(Image: File)

Brand baron Sean “Diddy” Combs is adding yet another venture onto his extensive, multi-million dollar empire. Combs is expanding his brand with the launch of a music-themed cable network, according to a report from Broadcasting & Cable.

The new channel, Revolt, will launch on Dec. 12 and be distributed via Comcast.  The entertainment mogul is reportedly working alongside former MTV programming executive Andy Schuon on the music/music news channel.

The deal comes nearly a year after the cable provider announced it would solicit proposals for “independent channels” as a promise to the Federal Communications Commission to help launch-minority-owned networks. Comcast plans to launch 10 over the next eight years, including four under African-American control, two being majority Hispanic-owned and two being operated by American Latino programmers.

Combs is no stranger to television. He launched a bevy of branded series for MTV, including three successful iterations of Making the Band, a spinoff, Making His Band, and P. Diddy’s Starmaker, as well as VH1’s I Want to Work for Diddy, a series documenting the tycoon’s search for an assistant. The entrepreneur has also made appearances on several shows, from CSI: Miami to Entourage.

With Bad Boy Records, marketing firm Blue Flame, clothing lines Sean Jean and Enyce under his belt and the Diageo vodka deal, Diddy is making a pretty penny—or more like plethora of cash—with an estimated net worth of $500 million.

(Image: Getty)

Queen Latifah Gets Another Talk Show

You may remember Queen Latifah’s self-titled talk show, The Queen Latifah Show, which ran in syndication for two seasons (1999-2001). Well, the rapper-turned-actress is giving it another try.

Sony Television Pictures said Monday that it will produce the untitled show alongside Flavor Unit Entertainment, the production company of Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere, and Overbrook Entertainment, the company of James Lassiter and Will Smith, according to the New York Times. In 1991, Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment gave the Cover Girl spokesmodel one of her earliest screen appearances on his popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Her new series is set to debut in the fall of 2013.

Read more at the New York Times…

Yale Study Shows Beverage Industry Targets Black and Hispanic Youth

A new study from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity exposes beverage companies marketing sugary drinks to children, especially to black and Hispanic youth.

Black children and teens saw 80-to 90 % more ads compared with white youth, including more than twice as many for Sprite, 5-hour Energy, and Vitamin Water, according to the research. The targeting is very similar for the Hispanic demographic. Between 2008 and 2010, Hispanic children saw 49 % more ads for sugary drinks and energy drinks on Spanish-language TV. Hispanic teens saw 99 % more ads.

“The beverage industry needs to clean up their youth-directed products: reduce the added sugar, take out the artificial sweeteners, and stop marketing products high in caffeine and sugar to young people,” said Marlene Schwartz, co-author and deputy director of the Rudd Center. “We also need the nutrition facts, including caffeine content, for all beverages, especially energy drinks.”

The report’s authors studied marketing by 14 beverage companies and examined the nutritional quality of nearly 600 products including full-calorie soda, energy drinks, fruit drinks, flavored water, sports drinks, and iced teas, as well as diet energy drinks and diet children’s fruit drinks. The study is the most comprehensive and science-based assessment of sugary drink nutrition and marketing ever conducted.

To read the complete report, visit sugarydrinkfacts.org.

Brigitte Daniel of Wilco, Inc. Appointed to the FCC Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age

Executive Vice President of Wilco, Inc. Brigitte Daniel was appointed on Tuesday to the Federal Communications Commission’s re-charted Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age.

As one of a few African-Americans appointed, Daniel will be charged with providing recommendations to the FCC regarding policies and practices that will further enhance diversity in the industries the agency regulates.

“I am very honored and excited about my appointment to serve on the FCC’s Diversity Committee,” said Daniel, a Philadelphia tech leader.  “The topic of inclusion and diversity within this sector is paramount to providing opportunity, access, and a voice for all citizens of the United States. I look forward to representing the low-income marketplace that I proudly serve, broadening the scope of broadband access for the City of Philadelphia, and bettering the public interest of the American people and the missions of the FCC.”

Daniel currently serves as senior counselor to Wilco President Will F. Daniel. In addition, she handles corporate communications and oversees large-scale projects, including the launch and implementation of the new Wilco Philadelphia Housing Authority community and entertainment and web channel, WPHA-TV.

Princeton University professor Cornel West was arrested at an Occupy DC protest on Sunday, but he won't face charges (Image: Facebook)

• Cornel West Won’t Face Charges for Supreme Court Demonstration Arrest

Civil Rights activist Cornel West and 18 others were arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court during an Occupy DC protest on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors announced Monday that they did not press charges against the group.

The author was in Washington for the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall.

Read more about the Princeton University professor’s arrest at CBS News…

• James Brown Inducted Into Georgia Radio Hall of Fame

The “Godfather of Soul” was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame on Saturday. The late legend’s daughter, Deanna Brown Thomas, accepted the honor on his behalf at an awards ceremony.

James Brown was among several honorees, including Ben Porter, a Macon radio station owner who got his radio start in south Georgia as “Jack the Bellboy,” and Ernie Harwell, the renowned voice of the Detroit Tigers, to receive their award posthumously.

Read more at The Grio…

• FCC Rules Set to Curb ‘Bill Shock’

Gone are the days of surprise cell phone charges.

New U.S. policies will require that wireless providers send customers usage notifications when they’ve reached their monthly limits or are roaming overseas, announced the CTIA, Federal Communications Commission and Consumers Union in a statement Monday.

Cell phone users will receive updates before and after hitting their text, voice and data limits. They will also get roaming notices while traveling outside of the country.

The free and instant notices will come by voice or text. Providers are required to offer two of the four notifications — overseas, text, voice and data — by Oct. 17, 2012, and must provide all four by April 17, 2013.

Read more at Mashable…

• Danroy Henry Athletic Center Honors Pace University Football Player

Family and friends of Danroy “D.J.” Henry Jr., a 20-year-old Pace University student who was fatally shot by New York police, gathered on the first anniversary of his death outside an athletic field named in his honor.  The D.J. Henry Athletic Field is located in his hometown of Easton, Mass.

Read more at ESPN…

The merger would not have been approved if several conditions were not implemented allowing the government to monitor its competition. Most of the conditions for the merger apply for seven years. An example of this checks-and-balance act is Comcast, which now owns 51% of NBC, handing over its management stake in Hulu, the online joint venture NBC has with Walt Disney and News Corp. The compromise ensures Comcast will offer television programming to competing sites such as ABC and CBS.

With the restrictions, came promises. The leading cable outlet is agreeing to offer more children’s programming and local news.  In addition, for low-income households, they will offer Internet service for $9.99 and stand-alone broadband Internet subscriptions for $49.99. It’s also promising to ramp up diversity in content with its 16 owned and operated stations, including Telemundo and TVOne. Critics have voiced their concerns, expressing the acquisition gives too much power to a single company, possibly resulting in fewer independent media sources as well as inflation of prices and cable saturation of the Internet.

Chairman of TVOne, Alfred Liggins, is excited about the opportunities expected to come along with the union. “There’s going to be loads of opportunity for our community,” says Liggins. “TV One will have the opportunity to be a part of a bigger family of programming assets and I think our viewers will ultimately benefit from that.”

The merger kicks into affect, officially, on January 28^th.

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President Obama and Congress have charged the Federal Communications Commission with the task of developing a national broadband strategy by February 17, 2010. The goal is to provide underserved communities with this vital technology and at the same time create scores of new jobs. The commission has held public forums on the issue and invited comment from interested parties.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and five organizations of black elected officials released a report on Tuesday, titled “Broadband Imperatives for African Americans,” which included recommendations to increase its use in minority communities.

“Broadband is the major infrastructure challenge of our generation. It is for us what railroads, electricity, and other universal services were in the past,” said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, during the release of the report. “[It’s] essential for building businesses and getting jobs.” He also said that the report would be helpful as the agency develops its national strategy.

Long before Google, WiFi, and Blackberry, the term digital divide was coined to describe the gap between those with and without access to the Internet. Today that divide persists, with blacks lagging behind whites and Hispanics in the adoption and use of broadband at home. A Pew study found that in 2008-09, the rate of growth for blacks, whites and Hispanics increased by 7%, 14% and 21%, respectively. The reasons vary—from cost to availability–but minorities risk losing out on important educational and economic opportunities that can be gained through the use of broadband technology.

The report recommends restructuring the Universal Service Fund, mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to increase national access to advanced telecommunications services to help households pay for broadband; government subsidies for Internet service and hardware; free service for libraries and schools in low-income areas and their surrounding communities; and stimulus funds for digital awareness and broadband literacy campaigns.

“[This] is the first time that African American elected officials have issued a formal statement to the FCC in this area,” said Joint Center president Ralph B. Everett. “As the nation strives for universal access to high-speed networks, these elected and appointed officials can and will play a vitally important role in ensuring that the great promise of broadband really does deliver progress and opportunity in struggling communities.”

Troubles for Arbitron People Meter

New York Rep. Edolphus Towns, launched an investigation this summer of Arbitron Inc.’s use of the Personal People Meter, a device used to rate radio audiences across the country.  The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that he chairs had received numerous complaints from minority broadcasters who believed the meter produces inaccurate samplings of the listening preferences of minorities and certain age groups. When Arbitron submitted documentation that he considered insufficient and prohibited the Media Rating Council, which oversees audience measurement services for member clients like Arbitron, to provide its documents to the panel, Towns issued a subpoena to the council.

This week the House panel released a summary of MRC’s findings that there are “persistent problems” with the meter. A summary of the findings Towns released showed that in New York, for example, where the average sample audience is 5400 participants, Arbitron uses 500 recruits to represent more than 4 million ethnic minorities.

“There are some serious problems that we hope we can sit down with them to correct. The sample they’re using is just not adequate and they’re not doing any serious recruiting in minority communities. Minority radio stations are really getting clobbered because their ratings are going down,” said Towns, adding that Arbitron has indicated an awareness that problems exist.

But Arbitron immediately disputed the findings and issued a statement that the company is “extremely surprised and disappointed” by the committee’s “analysis and erroneous conclusions” and that it looks forward to a “fact-based dialogue” to clarify those conclusions.

Hearing Explores Recession’s Disparate Impact on Minorities

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing this week to examine the economic downturn’s effect on minorities, particularly in relation to unemployment and home foreclosures.

“For most racial and ethnic minority groups, the Great Recession is in reality a Great Depression. People of color were worse off before the start of [the] downturn and have been losing their jobs and their homes at a faster rate ever since,” said the committee’s chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns (N.Y.).

Testimony and an accompanying report from Christian Weller, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), on how to level the economic recovery field supported this view. During this recession, which has lasted longer than others, businesses are laying off workers who are facing more difficulty finding new jobs, which in turn impacts foreclosure rates and credit card defaults, now at record highs.

To ensure that minority employment gains match or exceed whites’ Weller recommended investment in the creation of green jobs in low-income communities that will “provide opportunities for advancement and pay good wages” to people without higher education; programs that encourage the pursuit of higher education; and stronger regulations and consumer protections to prevent unfair lending practices.

CAP hosted a conference call on minorities and the recession featuring Weller and representatives from the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, which can be heard here.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday, all full-power television stations in the U.S. will start converting to digital throughout the day. By the end of the day all television stations must be exclusively on digital.

Even though the screens will go blue, for those who haven’t made the transition, a toll-free number will appear on the screen where consumers can get help and request coupons to purchase a converter box. It will either be the 1-888-DTV-2009 for the Department of Commerce’s helpline or 1-888-CALL-FCC. (DTV Transition Guide | FAQs)

The switch will free up the airwaves for police, fire, and emergency rescue communications, and allow broadcasters to offer programming with better picture and sound quality and offer more programming choices, and allow for advanced wireless services for consumers.

Consumers who do not subscribe to pay television services and have older, analog televisions will need to attach digital-to-analog converter boxes to their TV sets in order to continue receiving over-the-air television programming beginning Friday.

The FCC is facing criticism over the transition. Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst for Consumers Union, said at a recent FCC hearing that he was concerned that cable operators were trying to use the transition to digital to have consumers buy expensive services that they don’t need.

Despite the government’s media campaign to alert consumers to the transition, there are still 2.8 million American households, or 2.5% of the television market, not ready for the transition, the Nielsen Co. reported. That represents about a 50% improvement in readiness levels since the decision was made in February to delay the DTV transition, according to the FCC.

Younger African American and Hispanic homes are disproportionately unready, while the elderly are the most ready. About 5.1% of African American households aren’t ready, which is about the twice the national average.

Households of under 30 that are also more unprepared than the national average. “Maybe it’s because they rely on new forms of media for news and programming and don’t care about television anymore,” quipped Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke at a press conference Wednesday.

Consumers should call 1-888-CALL-FCC for help in making the transition to digital. Or they can visit www.dtv.gov and enter their zip code or state in the upper right-hand corner of the page to find local events and walk-in centers where they can get assistance. By entering their ZIP code, they can also find station reception information that will help them to decide whether they need to adjust their antennas, or purchase a new antenna, in order to continue receiving their favorite stations.

“The FCC is offering free in-home installation for consumers in most cities,” said Locke. Consumers with technical questions about how to install the converter boxes can call the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC. The call center will be fully staffed for many days even after June 12, he said.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

–DTV FAQs

–DTV Transition Guide

– DTV2009.gov

– DTV.gov

1-888-CALL-FCC

1-888-DTV-2009

DTV FAQs

What Is the Digital TV (DTV) Transition?
Currently, many over-the-air stations are broadcasting in both analog and digital TV formats. By June 12, 2009, all full–power TV stations will broadcast only in digital. The DTV transition will affect those who watch free over-the-air television (through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears”).

Why Are Broadcast Stations Switching to Digital?
Federal law requires the switch, which will free up the airwaves for police, fire, and emergency rescue communications, allow broadcasters to offer programming with better picture and sound quality and offer more programming choices, and allow for advanced wireless services for consumers.

I have cable TV, am I prepared?
Yes, if you currently have cable, satellite, or some other paid-for television service, you’re all set, and come June 12 you’ll see no change in your television reception or programming.

If you have a new television set purchased within the last one year or so, it should automatically come with a digital tuner. You’re prepared.

However, if you have a television set more than a year old and you’re not on cable or satellite, and you’re relying basically on free over-the-air service, you are not ready. You will lose your television service Friday.

How do I get help making the transition?
Consumers should call 1-888-CALL-FCC or 1-888-DTV-2009. Or visit www.dtv.gov and enter your zip code or state in the upper right-hand corner of the page to find local events and walk-in centers where they can get assistance. Using your ZIP code, you’ll also find station reception information that will help you help decide whether you need to adjust your antennas, or purchase a new antenna.

Are coupons for set-top converter boxes still available?
It is now too late to order a $40 converter box coupon from NTIA and have it arrive in time before the transition takes place. Once ordered, it takes between eight-10 days to receive the coupon. Coupons can be ordered until July 31. Order a coupon here: http://www.dtv.gov/getcoupon.html

I’ve upgraded TVs and want to get rid of my old one. What should I do?
Don’t put it in the trash. The lead and other toxins it contains are bad for the environment. See if your municipality or a local electronics store recycles electronic waste. To find such a program, visit www.EIAE.org or www.mygreenelectronics.com.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

–DTV Transition Guide

– DTV2009.gov

– DTV.gov

1-888-CALL-FCC

1-888-DTV-2009

The tests are designed to alert analog viewers that they will lose service once the transition occurs unless they act promptly to get ready.

A “soft test” simulates what unprepared viewers will experience when the DTV transition occurs. Instead of completely cutting off the analog signal, during the soft test broadcasters will interrupt the regular programming of viewers receiving analog signals to warn them the interruption indicates they are not prepared for the transition.

“The soft test is a wake-up call to consumers telling them that the time to get ready for the DTV transition is now,” said Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps. “If you’re having trouble getting ready, you can get help right in your community and even in your own home by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC.”

The length of the interruptions will run between two and five minutes. Digital broadcasts are available now and will not be interrupted by the soft tests.

As of May 1, Nielsen Co. estimates that about 3.5 million households, or about 3.1% of U.S. households with TVs, aren’t ready.  And as of last month, about 5.9% of African American Households are unprepared for the transition.

On June 12, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop analog broadcast service and transmit only digital signals.  Consumers who do not subscribe to pay television services and have older, analog televisions will need to attach digital-to-analog converter boxes to their televisions in order to continue receiving over-the-air television programming.

The transition was supposed to happen Feb. 17, but was delayed due to a shortage of $40 coupons from the federal government that would subsidize the cost of converter, which usually cost $40 to $80. The set-top converter boxes would allow older TVs hooked up to antennas to receive the new digital signals.

FAQs

What Is the Digital TV (DTV) Transition?

Currently, many over-the-air stations are broadcasting in both analog and digital TV formats. By June 12, 2009, all full–power TV stations will broadcast only in digital. The DTV transition will affect those who watch free over-the-air television (through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears”).

Why Are Broadcast Stations Switching to Digital?

Federal law requires the switch, which will free up the airwaves for police, fire, and emergency rescue communications, allow broadcasters to offer programming with better picture and sound quality and offer more programming choices, and allow for advanced wireless services for consumers.

How to Get Ready: Your Options

1. Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box with or without a government coupon. A converter box plugs into your TV and will keep it working after your local stations stop analog broadcasts no later than June 12, 2009. It usually costs between $40 and $80.

2. Connect to cable, satellite, or other pay service.

3. Purchase a television with a digital tuner.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
https://www.dtv2009.gov/
https://www.dtv.gov/
1-888-CALL-FCC

Click to enlarge. (Source: NTIA)