to expand its scrutiny of business
practices in cyberspace. Now, consumer advocates hope the FTC will
take a hard look at how ISPs advertise broadband service by telling
consumers that, for a certain monthly fee, they can access the
Internet at speeds "up to" -- and then make a claim about speed.
"Nobody knows what they get, and the consumer has no way of judging,"
said Mark Cooper with the Consumer Federation of America.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/0...

POLICYMAKERS

MARKEY ADDRESSES E-RATE AND OTHER TOP TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
[SOURCE: Rep Ed Markey (D-MA)]
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the Chairman of the House Subcommittee
on Telecommunications and the Internet, received the Alliance for
Public Technology's Susan G. Hadden Award at the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C. on Friday. In accepting the award, Rep Markey
said that affordable access to telecommunications technologies for
all Americans is vital not only because it is right and fair but
because in the economy of the 21st Century, we need all of our
citizens to be productive. In the decades ahead, America needs to
compete in a fiercely competitive economy with all of the diversity
and productivity and innovation that all our people can muster to the
task. "Preparing the next generation for this future was what my
original E-rate provision was all about," he noted.
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2594&I...

MARTIN BACKS DIVVYING UP RECLAIMED BROADCAST SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants the spectrum in the upcoming 700 mHz
auction to be divided into smaller geographic areas to make it easier
for smaller companies and companies owned by minorities and women to
bid on it. He also wants to put build-out requirements on services
using the new spectrum to spur more radio broadband deployment.
Chairman Martin also told the legislators the FCC is considering
reclassifying wireless broadband as an information service. That
would bring it in line with cable and telco-delivered Internet
access, which were reclassified, freeing them from mandatory access
provisions and creating the network neutrality debate that has become
one of the hottest topics in Washington. Chairman Martin's plug for
diversity went beyond the new 700 mHz auction. He put in a plug for
ownership diversity, saying "at our public hearings the Commission
has heard a consistent concern that there are too few local and
diverse voices in the community." He said the Commission "must make
sure that consumers have the benefit of a competitive and diverse
media marketplace," but also said that it "must balance concerns
about too much consolidation and too little choice with appropriate
consideration of the changes and innovation that are taking place in
the media marketplace.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415309.html?display=Breaking...

QUICKLY

THE HAITI FILE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mary O'Grady]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has apparently
lost a file pertinent to two civil law suits. The file is the record
of which U.S. telecom companies that did business with the government
of former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide actually complied
with U.S. law by submitting their contracts to the FCC. The case
alleges that President Aristide took bribes from U.S. telecom
carriers doing business in his country. The alleged quid pro quo for
the U.S. companies that agreed to pay the bribes was access to the
Teleco network at rates below the uniform "international settlement
rate" set by the FCC. Two different long-distance suppliers have said
that Teleco officials offered them just such a special rate in
exchange for payment made to specially designated accounts. If the
allegations are true, it would mean that the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act was violated, right under the nose of the FCC and the
Department of Justice, during Democratic and Republican
administrations. It would also mean that while Haitians were placing
their trust in Uncle Sam to help them construct a democracy, millions
of dollars that might have gone to building an infrastructure were
siphoned off by a corrupt tyrant and U.S. business partners with
friends in high places.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117124344952105351.html?mod=todays_us_op...
(requires subscription)

FCC STUDY ON TELEPHONE TRENDS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On Friday, the FCC released its Trends in Telephone Service report,
which summarizes in one convenient reference source information
published in various reports over the course of the past year. The
report provides answers to some of the most frequently asked
questions about the telephone industry coming from consumers, members
of Congress, other government agencies, telecommunications carriers,
and members of the business and academic communities. Issues covered
include Advanced Telecommunications (what many of us call broadband),
Local Competition, Cell Phones, Prices, revenues, Subscribership,
Universal Service, and Needlepoint.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-270415A1.doc
* Read for report at:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-270407A1.pdf

GIBSON THINKS OLD-STYLE NEWS VITAL NOW
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Phil Rosenthal]
[Commentray] ABC anchor Charles Gibson: Now that people get what they
want the way they want on the Internet, where does that leave those
mainstream media outlets that, in traditional fashion, pair the news
people want with the news it is thought they need?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-0702090051feb09,0,...

COALITION TO PUSH FOR OPEN AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: Seattle Times]
Microsoft is building a demonstration device to help it and five
other technology companies (Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Philips
and Intel), lobby the government to open up television airwaves for
wireless Internet access. The coalition will submit the prototype
device, which could access so-called "white space," or vacant TV
airwaves, to the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology. The
prototype is meant to demonstrate that accessing this unused TV
spectrum would not interfere with existing technology, said a
Microsoft spokesperson.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003565516_bizb...

NADAR'S PUBLIC CITIZEN TAPS YOUTUBE FOR LOBBYING EFFORT
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Christine Bittar]
Watchdog consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is using YouTube for
the first time. Over the years, Public Citizen has masterfully
cultivated media attention, especially with baby boomers, but it's
not yet clear whether YouTube will boost the group's influence with
younger consumers. Gil Bashe, executive vice president in charge of
Makovsky & Co.'s healthcare practice, said the YouTube campaign might
help raise awareness, but that doesn't mean the YouTube generation
won't question Public Citizen's positions. Still, he said, Public
Citizen's decision to harness YouTube makes sense. "It was smart. He
needed to do this to remain relevant and reach a new generation."
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=55...

RADIO STATION HOPES GREEN BECOMES GOLD
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
WARW (94.7 FM) in Washington (DC) is hoping to tap into increased
concerns about the environment and global warming by switching not
only its format but also its source of power. The station will pay a
premium for electricity that is wind-generated, rather than produced
by a coal-fired plant. (Wow, if they air Rush, the station will be
self-sustainable!) The station plans to build a performance studio at
its Silver Spring headquarters at least partly out of green material,
such as recycled flooring. And WARW's gasoline-burning cars are being
replaced by hybrid vehicles. At the same time, "Classic Rock 94.7"
becomes "94.7 the Globe," incorporating more contemporary artists
into its playlist and Mother Earth into its name. The move is part of
a growing trend of corporations seeking positive public relations --
and perhaps profit -- in showing an eco-friendly exterior.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/11/AR200702...
(requires registration)

JUDGE NIXES POLE HIKE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Cable operators in Florida's panhandle could avoid pole-attachment
rate hikes of as much as $3.2 million a year, due to a recent
decision by an administrative law judge for the Federal
Communications Commission. Judge Richard Sippel on Jan. 31 rejected
arguments by Gulf Power Co., an Atlanta-based utility, in support of
the increases. Cable operators and power companies have long been at
odds over pole-attachment rates. Utility companies have argued that
pole-attachment rates, regulated by the FCC, were set in 1978 and
don't reflect their current value to users. Power companies and their
ratepayers pay the lion's share of construction and maintenance fees,
while cable operators pay a fraction of the cost of maintaining the
pole. Cable-industry attorneys put the average cost to cable at 7.41%
of the annual maintenance for a power pole.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6415486.html?display=Policy
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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
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Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we
welcome your comments.
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