Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age (58 page)

23.
“Scrutiny Ahead for Comcast,”
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
, December 4, 2009, available at
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_656133.html
; Dan Gelston, “Pennsylvania Governor Trades Politics for Pigskin,”
Spartanburg Herald-Journal
, November 7, 2004, available at
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=20041107&id=a-YoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TNAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5805,1649963
.

24.
Kim Hart, “ComcastNBC Deal Finds Campaign Cash Converging with Obama's Principles,”
The Hill, Hillicon Valley
(blog), December 5, 2009,
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/70767-comcast-nbc-deal-finds-campaign-cash-converging-with-obamas-principles
; the White House, “Remarks by the President at Fundraising Event for Arlen Specter,” news release, September 15, 2009, available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-fundraising-event-senator-arlen-specter-philadelphia
; Dan Gross, “Jon Bon Jovi to Perform at Private Obama Fundraiser,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, September 29, 2008, available at
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillygossip/Jon_Bon_Jovi_to_perform_at_private_Obama_fundraiser.html?jCount=2
. David Cohen is a “member” of President Obama's “$500,000 bundling club,” according to Eric Lichtblau, “Obama Backers Tied to Lobbies Raise Millions,”
New York Times
, October 27, 2011, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/us/politics/obama-bundlers-have-ties-to-lobbying.html?pagewanted=all
.

25.
“Phila. Fundraiser Set for Hillary Clinton Bailout [Compliments of Comcast CEO],”
Philadelphia Daily News
, December 31, 2008, available at
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2156877/posts
.
Cohen gave $2,300 to Clinton's campaign in 2007, according to
CampaignMoney.com
, accessed March 4, 2012,
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/davidcohen.asp?cycle=08
. “Rendell claims now that if Hillary Clinton had been elected president, he would have called her up the next day and told her, ‘I know you don't know David as well as you'd like to know a chief of staff—you should bring him on as a deputy.’ Chiefs of staff, Rendell says, always leave after a few months, and then Cohen could have stepped right on up” (Huber, “David L., Explained”).

26.
Peter Nicholas and Josh Drobnyk, “Obama Supporting Specter in Primary Battle,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 15, 2009, available at
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/15/nation/na-obama-specter15
; “Fundraisers Mobilize for Specter; Obama to Come,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, June 8, 2009, available at
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Fundraisers_Mobilize_for_Specter_Obama_to_come.html
.

27.
Before leaving office, Specter set up meetings between senators and Comcast's Brian Roberts, according to a Hill staffer I interviewed on August 23, 2010;
Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
, 5 (Statement of Senator Arlen Specter).

28.
Charles B. Goldfarb,
Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Access Cable Television Channels: Issues for Congress
(Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, September 5, 2008), 11–12 (citing Herb Kirchhoff, “U.S., Michigan Courts Block Comcast Plan to Move Public Access Channels,”
Communications Daily
, January 16, 2008);
“Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Services in the Digital TV Age”: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
, 110th Cong., 2d sess., January 29, 2008, transcript available at
https://house.resource.org/110/org.c-span.203829-1.raw.txt
.

29.
“Public, Educational, and Governmental Services in the Digital TV Age”: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Telecommunications and the Internet of the H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce
, 110th Cong. (2008), 30 (Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell) and 2 (Testimony of David L. Cohen).

30.
Digital Television Transition: Implementation of the Converter Box Subsidy Program Is Under Way, but Preparedness to Manage an Increase in Subsidy Demand Is Unclear
(Washington, D.C.: United States Government Accountability Office, September 2008), 7.

31.
Cynthia Littleton, “Big Agenda for FCC Chief,”
Variety
, April 14, 2010, available at
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017701?refcatid=14
.

32.
Hill staffer, interview with the author, August 23, 2010.

33.
Huber, “David L., Explained.”

34.
“Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Market”: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary
, 111th Cong. 144 (February 25, 2010). The Waters-Zucker colloquy is at 111–14, Lee at 107, Gutierrez at 142–43, Roberts at 145.

35.
Maxine Waters to Julius Genachowski, April 12, 2010, available at
http://www.freepress.net/files/Rep.Waters_Letter_to_FCC_on_Extending_Comment_Period_in_Comcast-NBC_Merger.pdf
;
Waters and other members of Congress to Genachowski, May 7, 2010, available at
http://waters.house.gov/UploadedFiles/FCC_Letter_on_Hearings_and_Questions.pdf
; Waters to Mignon Clyburn, May 23, 2010, available at
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs//document/view.action?id=7020550283
.

36.
“Proposed Combination of Comcast and NBCUniversal”: Field Hearing Before the H. Comm. on the Judiciary
, 111th Cong. 189 (June 7, 2010) (Statement of Rep. Maxine Waters).

37.
Ibid., 101 (Testimony of Stanley E. Washington, Chairman and CEO, National Coalition of African American Owned Media).

38.
Ibid., 102, 101.

39.
Ibid., 184.

40.
Ibid., 5 (Statement of Rep. Maxine Waters).

41.
“Queen Latifah Tackles NBC's Lack of Diversity on ‘30 Rock,’”
Huffington Post
, October 8, 2010,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/queen-latifah-tackles-nbc_n_755666.html
.

42.
“Proposed Combination of Comcast and NBCUniversal,”
189.

43.
Joe Flint, “Comcast-Universal Merger Attacked,”
Los Angeles Times
, June 8, 2010, available at
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/08/business/la-fi-ct-comcast-20100608
;
“Proposed Combination of Comcast and NBCUniversal,”
3.

44.
“Comcast and NBC Universal: Who Benefits?”: Field Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Communications, Technology, and the Internet of the H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce
, 111th Cong. 49 (July 8, 2010) (Testimony of Joseph Waz, Jr., Senior Vice President, External Affairs and Public Policy Counsel, Comcast Corporation) (preliminary transcript).

45.
Ibid., 23 (Testimony of Jonathan Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, on behalf of Rev. Jesse Jackson).

46.
Joe Flint, “Comcast Promises to Add Latino to Board of Directors as Part of Outreach Effort,”
Los Angeles Times
, June 30, 2010, available at
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/06/comcast-promies-to-add-latino-to-board-of-directors-as-part-of-outreach-effort.html
;
“Comcast and NBC Universal: Who Benefits?”
11 (Testimony of Joseph Waz, Jr.); Bob Fernandez, “Comcast Adding Networks Owned by African Americans and Asian Americans,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, December 17, 2010, available at
http://articles.philly.com/2010-12-17/business/25293404_1_comcast-nbc-universalcomcast-lineup-comcast-corp
; William Crowder, “Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program Kicks Off in Philadelphia,”
Comcast Voices
(blog), September 21, 2011,
http://blog.comcast.com/2011/09/minority-entrepreneur-accelerator-program-kicks-off-in-philadelphia.html
.

47.
Bill Allison, “Net Neutrality: Do Campaign Contributions Tell the Whole Story?”
Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group
(blog), June 2, 2010,
http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/Net-neutrality-contribs/
; Hon. Bobby L. Rush to Hon. Julius Genachowski et al., October 21, 2010 (“For the reasons set forth below, I would urge the Commission to approve this proposed joint venture”); “Comcast has the best Infrastructure of Inclusion to build upon in the media
industry”(
“Proposed Combination of Comcast and NBCUniversal,”
114 (Testimony of Will Griffin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hip Hop on Demand).

48.
“
Comcast and NBC Universal: Who Benefits?
” 55, 56.

49.
Ibid., 69.

50.
Maxine Waters to Julius Genachowski, October 22, 2010, available at
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs//document/view.action?id=7020918846
.

51.
Eric Lipton, “House Inquiry Tied to Bank,”
New York Times
, July 31, 2010, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/us/politics/01ethics.html
; Ashley Parker, “New E-Mails Delay Ethics Trial of Lawmaker,”
New York Times
, November 19, 2010, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/us/politics/20waters.html?_r=1&ref—axinewaters
; Larry Margasak, “Maxine Waters Ethics Probe: Six out of Ten Committee Members Recuse Themselves,”
Huffington Post
, February 17 2012,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/maxine-waters-ethics-investigation-recusal_n_1285286.html
.

52.
Hill staffer, interview with the author, August 23, 2010.

53.
“Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Market,”
1, 6 (Testimony of Jean Prewitt, President and CEO, Independent Film & Television Alliance).

54.
Independent Film & Television Alliance, “Independent Film & Television Alliance Reaches Television, New Media Agreement with Comcast and NBC Universal,” news release, July 12, 2010,
http://www.ifta-online.org/independent-film-television-alliance-reaches-television-new-media-agreement-comcast-and-nbc-universa
.

55.
“I have heard that network affiliates have some concerns about the merger, including the fear that NBC will move its most popular programming from broadcast television to cable, which would decrease viewers and revenues and thus could severely impact the ability of these local stations to deliver local news and information” (“
Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Market
,” 101 [Questioning of Jeff Zucker, President and Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal, by Rep. Bob Goodlatte]). “Some observers, noting that broadcast networks traditionally have had only a single revenue source—advertising—that currently is facing serious cyclical and structural challenges, have predicted that Comcast might convert NBC to a cable network, abandoning its local affiliated broadcast stations and their local programming,” reported Charles B. Goldfarb,
The Proposed ComcastNBC Universal Combination: How It Might Affect the Video Market
, Congressional Research Service, February 2, 2010, 24 (citing Andrew Vanacore, “Broadcasters’ Woes Could Spell Trouble for Free TV,”
Yahoo! News
, December 29, 2009,
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/122909/bus_540670417.shtml
).

56.
Appendix F of the FCC's approval of the merger set out the “Agreements Between Applicants and Network Affiliate Organizations.” See
In the Matter of Applications of Comcast Corporation, General Electric Company and NBC Universal, Inc. for Consent to Assign Licenses and Transfer Control of Licenses
, 26 F.C.C.R. 4238, 4430 (2011), Appendix F.

57.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, “NBC-Comcast Merger Not in the Public Interest,”
Huffington Post
, December 6, 2010,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/nbc-comcast-merger-not-in_b_792858.html
;
“ComcastNBC Merger: Read the FCC Approval Letter,”
Wall Street Journal, Deal Journal
(blog), January 18, 2011,
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/01/18/comcastnbc-merger-read-the-fcc-approval-letter/
. Numerous form letters from individuals were filed with the FCC, which can be found through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System, available at
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs//fulltext/form.jsp
.

58.
The numerous letters filed in favor of the merger can also be found through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System.

59.
John Eggerton, “Waters: Commissioner-Lite Chicago Forum ‘Unacceptable,’”
Broadcasting & Cable
, July 11, 2010,
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/454666-Waters_Commissioner_Lite_Chicago_Forum_Unacceptable_.php
; “An open-mic session at a Chicago field hearing on the merger, held by the FCC's Media Bureau, was almost completely dominated by nonprofit organizations for everything from companion animals to the elderly testifying as to Comcast's goodwill and constant support” (Susan Crawford, “ComcastNBC Merger Is All About Money, Politics,”
Sacramento Bee
, September 15, 2010, available at
http://gfem.org/node/1051
).