Benton's Communications-related Headlines For Thursday October 5, 2006
The 6th annual Future of Music Policy Summit=20
begins today and Facing the Media Crisis: Media=20
Education for Reform, Justice and Democracy=20
begins Friday. The FCC will hold an open meeting=20
Thursday Oct 12, expect the Commission to release=20
the agenda for the meeting later today at=20
www.fcc.gov For these and other upcoming media=20
policy events, see http://www.benton.org
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Court says Eavesdropping Program can Continue
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Tribune keeps Fighting TV, Newspaper Ownership Ban
Media Consolidation Not so Bad
=93Updating=94 Media Ownership Rules -- Is That Like Boiling a Frog?
** See a recap of the FCC's field hearing on=20
media ownership at http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=3Dnode/3652 **
BROADCASTING
Rehr Talks Up Broadcasting
JOURNALISM
Jon Stewart as Substantive as Network News
Online Newspaper Readership Grows
Media take Center Stage in Fight for Votes
NewsHour Stands By Its Balance
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC: CTIA to Be AWS Clearinghouse
Cable Ties Itself Up in Net Neutrality Knots=09
Law Is Unlikely to Corral Internet Gambling
QUICKLY -- XM Radio Hits Some More Interference;=20
Keeping Up With Social Media; Japan uneasy at prospect of NTT=92s monopoly
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
COURT SAYS EAVESDROPPING PROGRAM CAN CONTINUE
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The government can continue to use its=20
warrantless domestic wiretap program pending the=20
Justice Department's appeal of a federal judge's=20
ruling outlawing the program, an Appeals Court in=20
Cincinnati ruled on Wednesday. The ruling=20
overturned District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's=20
decision last week to deny a lengthy stay in the=20
case, which is expected to end up with the Supreme Court.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=3DpoliticsNews&storyID=
=3D2006-10-04T202048Z_01_N04262861_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-EAVESDROPPING.xml&=
WTmodLoc=3DPolNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-2
* Court Allows Warrantless Wiretapping During Appeal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR200610...
1224.html
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
TRIBUNE KEEPS FIGHTING TV, NEWSPAPER OWNERSHIP BAN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
Tribune Co. keeps battling U.S. regulations that=20
prevent it from owning a newspaper and a=20
television or radio station in the same market=20
even as its largest shareholder has asked the=20
company to split its divisions or find a buyer.=20
Tribune owns the Los Angeles Times newspaper and=20
KTLA-TV, and has cross-media platforms in four=20
other cities. Its ownership of the two lucrative=20
properties in Los Angeles is a rare exception to=20
the 1975 ban, but it will expire when the=20
television station's broadcast license comes up=20
for renewal later this year. Vincent Malcolm,=20
general manager of KTLA-TV, said the explosion of=20
Internet sites, cable television and other=20
sources for local news renders the ban obsolete.=20
Malcolm also said the depth of reporting at KTLA=20
on community issues had improved by having the=20
resources of a major metropolitan newspaper. "The=20
L.A. Times has more reporters than any television=20
station could afford especially in the case of=20
KTLA," he said. Tribune has asked the FCC for a=20
waiver for its common ownership in Los Angeles,=20
either permanently or at least until the FCC=20
decides on new limits. Consumer groups are=20
unconvinced cross-ownership should be allowed.=20
They say further consolidation in the media=20
industry would snuff out independent voices and=20
degrade local news. "The newspaper-TV=20
combinations that result dominate the local=20
market, raising concerns about undue economic=20
concentration and inordinate influence over=20
public opinion," said Mark Cooper, director of=20
research at the Consumer Federation of America
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=3DdomesticNews&storyID=
=3D2006-10-04T185633Z_01_N04413148_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-TRIBUNE-FCC.xml&WTmod=
Loc=3DUSNewsHome_C2_domesticNews-9
MEDIA CONSOLIDATION NOT SO BAD
[SOURCE: TheDeal, AUTHOR: Matthew Wurtzel]
[Commentary] From the average TV viewers=20
perspective this fall media consolidation doesn't=20
seem so bad after all. Despite a group of=20
Hollywood personalities crying over the last=20
decade of consolidation claiming it has led to=20
homogenized content on TV, a quick scan of the TV=20
listings this season suggests they maybe wrong.=20
The amount of independently produced content has=20
declined, but the quality of TV has increased.=20
While technology has made effects easier and=20
cheaper to produce, arguably big media ownership=20
also allowed writers and directors to make bigger=20
splashes thanks to the bigger budgets. Take ABC=92s=20
hit =93Lost=94 as an example. Its spectacular intro=20
involving the crash of a commercial airline may=20
have never been possible without Disney=92s budget.=20
In short, it would seem that media consolidation=20
may have ushered in a new golden age of television.
http://dealscape.thedealblogs.com/2006/10/media_consolidation_not_so_bad...
"UPDATING" MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES -- IS THAT LIKE BOILING A FROG?
[SOURCE: Tales from the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] It's an old cliche that it's easy to=20
boil a frog. Don't drop the frog in the boiling=20
water -- he'll just climb out. Drop him in the=20
pot and raise the temperature a little at a time.=20
Before he knows it, he'll be dead. We have that=20
with media consolidation and the non-stop=20
relaxation of the rules. But instead of calling=20
it =93boiling,=94 proponents of consolidation call it=20
=93updating.=94 This attempt to describe relaxing the=20
ownership rules to allow more consolidation as=20
=93updating,=94 when the evidence shows that the last=20
round of consolidation kicked off by the 1996=20
deregulation has been a disaster for the industry=20
and a disaster for democracy, came up again at=20
yesterday's media ownership hearings. An =93update=94=20
means setting limits that make sense today. And=20
the evidence is pretty clear that the current=20
rules don't need to be relaxed to be =93updated.=94
http://www.wetmachine.com/totsf/item/609
** See a recap of the FCC's field hearing on=20
media ownership at http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=3Dnode/3652 **
BROADCASTING
REHR TALKS UP BROADCASTING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
NAB President David Rehr said Wednesday that=20
broadcasters need to do a better job of selling=20
their strengths, which are localism, digital, and=20
the power of its programming in the marketplace.=20
"You might say that we have inadvertently=20
relinquished some of the excitement occurring in=20
broadcasting to our competitors by not being more=20
proactive," he told a National Press Club=20
audience in Washington. "That ends today." Rehr=20
said the association's top priority in 2007 would=20
be a massive public information campaign -- he=20
likened it to a presidential run -- on the=20
digital transition. The National=20
Telecommunications & Information Association has=20
been given only $5 million for its education=20
campaign on the transition and has called on a=20
lot of help from the industry. Rehr said NAB=20
would reach out to third parties, but that he=20
didn't expect The Ad Council to be part of the=20
effort. Rehr said that broadcasters had too long=20
allowed the "misimpression" that cable and=20
satellite were more competitive than they really=20
are, and he was out to change that. "This=20
misconception affects our ability to attract=20
investment, ad dollars, personnel and create=20
momentum in the marketplace," he said.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6378118.html?display=3DBreaki...
News
* A Headlines reader shared a transcript of=20
Rehr's speech and Q&A that followed. It included=20
this exchange: Q -- "The law giving you control=20
over broadcast licenses requires you to use them=20
in the public interest. Do you feel you are doing=20
that?" Rehr: "I think broadcasters really don't=20
get enough credit for what they're doing in the=20
public interest. And part of the things that I,=20
hopefully with our staff, intend to do with the=20
NAB is just to make people more aware of all the=20
wonderful things these generous business people=20
do to make their communities better. But yes, I=20
think we are serving the public interest very, very well."
-- See "What Community Service?"=20
http://www.benton.org/benton_files/whatservice.doc
* Rehr Urges Stations to promote Digital
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2006/10/04/daily.11/
* NAB to Publicize Digital TV Transition
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D100...
9720
* Rehr Declares Broadcasting as "Overwhelming Choice" of Media
http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=3DNews_Room&CONTENTID=3D6933&...
PLATE=3D/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm
JOURNALISM
JON STEWART AS SUBSTANTIVE AS NETWORK NEWS
[SOURCE: Indiana University press release]
Which would you think has more substantive news=20
coverage -- traditional broadcast network=20
newscasts or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart?=20
Would you believe the answer is neither? Julia R.=20
Fox, assistant professor of telecommunications at=20
Indiana University isn't joking when she says the=20
popular "fake news" program, which last week=20
featured Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as=20
a guest, is just as substantive as network=20
coverage. While much has been written in the=20
media about The Daily Show's impact, Fox's study=20
is the first scholarly effort to systematically=20
examine how the comedy program compares to=20
traditional television news as sources of=20
political information. The study, "No Joke: A=20
Comparison of Substance in The Daily Show with=20
Jon Stewart and Broadcast Network Television=20
Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election=20
Campaign," will be published next summer by the=20
Journal of Broadcast and Electronic Media,=20
published by the Broadcast Education Association.
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/4159.html
ONLINE NEWSPAPER READERSHIP GROWS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
The average number of monthly visitors to U.S.=20
newspaper Web sites rose by nearly a third in the=20
first half of 2006, a study released on Wednesday=20
said, though print readership at some larger U.S.=20
newspapers fell. The study, released by the=20
Newspaper Association of America, underscores the=20
Internet's importance to papers beset by falling=20
circulation and advertising revenue in their=20
print editions. The average number of unique=20
visitors to online newspaper sites in the first=20
half was more than 55.5 million a month, the=20
study said. That compares with 42.2 million a year earlier.
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&sto...
D=3D2006-10-04T120658Z_01_N03269191_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-NEWSPAPERS-READERSHI=
P.xml&WTmodLoc=3DTechNewsHome_C2_technologyNews-4
MEDIA TAKE CENTER STAGE IN FIGHT FOR VOTES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Claudia Parsons]
Democrats call Fox the FAUX news channel.=20
Republicans used to refer to CNN as Clinton=20
network news. With U.S. elections a month away,=20
TV viewers have been getting a steady diet of=20
gloves-off politics that experts say serves both=20
politicians and programs. It works especially=20
well for cable television where anchors of news=20
shows both real and imaginary rankle and rile in=20
a way shunned by major networks more prone to balance opposing views.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=3DpoliticsNews&storyID=
=3D2006-10-04T210255Z_01_N29409585_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-POLITICS.xml&WTmodLoc=
=3DPolNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-4
NEWSHOUR STANDS BY ITS BALANCE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
PBS NewsHour stands by its political balance in=20
the wake of a study by Fairness and Accuracy in=20
Media (FAIR) that accused it of a lack of balance=20
and diversity and with not providing "a true=20
public-minded alternative to its corporate competition.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6378109.html?display=3DBreaki...
News
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC: CTIA TO BE AWS CLEARINGHOUSE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News]
The Federal Communications Commission announced=20
Wednesday that CTIA - The Wireless Association=20
will be a cost-sharing clearinghouse for=20
relocating wireless licensees as a result of the=20
2006 advanced-wireless-services auction. CTIA=20
said it will =93administer fair and equitable=20
cost-sharing functions for the relocation of=20
broadband-radio-service, fixed-microwave-service=20
and mobile-satellite-service incumbent licensees=20
from the 2.1-gigahertz band.=94 The trade group=20
continued, =93The purpose of a cost-sharing=20
clearinghouse is to distribute the burden of=20
relocation equitably and promote the rapid=20
buildout of new networks. The clearinghouse=20
encourages companies to register relocation costs=20
to ensure notification of all cost-sharing=20
opportunities.=94 The CTIA said it contracted with=20
Comsearch, a provider of engineering services and=20
software, to handle the day-to-day operations of relocation and cost-sharin=
g.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6378123.html?display=3DBreaking+News
CABLE TIES ITSELF UP IN NET NEUTRALITY KNOTS
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] Cable has now joined the telephone=20
industry in hanging itself up on Net Neutrality=20
issues. Advance, Charter, Cablevision, Cox and=20
Insight, told the Commission in a Sept. 27 filing=20
their Voice over IP services are at risk because=20
of what the telephone companies might do to=20
thwart competition. The filing noted: =93In the=20
head-to-head competition with cable, the ILECs=20
(incumbent local exchange carriers, aka telephone=20
companies), have a powerful weapon -- their=20
ability to discriminate against cable=92s voice=20
service by imposing unreasonable, costly=20
interconnection requirements. This is clearly the=20
case with AT&T.=94 This merger, the cable companies=20
said, =93will increase AT&T=92s incentives and=20
ability to wield its market power over=20
interconnection against its cable competitions.=20
AT&T has the incentive and ability to=20
discriminate against cable=92s voice service to=20
retain its own customers.=94 The companies want the=20
Commission to impose detailed conditions on the=20
merger which govern interconnection, traffic flow=20
and the like. There is a certain logic to their=20
argument. After all, everyone is in favor of=20
equal competition. Certainly the competitive=20
carriers, not including cable, have been making=20
that case for months. However, sympathy only goes=20
so far when one also factors in that the cable=20
companies which so fervently want equal=20
competition for themselves against telephone=20
companies aren't so keen on it when competing with companies like Vonage.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/670
LAW IS UNLIKELY TO CORRAL INTERNET GAMBLING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: David Wessel]
[Commentary] Politicians often proclaim that=20
government should keep its hands off the Internet=20
lest it be strangled. But almost any issue that=20
draws congressional scrutiny -- pornography,=20
privacy, piracy, prescription-drug prices, taxes,=20
consumer-lending practices -- is now intertwined=20
with the Internet. Last week's passage of a=20
federal law to explicitly restrict Internet=20
gambling -- a ban on using banks, credit cards=20
and online money transfers to pass money between=20
bettor and "unlawful" gambling site -- shows how=20
tricky regulating the Internet can be. Applying=20
old laws to new technologies is messy: The=20
Justice Department and the gambling industry=20
disagree on whether existing federal law permits=20
or bans Internet betting on horse racing.=20
Ignoring the reach of the Internet can expose=20
vulnerable consumers to rip-offs by unscrupulous=20
Web sites: Requiring licenses for barbers and=20
bricks-and-mortar casinos but letting Internet=20
gambling sites take billions from Americans=20
without any oversight is somewhere between=20
foolish and irresponsible. Passing new laws,=20
however, can be messy, too. Make them too tough,=20
and businesses move offshore. Make them too=20
loose, and they make lofty promises without=20
practical effect. The Internet gambling saga is=20
rich. There's the tension between the puritanical=20
and libertarian strains among Republicans.=20
There's maneuvering by U.S. casino companies=20
eyeing what is said to be a $12 billion global=20
market, which is regulated and taxed in other=20
countries. There's the stench of scandal:=20
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff helped thwart=20
earlier legislative assaults on Internet=20
gambling, and some Republicans backed the new law=20
to show that Mr. Abramoff is history. And there's=20
presidential politics: Senate leader Bill Frist=20
is courting antigambling social conservatives. So=20
what did Congress do? It did not resolve the=20
contentious issue of what constitutes "unlawful Internet gambling."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116000171991583025.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
XM RADIO HITS SOME MORE INTERFERENCE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. reported new=20
difficulties this week, adding to its year of=20
problems with regulators and with growth in=20
subscribers and revenue. In documents filed=20
Monday with the FCC, XM said 221 land antennas,=20
which transmit satellite signals to local=20
devices, were operating at power levels in excess=20
of commission limits. The company also disclosed=20
that 19 antennas were at sites not yet authorized=20
by the FCC. The company has 800 working antennas.=20
For example, some antennas have been transmitting=20
signals at lower frequencies than the company=20
originally submitted for the FCC's approval, and=20
others are across the street from, or on a=20
different floor of, a building than where the=20
company originally reported. This could interfere=20
with signals sent out by other broadcasters=20
operating adjacent to those frequencies, said=20
Paul Sinderbrand, a lawyer with the Wireless=20
Communications Association International who=20
represents companies with licenses to operate in=20
the frequencies adjacent to the signals used by XM and Sirius.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR200610...
1841.html
(requires registration)
KEEPING UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: PaidContent.org]
Spannerworks in the UK has published an e-book on=20
social media which gives a useful introduction to=20
the main formats and trends, if you needed one.=20
Antony Mayfield, its head of content and media=20
authored this and he starts by defining social=20
media in five ways: participation, openness,=20
conversation, community and connectedness. The=20
main formats he lists as blogs, social nets,=20
wikis, podcasts and content communities such as=20
Flickr, Del.icio.us and so on. Mayfield: =93It is=20
spreading so quickly not because it=92s great=20
shiny, whizzy new technology, but because it lets=20
us be ourselves, only more so=85 People can find=20
information, inspiration, like-minded people,=20
communities and collaborators faster than ever=20
before. New ideas, services, business models and=20
technologies emerge and evolve at dizzying speed in social media.=94
http://www.paidcontent.org/keeping-up-with-social-nets
http://www.spannerworks.com/fileadmin/uploads/eBooks/What_is_Social_Medi...
df
JAPAN UNEASY AT PROSPECT OF NTT's MONOPOLY
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: David Turner]
A senior Japanese official has called for new=20
regulations to prevent NTT, the world=92s biggest=20
listed telecommunications company, from abusing=20
its dominant position in the domestic market as=20
it prepares to offer joint fixed-line and mobile=20
services. Yasu Taniwaki, director of competition=20
policy at the telecommunications ministry, said a=20
=93new framework=94 was needed simply =93to keep up=94=20
with NTT=92s decision to announce fixed-mobile=20
services, while the ministry planned to=20
=93investigate whether the merging of the=20
[fixed-line and mobile] markets is going to cause dominance=94 by NTT.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/79b636b2-5339-11db-99c5-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)
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...and we are outta here. How's the weather in Vail?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online=20
news summary service provided by the Benton=20
Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday=20
through Friday, this service provides updates on=20
important industry developments, policy issues,=20
and other related news events. While the=20
summaries are factually accurate, their often=20
informal tone does not always represent the tone=20
of the original articles. Headlines are compiled=20
by Kevin Taglang headlines( at )benton.org -- we welcome your comments.
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