For those concerned about the erosion of personal privacy, there is a new reason to be worried starting today. The Seattle Times has published an AP story reporting that new federal rules took effect today requiring companies to keep track of all emails and instant messages sent by employees of their firms.

A new worldwide study shows that young people are abandonjing TV for the internet. The study also reports that radio listening is increasing, because of the internet, according to a report from Reuters.

Most parents think they’re strict when it comes to regulating their children’s video game playing. But the Hartford Courant says the children tell a different story. Meanwhile a watchdog group has criticized 10 video games as being too violent for children and teenagers. Associated Press reports the games include one featuring a chainsaw wielding killer and another a bloodstained shooting scene.

Weekly newspapers have always experienced difficulty in distributing their newspapers in New York City, experiencing difficulty getting the papers to the stands on local streets. Now, a West Bronx community which never had its own newspaper now has one, and its owners have found a way to avoid this barrier. The New York Times reports the Mount Hope section of the Bronx has its own paper being distributed via the internet.

As newspaper circulation drops, advertising will be shifting. The chief executive of a top media buying firm in New York says those advertising dollars from retailers will be moving over to radio. He is quoted in INQ7.net

A parade of Washington state residents, some prominent and some not so well known, testified at a Seattle forum last night to oppose further consolidation of media. The Seattle Times reports among those present and opposing further consolidation, were 2 of the 5 FCC commissioners, the 2 Democrats, Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps.

ABC and CBS are now offering all network programming in HDTV, and their local stations in the top 5 markets are now providing local news in HDTV. TV Newsday reports local news in HDTV is now available on at least 2 stations in the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia markets.

Investigative reporting sometimes uncovers serious problems and brings major responses. Associated Press reports the nation’s largest drug store chains are acting to better ensure the privacy of customers after an Indianapolis TV station found sensitive files on thousands of pharmacy customers in trash bins across the nation. AP reports WTHR channel 13 Indianapolis inspected 300 trash bins and found sensitive files on 2,400 customers.

NBC has asked the FCC to take a Spanish language UHF TV competitor in the Los Angeles market off the air. NBC claims TV Azteca, the owners of the station, KAZA channel 54, are corrupt, and asks that its license not be renewed. This is the first challenge of a TV license on character grounds since 1979, according to the Los Angeles Times which has a full report.

Mel Gibson says he feels Michael Richards’ pain. Both have been ensnared in controversy after making bigoted slurs this year. AP says Gibson makes the comments in the December 8 issue of an entertainment magazine.

Chicago columnist Phil Rosenthal comments on a recent University of Wisconsin study that found that local TV newscasts devoted twice as much time to political TV ads than to actual issues. Rosenthal examines specific examples on Chicago TV in his column in the Chicago Tribune.

ABC is giving its newsmagazine Prime Time a multi-week run starting this coming Wednesday at 10 p.m., a slot it will occupy for the next 5 weeks. The theme of the show will be “Basic Instinct” and will focus in its first episode on, among other things, a bigoted cab driver, and unruly misbehaved children, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

CNN’s Lou Dobbs and his segments on the “War On The Middle Class” which he says is being waged by the Bush White House, and the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, are driving up CNN’s ratings. At the same time, Fox News Channel’s ratings are shrinking, according to New York Magazine which says CNN is foxifying itself.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is returning to the radio next year. The CSO concerts will be sponsored by BP and the concert broadcasts will be coordinated by Chicago classical music FM station WFMT 98.7, according to the Associated Press.

Great Britain has an advertising watchdog agency which keeps track of offending ads. And the agency has just ruled that an ad showing Prime Minister Tony Blair with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache is not offensive, according to a report in Silicon.com.

The New York Post will start distribution in the San Francisco area starting next week. This will bring the Post’s tabloid style news, gossip and right wing politics to the progressive Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

If you are stuck with a cellular telephone contract and want to get out of it without paying a big fee. there may now be a way. A new website has been created in which people wishing to end their cell service can sell it to another person who desires it, thus avoiding the large termination fee, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Negative effects from playing violent video games linger in the brain well after they are played, according to a new study. Reuters reports the study, conducted by the Indiana School of medicine Study in Indianapolis, focused on teenagers aged 13 to 17 using a violent military video game, and the resulting emotional and other ramifications.

The AT&T — Bell South merger now pending before the FCC may be the biggest telecommunications deal ever in U.S. history. Top members of the FCC met this week to discuss this complicated deal, and other cases. But the public was not invited. Associated Press reports that while details about this case have been scare for the public, the FCC briefed a small group of investors from Banc of America L.L.C.>

The hosts of this week’s public forum in Seattle on media consolidation oppose further consolidation. The Seattle Times says the two Democratic FCC commissioners are hosting the hearing, and one is urging the public to ‘take control of your media.”

BBC World News originally was brought to the United States by WLIW21 and is now available on PBS stations and on cable systems across the nation. Its audience is continuing to rise and it is now challenging American cable news channels, in the United States, according to Media Bulletin.

American English is different than British English, and it is sayings and phrases often derived from television and media that help define American English. The New York Daily News reports that the cable TV network TV Land is offering a special focus on American English, and the shows they derive from, in December. TV Land Will feature the 100 greatest quotes and catchphrases from American TV during the week starting December 11. Associated Press recalls some include “What’s The Way it Is? from Walter Cronkite, “I?m Not A Crook? from Richard Nixon and “I Want My MTV.”

Nielsen is pushing ahead for its plan to offer ratings for commercials on television. Until now, ratings services have only offered ratings for entire programs or quarter hours, during which commercials appear. Now viewership for the commercials themselves will be rated, according to Reuters which says this service should begin in early 2007.

Google is canceling a service it has offered the last 4 years, in which people may pose a question, and a team of researchers then offer a helpful answer. This is done for a fee. The New York Times says that Yahoo has been offered a similar service for free. Associated Press reports the notice of the service shutdown was posted online.

There are many choices available to the consumer, with the convergence of television, radio and the internet. The choices can be complicated and intimidating, so marketers are trying to make the experience more ‘touchy feely?, according to the New York Times which reports people are now being invited in to try out new products and see how they work, at their own pace. Meanwhile Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Himowitz is blaming the consumer electronics industry for turning a simple device, HDTV, into one of extreme complication, confusing consumers unnecessarily. Here is his report in the Sun.

Even with so many television and radio choices bombarding consumers, there is a market for HD radio receivers. With HD radio, existing FM stations are able to offer as many as 5 additional channels of music or other formats. Special receivers are required. While specific figures are not yet available, anecdotal evidence shows the HD receivers are moving off the shelves, according to Radiolink magazine.

Usually the question is posed, ?how can it be so expensive?? Now, the question is ?how can it be so inexpensive?? The computer industry is focusing on a nonprofit project called One-Laptop-Per-Child which aims to offer a laptop for every child in the third world. The New York Times says that among other things, a way was found to cut the cost of a laptop screen from $100 to $40.

Online retailers are watching you. What you pay when buying items online may depend on your gender, your geographic location, what time of day you order, whether you are an AOL subscriber, and even what searches you make on Google, according to the Wall Street Journal.

For generations the 11 p.m. newscasts have been mainstays at WRC channel 4 NBC, WJLA channel 7 ABC and WUSA channel 9 CBS. Now, the latest ratings show a major drop in viewership for these late night newscasts. The Washington Post reports.

Clear Channel Communications? consolidation of radio, with ownership of 1,200 of the most powerful FM and AM stations in the nation, has been well chronicled. But there is also concern that Clear Channel’s network of live music venues and concert halls may squeeze out local venues. The Washington Post reports a proposed Clear Channel music hall to be known as the House of Blues in the city of Washington is raising concern.

Media Briefing for Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Will video stores be a thing of the past in the coming years? Walmart is getting into the field of selling the downloading of DVDs. The Seattle Times has a story from AP and Bloomberg News saying Walmart is already offering videos online, and is cooperating with Apple and Amazon.com in the venture.

BitTorrent is another firm getting involved in a major way in the expanding world of video sales online, according to the New York Times which also has a full report on Walmart. AP reports on BitTorrent’s expansion. BitTorrent will be cooperating with Paramount, 20th Century Fox, MTV, and others. The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Are children spending too much time on the Internet? AP cites a new university study that finds 1 in 5 parents say yes to that question. However AP reports the study also found that the internet is not impacting school grades negatively.

On Thursday night at 6 at the downtown library in Seattle, the two Democratic FCC Commissioners are holding a public forum on the issue of media consolidation. One, commissioner Michael Copps, has made a statement in the Seattle Times in which he urges people to “take control of your media.” Copps says he continually hears from the public that they want to hear and see local talent, and coverage of local news and politicans and their local city hall.

A radio talk host on a major Washington radio station, WMAL 630, suggested on his broadcast that all Muslims be given special markings, possibly including tatoos. WUSA channel 9 Washington has this report.

Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz examines the fallout from NBC’s decision to term the Iraq War a “civil war.” The Post says the fallout has been almost as violent as the war itself.

The average person in the U.S. is bombarded with thousands of ads each day, on television, radio, the internet, ourdoor billboards, newspapers, magazines, and much more. Now, taxicabs in Boston are offering ads on TV screens for passengers. The Boston Globe reports cabs are becoming ad vehicles.

For many years it was outspoken conservatives who were able to drive up ratings by taking strong stands and offering intense criticism of government. Now MSNBC’s evening talk host Keith Olberman has driven up ratings with blistering criticism of George W. Bush. The Los Angeles Times says Olberman has taken off the gloves.

For those interested in movies and Hollywood in general, there is a special website — MovieCityNews.com — that offers a wealth of information. Associated Press has this report.

The George W. Bush administration is using trade sanctions specifically to aggravate and annoy the dictator of North Korea, banning plasmam TV sets, iPods and other high tech items the dictators enjoys, according to Associated Press.

After CNN’s Nancy Grace grilled the Florida mother of a missing little boy, the woman, Melinda Duckett, took her own life. Then criticism of Nancy Grace’s tough questioning ensued. She hired a crisis manager, but the New York Observer says things then got even worse.

For those interested in the history of television, New York’s WPIX channel 11 is presenting a history of its annual holiday Yule Log, which shows logs burning in a fireplace with holiday music. The New York Daily News reports that the special program airs December 23rd at 7 p.m. and the paper notes the Yule Log is now downloadable on the web.

The most viewed items on YouTube are not skateboarders crashing into walls, but clips of CBS shows. Media Daily News reports clips of David Letterman and other CBS shows are the most viewed.

YouTube is offering a new service: a channel with clips of its television shows and videos, to be provided by Verizon wireless. The Washington Post reports YouTube’s video service will be offered on cellphones. A $15 a month subscription will be required, reports the New York Times.

Former GE chairman Jack Welch and his group are unphased by their initial rejection in their attempt to buy the Boston Globe from the New York Times Co. The competing Boston Herald reports Welch and his group will aggressively pursue the Globe.

The Baltimore Sun and its parent Tribune Co. are also not ready to sell. The Washington Post says bids will not be accepted for the Sun at this point in time.

Bucking the George W. Bush administration, NBC television news is now describing the situation in Iraq as a civil war. The Boston Globe says Matt Lauer on the Today show described the war this morning as a civil war. NBC’s move is making waves, according to the Los Angeles Times.

On commercial television and radio, it seems the number of back-to-back ads can seem staggering sometimes. Now, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams will have one sponsor and just 3 ads. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on this throwback to the early days of TV when newscasts and shows often had just one sponsor.

Maryland’s courts are planning to webcast the court’s sessions so the general public may listen in. Associated Press reports Mryland’s court system hopefully will beup and running by Monday when a high profile gay marriage case begins.

In Toronto, Ontario, Canada a new device has been created to allow computer users to bypass government censorship. Restrictions on the internet originally began with crackdowns on erotica and have extended to political and news sites. The New York Times reports that with the device there will be no record on the computer that a site was ever visited.

Researchers are working on a translation device, which U.S. intelligence services and other agencies are pushing strongly for. The device has software that would translate Arabic or Chinese broadcasts into English, and then beyond that, offer summaries of the key points, according to Associated Press.

There was a time when podcasting was considered just something for a lunatic fringe of geeks. Now, it is even reaching into the graying baby boomer generation. The San Jose Mercury News reports one in eight baby boomers has downloaded a podcast.

Birds flying in the air are slamming into broadcast and communications towers. Millions of birds are being killed, according to the Baltimore Sun. During bad weather birds in migration sometimes mistake tower lights for stars they use to navigate, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In the wake of the Michael Richards incident last week in which his use of racial slurs was caught on videotape, activists are now seeking an end to the use of the ?n? word by everyone, including comics. The Los Angeles Times reports.

A study conducted by a unit in the Pew Research Center found that newspapers and TV stations are lagging in their use of the internet for breaking election night news. The Baltimore Sun says TV outlets and newspapers are aware of the great potential of the internet in the future, but are not utilizing its full power now.

The Washington TV news Web site www.dcrtv.com today reports on a new PBS series next year, ?America at the Crossroads,” being launched by WETA channel 26 Washington. The site quotes current.org as saying the new show will be hosted by Robert MacNeil.

A conservative columnist in the Boston Herald says the use of a transgender character in the ABC series ?All My Children? represents a major move to the left. Here is the Boston Herald story.

Ken Burns, creator of the acclaimed PBS series on the Civil War, is now creating a series on World War II, which ended more than 61 years ago. Burns says he undertook the project after finding how little younger people know about this war, according to an interview in the Valley News of New Hampshire. Burns focuses on four veterans from World War II, in telling the story, Associated Press reports.

Children are growing up faster than ever. An Associated Press report asks whether that is a good thing. It says marketing campaigns including TV ads aimed at children are part of the reason. AP reports that among other things, a group has set up a website to oppose marketing campaigns aimed at children, http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org

Three of the four major television networks are arguing that the Federal Communications Commission has overstepped its bounds in its new indecency rules, and are asking a court to put a halt to it. The Los Angeles Times has a full report. Associated Press also reports on the networks? conention that the indecency crusade is a gross intrusion that is seriously damaging creativity in television.

In deliberating the issue of allowing more consolidation for television and radio, the FCC is planning to use 10 economic studies. Broadcasting & Cable reports FCC Commissioner Michael Copp, a Democrat, is not comfortable with the use of these studies. Consolidation of media is silencing local voices, according to critics who appeared at a forum in Dutchess County, N.Y. sponsored by Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey. Some 300 people attended the forum sponsored by Hinchey at the FDR Center in Hyde Park, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. Meanwhile, two of the five FCC commissioners, the two Democrats, Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copp, are holding an unofficial forum on the issue Thursday evening at 6 at the Seattle Downtown Public Library, according to the Seattle Times. There is a new movie called “When The Music Died?. The Washington Post says it even has a fictional Clear Channel executive ordering that music playlists be rigid and only include songs that will increase ratings and not drive anyone away. The management at the radio chain will not allow audiences to hear any unproven music.

Native American journalist Jodi Rave said that there is a serious need for more Native American reporters and journalists in the United States. They are needed to provide coverage of the underreported native community in this country, she said. Jodi Rave, who covers stories on a national level, spoke over the Thanksgiving Weekend at the Native American Cultural Center at Yale University, according to a report in the newspaper Indian Country Now.

CBS television networks affiliates are disappointed that they are restricted from posting clips from shows on YouTube for at least 24 hours, but the CBS network itself has no restrictions. Lost Remote has the story.

A major Swedish firm is predicting that mobile TV will be reaching the masses of population soon. Associated Press reports the firm says this will happen by 2008.

Everything keeps expanding and changing rapidly as broadcasting and the internet converge. In France, the operator of an internet hip hop radio station, is expanding in a major way. The New York Times reports he will expand the station into a major blog operation in 4 languages that will offer a wide assortment of programming and information.

The use of iPods in the country is rising. However, Associated Press reports the rise is small, and people with iPods are not using them daily.

Entertainer Michael Richards, known as Kramer on the old NBC Seinfeld show, and who was videotaped using harsh racial slurs during a standup comedy show last week, is the latest in a group of diverse public figures caught on video after making major gaffes. The Baltimore Sun says video-posting on the internet is the ?new grapevine.” Michael Richards has hired a public relations firm. Associated Press reports this is part of Richards? attempts at damage control. Meanwhile two men in the audience are seeking an apology from Richards. Associated Press reports. Now, Jesse Jackson invited Michael Richards as a guest on his national radio show. Associated Press quotes Jackson as saying Richards underwent what he called a public meltdown.

And on the broadcast, Associated Press says Richards stated that he is ’shattered? by the comments he made.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the humiliation of a woman apprehended by police was captured on video. The Washington Post reports the video has created a major stir in the Islamic country.

Viewers have made the Saturday night block of British comedies the most-watched evening for public TV station WEAO channel 49 in the Cleveland/Akron market. Now the station is asking viewers for their opinions on which British shows to add. The Plain Dealer reports viewers are invited to come to a public forum and vote this Saturday afternoon 1 to 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Suites on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

John R. Pepper II, who brought the first black oriented format to radio in the nation, on WDIA-AM Memphis, has died at the age of 91. Many black musical stars got their start on WDIA, according to Associated Press.

At a time when big city newspapers are struggling for advertising, with the advent of internet advertising alternatives, college newspapers are doing quite will. The Baltimore Sun reports college newspapers have become a major source for advertisers.

Canadians are still restricted from watching premium American cable channels such as Home Box Office and Showtime and Nickelodian. The Wall Street Journal reports this is to protect Canadian writers and artists and television broadcasters. Even so, the Journal says 700,000 Canadians are receiving the programming illegally.

Also in Canada, major commercial TV networks wish to start charging cable TV systems and satellite companies for their programming. The Globe and Mail reports the cable and satellite industries say this proposal would destroy television in Canada. And CBC also wants carriage fees, according to The Globe and Mail

The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times have all done major pieces recently on PBS and NPR broadcaster Tavis Smiley. Now another newspaper named the Times — the Saint Petersburg Times in Florida, has a major piece. The Saint Petersburg Times says Tavis is on TV, on the radio, speaking in person, and is everywhere.

Columnist David Broder says he got a peek look at an upcoming PBS documentary on economist Milton Friedman. The Washington Post columnist says the documentary, “The Power of Choice?, will air on PBS next year, and Broder reveals that Milton Friedman was able to see it before he passed away.

Soprano Rene Fleming is appearing on two PBS specials in December, ?Sacred Songs? and the ?Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Special.” Associated Press has an interview with Rene.

The Washington Post has lost two of its top political reporters to a new web-based news service. Both Washingtonian magazine and Slate.com say the losses substantially weaken the Post’s position as the leader in political news coverage.

Internet sites such as YouTube and My Space are feeding an explosion of what the San Francisco Chronicle says is a ?Look At Me? sensation. The Chronicle says it is partly the result of the society in which we live, which focuses on putting glamorous people center-stage.

Azerbaijan has shut down an independent television station. Associated Press reports.