Lawmakers in the Senate and House on Thursday introduced legislation that would allow telephone companies to offer video services without obtaining local cable TV franchises. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association had no comment on the bills, which were introduced…
The House of Representatives approved an amendment Thursday by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., to bar federal agencies from hiring media representatives, public relations firms and other contractors to covertly promote “publicity or propaganda.”In a statement, Rep. Hinchey said the measure,…
A new suggestion that NBC Universal and Microsoft are bent on extricating themselves from their 99-year commitment to be equal partners in MSNBC appears in an Online Journalism Review article posted this week, titled “MSNBC.com survives, thrives despite trouble between…
The Walt Disney Co. said Thursday it has hired two executives, including former TiVo President Martin Yudkovitz, to head up the media giant’s new corporate strategy, business development and technology group.Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive, was named executive VP…
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has asked the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s inspector general to investigate whether CPB’s recent decision to hire Patricia Harrison as its new president and CEO followed standard corporation operating procedures. In a June 29 letter to…
WJLA-TV, the Allbritton Communications-owned ABC affiliate in Washington, has hired award-winning news and documentary producer Ray Farkas to develop and executive produce a new prime-time newsmagazine eventually expected to air monthly on the station.WJLA anchors Leon Harris, Kathleen Matthews, Gordon…
Firing off the starting gun for a new debate over media ownership deregulation, the Federal Communications Commission is slated to launch a proceeding July 14 seeking input to help it determine what to do about controversial rules that limit the…
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is proposing a rule that would allow broadcasters to require cable operators to carry either the broadcaster’s digital TV or analog signal during the transition to DTV and then negotiate a retransmission consent deal…
A little more than a week before its scheduled July 10 premiere, ABC is pulling its six-episode reality series “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” in which three white Christian families on a Texas cul-de-sac get a chance to choose their new…
Comcast said Thursday it has named former TNN General Manager Diane Robina president of Comcast-Sony Networks, the joint venture created from last year’s Sony-MGM merger, in which Comcast participated. Ms. Robina, who starts July 1, will be responsible for deciding…