Month: January 2003
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Watch Video from Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Radio Competition
The CSPAN video from today’s hearing is on-line, though I don’t yet have a permalink. This one should work for a while: http://www.cspan.org/VideoArchives.asp?Cat=Issue&Code=MP
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Guerrilla News
Video Systems magazine has a nice article on the video production side of the Guerrilla News Network (GNN). It’s good to note that GNN basically operates off of one DV camcorder and two Mac G4s — it doesn’t take much hardware. Of course, it still does take a fair amount of time.
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Lies and Damn Lies
A small blip on today’s Associated Press radar: “Clear Channel Defends Size of Company” “WASHINGTON – The head of a major radio company is taking aim at charges that his company engages in anti-competitive behavior. Lowry Mays of Clear Channel Communications told a Senate panel that the competition in the radio industry is “robust.” He…
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Economist Fawns Over Mikey Powell
The Economist conducts a brief, but fawning profile of FCC Chair Michael Powell. Their loves stems from the estimation that “Unusually for a regulator, Mr Powell seems to want, gradually, to write the FCC out of the game. For that, he deserves more respect than Americans usually shower on their benighted government officials.” All I…
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Real Citizens at the FCC? OK, let’s count 1… er, 1….
The LA Times reports on “Citizens Knocking on FCC’s Door” and actually getting face time with FCC Commissioners “to discuss the arcane rules of national telecommunications policy.” Just seeing the headline made me think, “Yes, this is the way it oughtta be.” But then reading it raised some suspicions. The only real citizen the article…
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Responding to the Oligopolistic Desires of Local Media Owners
As promised on the radio show, I now have posted the comments that Nexstar and Sinclair filed with the FCC on the media ownership review docket. Both companies own TV stations in the Champaign-Decatur-Springfield, IL DMA (where the ‘geek is located), in addition to owning stations nationwide. Nexstar owns Champaign CBS affiliate WCIA Ch. 3…
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Testify! (to the FCC)
Radio activist extrordinaire Don Shellhardt relays how to submit your testimony to the FCC for the Commission’s public hearing on media ownership to be held in Richmond, VA: As noted elsewhere on this Message, the FCC has just announced Field Hearings in Richmond on whether the FCC should remove the remaining legal limits on how…
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Senate Commerce Committee to Focus on Media Ownership
When the FCC appeared in front of the Senate Commerce Committee a couple weeks ago the focus was primarily on telecomm and competition in the phone/Internet biz. But the issue of ownership in the mass media nonetheless got brought up by several Senators and was therefore addressed by the five commissioners. Now, the Commerce Committee…
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Live Blog from Porto Allegre
Anarchogeek is at the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre Brasil, and blogging updates. The WSF is the economic forum for the rest of the world that isn’t necessarily invited to the table at forums like the G8, Davos or WTO. Here’s where the true impact of globalisation is being tracked and coped with, with…
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Why Broadband’s so Goddamn expensive
Or, why it isn’t cheaper. The Mercury News’ Dan Gillmor reports that competition in telecomm, especially broadband internet, hasn’t fully materialized, allowing the incumbent providers — primarily regional Bells — to monopolize and keep rates jacked. He also notes the impending threats — that your broadband provider might more seriously constrict and restrict the content…