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FCC AGENDA
FCC July 13 Open Meeting Agenda
FCC Set to Vote on Adelphia July 13
Networks Prepare To Challenge Remand
FCC, Senate Committee At Odds Over States' VoIP Regulation

PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Chicago's jazz radio gets the blues, bows to iPod
PBS Kids Go! a No Go

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
The Government's Current War with the Free Press
Russia's Signal to Stations Is Clear: Cut U.S. Radio

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
XM and Sirius: Meant to Be Together?
5 Editors, Columnist Quit in Santa Barbara

QUICKLY -- Minorities Make Gains in TV News; New=20
Radios Letting DC Metro Police Down; EU Plans to=20
Launch Telecom Inquiry; Cingular Sued by Users It=20
Inherited; U.S. Homes With =91Connected Entertainment Network=92 to Jump

FCC AGENDA

FCC JULY 13 MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold=20
an Open Meeting on Thursday, July 13, 2006,=20
starting at 9:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445=20
12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The=20
Commission will consider: 1) rules governing=20
medical devices that rely on radiocommunications,=20
2) fining LocateCell.com, a databroker, for=20
repeated failure to respond to FCC directives to=20
provide subpoenaed information in connection with=20
the Commission's privacy investigation, 3)=20
approving the Adelphia-Time Warner-Comcast merger=20
(see story below), 4) rules for digital audio=20
broadcasting, and 5) the Interstate TRS Fund.=20
Bring your own popcorn or visit=20
www.fcc.gov/realaudio if you prefer to watch in your pajamas.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-266285A1.doc

FCC SET TO VOTE ON ADELPHIA JULY 13
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The Federal Communications Commission announced=20
Thursday night that it plans to vote at its July=20
13 public meeting to approve the $16.9 billion=20
acquisition of Adelphia Communications by Time=20
Warner and Comcast, ending a review that has=20
lingered at the agency for nearly 400 days. The=20
approval is expected to come with several=20
conditions related to sports programming, but the=20
agency is not planning to impose Internet=20
network-neutrality mandates on either Comcast or=20
Time Warner, according to an FCC official. Under=20
a merger proposal supported by FCC Chairman Kevin=20
Martin, Comcast and Time Warner would be barred=20
from charging noncompetitive rates in an effort=20
to effectively withhold affiliated regional=20
sports networks from competing distributors, such=20
as EchoStar Communications and DirecTV, an FCC official said.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6349995.html?display=3DBreaking+News
* FCC To Weigh In on Adelphia Breakup
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6350118.html?display=3DBreaki...
News

NETWORKS PREPARE TO CHALLENGE REMAND
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC has asked a New York court to let it take=20
another crack at four indecency findings it=20
levied against "fleeting profanities," issued as=20
part of its omnibus March indecency orders. The=20
affiliates and the networks together challenged=20
those four findings in court. ABC alone among the=20
networks has rejoined the National Association of=20
Broadcasters, which the vast majority of=20
affiliates also belong to. While the ABC, CBS,=20
and NBC affiliate groups support the FCC move,=20
saying they want the chance to defend their=20
broadcasts, the networks want the court case to=20
proceed without delay, arguing the FCC has had=20
ample time to mull the issue in the two years=20
since ruling, in the case of a Bono adjectival=20
f-word on NBC's Golden Globes, that fleeting profanities could be indecent.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6350081?display=3DBreaking+News

FCC, SENATE COMMITTEE AT ODDS OVER STATES' VOIP REGULATION
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
If the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and=20
Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S.2686), passed=20
late last month by the Senate Commerce Committee,=20
becomes law, Internet telephone companies will be=20
exempt from certain state economic regulations.=20
But until then, the FCC ruled last week, states=20
may conditionally regulate Internet telephony.=20
The back-and-forth between the agency and the=20
Senate panel occurred as the committee was=20
approving S. 2686, its version of=20
telecommunications overhaul legislation. An=20
amendment pre-empting state regulation of=20
voice-over-Internet protocol, offered by Sen.=20
John Sununu (R-NH) was approved 14-8 on June 22=20
-- at the start of the markup. At the same time,=20
the FCC was detailing its decision to apply the=20
universal service fund to VoIP providers. Such=20
companies must pay a fee into the USF based on=20
64.9 percent of their revenue -- or be subject to=20
regulation by state public utility commissions.=20
However, uncertainty about the regulation of VoIP=20
is likely to continue: Some members of the Senate=20
committee sought an amendment to S. 2686 that=20
would have granted VoIP providers the ability to=20
obtain a waiver for up to four years from an FCC=20
requirement that they implement E-911, or=20
enhanced location-based 911 service. That=20
amendment ultimately was not offered in=20
committee, as two of the measure's chief patrons=20
-- Sens Sununu and Bill Nelson (D-FL) -- withdrew=20
it to allow further discussion with Sen. John=20
(Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) who opposes any=20
extension of time for VoIP providers to comply with the existing FCC mandat=
e.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-CYKN1152212935769.html

PUBLIC BROADCASTING

CHICAGO'S JAZZ RADIO GETS THE BLUES, BOWS TO iPOD
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Deborah Cohen]
WBEZ, Chicago's National Public Radio (NPR)=20
member station and among the oldest public radio=20
outlets in the United States, has decided to=20
scrap scheduled music programming -- the bulk of=20
which was nightly jazz -- and move to a 24-hour=20
news and public affairs format. The change --=20
which has sparked a backlash from loyal fans --=20
speaks volumes about the worries facing=20
independent radio stations. Downloadable music=20
and streaming Webcasts are competing for their=20
music listeners, and local news, threatened by=20
consolidation in the commercial media, is taking=20
on greater importance. In addition, WBEZ and many=20
other public radio stations say their programming=20
has not kept pace with a changing U.S.=20
population. "Local news has simply been abandoned=20
by the commercial broadcasters and sometimes even=20
the commercial newspapers," Ken Stern, executive=20
vice president of Washington-based National=20
Public Radio, said. "What you see as a trend is=20
stations like WBEZ investing heavily in local=20
news and information," Stern added. WBEZ and=20
NPR's other so-called member stations raise their=20
own operating funds -- much of them from=20
individual listeners -- and pay providers such as=20
NPR for syndicated shows such as the daily news=20
program "All Things Considered." Around the=20
United States, changes similar to WBEZ's are=20
taking place. Connecticut Public Radio's WNPR-FM=20
dropped most of its classical programming in=20
favor of news and information early in June.=20
WETA, another public FM station in Washington,=20
D.C., made the switch to all-talk more than a=20
year ago. Stations in New York, Boston and=20
elsewhere have made similar moves. Chicago Public=20
Radio's new strategy also calls for reaching a=20
more diverse audience -- putting mics in the=20
hands of listeners, for instance, to let them=20
produce their own shows, and adding satellite=20
bureaus in the inner city. The station aims to go=20
after untapped Hispanic, black and youth listeners, among others.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DindustryNews&storyID=
=3D2006-07-06T130937Z_01_N30272704_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-RADIO-DC.XML
* Jazz Out, News In on Chicago NPR Station
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/arts/07arts.html?_r=3D1&oref=3Dslogin

PBS KIDS GO! A NO GO
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Citing financial constraints, PBS has pulled the=20
plug on its much balyhooed October launch of a=20
digital kids channel, PBS Kids Go!, saying it is=20
rethinking the strategy of a linear channel=20
targeted to elementary school kids. "An=20
insufficient number of stations are in a position=20
to financially sustain the service," PBS said in=20
a brief statement. Other options for expansion=20
into the elementary school area in the near=20
future--the next several months--could be a VOD=20
service or other new media delivery, though it=20
also said a channel is not off the table at some future date.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6350111?display=3DBreaking+News

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

THE GOVERNMENT'S CURRENT WAR WITH THE FREE PRESS
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Daniel Schorr, NPR]
[Commentary] The Bush Administration has=20
discovered what governments have discovered=20
before, that an undercurrent of hostility toward=20
the news media runs through the country and that=20
there could be political advantage in campaigning=20
against the press in general. You would not=20
expect that I, as a journalist, would exhibit=20
total neutrality in such a war. And so let me=20
quote Justice Potter Stewart in his opinion in=20
the Pentagon Papers case in 1971: "In the absence=20
of governmental checks and balances present in=20
other areas of our national life, the only=20
effective restraint upon executive policy and=20
power in the area of national defense and=20
international affairs may lie in an enlightened=20
citizenry.... Without an informed and free press,=20
there cannot be an enlightened people." That=20
remains true, even when Mr. Bush proclaims a state of war with the terroris=
ts.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0707/p09s01-cods.html
* Bush vs. New York Times
[Commentary] Attacks on the New York Times aren't=20
about national security, they're about muting criticism.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/38251/

RUSSIA'S SIGNAL TO STATIONS IS CLEAR: CUT US RADIO
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Peter Finn]
Russian regulators have forced more than 60 radio=20
stations to stop broadcasting news reports=20
produced by Voice of America and Radio Free=20
Europe/Radio Liberty, according to radio managers=20
and Russian officials. The regulators cited=20
license violations and unauthorized changes in=20
programming format. But senior executives at the=20
U.S.-government-funded broadcast services and at=20
the stations blame the Kremlin for the crackdown,=20
which has knocked the reports off stations from=20
St. Petersburg in western Russia to Vladivostok=20
in the Far East. The two services' straight-up=20
reporting, often by journalists on the ground in=20
Russian communities, has at times challenged the=20
political establishment here. In a country where=20
the news media increasingly avoid controversial=20
subjects, millions of Russians had made the=20
broadcasts a listening staple. U.S. diplomats,=20
managers at the two news services and their board=20
of governors have held repeated discussions with=20
Russian officials in recent months seeking a=20
compromise, to no avail. "We've tried to be=20
collegial, tried to work within the system, but=20
this is a most unfortunate development," said=20
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the U.S.=20
Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees both services.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR200607...
1760.html
(requires registration)

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

XM AND SIRIUS: MEANT TO BE TOGETHER?
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Abbey Klaassen]
The rumors of a satellite-radio merger are=20
swirling again as last week Mel Karmazin told=20
investors and venture capitalists at The Deal's=20
Convergence 2.0 conference that "we'd love to=20
buy" XM, before cautioning that price and=20
regulatory issues would be impeding factors. His=20
candidness about his desire to be the only player=20
in the space has fueled speculation for the past=20
year and a half. But lately, as the=20
satellite-radio industry, like the rest of the=20
media world, faces more competition than it may=20
ever have anticipated -- from sophisticated=20
wireless devices, Wi-Fi and=20
premium-online-content offerings -- media=20
veterans are questioning whether there will be a=20
single satellite-radio company five years from now.
http://adage.com/article?article_id=3D110293
See also:
* Sirius's Footsteps Beat Louder As It Cuts XM Subscriber Lead
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115219181763299502.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)
* Sirius Beats XM Satellite in Adding Subscribers
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-sirius7jul07,1,463624...
tory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business

5 EDITORS, COLUMNIST QUIT IN SANTA BARBARA
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James Rainey]
Five top editors and a veteran columnist have=20
resigned from the Santa Barbara News-Press,=20
saying Thursday that the newspaper's billionaire=20
owner had been meddling improperly in the=20
editorial content of the 151-year-old=20
publication. Editor Jerry Roberts was escorted=20
from the newspaper's headquarters before noon as=20
several staff members cried and others hurled=20
obscenities at the new publisher, Travis K.=20
Armstrong, the latest in a series of people to=20
run the paper under controversial owner Wendy=20
McCaw. Six years ago, the newspaper's journalists=20
reacted with relief, even euphoria, when McCaw=20
purchased the paper from the New York Times Co.=20
They welcomed the ascension of a local owner =97=20
known for her environmentalism and philanthropy=20
-- over an investor-owned chain that had made=20
sharp cost-cutting and layoffs routine. But=20
Thursday, reporters and editors described an=20
"awful" and "surreal" scene -- what Santa=20
Barbara's alternative paper called a=20
"self-inflicted blood bath." Several News-Press=20
employees and the city's leader said McCaw's=20
tenure should give pause to the many journalists=20
across the country who had been pining for private ownership of their paper=
s.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-newspress7jul07,1,4...
254.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-frontpage
(requires registration)
* Mass Exit at Santa Barbara Paper Causes Wild Scene
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
t_id=3D1002801214

QUICKLY

MINORITIES MAKE GAINS IN TV NEWS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Local TV news employed more minorities than ever=20
in 2005, according to a new study from Ball State=20
University/Radio-Television News Directors=20
Association study, but that 4.4% boost over 2004=20
was leveled by a 4.4% drop in radio. Minorities=20
made up 22.2% of local TV news staffs, up from=20
21.2% in 2004. Even with Hispanic stations=20
factored out, the increase was 20.4%, which is=20
also up from last year. Minorities in TV station=20
news top management also increased, with 13.2% of=20
news directors minorities vs. 12% the year=20
before. The story was different for radio=20
however, with the minority workforce down from 7.9% in 2004 to 6.4% in 2005.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6350057?display=3DBreaking+News
* Download complete survey results at=20
http://www.rtnda.org/research/2006diversity.pdf
* Press Release: http://www.rtnda.org/news/2006/070606.shtml

NEW RADIOS LETTING DC METRO POLICE DOWN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lena H. Sun]
Persistent problems with a $60 million radio=20
system that Metro bought six years ago have=20
forced transit police to rely on their old radios=20
underground, raising questions about the transit=20
authority's ability to respond to emergencies at=20
a time of heightened concern nationwide about the=20
safety of public transportation. The new radios=20
offer extra security and communications features=20
that are valuable to officers responding to a=20
crime, a terrorist attack or another emergency,=20
such as a tunnel fire or collision, that would=20
require an evacuation. But there are some Metro=20
stations and tunnels where officers cannot be=20
heard reliably on the new radios. Officials with=20
Motorola Inc., which designed and installed the=20
new system, say they do not know when it will become fully operational.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR200607...
1715.html
(requires registration)

EU PLANS TO LAUNCH TELECOM INQUIRY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Joon Knapen joon.knapen( at )dowjones.com]
Neelie Kroes, the European Commission's antitrust=20
regulator, said she will open an investigation=20
into possible anticompetitive behavior in the=20
European telecommunications industry starting=20
next year, following similar inquiries into=20
European energy and financial-services markets.=20
"We can't do it all at once," she said. "Two=20
inquiries are nearly finished....The next one=20
will be telecommunications." Smaller telecom=20
companies in Europe argue that former state=20
monopolies, such as Deutsche Telekom AG and=20
France T=E9l=E9com SA, use networks built with=20
government support to offer services and then=20
restrict access to competitors. Commissioner=20
Kroes shares regulatory authority over the=20
telecom sector with Viviane Reding, EU media=20
commissioner. In June Ms. Reding called for=20
German regulators to impose price controls on=20
Deutsche Telekom for fixed-line services it offers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115218285878499434.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)

CINGULAR SUED BY USERS IT INHERITED
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
Former AT&T Wireless customers accused Cingular=20
Wireless in a lawsuit Thursday of misleading them=20
about the benefits of combining the two companies=20
and overcharging them for upgrading service.=20
Despite a "massive marketing campaign" that=20
promised the transition to Cingular's system=20
would be seamless, the customers alleged that=20
Cingular had been dismantling the AT&T network=20
since the two united 21 months ago. Cingular=20
forces AT&T customers to pay $18 for a new=20
handset chip and $18 to move to Cingular's=20
network =97 or $175 to terminate service early,=20
according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District=20
Court in Seattle. The complaint, which seeks an=20
award of more than $5 million plus punitive=20
damages, was filed on behalf of seven plaintiffs,=20
including five from California.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-cingular7jul07,1,2142...
.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

US HOMES WITH 'CONNECTED ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK' TO JUMP
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Online, AUTHOR: Georgia Mullen]
The number of U.S. households with a connected=20
entertainment network is rising, and is expected=20
to reach 30 million by 2010, says a new report from Parks Associates.
http://telecommagazine.com/newsglobe/article.asp?HH_ID=3DAR_2212
* Study: Home networking to hit home
http://news.com.com/Study+Home+networking+to+hit+home/2100-1033_3-609137...
tml?tag=3Dnefd.top
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we're outta here. Have a great weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------