07/23: Media Briefing for Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A federal court has affirmed that the Online Content Law is unconstitutional. A federal appeals court yesterday agreed with a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional a 1998 law intended to protect children from sexual material and other objectionable content on the Internet. The decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is the latest twist in a decade-long legal battle over the Child Online Protection Act. The fight has already reached the U.S. Supreme Court and could be headed back there. The law has not taken effect, says the Associated Press.
Four of the five FCC commissioners weigh in on the issue of diversity and minority ownership of broadcast stations, with the commissioners' views falling largely along party lines, says Broadcasting & Cable.
Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell is defending his decision to make deep cuts at Tribune newspapers. Zell is saying, "Do I try and create a business that can be viable and preserve two-thirds of the jobs? Or do I let all 100 percent of them go by the wayside because I'm not willing to confront the realities of the environment?" But back in January, Zell had won applause during a meeting with employees in Hartford, at the Hartford Courant for saying that he would reverse the trend of trimming staffs in the face of declining revenue. "I do not believe that anybody can grow a business by reducing the number of employees," Zell said at the time. "It is not our game plan to, in effect, try and figure out how few people we can have run this business." The Hartford Courant reports.
A network of stations, The Super Talk Mississippi radio network comprised of 7 FM stations, has canceled The Savage Nation because of comments syndicated host Michael Savage made about autistic children last week. Steve Davenport, president and CEO of Super Talk's parent company Telesouth Communications, confirmed The Savage Nation was dropped from the network's lineup as of Monday. "It was just horrible what he said," Davenport said. The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports. Dennis Miller has been moved into Michael Savage's time slot on the stations, which include WFMN 97.3 Jackson, WFMM 97.3 /Hattiesburg-Laurel, WKBB 100.9 West Point, WXRZ 94.3 Corinth, WTCD 96.9 Greenwood-Greenville, WRQO 102.1 Brookhaven, and WTMN 105.5 Oxford.
There is a 2-part documentary special on CNN tonight and tomorrow night, at 9, on being Black In America. Tonight's 2-hour program focuses upon African American women and families, and tomorrow evening's focuses upon men, including the issue of high levels of imprisonment of black men in this country. The Hartford Courant, New York Daily News and New York Times report.
Charles Z. Wick, a Hollywood agent and entrepreneur who became the longest-serving director of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and an original member of the "kitchen cabinet" that financed Ronald Reagan's first run for the California governor's office in 1966, died July 20 at his home in Los Angeles at age 90. During his USIA tenure from 1981 to 1989, Wick was credited with raising the profile and influence of a traditionally staid agency in ways seldom seen since Edward R. Murrow served in the same position under John F. Kennedy. He was an impassioned Cold Warrior and used his close friendship with Ronald Reagan to more than double the USIA budget and embark on projects that drastically expanded its reach, including the launch of Voice of America's anti-Castro Radio Marti (1180 AM) and Worldnet, the first live global satellite television network. Wick also emerged as one of the most controversial personalities in Washington in the 1980s, not only for an abrasive demeanor, but also for orchestrating USIA efforts criticized as heavy-handed and propagandistic. He defended his approach as a "war of ideas" to counter Soviet propaganda. The Washington Post reports.
In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, John McCain erroneously stated the history of the surge in the Iraq War, and CBS failed to air it, leaving that portion of the footage on the cutting room floor, says the Huffington Post.
Katie Couric says sexism is more common than racism, in the New York Daily News.
Luke Russert, son of the late Tim Russert, made such a good impression with viewers after his father's death, is now being sought by NBC for its election coverage, says the New York Post.
An increasing number of African Americans are online, says eMarketer.
Teenagers spend 11.5 hours each week online, and buy things, says Media Post.com.
Internet entrepreneurs are teaming with doctors, researchers and other medical professionals to create what they hope will be the Web's largest body of health information. Modeled on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, but written and edited only by trained professionals, the Medpedia Project will gather the kind of knowledge usually confined to academic circles and make it understandable and available to consumers. The Los Angeles Times reports.
A federal appeals court has ruled that the government may not withhold key data on serious car accidents from the public.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia potentially ends years of litigation over the data, and could soon put crash information collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into the hands of journalists, consumer watchdogs and others. The Los Angeles Times reports.
Raleigh, North Carolina CBS affiliate WRAL-TV channel 5 is making field tests of mobile digital television, says Broadcasting & Cable.
Service problems are dogging customers of Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, says the Washington Post.
With the proliferation of cellular telephones, the number of subscribers to landline telephones is dropping faster than expected, says the New York Times.
Verizon added 1.5 million customers during the 2nd quarter, says Reuters.
Vodafone, the world's largest cellular telephone operator, is cutting its revenue forecast, says the New York Times.
Talk of Steve Jobs' health is weighing on Apple computers' share price, says the New York Times.
Questions about as San Francisco tries to repair its network. Terry Childs, a network administrator at San Francisco's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services was arrested on July 13 for allegedly tampering with the network, which carries almost 60% of the city government's traffic. He is also alleged to have planted network devices that enabled illegal remote access to the network, known as the FiberWAN network. The New York Times reports.
Microsoft is trying to convince residents of Poland that its Vista operating system is not all that bad, says the New York Times.
The U.S. Social Security agency has launched a new online benefits calculator, says the Los Angeles Times.
The electronics giants are creating a wireless HD standard, says Associated Press.
Google is in talks to acquire Digg, says Tech Crunch.
A 22-year-old Romanian citizen has pleaded guilty in Connecticut over an Internet phishing scam, says Associated Press.
Michael Copps, a Democratic commissioner at the FCC, voted against the satellite radio merger between XM and Sirius, bringing the total votes on the merger to two in favor and one against. Republican FCC commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Democratic commissioner Jonathan Adelstein haven't cast their votes on the proposal to create a monopoly satellite radio provider. Adelstein last week indicated that he would support the merger if the companies agreed to several commitments to cap prices for six years and set aside radio spectrum for minority programming. The firms haven't commented on Adelstein's proposal. This report is from the Washington Post and Reuters.
A study finds buyers of television sets steered to costlier LCD sets, says Associated Press.
The Democrats are spending $2 million in TV ads in two U.S. congressional races in California, says Associated Press.
Michael Gregg, editor of the U.S. medical bulletin, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is dead at age 78, says the NewYork Times.
Robinson Radio is making waves. An ad agency specializing in direct response radio, the company has launched Robinson Radio Networks, an ad firm that produces and places long-form audio infomercials. It already has nearly 100 affiliates, says Media Daily News.
Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC's Morning Joe and former congressman, will address graduates of George Washington University's Graduate School Of Political Management in Washington, D.C., during its 21st graduation ceremony. The celebrated political analyst will share his expertise in the areas of politics, legislation, and public service Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre. DCRTV reports.
The CW television network is losing its top sales executive to major league baseball, says the Los Angeles Times. WPIX channel 11 is the flagship CW affiliate in New York City.
Donald Courtnay, the voice of many Seattle radio and TV ads from the 1950s on, has passed away at age 84, says the Seattle Times.
In Milwaukee, the switch to all digital TV broadcasting in February is bringing together the bosses of the competing television stations in themarket, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
South Florida's TV meteorologists walk a tightrope during hurricane season. The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports.
Four of the five FCC commissioners weigh in on the issue of diversity and minority ownership of broadcast stations, with the commissioners' views falling largely along party lines, says Broadcasting & Cable.
Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell is defending his decision to make deep cuts at Tribune newspapers. Zell is saying, "Do I try and create a business that can be viable and preserve two-thirds of the jobs? Or do I let all 100 percent of them go by the wayside because I'm not willing to confront the realities of the environment?" But back in January, Zell had won applause during a meeting with employees in Hartford, at the Hartford Courant for saying that he would reverse the trend of trimming staffs in the face of declining revenue. "I do not believe that anybody can grow a business by reducing the number of employees," Zell said at the time. "It is not our game plan to, in effect, try and figure out how few people we can have run this business." The Hartford Courant reports.
A network of stations, The Super Talk Mississippi radio network comprised of 7 FM stations, has canceled The Savage Nation because of comments syndicated host Michael Savage made about autistic children last week. Steve Davenport, president and CEO of Super Talk's parent company Telesouth Communications, confirmed The Savage Nation was dropped from the network's lineup as of Monday. "It was just horrible what he said," Davenport said. The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports. Dennis Miller has been moved into Michael Savage's time slot on the stations, which include WFMN 97.3 Jackson, WFMM 97.3 /Hattiesburg-Laurel, WKBB 100.9 West Point, WXRZ 94.3 Corinth, WTCD 96.9 Greenwood-Greenville, WRQO 102.1 Brookhaven, and WTMN 105.5 Oxford.
There is a 2-part documentary special on CNN tonight and tomorrow night, at 9, on being Black In America. Tonight's 2-hour program focuses upon African American women and families, and tomorrow evening's focuses upon men, including the issue of high levels of imprisonment of black men in this country. The Hartford Courant, New York Daily News and New York Times report.
Charles Z. Wick, a Hollywood agent and entrepreneur who became the longest-serving director of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and an original member of the "kitchen cabinet" that financed Ronald Reagan's first run for the California governor's office in 1966, died July 20 at his home in Los Angeles at age 90. During his USIA tenure from 1981 to 1989, Wick was credited with raising the profile and influence of a traditionally staid agency in ways seldom seen since Edward R. Murrow served in the same position under John F. Kennedy. He was an impassioned Cold Warrior and used his close friendship with Ronald Reagan to more than double the USIA budget and embark on projects that drastically expanded its reach, including the launch of Voice of America's anti-Castro Radio Marti (1180 AM) and Worldnet, the first live global satellite television network. Wick also emerged as one of the most controversial personalities in Washington in the 1980s, not only for an abrasive demeanor, but also for orchestrating USIA efforts criticized as heavy-handed and propagandistic. He defended his approach as a "war of ideas" to counter Soviet propaganda. The Washington Post reports.
In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, John McCain erroneously stated the history of the surge in the Iraq War, and CBS failed to air it, leaving that portion of the footage on the cutting room floor, says the Huffington Post.
Katie Couric says sexism is more common than racism, in the New York Daily News.
Luke Russert, son of the late Tim Russert, made such a good impression with viewers after his father's death, is now being sought by NBC for its election coverage, says the New York Post.
An increasing number of African Americans are online, says eMarketer.
Teenagers spend 11.5 hours each week online, and buy things, says Media Post.com.
Internet entrepreneurs are teaming with doctors, researchers and other medical professionals to create what they hope will be the Web's largest body of health information. Modeled on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, but written and edited only by trained professionals, the Medpedia Project will gather the kind of knowledge usually confined to academic circles and make it understandable and available to consumers. The Los Angeles Times reports.
A federal appeals court has ruled that the government may not withhold key data on serious car accidents from the public.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia potentially ends years of litigation over the data, and could soon put crash information collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into the hands of journalists, consumer watchdogs and others. The Los Angeles Times reports.
Raleigh, North Carolina CBS affiliate WRAL-TV channel 5 is making field tests of mobile digital television, says Broadcasting & Cable.
Service problems are dogging customers of Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, says the Washington Post.
With the proliferation of cellular telephones, the number of subscribers to landline telephones is dropping faster than expected, says the New York Times.
Verizon added 1.5 million customers during the 2nd quarter, says Reuters.
Vodafone, the world's largest cellular telephone operator, is cutting its revenue forecast, says the New York Times.
Talk of Steve Jobs' health is weighing on Apple computers' share price, says the New York Times.
Questions about as San Francisco tries to repair its network. Terry Childs, a network administrator at San Francisco's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services was arrested on July 13 for allegedly tampering with the network, which carries almost 60% of the city government's traffic. He is also alleged to have planted network devices that enabled illegal remote access to the network, known as the FiberWAN network. The New York Times reports.
Microsoft is trying to convince residents of Poland that its Vista operating system is not all that bad, says the New York Times.
The U.S. Social Security agency has launched a new online benefits calculator, says the Los Angeles Times.
The electronics giants are creating a wireless HD standard, says Associated Press.
Google is in talks to acquire Digg, says Tech Crunch.
A 22-year-old Romanian citizen has pleaded guilty in Connecticut over an Internet phishing scam, says Associated Press.
Michael Copps, a Democratic commissioner at the FCC, voted against the satellite radio merger between XM and Sirius, bringing the total votes on the merger to two in favor and one against. Republican FCC commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Democratic commissioner Jonathan Adelstein haven't cast their votes on the proposal to create a monopoly satellite radio provider. Adelstein last week indicated that he would support the merger if the companies agreed to several commitments to cap prices for six years and set aside radio spectrum for minority programming. The firms haven't commented on Adelstein's proposal. This report is from the Washington Post and Reuters.
A study finds buyers of television sets steered to costlier LCD sets, says Associated Press.
The Democrats are spending $2 million in TV ads in two U.S. congressional races in California, says Associated Press.
Michael Gregg, editor of the U.S. medical bulletin, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is dead at age 78, says the NewYork Times.
Robinson Radio is making waves. An ad agency specializing in direct response radio, the company has launched Robinson Radio Networks, an ad firm that produces and places long-form audio infomercials. It already has nearly 100 affiliates, says Media Daily News.
Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC's Morning Joe and former congressman, will address graduates of George Washington University's Graduate School Of Political Management in Washington, D.C., during its 21st graduation ceremony. The celebrated political analyst will share his expertise in the areas of politics, legislation, and public service Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre. DCRTV reports.
The CW television network is losing its top sales executive to major league baseball, says the Los Angeles Times. WPIX channel 11 is the flagship CW affiliate in New York City.
Donald Courtnay, the voice of many Seattle radio and TV ads from the 1950s on, has passed away at age 84, says the Seattle Times.
In Milwaukee, the switch to all digital TV broadcasting in February is bringing together the bosses of the competing television stations in themarket, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
South Florida's TV meteorologists walk a tightrope during hurricane season. The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports.
