Subject: [Benton's Communications-related Headlines] Sept 17, 2007

From: Kevin Taglang <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:02:22 -0500

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org

OWNERSHIP
	House Dems Criticize FCC Ownership Studies
	FCC Waives Rules For Decatur Duopoly
	Satellite radio merger still orbiting hurdles
	Leap Wireless Rejects Takeover Bid

NOTES FROM THE DTV TRANSITION
	Did FCC Blow Up Cable’s Public TV Deal?
	DTV Transition Order Will Cost Cable Operators
	Quincy Gets Jump on Equipping Viewers for DTV

CABLE
	Public Access Remains Vital
	FCC Creates a Climate of Chaos over Video Franchising
	California PUC issues state franchise to Wave Broadband

BROADCASTING
	Among networks, Spanish-language Univision is now a top contender
	CBS Gets Fourth Extension On Trace Complaint
	FCC Hammers Pokemon, Buzz Lightyear

INTERNET/BROADBAND
	Wiring rural America
	New Net taxes could arrive in November
	Qwest Petition Comments Sought
	Why Metered Broadband Slows Internet Innovation

JOURNALISM
	NAA Study Finds Newspaper Readers Drive 'Civic'
	On Wikipedia, Debating 2008 Hopefuls' Every Facet
	Fox only broadcast network that did not air Democratic response to Bush speech
	Why Does Commercial News Suck?
	The Lukewarm Truth

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
	Intelligence chief pushes new spy law

ANTITRUST
	Microsoft suffers stunning EU antitrust defeat

QUICKLY -- Diversity for the Fun of It; Nonprofit 
group hikes price of "$100 laptop"

OWNERSHIP

HOUSE DEMS CRITICIZE FCC OWNERSHIP STUDIES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Five House Democrats have joined consumer groups 
in registering complaints about the FCC's 
recently released 10 media ownership studies. 
Reps Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Maurice Hinchey (NY), 
Louise Slaughter (NY), Bart Stupak (Mich.) and 
David Price (NC) wrote FCC Chairman Kevin Martin 
to complain that the studies were "totally 
lacking in transparency," and biased toward 
consolidation. The legislators asked the FCC to, 
at a minimum, 1) reveal its recruitment and peer 
review efforts for the studies; 2) justify the 
topics chosen; 3) reclassify the studies at a 
higher priority; 4) seek more peer reviews; 5) 
publish bios of the reviewers they did use; 6) 
freeze the public comment period until more peer 
reviews are received and the IG completes (within 
60 days) his investigation into the two earlier 
studies; and 7) provide an additional 90 days for 
comment. They also complained that the FCC 
inspector general (IG) had yet to complete an 
investigation into charges the FCC suppressed two 
media ownership studies under former Chairman Michael Powell.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478624.html?rssid=193

FCC WAIVES RULES FOR DECATUR DUOPOLY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC has waived its duopoly rules to allow 
Gocom Media to buy failing station and CW 
affiliate WBUI-TV Decatur (IL) from ACME 
Television. The FCC prevents duopolies in markets 
where allowing one owner to own two stations 
would not leave at least 8 independently owned 
TV's in the market, as would be the case in 
Decatur, where Gocom already owns WRSP, the Fox 
affiliate. But it makes exceptions for financial 
hardship. ACME's CFO Thomas Allen told the FCC 
that the station had lost money for three years 
running and saw no change in that short of joint 
operation with another station. Before it can 
qualify for a failed station waiver, the seller 
must show that it tried to sell the station to a 
buyer who would not need the waiver. Allen said 
Acme did so with no "meaningful interest."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478493.html?rssid=193
* FCC decision: 
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3916A1.doc

SATELLITE RADIO MERGER STILL ORBITING HURDLES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Yorke]
Satellite radio companies Sirius and XM invested 
billions in infrastructure and millions more in 
marketing to differentiate themselves from one 
another. Now, they're spending millions more in 
an attempt to merge. Already they have put up $13 
million -- $5 million by Sirius, $8 million by XM 
-- trying to convince Washington, D.C., 
regulators that their union "will bring 
unprecedented benefits to consumers and 
significantly enhance, rather than harm, 
competition."  But with a decision from the 
regulators expected before year's end, there's 
plenty of money pushing against the merger as 
well. A disclosure that the National Association 
of Broadcasters filed with the Senate Office of 
Public Records states that broadcasters spent 
$4.28 million during the first half of 2007 on 
lobbying against such issues as the Sirius-XM 
merger, resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine and 
the Recording Industry Association of America's 
proposed performance royalties.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=industryNews&storyID=2007-09-16T231821Z_01_N16216740_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-SATELLITE-DC.XML
* More NPR lobbying against XM/Sirius merger; but why?
[Commentary] Why is National Public Radio so 
adamantly against the proposed XM-Sirius merger? 
NPR has offered a variety of arguments against 
the merger. LLFCC finds most convincing among 
them the fear that a united XM/Sirius will put it 
at a disadvantage on the satellite platform.
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/464
* The Buzz on Satellite Radio
Excerpts of public comments submitted to the 
Federal Communications Commission in connection 
with the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601313.html
(requires registration)
* The Future for XM, With or Without a Sirius Merger
[SOURCE: New York Times 9/15, AUTHOR: Eric Taub]
Sirius Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio, the 
only satellite radio networks authorized to 
operate by the Federal Communications Commission, 
expect to learn by the end of this year whether 
their request to merge will be successful. The 
move has been opposed by the National Association 
of Broadcasters, the group representing 
traditional television and radio companies, and 
by some consumer groups as anticompetitive and 
counter to agreements the companies made when the 
government approved their requests for operating 
licenses. Nate Davis, XM’s president and interim 
chief executive, and Gary Parsons, the company’s 
chairman, recently discussed the merger and the 
future of the company if the merger petition is 
not successful. "If the merger does not happen, 
we will be very focused on making sure we 
continue to move to generate cash from operations 
in the near term and being earnings positive. We 
have to compete in all markets so we will 
continue to make our content better and better."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/15interview.html?ref=todayspaper
(requires registration)

LEAP WIRELESS REJECTS TAKEOVER BID
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael J de la Merced]
Leap Wireless International, the prepaid 
cellphone service provider, said yesterday that 
its board had rejected an unsolicited takeover 
offer from MetroPCS. MetroPCS, another prepaid 
service provider, offered on Sept. 4 to buy Leap 
in an all-stock deal that would almost double its 
customer rolls and expand its reach throughout 
the country. But since MetroPCS’s announcement, 
Leap’s stock has traded above the offer price, 
indicating that investors expect a higher offer. 
In a letter to the chairman and chief executive 
of MetroPCS, the chief executive of Leap, S. 
Douglas Hutcheson, said that the takeover offer 
undervalued Leap’s revenue and growth prospects.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/technology/17leap.html?ref=todayspaper
(requires registration)
* Leap Wireless rejects bid from MetroPCS
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-leap17sep17,1,4000315.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business

NOTES FROM THE DTV TRANSITION

DID THE FCC BLOW UP CABLE'S PUBLIC TV DEAL?
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The Federal Communications Commission may have 
just blown up cable’s 2005 digital-TV carriage 
agreement with hundreds of public TV stations. 
Without any government intervention, cable 
operators agreed to carry as many as four digital 
programming services from each local public 
station after all TV broadcasts went digital. But 
there was one element missing from the agreement: 
Any mention of delivering an analog signal to TV 
viewers after the transition. That absence 
conflicts with the unanimous FCC vote Tuesday 
night regarding cable systems’ carriage of 
must-carry TV stations after Feb. 17, 2009. That 
is the official cutoff date for all analog 
broadcasts. All 386 full-power public TV stations 
have mandatory cable carriage rights. And in its 
new ruling, the FCC said all cable systems that 
have not gone all-digital by Feb. 17, 2009 are 
required to transmit in analog and digital all 
must-carry stations until Feb. 17, 2012. It’s 
possible that cable operators might have to 
comply with both the agreement and the new FCC’s 
rules, which would mean public stations would get 
multicast must carry and analog carriage. It’s 
just as possible that if the public stations are 
forced to rely just on the FCC’s rules, they 
would get analog carriage and carriage of just 
one digital service, losing multicast carriage contained in the cable deal.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6478611.html

DTV TRANSITION ORDER WILL COST OPERATORS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
The Federal Communications Commission last week 
gave cable operators two choices: either convert 
all their analog-video subscribers to digital by 
February 2009 or be forced to carry one analog 
and one digital signal for all stations that opt 
for mandatory cable carriage, or must-carry, 
until 2012. Which is the lesser evil? For much of 
the industry, the latter will be the preferred 
route, even though the National Cable & 
Telecommunications Association at one point 
called this tantamount to an unlawful seizure of 
private property. The alternative — converting to 
all-digital set-tops in the next 18 months — would cost upward of $6 billion.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6478705.html
* FCC: Dual Carriage Will Last Three Years
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6478706.html
* Unclear Picture
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
before the analog transmissions -- the lifeblood 
of broadcasting for 80 years -- are turned off, 
TV stations must resolve an assortment of 
problems — ranging from what channel their 
signals will be on to whether their digital 
antennas can be tilted downward to the core of a 
TV market — to be sure that they don’t all of a 
sudden lose viewers who can’t receive a digital signal.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6478737.html
* Long Live the Analog TV Set
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Tom Steinert-Threlkeld]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6478730.html
* McDowell: DTV Worries Valid
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6478733.html
* McSlarrow: Time To Cut DTV Cat Fighting
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In the wake of a compromise FCC decision on cable 
carriage of broadcaster's DTV signals after the 
transition to digital, National Cable & 
Telecommunications Association Chairman Kyle 
McSlarrow says it's time for broadcasting and 
cable to cut the cat fighting and focus on 
educating consumers. "While there may be these 
back-and-forth public statements," said McSlarrow 
in an interview with C-SPAN for its Communicators 
series. "The truth is we, and the broadcasters, 
satellite industry, the consumer electronics 
industry, and the FCC and other government 
agencies, have to work together to get out of 
this sort of cat fighting and focus on making 
sure that consumers know about the digital 
transition in 2009 and know what tools are available to them."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478691.html?rssid=193
* The Deciders
[Editorial] Oddly though, this seemed like a time 
that all of [the trade groups] have had the rare 
ability to declare an act of deliberate 
cooperation, not that that stopped all the name 
calling. In the nation's capital, more divided 
than ever, maybe no one remembers that arriving 
at a common sense agreement is really the way government is supposed to work.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478759.html

QUINCY GETS JUMP ON EQUIPPING VIEWERS FOR DTV
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Arthur Greenwald]
Quincy Newspapers owns 13 television stations. 
The TV station group isn't waiting for the 
National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration's converter box program next year. 
It's teaming with Winegard to make boxes—and 
antennas—available to its "over the air"  viewers next month.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/09/17/daily.1/

CABLE

EVEN AMONG A SEA OF CABLE CHANNELS, PUBLIC ACCESS REMAINS VITAL
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Kate Torgovnick]
In the late '60s, NYU film professor George 
Stoney had the idea to use the burgeoning cable 
system to get his films seen. Other people around 
the country were thinking the same thing. Stoney 
began the first official public access in New 
York in 1971. By 1972, it became FCC law that 
cable providers fund public access channels in 
major television markets. Public access still 
works this way -- cable providers like Time 
Warner and RCN pay "rent" to the community by 
providing them with channels for public use. 
Manhattan Neighborhood Network yearly budget is 
3.7 million, 90 percent of it coming from the 
cable companies. The programming is a trippy 
hodgepodge, running the gamut from talk shows to 
cooking, music videos to soft-core porn, church 
services to sketch comedy, plus a heavy chunk of 
local news. The only rule (besides, of course, 
those outlined in the First Amendment) is that 
you can't sell anything -- it's completely 
non-commercial television. Which means no muting commercials required.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-torgovnick/even-among-a-sea-of-cable_b_64341.html

FCC CREATES A CLIMATE OF CHAOS OVER VIDEO FRANCHISING
[SOURCE: Alliance for Community Media press release]
In another blow to consumers and cities, the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is 
expected soon to decree that any company now 
under contract with a local government to provide 
video services may have the right to renegotiate 
better terms for itself, putting at risk 
America’s public access channels, first-responder 
communications capability, and millions of 
dollars in franchise fees used by cities and 
towns for public safety and infrastructure. 
NATOA, the National League of Cities, and several 
organizations representing consumers, cities, 
towns, counties and non-profits are already suing 
the FCC over its initial order of last March, 
which in their view improperly strips local 
governments of their authority to protect the 
public health, education, welfare and safety of 
local residents, in violation of the Cable Act. 
The latest effort by the FCC, far from 
simplifying or streamlining matters, would only 
multiply the potential problems and disputes that 
cities have with cable operators.
http://www.ourchannels.org/?p=105

CALIFORNIA PUC ISSUES STATE FRANCHISE TO WAVE BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Eldo Telecom, AUTHOR: Fred Pilot]
[Commentary] The California Public Utilities 
Commission has issued a state broadband franchise 
to Seattle-based cable provider Wave Broadband. 
Wave Broadband joins Cox Communications as one of 
just two cable providers that have applied for 
and received a state franchise, issued under 
California's Digital Infrastructure and Video 
Competition Act of 2006. Wave joins telcos AT&T 
and Verizon having received franchises from the 
California PUC. MIA is the state's biggest cable 
player, Comcast. The cable provider likely isn't 
all that interested in a state franchise with its 
limited build out requirements when local 
jurisdictions like El Dorado County already allow 
it to bypass large parts of the county, leaving consumers without access.
http://eldotelecom.blogspot.com/2007/09/california-puc-issues-state-franchise.html

BROADCASTING

AMONG NETWORKS, SPANISH-LANGUAGE UNIVISION IS NOW A TOP CONTENDER
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Ben Arnoldy]
Univision has surpassed the networks in young 
adult viewership, according to recent Nielsen 
ratings. The rising prominence of 
Spanish-language media is prompting concerns – 
including from California Gov. Arnold 
Schwarzenegger – about a slowing of the 
acculturation of immigrants. While the Hispanic 
media offer a different lens on American culture, 
many experts argue they often help educate recent 
immigrants about the US while preserving Spanish 
among their English-speaking children. "The 
difference with Spanish-language broadcast is 
it's really community-oriented news and it's news 
you can use," says Veronica Villafañe, former 
head of the National Association of Hispanic 
Journalists. "They actually encourage 
assimilation: This is where you go to get 
services; these are your rights. It's really an 
education channel." In heavily Hispanic regions 
of the US, Univision has dominated for some time 
in local news ratings, says Alan Albarran, 
director of the Center for Spanish Language Media 
at the University of North Texas. He concurs that 
Spanish-language news is more focused on 
community issues, spending much less time "chasing sirens."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0917/p01s03-ussc.html

CBS GETS FOURTH EXTENSION ON TRACE COMPLAINT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
CBS has gotten yet another extension, this one 30 
days, on its response to the FCC on the challenge 
to KUTV Salt Lake City's license for airing an 
episode of drama Without a Trace. It had been due 
Sept. 14, which itself had been a move from the 
previous due date of Aug. 31. The Parents 
Television Council challenged KUTV's license 
after CBS' December 2004 airing of the Trace 
episode, which contained a teen orgy scene. It 
was a repeat of a show PTC had complained about 
earlier, one of many that were sponged away when 
CBS’ then-parent Viacom settled all but the Janet 
Jackson Super Bowl complaint in a consent decree. 
The episode aired only weeks after the consent 
decree had been signed, angering the PTC all the 
more. As part of the consent decree, CBS agreed 
to take certain, specific remedial actions if the 
FCC issued a proposed indecency fine. The FCC did 
so, a record $3.6 million, in response to PTC’s 
complaint.  As part of its investigation into the 
license challenge, the FCC wants to know if CBS 
took those remedial actions, including launching 
an investigation and suspending the person 
responsible for the show's airing, per the 
consent degree agreement. CBS's letter in 
response to that FCC inquiry is what has been 
extended from July until October at least. CBS 
has said it didn’t violate the terms of the November 2004 agreement.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478700.html?rssid=193

FCC HAMMERS POKEMON, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC proposed fining three TV stations a total 
of $26,000 dollars and admonished two others for 
violations of the FCC's kids TV rules. Drawing 
the biggest fine was drawn by Tribune's WPHL-TV, 
$15,000, for four airings of the now-infamous 
GameBoy E-Reader ad, featuring a fleeting glimpse 
of a Pokemon character, which aired during the 
Pokemon TV show on the old WB Network. One of the 
presents left behind by WB was a bunch of fines 
and admonitions for affiliates who ran the ad. 
The FCC considers that any appearance of a 
character from a TV show, fleeting or not, in an 
ad in that show, turns the character into a host 
seller, and the whole show into an ad. WPHL also 
said it had exceeded the FCC's limits on 
children's advertising----10.5 minutes on 
weekends, 12 minutes on weekdays--by a minute and 
a half on one additional occasion.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478465.html?rssid=193

INTERNET/BROADBAND

WIRING RURAL AMERICA
[SOURCE: The Economist]
Largely rural, Kentucky is best known for its 
bourbon and horse racing; it rarely ranks in the 
top tier of states on any measure of 21st-century 
success. According to Brian Mefford, president of 
ConnectKentucky, a public-private partnership, a 
few years ago the state had among the lowest 
rates of broadband availability in the country. 
Internet service providers could not be sure that 
there were enough potential customers in the 
Kentucky countryside to justify new investment in 
cabling or wireless transmitters. But by the end 
of this year, Mr Mefford boasts, 98% of residents 
will have access to inexpensive broadband 
services. This is primarily because of 
ConnectKentucky's effort to map broadband demand 
in communities that didn't have access, he says, 
which indicated that enough people in Kentucky 
farm country would sign up if providers entered 
the market. At the same time, the organization 
also talked up high-speed Internet services to 
skeptical residents, creating demand where it was 
slack. Once isolated Kentuckians can now consult 
with doctors in faraway cities or telecommute. 
ConnectKentucky is just one effort among many 
programmes in different states and within the 
federal government to wire up the American 
countryside. Backers compare them to Franklin 
Roosevelt's New Deal push to bring electricity to 
the hinterland. Supporters also hope expanded 
rural broadband access will stop the steady loss 
of population to cities and suburbs. But not all 
have been as successful as Kentucky's.
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9803963

NEW NET TAXES COULD ARRIVE IN NOVEMBER
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
Americans might pay more for DSL and cable modem 
bills starting November 1, thanks to politicians 
in the U.S. Congress who have yet to extend a 
federal moratorium limiting taxes on those 
services. At the moment, a handful of bills in 
both chambers of Congress propose competing 
approaches, ranging from making the moratorium 
permanent to extending it for another four years. 
Earlier this summer, supporters and opponents of 
a permanent ban indicated they had reached a 
compromise that would involve extending the ban 
for another finite period of time and redefining 
the concept of Internet access to close perceived 
loopholes. But no votes have happened, and the 
proposals are still stuck in the quagmire of 
congressional subcommittees. The process is being 
held up because "there are some issues that 
probably don't belong in this bill that have sort 
of arisen," Michone Johnson, counsel to the U.S. 
House of Representatives Judiciary subcommittee, 
said on Friday. The subcommittee has control over 
when a preliminary vote would occur on bills in 
that chamber. Johnson, who spoke at an event here 
sponsored by the Federal Communications Bar 
Association, said subcommittee chairwoman Rep. 
Linda Sanchez (D-CA) was still "reviewing" a 
compromise draft. Admitting surprise that action 
hadn't occurred before now, she said she hoped a 
new bill would emerge "weeks before the deadline."
http://www.news.com/New+Net+taxes+could+arrive+in+November/2100-1028_3-6208126.html?tag=html.alert.hed

QWEST PETITION COMMENTS SOUGHT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The FCC invites comments on Qwest’s September 12, 
2007 petition, which seeks forbearance from Title 
II and the Computer Inquiry rules for any 
broadband services Qwest does or may offer that 
are not part of an Internet access service. 
Contact:  Heather Hendrickson at (202) 418-1580, email:
[email-masked] or William Kehoe at (202) 418-1580, email:
[email-masked]
Comments Due: September 20, 2007 (WC 06-125, DA 07-3923)
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3923A1.doc

WHY METERED BROADBAND SLOWS INTERNET INNOVATION
[SOURCE: techdirt]
[Commentary] If you look at history of innovative 
services, you'll see they tend to move more and 
more towards flat rate offerings, as it 
encourages usage and encourages innovation. Phone 
service and mobile phone service have both 
trended in exactly this direction -- and in both 
cases it's because it's opened up a much larger 
overall market, even if it means less per 
customer. So, why are we suddenly trying to go the other way with broadband?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070911/194749.shtml

JOURNALISM

NAA STUDY FINDS NEWSPAPER READERS DRIVE 'CIVIC'
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Jennifer Saba]
Adults who read newspapers in their youth are 
more active in civic matters, such as voting or 
even calling talk radio stations to comment, 
according to a new study from the Newspaper Association of America Foundation.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003641236

ON WIKIPEDIA, DEBATING 2008 HOPEFULS' EVERY FACT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jose Antonio Vargas]
On Wikipedia.org, the write-it-yourself 
encyclopedia, everyone can be an editor, and 
every day thousands of them are engaging in 
fierce battles over the life stories of the 2008 
presidential candidates. Many of those battles, 
so far, are over relatively small biographical 
details, but the stakes are high: Wikipedia is 
one of the 10 most visited Web sites, drawing 6 
billion page views a month, according to the Web 
rating service Alexa. Type a candidate's name 
into Google, and among the first results is a 
Wikipedia page, making those entries arguably as 
important as any ad in defining a candidate. 
Already, the presidential entries are being 
edited, dissected and debated countless times each day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601699.html
(requires registration)

FOX ONLY BROADCAST NETWORK THAT DID NOT AIR DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE TO BUSH SPEECH
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America]
Following President Bush's address to the nation 
on Iraq, Fox was the only broadcast network not 
to air the Democratic response. Instead, Shepard 
Smith gave a short description of the response 
and stated: "Our coverage continues on the Fox 
News Channel on cable and satellite with the 
Democratic response and more. Right now, back to 
your local Fox programming." ABC, NBC, and CBS 
all aired the Democratic response.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200709140002

WHY DOES COMMERCIAL NEWS SUCK
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Daniel Brooks]
[Commentary] In the US, for lack of information 
and context, we don't debate the real issues. Why 
not? 1) People love fake news and 2) Self-interested corporate media.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-brook/why-does-commercial-news-_b_64588.html

THE LUKEWARM TRUTH
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
[Commentary] Iraq, David Vitter, Larry Craig, 
Alberto Gonzales... Why can't news organizations 
resolve disputes on what the truth is? Are they 
afraid to take a stand? Or is there no realistic 
way to do what the critics demand without 
becoming partisans? The media's passive 
regurgitation of administration spin during the 
run-up to the war underscores the weakness of 
simply quoting dueling spokesmen. But aggressive 
reporting doesn't mean convicting people or 
taking sides in wartime, however much that might please the partisans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601411.html
(requires registration)

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

INTELLIGENCE CHIEF PUSHES NEW SPY LAW
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Richard Willing]
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell 
heads to Capitol Hill this week seeking to extend 
the government's power to read e-mails, listen to 
telephone calls and carry out other surveillance 
within the USA in national security cases. 
Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 
are criticizing McConnell's proposals. They say 
judges should oversee such surveillance.  Some 
Democrats also object to a second item on the spy 
chief's wish list: immunity from lawsuits for 
telecom companies that helped the federal 
government intercept calls between U.S. and 
foreign intelligence targets without warrants 
from late 2001 until last January. McConnell is 
scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary 
Committee on Tuesday and before the House 
Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Complicating 
his task: a view among moderate Democrats that 
the self-described "apolitical" director has 
become an advocate for the Bush administration's 
expansive views on the government's power to spy.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070917/a_intel17.art.htm
* Eavesdropping law: Old, new, proposed
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070917/a_intelgraf17.art.htm

ANTITRUST

MICROSOFT SUFFERS STUNNING EU ANTITRUST DEFEAT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: David Lawsky and Michele Sinner]
Microsoft suffered a stunning defeat on Monday 
when a European Union court backed a European 
Commission ruling that the U.S. software giant 
illegally abused its market power to crush 
competitors. The European Union's second-highest 
court dismissed the company's appeal on all 
substantive points of the 2004 antitrust ruling. 
The court said Microsoft, the world's largest 
software maker, was unjustified in tying new 
applications to its Windows operating system in a 
way that harmed consumer choice. The verdict, 
which may be appealed only on points of law and 
not of fact, could force Microsoft to change its 
business practices. It also gives EU Competition 
Commissioner Neelie Kroes a green light to pursue 
other antitrust cases and complaints involving 
Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm and Rambus, and to 
issue draft new antitrust guidelines that were put on ice pending the ruling.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL1039839820070917
* Microsoft loses EU antitrust appeal
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/997c6f9c-64f5-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac.html
(requires subscription)

QUICKLY

DIVERSITY FOR THE FUN OF IT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
NBC Universal's hunt for diverse new talent is 
meant to get a broad range of people in front of 
and behind the camera, but it's a key way for NBC 
to discover original content for its many networks and online portals.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478754.html
* Follow Diversity's Best Ideas
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6478758.html

NONPROFIT GROUP HIKES PRICE OF "$100 LAPTOP"
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jim Finkle]
The One Laptop per Child Foundation's XO laptop 
will sell for about $188, up from the $176 the 
group announced in May. That's almost double the 
original goal of the foundation's founder, 
Nicholas Negroponte, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1427617320070915
--------------------------------------------------------------
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