FTV Chief Prepares News Business Inquiry
WASHINGTON: The head of the Federal Trade Commission is preparing an inquiry into the new business, according to an interview this week with The Wrap. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz was said to express “some sympathy” on easing media ownership rules. In an exchange with Ira Teinowitz, Leibowitz said, “One of the issues that you probably have seen floated is the notion of an antitrust exemption. We are strong believers in the antitrust laws and in opposing exemptions from the antitrust laws--but when you think about the First Amendment, this might be one of those rare areas where you must think about ways to ensure the vibrancy of news.” Leibowitz’s comments are available at The Wrap.
NBC Station Management is Most Diversified
TAMPA,FLA.: A survey of local TV station management turned up 65 people of color among a total of 548 executives. The survey was released this week by the National Association of Black Journalists and reported by Richard Prince at the Maynard Institute. According to the results, NBC stations were the most diverse, at 27 percent, followed by ABC with more than 16 percent; Media General, 12, percent; CBS, 12 percent; Fox, 12 percent; Hearst Argyle, 6 percent and Tribune, 3 percent. The average diversity among measured stations was less than 12 percent African American, Hispanic and/or Asian American. Prince’s coverage is available at the Maynard Institute Web site.
TV Tech Vendor Says Broadcasting Owns Google
BOSTON: Google’s 10-year-old search engine is no match against digital broadcasting. That’s the opinion of Michael Kokernak, chief of Backchannelmedia. In a brief submission to Radio and TV Business Report, Kokernak makes a contrarian case for the continued predominance of broadcasting.
“The mistake broadcasters make today is that we think we compete against the Internet industry when in fact our platform is far superior,” he writes. “In addition, the structural flaws within the Internet are so deep that broadcasters still have time to build the right cross-platform tools as the stand-alone Internet continues to slide slowly off the cliff into a state of irrelevance.”
Backchannel makes an interactive TV technology being adopted by several broadcasters, including Fisher, Gray and LIN.
