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INTERNET/BROADBAND
Congress must keep Broadband Competition Alive
U.S. Lawmaker Opposes Taxing Online Virtual Economies
Iran cuts Internet speeds to homes, cafes

BROADCASTING/CABLE
For Broadcasters, Dingell Isn't So Bad
Hartford TV Station Relents On Debate Embargo
Reality Television and the Public Health
Nielsen Unveils Commercial Ratings Dec. 11
NBC Universal to Slash Costs In News, Prime-Time Programs
Fall TV Lineup Filled with Political Spots
Time Warner Cable Files for IPO

QUICKLY -- Australia passes changes to media ownership laws;
Telemedicine, Broadband Access Could Grow Under Pilot Program;
Contract Offer Reflects New Realities, Says ABC

INTERNET/BROADBAND

CONGRESS MUST KEEP BROADBAND COMPETITION ALIVE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School]
[Commentary] The question of Internet "network neutrality" has been
bounced around by Washington policymakers for more than a year. Yet
most still have no idea what it means. Google's gobbling of YouTube
should make this critically important policy issue quite clear. For
the phenomenal success of YouTube is testimony to the extraordinary
value of a neutral Internet. If America lived in a world of real
competition among broadband providers, there would be little reason
to worry about such deals. But it does not live in that world. In the
US, at least, broadband competition is dying. There are fewer
competitors offering consumers broadband connectivity today than
there were just six years ago. The median consumer has a choice
between just two broadband providers. Four companies account for a
majority of all consumer broadband; 10 account for 83 per cent of the
market. This absence of competition puts new applications and content
on the Internet at risk. For if network owners are permitted to set
up Internet toll booths, imposing a special tax on providers of
content and applications, then it will be the new innovators who bear
the burden of these taxes most heavily. Network neutrality
legislation alone will not solve those problems. But it will make
sure that the one bright spot in the Internet economy -- the one
place where vigorous competition continues -- will be protected.
Congress needs to remove the incentive to keep broadband in its
currently hobbled state. A thin rule of network neutrality could help
do just that.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/a27bdb16-5ecd-11db-afac-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=...
(requires subscription)
* Unexpected Face Time for Network Neutrality
http://www.internetnews.com/commentary/article.php/3638686

US LAWMAKER OPPOSES TAXING ONLINE VIRTUAL ECONOMIES
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), chairman of the Joint Economic Committee,
said it would be a mistake if the Internal Revenue Service introduced
regulations to tax virtual economies such as Second Life and World of
Warcraft. The committee was studying the public policy and tax issues
related to virtual economies. "There is a concern that the IRS might
step forward with regulations that start taxing transactions that
occur within virtual economies. This, I believe, would be a mistake,"
Rep Saxton said..
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

IRAN CUTS INTERNET SPEEDS TO HOMES, CAFES
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Iran's Internet service providers (ISPs) have started reducing the
speed of Internet access to homes and cafes based on new
government-imposed limits, a move critics said appeared to be part of
a clampdown on the media. An official said last week that ISPs were
now "forbidden" by the Telecommunications Ministry from providing
Internet connections faster than 128 kilobytes per second (KBps), the
official IRNA news agency reported. He did not give a reason.
Internet technicians say speeds of 256 KBps, 512 KBps or higher are
increasingly common internationally. Iranian surfers will now find it
much slower to download music or anything else from the Web.
Businesses have not been affected by the move. Critics said the
restriction would hinder the work of students and researchers but
said it appeared in line with what they see as a squeeze on the media
by the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who rails against the West.
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...

BROADCASTING/CABLE

FOR BROADCASTERS, DINGELL ISN'T SO BAD
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
TV broadcasters may worry that a Democratic takeover of the House
might not bode well for their industry. But they should take another
look. The return of the formidable John Dingell (D-MI) as chairman of
the House Commerce Committee might actually be a welcome change.
Broadcast lobbyists say Rep Dingell will offer a far greater
understanding and respect for free, over-the-air broadcasting.
"Dingell has long appreciated the contributions that broadcasters
make to their communities across the country. That's where he starts
from on any issue that gets brought up," says former Dingell aide
David Leach. Luckily for broadcasters, Leach is among the ex-Dingell
staffers who will be representing their interests on Capitol Hill.
His clients include MSTV, Clear Channel Communications, News Corp.,
and Tribune Co. John Orlando, a senior vice president in CBS's
Washington office and former NAB lobbyist, and Andy Levin, Clear
Channel's top man in Washington, also worked for the Michigan
Democrat. But the industry's real strength lies with the solid and
decades-long relationship local Michigan broadcasters have with
Dingell. He's worked with them on many issues and his door is always
open to them.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2006/10/18/daily.2/

WFSB-TV RELENTS ON DEBATE EMBARGO
[SOURCE: Hartford Courant 10/18, AUTHOR: Jon Lender jlender( at )courant.com]
Amid growing criticism, WFSB-TV, Channel 3, has agreed to let
reporters from other news organizations into the Bushnell Center for
the Performing Arts to cover today's U.S. Senate race debate
sponsored by the station. As of Monday, the Hartford CBS affiliate
was planning to ban all reporters other than its own from today's 3
p.m. taping of the one-hour debate - and then to maintain a 27-hour
news blackout until it broadcast the pre-recorded event Thursday at 7
p.m. But protests began to arise after the station's plans were
outlined in The Courant Tuesday morning - and by mid-afternoon WFSB
general manager Klarn DePalma said that outside reporters would be
admitted for same-day coverage. "At the end of the day, it's freedom
of speech, so I wanted to make sure everyone had access to it," DePalma.
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-wfsbdebate1018.artoct18,0,270911...

THE 'REALITY' OF HEALTH: REALITY TELEVISION AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH
[SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation]
The Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a forum to examine the
implications of reality TV serving as a health information resource.
The forum -- The 'Reality' of Health: Reality Television and the
Public Health -- featured a senior executive from Discovery Health
Channel and FitTV, the host of the first season of reality TV's Honey
We're Killing the Kids, and leading researchers and authors on youth
and media, who discussed the types of health information reality TV
shows communicate, their responsibilities to provide accurate health
information, and the potential impact on viewers. The session also
explored the potential for public health organizations to work
collaboratively with reality TV shows. A discussion paper prepared
by Lewis and Clark College communications professor Peter Christenson
and American University communications assistant professor Maria
Ivancin helped facilitate the dialogue, and explored common
health-related themes in reality shows, as well as possible
implications for viewers.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia101806pkg.cfm
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7567.cfm
* Reality TV: A Medical Mixed Bag
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6382797.html?display=Breaking...

NEILSEN UNVEILS COMMERCIAL RATINGS DEC 11
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Nielsen says it will start delivering its first ratings for national
TV commercials to broadcast and cable network clients beginning Dec.
11. The service will be free to begin with and include historical
data back to the beginning of the season. Advertisers have been
clamoring for commercial ratings for some time so that they can
better gauge the bang for their buck. Nielsen had initially set Nov.
18 as the date, but it needed the extra time for some modifications
to the original specs, it said. Nielsen will provide an average
rating for all national commercial minutes in a program, rather than
rating a specific spot. For example, if there were 12 national spots
in CSI, it would add them up and divide by the number of spots,
though each spot will be weighted according to rating for the portion
of the program minute in which it appeared.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6382770.html?display=Breaking...

NBC UNIVERSAL TO SLASH COSTS IN NEWS, PRIME TIME PROGRAMS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes brooks.barnes( at )wsj.com]
NBC Universal is slashing its news budget and abandoning high-cost
dramas in the 8 p.m. hour, paring expenses in traditional television
as viewers and advertisers flock to new kinds of media. The steps, to
be announced today, are part of an overhaul that also affects movie
production and other operations at the entertainment conglomerate
owned by General Electric Co. NBC Universal aims to cut operating
expenses by $750 million by the end of next year, in large part by
eliminating 5% of its global work force, or about 700 jobs, in coming
months. NBC Universal Chairman Bob Wright said the streamlining,
known internally as NBCU 2.0, will return the unit to double-digit
growth in 2007. "As we reprioritize ourselves toward digital, we've
got to be as efficient in our current businesses as possible," Mr.
Wright said in an interview. "We can't have new digital expenses and
the same analog expenses." The plan marks the starkest recognition
yet that established TV networks can't keep carrying the high costs
they were accustomed to in earlier decades, when they faced less
competition for viewers' attention. Although the networks have been
discussing radical prescriptions for years, they have often hesitated
to take steps that would disrupt not only their own employees but
also longtime business partners in Hollywood such as programming
studios, talent agencies and syndicators of reruns. The rise of
video-laden Web sites such as YouTube and portable devices is
threatening the networks' longtime business model of putting out
programs with advertisements that people sit before a television set
at home to watch. The networks are trying to ensure that people
looking at a computer screen or carrying a video iPod from Apple
Computer Inc. will still watch their programming.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116122516063297321.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
* NBC to Cut Jobs Amid TV Unit's Weak Performance
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-nbc19oct19,1,3791030....

FALL TV LINEUP FILLED WITH POLITICAL SPOTS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Susan Page]
Though some candidates are experimenting with posting ads on websites
and campaign video on YouTube, old-fashioned commercials on local TV
stations remain what Democratic strategist David Axelrod calls "the
nuclear weapon" of politics. As the Nov. 7 elections approach,
viewers across the country face an autumn deluge of campaign ads,
especially in places such as Minnesota that have several competitive
races. During the local news shows here -- campaigns prefer them on
the theory that people who tune in to the news are likely to be
voters -- the customary ads for new cars and diet aids have been
largely replaced by ones for candidates. On Minneapolis-St. Paul
stations alone, more than $7.4 million had been spent by last Friday
on ads aimed at shaping the election outcome, according to the media
firm TNSMI/Campaign Media Analysis Group, and the most intense three
weeks of advertising were still ahead.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20061019/1a_cover19.art.htm
* Secret Federal Data Allegedly Used in Attack Ad
Information in an attack ad run by Rep. Bob Beauprez against his
Democratic opponent for governor was obtained from a federal database
available only for law enforcement, Colorado authorities said Wednesday.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-adflap19oct19,1,...

TIME WARNER CABLE FILES FOR IPO
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Time Warner Cable filed documents early Wednesday morning for its
long-awaited initial public offering -- a move that could finally
close the books on its joint $17.4 billion purchase with Comcast of
Adelphia Communications. Time Warner Cable did not assign a per-share
value to the stock in the preliminary filing, but based on the number
of shares it will issue to Adelphia and the $5.5 billion value placed
on that stock, the company is assuming a $35.25-per-share value for
the IPO. This would put Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable
operator in the country, in the same league as Comcast, which is
trading in the $38-per-share range. But the IPO could just be a
placeholder for what Time Warner Cable really wants: to fold the
cable company into the Adelphia shell company and avoid an IPO
altogether. That, however, would require Adelphia's fifth plan of
reorganization, filed Oct. 12, to be approved by the bankruptcy
court. So far, five of Adelphia's biggest bondholders have
recommended approving the plan, while two -- Bank of America and ACC
Bondholder Group -- have recommended rejecting the plan and forcing
Adelphia into a Chapter 7 liquidation.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6382319.html?display=Breaking+News

QUICKLY

AUSTRALIA PASSES CHANGES TO MEDIA OWNERSHIP LAWS
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Parliament passed new laws Wednesday to allow more foreign investment
and mergers in Australia's media companies, in the first overhaul of
ownership controls in the industry in more than 20 years. The
legislation was passed by the Senate last week. It was passed
Wednesday by the House of Representatives, where Prime Minister John
Howard's center-right government has a clear majority, by 77 votes to
55. The new laws come into effect between February next year and
January 2008. Media laws introduced in 1985 bar foreign companies
from controlling more than 15 per cent of a television company and
more than 25 per cent of a newspaper publisher. Those restrictions
have been eliminated, although foreign investment in the media sector
would require government approval.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2006/10/17/2058739-ap.html

TELEMEDICINE, BROADBAND ACCESS COULD GROW UNDER PILOT PROJECT
[SOURCE: American Academy of Family Physicians]
Rural family physicians soon may be joining their urban counterparts
in projects to increase broadband telemedicine capabilities. Those
projects would result from a Federal Communications Commission
initiative to increase the use of telemedicine by improving rural
physicians' access to broadband telecommunications systems. The FCC
announced in late September it would use its rural health care, or
RHC, funding mechanism for the projects. Under a pilot program, the
agency would provide up to 85 percent of the cost of constructing
state or regional telecommunications networks, including "any
necessary network design studies." It also would fund up to 85
percent of the costs of connecting to Internet2, a dedicated
nationwide backbone that links users to government research
institutions and academic, public and private health care institutions.
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/profession...

CONTRACT OFFER REFLECTS NEW REALITIES, SAYS ABC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Citing competition from nonunion shops like Fox and CNN, and hits
from Fox News Radio defections, ABC tells news staffers it has put
its best contract offer on the table. Saying their union has been
stalling talks and "denying reality" on the "few occasions" they have
met, ABC has told news staffers represented by the Writers Guild of
America East (WGA East) that they have until Oct. 31 to accept its
final contract offer or it could be off the table. WGA East
characterized the letter as "disturbing."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6382777.html?display=Breaking...
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary
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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
does not always represent the tone of the original articles.
Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we
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