Save Access

from: Media Channel

The Stable of Cable as a Poster Child

From MediaChannel, May 15, 2007
By Danny Schechter

“We are in an industry that benefits from a very deregulatory regime,” boasts National Cable and Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow. “We think our customers benefit from that. We think we’re the poster child for leaving most decisions to the marketplace.”

from: St. Petersburg Times

Florida Cable Bill: Viewer Discretion Advised

May 15, 2007
By Howard Troxler

My favorite part of the big cable TV bill just passed by our Legislature is that it transfers complaints about poor service to Tallahassee.

Yep. I can just see the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the agency assigned to this task, swinging into action.

from: Surburban Chicago News

Montgomery, Illinois, Joins Opposition to Cable TV Bill

From Beacon News, May 15, 2007
By Andre Salles

The Village Board unanimously voted Tuesday to join other Fox Valley municipalities in opposing state control of cable and video service permits.

from: Appleton Post-Crescent

New Wisconsin Cable Bill Better, but Still Incomplete

May 15, 2007

AT&T has been pushing the Video Competition Act aggressively in Wisconsin, and a cynic would note that if it was as great as they say it is, it wouldn’t need the hard sell.

from: The Ledger

Television Bill Merits Crist’s Veto

May 15, 2007

Finally, the Florida Legislature had no problem agreeing on something: In overwhelming votes (117-1 in the House, 30-3 in the Senate), lawmakers voted to allow telephone companies to enter into local cable-television markets.

from: TC Palm

Robert Minksy: Cable TV one example: State usurping local revenue

By ROBERT MINKSY
columnist
May 15, 2007

I don't know how many people noticed a little article in the paper the other day regarding cable franchise, but it is an issue that warrants the public's attention.

from: Post Crescent

Posted May 15, 2007

Editorial: New cable bill better, but still incomplete

AT&T has been pushing the Video Competition Act aggressively in Wisconsin, and a cynic would note that if it was as great as they say it is, it wouldn't need the hard sell.

Note: See source site for comments and article links

from: MyDD

Closing the Gap with CWA on Net Neutrality

There's a tussle going on that Matt has been illuminating involving the Communications Workers of America's stance on net neutrality. The CWA is an AFL-CIO-affiliated union representing more than 700,000 workers, some at AT&T, NBC, the New York Times, and elsewhere. In a few cases now, CWA has objected to net neutrality provisions. What's frustrating is that in so much that involves telecom and media policy, the goal of some seems to be to obfuscate and fuzzy the picture until most normal people throw up their hands and move on to something else. We hear flatly untrue arguments, like the one about how Google doesn't pay for the enormous bandwidth it uses. We hear said that this is Goliath vs. Goliath, a fight between one giant corporation and another: Verizon's multimillionare CEO Ivan Seidenberg vs. Google's very rich executives "with their own agenda." It's almost as if some involved want us to just worry instead about who's going to win American Idol.

from: The Albany Project

The Brodsky Bill: Completely Clueless in Rochester

by: lipris
Fri May 11, 2007

I'm working on a long piece about Assemblyman Brodsky's Tellecommunications Reform Act that I hope to have up later today, but I just ran across this utterly clueless op-ed in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that I just can't let slide. Though I will give the D&C credit for writing about the issue at all given the serious dearth of coverage statewide, the piece they published Wednesday is a train wreck. They start strong with a perfect title, Hold telecom hearings, Public knows too little about major reform legislation, it ends as a muddled, clueless mess.

from: Civil Defense Blog

Weighing the New York Omnibus Telecom Reform Act of 2007

May 11, 2007
By Joshua Breitbart

I’m heading up to Troy, NY, this morning for a “New York State Strategy Session for the Future of Community Media & Media Justice.”

Today’s get-together at the Sanctuary for Independent Media is a precursor to a larger event tomorrow called interAct Troy!, a community driven skill share and party. It’s a great chance to check out the Sanctuary, visit friends up there, and promote the Allied Media Conference.