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COURT INDECENCY HEARING AUGUST 8
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Appeals Court in New York wants to hear from both sides on the FCC's request to get another crack at four profanity decisions challenged in that court by broadcasters. The court told attorney's this week that it would hear oral arguments from "any party desiring" to weigh in on the FCC remand request and oppositions to that request on August 8 at 2 p.m. Broadcasters challenged the four decisions, saying they were unconstitutional. The court stayed the filing of opening briefs in the case, which had been scheduled for earlier this month, and now won't be able to start until after it hears argument and rules on the remand.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355532.html?display=Breaking...
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355532.html?display=Breaking%20News
CONGRESS TARGETS DECEPTIVE 'SEX' SITES
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache]
Web pages that use innocent words like "Barbie" or "Furby" but actually feature sexual content will be subject to felony charges, thanks to a bill the U.S. Senate approved Thursday. Anyone who includes misleading words or images intended to confuse a minor into viewing a possibly harmful Web site could be imprisoned for up to 20 years and fined, the legislation says. The Child Protection and Safety Act represents the most extensive rewriting of federal laws relating to child pornography, sex offender registration and child exploitation in a decade. Supporters say it's necessary to protect the nation's youth. An earlier version of the measure had already cleared the U.S. House of Representatives, which is expected to approve the revised version next week. President Bush endorsed the bill Friday, saying it will provide "law enforcement officials with the tools they need to track those who prey upon children." A key phrase in the legislation promises prison time only if a Webmaster has the "intent to deceive" a casual visitor. David Greene, staff counsel for the nonprofit First Amendment Project, says it could pass constitutional muster if used against Web sites that trick minors into viewing off-color sexual material.
http://news.com.com/Congress+targets+deceptive+sex+sites/2100-1028_3-609...
Congress targets deceptive 'sex' sites
GROUP APPEALS GOVERNMENT EAVESDROPPING RULING
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
A coalition of civil liberties groups and technology companies, including Pulver.com and Sun Microsystems, is appealing a federal court ruling that forces Internet service providers to create backdoors for government wiretapping. The coalition on Friday asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to review a June 9 ruling that sided with the Bush administration. That 2-1 ruling said that Internet providers must rewire their networks and follow a complex scheme of eavesdropping regulations. The deadline is set for May 2007. The groups behind the appeal, called an "en banc" rehearing, say they're happy to comply with legitimate court orders. What they're upset about are the cost, difficulty and the privacy concerns involved in building in backdoors for eavesdropping. They argue that the Federal Communications Commission, when approving the requirements, went beyond what federal law actually permits. (The American Council on Education and some of the academic groups dropped out of the appeal, saying they believed the June ruling sufficiently protected their own interests.) No law enforcement agency has identified "any obstacles to intercepting Internet communications in the absence of (the FCC's regulations), and indeed as far as the record on appeal reveals, 100 percent of attempted interceptions of Internet communications to date have been successful," the brief says.
http://news.com.com/Group+appeals+government+eavesdropping+ruling/2100-1...
Group appeals government eavesdropping ruling
SURVEILLANCE WE CAN LIVE WITH
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Sen Arlen Specter (R-PA)]
[Commentary] President Bush's electronic surveillance program has been a festering sore on our body politic since it was publicly disclosed last December. Civil libertarians, myself included, have insisted that the program must be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment. The president has insisted that he was acting lawfully within his constitutional responsibilities. On its face, the program seems contrary to the plain text of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which regulates domestic national security wiretapping. The president argues, however, that his inherent constitutional powers supersede the statute. Without knowing the exact contours of the program, it's impossible to say whether he is right or wrong. But three federal appeals court decisions suggest the president may be right. The integrity of our nation's adherence to the rule of law requires an answer to the question of whether this program is legal. The protection of our nation's security and individual rights requires a modification of the program if it is not lawful as currently fashioned. The challenge, which I have been trying to meet legislatively, is to structure a procedure under which the courts can adjudicate the lawfulness of this highly sensitive program while maintaining the secrecy the president contends is so important. In my opinion, it is intolerable to let this matter drift indefinitely. If someone has a better idea for legislation that would resolve the program's legality or can negotiate a better compromise with the president, I will be glad to listen.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/23/AR200607...
(requires registration)
Surveillance We Can Live With
MARYLAND COUNTY FIRES BACK AT VERIZON
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Montgomery County (MD) officials struck back against a lawsuit by Verizon Communications, accusing the telephone company of attempting to use the courts to get around the county's strict consumer-protection regulations. Verizon filed suit against the regulators late last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleging that county officials are demanding "burdensome concessions" in return for a county franchise for the telco's Verizon FiOS TV project. But in opposition papers filed Thursday, the county asserted that it seeks competition but also requires competitors to adhere to rules that "[protect] consumers against corporations that refuse to play by the rules and instead seek preferential treatment." County officials have attempted to negotiate an agreement for about one year on terms similar to those observed by Comcast and RCN, the two current video providers in the market. Verizon has demanded "special exemptions from lawful requirements" that other providers meet, the county filing said. County officials added that they also offered to enter an agreement similar to one recently approved by nearby Fairfax County (VA), but Verizon balked. If Verizon wants to engage in court rather than negotiate, the county is prepared to rigorously defend its consumer-protection laws, according to county chief administrative officer Bruce Romer.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6355292.html?display=Breaking+News
* For more info see: http://www.millervaneaton.com/content.agent?page_name=MDVerizon
** To see how Verizon is portraying their reason for filing the lawsuit, go to:
http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/md/files/mc_fact_sheet.pdf
http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/md/files/mc_filing.pdf
http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/md/files/mc_press_release_final...
*** To see the County’s public statements in response, go to:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/News/statements/ST_details.asp?St...
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=2291
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=2251
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6355292.html?display=Breaking%20News
SENATE COMMITTEE FUNDS CPB'S READY TO LEARN, DTV
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday approved a 2007 budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that leaves intact money for the digital transition, the Ready to Learn initiative, and arguably most importantly, the two-year forward funding process. That's according to CPB President Patricia Harrison, who said CPB was grateful for the money. Forward funding is an attempt to insulate CPB from a politicized budget process, though even with that forward-funding the exercise has become something of a posterchild for politicized budget processes, with Republicans attempting to gut its appropriation, claiming government-subsidized liberal bias, and Democrats holding rallies to combat the cuts, which have mostly, ultimately, been restored. Under the bill, CPB will get $400 million in 2009. In the nearer term, for 2007 it will get $36 million for system interconnection upgrades, $29.7 million for the digital conversion, and $24.2 million for Ready to Learn, which has been in the crosshairs -- despite administration support for the program -- ever since its Postcards From Buster series got some Washington knickers in a twist over its "two mommies" episode. Buster is no longer funded under that program, which has refocused on more curriculum-centric early childhood education.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355274.html?display=Breaking...
* Statement by CPB President and CEO Pat Harrison
http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=556
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355274.html?display=Breaking%20News
CPB BOARD ADOPTS FISCAL YEAR 2007 OPERATING BUDGET
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting press release]
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors adopted a fiscal year 2007 operating budget of $412 million, which will provide for significant investments in the more than 1,000 local public stations, programming and content, technology, as well as the delivery of programming and content on new media platforms. The FY 2007 budget, which goes into effect on October 1, 2007, focuses on the priorities set out in CPB's goals and objectives: local services and content; national content and services; bolstering support for public broadcasting, and long term system-wide planning. Following the statutorily prescribed formula, CPB will administer the FY07 funds as follows: 1) Support for Public Television ($276 million) which includes $200.25 million in Direct Television Grants and $75.75 million for television programming (support for national programming, including projects for children and diverse audiences.) 2) Support for Public Radio ($92 million) which includes: $62.30 million in Radio Community Service Grants (which go directly to stations), $21.97 million in National Program Production & Acquisition Grants, and $7.73 million for the Radio Program Fund. 3) General System Support ($24 million) which includes support for industry-wide services such as TV interconnection grants, music copyright fees, and audience and program research, minority consortia, and ITVS administration.
http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=557
http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=557
TELEVISION EVERYWHERE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
At a time when TV networks and advertisers alike are desperate to increase -- or at least maintain -- market share, reaching viewers in new places has never been more urgent. At home, audiences are distracted by the Internet, video-on-demand and DVRs, but in certain public spots -- airports, elevators, gas stations -- the audience is quite captive. Some of the last vestiges of TV-free space are vanishing as marketers recognize the value of the consumer’s inability to turn away or tune out. Technology has made it easier and more affordable to reach audiences on the go, with cheaper flat-panel TVs hitting the market and wireless networks enabling networks to update frequently and localize content down to a ZIP code. And, as viewers themselves become more accustomed to watching TV on portable devices, such offerings are accepted as welcome distractions from the monotony of food shopping or pumping gas. These “out-of-home networks,†or “place-based media,†work efficiently because of the absence of competing messages and the accessibility of viewers. CBS calls such placements the “outernet.â€
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355394.html?display=Feature
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355394.html?display=Feature
LESSON'S FROM USDTV'S DEMISE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
Is there any way to make money from the all-new capacity created by the switch to digital broadcasting? The conversion to digital gives every station in the country a tremendous expansion of capacity. In the same amount of spectrum occupied by a conventional analog signal, a broadcaster can fit a high-definition feed of its main station and still have space to create three additional channels. A station that chooses not to broadcast an HD signal can create up to five additional channels. In one sense, this is a tremendous windfall in an industry that faces slim growth prospects in its core business. Think of it as a government grant of ritzy beachfront real estate given exclusively to people who already live in the neighborhood. The downside is that creating that much new property out of thin air produces a glut. Digital puts more TV real estate on the market than there are immediate viewers or advertising dollars to support it. “Unless broadcasters create a viable economic model, the industry may have spent billions upgrading stations without any obvious return on investment. If that’s true, it may a classic case of “be careful what you ask for, you might just get it!,†says Bear, Stearns & Co. media analyst Victor Miller.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355397.html?display=News
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355397.html?display=News
MEDIA COVERAGE MAY BE WHAT HOLDS COMPANIES TO ACCOUNT
[SOURCE: MarketWatch, AUTHOR: Thomas Kostigen]
[Commentary] New research shows media coverage, more than policies or shareholder activism, forces companies to behave. "The media seems to exert pressure on corporate managers and regulators, forcing companies to behave more in the interest of shareholders," says Luigi Zingales, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. In a research paper entitled "Candid Camera," he says press coverage of corporate violations even increases the probability such actions will be reversed. Zingales points to the case of Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange who in 2003 lost his job when his lavish pay was exposed. "Although all directors of the NYSE had voted in favor of his compensation, once the information became public -- and even the most pro-business newspapers characterized Grasso's compensation in a very negative light -- many directors changed their position," he says. When the media reports a story, reputations are at stake. And this is what people respond to: the threat of being associated with something negative. Other research has shown that corporate managers are constrained in their behavior by the impact that their actions have on their reputation vis-Ã -vis their future employers or the capital market in general. But Zingales, in research conducted in conjunction with professors at the University of Toronto and Russia's Center for Economic and Financial Research, shows that reputation is an effective constraint only if the future employers or partners can learn about actions.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=...
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&g…