Fast Track
By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/12/2004 7:00:00 PM
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Items:
High Court Takes File-Sharing Case Church Challenges Miami Licenses Taricani Gets Home Detention Abernethy Heads Fox Stations CEO Shell Quits TV Guide Stewart Show Set |
High Court Takes File-Sharing Case
The Supreme Court will review whether TV and movie producers can hold file-sharing networks like Grokster and StreamCast Networks liable when individuals use their software to illegally copy content. The court's decision to take the case thrilled Hollywood, which was disappointed by a lower-court ruling that Grokster and StreamCast are not liable for copyright infringement because they don't maintain centralized indexes of files available for sharing.
Grokster and StreamCast systems disburse indexes among users' privately owned computers. The San Francisco federal appeals court ruled in August that feature was enough to insulate the networks from legal challenges that got Napster, another peer-to-peer network, in trouble.
“Companies such as Grokster and StreamCast that openly profit from the misuse of copyrighted materials while attempting to avoid legal liability should not be protected by the courts,” says Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Church Challenges Miami Licenses
The United Church of Christ has asked the FCC to yank the licenses of CBS' WFOR(TV) and NBC's WTVJ(TV), both in Miami, charging that their respective networks unreasonably refused to air a UCC ad and because they do not air enough programming reflecting “the full range of religious expression.”
NBC says the ad violated its policy on controversial ads, though it has suggested changes that would pass muster. CBS has a similar policy and also says its station was never approached to run the ad in question.
In fact, neither station is being targeted for its own actions. The UCC ad buy—part of a four-year, $30 million campaign— was national. The two Florida stations were targeted because they are network-owned and because their license renewals have come due and can be challenged until Jan. 2. UCC Office of Communication Managing Director Gloria Tristani called it “the luck of the draw.”
Taricani Gets Home Detention
Investigative reporter Jim Taricani of NBC Universal-owned WJAR(TV) Providence, R.I., was sentenced last week to six months of home confinement. The reporter was convicted by a Rhode Island U.S. District Court of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal the identity of a source who gave him a FBI videotape related to an investigation of corruption in Providence's local government. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Ernest C. Torres cited Taricani's health and years of good citizenship as mitigating factors. The sentence ends, almost, a three-year ordeal for Taricani, 55, who faced up to six months in prison. Taricani still may repay costs of the investigation and trial, reportedly more than $100,000.
Abernethy Heads Fox Stations
Fox News Channel business chief Jack Abernethy is moving over to run Fox's station group. As CEO for Fox Television Stations, Abernethy will oversee Fox's 35 stations. He will report to Lachlan Murdoch, chairman of the station group and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp. Mark Kranz, VP, finance, replaces Abernethy as CFO.
CEO Shell Quits TV Guide
Amidst wide speculation that he's heading for Comcast, TV Guide Gemstar CEO Jeff Shell resigned. He's being replaced by Rich Battista, most recently executive vice president of business development and strategy for Fox Entertainment, which owns a controlling stake in TV Guide.
Stewart Show Set
Martha Stewart will get to leave prison for up to 48 hours per week to work on pretaped segments of a new syndicated lifestyle show planned for a fall 2005 debut. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, NBC Universal and Mark Burnett are teaming up on the show.
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