mediageek

Month: October 2003

  • DirecTV – News Corp Deal Delayed by FCC

    On Friday the FCC announced that they were delaying their review of the proposed acquisition of direct-satellite TV provider DirecTV by Rupert Murdoch’s omnivorous News Corp. Reportedly, Ken Feree, FCC media bureau chief, said the agency will be requesting more documentation and will be consulting further with the Justice Dept’s antitrust division. One has to…

  • Limbaugh Admits He’s a Drug Addict

    … but doesn’t cop to the charge that he’s been obtaining thousands of pills illegally. So, what’s the deal? If he isn’t getting his pills on the black market, is his doctor just too willing to hand out scrips, does he have a bevy of doctors ready to supply his needs, or is he taking…

  • The NAB Radio Show Scene in Philly

    Last week the National Association of Broadcasters held its annual Radio Show convention in Philadephia, home to the Prometheus Radio Project. Jesse Walker from Reason magazine has written a nice report on the proceedings, emphasizing some of the emerging conflicts both inside and outside the NAB. By Jesse’s account (which is the only non-industry one…

  • Goodbye Emusic, and Thanks for All the MP3s — Emusic Gets Acquired, Out Go the Old Rules, Out Go the Subscribers, Too

    I’ve been a subscriber to the Emusic mp3 download service on and off for about 2 or so years. I was originally turned on to the service due to a free trial I got with the purchase of a CD burner. I stayed on because Emusic was the most rational of the music download services…

  • Another Bonk for Mikey Powell

    On Monday Powell’s FCC was delivered another legal blow by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against that the Commission’s “deregulation” of cable modems. Earlier this year the FCC decided to classify cable modems as different than other Internet telecomm, like telephone-based DSL, thus removing the requirement that cable companies open up access…

  • Documenting The Slow Implosion of Local Media — Some Tips and Tricks

    A company that owns two TV stations in Central Illinois, Nexstar, last week shut down the news operations for two stations in Billings, MT it’s acquiring, before the ink on the paperwork was even dry. I try to keep tabs on what our local media owners are doing all over the country, because it’s generally…

  • Klose Encounter of the Madison Kind

    My pal John Anderson at DIYMedia.net got his own opportunity to press NPR president Kevin Klose on the topic of NPR’s efforts to quash low-power FM back in 2000. John was especially interested in hearing what Klose had to say about NPR claims that LPFM would cause heinous interference to their station, in light of…

  • Who Owns Your Local Media? Whoever it is, they likely own A LOT of it.

    I just found this great media ownership tool put together by the Center for Public Integrity. It’s the “Well Connected” database of owners for all radio and TV stations in the US, broken down by geographic area. Just pop in your zip or city name and go. It even gives you a nifty little pie…

  • Oh yeah, Limbaugh’s Gettin’ a Taste

    I know I should be more high-minded, but I must confess enjoying watching Rush stew in his own juices over being a racist moron, and now, maybe a prescription pain-killer drug addict. Now, if he were just some average schmoe, I wouldn’t cackle over the drug allegations. But since he’s a moralizing, arrogant, bigoted blowhard,…