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The Man in the Middle on the V-Chip Jack Valenti has been at the center of the action in Washington since Lyndon Johnson brought him back from Dallas on Air [...]

FCC orders new investigation of foreign ownership complete with gag order; NBC keeps up the pressure on 'special advantages'; Fox charges 'blatant' intervention The FCC last week escalated its investigation [...]

President Clinton's public endorsement of the V-chip last week gave the proposed electronic blocking device the kind of political momentum that might prove irresistible. 'I would say when that telecommunications [...]

'TV-telcos' want opportunity to be regulated as cable operators Bell Atlantic has told the FCC that telephone companies which own both television programing and the wire to distribute it should [...]

Hawaiian Shirt Day probably was not what Senator Robert Dole had in mind when he gave his political blessing to Rachelle Chong's nomination for the Republican vacancy on the FCC. [...]

Big-name advertisers and agencies are the newest broadcast time buyers for long-form commercials, a $400 million-a-year--and growing--business for broadcasting and cable A new informercial has been striking fear in the [...]

You've said you'll use this deal to distribute software around the world, but you already do that through Viacom. What does Paramount add to the equation? What is exciting to [...]

One is primarily cable networks. The other, entertainment production and syndication. One has cable systems and radio stations. The other has home video, books and theme parks. Those dovetailing differences [...]

WASHINGTON The CBS/Viacom merger shook the board of the National Assn. of Broadcasters last week when longtime Eye rep Martin Franks gave up his seat to Viacom's top D.C. lobbyist [...]

NEW ORLEANS In the wake of the recent struggle between Disney and Time Warner, 'a specter of distrust' hangs over the cable industry, FCC chairman Bill Kennard warned last week. [...]

The FCC blessed the Viacom/ CBS merger last week, provided the new company, called Viacom, sells off a handful of TV stations and the UPN television network within a year [...]

WASHINGTON It took Time Warner just 36 hours to do more harm to its planned merger with America Online than corporate rivals and consumer advocates have been able to inflict [...]

WASHINGTON Consumer advocates said they were generally pleased with an FCC staff recommendation that would give AT&T approval for its planned acquisition of MediaOne on the condition that it spin [...]

WASHINGTON Consumer groups have united to formally demand the FCC reject the America Online/Time Warner combination unless the merged company agrees to sever all corporate ties to AT&T. The Consumer [...]

Rupert Murdoch, satellites and a giant automaker were all the buzz last week when rumors surfaced that News Corp. has talked about buying General Motors in order to gets its [...]

WASHINGTON NBC formally resigned from the National Assn. of Broadcasters last week while accusing the trade org of refusing to push for deregulation of an industry that faces competitive threats […]

U.S. House Commerce Committee chairman Thomas Bliley (R-Va.) announced last week that he will not run for re-election, tightening the race for the chairmanship of the Telecommunications Subcommittee, which has […]

WASHINGTON ICraveTV.com, which allowed Web surfers to watch TV stations via the Internet, has reached settlements in the U.S. and Canada that have effectively put it out of business. Under [...]

WASHINGTON Time Warner chairman and CEO Gerald Levin made a promise last week that many worthy will be almost impossible for him to keep. Testifying in front of the Senate [...]

WASHINGITON -- TV manufacturers reached an agreement last week they say will allow consumers finally to hook up their expensive digital television sets for cable service. But broadcasters were quick [...]

WASHINGTON Deep-pocketed Hollywood honchos line up to shake hands and write checks whenever a presidential candidate comes to town. But aside from a shot at spending the night in the […]

WASHINGTON A coalition of Internet service providers scored a victory in Broward County, Fla., last week as a judge threw out most elements of Comcast's challenge to a rule requiring [...]

WASHINGTON The budget President Clinton submitted to Congress last week proposes a $200 million annual 'lease fee' for analog frequencies that broadcasters have been using free for the past 50 [...]

WASHINGTON The FCC has unanimously rejected Sinclair Broadcasting's controversial effort to force the entire television industry -- from set-makers to TV stations -- to reconsider the two-year-old technical standard for [...]

WASHINGTON Toppers at all seven major studios are banding together to clear the way for widespread distribution of U.S. features in China. The China Trade Relations Committee includes moguls such [...]

It's put up or shut up time in the battle between Viacom and Chris-Craft over control of UPN. In a stunning move last week, Viacom offered up a plan to […]

President Clinton's proposal that the film, television, music and video industries implement a single content code to help parents screen sex and violence in popular culture is dead on arrival, […]

NEW ORLEANS A feisty Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) accused the networks Jan. 24 of 'selling out the First Amendment' and the FCC of being a hotbed of corruption. Tauzin's ire [...]

A quite little legal war has erupted between copyright owners and a growing number of companies and individuals who have found creative ways to frustrate efforts by media conglomerates to [...]

WASHINGTON Between Pokeman, Teletubbies and Rugrats, children's programming has become one of the hottest niches in television, but some public interest advocates are becoming increasingly concerned about what they see [...]

WASHINGTON The major networks are looking to Washington in 2000 hoping the FCC will allow them to buy more stations and even pave the way for consolidation among webs. When [...]

WASHINGTON The National Assn. of Broadcasters pushed NBC one step closer toward the door last week when the broadcast station trade org refused to support an increase in the number [...]

In the name of saving a bundle by not having to air as many anti-drug public service ads, the networks may have lost some credibility. Caught with their plotlines in [...]

WASHINGTON Presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.) is getting a lot of attention this week for the help he gave Paxson Communications in the purchase of a public TV station, but [...]

WASHINGTON Broadcasters had hoped that their new digital airwaves would provide them with an exciting product to offer in the ongoing competition with cable, but so far, consumers seem to [...]

WASHINGTON It looks like NBC is about to follow Fox's lead and head for the exit at the National Assn. of Broadcasters. And now Washington is waiting to see who [...]

HOLLYWOOD Once again, the Federal Communications Commission is struggling with broadcasters over whether the industry has an obligation to compensate the public for the billions of dollars' worth of airwaves [...]

HOLLYWOOD The atmosphere of last week's Western Cable Show was redolent of paranoia as cable operators filled panel sessions and corridor talk with gothic images of a 'Pandora's box' that, [...]

WASHINGTON 'Everyone thought this play couldn't be done,' says Joy Zinoman of Tom Stoppard's 'Indian Ink.' After seven years, the play has only seen two productions in the United States [...]

WASHINGTON DirecTV announced it has closed deals to carry the signals of ABC and NBC owned and operated stations, thus giving the satcasters signed retransmission agreements with three of the […]

WASHINGT0N President Clinton has signed into law legislation that will allow satcasters to offer local TV stations, kicking off what many hope is a new era of competition for the […]

WASHINGTON Now that the House and the Senate have signed off on a bill that will allow satcasters to offer local programming, EchoStar and DirecTV have responded by identifying 14 […]

WASHINGTON Congressional leaders reached a fired agreement last week that will allow DirecTV and EchoStar to offer local broadcast channels to their subscribers by Christmas. The legislation will allow satcasters […]

WASHINGTON FCC chairman Bill Kennard just can't get a break. Having tried to do a favor for a Republican congressman and 100,000 car racing fans, he now stands accused of […]

WASHINGTON Broadcasters may want to start rubbing their lucky rabbits' feet now that the FCC has decided it will use a lottery to decide who should be allowed to buy [...]

WASHINGTON Congress will not be doling out any tax breaks to Hollywood this year -- even if it means losing more movie-of-the-week jobs to Canada. That was the final word [...]