Way to Go on AT&T Broadband Monopoly! FCC Commissioners Copps and Adelstein

I’m sure the sell-outs who make up most of the Washington telecom lobbying corps believe that FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein must come from another planet. But these all too rare two officials represent so much about what is right with the U.S. They are doing more than standing up for the public interest and demanding merger safeguards. Each has made a powerful and honest critique about what is at stake. They recognize that the U.S. broadband digital media system has been handed over to an ever-shrinking few. They realize that the U.S. media system, especially news, is in a deep crisis. Copps and Adelstein correctly critiqued what the Bush Department of Justice just did yesterday when it blessed the merger without safeguards. How refreshing to have officials who work for the public–and not really on behalf of a handful of self-serving media giants who place corporate and personal profit before the real needs of a democratic U.S.

Copps and Adelstein: Onwards to the Noble Peace Prize (Media Policy division!). Nobel citation: Trying (probably in vain) to restore honesty, integrity, and real public service to the FCC.

Digital Dollars to Unleash Digital Ads: the Google/YouTube takeover

This deal is about expanding the interactive advertising economy–one to one marketing, data collection, the prominent availability of video from deep-pocked interests, and an endless platform that can commercially target every taste. While a smart business move (since Google now also represents Rupert Murdoch’s MySpace/Fox, the other leading Web 2.0 site), we are concerned about the total commercialization and commodification of the Internet/digital media. We have consolidation in both old and new media with increased cross-ownership of both. There are no network neutrality rules to ensure digital lanes can operate fairly for those non-Google pocketed content providers. And they are paving cyberspace with the mentality of Madison Avenue.

We will be back with more analysis.

The RTNDA Undermines TV Journalism—with a little help from the most powerful pro-consolidation media lobbyist. RTNDA asks for a cover-up of the VNR scandal

The Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) is working to further undermine the ability of TV reporters and producers to engage in serious electronic journalism. In a nearly two dozen-page filing to the FCC on October 5, RTNDA comes to the defense of the use of Video News Releases. RTNDA actually told the Commission “…VNRs often are a source of newsworthy material of particular interest to the public which stations may not be able to obtain through other means.” Why would the RTNDA support the practice of using VNRs? It’s because the organization is both shortsighted and a political tool of TV owners. RTNDA doesn’t really represent the interests of reporters—but the bosses. It is trying to quash an FCC investigation into 77 TV stations identified in a report for failing to disclose VNRs. Everyone in the news biz knows that the reliance on VNRs—even by network O and O’s– is a cancer on electronic journalism. VNRs—placed by both commercial and government PR efforts—undermine serious reportage. But with station owners and news managers forcing local news to be a ever growing profit center, VNRs have become a form of information `cocaine.’ Too many stations are willing to sell time for the promotion of propaganda at worst and stealth commercial spots at best. Or they want to rely on free materials coming from special interests in order to save money on actually producing their own news.

Richard Wiley
The RTNDA should be telling the FCC that such outside “spin” oriented content should be prohibited by the industry itself. News should be produced by a local station, its contractors, network feeds, wires. Not by a pyramid scheme coming from PR flacks. One sign that RTNDA is working for owners—and not journalists or the public—is the use of arch media lobbyist Richard Wiley’s law firm [that’s Mr. Wiley’s picture above]. It is the Wiley firm which has been leading the media lobby campaign to wipe out ownership diversity safeguards—all so its clients can control more properties both in a single community and nationally.

The RTNDA wants the FCC to immediately kill its investigation of the stations involved in the VNR scandal. Incredibly, the RTNDA told the FCC that by investigating the charges made by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), it is “following the lead of an organization that is unrelenting in its hostility to the principles of free speech and a free press…” Such venomous, inaccurate, and out-right loony language illustrates how out of touch RTNDA’s leadership is. An organization concerned about electronic journalism requires leaders who place the First Amendment rights of TV reporters, producers and the public first. Not, as RTNDA just did, the political agenda of station owners, the National Association of Broadcasters, and media lobbyists such as Dick Wiley.

We think the RTNDA is violating its own Code of Ethics, which requires that “[P]rofessional electronic journalists should recognize that their first obligation is to the public.” We hope there are board members courageous enough to call for the organization to re-think its whole approach to media policy.

Disclosure: My organization occasionally works with a close colleague of CMD—Free Press. I also admire the work of CMD—which has done a first-rate job at exposing the invisible connections between the public relations industry, its clients, and public policy. I don’t believe, as Wiley argues, that such an FCC investigation will have a chilling effect. There do need to be limits about what government can do with the news media. But when news organizations act irresponsibly in a way that deceives the public, action is required. What is wrong—Ms. Cochran and Mr. Wiley—with a little sunshine?

We ask: Why?

The cable industry has worked to prevent ownership diversity. People of color and women own practically nothing in cable TV—neither systems nor programming channels. Nor do many of cable’s CEO’s come from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The cable lobby has fought against all policies that would promote diversity—including rules that would help ensure a more open broadband video Internet.

So why would so many civil rights groups support the cable lobby’s attempt to thwart FCC rules requiring an open network (via a new pending rule prohibiting proprietary set-top boxes)? Coming to cable’s aid, notes Broadcasting & Cable magazine was the Black Leadership Forum, representing almost three dozen groups. Siding with the Forum in comments to the FCC were the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Urban League and the Southern Christian Leadership Council. Civil rights groups were joined by “limited government/free market” organizations such as Americans for Tax Reform, Reason Foundation, Institute for Liberty and Americans for Prosperity. Also arguing against the rule was the NCTA, Comcast and Verizon. We note that Comcast, Verizon and AT&T are supporters of the Black Leadership Forum.

The pricey lobbying and PR shop flacking for the Forum and the other groups—LMG—told reporters that opposition was based on concerns about consumers having to pay a few dollars more a month for open boxes. That is absurd, of course. What’s really going on is a continued cable lobby (and Telco) power grab. They don’t want any competition—just a box and a network they can fully control. [We wonder who actually paid LMG’s bill].

Siding with the cable and phone lobby will not bring the U.S. the kind of diverse and equitable electronic media system we desperately require. Such support is shortsighted, at best. At worse, it is another setback to ensuring a democratic media system in the digital age.

Source: “NAACP Opposes Set-Top Integration Ban.” John Eggerton. Broadcasting and Cable. Oct. 2. 2006.

The Tribune Company’s Bad Journalistic Karma: Why Promoting Media Consolidation Can Come Back to Haunt You

A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions continues at the troubled Tribune Company. It has dismissed the Los Angeles Time publisher who bravely stood with those at the paper opposing further editorial budget cuts. The once-glorious Times Mirror chain–including its Los Angeles Times jewel–has been seriously journalistically wounded by the Tribune Co.

Perhaps no company lobbied the FCC as hard to sweep away media ownership safeguards as did Tribune. During the Michael Powell era, it used raw political power—and editorial might—in an attempt to eliminate the key federal safeguard promoting diversity of news ownership (the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule). Trib DC lobbyists—and top executives such as Jack Fuller—staked the company’s future on television. The shortsighted strategy was based on greed. If only the company could own more TV stations in the same places where it owned newspapers, all kinds of positive financial synergies would emerge (think cost-cutting). Tribune execs especially desired the quick and easy profits from the TV syndication market, where it sells such programs as Beastmaster and Mutant X.

So the Tribune Company paid more attention to pleasing Wall Street than its mission to provide serious support for print journalism. Now, the empire is unraveling—although too many good reporters, editors (and it appears) even publishers will suffer as a consequence. We believe that profits beyond covering expenses must come second when running a news media business. The seeking of ever-higher revenues cannot be the principle corporate mission for journalism. That’s why Congress needs to exempt publicly-traded news companies from having to place the needs of shareholders ahead of the public interest. Nor should media companies lobby to promote further concentration of ownership. Indeed, we need to break-apart the news organizations now in the hands of vast entertainment empires. Running a theme park and a movie studio–along with a news organization–creates all kinds of conflicts and distractions. Media consolidation is not the answer. But producing a quality news product—especially a newspaper—is. It’s time for reporters and others who care about news to seek new policies that would ensure independent and serious journalism thrives in the digital era (which is one of the key reasons why the U.S. needs to restore network neutrality for broadband).

PBS is Running Stupid and Manipulative Online Ads—First in a Series

PBS is running sponsored ad “links” via its Google deal. The further commercialization of public broadcasting is a real problem. Relying on bottom-feeder interactive advertising isn’t going to address any of the sustainability issues at public TV.

So, in the spirit of public service, this column will regularly review ads on the PBS site. Our nominee today is the data collection scam targeted at moms. “Are You a Slacker Mom? 15 Fun Questions that will show you what type of mom you really are” reads the copy for the www.AreYouASlackerMom.com. Once there, you are asked a series of questions and urged to give your email address, become a “member” and “receive notices for new quizzes, games and special offers from Chatterbean.” [which operates the site]

PBS should never be part of a data grab; nor should they promote commercial ventures. But from the recent push to make PBS more ad friendly, it appears we have some slacker executives running the network.

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The Military Does MySpace

We want to point to a new article in Brandweek that illustrates how the U.S. military is relying on “sell-em” techniques to boost enlistments. Boy, with the Iraq war such a disaster (to put it charitably), what a bad “advertising environment” the marketing folks in the Pentagon have to work with. Brandweek’s Jim Edwards was able to obtain Air and Army National Guard marketing records via a Freedom of Information request. Edwards reports that “[T]he documents—which describe internal market research memos, e-mails and PowerPoint presentations—offer an inside look at how Pentagon marketers saw consumer sentiment change, and they confirm that as the war progressed, particularly around 2004, their job got harder and harder.” The Brandweek story describes how the Reserve tested “alternative positionings for its brand,” including on the themes of “Hero, Everyman, Caregiver and Explorer…”

It appears that recruiting is now up, as a result of the intensive and well-funded marketing spin. Some tidbits:

“The total Pentagon ad spend went up 10.5% in 2005, to $276 million, after news that the Army and the Marines were not meeting their goals in some months in 2005. In the first six months of 2006, that spend ballooned to $177 million, putting the Pentagon on course for $345 million spent for the full year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.”

“Like other marketers trying to reach a young demo, the National Guard is considering opening a MySpace page…(The Marines, by the way, have a MySpace page—which showed 22,000 “friends” last week—and have released a viral video made by JWT, New York.)”

Congrats to Edwards and his editors for entrepreneurial reporting.

Source: “How National Guard Is Fighting Attrition.” Jim Edwards. Brandweek. October 02, 2006. Subscription may be required.

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PBS Promotes Fast-Food

We missed this report from yesterday’s MediaPost. A “key new partnership” for PBS is with Arby’s. The fast-food chain is sponsoring the new PBS kids program “Fetch.” Apparently Fetch’s host–a dog named Ruff–will be used in Arby’s “children’s meals promotion.” Ironically, Fetch is also sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF)–they will have to help give grants to those who wish to fight against the fat delivered by Arby’s!

Even if Arby’s offers healthier food choices, we think the point is this. Yes, PBS is hungry for funds. But they are making bad funding choices. Junk food ads aren’t the way out.

PBS Offers Advertisers "Integrated Buys"– Tell the PBS Board and Ombudsman to Help Stop the Ads!

PBS officials better watch a re-run of Frontline’s “The Persuaders.” Each day, there is another trade article on how PBS is embracing commercial marketing. Today, it’s MediaBuyerPlanner which reports that the non-commercial network is “offering sponsors increased exposure through integrated buys that include product tie-ins, the internet, podcasts, and longer-form sponsorship messages.”

We think PBS officials need a wake-up call. They believe that the public doesn’t really care about its drive towards greater commercial marketing–on TV, its websites, and other digital services. Let ’em know that they are dishonoring the mission of public broadcasting. Email PBS ombudsman Michael Getler. Track down PBS Board members and tell them to reverse course. Send a message to your Congressperson (those still in office!) that they should prohibit PBS and NPR from running advertising–online and off.

Source:  PBS Increasingly Open to Ads.  Oct. 3, 2006

YouTube Pitches itself to Advertisers: Everything Can Go!

According to today’s paidcontent.org, YouTube’ founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are “[N]ow exploring “complementary” advertising, Hurley said the site can help redefine the $74 billion TV ad industry by combining context, like Google’s text ads, with the sensory power of TV to present “a compelling brand image”. Hurley and Chen are open to anything apparently – ideas include user-generated ads, behind-the-scenes ad footage, sponsored vlogs and “event marketing” shoots at film festivals. The home page video ad, which NBC and ESPN use to plug new shows, generates around $175,000 and 400,000 viewers. (Update: that’s per day, according to this piece.)”

Where will the boundaries be? How will privacy be truly protected? What kind of special treatment will the big media and marketing companies receive when they fork out all that daily dough? Stay tuned for more coverage on Web 2.0.