Benton RSS Feed

To view Benton's Headlines feed in your RSS Aggregator, paste
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/6/all/feed into your reader.
For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Post 9/11 privacy and secrecy
Bush Calls For Greater Wiretap Authority
Eavesdropping Bill Stalls in Committee
Court puts on Hold FCC ruling on TV Profanity
FCC Releases Procedures in Connect with Court Remand
Fresh Air Lends Ear to Indecency Debate
Indecency Complaints Down
Democrats urge ABC to Withdraw 9/11 Movie
ABC Says Criticism of 9/11 Film Unjustified -- But Scholastic Drops
Companion Guide

CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA
Senate Democrats Block Efforts To Advance Telecom Proposal
Martin Renomination Hearing Scheduled

QUICKLY -- Study aims to Improve Internet Literacy; TVB sees Spot
Spending Dip in '07, Jump in '08; Rated R, for Obscure Reasons;
Shareholders in Paris Approve Merger of Alcatel and Lucent; Miami, LA
top list of US cell phone chatterers

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

POST 9/11 PRIVACY AND SECRECY: A REPORT CARD
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache]
Since September 11, 2001, the federal government is concealing more
information about its own activities, while engaging in more
surveillance of Americans' private lives. The change has been
dramatic. In the 1997 fiscal year, the federal government spent $3.4
billion on securing classified information, a figure that rose to
$7.7 billion for 2005. Similarly, the government declassified 204
million pages of documents in 1997 but a mere 29.6 million in 2005.
At the same time, surveillance of Americans by the federal government
has steadily increased. President Bush has acknowledged bypassing the
checks and balances of the courts when enlisting the National
Security Agency in an extensive surveillance program. Congress is
discussing whether to rewrite that law.
http://news.com.com/Post+911+privacy+and+secrecy+A+report+card/2100-1028...
See also:
* Post-9/11 antiterror technology: A report card
http://news.com.com/Post-911+antiterror+technology+A+report+card/2100-10...

DEMOCRATS ATTACK BUSH'S ANTI-TERRORISM STRATEGY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Christine Hauser and David Stout]
Democrats went on the offensive as President Bush, speaking in
Atlanta, urged Congress to pass legislation that would give his
administration the surveillance tools he said it needed to fight
terrorism. The President is seeking Congressional approval for his
Terrorist Surveillance Program, which has provoked fierce legal and
political debate since it was disclosed last December that the
National Security Agency was wiretapping the international
communications of some Americans without a court warrant. "The
terrorists who want to harm America can now buy disposable cell
phones, and open anonymous e-mail addresses. Our laws need to change
to take these changes into account," President Bush said today. "If
an Al Qaeda commander or associate is calling into the United States,
we need to know why they're calling. And Congress needs to pass
legislation supporting this program." But as the president was
speaking, Senate Democrats were holding a news conference on Capitol
Hill to denounce his anti-terrorism policies as "tough but empty
rhetoric" and to offer a package of proposals of their own.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/07/washington/08prexycnd.html
(requires registration)
* Bush presses Congress to pass antiterrorism laws
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID...
* Bush Calls For Greater Wiretap Authority
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR200609...

EAVESDROPPING BILL STALLS IN COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Laurie Kellman]
President Bush's support proved insufficient to push a bill
authorizing his warrantless wiretapping program through the Senate
Judiciary Committee Thursday. Sen. Arlen Specter, the committee's
chairman, said the bill stalled because of election-year
obstructionism. The target of his ire was Sen. Russell Feingold
(D-WI) who spoke against the bill for about a quarter of the panel's
two-hour meeting and offered four amendments. Sen Feingold, a
possible presidential candidate, said Specter's bill would give the
White House too much power to eavesdrop without a warrant in some
circumstances.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_EAVESDROPPING?SITE=MIHOL...

COURT PUTS HOLD ON FCC RULING ON TV PROFANITY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit put on hold the Federal
Communications Commission's ruling that four television broadcasts of
profanity violated decency standards. The Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit stayed enforcement of the agency's ruling in March
that profanities uttered on ABC's "NYPD Blue," CBS's "The Early Show"
and the 2002 and 2003 Billboard music awards shows on Fox were
indecent. The FCC did not propose any fines for the incidents. The
four major television networks, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, argued the
FCC's rulings were unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious and
asked the appeals court in New York to throw them out.
"It cuts the heart out of the FCC's strengthened enforcement effort
for the time being," said Andrew Schwartzman, president and chief
executive of the Media Access Project, a consumer advocacy group. The
FCC now gets two months to reconsider the profanities uttered on
ABC's "NYPD Blue," CBS's "The Early Show" and the 2002 and 2003
Billboard music awards shows on Fox.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=televisionNews&story...
* FCC gets 2 months to reconsider ruling
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060907/ap_en_tv/fcc_tv_indecency
* FCC Gets To Reconsider Profanity Rulings
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6369535.html
* Court Stays Indecency Findings; Grants FCC Time to Mull Same
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10031...
* Court Allows FCC to Clarify Indecency-Policy Enforcement
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115763716170056308.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
* FCC's Indecency Rules Put on Hold
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc8sep08,1,3563393.s...

FCC RELEASES PROCEDURES IN CONNECTION WITH COURT REMAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission announced a two-week filing
period for parties wishing to submit comments concerning the four
indecency decisions noted above that were remanded to the Commission
by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Several
parties complained to the Commission that they were not provided with
an opportunity to be heard by the Commission before the decisions of
the Order were adopted. Accordingly, on July 5, 2006, the Commission
asked the Court to suspend its briefing schedule for 60 days and
remand the case to the Commission to give any interested parties an
opportunity to comment on the broadcasts and ensure that all
licensees are afforded a full opportunity to be heard before the
Commission issues a final decision. On September 7, 2006, the Court
granted the Commission's motion. Under the Court's Order, the case
has been remanded to the Commission for a period of sixty days "for
the entry of a further final or appealable order of the FCC following
such further consideration as the FCC may deem appropriate in the
circumstances."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1739A1.doc

FRESH AIR LENDS EAR TO INDECENCY DEBATE
[SOURCE: Fresh Air/National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Terry Gross]
* A TV Producer's View of FCC Indecency Policy
Louis Wiley is executive editor of the PBS documentary series
Frontline, which has been affected by the Federal Communications
Commission's crackdown on indecency in broadcasting. The FCC has
increased fines tenfold for material they deem indecent.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5781899
* FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein Discusses Crackdown
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5781902
* Attorney Describes Challenge of Indecency Rules
Attorney Stephen Weiswasser advises stations on what material may be
deemed indecent. He is a partner in law of Covington & Burling in
Washington, D.C. He says the FCC guidelines are difficult to interpret.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5781905
* Interest Group Files Complaint Over Emmy Language
Tim Winter is executive director of the Parents Television Council
(PTC). Last week, the PTC filed an indecency complaint with the FCC
over the NBC broadcast of the Emmy Awards because of language used by
actresses Helen Mirren and Calista Flockhart.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5781908

INDECENCY COMPLAINTS DOWN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the FCC, indecency and obscenity complaints were down
sharply in the second quarter to 52,067 from 275,131 in the first
quarter, though up slightly from the third quarter of 2005 (44,109).
June saw only 741 complaints, down from 40,000 in May and 11,326 in
April. Some of the complaints in April or May could have come from
the American Family Association, which targeted a NASCAR broadcast
with an errant swear.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6369775.html?display=Breaking...
* Quarterly Report on Informal Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Released
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-267246A1.doc

DEMOCRATS URGE ABC TO WITHDRAW 9/11 MOVIE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro]
Amid an election-year debate over who can best defend America, U.S.
congressional Democrats urged ABC-TV on Thursday to cancel a
miniseries about the September 11 attacks that is critical of former
Democratic President Bill Clinton and his top aides. Senate
Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada denounced the television
movie, set to air in two parts on Sunday and Monday nights, as "a
work of fiction." ABC issued a statement saying the production, "The
Path to 9/11," was still being edited and that criticism of the
film's specifics were thus "premature and irresponsible."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID...
* Passions Flare as Broadcast of 9/11 Mini-Series Nears
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/washington/08film.html

ABC SAYS CRITICISM OF 9/11 FILM UNJUSTIFIED -- BUT SCHOLASTIC DROPS
COMPANION GUIDE
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher]
ABC is rejecting criticism of an upcoming miniseries about the events
leading to the 9/11 terror attacks, but Scholastic, which had agreed
to widely distribute a companion guide to schools, announced Thursday
afternoon it had changed its mind. A Scholastic statement read:
"Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media
company, today announced that it is removing from its website the
materials originally created for classroom use in conjunction with
the ABC Television Network docudrama, 'The Path to 9/11,' scheduled
to air on the ABC Television Network on September 10 and 11, 2006. A
new classroom discussion guide for high school students is being
created and will focus more specifically on media literacy, critical
thinking, and historical background. "'After a thorough review of the
original guide that we offered online to about 25,000 high school
teachers, we determined that the materials did not meet our high
standards for dealing with controversial issues,' said Dick Robinson,
Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic."
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
* ABC and Scholastic release skewed Path to 9/11 "Discussion Guide"
for high school teachers to assign to students
http://mediamatters.org/items/200609060008?src=action200609070001
* Scholastic Pulls Teaching Material For 9/11 Show Faulted as Biased
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115766710703256826.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
* ABC to Alter Show on Pre-9/11 Run-Up
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR200609...
* ABC Will Only Make Minor Changes to Path to 9-11
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6369782.html
* 9/11 Miniseries Is Bunk
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Barbara Bodine, U.S. ambassador
to Yemen from 1997-2001]
[Commentary] The ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11," opts for
fiction when fact is needed and chooses mythmaking when the candor of
history is called for. The 9/11 commission report tells the story
with clear-eyed honesty, precision and studious impartiality. The ABC
drama does not. The 9/11 commission spent hours interviewing
virtually everyone connected not just with the events of that day but
those involved in counter-terrorism over 25 years -- Republican as
well as Democrat. ABC did not.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-bodine8sep08,1,37...
(requires registration)

CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA

SENATE DEMOCRATS BLOCK EFFORTS TO ADVANCE TELECOM PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Democratic senators are blocking Republicans from potentially using a
pending "enhanced 911" bill as a vehicle for passing major
telecommunications legislation, multiple Capitol Hill sources said.
The goal is to keep the E911 measure from potentially being
conferenced with House-passed telecom legislation. Such a maneuver
would bypass the need for Senate floor action on a broader telecom
measure spearheaded by Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The
panel narrowly approved that language earlier this year, but it
appears stalled now. The numerous challenges hampering Stevens' bill
are fueling speculation that its supporters want to sidestep Senate
floor action. In early August, a few Democrats anonymously placed
procedural "holds" on the E911 bill when efforts were made to pass it
by voice vote shortly before Congress adjourned for the summer. The
legislation, S. 1063, would require the FCC to ensure that E911
service is available to Internet telephone customers but also would
permit temporary waivers if compliance is not technically feasible.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-DVXI1157656203952.html

MARTIN RENOMINATION HEARING SCHEDULED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a renomination hearing for
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Tuesday, Sept. 12. Chairman Martin was
renominated April 25 for a term that expired June 30. Martin's
renomination will almost certainly pass the committee, but he could
face some tough questions from Democrats on a variety of topics,
including the network neutrality issue that was initially triggered
by the FCC's decision to change the definition of broadband service
and exclude networks from mandatory Internet access requirements. If
Martin's nomination is approved, the full Senate would still have to
vote it. The nomination will be considered with that of John Kneuer
to head the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA). Assistant Sec Kneuer was nominated for the post in May.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6369553.html?display=Breaking...

QUICKLY

STUDY AIMS TO IMPROVE INTERNET LITERACY
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Laura Ascione]
Researchers at the University of Connecticut and Clemson University
are in the middle of a three-year project to find a proven method of
boosting the Internet literacy skills of disadvantaged students. As
part of the study, they're testing a new way to teach students how to
read, understand, and critically evaluate the information they find
online, through a "reciprocal" model that has been proven to work
well in teaching traditional literacy skills. The $1.8 million
project, called "Developing Internet Comprehension Strategies among
Poor, Adolescent Students at Risk to Become Dropouts," is funded by
the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Educational Sciences.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6578

TVB SEES SPOT SPENDING DIP IN '07, JUMP IN '08
[SOURCE: TVNewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
TV stations can expect a slight decline in total spot spending next
year, but the election year of 2008 should deliver close to a
double-digit percentage boost in revenue. That's according to the
latest predictions from the Television Bureau of Advertising. In
2007, TVB says, total spot will be down 1% to 3%, with local up 0% to
2% and national down 7% to 9%. But with return of heavy political
spending in 2008, the trade group predicts total spot will increase
by 8% to 10%, with local up 5% to 7% and national gaining 12% to 14%.
That bullish national spot jump is based on TNS Media's prediction
that there will be $1.8 billion spent in political advertising.
Noting that TV station Web sites have achieved "critical mass," TVB
predicted that revenue from station Web sites would grow between 30
and 40% in both 2007 and 2008.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2006/09/07/daily.5/

RATED R, FOR OBSCURE REASONS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Sraff]
[Commentary] Given the large role they play in shaping the culture,
it is remarkable how little is known about movie ratings. Who decides
whether a movie is rated PG or NC-17? What criteria do they use? How
does the appeals process work? Those are some of the questions posed
by an illuminating new documentary, "This Film Is Not Yet Rated,"
directed by Kirby Dick. Mr. Dick's film makes a compelling case that
there needs to be greater transparency in the ratings process, and
significant reforms. The ratings system is operated by two industry
groups, the Motion Picture Association of America and the National
Association of Theater Owners. The system is private, but the public
has a strong interest in it, since the ratings play a large role in
shaping movie content. Films rated NC-17 can have a hard time
attracting audiences. Producers are often willing to make substantial
cuts or changes in movies to get a more commercially viable rating.
It is questionable whether the movie industry should be in the
business of rating movies at all. It might make more sense to simply
make information about content available, and let parents make their
own assessments. If there are going to be movie ratings, they should
be done through a fair and open process. After the revelations of
"This Film Is Not Yet Rated," the burden is now on the M.P.A.A. to
give its ratings system a serious upgrade.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/opinion/08fri1.html
(requires registration)

SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE MERGER OF ALCATEL AND LUCENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Kanter]
Shareholders approved the $10.7 billion merger of the
telecommunications equipment makers Alcatel and Lucent on Thursday,
but only after Alcatel investors voiced doubts about the leadership
and financial health of their new American partner. The deal will
create the world's biggest telephone equipment maker.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/business/worldbusiness/08alcatel.html
(requires registration)

MIAMI, LA TOP LIST OF CELL PHONE CHATTERS
[SOURCE: Reuters]
People in Miami and Los Angeles chat on their cell phones more than
any other Americans, according to a survey of cell phone use in major
cities. People in Miami make and receive an average of 298 calls a
month -- an average of 9-10 calls daily -- while Angelenos talk
second most, averaging 260 calls per month, a survey of Verizon
Wireless users found. Rounding out the top 5 were Detroit, El Paso,
Texas, and Las Vegas. For information about what they are talking
about, contact the NSA.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here. Enjoy another beautiful summer weekend. see
ya Monday.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------