One year ago - a lot going on

Mid July 2004 seemed to have a flurry of media-related news going on, and I was trying to keep track of it, mostly through scanning the major news media web sites, and by following developments on the excellent Benton Foundation Communications-related Headlines mailing list service. Here are some of the things I was looking at a year ago (before I started this blog).

(July 14) filesharing woes Media Statistics
Almost a year before the MGM v Grokster decision spelled another blow for fileharing technology, UK-based technology firm CacheLogic released a study showing just how big the problem was getting. Its study found that Internet users were downloading twice as many films, games and music as they had been a year previously (2003). "'One of the biggest myths put forth by the music industry – that they are winning the war on file-sharing -- is simply wrong,' said Andrew Parker, co-founder of CacheLogic. 'It's a case of displacement,' he added. 'Users are just moving to new networks.'" (I wonder if that'll continue to be the case.) The number one reason for the increased traffic, of course, is the proliferation of broadband Internet connections. CacheLogic "estimates Internet users around the globe freely exchange a staggering 10 petabytes - or 10 million gigabytes - of data, much of it in the form of copyright-protected songs, movies, software and video games." Interestingly, the popularity of file-sharing is costing the largest Internet service providers millions of dollars per year each in bandwidth and network maintenance costs.

(July 14) movie ratings
The New York Times reported on a study from the Harvard School of Public Health that found that the movie ratings system run by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) was confusing and murky. Basically, the researchers found that a movie rated PG or PG-13 today has more sexual or violent content than a similarly rated movie in the past. They found significantly more violence in G-rated animated films compared with nonanimated films and concluded that "physicians should discuss media consumption with parents of young children."

(July 13) convention coverage
With the country already in election fever as it approached the first party convention, the New York Times also noted that the NBC, ABC and CBS networks had announced their intention to broadcast only three hours each of the Democratic and Republican conventions in prime time. "The coverage corresponds to the highest-profile speakers. For the Democrats, that means former President Bill Clinton on Monday; Senator John Edwards on Wednesday; and Senator John Kerry as he accepts the presidential nomination on Thursday. For the Republicans, the prime-time coverage aims to show Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California on Tuesday, Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday and President Bush on Thursday." For the remainder of convention coverage, viewers would have to turn to CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, or CNBC on cable (and Telemundo for Spanish speaker). The networks also said they would offer additional coverage in the digital TV format. PBS, meanwhile, planned to carry three hours of prime-time broadcast coverage each night of both conventions.

(July 13) VOA undermined Media Statistics
According to USA Today, nearly half of Voice of America's (VOA) 1,000 staffers signed a petition protesting what they call the "piece-by-piece" dismantling of VOA. "The 62-year-old service reaches 87 million people in 44 languages. The petition asserts that the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees U.S taxpayer-funded broadcast outlets, has been funneling money into new radio and TV stations that are not subject to the same journalistic standards and monitoring as VOA." The new broadcast outlets (including Radio Sawa) "are directed primarily at the Middle East, where the U.S. image is at a historic low." The petition "goes on to accuse the board of 'killing VOA; by closing its Arabic radio service, reducing English-language broadcasting and launching services with "no editorial accountability" and limited breaking news."

One year on, we're a bit clearer on the source of this political interference, as we note that the Broadcasting Board of Governors - which oversees VOA and all other US public diplomacy/propaganda operations - is being run by none other than Ken Tomlinson, who is also chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting here's his bio on the BBG web site). And we come to understand that interference in VOA's activities is surely in line with Tomlinson's interference in CPB. (And here's CJR Daily's take on Tomlinson.

(Most information and direct quotes adapted from Benton's Communications-related Headlines, unless noted otherwise).