Media Reform Headlines for March 21, 2008 Resent-Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:34:28 -0500 (CDT) Media Reform Daily http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=y1Lf4gNsZymdFjcd9fgXJg.. News of the movement for March 19, 2008 This week on Media Minutes: The MPAA has allied themselves with cable and phone companies in their multi-million dollar fight against Net Neutrality. And the increasing disappearance of editorial cartoons from newspapers correlates with the rise of media consolidation. Listen here. http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=roiWENYnXBAwDyAdKJRU-w.. --SAVE OUR SPECTRUM-- Spectrum Auction a Mixed Bag The conclusion of the FCC's auction presents a mixed bag of results for the public. Congress authorized this auction looking to get four things: a public safety network, competition within the wireless market, a new wireless competitor to DSL and cable modems, and at least $10 billion. The FCC went two for four. Free Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=YttzL95FSp-kAk3x9AOMKA.. Verizon, AT&T Win Big in Airwave Auction The nation's two largest wireless companies emerged as the biggest winners in a record-setting auction of public airwaves, increasing the odds that they will continue to dominate that market for years to come. Joseph Menn, Los Angeles Times http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=j-lHaAGRKi8SnYvnfykJJQ.. Airwaves Auction Winners Named The two largest cell phone companies dominated bidding in a record-setting government airwaves auction, according to results released Thursday. AT&T and Verizon Wireless combined to account for $16 billion of the $19.6 billion bid in the auction, an Associated Press analysis of FCC data shows. Verizon Wireless bid $9.4 billion and AT&T $6.6 billion. John Dunbar, Associated Press http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=SPSM7zOYDXfjhg4xvGbLVA.. FCC Names Winners of Wireless Auction Verizon Wireless was the biggest winner in a federal auction of wireless airwaves and agreed to deploy a nationwide network that will give consumers more ways to use their cellphones and other wireless devices. Cecilia Kang, Washington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=0KD2CopY_JWACnOOyV5HIA.. FCC Auction: The Big Get Bigger So much for creating a new national competitor in the U.S. wireless business. The FCC revealed the top bidders in a just-ended auction of the nation's most desirable remaining airwaves. The winners? By a wide margin, it was the nation's two biggest cellular operators, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the mobile venture owned by Verizon and Vodafone. Spencer E. Ante, Business Week http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=COAtAVLnZjb0UZZcq2F_Bg.. FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein's Comments on Lack of Diversity Among Auction Winners Preliminary FCC data regarding winning bidders in the 700 MHz auction indicated that, based on self-reporting, women-owned bidders failed to win any licenses and minority-owned bidders won less than one percent of licenses, despite the fact that women constitute over half the U.S. population and minorities around one-third of the U.S. population. Jonathan Adelstein, Federal Communications Commission http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=HKOzGhWkgtkScH2pW8WyBA.. Verizon Wins Wireless Spectrum Auction The $19.6 billion auction of a chunk of wireless spectrum frequencies is over, and Verizon Wireless is the clear winner. But its victory came at a cost -- it will have to open any new networks it develops using the spectrum to any phone or device. Martin H. Bosworth, Consumer Affairs http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=w9nQcN0gGkcS1RPKZYuxWQ.. MAP Responds to 700 MHZ Auction Results This auction proves two things. First, anonymous bidding works. Second, that auctions alone will not bring competition to the wireless world or break the current cable/DSL broadband duopoly. Media Access Project http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=BcQmYtLxPp3HiCQ3arntOw.. Verizon Works to Let Other Devices on Network Verizon Wireless may start approving new gadgets usable on its network as early as June. While some rivals limit network access to a handful of device makers, Verizon is allowing any company to sell phones that work on its network. Verizon, which met with electronics makers yesterday to lay out guidelines, said testing will start in mid-May. If the products work, they will be certified to sell by June. Crayton Harrison, Washington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=5gnuG-o51KaGdRr065L6hg.. D Block Dustup Casts Questions on Martin, Frontline, Cyren Call A coalition of consumer and public-interest groups asked the FCC to probe the 700 MHz auction's failure to attract a winning bidder for the national commercial-public safety D-Block license, an outcome of growing interest to Congress. Jeffrey Silva, RCR Wireless News http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=cvxI5BWmRGNWuVNIn7Bixw.. FCC Delinks D Block from Other Blocks The FCC released an Order de-linking the Upper 700 MHz D Block from the other blocks offered in the 700 MHz Auction, which closed this week. Federal Communications Commission http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=JGQ23smXlEiSK_PqTY4viw.. --SAVE THE INTERNETt-- BitTorrent to Comcast: Let's Be Friends BitTorrent's CEO, Doug Walker, says that Comcast should be looking to partner with BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer content distributors instead of trying to slow down their traffic. Marguerite Reardon, CNet http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=C3mCDE8IcCUcUjEtiG1xfA.. FCC, Comcast, and Net Neutrality: Round 2 The FCC will hold a second public hearing on Comcast's limiting of peer-to-peer traffic on its network, after the communications firm paid people to take up the limited space at the first hearing last month. But Comcast claims the agency can't do anything about it anyway. bMighty http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=DR-Jkv6-He4VRe_qu9mRyQ.. Will the FCC Endorse Filtering? FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein gave the Hollywood studios some reason for concern but more reason for cheer in comments on Net Neutrality. Paul Sweeting, Content Agenda http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=CYDV-dfsH5AqeJODx_MEqQ.. New Survey Finds Gaps in U.S. Broadband Sixty-five million Americans depend on broadband services for work, education, entertainment, and communications. But too many other Americans have no access to broadband services, according to a new telecom industry survey, commissioned by Tellabs. Lightwave http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=0WMgYQI0cu1S_htp4CaVrA.. ACT NOW Support the Internet Freedom Preservation Act http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=w-kpKHamTlzu4w02MsGvLg.. --STOP BIG MEDIA-- Rivals Interested in Newsday The troubled Tribune Co. has received sudden interest from a number of rivals interested in buying the media giant's New York area newspaper, Newsday, according to a source close to the situation. Frank Ahrens, Washington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=OAR2YdfBfPUJgJ6XZ1eHhQ.. Media Moguls Make Plays for Newsday Rupert Murdoch may not be done expanding his newspaper empire. The News Corp. chairman, who is still digesting Dow Jones & Co., is one of three media moguls who have set their sights on Newsday. Matthew Flamm, Crain's New York Business http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=fjDifOpLKuVQDn5mT8ZRcg.. NBC Puts Two Owned Stations on Block NBC is selling two of its owned stations, WTVJ-TV in Miami and WVIT-TV in Hartford, Conn. "We've taken a hard look at our portfolio and made some difficult decisions about what's best for our business going forward," said NBC Local Media Division President John Wallace. Michele Greppi, TV Week http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=M4sfaj4HTxnkBDhOFo7tLA.. --ALSO IN THE NEWS-- CNN Trivializes Iraq and Hits a New Low Wolf Blitzer and CNN 's "Best Political Team on Television" took their vapid approach to journalism to a new level when reporter Jeanne Moos satirized demonstrations against the war in Iraq. Josh Silver, Huffington Post http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=8dVc4IA5lfJk-L8Yfxh6vA.. Larry Lessig: Time to Reject Corporate Influence on Washington Iconic Internet law professor Larry Lessig may have cast off plans for a congressional bid of his own, but he still wants to turn the political process as we know it upside down. No more money from corporate political action committees and lobbyists. No more earmarks to fund pet projects in federal spending bills. Public financing for all congressional campaigns. Anne Broache, CNet http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=9OoNmS4t7gNejXVOXFYJ2w.. The Call for a Wireless Bill of Rights A Minnesota state senator has introduced a proposal in the state legislature for a cell-phone-user bill of rights, aimed at stopping many of the industry's most criticized activities. Spencer E. Ante, BusinessWeek http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Q944yPsxbszbdU0lkefh0Q.. FCC May Be Nearing Sirius-XM Decision FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asked his staff to draft documents on the planned merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., signaling the agency is nearing its decision on whether to approve the deal. Sarah McBride and Amy Schatz, Wall Street Journal http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=lPzbKONLazWNuOtBdCwodQ.. In Nightly News, Little That's Really New Network evening news has seemingly gone through tremendous changes in the past several years, beginning with a complete turnover in anchors. If anything, it's a more contentious race, with the three networks, CBS, NBC and ABC, competing for viewers not only with each other but with the all-news cable networks, and increasingly the Internet. Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=9YJl169WIOS44T89HNEsnw.. AFTRA Ratifies Contract with ABC, NBC Network News Divisions The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the labor union representing more than 70,000 actors, singers, writers, journalists and performers working in entertainment and news media, has ratified a new contract with ABC and NBC for its network journalists, including anchors, correspondents and reporters. Sergio Ibarra, TV Week http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=ryFbzFURO-nNIbdSJ43xFA.. You are receiving this email as an opt-in subscriber to Free Press' Media Reform Daily. You can unsubscribe or manage your account at any time. Many of these articles are copyrighted material. 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