4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2006
CRIME
CBS Radio settles pay-for-play dispute
Company owes $2 million for giving stations gifts in exchange for air time
BY MICHAEL GORMLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBANY, N.Y. — CBS Radio Inc. has agreed to pay $2 million to settle New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's investigation into gifts or "payola" paid by record companies for air play, Snitzer said Thursday.
CBS Radio is the third-largest radio corporation in the nation and the latest to settle in the investigation of radio station employees getting gifts such as trips and electronic equipment in exchange for playing songs and artists to increase sales. The gifts were often used for on-air contests and sometimes used by radio station employees, SonyBMG, Warner, Universal and EMI had previously settled with Spitzer.
"The sale of the stations valuable air time to the highest bid"
der violates state and federal laws and robs consumers of their right to know why the songs they hear on the radio are being broadcast," Spitzer said.
Spitzer said pay for play was being done at CBS radio stations in Rochester, Buffalo and New York City.
He said a July 17, 2001, memo at WZNE in Rochester to the general manager and program directed listed "what we've added ... & a summary of our returns from the record labels"
Spitzer said songs that were on the station's playlists because of the practice include "Shut Up" by Nick Lachey and "You are my #1" by Smashmouth. In exchange for airplay, the stations received airplane trips to be used in contests.
"CBS Radio is pleased to end
this two-year music investigation without litigation," said CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Matee. "The company, however, wants to make clear that in entering into this settlement, CBS Radio does not admit to any liability or violation of law."
She said CBS Radio had become aware of the practice and two employees violated the company's policies.
"Appropriate disciplinary action was taken by CBS Radio, with suspension without pay in one instance, and immediate termination in the other," she said. "We believe this outcome is better for our company and our shareholders than protracted litigation, and we appreciate the spirit of mutual cooperation that guided the resolution of this settlement."
"I commend Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer for once again achieving a breakthrough with this settlement. CBS Radio is leading the radio broadcasting industry by finally admitting wrongdoing and agreeing to change its practices. This should provide new fuel to drive the FCC payola investigation to completion. Since payola saps the vitality out of radio, this is a win not only for listeners everywhere, but also for the radio industry itself."
Other radio conglomerates paid more to settle their suits, including $12 million paid by Universal and $10 million by Sony.
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein of the Federal Communications Commission called the settlement a "breakthrough."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CRIME
Actor given probation for drunken driving
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GLENDALE, Calif. - Haley Joel Osment pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor drunken driving and drug possession charges resulting from a July accident in which he crashed his car into a mailbox.
Haley Joel Osment pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor drunken driving and drug possession charges resulting from a July accident in which he crashed his car into a mailbox.
Authorities said the actor's blood alcohol level was measured after the accident at.16 percent, twice the legal limit.
Superior Court judge John Doyle sentenced the 18-year-old actor to three years probation and ordered Osment to spend 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, as well as attend at least 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.
in La Canada Flintridge on July 20.
No one else was in the car, which hit a mailbox mounted on a brick base.
Osment, who didn't attend the court hearing, also must pay $1,500 in fines.
The actor's attorney, David Wood, entered the no contest pleas on his client's behalf to one count each of misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Two other charges — another misdemeanor DUI and a vehicle code infraction — were dropped by prosecutors.
Osment's movie credits include "The Sixth Sense," in which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and "Pay It Forward." He recently finished work on the film "Home of the Giants."
Osment fractured a rib and injured his shoulder when he crashed and flipped his 1995 Saturn
Messages left for Wood and Osment's publicist were not immediately returned Thursday.
BUS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
The nonprofit organization based in Chattanooga, Tenn., supports research into cleaner alternative fuels.
Dennis Lane, distinguished pro
fessor of engineering, will be in charge of the research project if the proposal is approved by the federal government.
Lane already has experience on a project in Kansas City similar to the proposed campus project.
One plug-in electric bus is in service in the Kansas City area. This bus has a battery power source and a diesel engine. The diesel engine supplements the battery power when the charge is low. The bus must be plugged in for the battery to recharge.
"When you're walking by, you won't be blasted with a nice plume of diesel smoke," tabakh said.
The bus is wired with a computer that collects data on what amount of energy the bus was using; either pure electric power, pure diesel power or a combination of both.
Lane said battery technology was limited in its ability. He said an automobile running on pure electric power would allow the driver only about 70 miles of travel ability, based on the type of driving. He said the time when someone could drive to western Kansas in an electric car without recharging was far in the future. The data collected from the proposed campus bus would help engineers to develop better, longer-lasting batteries.
Ilya Tabakh, Leaward graduate student, works at the Transportation Research Institute and said he thought an electric bus would be a good idea for campus because it didn't emit any kind of air pollution.
"If you want to have a long-range successful, pure electric vehicle, then battery technology is where it's at," Lane said.
Lane said that with the data collected, engineers could develop estimates for pollution reduction if the system was implemented on a large scale. He said the proposed campus bus would collect much of the same data as the one operating in Kansas City.
Kansan staff writer Nate McGinnis can be contacted at nmcginnis@ kansan.com.
Edited by Shanxi Upsdell
LIBERTY HALL CINEMA
FACTOTUM
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP
FRI: NO SHOWS
SAT: (2:00) (4:30) 7:00 9:30
SUN: (2:00) (4:30) 7:00 9:30
FRI: (4.40) 7:10 9:40
SAT: (2:10) (4:40) 7:10 9:40
SUN: (2:10) (4:40) 7:10 9:40
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