May 1998

Telephone Regulation
Methodology for Determining Universal Service Support (FCC)
Bell Atlantic Tells FCC: 'Don't Mess With Access Charges' (TelecomAM)
AT&T to Pass Internet Costs To Callers (WP)

Campaigns
Adversaries Join Campaign to Improve Coverage of State, Local
Politics (WP)

Television
TV Ratings Frequently a Jumble to Parents (ChiTrib)

Antitrust
Antitrust Case Against Is on Horizon (WP)
U.S. Is Preparing to Sue Intel Over Its Microchip Monopoly (NYT)
Plans for Digital TV in Germany Suffer Setback As EU Commission
Blocks Bertelsmann Alliance (WSJ)
German Digital TV Deal Is Blocked by Regulators (NYT)

Internet
MCI Plans to Sell Internet Assets To British Firm (WP)
Microsoft Will Let Gateway Alter Screen (WP)
Sick of Junk E-Mail? Here Are Some Tips for Fighting Back (WSJ)

Arts
Site Showcases Films Made Especially for the Web

Technology
Lucent Unveils New Products to Expand Its Presence in
Data-Networking Market (WSJ)

** Telephone Regulation **

Title: Methodology for Determining Universal Service Support
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1998/da980987.html
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Federal Communications Commission will hold an en banc
hearing on Monday, June 8, 1998, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 pm, in the
Commission meeting room, Room 856 at 1919 M. Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
The Commission has invited the state members of the Federal-State Joint
Board on Universal Service to also preside at this en banc. At the en banc
hearing, the Commission and the state members of the Joint Board will review
certain proposals for revising the methodology for determining federal
universal service support for non-rural carriers. The en banc will be
carried live on the Internet. Internet users may listen to the real-time
audio feed of the en banc by accessing the FCC Internet Audio Broadcast Home
Page. Step-by-step instructions on how to listen to the audio broadcast, as
well as information regarding the equipment and software needed, are
available on the FCC Internet Audio Broadcast Home Page. The URL address for
this home page is http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/.

Title: Bell Atlantic Tells FCC: 'Don't Mess With Access Charges'
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: Bell Atlantic Senior Vice President for Government Relations
Thomas Tauke told reporters that the FCC should "leave access charges alone
for a year" and "complete pricing
flexibility" as promised. "Don't mess with access charges," he said. FCC
Chairman Bill Kennard has said he'd like to reexamine access charges because
the competition that was supposed to lower rates has not materialized. Mr.
Tauke claims the FCC promised last year to hold a proceeding that would
allow local phone companies to adjust rates without FCC approval, but the
Commission has not followed through. Mr. Tauke also criticized AT&T's plan
to impose a new monthly charge on consumers to recover the costs of a
universal service program to hook up schools and libraries to the Internet.

Title: AT&T to Pass Internet Costs To Callers
Source: Washington Post (C4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/28/158l-052898-idx.html
Author: WP Staff Reporters & News Service
Issue: Long-Distance/Universal Service
Description: AT&T Corp. said yesterday that starting in July it will begin
charging residential long-distance customers "a fee of about 5 percent of
the cost of their out-of-state calls to help subsidize Internet hookups for
schools, libraries and rural health care facilities. In addition, customers
will be charged a fee of 1.8 percent of their monthly charges for intrastate
long-distance calls." This move by AT&T could further fuel the growing
controversy over how to fund the schools and libraries program.

** Campaigns **

Title: Adversaries Join Campaign to Improve Coverage of State, Local Politics
Source: Washington Post (A4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/28/131l-052898-idx.html
Author: Howard Kurtz
Issue: Campaigns
Description: Pew Charitable Trust is spending $7 million on several projects
designed to spur better media coverage and higher standards in state and
local politics. "It's about raising the quality of the conversation," said
Paul Light, who runs Pew's public policy department. "The main thrust is to
go directly to the American public and say we can do better...Americans
don't expect much from their candidates, and their candidates deliver." A
key focus of the projects is the "meager" television coverage of state and
local campaigns, which is often overshadowed by reports on crime and other
more "sensational" fare.

** Television **

Title: TV Ratings Frequently a Jumble to Parents
Source: Chicago Tribune (p1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9805280126,00....
Author: Tim Jones
Issue: V-Chip
Description: The TV ratings system has been in place for months, but is
anyone using it? The Kaiser Family Foundation released two polls yesterday
-- one found that 54% of parents reported that they used the rating system
to help them decide what their kids should watch; the other found that 36%
of kids 10 to 17 had decided not to watch a show because of it's rating
either to avoid the wrath of parents or the shame of watching a show
targeted at kids. Jones writes, "People want some controls, but they don't
entirely trust the television industry to be the ratings gatekeeper between
the TV set and their children." Vice President Al Gore attended the surveys'
release and encouraged parents to use the ratings system and the V-chip when
it becomes available. [See Kaiser Family Foundation at
http://www.kff.org/homepage/]

** Antitrust **

Title: Antitrust Case Against Is on Horizon
Source: Washington Post (C1,C2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/28/163l-052898-idx.html
Author: Elizabeth Corcoran & David Segal
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Federal antitrust investigators are planning over the next week
to recommend that the Federal Trade Commission charge Intel Corp. with
unfairly using its market clout to "strong-arm" corporate customers.

Title: U.S. Is Preparing to Sue Intel Over Its Microchip Monopoly
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/biztech/articles/28intel.html
Author: Joel Brinkley
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The Federal Trade Commission is preparing a antitrust suit
against microprocessor chip manufacturer Intel. Brinkley writes, "The suit
will accuse Intel of selectively withholding key technical information about
its microprocessors chips from the computer manufacturers with which Intel
is involved in patent and related product disputes. Without that data, the
manufacturers are unable to design new products." This may be the first of
multiple suits filed by the FTC against Intel.

Title: Plans for Digital TV in Germany Suffer Setback As EU Commission
Blocks Bertelsmann Alliance
Source: Wall Street Journal (A19)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Cacile Rohwedder & Julie Wolf
Issue: Antitrust/Digital TV
Description: "The European Union Commission rejected a planned television
alliance of Germany's Kirch Group, Bertelsmann AG and Deutsch Telekom AG,
the countries dominant telephone and cable group. The ban sets back the
companies, which had invested millions of dollars and delays development of
digital pay TV in Germany, Europe's largest market."

Title: German Digital TV Deal Is Blocked by Regulators
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/28hdtv.html
Author: Edmund Andrews
Issue: Antitrust/Digital TV
Description: The European Commission has blocked a digital television
alliance between Bertelsmann AG, Germany's giant publishing and media
conglomerate; Deutsche Telekom AG, the nation's telephone and cable
television company, and the Kirch Group, which owns the German rights to
billions of dollars worth of television programs and movies. The three
wanted to offer an array of pay-TV services including movies and sports and
dozens of television channels. Germany is the biggest television market in
Europe.

** Internet **

Title: MCI Plans to Sell Internet Assets To British Firm
Source: Washington Post (C1,C2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/28/167l-052898-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Merger
Description: MCI Communications Corp. plans to announce the sale of its
Internet facilities to Cable & Wireless PLC of Britain. Sources familiar
with the case say that MCI hopes the deal will help facilitate approval by
European regulators of the company's merger with WorldCom Inc.

Title: Microsoft Will Let Gateway Alter Screen
Source: Washington Post (C3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/28/169l-052898-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet Browsers
Description: Gateway 2000 Inc., maker of personal computers, announced
yesterday that it "won a key concession" from Microsoft Corp. to modify the
screens that computer users first see when they turn on a computer equipped
with Windows 98. Gateway said that the modification would allow the company
to promote its own Internet-access service before users view a directory of
service providers selected by Microsoft. "We're extremely interested in a
high level of personalization and customization for our customers," said
Gateways's chief executive, Ted Waitt. "We don't believe there's one slice
[of Windows] that fits everyone out there."

Title: Sick of Junk E-Mail? Here Are Some Tips for Fighting Back
Source: Wall Street Journal (B7)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: E-Mail
Description: One of life's little annoyances (sometimes not so little) are
those irritating on-line pitches better known as spam. Rather than spend
your time waiting for the government to step in there are some common sense
rules you can employ to keep spam from jamming your email box. Email
filtering systems can help you weed out of those spammers lists that you are
already on and scan your mail to get rid of the stuff you don't want. You
also can report the really bothersome ones to their Internet service
provider or the Federal Trade Commission (who is now running a vigorous
campaign to squash the most obnoxious spammers). Other suggested options
are: Try to maintain a low-profile (which can be much easier to say than
do); Don't reply to junk email as that can alert the spammer that they have
a live one that actually reads her/his email; And if nothing else works
close down your existing account and start anew with a fresh, clean slate.

** Arts **

Title: Site Showcases Films Made Especially for the Web
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/cyber/artsatlarge/28artsatlarg...
Author: Matthew Mirapaul
Issue: Arts
Description: New Venue is the first online film festival that is dedicated
to showing only movies made expressly for the Web. Each week New Venue will
showcase a brief feature created specifically for computer viewing. The
clips will be playable in either the QuickTime or Flash browser plug-in.
Jason Wishnow, founder of New Venue, said about the project: "I thought that
if filmmakers were to pay attention to the major constraints for movies on
the Web -- smaller image size, a lower frame rate, the pixelated quality
that comes out of compression, a difference in audio fidelity, and how it
has to be integrated into the overall Web page -- they might come up with
something very exciting." Since April, more than 40 filmmakers have
submitted flicks. While many seem to still be grappling with the new medium,
Wishnow hopes that "the ground is being laid for something new." The site is
scheduled to officially open on Monday, June 1st, but its producers have
agreed to grant early access to CyberTimes "arts( at )large" readers starting
today. You can access the New Venue site at:
http://dfilm.mpl.net/newvenue/index.html

** Technology **

Title: Lucent Unveils New Products to Expand Its Presence in
Data-Networking Market
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Technology
Description: Lucent Technologies Inc. has unveiled a group of products that
will help telecommunications carriers manage their voice and data traffic
over their networks. The new system is expected to boost Lucent's bid to
compete with other computer-networking companies.
*********

Universal Service
Proposals to Revise the Methodology for Determining
Universal Service Support (FCC)
Consumer Groups Balk at School Internet Hookup Plan (WP)

Publishing/EdTech
Sales of Textbooks Continuing to Defy Gloomy Predictions (NYT)

Campaigns
In California Politics, Web May Be Antidote to Money (CyberTimes)

Public TV Wins in High Court (B&C)

Minorities
Broadcasters Devising Diversity Plans (B&C)
EEO Rules Remain, for Now (B&C)

Television/Cable
The Neighborly Newscasts (WP)
Kids TV Crackdown (B&C)
High-Speed 'Net for Small Systems' (B&C)
Rate Ruling Effect Seen as Slight (B&C)

Radio
Justice Studies More Radio Mergers (B&C)
Lucent Presses Forward on DAB (B&C)

Jobs
Jobs Out of Reach for Detroiters Without Wheels (NYT)
The Tech Life: All Work? No, Play! (WP)

E-Commerce
It's Time for Banks to Dive Into E-Commerce, a Pioneer Says
(CyberTimes)

Mergers
Stake in Jones Intercable Being Sold To Comcast (NYT)
Hearst Is Paying $1.1 Billion For Pulitzer's Broadcast Unit (NYT)
BCI to Sell Comcast a 30% Interest In Jones Intercable for $500
Million (WSJ)

Privacy
For sale: Any data firms know about you (ChiTrib)

Antitrust
U.S. May Add Charges to Microsoft Case (WSJ)

Also at the FCC
Galaxy 4 Satellite
US West/Ameritech/Quest Agreement
Cramming
USAC

** Universal Service **

Title: Proposals to Revise the Methodology for Determining
Universal Service Support
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1998/da980987.wp
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1998/da980987.pdf
Issue: Universal Service
Description: "The Federal Communications Commission will hold an en banc
hearing on Monday, June 8, 1998, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 pm, in the
Commission meeting room, Room 856 at 1919 M. Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
The Commission has invited the state members of the Federal-State Joint
Board on Universal Service to also preside at this en banc. At the en banc
hearing, the Commission and the state members of the Joint Board will review
certain proposals for revising the methodology for determining federal
universal service support for non-rural carriers. The Commission initially
decided in the Universal Service Order that the federal fund would provide
at least 25 percent of the total support necessary for non-rural carriers
(25/75 decision), beginning January 1, 1999. Recently, the Commission
stated in its Report to Congress on Universal Service that it would
reconsider the share of federal support before implementing the new high
cost support mechanism."

Title: Consumer Groups Balk at School Internet Hookup Plan
Source: Washington Post (D11,D12)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/26/056l-052698-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Schools & Libraries
Description: The Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and groups
representing business telephone users, last week asked regulators at the FCC
to stop funding to wire schools and libraries to the Internet. The coalition
of consumer groups said in letters that long-distance telephone rates should
first be pushed downward and no new fees should be added to pay for the
program. The groups want the FCC to cut more than $1 billion annually from
"access charges" that long-distance carriers are required to pay to local
phone companies to begin and end long- distance calls. They then want the
money saved from the access-charge reductions to be applied toward wiring
schools and libraries, and lowering long-distance rates. "Once the FCC
eliminates these inappropriate charges and brings interstate access charges
down to cost, there will be plenty of money available to fully fund all
universal service programs and reduce long-distance rates substantially,"
said the letter by Mark Cooper, research director of the Consumer Federation
of America. The American Library Assoc. has urged the FCC not to delay or
reduce funding to the schools and libraries program. "Schools and libraries
should not be held hostage to other telecommunications policy disputes,"
said Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards
Association. "We believe the cost to the industry for support of schools and
libraries has been balanced by reductions in access charges," wrote Larry
Irving, assistant commerce secretary for telecommunications in a letter to
the FCC. "The commission should endeavor to fund the program with no
additional costs or pass-through to the customers." In any event," Irving's
letter continues, "the cost to telecommunications carriers to fund discounts
to schools, libraries, and rural health care centers at the current demand
levels is no more than $1 per month, and therefore, under no circumstances,
should consumers be charged anymore."

** Publishing/EdTech **

Title: Sales of Textbooks Continuing to Defy Gloomy Predictions
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/textbook-future.html
Author: Doreen Carvajal
Issue: Publishing/EdTech
Description: The US book market saw the strongest gains last year in
textbooks and instructional materials. Sales of elementary school books
increased 13% to $3 billion; college texts sales rose by 7.4%, to $2.7
billion. The overall US book market is $21 billion. The trend "belies
longstanding fears in the publishing industry that the printed page is
steadily losing favor to the electronic monitor." Libraries are also
purchasing more books. According to the American Library Association, more
than 85% of the almost 9,000 library systems in the US are reporting budget
increases for fiscal year '96. "In the late 1980s and early 1990s much of
the talk about education centered on the emerging technologies -- that the
book was dead and traditional publishing was out," said Patrick J. Quinn, of
Simba Information Inc., a market research firm. "And now, through all the
hype and hoopla about it, textbooks have actually started to sell at a
brisker pace."

** Campaigns **

Title: In California Politics, Web May Be Antidote to Money
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/cyber/articles/25democracy.html
Author: Rebecca Fairly Raney
Issue: Campaigns
Description: The Democracy Network, a branch of the nonprofit Center for
Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, is planning to set up election sites in
ten states this year in partnership with the League of Women Voters and
other groups. After two years of trial and error, the group will begin
posting election material online. The main focus of the Web sites will
revolve around an online format where candidates can post their positions on
election issues. "The problem with television is that is squeezes it down to
the front-runners," said Tracy Westen, president of the Center for
Governmental Studies. "This technology has the capability of substantially
improving the dialogue over what television does."

Title: Public TV Wins in High Court
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p34)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Dan Trigoboff
Issue: Campaigns
Description: "The Supreme Court held last week that state-owned public TV
stations may exclude minor political candidates from on-air debates, if the
decision is not based on the candidates' views. The case was closely watched
by politicians and broadcasters, since it appeared to pit the rights of
broadcasters to control the airwaves against the rights of fringe candidates
to air their views."

** Minorities **

Title: Broadcasters Devising Diversity Plans
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p16)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Minorities
Description: In response to FCC Chairman Bill Kennard's call last month for
ideas on how to promote diversity in broadcasting, the National Assoc. of
Broadcasters (NAB) and individual broadcasters plan to introduce a series of
initiatives established to boost recruitment of minorities and women and to
further station ownership by those groups. The first of those programs will
be an equal employment opportunity (EEO) exchange of ideas at NAB
headquarters on June 8.

Title: EEO Rules Remain, for Now
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p19)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Minorities
Description: Last month, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Washington found most of the FCC's EEO policy unconstitutional. Regulators
are currently seeking a rehearing by all 11 judges at the appeals court.
While the commission pursues the appeal, the rules will stay in effect. "We
will continue to enforce them," said Mass Media Bureau Chief Roy Stewart
last week. "I'm very happy," said civil rights lawyer, David Honig, of the
FCC's decision to challenge last month's court ruling.

** Television/Cable **

Title: The Neighborly Newscasts
Source: Washington Post (C1,C2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/26/044l-052698-idx.html
Author: Howard Kurtz
Issue: Local TV News
Description: A two-week examination by the WPost of the 5 pm newscasts on
local DC television stations suggests that local TV news programs have moved
into "a softer, user-friendly, market-tested phase." Howard Kurtz, writes in
this article that "for more than two decades, smiling anchors have engaged
in harmless banter. And reporters have long done live stand-ups from street
corners where crimes were committed hours earlier. But now the stations are
consciously carving out a kinder, gentler niche as the purveyor of consumer
advice and the chronicler of suburban lifestyles -- an approach very
different from the more straightforward, sometimes impersonal tone of
newspapers."

Title: Kids TV Crackdown
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (Washington Watch-p20)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak & Chris McConnell
Issue: Television
Description: Last week the FCC's Mass Media Bureau said it will start
watching some television to ensure that stations comply with FCC limits on
commercials aired during children's programming. After a review of current
license renewal applications, regulators said that 26 percent have exceeded
the limit. "This level of noncompliance is unacceptable and must be
remedied," the bureau said in a public notice last week.

Title: High-Speed 'Net for Small Systems'
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p46)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Price Colman
Issue: Cable/Internet
Description: Tele-Communications Inc. is developing a system that would use
a satellite to connect smaller systems to cable "Internet backbones" such as
( at )Home Network. TCI is hoping to ensure that its small systems can "keep
pace" in the high-speed data race. "We're working pretty hard at a strategy
for connectivity for high-speed data so that even our smallest systems can
be virtually presents at a major data hub with access to a high-speed
service," said TCI Chairman John Malone.

Title: Rate Ruling Effect Seen as Slight
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p77)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Cable
Description: Cable companies won a court victory this past Friday against
the FCC's rate regulation rules. Time Warner and other companies had
challenged a 1996 decision that dealt with costs operators incurred between
Sept. 30, 1992 and the date that systems became subject to rate regulation.
Originally, operators were barred from recovering costs from the "gap
period," but the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington said they should be
allowed to do so. Lawyers predict that the ruling will have little impact on
rates.

** Radio **

Title: Justice Studies More Radio Mergers
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p19)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Radio
Description: Regulators at the Justice Dept. have decided to review up to
six radio mergers that have "raised red flags" with FCC officials. In
discussions with the Justice Dept., FCC officials highlighted several
pending mergers that would give companies control over more than half of a
local radio advertising market.

Title: Lucent Presses Forward on DAB
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p41)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: John Merli
Issue: Digital Radio
Description: Lucent Technologies announced that its Lucent Digital Radio
venture is working to deliver In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) systems that will
place both analog and digital signals within the existing spectrum. The new
technology will allow broadcasters to introduce digital sound to listeners
on their existing dial positions using current antennas and transmitters.

** Jobs **

Title: Jobs Out of Reach for Detroiters Without Wheels
Source: New York Times (A12)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/suburban-car-bereft.html
Author: Robyn Meredith
Issue: Jobs
Description: In Detroit, the unemployment rate is 7.2% -- more than double
the unemployment rate in suburbs. Detroit ranks last in public
transportation funding among the largest 20 metropolitan areas nationwide.
For low-income people in the Motor City, the price of a car may be out of
reach and a 25 minute car ride to a job in the suburbs may turn out to be a
90 minute bus ordeal. The situation makes it harder for suburban businesses
to hire entry-level workers. Bruce Katz, director of the Center on Urban and
Metropolitan Policy at the Brookings Institution, says the mismatch is
maddening because it "not only undermines the ability of people to get to
work in the morning in a timely way but undermines the ability of
corporations to hire workers."

Title: The Tech Life: All Work? No, Play!
Source: Washington Post (D11,D13)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/26/057l-052698-idx.html
Author: Stephanie Stoughton
Issue: Jobs
Description: As technology firms are beginning to offer "new forms of
lifestyle benefits" as they compete for hard-to-find computer programmers,
technicians, network designers and software engineers. Many companies are
choosing to build large, campus-style complexes that offer everything from
restaurants, hotels, stores and health clubs, to places to jog, bike and
hike. Such perks aren't just about making workers happy, they're about
"keeping them close" to the mother ship, said Robert Templin, president of
Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Some companies also are
offering stock options and 401(k) retirement savings plans in an effort to
keep these sought after employees on board.

** E-Commerce **

Title: It's Time for Banks to Dive Into E-Commerce, a Pioneer Says
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/cyber/articles/26commerce.html
Author: Bjorn Kassoe Anderson
Issue: E-Commerce
Description: The banking industry could easily transform electronic commerce
into a mass phenomenon if they better understood how to sell technology,
according to one of the pioneers and top experts in the field. "Within the
next few years, we'll see applications that are so compelling for digital
consumers and merchants that eventually the light bulb will go off for the
banks," said Steve Mott, former senior vice president of electronic commerce
for MasterCard. Mott points out that at the moment most banks have the
wait-and-see strategy when it comes to e-commerce. But this may soon change
due to pressure from new commercial interests establishing themselves on the
Internet.

** Mergers **

Title: Stake in Jones Intercable Being Sold To Comcast
Source: New York Times (C3)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Issue: Cable
Description: The Comcast Corporation, which operates cable systems in
Baltimore, has purchased a 37% stake of Jones Intercable, a cable operator
whose strength is in systems surrounding Washington. Comcast will pay $500
million or more to BCE Inc for the stake. BCE sued Jones last year to stop
the company from using an Internet service run by the chairman of Jones.
Comcast is the 4th largest cable company in the country with 4.4 million
subscribers. It also owns a 15% stake in Sprint PCS and 10% of Primestar.

Title: Hearst Is Paying $1.1 Billion For Pulitzer's Broadcast Unit
Source: New York Times (C9)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Allen Myerson
Issue: Mergers/Broadcasting
Description: Hearst-Argyle Television will pay $1.15 billion in stock and
assume $700 million in debt for the television and radio assets of the
Pulitzer Publishing Corporation. Pulitzer owns nine network-affiliated
television stations and five radio stations. The deal will make
Hearst-Argyle the second-largest non-network owned group -- reaching 16.5%
of the national TV audience. Myerson writes, "Prices for radio and
television groups have been climbing in recent years as these industries
have increasing consolidated. National advertisers strongly prefer dealing
with companies that can give them a large share of the national market."

Title: BCI to Sell Comcast a 30% Interest In Jones Intercable for $500 Million
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Gordon Fairclough & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Partnership
Description: Cable-television company, Comcast, announced it would acquire a
30 percent stake in Jones Intercable Inc. for $500 million from BCI Telecom
Holding Inc. of Canada. The deal would give Comcast a significant part of
Jone's "large and technologically advanced" cable system. Jones Intercable
has about one million subscribers, many located in the Washington D.C. suburbs.

** Privacy **

Title: For sale: Any data firms know about you
Source: Chicago Tribune (p.1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,1051,CTT-20797,00....
Author: Frank James
Issue: Privacy
Description: Commerce Secretary William Daley will report to President
Clinton on corporate America's progress on protecting consumer information.
A senior administration official has said, "American business is not the
most pro-active animal in the world." Companies are not addressing privacy
concerns like collecting information from children. Since self-regulation
does not seem to be working, the administration may have to consider other
alternatives.

** Antitrust **

Title: U.S. May Add Charges to Microsoft Case
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John R. Wilke & David Bank
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Federal officials are considering adding a charge to its
antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp. The charge, already part of the state
suit, would be unfair pricing by Microsoft of its Office software package.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson said Friday that the case will
go to trial Sept. 8. Judge Penfield also said he will consolidate the
Justice Dept.'s antitrust suit with the separate suit brought by 20 states.

** Also at the FCC: **

Chairman Kennard's Statement on the Galaxy 4 Satellite.
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek835.html

Chairman Kennard's Statement on US West/Ameritech/Quest Agreement.
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek834.html

Chairman Kennard's Statement on Industry Discussions on Cramming.
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek834.html

Press Statement of Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth (re: USAC).
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Furchtgott_Roth/Statements/sthfr826.html
*********

Universal Service
Collection Amounts for Schools and Libraries and
Rural Health Care Providers (NTIA)
FCC Researchers Find Flaw in Universal Service
Hatfield Cost Model (TelecomAM)

Telephony
Demystifying telephone bills (ChiTrib)
Ameritech Willing to Accept AT&T as Marketing Partner (TelecomAM)

Satellites
Motorola Drops Plan for Its Own Data Satellites (NYT)

Broadcast Regulation
Broadcast Views (FCC)

Mergers
$10.6 Billion Seagram Deal for Polygram (NYT)
Zapata Finds Its Internet Bid Is Not Taken Seriously (NYT)

Privacy vs. 1st Amendment
Seeking new privacy law, stars cite media excesses (ChiTrib)

** Universal Service **

Title: Collection Amounts for Schools and Libraries and
Rural Health Care Providers
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/51598cc96_45ltr.htm
Author: Larry Irving
Issue: Universal Service
Description: NTIA filed a letter in CC Docket No. 96-45 on behalf of the
Clinton Administration in response to questions raised in the Report to
Congress, dated May 8, 1998, regarding universal service support mechanisms.
"...we must proceed with the rollout of the schools and libraries program, a
crucial aspect of universal service. We believe that the American people,
through their elected representatives in Congress, understood that by
ensuring that our schools and libraries have affordable access to important
telecommunication technologies, we would be ensuring our nation's future.
All of our children, in every school in our nation, must have access to the
tools of our time. No school or child must be excluded from the benefits of
the information age because of income or geographical area." [Full text of
this letter will be posted to this listserv today]

Title: FCC Researchers Find Flaw in Universal Service Hatfield Cost Model
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: Sprint has warned the Federal Communications Commission that
the Hatfield Cost Model (HCM) may underestimate the costs of providing
universal service in rural areas. After doing some research of its own, the
FCC may agree and is asking the model's sponsors -- AT&T and MCI -- to give
their views on the seriousness of the problem and to offer suggestions for
correcting it. The problem seems to be that the HCM underestimates the
distance between customers and feeder cables in rural areas.

** Telephony **

Title: Demystifying telephone bills
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/article/0,1051,ART-8947,00
.html
Author: Jon Van
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: "There's a lot of confusion out there, and we've got to do
something to quell it," said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill
Kennard. The FCC may propose new rules to simplify customer phone bills.
Some phone companies are already getting the message from consumers and are
doing something about it. Ameritech, for example, is reformatting bills to
make it easier for customers to detect "slamming" and "cramming" abuses.

Title: Ameritech Willing to Accept AT&T as Marketing Partner
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance/Competition
Description: Ameritech has indicated that the company will accept AT&T as a
marketing partner if AT&T "is willing to match the exact terms and
conditions" that Qwest agreed to in a similar arrangement. "If AT&T is
sincerely willing to help us offer equal convenience, simplicity and value
to customers, then we call on them to match the exact terms and conditions
that Qwest already has agreed to." BellSouth says that it will study AT&T's
offer.

** Satellites **

Title: Motorola Drops Plan for Its Own Data Satellites
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/biztech/articles/22satellite.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Satellite/Infrastructure
Description: Motorola has announced it will scrap its own $12.9 billion
satellite network plan to join a rival project to build an "Internet in the
Sky." Motorola will invest $750 million in Teledesic, the company founded by
Microsoft's Bill Gates and cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw. Matra Marconi
Space, a joint venture of General Electric Company of Britain and Groupe
Lagardere of France, also announced it will partner with Teledesic. An
industry analyst said: There was a decision from both of them that there was
probably no room for two guys in the market and maybe not for one. It's the
blind leading the visibly impaired."

** Broadcast Regulation **

Title: Broadcast Views
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Tristani/spgt808.html
Author: Commissioner Tristani
Issue: Broadcast Regulation
Description: "I wanted to start with a question a lot of people around
Washington have been asking: why should broadcasters be treated any
differently under the First Amendment than other media voices like
newspapers? The short answer is because the Supreme Court said so. In Red
Lion, the Supreme Court said: 'Where there are substantially more
individuals who want to broadcast than there are frequencies to allocate, it
is idle to posit an unbridgeable First Amendment right to broadcast
comparable to the right of every individual to speak, write or publish.' The
Court added: 'There is no sanctuary in the First Amendment for unlimited
private censorship in a medium not open to all.' I know what a lot of you
are probably thinking. Yeah, sure, Red Lion. Hasn't that case, and the whole
scarcity rationale it relied on, been thoroughly discredited? Isn't Red Lion
just one of those Warren Court relics that would never be upheld today? If
you only looked at law reviews and the stuff coming out of Washington think
tanks, you might think so. But apparently word of Red Lion's demise hasn't
reached the only audience that matters -- the Supreme Court. In both the
1994 Turner decision and the 1997 Reno decision, the Court expressly
reaffirmed Red Lion and the scarcity rationale as justifying more intrusive
regulation of broadcasters than newspapers and other media. I don't think
the Commission should be in the business of questioning the Court's judgment."

** Mergers **

Title: $10.6 Billion Seagram Deal for Polygram
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/polygram-seagram.html
Author: Geraldine Fabrikant
Issue: Mergers
Description: After weeks of negotiations, the Seagram Company has agreed to
buy one of the largest music companies, Polygram, for $10.6 billion in cash
and stock. Seagram is transitioning from a beverage and spirits powerhouse
into a media giant; the company also said it would sell Tropicana Products
yesterday. After yesterday's announce transactions are completed, Seagram
will derive two-thirds of its revenues from the entertainment business. [And
to think, it all started with Bruce Willis singing about wine coolers...]

Title: Zapata Finds Its Internet Bid Is Not Taken Seriously
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/22zapata-marketp
lace.html
Author: Reed Abelson
Issue: Anti-mergers
Description: Oil-and-gas company turned fishmeal producer [we don't have to
make *all* of this up] Zapata wants into the Internet business. The company
changed its name to Zap and announced yesterday that it wanted to purchase
the Internet search engine Excite. Excite has quickly said, Thanks, but no
thanks -- even though Zap was offering $72 per share, a 20% premium over
Excite's closing price on Wednesday. "Excite is too big a fish for a
fish-oil company to swallow as a way to get into the Internet," said a rep
from an venture capital firm. "It is amusingly backward."

** Privacy vs. 1st Amendment **

Title: Seeking new privacy law, stars cite media excesses
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.3)
http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Privacy/Journalism/First Amendment
Description: Michael J. Fox and Paul Reiser testified before the House
Judiciary Committee Thursday as the Committee wrestles with how to preserve
1st Amendment rights while protecting privacy right as well. Committee
Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) observed that freedom of the press "does not
confer a license to engage in criminal conduct in the interest of gathering
news." Pending legislation would bar photographers to threaten or cause
bodily injury in the pursuit of photographs or recordings. Penn State
University professor Robert Richards says the bills are overly broad and
vague and "could produce a deleterious effect on the news-gathering process."
*********
...and we are outta here. See you *Tuesday* Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Microspin: Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Microsoft
Microsoft Fight Will Be Waged On Wide Front (NYT)
Left and Right With Bill Gates (NYT)
Injunction Looms as Showdown for Microsoft (WSJ)
Netscape Seems to Have Mixed Feelings About Starring Role in
Microsoft Probe (WSJ)
Critic of Software Giant to Hear Antitrust Cases (WP)
Microsoft's Influence Unabated (WP)
...and links to much, much more

Universal Service & EdTech

Most Schools Asked for Less Than $10,000 for
Internet Links (TelecomAM)
Texas Weighs Value of Laptops vs. Textbooks (CyberTimes)

Television & Campaigns
Really Big Money Shouts in a California Contest (NYT)
Name That Candidate (ChiTrib)
Grass-Roots Organizing Tops TV Ads in AFL-CIO
Political Agenda (WP)

Advertising
Rock-Advertising Synergy (ChiTrib)
Invisible Viewers (ChiTrib)

Mergers
MCI May Reduce Internet Business (WP)

Libraries
Hacking Away at the Libraries (NYT)

Philanthropy
U.N. Gives Its First Grants From Big Ted Turner Gift (NYT)

InfoTech
Hackers and Security Experts Warn Senate Panel (CyberTimes)
Group Proposes New Way to Transfer Computer Data Over
30-Foot Distances (WSJ)
Satellite Outrage Disrupts Services For Pagers and TV (WSJ)
Errant Communications Satellite Causes Pager, TV Disruptions (WP)
Message Overload Taking Toll on Workers (WP)

** Microspin: Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Microsoft **

Title: Microsoft Fight Will Be Waged On Wide Front
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/biztech/articles/20microsoft.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Antitrust
Description: "We're in for a full-fledged fight now," said the Attorney
General of Connecticut. The battle between Microsoft and the Government will
include "talk show appearances, documents that cast Microsoft as an arrogant
monopolist, testimonials from distinguished academics, and scarcely veiled
threats of even further charges."

Title: Left and Right With Bill Gates
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Attorney General Janet Reno's decision to file an antitrust
suit against Microsoft has gained some Republican support: Sen Orrin Hatch
(Utah), Sen Trent Lott (Mississippi), and Speaker Newt Gingrich (Georgia)
have strengthened the Department of Justice's action either by approval or
just by not criticizing it. Microsoft is stepping up its campaign
contributions and lobby efforts. "The Democratic Administration is arguing
that there is an intelligent place for government oversight in cyberspace,
just as there is in the environment, the work place and the worlds of
retirement and health care. Some surprisingly powerful Republicans seem to
agree. [See also NYT (A23) "" by ]

Title: Injunction Looms as Showdown for Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1,B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Margaret A. Jacobs
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The next big step in the antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp.
will be a ruling on the Justice Dept.'s "ambitious request" for a
preliminary injunction against the software company. "If the judge issues a
weak preliminary injunction, then Microsoft will have won," says antitrust
lawyer Garret Rasmussen of Washington D.C. "If the injunction isn't
aggressive enough, then the company will have several more years before a
full trial can be heard -- and that's a lifetime in the computer industry."

Title: Netscape Seems to Have Mixed Feelings About Starring Role in
Microsoft Probe
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Kara Swisher
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Netscape Communications Corp. seems to have mixed feelings
about the antitrust suits filed Monday that make it seem as if the
Internet-browser business is "a matter of life and death" for Netscape.
People familiar with the situation say that Netscape never asked the Justice
Dept. to have its browser included with Microsoft's Web software and is
surprised by the government's request. Netscape executives instead argue
that the case should be viewed more as a matter of public policy, rather
than "a small company getting help against a rival."

Title: Critic of Software Giant to Hear Antitrust Cases
Source: Washington Post (C13,C17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/070l-052098-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has been assigned
to handle the broad antitrust cases filed against Microsoft Corp. by the
Justice Dept. and a "coalition" of 20 state attorneys general. Judge Jackson
was assigned the two cases because he presided over a narrower antitrust
proceeding against the software giant brought by the Justice Dept. last fall
and related cases are usually assigned to the same judge. In that case,
Jackson sided with the Justice Dept. "ordering Microsoft in December to
provide a version of Windows 95 without its Internet "browsing" software."
Both the Justice Dept. and the states had requested that Judge Jackson
handle the two new cases. Microsoft can petition for another judge if they
so desire.

Title: Microsoft's Influence Unabated
Source: Washington Post (C13,C17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/065l-052098-idx.html
Author: Elizabeth Corcoran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Regardless of the cases brought against Microsoft Corp., people
in Silicon Valley are still wary of the software behemoth. "I don't think
you can start a company today without thinking about how Microsoft will
affect you," either by influencing what area people work in or whether they
might eventually sell their technology to Microsoft, said Chris Shipley,
editor of PC Letter, an industry newsletter based in San Mateo. Jerry
Kaplan, chief executive of the online auction company Onsale Inc. based in
Menlo Park. Kaplan said that it is difficult to assess how the government's
case against Microsoft is going to change the current scenario. "Come on!"
he said. "The historical precedent is the action against IBM -- and that
dragged on for 13 years."
Such litigation "inevitably slows down momentum a bit and casts doubt into
the minds of people," points out Paul Saffo, who heads the Institute for the
Future, a market analyst firm in Menlo Park. As competitors, "sure, we'd
all love to see Microsoft have more problems. [But] we have to step up above
our own interests," said Gordon Eubanks, chief executive of Symantec Corp.
in Cupertino. "The most important role the government can play is to ensure
the country has the [ingredients] to build the right infrastructure for the
information age."

see also:
Title: Antitrust Excess?
Source: New York Times (A23)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/20hall.html
Author: Robert Hall, Stanford University

Title: Inside Beltway, Microsoft Sheds Its Image as Outsider
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20microsoft-lobb
y.html
Author: Leslie Wayne

Title: For Congress, Even Computer Politics Are Local
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20microsoft-c...
ess.html
Author: Neil Lewis

Title: In Seattle, Bill Gates Is Still a Hometown Hero
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20microsoft-seat
tle.html
Author: Timothy Egan

Title: Suits are no magic cure for Netscape
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/ws/item/0,1267,8297-8298-8
860,00.html
Author: Andrew Zajac

** Universal Service & EdTech **

Title: Most Schools Asked for Less Than $10,000 for Internet Links
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) has reported to the
FCC that 53 percent of the applications in the new "e-rate" program
requested less than $10,000 in subsidies and 70 percent less than $25,000.
The SLC also found that 14 percent of the funding requests are for less than
$1,000, 18 percent for $10,000-$25,000, 28 percent for $25,000-$100,000, and
less than 1 percent for more than $1 million. SLC CEO Ira Fishman said the
numbers "clearly show universal service is working" because "we are seeing
significant participation" from small, rural communities as well as large
urban areas.

Title: Texas Weighs Value of Laptops vs. Textbooks
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/cyber/education/20education.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: Education
Description: Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education, Jack Christie,
has proposed taking the state's billion-dollar-plus textbook budget and use
it to buy laptop computers for students instead of textbooks. Christie
pressed his case last week when he invited legislators in Austin to a
session where software and hardware makers demonstrated what they consider
to be the benefits of computer learning. The central question now being
asked by the proposal's critics is: Can laptops teach better than books?
These critics argue that a computer screen cannot adequately replace the
printed page. "Nobody wants to read long passages of text on a laptop
computer," said Gary Chapman, who focuses on technology and public policy
issues as director of The 21st Century Project at the Lyndon B. Johnson
School of Public Affairs at the Univ. of Texas in Austin. If Christie gets
his way, Texas will be spending the majority of its textbook budget
purchasing laptops for students within three years.

** Television & Campaigns **

Title: Really Big Money Shouts in a California Contest
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Todd Purdum
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform
Description: Al Checchi, the former co-chairman of Northwest Airlines, is
making his first bid for elected office. He is running as a Democrat for
governor in California. The primary election is June 2, but Mr. Checchi has
already spent some $30 million on his campaign -- more than any
non-Presidential candidate has ever spent on a primary and general election
combined. Mr. Checchi has already spent half of what Ross Perot spent in the
1992 Presidential race.

Title: Name That Candidate
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.15)
http://chicago.tribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/article/0,1051,SAV-98052
00042,00.html
Author: E.J. Dionne, Jr. (Wash Post)
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: "Television has just checked out of California's race for
governor." Want to know more -- you will not find out by watching local TV
newscasts. This race is happening in paid political ads. The present
governor's former communications director said, "The lack of news coverage
itself should be of concern, but it would not be alarming. The preponderance
of paid political advertising would be of concern, but not alarming. But the
combination, the incredible imbalance between paid advertising and news
media coverage, *is* alarming because there is no control on the accuracy of
information." Some are joking that a political rally in California is "three
people around a television set."

Title: Grass-Roots Organizing Tops TV Ads in AFL-CIO Political Agenda
Source: Washington Post (A3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/035l-052098-idx.html
Author: Thomas B. Edsall
Issue: Campaigns
Description: The AFL-CIO, who played a major part in the 1996 elections,
will cut back on television spending and instead place emphasis on
grass-roots campaign efforts. The union labor group will focus on issues
rather than partisan politics, spreading their word through a lot of door
knocking and telephone calling.

** Advertising **

Title: Rock-Advertising Synergy
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec5, p.1)
http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: Mark Caro
Issue: Advertising
Description: Back in the day, the hero would climb up the pop charts fueled
by radio (or TV video) play which would, in turn, result in increased sales.
Now, a band or its music might find an audience because it provides a
soundtrack for a commercial. Record labels and advertisers alike are seeing
the benefits of including new, relatively unknown music in commercials.

Title: Invisible Viewers
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec5, p.3)
http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: David Bauder
Issue: Television Economics/Advertising
Description: Outside of homes, no one really knows how many people are
watching television -- a strange lapse for a business dependent on knowing
how big its audience is. Television executives are pleading with Nielsen
Media Research to figure out how to measure viewers in bars, health clubs,
hotels, and other out-of-home locations. Nielsen estimates that 25.7 million
people watch TV outside their home and will figure out a way to measure
them, if someone will pay for it.

** Mergers **

Title: MCI May Reduce Internet Business
Source: Washington Post (C13,C14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/072l-052098-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Merger
Description: In an effort to ease regulators concerns that the proposed MCI
Communications Corp.- WorldCom Inc. merger would be anti-competitive, MCI is
considering selling part of its Internet business. Once the merger is
complete, the communications company would focus on WorldCom's Internet
business, which is slightly larger than MCI's.

** Libraries **

Title: Hacking Away at the Libraries
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Libraries
Description: In 1901, Andrew Carnegie made a deal with New York City: If the
City provided land and operating expenses, Carnegie would erect 65 branch
libraries. The City is welshing on the deal by not supporting its public
libraries, letting buildings decay and cutting back on hours. Even with a $2
billion city budget surplus, Mayor Giuliani has proposed cutting back the
library system's budget by $15 million. "The Mayor's call for more private
fund-raising ignores the fact. The city needs to pay for the basics and let
donors come forth for the enhancements. To do any less is to undermine a
precious public institution."

** Philanthropy **

Title: U.N. Gives Its First Grants From Big Ted Turner Gift
Source: New York Times (A10)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/un-turner-grant.html
Author: Barbara Crossette
Issue: Philanthropy
Description: Media mogul Ted Turner pledged $1 billion to the United Nations
last year. In January the United Nations Foundation was established to
disperse $100 million per year over the next decade. The fund is headed by
former Colorado senator Tim Wirth. The first round of grants -- to be
announced today -- will focus on helping women, children, and victims of war
in poor countries. United Nations agencies and programs are competing for
the funds by submitting proposals.

** InfoTech **

Title: Hackers and Security Experts Warn Senate Panel
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Security
Description: An elite group of seven hackers who call themselves LOpht Heavy
Industries and have names like Mudge, Space Rogue and Brian Oblivion, came
to Capitol Hill yesterday to warn Congress that computer security is so lax
that they could cut off the entire nation from the Internet in 30 minutes or
less. They also could keep the global network disabled for so long "it would
definitely take a few days for people to figure out what was going on," said
Mudge. The group told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that their
goal was "to raise the bar," to get companies to develop more secure
products. "The committee praised the group, all of whom hold real jobs by
day, for their efforts, and pushed for answers on what they could do to make
the country less vulnerable to terrorists attacks as the world becomes more
and more reliant on computers."

Title: Group Proposes New Way to Transfer Computer Data Over 30-Foot Distances
Source: Wall Street Journal (B12)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Dean Takahashi
Issue: Wireless
Description: A group of computer and communications giants, including Intel
Corp., IBM Corp., Nokia Oy, Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Toshiba Corp., are
proposing a new radio technology that would allow computer data to be
transferred over distances of about 30 feet. The new technology, called
Bluetooth, would replace the need for wires for mobile computers and other
applications. It is designed to make it easier for users to exchange data
between handheld cellular phones or computers and personal computers or
other stationary machines.

Title: Satellite Outrage Disrupts Services For Pagers and TV
Source: Wall Street Journal (A4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Frederic M. Biddle
Issue: Satellites
Description: One of the most extensive blackouts of the digital era occurred
yesterday when a PanAmSat Corp. telecommunications satellite, called Galaxy
IV, went out-of-control. Anomalies noted in Galaxy IV earlier this week are
the most likely cause of the interrupted service to millions of pager
customers, TV stations and networks and syndicated program distributors.
PanAmSat said it was working to develop alternative plans, including
switching customers to other satellites.

Title: Errant Communications Satellite Causes Pager, TV Disruptions
Source: Washington Post (C14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/169l-052098-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Satellites
Description: A satellite operated by Hughes Electronics Corp.s' PanAmSat
division spun out of control at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to PanAmSat
officials. The company has tried to maintain contact with the satellite and
was trying to restore its correct orbit late last night. "We advised out
customers that the satellite will remain out of service until Wednesday
morning at the earliest," said PanAmsat spokesman Daniel Marcus. "We're
helping them with sort-term restoration plans."

Title: Message Overload Taking Toll on Workers
Source: Washington Post (C13,C16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/064l-052098-idx.html
Author: Kirstin Downey Grimsley
Issue: Lifestyle
Description: With so many time- and labor-saving devices (such as the fax,
voice-mail, email, corporate intranet, standard, cell and car phone, the
beeper and pager) available for our convenience it is no wonder that we are
beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. A workplace study conducted by the
Gallup Organization and Calif.-based Institute for the Future found that
workers are being "bombarded by an avalanche of information" and are
starting to "cry for a respite from the intrusions." The study, released
yesterday, found that the 1,035 employees that were surveyed and observed at
work received an average of 190 messages a day, most requiring some form of
response. Employees said that they were starting their work day earlier and
staying later in an effort to keep up. While many experts believe that the
growth of information is causing people to work smarter and faster --
several academic studies have reached different conclusions when it comes to
the effect on productivity "People are treated like they are machines that
are on all the time," said economist Paula Rayman, director of the Radcliffe
Public Policy Institute that also has interviewed workers on this subject.
"All these workers wanted 'sacred time' -- time during the day with no
interruptions...You absolutely need uninterrupted time to get your work
done. If you are constantly bombarded with messages, you never get your real
work done."
*********