Subject: [Benton's Communications-related Headlines] Aug 31, 2007 ("Internet has to stay open")

From: Kevin Taglang <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:26:02 -0500

"The double standard has got to stop. What you 
hope is that there would be fairness. If you are 
going to give that much coverage to the 
Democrats, give it to the Republicans, too."
	-- L. Brent Bozell, Media Research Center

"Liberals are trying to kill conservative talk 
radio, the most influential New Medium, by 
reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, an antiquated 
FCC regulation repealed by Ronald Reagan in 1987."
	-- L. Brent Bozell, Media Research Center

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for
** We're taking Sept 4 off. See you again Wednesday Sept 5 **

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
	DOJ still wants spy suit against Verizon tossed

INTERNET/BROADBAND
	Internet has to stay open, says Cerf
	Google a victim of EarthLink woes with cancellation of S.F. Wi-Fi
	NBC to End iTunes Sales of Its Shows

BROADCASTING
	Fearing Fines, PBS to Offer Bleeped Version Of 'The War'
	Study Says Dems Get More Time on AM Shows
	CBS Gets Further Extension in KUTV Indecency Flap
	Nielsen Calls Hispanics, Asians Fastest-Growing Segments

CABLE
	TNT Won't Pull Law & Order When Thompson Declares
	FCC May Intervene in Cable TV Row
	Local access shows moving

OWNERSHIP
	Shareholder wants Sun-Times Media on block immediately

ADVERTISING
	New obesity study says little about TV junk food advertising

QUICKLY -- States say Microsoft remains a 
monopoly; Violations of E911 Handset Requirements

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

DOJ STILL WANTS SPY SUIT AGAINST VERIZON TOSSED
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
On Thursday, U.S District Judge Vaughn Walker in 
San Francisco federal court heard arguments about 
dismissal of a set of now-consolidated class 
action suits against Verizon and then-separate 
MCI. Those companies have been accused of 
operating a content surveillance "dragnet" and of 
turning over subscriber records to the NSA 
without a warrant. (Verizon, for its part, has 
publicly denied providing such information to the 
spy agency.) In an El Paso Times interview last 
week in which Director of National Intelligence 
Mike McConnell acknowledged the "private sector" 
has assisted in the president's so-called 
Terrorist Surveillance Program. Some opponents of 
the phone-call-and-email-snooping regime promptly 
pounced on the remarks, suggesting they implicate 
telephone companies like AT&T and Verizon, which 
have been accused in numerous lawsuits of 
consumer privacy violations and illicit 
cooperation with the Bush administration.  "Now 
if you play out the suits at the value they're 
claimed, it would bankrupt these companies," McConnell told the paper
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9768991-7.html
* AT&T Must Face Justice for Illegal Spying
http://www.eff.org/news/

INTERNET/BROADBAND

INTERNET HAS TO STAY OPEN, SAYS CERF
[SOURCE:  Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
Any threat to open access to the Internet would 
be “a hazard to innovation” and a deterrent to 
investment, one of the founding fathers of the 
Internet has warned. Vint Cerf, Google’s 
vice-president and chief Internet evangelist, 
said that the Internet’s capacity to cope with an 
ever-growing number of users and amount of 
content carried over the network was a lesser 
issue than security, stability, reliability and 
privacy. “The most important thing is to make 
sure we have a secure and stable network. There 
are ways to attack the system which we need to 
defend against,” he said. Weighing into the 
debate about “net neutrality”, Mr Cerf said he 
hoped it was more likely that the Internet would 
remain open than that broadband providers would 
move to block applications that use large amounts 
of bandwidth or discriminate between content 
providers. However, he warned: “If we ever move 
into a regime where the providers of basic 
Internet services have control over what users or 
entrepreneurs can put on the network then I see a 
potential hazard to innovation.” He urged 
regulators around the world to recognize “the 
importance of keeping the network open and 
generally neutral, and allowing the entrepreneurs to try out their ideas”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fc7d2cb8-5725-11dc-9a3a-0000779fd2ac.html
(requires subscription)

GOOGLE A VICTIM OF EARTHLINK WOES WITH CANCELLATION OF SF WI-FI
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Verne Kopytoff]
The collapse of Mayor Gavin Newsom's ambitious 
plan to bring free wireless Internet access to 
San Francisco dealt a blow to Google Inc., which 
had hoped to use the system to test an array of 
new products. Google, the Internet giant, had 
championed the plan, and the company's celebrity 
had helped spark a nationwide frenzy of similar 
projects. But now the future of municipal 
wireless Internet access is in doubt, not only in 
San Francisco, but across the country. Google's 
downfall in San Francisco was the result of 
financial troubles by its partner EarthLink, the 
company chosen by the city to build the network. 
That Google was interested in municipal wireless 
Internet access, known as Wi-Fi, shocked many 
when the company submitted its initial bid two 
years ago to offer free connections to San 
Franciscans. Did Google want to create a national 
Wi-Fi Internet network? Did the company have 
aspirations to become an Internet service 
provider, taking on industry giants AT&T and 
Comcast? Google denied the speculation and said 
it merely wanted to use the San Francisco network 
as a testing ground for new products for mobile 
phones, including online advertising that would 
be tailored to the location of users. Other than 
setting up a wireless Internet network for its 
hometown, Mountain View, Google hasn't bid on other municipal Wi-Fi projects.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/BUT6RSDTU.DTL
* Wi-Fi? No Thanks
S.F. citywide service plan fizzles as provider backs off
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/30/MNEJRRO70.DTL&type=tech
* Municipal Wi-Fi faces financial hurdles (Associated Press)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/nation/story/3689493p-13094814c.html

NBC TO END ITUNES SALES OF ITS SHOWS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brooks Barnes]
NBC Universal, unable to come to an agreement 
with Apple on pricing, has decided not to renew 
its contract to sell digital downloads of 
television shows on iTunes. The media 
conglomerate — which is the No. 1 supplier of 
digital video to Apple’s online store, accounting 
for about 40 percent of downloads — notified 
Apple of its decision late yesterday. The 
decision by NBC Universal highlights the 
escalating tension between Apple and media 
companies, which are unhappy that Apple will not 
give them more control over the pricing of songs 
and videos that are sold on iTunes. NBC Universal 
is also seeking better piracy controls and wants 
Apple to allow it to bundle videos to increase revenue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/technology/31NBC.html
(requires registration)
* NBC ends contract on shows with Apple's iTunes: report
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN3120885820070831

BROADCASTING

FEARING FINES, PBS TO OFFER BLEEPED VERSION OF 'THE WAR'
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
Ken Burns's upcoming PBS documentary "The War," 
which has weathered complaints from Latinos about 
their World War II contributions being 
represented, is now prompting responses from 
another group: managers of public TV stations. 
The stations are concerned that four words of 
profanity in the 14 1/2 -hour documentary could 
subject them to hefty indecency fines from the 
Federal Communications Commission. Their worries 
have prompted Arlington-based PBS to take the 
unprecedented step of distributing two versions 
of "The War" for broadcast next month: Burns's 
original film and an FCC-friendly version from 
which the profanity has been removed. Several 
stations say they will air both versions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083001945.html
(requires registration)

STUDY SAYS DEMS GET MORE TIME ON A.M. SHOWS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: David Bauder]
The Media Research Center, a media watchdog 
founded by L. Brent Bozell (also Parents 
Television Council), charged Wednesday that the 
network morning news shows have spent 
considerably more time this year on Democrats 
running for president than on Republicans. 
According to MRC, through July 31, the ABC, CBS 
and NBC morning news shows devoted 284 campaign 
segments to Democratic candidates and 152 to 
Republicans, according to the Media Research 
Center. Another 81 stories discussed both parties 
or a possible independent run by New York City 
Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The disparity was most 
pronounced in January, with 52 stories on the 
Democratic campaign and five for the Republicans. 
That's the month that the campaign rivalry 
between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack 
Obama began. Network news executives rejected any 
suggestion of bias, and said they have a 
considerably harder time getting Republican 
candidates to appear on their shows.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/08/30/daily.15/
* See also "Liberals Spew Propaganda and Push 
‘Fairness Doctrine’ to Stop Conservative Talk Radio"
http://www.mrc.org/flash/2007/MRC-August2007-final-pdf.pdf

CBS GETS EXTENSION IN KUTV INDECENCY FLAP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC has given CBS until Sept. 14 to respond 
to questions on what the CBS-owned KUTV Salt Lake 
City has done since being notified that its 
airing of an episode of Without a Trace was ruled 
indecent. The network had promised in a consent 
decree to ensure that the station take remedial 
steps—by Aug. 31, 2007—if the commission fined it 
for indecency. The Parents Television Council has 
challenged KUTV's license after CBS' December 
2004 airing of the Trace episode, which contained a teen orgy scene.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6473290.html?rssid=193

NIELSEN CALLS HISPANICS, ASIANS FASTEST-GROWING SEGMENTS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
Hispanics and Asians remain the fastest-growing 
segments of the national population, with TV 
households increasing by 4.4% among Hispanics and 
3.9% among Asians over last year, according to 
data released by Nielsen Co. Thursday. Nielsen’s 
latest National Universe Estimates, the estimates 
of U.S. television households, also show that the 
number of Black or African-American television 
households grew faster than the national U.S. 
average, 1.5% versus 1.3%, respectively. In local 
markets, Nielsen estimates that Los Angeles will 
continue to remain the No. 1 Hispanic market, 
followed by New York, Miami, Houston and Chicago. 
Los Angeles also has the country’s largest Asian 
community, followed by New York, San Francisco, 
Honolulu and Chicago, according to Nielsen. New 
York is the largest African-American TV market, 
followed by Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Philadelphia, Nielsen said.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6473307.html
* Nielsen: Hispanic, Asians Fastest Growing HHS
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/08/30/daily.19/

CABLE

TNT WON'T PULL LAW & ORDER WHEN THOMPSON DECLARES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton and Marisa Guthrie]
Now that Law & Order co-star Fred Thompson has 
signaled his plans to announce his presidential 
candidacy on Sept. 6, TNT, which airs voluminous 
repeats of the show, says that it has "no plans 
to alter its programming schedule." Thompson’s 
candidacy, when it becomes official, will trigger 
the FCC's equal-time rule, which requires 
stations or cable operators that air appearances 
of federal candidates—even in an entertainment 
context—to provide equal time to other qualified 
candidates. Broadcast and cable networks are not 
subject to the requirement, but TV stations are. 
Although it has not previously applied to cable 
systems, some cable networks have reportedly 
taken steps to avoid triggering the rule and 
setting a precedent. The NBC network says it 
won't air any Law & Order repeats with Thompson 
in them after Sept. 1 if Thompson does make it official.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6473435.html?rssid=193

FCC MAY INTERVENE IN CABLE TV ROW
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
The federal government may be forced to intervene 
in a long-running dispute between cable companies 
and the consumer electronics industry over how 
Americans will someday use their television sets 
to buy movies, shop and access other services. 
The two sides have been at an impasse for nearly 
four years. And the stalemate continues despite 
several rounds of negotiations between individual 
companies and the two industries' powerful 
Washington lobbyists. Both cable providers and 
television makers believe that controlling the 
digital programming guide, effectively a 
television's menu system, is key to guiding the 
viewer towards products and services they can 
buy. And both refuse to give up that control.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20070830&ID=7401588

LOCAL ACCESS SHOWS MOVING
[SOURCE: Bradenton Herald 8/29, AUTHOR: Sylvia Lim]
Come Dec. 11, Bright House Networks basic cable 
customers in Florida won't be able to catch 
school board or county commission meetings on TV 
anymore. The company decided to move its 
government access channels to a digital tier, 
said Joe Durkin, a Bright House spokesman. That 
means cable customers have to obtain a digital 
converter box for $6.95 monthly to view any local 
government channels, such as Manatee Government 
Access and Manatee Education Television, Durkin 
said. MGA can be viewed on Bright House Channel 
20 and METV on 21. Manatee officials are worried 
Brighthouse's decision will limit constituents' 
knowledge about the workings of local 
governments. "I think it's unfortunate," said Amy 
Stein, Manatee County Commission chairman. "I 
think that the government access TV and education 
TV are real public services."
http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/132857.html

OWNERSHIP

SHAREHOLDER WANTS SUN-TIMES MEDIA ON BLOCK IMMEDIATELY
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
A group of shareholders led by investment manager 
K Capital Management LLC has urged newspaper 
publisher Sun-Times Media Group Inc. to 
immediately put itself up for sale. The 
shareholder also said Sun-Times Chairman Raymond 
Seitz should step down because "his personal 
travel schedule and other interests do not allow 
him to provide present and active leadership." K 
Capital also wants Director Gordon Paris to 
resign from the board. K Capital owns 6.4 million 
shares of the Chicago-based company, which was 
known as Hollinger International until last year 
and owns the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=26210

ADVERTISING

NEW OBESITY STUDY SAYS LITTLE ABOUT TV JUNK FOOD ADVERTISING
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Maybe the authors didn't think it was important. 
Or maybe they forgot, but for whatever reason, F 
as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in 
America doesn't have much to say about junk food 
ads on TV. The study, just released by the Trust 
for America's Health, is all over the news with 
its mediagenic ranking of states with the highest 
obesity levels (Mississippi wins the Plumpness 
Prize; 30.6 percent of its residents qualify as 
obese). The 120 page survey faults the United 
States for lacking a national plan to combat the 
epidemic of overweightness and obesity that has 
swept the country over the past two decades.
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/453

QUICKLY

STATES SAY MICROSOFT REMAINS A MONOPOLY
[SOURCE:  Los Angeles Times]
A group of state attorneys general said Thursday 
that the consent decree that settled the landmark 
antitrust case against Microsoft Corp has failed 
to reduce the company's monopoly, disagreeing 
with the assessment of U.S. antitrust officials. 
In a periodic review of the settlement, the 
Justice Department said Microsoft had lived up to 
the consent decree restricting its conduct. It 
also said the 2002 settlement had succeeded in 
promoting competition. Microsoft had been found 
to have used its monopoly unlawfully in personal 
computer operating systems to discourage computer 
manufacturers from loading non-Microsoft software 
on their machines. Most settlement terms are due 
to expire in November, but some provisions have 
been extended for two more years.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-micro31aug31,1,4598207.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

VIOLATIONS OF E911 HANDSET REQUIREMENTS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission issued 
Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture 
totaling $2.825 million against three wireless 
carriers for apparently violating the FCC's 
enhanced 911 ("E911") handset rules.  The three 
corporations that are the subject of the NALs are 
Sprint Nextel Corporation, Alltel Corporation and 
United States Cellular Corporation. The FCC's 
wireless E911 rules ensure that the important 
public safety needs of wireless callers requiring 
emergency assistance are met as quickly as 
possible.  Among other requirements, the rules 
require that wireless carriers employing a 
handset-based E911 Phase II location technology 
must achieve 95% penetration, among their 
subscribers, of location-capable handsets by 
December 31, 2005.  The Commission concluded that 
these three carriers failed to meet the handset 
penetration deadline.  The NALs demonstrate the 
significance of complying with these important 
rules, given the critical function these rules 
serve in promoting and safeguarding life and property.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-276351A1.doc
* FCC proposes 911 fines for mobile carriers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070830/tc_infoworld/91463
* Wireless Carriers Face Fines For Missing GPS Deadline
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118852862254814382.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here. Have a great weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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 [email-masked] -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------
(c)Benton Foundation 2007. Redistribution of this 
email publication -- both internally and 
externally -- is encouraged if it includes this 
message. For subscribe/unsubscribe info email: [email-masked]
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Benton Foundation (www.benton.org) works to 
realize the social benefits made possible by the 
public interest use of communications. Bridging 
the worlds of philanthropy, public policy, and 
community action, Benton seeks to shape the 
emerging communications environment and to 
demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Free Press also collects media and media policy 
related headlines that complement well the work 
we are doing. Media Headlines is a free, daily 
news service by Free Press. It includes links to 
articles found on the Free Press News 
Center.  For more information or to sign up, visit http://www.freepress.net

Kevin Taglang
Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Foundation
Communications in the Public Interest
1625 K Street, NW 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
headlines AT benton DOT org 

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     [email-masked]

You are subscribed as: [% user.email %]

Please direct questions or comments about Headlines or your subscription to Kevin Taglang at
[email-masked]

To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     [email-masked]

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.benton.org/lists/info/headlines