Subject: [Benton's Communications-related Headlines] Aug 17, 2007 (DTV Transition)

From: Kevin Taglang <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 06:42:35 -0500

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2007
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BROADCASTING
	Disability Coalition Reports Problems in Digital Television Transition
	Comments on FCC DTV Consumer Education Plan Due Sept 17
	Sony Launches Recycling Program for Old TVs

INTERNET/BROADBAND
	Broadband Additions Slow Down in Second Quarter
	As Internet News Grows, Print Is in Jeopardy

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
	Markey Demands Answers on Bush Administration's Plan to
		Turn Spy Satellites on Americans

QUICKLY -- What does 'open access' mean?; Many, 
many devils in the details: 700 MHz rules; 
Lobbying, Aspen Style; Checking in with Dan Isett 
of the Parents Television Council

BROADCASTING

DISABILITY COALITION REPORTS PROBLEMS IN DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology]
The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible 
Technology (COAT) made a formal report to the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week 
about some of the problems that the transition to 
digital television poses for people with 
disabilities. COAT responded to the FCC's 
solicitation this summer for comments in a 
routine review of rules and policies affecting 
the conversion to digital television. Analog 
television transmission will end on February 17, 
2009, when digital transmission should be fully 
implemented. "There are some real mess-ups with 
passing through closed captions during this 
transition," says Rosaline Crawford of the 
National Association of the Deaf (NAD), a leading 
coalition affiliate. "Our members tell us about 
cable converter boxes not working and about 
captions that 'slide off the TV screen,' are 
garbled, or are somehow lost in transmission. In 
one case, the cable company had to bring out 
three different converter boxes to the 
subscriber's home before the closed caption 
function could be located and captions could be displayed with the TV program."
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=173116

COMMENTS ON DTV CONSUMER EDUCATION PLAN DUE SEPT 17
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On July 21, 2007, the Commission adopted a Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking for the Commission's 
Digital Television Consumer Education Initiative, 
which requested comment on the best means of 
creating a coordinated, national DTV consumer 
education campaign.   The DTV Consumer 
Education  NPRM set deadlines for filing comments 
and reply comments at 30 and 45 days after 
publication of the DTV Consumer Education  NPRM 
in the Federal Register. On August 16, 2007, the 
DTV Consumer Education  NPRM was published in the 
Federal Register.   Accordingly, comments must be 
filed on or before September 17, 2007, and reply 
comments must be filed on or before October 1, 
2007. For additional information, contact Lyle 
Elder, [email-masked], or Eloise Gore, 
[email-masked], of the Media Bureau, Policy 
Division, (202) 418-2120.  Press inquiries should 
be directed to Mary Diamond, (202) 418-2388. TTY: 
(202) 418-7172 or (888) 835-5322.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3612A1.doc

SONY LAUNCHES RECYCLING PROGRAM FOR OLD TVs
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Glen Dickson]
Sony is launching a nationwide recycling program 
in which it will recycle free-of-charge all old 
Sony TVs and all Sony-branded products in 
partnership with Waste Management. The program 
will launch Sept 15 with some 75 Waste Management 
dropoff centers throughout the United States. 
Sony's goal is to have some 175 centers operating one year from now.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6469483.html?rssid=193

INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND ADDITIONS SLOW DOWN IN SECOND QUARTER 
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
The nation’s 19 largest cable and telephone 
providers  representing about 94% of the market 
 acquired more than 1.7 million additional 
high-speed Internet subscribers in the second 
quarter, the fewest additions in three years, 
according to a report released by the Leichtman 
Research Group. The top broadband providers now 
account for nearly 58 million subscribers, with 
cable distributors counting 31.5 million 
broadband subscribers and telcos 26.4 million 
subscribers, according to Leichtman.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6469229.html?rssid=196
* Leichtman press release
http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/press/081607release.html

AS INTERNET NEWS GROWS, PRINT IS IN JEOPARDY
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Pauline Millard]
The Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and 
Public Policy at Harvard University released a 
report today that examines trends in Internet 
news. The study suggests that the Web is a threat 
to print media, whose advantage of being a "first 
mover" is in flux. The study also revealed that 
even though the Web tends to favor "brand name" 
news sites, local sites are a brand name in their 
community and should use it to their advantage. 
The Internet is seen as a growth opportunity for 
news organizations, provided that they adapt. The 
Shorenstein report says that part of the reason 
local media isn't seeing the jumps in traffic 
that national outlets are is because they were 
slow to respond to the shift in readership. Above 
all, the news outlets need to focus on their greatest asset: the news.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003626877
* Creative Destruction: An Exploratory Look at News on the Internet
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/index.htm

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

MARKEY DEMANDS ANSWERS ON BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S 
PLAN TO TURN SPY SATELLITES ON AMERICANS
[SOURCE: Rep Ed Markey]
Rep Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the 
Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee 
and a senior member of the House Homeland 
Security Committee, today wrote to Homeland 
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff seeking 
answers in response to reports that the Bush 
Administration will undertake an unprecedented 
expansion in the use of advanced spy satellites 
for surveillance of Americans. The letter 
requests answers to several questions about the 
new program, including: What legal assessments of 
this new surveillance program have been 
performed? What policies and procedures will the 
Department implement to ensure that Americans’ 
privacy and civil rights are protected once this 
new surveillance program begins operation?  How 
will new guidelines be developed to govern this 
program and will the public have the opportunity 
to comment on and review the guidelines? Will the 
Department of Homeland Security or any of the 
civilian agencies that utilize the imagery and/or 
other output from the spy satellites retain any 
of this information after it has been evaluated? 
What privacy and security safeguards will be used 
for the storage of the information? How will the 
Department handle complaints from individuals 
subject to surveillance under this program?  Has 
the Department consulted with the Federal 
Communications Commission or the Department of 
Commerce about the commercial and competitive 
implications of utilizing government-owned and 
operated military assets for domestic uses?
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3049&Itemid=141

QUICKLY

WHAT DOES 'OPEN ACCESS' MEAN?
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Randolph May]
[Commentary] On July 31, the Bush 
administration's Federal Communications 
Commission voted to impose a burdensome 1960s-era 
regulatory regime on currently unregulated 
wireless broadband operators. Republicans Kevin 
Martin and Deborah Tate joined with the two 
always pro-regulatory Democrat commissioners to 
require whichever entity wins the bidding on 
soon-to-be auctioned 700 MHz radio spectrum to 
operate on an "open access" basis. What does open 
access mean? According to the commission, the 
auction winner "will be required to allow 
customers, device manufacturers, third-party 
application providers, and others to use any 
device or application of their choice" on its 
network. In other words, the nondiscrimination 
principle at the core of open access means 
traditional common carrier type regulation.
http://news.com.com/What+does+open+access+mean/2010-1037_3-6202981.html?tag=nefd.top

MANY, MANY DEVILS IN THE DETAILS: 700 MHZ RULES
[SOURCE: Susan Crawford]
Susan Crawford has read through the FCC's 700 MHz 
spectrum auction rules and she's not jumping for joy.
http://scrawford.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/8/13/3157309.html

LOBBYING, ASPEN STYLE
[SOURCE: Drew Clark]
When Washington's telecommunications 
policy-makers escape the heat and humidity of the 
capitol in Aspen (CO), they bring something else 
with them -- the urge to lobby.
http://www.drewclark.com/2007/08/lobbying-aspen-style.shtml

CHECKING IN WITH DAN ISETT OF THE PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
A Q&A with Dan Isett, the Director of Corporate 
and Government Affairs at the Parents Television 
Council. As you read, beware of fleeting 
expletives, a la carte cable packages, media 
ownership consolidation, violent TV programming 
and that annoying "conservative" label.
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/448
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...and we are outta here. Have a great weekend; drive carefully.
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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 

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