i spend a lot of time following telecom and media matters, from the Net
Neutrality thing, to free metropolitan wifi debates, to the ala carte
discussion for cable selection. Bottom line is we're getting screwed in how we
get media and info, and it's not necessarily getting any better. The average
American has no real idea how we're being taken..
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newer subscribers have received better deals than me. Back in philly, I
was with them for years and was always discovering everybody else had
better packages. I wonder, do they offer better packages when you
mention how new subscribers have better deals and that you plan to leave
because of it?
Since most of you (not you Maurice) are very upset by the telecom
situation, I found out the following recently. In 1996 a Telecom Act
was passed that accomplished the following:
~deregulated cable rates. Between 1996 and 2003, those rates have
skyrocketed, increasing by nearly 50 percent. The Act permitted the FCC
to ease cable-broadcast cross-ownership rules. Ninety percent of the top
50 cable stations are owned by the same parent companies that own the
broadcast networks, challenging the notion that cable is any real source
of competition.
~The Act gave broadcasters, for free, valuable digital TV licenses that
could have brought in up to $70 billion to the federal treasury if they
had been auctioned off. The Act reduced broadcasters' accountability to
the public by extending the term of a broadcast license from five to
eight years, and made it more difficult for citizens to challenge those
license renewals.
~Lifted from 12 the number of local TV stations any one corporation
could own, and expanded the limit on audience reach. Together, just
five companies - Viacom, the parent of CBS, Disney, owner of ABC, News
Corp, NBC and AOL, owner of Time Warner, now control 75 percent of all
prime-time viewing.
~it lifted the limit on how many radio stations one company could own. -
Born from this was Clear Channel.
One of the consequences of the 1996 Tele-Com Act has been the reduction
in female and minority ownership of media, which has also resulted in a
`decrease in women's and minority voices in news coverage.
Astromancer wrote:
> Comcrap....(HISSSSS!!!!)
>
> Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Keith, that's where Comcrap hoses us all.
> My new neighbors have a package similar to the one Tracey describes, and they
> just signed on seven months ago. I've been with this outfit since they bought
> out MediaOne.
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: i don't get why your Comcast On Demand is so much
> more robust than mine here in Atlanta. I can't get anything meaningful from
> "Boomerang" (Justice League, for example), Nick ("Avatar") or any of the
> other channels. The things you can get On Demand, i've had to get by paying
> for a more expensive package
>
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> I've have started watching on Comcast on Demand
>
> Astromancer wrote:
>
>> Stupid numbers...probably not figuring out who the target audience is and,
>> therefore, they take it out on the fans...
>>
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I posted an e-mail the day the show was returning,
>> then posted a follow up asking if anyone here was watching. Only one reply,
>> and that was from Gymfig, who doesn't watch the show at all. Is anyone here
>> watching it?
>>
>> I also have to repeat my complaint at CBS' not showing the entire series
>> again in the weeks leading up to the return. That irritates me. I watched
>> the whole series, but missed the last three eps and didn't want to watch
>> them on my laptop. I was waiting and waiting, just *knowing* that CBS would
>> rerun the series again, in order to build up more interest. But they didn't.
>> I guess they were too busy selling it to SciFi. I don't get that strategy.
>> ABC did the same thing with "Lost", which is maddening.
>>
>> Too bad. Maybe my fantasy billionaire will pick up the show! :)
>>
>> -------------- Original message --------------
>> From: "Justin Mohareb" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Nuts.
>>
>> JJ Mohareb
>>
>> On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 7:13 PM, Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey
>> L. Minor) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Sources: 'Jericho' To Wrap It Up
>>>
>>>
>>> By MICHAEL HINMAN
>>> Source: SyFy Portal
>>> Feb-21-2008
>>>
>>> It looks like the "Jericho" experiment is about to come to an end.
>>>
>>> Sources have told SyFy Portal that CBS is gearing up to air the series
>>> finale version of the post-apocalyptic series on March 25, one of two
>>> endings shot that would either allow a cliffhanger going into a third
>>> season, or a proper amount of closure for "Jericho" fans who fought hard
>>> to force CBS to reconsider its previous decision to cancel the show.
>>>
>>> "There are a lot of people here who really care about what happens to
>>> 'Jericho,' and I think we all wanted to see it succeed," the source, who
>>> asked not to be identified, said. "Numbers are numbers, and [CBS] had to
>>> do what [CBS] had to do."
>>>
>>> Ratings for the first two episodes were well below even some of the
>>> worst numbers the show experienced at the end of the first season which
>>> helped prompt network officials to move toward cancellation. Although it
>>> is competing in a post-"American Idol" scheduling environment, "Jericho"
>>> struggled to compete with shows that were either in reruns, or not part
>>> of mainstream viewing habits.
>>>
>>> At the same time, audiences in key demographics of 18 to 49 -- a demo
>>> that isn't typically attracted to CBS for many of its other programmings
>>> -- were noticeably absent from the first pair of viewings from the show,
>>> and there is little chance they'll suddenly return in the coming weeks.
>>>
>>> But the decision isn't quite final yet ... network executives still have
>>> room to change their mind.
>>>
>>> "If the audience can come back to the show in the next two episodes, and
>>> I mean a lot, [CBS] may reconsider," the source said. "Fans definitely
>>> have a say, and they had a say last summer [with the 'Nuts to Jericho'
>>> campaign], but I think the final decision this time is going to come
>>> down to hard numbers, and they're just not there for 'Jericho.'"
>>>
>>> Please note that none of this has been confirmed by CBS, and should be
>>> treated as any rumor would.
>>>
>>> "Jericho" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
>>>
>>> http://www.syfyportal.com/news424744.html
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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> "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get
> organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A
> Country"
>
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