Senate Poised To Tighten Broadcast Ownership Rules - Via American Civil Liberties Union:
Washington, DC – Today, the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to approve a bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), which would restore a media ownership rule recently rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The old rule generally restricted a company from owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same city, unless the FCC granted a waiver.
Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office said, “Senator Dorgan’s resolution aims to protect the airing of a multiplicity of voices, which fuels our democracy. Democracy is not served well by a media oligarchy where five or six corporations decide what Americans see in the news. We urge the Commerce Committee to also take up S. 2332, Senator Dorgan’s bill to reverse the media ownership rules to ensure the FCC does not go down this road again.” read more... »
Scammers Exploit DTV Coupon Program - Via Slashdot:
An anonymous reader writes "Analog TV users must purchase a DTV converter box before broadcasts go digital in 2009, and the US Government is offering $40 coupons to support the transition. The coupon program requires retailers to become certified by the NTIA (the Government body running the program) before processing orders for the boxes. Apparently the certification program is a bit lax, as the frenzy to purchase DTV boxes using these coupons seems to have drawn unscrupulous fraud artists into the mix. Memsen, via its web site convertmy.tv and its hardware partner Maxmedia, partnered apparently to pull a bait-and-switch game on unsuspecting consumers and the US Government." Read on for details of the scam claimed by this anonymous reader.
(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot.)
ACLU Wants Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule Reversed - Via American Civil Liberties Union:
Washington, DC -- In a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Vice Chairman Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), the American Civil Liberties Union urged support of a resolution (S. J. Res 28) disapproving of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on broadcast media cross-ownership.
The following can be attributed to ACLU Chief Legislative & Policy Counsel Michael Macleod-Ball: read more... »
FCC Relaxes Digital-TV Transition Order - Via washingtonpost.com - Technology:
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to lay out a new, more flexible set of guidelines for broadcasters, cable companies and television manufacturers as they try to educate consumers about the coming switch from analog to digital programming.
The commission has been under pressure by consumer groups and members of Congress to take stronger steps in raising awareness about the transition. Broadcasters will stop sending analog signals and move to all-digital programming on Feb. 17, 2009. After that, TV watchers who rely on antennas to receive over-the-air broadcasts will need a special converter box. read more... »
ACLU Calls FCC Fine Paternalism at its Worst - Via American Civil Liberties Union: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (202) 675-2312, media@dcaclu.org
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today criticized a Federal Communications Commission proposal of a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC network affiliates that aired a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue during which a woman’s nude buttocks can be seen. The ACLU responded that the fine represents another egregious example of the government trying to decide what grown adults can and cannot watch. read more... »
F.C.C. Eases Media Ownership Rule - Via New York Times : WASHINGTON — By the narrowest of margins, the Federal Communications Commission adopted proposals by its chairman to tighten the reins on the cable television industry while loosening 32-year-old restrictions that have prevented a company from owning both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city.
Last month the chairman, Kevin J. Martin, suffered a setback when he was unable to find two commissioners to support his proposal to more tightly regulate cable television.
But in a highly contentious meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Martin re-established control when he became the pivotal vote on two rules that could significantly reshape the nation’s media landscape by determining the size and scope of the largest news and cable companies. read more... »
Rabbit-Ear Users Don’t Know the End (of Analog TV) Is Near - Via NYT > Technology:
In less than 14 months, any traditional television set still connected to its antenna will receive nothing but static, as the broadcasting industry cuts over completely to its new digital frequencies.
A recent poll by the marketing arm of the cable industry shows that most people still have no clue this is going to happen. read more... »
Ok I'm not sure why I was doing it, but I was just watching the Emmy's and it seems that they just used their 7 second delay to cut away from something that Sally Field was in the process of saying. From the lead-in it was probably anti-war.
She gotten to "If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any go..." and then the audio went out and they cut away to a far shot so you couldn't even read her lips. I wonder what she said? Anyone know ?? read more... »
NBC Universal Fight For Network Filters To Stop Copyright Infringement: "Last month, NBC Universal filed comments in the FCC’s
proceeding on ‘Broadband Industry Practices.’
NBC asked that the FCC require that ISPs institute ‘bandwidth
management tools’, code for network filters, to try to stop the
Internet infringing copyrights. read more... »
TiVo Does HDTV for Less - Dave's Download U.S. News &World Report: "So I get my high-definition programming free, tapping new digital, over-the-air broadcasts. But recording them has been a bear. I've tried a rare DVD recorder that has a digital tuner, which is what's needed to pull in those new broadcasts, and found it disappointing. I've tried assembling my own, TiVo-like PC that acts as a digital video recorder, and that's been a struggle. Now TiVo itself may finally come to my rescue. read more... »