Part Two of Special Report
Does Rupert Murdoch's DIRECTV
Own Sen. Ted Stevens?
The powerful lawmaker pushes for an anti-cable TV provision after being showered with campaign contributions from Rupert Murdoch employees.
By Phillip Swann

Click to Read Part One

Part Two: Was Stevens Paid Off?
Stevens' bill still has a long way to go before it becomes law. But Murdoch and his employees at DIRECTV could hardly have improved on the language. Multichannel News quotes broadcast legal experts as saying it would also help Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's efforts to impose must-carry on the cable industry.

Martin was preparing to call for a FCC vote on must-carry last month until asked not to do so by Stevens, according to published reports. (Stevens denies intervening.) Multichannel News reports that Stevens  wanted to first include the must-carry language in his telecommunications bill.

Stevens' actions might tempt some to suggest that he's paying Murdoch back for his company's generous contributions. However, lawmakers usually dispute such charges by saying they are not influenced by who donates and who doesn't.

In addition to the employee contributions, News Corp. made a $5,000 corporate contribution to Stevens' campaign in 2005, the maximum allowed under law.

(The National Association of Broadcasters, whose members also stand to benefit from the must-carry provision, made a $5,000 contribution to Stevens as well. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which opposes must-carry, donated just $2,000 to the senator's campaign.)

Murdoch company employees who donated to Stevens include Murdoch himself ($2,000). Peter Chemin, News Corp.'s president, donated $1,000. Andrew Reinsdorf,  DIRECTV's vice president of government relations, also gave $1,000; Susan Eid, another DIRECTV vice president of government relations, gave $2,000.

Ed Goren, Fox Sports' president, donated $1,000 as did Peter Liguori, Fox's president of entertainment.

According to FEC records, Stevens reports receiving $393,600 in individual campaign contributions from January 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006. Employees of Murdoch owned companies donated $38,000 of that amount during that time period.

To read the Multichannel News article on Stevens and Must-Carry, click Stevens

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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