MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Members of Congress Send Letter to Chairman Powell Regarding Media
Ownership
Fed Feud Derails Media Debate
INTERNET
Commerce Dept Expands .edu Internet Domain
COPYRIGHT
Web Radio Royalty Debate Resumes
EDTECH
India to Spend $2.5 Billion on E-Learning, E-Govt
TELEVISION
CBS Chief Meets with Rural Group
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SEND LETTER TO CHAIRMAN POWELL REGARDING MEDIA OWNERSHIP
In a letter dated February 3rd, 30 members of Congress urged FCC Chairman
Michael Powell to reconsider the deregulation of media ownership. The
members argue that the rules have as much merit and importance today as they
did in the 1940s, particularly in the wake of recent corporate scandals. The
letter also suggests that the Powell is guiding the process "quickly and
quietly," adding that it is "an outrage" that the FCC would consider such
important rulemaking based on only two public hearings and an
under-publicized comment period. Signatories included Reps. Barney Frank,
John Conyers and Louise Slaughter.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/houseletterfcc_02-03-03.pdf)
(PDF File -- Requires Adobe Acrobat)
FED FEUD DERAILS MEDIA DEBATE
The standoff on local telephone deregulation between FCC Chairman Michael
Powell and fellow Commissioner Kevin Martin has spilled over into other key
issues, as next week's forum on media ownership in Los Angeles is in danger
of postponement. Powell's decision to delay a meeting on the telecom issue
caused Martin as well as Kathleen Abernathy to cancel plans to attend the
forum at the Center for Communications Law & Policy at the University of
Southern California. Democratic Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan
Adelstein may also be compelled to cancel. Powell had not planned to attend
the meeting, stating repeatedly that public forums on media ownership are
not necessary since the citizens may file comments with the FCC.
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News, AUTHOR: Dave McNary and Pamela McClintock]
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030212/media_nm/indust
ry_fcc_dc)
INTERNET
COMMERCE DEPT EXPANDS .EDU INTERNET DOMAIN
The Department of Commerce announced yesterday that Educause, the nonprofit
group that administers the .edu domain, will extend the suffix to a wider
range of educational institutions. Once reserved strictly for four-year
colleges and universities, the domain was expanded to include community
colleges in 2001. This latest change would allow organizations such as bible
colleges, art schools and alternative medical schools to change their
domains to .edu.
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030211/wr_nm/tech_edu_
dc)
COPYRIGHT
WEB RADIO ROYALTY DEBATE RESUMES
The future of Web radio hangs in the balance over the next few weeks as
Webcasters and the recording industry wrangle anew over royalty payments.
Although a temporary agreement was reached last year, that agreement expired
January 1. Now, the two sides must react to a US Copyright Office mandate
that a settlement be reached by March 5 lest the matter go to arbitration.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires Webcasters to pay royalties to
record companies and musicians in addition to those paid to songwriters and
music publishers.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40911-2003Feb7.html)
EDTECH
INDIA TO SPEND $2.5 BILLION ON E-LEARNING, E-GOVT
At the 2003 NASSCOM conference in Mumbai, India, Indian IT Minister Rajeev
Ratan Shah announced a plan to spend 120 billion rupees (USD $2.5 billion)
to bring e-learning to 600,000 schools across the country. The project, to
be funded by the government as well as private industry, would set up
computer labs in schools over the next four years. Terming India's
population of one billion as both "a digital opportunity and digital
challenge," Shah called on the IT industry to explore new ways to tap into
the national market. She also announced plans to set up "citizens portals"
in each of India's states to help facilitate e-government activities.
[SOURCE: The Economic Times, AUTHOR: PTI]
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=3
7189814)
TELEVISION
CBS CHIEF MEETS WITH RURAL GROUP
CBS President and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves met with a concerned
interest group in regards to a proposed reality-genre version of "The
Beverly Hillbillies." Dee Davis of the Center for Rural Strategies met with
Moonves in hopes of convincing the network to drop the show, citing furor in
the Appalachian community. The show's producers had been seeking a family
from that area to live in a Beverly Hills mansion, a premise critics label
an affront to those dealing with the realities of rural poverty.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James]
(http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-rup12.1feb12,0,4166074.story)
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