broadcasting

City Tests Switch to Digital TV

Stevie Converse — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:18:08 -0700

Convention Coverage on a Budget

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:46:12 -0700

Why TV News in the U.S. Is Utter Rubbish

Holiday Shapiro — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:45:26 -0700

Rule Seeks to Block 'No Hispanic' Ad Dictates

Stevie Converse — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:12:51 -0700

The Hidden History of U.S. Broadcasting

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:05:51 -0700

The US broadcast media regime, in which greedy, amoral corporations enjoy completely free monopoly licenses to run their highly profitable businesses upon the scarce public property that is the broadcast spectrum is usually presented to us as the only “natural” and sensible media order.

Low Powers Seek $450M in DTV Aid

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:01:43 -0700

Just smacked down by the courts, the low-power TV industry's lobby is asking Congress for $450 million to make the conversion to digital as soon as possible, saying that many in the industry face bankruptcy and potential ruin due to government policies.

Small TV Stations Lose Appeal

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:53:15 -0700

A federal appeals court has denied a request from owners of thousands of low-power television stations to force a ban on government-subsidized converter boxes that can't display their signals.

FCC Endorses Junk News, Calls Fox's TMZ and 700 Club 'Bona Fide Newscasts'

Stevie Converse — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:57:05 -0700

Hard-hitting journalism is nearing extinction on television, and the Federal Communications Commission just threw another shovelful of dirt on its grave when it recently ruled that Rupert Murdoch's broadcast of TMZ and Pat Robertson's 700 Club meet the test for "a bona fide newscast."

Book Offers Tools to Foster Independent Broadcast Media in Developing Countries

Stevie Converse — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:36:46 -0700

People from the foothills of the Himalayas to small communities in Benin listen to the radio or watch TV. Now a new book seeks to help developing countries foster a diverse broadcasting sector that truly informs and empowers their citizens.

Civic Engagement, Empowerment & Respect for Diversity (CEERD)

Stevie Converse — Mon, 05 May 2008 05:54:11 -0700

The Program to Develop New Bank Practices in Civic Engagement, Empowerment and Respect for Diversity (CEERD) is a coalition effort involving all of the World Bank's technical networks and regions, for which the secretariat resides in the World Bank Institute (WBI).

Public Interest Groups Weigh In on Localism

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:14:38 -0700

A group representing TV producers, actors and others from Hollywood joined with Catholic bishops, the Campaign Legal Center and various anti-media-consolidation activist organizations to ask the Federal Communications Commission to impose additional public-interest requirements on broadcasters who want a fast track to a new license.

Instruments of War

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:54:27 -0700

As reported in The New York Times last weekend, CNN, MSNBC, NPR and others have turned, again and again, to military analysts – retired members of the armed forces hired by broadcast and cable networks – for their supposed expertise on the war.

Big Loser in Pennsylvania Primary: Cable News Networks

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:06:13 -0700

If you thought the never-ending Democratic primary match was bruising Sens. Hillary "Rocky" Clinton and Barack Obama, consider the damage to any polish that may have remained on the news media's reputation.

Satellite Killers

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:39:52 -0700

Watch as broadcasters try to neuter the XM-Sirius deal. The National Association of Satellite Radio Killers. That's what former National Association of Broadcasters chief Eddie Fritts joked should be the terrestrial radio and television lobbying group's name.

Pentagon Propaganda: So Much Worse Than We Thought

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:38:15 -0700

David Barstow of the New York Times has written the first installment in what is already a stunning exposé of the Bush Administration's most powerful

FCC Releases Updated Version of 'The Public and Broadcasting'

Stevie Converse — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:32:35 -0700

In its recent Report on Broadcast Localism and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission concluded that the record in the localism proceeding (MB Docket No. 04-233) revealed a substantial need for greater public understanding of broadcaster obligations, and of the procedures by which the Commission enforces those obligations.

FCC Releases Updated Version of 'The Public and Broadcasting'

Holiday Shapiro — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:41:48 -0700

Fox Asks FCC to Reconsider Indecency Petition Rejection

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:59:29 -0700

Fox asked the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau to rethink its decision not to consider Fox's challenge to indecency fines against 13 stations for an April 7, 2003, airing of Married by America that showed some pixilated body parts of bachelor-party revelers. Fox said the petition rejection was an abuse of its discretion and a ploy to avoid the substance of the petition.

Political Coverage Is More Noise than News

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:52:59 -0700

After months spent consuming endless cable TV news coverage of this endless presidential campaign, I've got a theory: The more attention they pay to a subject, the less viewers actually learn.

North Carolina Democratic Debate Canceled

Holiday Shapiro — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:12:20 -0700

Katie Couric won't get her debate after all. After several weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations with the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the North Carolina Democratic Party said Monday it was canceling plans for an April 27 debate that would have aired on CBS following "60 Minutes."