Amy Campbell’s Web Log

I was in my hometown this week, and the local radio station there is now a Clear Channel station. And while the music was pretty mainstream and likeable, there was no news of the Apple Pie Fair on the Common or the Ham and Bean Supper at the Methodist Church. There were no Little League Scores, no report from the Board of Selectmen and no word about the Sidewalk Sale Days on Main Street. Gone is the call-in show where people used to trade stuff (like 3 rain barrels for some clean fill) or report that their white cat was missing near Belknap Street. There weren’t any local kids calling in to win a CD or tickets to the concert at the Town Hall on Saturday night, and there was no word about the Fire on Oak Street and where folks could make a donation to the family that was burned out. And after the Dunkin’ Donuts ad played, the Fine Young Cannibals song came on… smooth… seamless… stepford-like… it could have been any town.

I’m late on this, but for the record…
House Votes to Reverse Media Ownership Rules and to limit companies from owning stations that reach more than 35% of the national audience. (The new FCC rules proposed raising it to 45%.)

This 45% cap interestingly enough is the same number audience share that the TV show Gunsmoke enjoyed back in the day of the three networks (I believe the largest regular audience). Our darling media giants obviously wants to capture that Gunsmoke-size audience again. It seems to me it’s really all about trying to maintain access to the “mass” audience and their (our) minds/eyeballs. But with all the new channels and new media, reaching a true mass audience has become impossible (see previous rant on mass audience)… unless of course you own all the outlets. When you own all the outlets and direct the content, it’s just as good as (or better than)… dun-dunna-da-duna-da-duna-da-dunna-da-da… a “Gunsmoke share!” (See the ClearChannel case for example).

So I am surprised, but relieved, that the Republican House overwhelmingly decided against the FCC plan as it stands.

Today’s Washington Post, an article titled FCC Chairman’s Star a Little Dimmer: Defeat on Capitol Hill Raises Questions About Powell’s Political Savvy” quotes Rep. Ed Markey as saying after the vote, “Never before have I seen an FCC chairman’s decision repudiated by the House of Representatives so quickly and so emphatically.” The article goes on to criticize Powell for being too much the lawyer and not enough the politician.

We’ll see what happens… stay tuned

I was just complaining how the search tools and filters need to get better… and they did! Feedster’s new improved blog search engine does for web logs, what Google does for web sites. It’s a powerful way to sift through the infoheap. Search experts, see Research Buzz’s Feedster Updates Its Search Engine

And Yahoo! just announced adding Moreover’s headlines to its news search feature at http://news.yahoo.com. (I’ve been a Moreover fan for sometime and enjoyed their unheralded, pure news search portal that they offered free until recently).

Meanwhile, Microsoft has Google in it’s sites. Ross Dunn’s Microsoft vs. Google — It’s Getting Ugly article on ISEDB.com states,

“…Microsoft’s search plan calls for the full integration of search into every component of home and office computer usage.”

and goes on to charge that…

“The tactics Microsoft will use to introduce this product are well known and will likely violate anti-trust laws in the United States.”