Benton's Communications-related Headlines For Thursday January 4, 2007
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BROADCASTING
FCC: Six Steps To Avoid Captioning Lapses
Deadline nears for new Tribune bids
User-generated content good for old media
POLICYMAKERS
Time Warner Hires Inouye Aide Welch
Consumer groups urge CA Senate to reject Rachelle Chong
QUICKLY -- Judge OKs Adelphia's Bankruptcy Plan; Amazon launches shoe
and handbag Web site!
BROADCASTING
FCC: SIX STEPS TO AVOID CAPTIONING LAPSES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a public notice released Wednesday, the Federal Communications
Commission reminded broadcasters that, as of January of 2006, they
had been required to close-caption all non-exempt programming, which
includes breaking news and emergency alerts. Conceding that emergency
information is, essentially by definition, not available in advance
and must be posted on short notice, the FCC says that it recognizes
that it can be difficult to meet the 100% compliance mark. As a
result, it will consider those conditions as mitigating circumstances
so long as the captioning lapse is minimal and "reasonable" under the
circumstances, though it cannot make that determination until
presented with a specific set of facts. But it also listed a number
of steps video distributors "may take" to prevent such lapses. They
include 1) finding outside services that can turn around the captions
quickly; 2) making contacting those services "immediately" a
priority; 3) posting the contact information on TV sets in the
newsroom; 4) program a speed dial button on a newsroom phone with the
number of the captioning service; 5) create and circulate a "visual
presentation policy," which could include open captioning, crawls,
on-screen scrolls, prepared signs, charts, or even writing on a
whiteboard; and training employees about those presentation policies.
[Gotta ask... is it a commentary on the intelligence of regulators or
broadcasters that the Notice included a reminder about the speed dial
function on phones?]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6403895.html?display=Breaking...
* See FCC Closed Captioning page:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html
DEADLINE NEARS FOR NEW TRIBUNE BIDS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Joshua Chaffin and James Politi]
The auction for Tribune Company is expected to heat up as the
deadline approaches for a new round of bids for the newspaper and
television conglomerate. Tribune's bankers have asked for final
offers for the company in mid-January in the hope of wrapping up a
sale or restructuring of one of the largest US media groups. So far,
the auction has been sluggish, hindered in part by the tax
consequences for Tribune if it were to sell any of its papers
individually. Analysts and bankers following the sale have speculated
on a range of possibilities, including a management-led buy-out of
the entire company or just the company's Chicago assets, or the sale
of select television stations.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fb53a04c-9b7d-11db-aa70-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)
USER-GENERATED CONTENT GOOD FOR OLD MEDIA
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kate Holton]
Traditional media companies are ideally placed to benefit from the
explosion of user-generated content and should see it as an
opportunity and not a threat even though the potential revenue is
limited, a report says. The phenomenon of consumers contributing
their own photographs, video and blogs took the media industry by
storm in 2006 through Web sites such as YouTube and according to a
report by consultancy Deloitte on media trends for 2007, that is
unlikely to change. The trend prompted headlines that the traditional
media was losing sway with the consumer but Howard Davies, a director
of media strategy at Deloitte, said print and TV had been wise to
stand back and see how the practice developed. Davies said
user-generated content could be split into two categories with one
for people looking for "five minutes of fame" via the likes of
YouTube and MySpace and the other for people looking to contribute to
a discussion or community.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
POLICYMAKERS
TIME WARNER HIRES INOUYE AIDE WELCH
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Rachel Welch, a top telecommunications policy adviser to incoming
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), was
hired by Time Warner as vice president for global public policy.
Welch's hiring comes as cable and telecommunications companies
scramble to hire Democratic staff in the wake of November's
elections, which put Democrats in control of the House and Senate for
the first time in 12 years. Welch begins at Time Warner Jan. 16. She
will report to senior VP Gail MacKinnon, who joined Time Warner last
month from a similar position at the National Cable &
Telecommunications Association. Welch has a law degree from the
University of Virginia. She joined Inouye's staff three years ago
from the D.C. law offices of Covington & Burling. She was also a
judicial clerk to Judge James Turner on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6404004.html?rssid=108
CONSUMER GROUPS URGE COMMITTEE TO REJECT GOVERNOR'S APPOINTMENT
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Consumer groups are urging a California Senate committee to reject
Governor Schwarzenegger's appointment of a former federal
communications commissioner and telephone industry attorney to the
California Public Utilities Commission. The Consumer Federation of
California, The Utility Reform Network and other groups said
Commissioner Rachelle Chong's views are too close to those of the
companies she is supposed to regulate. Chong said she cares very much
for consumers but has philosophical differences with consumer groups
about how to deal with competitive markets. She said her approach is
to -- as she puts it -- trust but verify. Gov Schwarzenegger
appointed Chong last January to fill out the rest the term of Susan
Kennedy on the PUC after the Republican governor named Kennedy as his
chief of staff. Chong needs to be confirmed by the Senate by January
12th or leave the commission.
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=a2453aa6-9abd-4cc6-...
QUICKLY
JUDGE OKs ADELPHIA'S BANKRUPTCY PLAN
[SOURCE: Multichannel News]
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber has cleared Adelphia's plan to
exit bankruptcy.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6404112.html?display=Breaking+News
AMAZON LAUNCHES SHOE AND HANDBAG WEB SITE
[SOURCE: Reuters]
And now for something really important... Online retailer Amazon.com
said on Wednesday that it has launched a shoe and handbag Web site
called Endless.com to tap into the growing footwear and accessories market.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
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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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