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APTS HAS CONCERNS WITH BELL NOMINATION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) plans to hold a board meeting shortly after the Senate commerce Committee hearing for CPB board nominee Warren Bell Thursday to decide what official position to take on his nomination, but it isn't shaping up to be a ringing endorsement. The noncom community is increasingly concerned about the bloggings and other public statements of Bell about women, diversity, kids TV and more -- APTS President John Lawson calls them "flippantly hostile." Bell is a veteran sitcom writer and executive with shows including According to Jim, Coach, and Ellen. He is also an unabashedly conservative sometimes-contributor to the National Review. John Lawson, president of APTS, which represents public TV station interests in Washington, says he has also seen a letter that has been sent to Senator Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye. co-chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee] essentially corroborating statements Bell has made about public broadcasting in which he says he thinks it should be de-funded.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6373581.html?display=Breaking...

* Who Is Warren Bell?
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=2004587

UP IN THE AIR
[SOURCE: Wired in Washington, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
Broadcasters have never lacked for political clout. Whether in the United Sates or overseas, the companies that control the airwaves generally seem to get their way with governments. The broadcasting barons are on their way to another victory. Last week in Geneva, a treaty that would grant new legal rights to U.S. broadcasters cleared a major hurdle. Its next test is a plenary meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization beginning September 25. If all goes as broadcasters expect, formal treaty negotiations will begin in July. WIPO has been working on this broadcaster protection treaty since 1998, and broadcasters all over the world say action is long overdue. National Association of Broadcasters CEO David Rehr says he wants to be able to stop Caribbean cable systems from taking the signals of Florida broadcasters and retransmitting them on their networks. A new international treaty is necessary, he says. Whether dealing with medical drugs or digital downloads, WIPO has a well-deserved reputation of pushing the interests of intellectual property holders. So it is no surprise that a network of global non-profits is outraged over another attempted expansion of intellectual property rights. What’s different about broadcaster protection is that competing players ­ telecommunications carriers, technology companies, musicians, to name a few -- don't want to protect broadcasters. They've made a belated push to derail the treaty. And that may have tipped the scales of the U.S. government against it. Each of these potential rivals is pushing its own mish-mash agenda. That’s why predicting a final outcome may be impossible. But it’s clear that this isn't your typical battle between big corporations and public interest groups.
http://www.wiredinwashington.com/20060918.htm

THE RICH GET RICHER MEDIA: USE MORE INTERNET, MAGAZINES, TOO
[SOURCE: MediaDailyNews, AUTHOR: Erik Sass]
Affluent Americans are reading more consumer magazines and using the Internet for certain business transactions much more in 2006 than they did just a year ago, according to the Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, an annual study investigating the habits of Americans with income exceeding $85,000 a year. The news for print publications was especially encouraging, according to Mitch Lurin, the president of Mendelsohn, who led the study: "This is a year where all you hear is doom and gloom: ad pages are going down, subscriptions are going down, newsstand is going down--all these heavy-hearted things. But among affluent Americans, magazine readership is as healthy as it's always been."
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=48...

PHILADELPHIA WI-FI NET AT CROSSROADS
[SOURCE: Broadband-today.com, AUTHOR: Mark Rockwell]
The departure of one of the key proponents behind the City of Philadelphia's municipal Wi-Fi network, as well as big WiMAX plans from a notable wireless player, could reshape that landmark project, say experts. In mid-August, Dianah Neff, the city's chief information officer, announced that she was moving to Wi-Fi consultancy Civitium to spread the gospel of municipal Wi-Fi worldwide. Neff was hired by Philadelphia Mayor John Street as the city's chief information officer in 2001, and was instrumental, if not key, in getting the project off the ground at a time when Wi-Fi wasn't exactly a household word. In 2004, she faced tough opposition from incumbent wireline company Verizon, which said it didn't want to compete with cities for broadband customers. Earlier in the month, Sprint Nextel announced plans to build the first nationwide mobile WiMAX network, possibly opening up a larger, ubiquitous wireless broadband market that could partially overlap municipal Wi-Fi nets. The political climate also could affect how the Philadelphia network installation goes, says Craig Settles, president of Successful, a Wi-Fi industry consultancy. The city faces a mayoral election this November -- an awkward time for the network, he says. If incumbent Philadelphia Mayor John Street, who backed the plan, loses, the project faces the prospect of being neglected or worse, depending on a new mayor's opinion of the project, Settles says.
http://www.broadband-today.com/article/CA6372038.html?nid=2908