Legislation
TelecomAM: Senate Commerce to mark Up Internet Legislation Thursday
Television
NYT: The Cleansing Power of Free TV
NYT: Belgrade TV Makes Serbs Furious at Albanians
NYT: Advertising: PBS' 'Arthur' Again Cavorts With Commerce
Education
WP: For Computer Have-Nots, A Web of School Problems
Telephony
NYT: It's a Control Thing: Vermont Vs. Cell Phone Towers
WSJ: ICG Joins Telephone Price Wars, Plans 5.9 Cents a Minute for Long
Distance
Microsoft
NYT: Justice Department Names 'Point Man' on Microsoft Case
WSJ: Microsoft, in a Swipe at Sun, Introduces New Tools to Use Java Only
on Windows
Corporate
WP: Smaller Rivals Question MCI-WorldCom Merger Plan
NYT: 2 Corporate Cultures Meet in MCI-Worldcom Merger
NYT: Magazine to Police Media Hires a Watchdog for Itself
WP: 9 News Partners Disband
WSJ: Cisco Sets Pact for Puchase of NetSpeed
Journalism/Internet
WSJ: Drudge Match: A Web of Intrigue: The Internet's Bad Boy Has His Day
in Court
** Legislation **
Title: Senate Commerce to mark Up Internet Legislation Thursday
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Legislation
Description: Two pieces on Internet legislation are on the agenda of
Thursday's markup session of the Senate Commerce Committee. S-1482,
introduced by Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) would ban material "harmful to minors"
from being posted on the Internet [sure, there goes Headlines]. S-1619,
introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and
Ranking Member Ernest Hollings (D-SC), would require schools and libraries
receiving universal service support funds to use Internet filtering
software. The Committee will also act on S-1618, also introduced by Sen.
McCain, that cracks down on slamming. The markup session is scheduled for
9:30am in Russell Building Room 253.
** Television **
Title: The Cleansing Power of Free TV
Source: New York Times (A30)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/11wed1.html
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform/Free Time for Candidates
Description: It is expected that the Senate Appropriations Committee will
approve legislation that would prevent the Federal Communications Committee
from spending any money to develop or enforce new rules that would require
television stations to provide free air time for political candidates. The
measure would be added as a rider to a supplemental appropriations bill
"that includes funding for peacekeeping in Bosnia." "Like the broadcasters,
Congressional opponents pretend that this is purely a jurisdictional issue,
and that a free-time rule would exceed the FCC's powers. Yet, as the
Congressional Research Service concluded last year, the agency has broad
authority to insure that broadcast licensees use the public airwaves to
serve the public interest. If the 1996 fund-raising scandals taught us
anything, it is that a system under which candidates mortgage themselves to
wealthy interests in order to buy TV time does not serve the best interests
of the Republic. A free-time rule would not by itself break the insidious
link between politics and big money, but it could weaken that link while
giving underfunded challengers a chance to be heard."
Title: Belgrade TV Makes Serbs Furious at Albanians
Source: New York Times (A10)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/yugo-belgrade.html
Author: Jane Perlez
Issue: International
Description: Serbian President Solbodan Milosevic is using specific
televised images to drum up Serbian nationalist sentiment. The most recent
image being used in this mounting television campaign is the four widows of
Serbian policemen "weeping unconsolably at the funerals of their husbands
killed in an ambush set by ethnic Albanian guerrillas." To date, the
state-run television has failed to broadcast any images of the more than 70
Albanians killed in Kosovo over the past 10 days.
Title: Advertising: PBS' 'Arthur' Again Cavorts With Commerce
Source: New York Times (D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/aardvark-ad-column.html
Author: Stuart Elliott
Issue: Television
Description: A recent promotion sponsored by Juicy Juice and TV Guide
concerns critics, "who are worried about the blurring of lines between
commercial and non-commercial enterprises -- particularly those aimed at
children." Their primary concern stems from the contest that the promotion
is centered around. The contest is open to children, ages 5-8, to suggest
ideas for an episode of "Arthur," a popular cartoon character whose series
of children's books has expanded into a hit PBS program. This aspect of the
promotion brings to light a primary topic among critics: "the continuing
expansion of profit-making ventures into formerly non-profit realms." PBS
executives assert that public broadcasting "has been embracing elements of
commercialization because it must match the increasingly sophisticated
thrusts of its commercial competitors."
** Education **
Title: For Computer Have-Nots, A Web of School Problems
Source: Washington Post (A1,A11)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/11/089l-031198-idx.html
Author: David Nakamura
Issue: Education
Description: Educators say that students who do not have access to a
computer in their home are at a huge disadvantage. Even though the falling
cost of computers have made the machines more affordable for some families,
many are still unable to afford such a purchase for their children. A
Washington, DC area survey conducted by Scarborough Report Corp., a market
research company, last August found that "71 percent of area households with
children ages 12 to 17 had a computer, and only 45 percent had a computer
with a modem." And according to a report by Computer Intelligence, another
market research firm, "nationwide, 60 percent of households with children
have a computer." Teachers and school administrators say that the
differences they are seeing between students who have a computer and those
who don't is not only in the have-nots being forced to turn in work that is
less polished. These students are also falling behind in the development of
computer skills that they will need in college and the job market, and they
are less likely to be exposed to as many facts and ideas as their classmates
who are more skilled in navigating the Internet. Some schools have tried to
solve the problem by keeping computer labs open both before and after
school. But many schools say that they can't afford to pay their staff
overtime and have difficulty in finding teachers that are willing to
volunteer their time to keep the labs open.
** Telephony **
Title: It's a Control Thing: Vermont Vs. Cell Phone Towers
Source: New York Times (A12)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/vt-cellphones.html
Author: Carey Goldberg
Issue: Wireless Communication
Description: Vermont is quickly becoming a national focal point as it
mounts a campaign against towers being put up for cellular phone traffic.
The tower issue has become so heated in Vermont that the state's senator,
Patrick Leahy, and two congressional colleagues, Sen. James Jeffords and
Rep. Bernard Sanders, held a special town meeting to discuss plans to put a
150 foot tower on top of Buffalo Mountain. The special guest at the meeting
was William Kennard, chairman of the FCC, who traveled to the site to
specifically hear Vermonters' concerns. "I don't want Vermont turned into a
giant pincushion with 200-foot towers sticking out of every mountain and
valley," declared Leahy. "We're not asking that Vermont be left out of the
telecommunications age. But we Vermonters want to be able to determine where
the towers are located."
Title: ICG Joins Telephone Price Wars, Plans 5.9 Cents a Minute for Long
Distance
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (B8)
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Long-Distance
Description: The rate undermines the dime-a-minute pricing widely
available, and Qwest Communications' 7.5 cent-a-minute price for Internet
phone calls. New carriers are able to offer lower prices in part because
their calls bypass the tolls that traditional long-distance carriers must
pay to local phone companies. IGC is able to offer LD service nationwide
because of its recent acquisition of Internet service provider Netcom.
** Microsoft **
Title: Justice Department Names 'Point Man' on Microsoft Case
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/microsoft-suit.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Antitrust
Description: In a sign that the Justice Department's confrontation with the
Microsoft Corp. may be escalating, the department hired Jeffrey Blattner, a
former chief counsel of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, as special counsel
for information technology. A Justice Department official said yesterday
that Blattner, whose appointment is expected to be announced today, will
serve as the "point man inside Justice on the Microsoft case."
Title: Microsoft, in a Swipe at Sun, Introduces New Tools to Use Java Only
on Windows
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (B8)
Author: Nick Wingfield
Issue: Computer Technology
Description: Microsoft is introducing new tools to encourage programmers to use
Sun's Java language to write software that runs only on Microsoft Windows
systems.
Microsoft's new Windows Foundation Classes make it easier to create Java
programs
that look just like other Windows programs, undercutting the primary
selling point of Java that it can write applications running unmodified on
virtually any computer, regardless of the underlying software or hardware.
This new technology of Microsoft's only escalates the dispute between the two
companies that is already in court.
** Corporate **
Title: Smaller Rivals Question MCI-WorldCom Merger Plan
Source: Washington Post (C11)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/11/052l-031198-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Merger
Description: As shareholders of MCI and Worldcom prepare to vote today on
the companies proposed merger, federal regulators continue to investigate
into whether the newly-formed company "would control too much of the
Internet. Critics contend it would carry more than 60 percent of data
traffic on major Internet routes, an amount the companies deny." Whatever
the regulators conclude, most analysts agree that the merger will not be
delayed on antitrust grounds. Regulators may however impose tough guidelines
that would require the companies to give competitors access to the network
or even sell off some Internet operations.
Title: 2 Corporate Cultures Meet in MCI-Worldcom Merger
Source: New York Times (D1,D20)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/biztech/articles/11phone.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Merger
Description: One of the possible hurdles in the pending MCI-Worldcom merger
is the stark differences between the two company's boards. "The MCI board is
much older, more corporate almost; it has two women and an
African-American," said one person who was present at a dinner held last
night at MCI's headquarters. "It's like you'd think a [traditional] board
would look like." "The Worldcom board is all entrepreneurial-type guys that
came with the acquisitions," the person said. "The difference is almost
funny." Analysts said Tuesday that they don't think hurdles like these will
block the merger. But they could provide a few bumps in a deal that would
create one of the world's most powerful communications companies.
Title: Magazine to Police Media Hires a Watchdog for Itself
Source: New York Times (B8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/media-watchdog.html
Author: Robin Pogrebin
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Steven Brill's new magazine, Content, will work as an
aggressive mass market watchdog for the media industry. The magazine, whose
first issue is due out in June, will cover everything from Web sites to
major newspapers to 24-hour cable. Yet as Brill described Content to people,
he kept encountering the question, "But who will be watching you?" So he
took the question to heart and hired Bill Kovach, the curator of the Nieman
Foundation for journalism at Harvard University. Brill and Kovach have a
two-year contract under which Kovach will "monitor the magazine as an
outside ombudsman." Brill said of Kovach's role that "it's basic quality
control."
Title: 9 News Partners Disband
Source: Washington Post (C12)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/11/058l-031198-idx.html
Author: Eric Quinones
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: New Century Network, a three-year partnership of nine leading
newspaper companies that formed to boost newspapers' presence on the
Internet, has shut down because members could not decide on a common
business strategy. "Not enough members felt strongly enough to keep it
going," said NCN board member Harry Chandler, director of new business
development at the Los Angeles Times. The board decided on Monday to shut
down NCN immediately, a move that has left 40 employees out of work.
Chandler said that NCN's members may still band together to seek
advertisers, but there are currently no plans to continue their mission.
Title: Cisco Sets Pact for Puchase of NetSpeed
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (B8)
Author: Lee Gomes
Issue: Merger
Description: Cisco Systems, Inc. has signed an agreement to buy NetSpeed
Inc, a maker of high-speed Internet technology called digital subscriber
line (DSL) which uses existing telephone lines to provide high-speed links
to the Internet. Initially Cisco plans on selling the DSl equipment to
local phone companies, then eventually to consumers. DSL modems currently
cost around $200.
** Journalism/Internet **
Title: Drudge Match: A Web of Intrigue: The Internet's Bad Boy Has His Day
in Court
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (A1)
Author: Edward Felsenthal
Issue: Journalism/Internet
Description: In yet another case of the media talking about itself, the WSJ
spends many inches on scandal and personal enmity before getting to
anything approaching the critical issues behind this story: How does one
decide what amounts to "reckless" speech on a free-wheeling, unbridled
medium like the Web? How much reporting and fact-checking should diligent
Internet publishers do? Is a retraction meaningful in cyberspace? WSJ
spends some time on the fact that few "real" reporters like or respect
Drudge's journalistic practices and now find themselves either lending
support to a style of journalism they detest or risk putting their own
freedoms at risk in the future. (hmmmmmmmmmmmm...)
*********