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from: Consumer Affairs

FCC Chief Seeks New Restrictions On Cable TV
Stepped-up regulation comes as telecoms turn up the heat on cable

by Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.Com

November 13, 2007

Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin is advocating new regulations for the cable television industry that may level the playing field for smaller competitors -- but which may also leave cable incumbents vulnerable to challenges from big telecom companies.

from: NY Times

November 13, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
The Daily Show
By KEVIN J. MARTIN

Washington

IN many towns and cities, the newspaper is an endangered species. At least 300 daily papers have stopped publishing over the past 30 years. Those newspapers that have survived are struggling financially. Newspaper circulation has declined steadily for more than 10 years. Average daily circulation is down 2.6 percent in the last six months alone.

from: Daily Cardinal

Cable bill must provide protection
By: The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board /The Daily Cardinal

Cable compeition bill will only be ready for passage once customers are guaranteed protection

According to Chad Vader—a local, if fictional, benefactor of public access television—Wisconsin’s Cable Competition Bill (AB 207) crushes provisions for the sustained existence of public access funding and consumer protections.

from: Badger Herald

Mayor dislikes cable proposal

by Cara Harshman
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz released a statement Friday expressing his concerns with the newly passed video franchise bill — a bill that would transfer the power to grant video franchises from local municipalities to state government.

from: Fighting Bob

PoisonBill.com
By Cynthia Laitman

Except for the heroic minority who voted “no” (Sens. Risser, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Jauch, Kreitlow, Lassa, Miller, Robson and Vinehout), the state Senate reached a new low in its disregard for the public interest by rushing to approve the corporate-backed cable bill. Promoted by AT&T and its industry allies, this bill guarantees decreased competition and higher prices for consumers -- the opposite of what its backers have so disingenuously claimed.

from: Waxing America

November 12, 2007
Reflections on the AT&T Cable Bill and the Wisconsin Sell Out

The comments from the supporters of the AT&T cable legislation that passed the Wisconsin Senate make it obvious they never intended to honestly discuss the issue.

All they say is that the bill will bring competition to Wisconsin.

from: MultiChannel News

FCC May Levy New Rules on Cable TV Operators

By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld -- Multichannel News, 11/10/2007 9:16:00 AM

Kevin Martin is about to step up his attempt to open up the cable television industry’s rate and programming structure, The New York Times reported Saturday, Nov. 10.

from: Washington Post

FCC Moves to Place Restrictions on Cable TV

From Washington Post, November 12, 2007
By Frank Ahrens

The Federal Communications Commission is likely to impose a new regulation on the largely unregulated cable television industry, the first of what may be more to come.

from: Broadcasting and Cable

Martin Says FCC Has More Power to Regulate Cable

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/12/2007 10:38:00 AM

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says the commission plans to invoke the so-called 70/70 threshold to justify new regulations on the cable industry. That would put the deregulatory-minded Republican chairman on the same page with anti-consolidation groups like Media Access Project, (MAP) which has pushed the FCC to invoke the rule, saying the cable industry has become sufficiently dominant.

from: Digital Democracy

Cable’s 70/70 Rule & the Public Interest — Programming Diversity Is What Should Matter

From Digital Destiny, November 12, 2007
By Jeff Chester

Our friends and colleagues have worked for years to ensure that the monopolistic-run cable television industry be required to operate in a more competitive and–dare I say–democratic manner. So Bravo! to Media Access Project, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and everyone else. But the focus of any FCC rules changes should be on how to ensure real programmatic diversity, including shows and channels owned and managed by women and people of color. If all we get is an a la carte system where one can merely pick and choose from the narrow content choices now offered us, then we will not be making real progress. How one should measure success of any cable TV regulatory change should be on what we see on the screen. That’s more important, in my opinion, than a focus on lowering cable rates (or offering new options for cable consumers to block programs and channels they find undesirable).