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GORE LASHES OUT AT MEDIA CONSOLIDATION
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Jill Lawless]
Former Vice President Al Gore said Sunday ever-tighter political and economic control of the media is a major threat to democracy. Gore said the goal behind his year-old "interactive" television channel Current TV was to encourage the kind of democratic dialogue that thrives online but is increasingly rare on TV. "Democracy is under attack," Gore told an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. "Democracy as a system for self-governance is facing more serious challenges now than it has faced for a long time. "Democracy is a conversation, and the most important role of the media is to facilitate that conversation of democracy. Now the conversation is more controlled, it is more centralized." He said that in many countries, media control was being consolidated in the hands of a few businesspeople or politicians. In the United States "the only thing that matters in American politics now is having enough money to put 30-second commercials on the air often enough to convince the voters to elect you or re-elect you," he said. "The person who has the most money to run the most ads usually wins."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060828/ap_on_re_eu/britain_gore_2
Gore Lashes Out at Media Consolidation
BELLSOUTH DROPS SURCHARGE PLANS FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET OFFERING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 8/26, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz@wsj.com]
BellSouth reversed its decision to impose a surcharge on high-speed Internet customers Friday, after federal regulators turned up the heat on BellSouth and Verizon Communications for levying a new surcharge that essentially replaced a fee the government had dropped. On Friday, officials at the Federal Communications Commission sent an eight-page "letter of inquiry" to Verizon, asking for more information about the surcharge it plans to levy. The letter is the first step toward a formal investigation. Several FCC commissioners, including Chairman Kevin Martin, were fuming about the companies' decision to essentially raise surcharges just after the government scrapped a fee that would have cut monthly bills by a dollar or two for about 10 million households. "The commission takes its obligation to protect consumers very seriously," said FCC spokesman David Fiske. "Consumers must be provided with clear and nonmisleading information so they may accurately access the services for which they are being charged and the costs associated with those services." Yesterday afternoon, BellSouth said it would immediately stop charging its 3.2 million Internet subscribers a $2.97 "regulatory cost recovery fee." "It was clearly becoming subject to criticism, and frankly we want to do what's in the best interest of our customers," said Herschel Abbott, BellSouth's vice president of governmental affairs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115651642324345562.html?mod=djemTECH
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* BellSouth drops Internet fee after FCC threat
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...
* Bell South Drops New DSL Fee
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6366101.html?display=Breaking...
* FCC queries Verizon on high-speed Internet fee
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2006-08-27-fcc-verizon_...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115651642324345562.html?mod=djemTECH
CALIFORNIA EPIPHANY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] How much competition is there in U.S. telecommunications? So much that even California regulators have finally noticed. Last week the state's Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 to lift decades-old price controls on land-line phone companies. The move was instigated by Rachelle Chong, who was appointed to the PUC in January by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R). According to a Los Angeles Times report, this is the first time in 18 years that California has altered its rate structure. Think about all that has happened in telecom in the past two decades, from the proliferation of wireless devices to Internet telephony, and you get some idea of how far past due these changes were. The good news is that these state regulators have finally acknowledged that competition in telecom abounds, that free-markets work, and that holding residential phone bills below actual cost is silly in today's brave new telecom world. The other good news is that if even California regulators can come to this realization, anyone can.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115671978346246832.html?mod=todays_us_op...
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115671978346246832.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR CONGRESS
[SOURCE: eSchool News]
As House and Senate lawmakers return to Washington next month to reconvene the 109th Congress after their summer recess, the legislative agenda features several bills likely to affect how technology is used in schools. Among the measures currently on Congress's to-do list before year's end are the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) of 2006, a controversial proposal intended to better protect children from the potential hazards of social-networking web sites such as MySpace.com; the most significant overhaul of telecommunications legislation in a decade, which has ramifications for the $2.25 billion-a-year eRate; and closure on the 2007 federal budget, which will decide the fate of the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) block-grant program and other school-related spending. One of the first bills likely to be revisited this fall in the Senate, DOPA (H.R. 5319) was under review by the Senate Commerce Committee when lawmakers broke in August. DOPA appeared on the fast track to approval before the congressional recess; the House approved it 410 to 15. Despite its quick and nearly unanimous approval in the House, however, the legislation drafted by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) has run into steep opposition from several ed-tech proponents. Its critics say the bill--which requires schools to block access to social-networking web sites as a prerequisite to receiving valuable eRate discounts--is overly broad, redundant, and likely would prohibit educators from fully embracing the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning. The proposal would force any school or library that receives government funding to block access to any web site that "allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users, and offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, eMail, or instant messenger." The rules would apply to all U.S. schools and libraries that receive funding through the eRate, the massive federal program that provides Internet and telecommunications discounts to needy schools. The bill also seeks to limit access to personal networking web sites to people who are 18 or older.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6523
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6523
CALIFORNIA FRANCHISE BILL CLOSE TO PASSAGE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
August 31 is the deadline for passing a telephone company-backed bill that would ease California's level-playing-field law and assign franchising duties to the Public Utilities Commission. The Californian Senate is expected to vote on a measure on today -- if approved , the measure would return to the State Assembly, which must review the amendments and agree to them before final passage.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6366051.html?display=Top+Stories
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6366051.html?display=Top%20Stories
MMTC ASKS FCC TO START OVER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 8/24, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council has asked the FCC to withdraw its proposed review of media ownership rules and start again, saying it has failed to specifically address several key issues. In a filing with the FCC Wednesday, the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council cited three chief problems with the further notice of proposed rulemaking: 1) its "failure" to identify specific minority ownership proposals remanded by the Philadelphia Federal Appeals court; 2) failure to seek comment on what constitutes a socially or economically disadvantaged business; and 3) not spelling out a "central legal basis for minority ownership relief," which MMTC says should be preventing market entry barriers. MMTC said the FCC's first try was not "entirely hostile" to minority ownership, giving it credit for seeking comment on how various deregulatory or regulatory proposals would affect minority ownership, and having a public forum on minority ownership. But it concluded that without MMTC's suggested fixes, "It will be impossible for the commission to adopt--and sustain--any meaningful ownership relief." That means the rules could potentially be remanded again when the wind up back in court for the Third Circuit's OK. MMTC was an intervenor in the successful court challenge (Prometheus Radio Vs. the FCC) to the FCC's deregulatory rule rewrite in 2003. Andrew Schwartzman of Media Access Project, which represented Prometheus, says that the court specifically cited the FCC's failure to consider minority ownership and directed the FCC in the remand to examine the issue. "This motion is, in effect, accusing the FCC of failing to comply with the court's directive," he said.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6365498.html?title=Article&sp...
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6365498.html?title=Article&spacedesc=…
WHAT-IFS OF A MEDIA ECLIPSE
[SOURCE: New York Times 8/27, AUTHOR: Katharine Seelye]
Many people in the newspaper industry are still scratching their heads over how and why Knight Ridder, a company with relatively high profit margins and a trophy case of 85 Pulitzer Prizes, allowed itself to be wiped off the media landscape. The dismantling of Knight Ridder is a study of the hurdles facing publicly traded newspaper companies in a time of seismic change in the industry. The migration of readers and advertisers to the Internet, as well as rising costs and falling revenue, are threatening the financial well-being -- even the very existence -- of some of the industry’s most storied brand names.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/business/yourmoney/27knight.htm
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What-Ifs of a Media Eclipse
DIGITAL IMPASSE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Anne Becker]
Nearly half the network shows on the primetime grid this fall are produced by third-party studios -- independents like Sony Pictures Television or studios owned by the parent of a rival network. But NBC’s medical comedy Scrubs, produced by ABC’s corporate sibling Touchstone Television, is one of only a handful of such shows available for download on iTunes. What gives? A year after ABC began offering its primetime hits on iTunes, kicking off a scramble to put network shows on emerging platforms, networks and third-party studios are still battling over digital-distribution rights, revenue-sharing and branding for their shows. While the studios are as eager as the networks to dip a toe into digital distribution, they are wary of disrupting their proven revenue streams. "We need to be careful that we don't allow the growth of new business models to have a negative impact on the downstream value of the content without offsetting the lost revenue from those downstream values," says Bruce Rosenblum, president of Warner Brothers Television Group
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6366086.html?display=News
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6366086.html?display=News
AS TV CAMPAIGN SPENDING SOARS, CABLE OUTLETS ATTRACT MORE DOLLARS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz@wsj.com]
As campaign season kicks into high gear, television-advertising spending is on track to possibly break the 2002 record. But unlike previous mid-term election years, candidates are devoting more money than ever to cable TV in an effort to target voters more precisely. Though most political ad dollars traditionally are spent after Labor Day, tight primaries and early spending on House, Senate and gubernatorial races have pushed local TV-ad spending above $311 million as of mid-August, up 45% from the same point in 2004 and more than three times as much as in 2002. All political ad buys by mid-year, including issue ads, ballot initiatives and other issues, have pushed spending above $700 million nationally. About 85% of that spending still is expected to go to local broadcast television stations, but cable operators say they're tracking well ahead of expectations and look forward to a particularly lucrative mid-term election this time, thanks to a growing acceptance of cable by political ad buyers and a desire of candidates to better target their messages. The heavy spending in part reflects the view of both parties that the stakes are high this year. Control of Congress is in play, with Democrats hoping to pick up the House and at least a few Senate seats. Incumbents in both parties are fighting uneasiness, as reflected in many polls, that the country is heading in the wrong direction. There also are competitive gubernatorial races in big states with expensive media markets, including California, Michigan and Florida. Meanwhile, candidates are unusually flush with cash, thanks to aggressive fund-raising efforts. By the end of July, the Republican National Committee had raised a total of $176 million this election cycle, compared to the Democrats' $95 million. But Democrats are closer than usual to matching Republican fund-raising totals this year, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has even surpassed its rival by $12 million, with $77 million total raised. Special-interest groups are also expected to spend heavily in certain races this fall. When it comes to cable spending, industry executives credit President Bush's embrace of national cable ads in his 2004 re-election campaign for the burgeoning interest of other candidates now.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115672043113446850.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115672043113446850.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
THE SHOW IS THE COMMERCIAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Gyula Kangiszer, Deloitte Consulting]
[Commentary] As digital video recorders advance viewers’ habit of skipping past commercials, advertisers must create new ways to increase product awareness and purchasing. There is one easy solution: Let consumers choose the commercials they want to see. Automatic skipping could be reduced by including a listing of ads in the beginning of the break so viewers could choose which to watch. In the future. advertisements on digital channels will likely be automatically matched to customer profiles and/or self predefined interests. Furthermore, entire channels dedicated solely to commercials may even emerge. In the meantime -- and possibly forevermore -- the show itself will become a constant commercial. To combat ad-skipping, advertisers will need to work with content creators to write products directly into scripts. You can't skip past products placed in shows without missing the program itself. So don't be surprised if everything you see on screen is for sale: 1) Product placement will dominate programming and account for the majority of props, background and style. 2) The use of props will be precisely defined. For example, a round table might be shown two times for 25 seconds each, the first time by itself and the second time with a popular actor leaning over it for five seconds. 3) A few key closed electronic marketplaces will emerge to facilitate product placement, matching the prop need to the highest bidding advertiser or manufacturer. 4) Prop availabilities will be acquired via open auction. Many props will have dual value: Marketing value, to enable viewers to buy identical products (e.g., a new line of clothes by a high-profile designer); or one-time revenue opportunity, for selling actual items (e.g., a specific dress worn during the program). 5) DVDs may get similar interactive remastering. For example, a soft drink in a movie or TV series could be sponsored through digital edits by different advertisers at different times (depending on the initially negotiated rights).
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6366057.html?display=Opinion
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6366057.html?display=Opinion