A service of the Benton Foundation (http://www.benton.org)
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Regulate the FCC
Will Big Media Choke the Net?
Rejection of Proposed News Corp. Takeover of DirecTV Urged
Event: Senate Commerce Committee to Hold Mark-Up Session June 19
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Kabul's Cyber Cafe Culture
IT Expert Holds Out High Hopes for Future in Lebanon
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
REGULATE THE FCC
[Commentary] The deluge of electronic and paper mail in response to this
month's FCC ruling on media ownership regulation may be converting some of
the conservative faithful in the Senate, writes columnist William Safire.
Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain has been "uncharacteristically
conflicted" regarding legislation proposed by committee Democrats aimed at
repealing the FCC rules, suggesting that Congress should take a cue from the
state of the radio industry since 1996. With Republicans senators such as
Trent Lott and Kay Bailey Hutchinson lending support to Democrats, a bill
introduced by fellow Republican Ted Stevens should win committee and
possibly Senate approval. The House has proven to be a more difficult
battleground, with House Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin poised to support
the FCC's new rules. However, some suggest that national security interests
implicit in communications legislation could be the basis of a House-Senate
partnership on the issue.
SOURCE: The New York Times; AUTHOR: William Safire
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/16/opinion/16SAFI.html
WILL BIG MEDIA CHOKE THE NET?
Netizens and media watchers fear that the recent FCC rulings will allow
large media companies to control Internet content and squeeze out
independent voices. Broadband cable Internet access, for example, is now
considered an information service instead of a telecom service. According
to Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America,
content and service providers could favor their own content and shut out
nonprofit groups and startup sites. "It's passing through a monopoly gateway
into a walled garden," he says. "The Internet is not going to overthrow
existing media as much as incorporate into it, get married into it," adds
Robert McChesney, professor at University of Illinois. Then, information
will become concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, he warns. Already major
media companies own the top 20 news sites, and dozens of independent sites
have not survived the dot-com bust. Columnist Steve Outing has a different
view, though. You only need to "look at the blogging world to realize how
many independent voices are out there," he says. "I can't imagine big media
buying up all the worlds."
SOURCE: PC World; CONTACT: Elsa Wenzel
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,111154,00.asp
REJECTION OF PROPOSED NEWS CORP. TAKEOVER OF DIRECTV URGED
The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) today filed a petition with the FCC
to block the proposed News Corp.-DirecTV acquisition. The filing cites
several reasons that the merger would violate the public interest, including
the unparalleled power News Corp. would gain in programming and
distribution; its anti-competitive advantage in the areas of set-top box
software, electronic program guides, and interactive advertising; and
questions about the alleged independence of the new company's board of
directors. CDD's Jeff Chester suggests that the ill effects of this merger
are "Exhibit A" in the case against the FCC's new media ownership rules.
"The amount of power amassed by News Corp./Fox -- creating a veritable
'Citizen Murdoch' of the 21st century -- is a warning of what lies ahead in
the media marketplace," he said. CDD has also filed a petition with the US
Department of Justice, whose anti-trust division is conducting an
independent review of the proposed acquisition.
SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/directv.html
EVENT: SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO HOLD MARK-UP SESSION JUNE 19
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold an
executive session this Thursday, June 19th, beginning at 9:30am in Room 253
of the Russell Building. Members will vote on several pieces of legislation,
including The Federal Communications Commission Reauthorization Act of 2003,
the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act and the Preservation of Localism,
Program Diversity, and Competition in Television Broadcast Service Act of
2003.
SOURCE: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=816
DIGITAL DIVIDE
KABUL'S CYBER CAFE CULTURE
Two years ago, the Taliban banned the use of the Internet by anyone outside
the government. Last year, after the fall of the Taliban government, an
Afghan entrepreneur launched the country's first cyber caf