November 1999

MEDIA & SOCIETY
Video-Game Violence Is Under Attack As Issue Heats Up
Before Sales Season (WSJ)

INTERNET
Author Finds Solid Sites for Children Amid Marketing Glut (CyberTimes)
Banner Ads Deliver More Punch And Purchases Than Thought (WSJ)
AT&T's Carrot-and-Stick Lobbying Efforts Raises Issue Over Access to
Cable-TV Lines (WSJ)

TELEPHONE
Speech: Bismarck Field Hearing on Rural Telecom (FCC)
AT&T Plans Local Push With Wireless Twist (WP)
CWA Blasts AT&T Plan to End Toll-Free Directory Assistance (CWA)

TELEVISION
GE Denies Hawking NBC To Rival (USA)
Murdoch: Fox is likely Out of Chris-Craft Deal (USA)

MEDIA & SOCIETY

VIDEO-GAME VIOLENCE IS UNDER ATTACK AS ISSUE HEATS UP BEFORE SALES SEASON
Issue: Media & Society
Senators Joseph Lieberman (CT-D) and Herb Kohl (WI-D) and an
antiviolence lobbying group, the National Institute on Media and the Family,
released an annual report on video game violence that takes on the game
makers for creating violent games with no socially redeeming value.
Meanwhile, the state legislature in New York held hearings on video-game
violence. The issue appears is heating up again because various state
legislatures from Washington to Pennsylvania have started to debate bills
aimed at curbing game violence. Todd Hollenshead, chief executive of Id
Software, said "we make it clear that the game has violent subject matter.
If a parent is going to buy the game, they should know that from the rating
that is on the box." Doug Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital
Software Association, said the group has begun running ads featuring TV
spots with golf star Tiger Woods to educate parents and store clerks about
the ratings system. David Walsh, director of the Minneapolis Institute,
noticed some improvement: about 75% of store clerks were aware of the
video-game ratings system this year, in contrast to only 43% last year.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dean Takahashi]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB943404955430655073.htm)
See Also:
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES WITHIN KID'S REACH
[SOURCE: USA Today (1D), AUTHOR: Mike Snider]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/llead.htm)

INTERNET

AUTHOR FINDS SOLID SITES FOR CHILDREN AMID MARKETING GLUT
Issue: Children & Media
Jean Armour Polly has updated "The Internet Kids & Family Yellow Pages"
(Osborne McGraw-Hill). In the first edition compiled four years ago, she had
to stretch the term "children's site." Most of the 1,800 listings in her
first book were sites designed for adults. Polly selected them because they
were written in simple language or covered interesting subjects like
photography or astronomy. In the new edition, for each of the 4,000 or so
entries in the 820-page book, she rejected about 10 sites. But a new concern
is commercialization. "There are more and more sites aimed at kids. Along
with that came more and more marketing messages," said Polly. She ended
dropping many entries from the first edition because the ads were starting
to drown out the content: "Too much noise versus signal." See Net-Mom
(http://www.netmom.com/), a site Polly maintains.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels (mendels( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/cyber/education/24education.html)

BANNER ADS DELIVER MORE PUNCH AND PURCHASES THAN THOUGHT
Issue: Advertising
An Andersen Consulting study to be released today will report that 25% of
the Internet users said they went shopping on a Web site after seeing a
banner ad, compared with 14% of the users who said they clicked onto a site
after seeing a television or magazine advertisement. About 4% of the
Internet users who went to a Web site to shop were drawn in by a radio
commercial, the survey found. Internet users "may be jaded about banner ads
but relative to other forms, they seem to be responding," said Mary Tolan,
Andersen's managing partner for retail. Andersen interviewed 1,500 Internet
users for the study. Charlene Li, a senior analyst for new media at
Forrester Research, said her firm's research shows similar results. She said
consumers respond when banner ads are placed in the right context and when
specific information about a product such as price or style is provided.
"Banner ads aren't dead," she said. Anderson also asked what Internet users
want from their online shopping experience: 62% of those interviewed wanted
to shop at sites that have merchandise in stock and provide quick delivery,
and 79% favored sites with good values. Internet users who were deterred
from shopping online were scared away by concerns over their privacy,
delivery costs and the difficulty of returning purchases.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kathryn Kranhold]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB943403278846940276.htm)

AT&T'S CARROT-AND-STICK LOBBYING EFFORTS RAISES ISSUE OVER ACCESS TO
CABLE-TV LINES
Issue: Mergers/Broadband
This year AT&T faced the prospect of a number of cities requiring the
company to open its cable lines to rival Internet companies as a condition
to approving its acquisition of MediaOne. The threat never really
materialized. Why not? It depends on whom you ask. Local officials and AT&T
rivals say the company used tactics such as -- Go along with us and you can
have system upgrades; oppose us and you will face costly lawsuits and won't
get high-speed Internet service via cable lines. Rivals, AOL and the Baby
Bells, have launched their own lobbying effort aimed at requiring AT&T to
open these pipes. AT&T also faces other potential challenges as several
states are considering open-access ballot initiatives or legislation. Some
cities are asking AT&T for specific deployment arrangements. Brockton,
Massachusetts Mayor Jack Yunits, said they told AT&T: "This is what we want.
If you'll give it to us, we'll drop open access." About 15% of localities
reviewing MediaOne transfers have written open-ended review options into
their agreements with AT&T, which has actively offered this as a solution in
certain cases. In the end, that approach might only be delaying the problem
for AT&T. "They've won the battle but lost the war," says Gene Kimmelman,
co-director of advocacy group Consumers Union. "Even if a number of cities
didn't mandate open access, AT&T can't hide from it -- they will have to
open up."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB943398328902440483.htm)

TELEPHONE

SPEECH: BISMARCK FIELD HEARING ON RURAL TELECOM
Issue: Rural/Universal Service
Chairman Kennard's Opening Remarks at the Bismarck Field Hearing: When you
hear about telecommunications you hear a lot of talk about competition,
about how it's overtaking the country and transforming the lives of
Americans everywhere. But I know that this is not always the case.
Competition does not come to all people and all parts of America at the same
time.
Congress understood this when it passed the 1996 Telecommunications Act, and
so it created an Act that rested on two fundamental pillars. The first
pillar, as we all know, was competition, but the second pillar, universal
service, was just as important. For the first time in history, this country
has a federal law that says that all Americans rich, poor, urban, rural, people
with disabilities must have equal access to advanced telecommunications
services.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek940.html)

AT&T PLANS LOCAL PUSH WITH WIRELESS TWIST
Issue: Competition
AT&T will enter the "fixed wireless" business, hedging its bet on cable
telephony and high-speed Internet access. At a cost of $1.2 billion next
year, AT&T will make a major push to provide local telephone service and
high-speed Internet access with wireless technology. The company's plan is
expected to be announced December 6 at a Wall Street analysts' meeting.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A39716-1999Nov23.html)

CWA BLASTS AT&T PLAN TO END TOLL-FREE DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE
Issue: Telephone
On November 12, 1999, AT&T announced plans to eliminate its toll-free
800-number directory assistance, effective March 31, 2000. This is the only
service that allows customers to obtain 800 numbers, free of charge. AT&T's
plan to shift to an Internet directory will deny many consumers access and
harm businesses that depend on their toll-free connection to their
customers. Only one-quarter of all Americans are connected to the Internet;
the rate drops to around 10 percent for low-income, African-American,
Hispanic, and older Americans. The FCC is taking comments on this change
through Dec. 8. Reference "NSD File Number W-P-D-443" and send comments to:
Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th St
S.W., Room TW-A325, Washington, D.C. 20554 (Also send 2 copies of your
comments to: Network Services Division, FCC, same address, Room 6-A207.)
[SOURCE: Communications Workers of America]
(http://www.cwa-union.org/news/pr_dynam.asp?id=135)

TELEVISION

GE DENIES HAWKING NBC TO RIVAL
Issue: Merger
News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch announced Tuesday night that General
Electric is offering to sell its NBC television operation to Time Warner
for $25 billion."One or two well-known people on the board are very much in
favor of buying it, and the rest are very much opposed to it," Murdoch told
his Fox News Channel. GE denied the story and Time Warner denied it
received an offer. Any such deal would face regulatory hurdles that bar a
company from owning a TV station in the same market where it owns the local
cable system and in New York Time Warner owns the cable system that serves
Manhattan while NBC has its flagship station, WNBC. Broadcasting companies
are also barred from owning two broadcast networks, such as NBC and WB.
Combining rival all-news cable channels CNN and MSNBC, which is half owned
by Microsoft, and business news competitors CNNfn and CNBC would raise
anti-trust questions. Time Warner, one of the most prolific movie and TV
producers, has talked with NBC about merging since the mid-1980s.
[SOURCE: USA Today (1B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/money/digest/md1.htm#mds3)

MURDOCH: FOX IS LIKELY OUT OF CHRIS-CRAFT DEAL
Issue: Mergers
Fox will not try to buy Chris-Craft's television stations unless the price
of the stations falls "dramatically," News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch
said. Chris-Craft, which owns a 10-station group and half of UPN, is worth
about $2.4 billion. Murdoch speculated that Tribune or Viacom will
likely end up buying Chris-Craft. Fox investors feared that an extravagant
station sale might delay substantial profit gains for Fox, which had a net
profit of $205 million on revenue of $8.1 billion in the fiscal year that
ended in June.
[SOURCE: USA Today (3B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.ckom)

--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we're outta here.

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Clinton Touts Internet as Third World Savior

INTERNET
Internet Makes an Easy Target for Lobbyists and Lawmakers (NYT)
Self-Indulgence in the Internet Industry (NYT)
Senate Passes Electronic Commerce Bill (SJM)
Prodigy, SBC Agree to Combine Their Internet-Service Businesses
(WSJ)

BROADCASTING
Despite Agreement, Snags Remain for Digital TV (NYT)
For BET, Some Static in the Picture (WP)
FCC Issues Guiding Principles For Spectrum Management (FCC)

PUBLIC INTEREST
Media Moguls Seen Taking Turn To Social Responsibility (USA)

ANTITRUST
Microsoft Faces A Class Action On 'Monopoly' (NYT)

EMPLOYMENT
At Amazon.com, Service Workers Without a Smile (WP)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CLINTON TOUTS INTERNET AS THIRD WORLD SAVIOR
Issue: Digital Divide/International
FLORENCE, Italy -President Clinton proposed Sunday an increase in the
developing world's access to computers, cellular telephones and the World
Wide Web to help struggling economies. The president made the announcement
at a daylong international conference on the challenges of "progressive
governance" in the next century. Commonly referred to as "third way," the
leaders were seeking ideas that were outside of traditional
conservative/liberal models. Clinton said: "I think we should shoot for a
goal in the developing countries (and) the developed countries, of having
Internet access as complete as telephone access within a fixed number of
years. It will do as much as anything to reduce income inequality." Clinton
returned to the idea throughout the day: "The more you can make dense the
availability of cell phones and computers in poor countries, the bigger
difference it would make." He did not offer specifics. Among the
participants, summoned by the conference host, Prime Minister Massimo
D'Alema of Italy, were Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin of France and
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: James Gerstenzang - Los Angeles Times]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/004797.htm)

INTERNET

INTERNET MAKES AN EASY TARGET FOR LOBBYISTS AND LAWMAKERS
Issue: Legislation/Internet
Where it comes to Internet bills in front of Congress, Margot Saunders,
managing attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, believes it is a
matter of "everybody being scared to death to vote against the high-tech
industry." It seems as if laws to protect business interests like
intellectual property and digital contracts have been on the fast track,
while proposals for basic consumer protections have not attracted much
support. "I characterize it as short-term-advantage thinking with long-term
implications," said Jerry Berman of the Center for Democracy and
Technology. Berman says that the trend has moved away from true
self-regulation to "leave it alone -- except for this, except for
that." America Online, for example, has been very vocal in calling for a
hands-off approach to the Internet, but is now pushing legislation that
would force cable companies to open their high-speed Internet lines to
competition.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/22regs.html)

SELF-INDULGENCE IN THE INTERNET INDUSTRY
Issue: Internet
[Commentary] These days it seems as if the Internet companies are more
willing to risk consumer anger than to voluntarily adopt a meaningful code
of conduct or to disclose too much about their business practices. Even as
the lack of credibility among Web companies attracts increasing attention
and criticism, many sites still feel no need to distinguish between what
information is paid for and what is not. "There is an ideal confusion in
the mind of the consumer today," said an anonymous chief executive of one
Internet company. "It's good if the consumer doesn't know whether he's
buying the watch from Casio's site or from us." According to Caruso, many
companies seems to be "banking on the 'ride this horse till it drops'
strategy" when it comes to Internet credibility. "And considering the
amount of activity that their bad behavior is generating, they may not have
long to wait."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C5), AUTHOR: Denise Caruso]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/22digi.html)

SENATE PASSES ELECTRONIC COMMERCE BILL
Issue: E-Commerce
Friday, the U.S. Senate passed the Millennium Digital Commerce bill to set
standards for electronic signatures and protect consumers who buy things
online. The bill will ensure that contracts will not be denied legal effect
that they otherwise would have under state law solely because they are in
electronic form or because they were signed electronically. It also seeks
to protect consumers against companies that try to confuse them with
electronic disclosures or compel them into waiving their rights to paper
records. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who sponsored the bill in the Senate
along with Michigan Republican Senator Spencer Abraham (R -MI), said the
bill was intended as an interim measure until states pass their own
electronic commerce laws. This version is different from one passed by the
House of Representatives, so the two must be reconciled in a conference
committee and then approved again by both chambers.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/1108718l.htm)

PRODIGY, SBC AGREE TO COMBINE THEIR INTERNET-SERVICE BUSINESSES
Issue: Merger
Today, SBC Communications and Prodigy Communications announced they have
agreed to join their consumer and small-business Internet operations. SBC
will make Prodigy its exclusive retail consumer and small-business Internet
access service to the roughly 100 million Americans in SBC's service area.
Prodigy will manage SBC's current 650,000 dial-up, ISDN and basic DSL
Internet customer base, increasing Prodigy's subscriber base to more than
two million. SBC will exclusively market Prodigy service with the
commitment of delivering a minimum of 1.2 million new customers over the
next three years to the Prodigy member base. Prodigy will own 57% of the
partnership and SBC will have the right to convert its 43% interest into a
direct equity interest in Prodigy. All new subscribers will become Prodigy
members and Prodigy will use SBC as its preferred provider of
telecommunications services and network infrastructure.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Dow Jones Newswires]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB943267877646005274.htm)

BROADCASTING

DESPITE AGREEMENT, SNAGS REMAIN FOR DIGITAL TV
Issue: DTV
The cable television and consumer electronics industries announced last
week that an agreement had been reached over what sort of connections
should be used for set makers to begin building cable-compatible digital
televisions. William Kennard, the Federal Communications Commission
chairman, had urged the industries to resolve the cable compatibility
problem by November of 1998. While they had figured out what kind of plug
they wanted to use by the appointed date, they still had not agreed on a
method for keeping viewers from making digital copies of programs that the
programmers did not want copied. Now that an agreement has been made,
TV-set makers are not yet ready to commit themselves to making all digital
television sets ready for cable in the form the cable industry would like.
"We don't want to broaden the digital divide by forcing Americans to pay
more for every DTV set to get features they may not want or use," said.
Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C17), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/22plug.html)

FOR BET, SOME STATIC IN THE PICTURE
Issue: Television/Minorities
At a time when the NAACP has been charging the major networks for
inadequate minority representation, some African Americans are expressing
growing disenchantment with the one network aimed at blacks --BET. Many
feel that BET's schedule does not offer audiences uplift or enlightenment,
but instead depends on the very stereotypes blacks have complained about on
other networks. Labor unions have also complained that BET founder and
President Bob Johnson exploits both his performers and his employees.
"There's a group of disaffected black people out there who feel BET has to
be everything they want it to be," says Johnson of his critics. "They're
frustrated that BET won't program to their personal desires. They're
personally frustrated BET isn't in their own image. They just don't
understand."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30988-1999Nov21.html)

FCC ISSUES GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT
Issue: Spectrum
Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Policy
Statement outlining principles for spectrum management designed to enhance
competition and to encourage the development of new telecommunications
technologies. The Policy Statement will serve as a guide for the
reallocation of approximately 200 megahertz of spectrum for a broad range
of new radio communications services. The demand for spectrum has increased
as a result of explosive growth in wireless communications. The
Commission's approach to managing spectrum includes the following
principles: 1) Allowing flexibility in allocations to allow licensees to
better respond to market demand; 2) Promoting new spectrum efficient
technologies, such as those that support ultra-wideband and spread spectrum
operations; 3) Ensuring that important communications needs, such as public
safety, are met; 4) Improving the efficiency of the FCC spectrum assignment
processes through streamlining and innovative techniques; 5) Encouraging
the development of secondary markets for spectrum to ensure full
utilization; and 6) Continuing to seek ways to make more spectrum available
through things such as user fees or reclaiming existing spectrum. (See the
Policy Statement for the spectrum that is currently available.) FCC
Chairman William Kennard also announced the creation of a Spectrum Policy
Executive Committee where the Bureau and Office Chiefs involved will
participate on the Committee under the direction of Dale Hatfield, Chief of
the Office of Engineering and Technology. [SOURCE: Federal Communications
Commission]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/1999/nret90

07.html)

PUBLIC INTEREST

MEDIA MOGULS SEEN TAKING TURN TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Issue: Media Ownership/ Public Interest
[Commentary] Lieberman, who notes that there seems to be an unusual amount
of soul searching in the media business lately, considers several recent
developments. Time Warner (previously a major political contributor) became
a strong advocate of campaign finance reform last week, saying it will stop
making "soft-money" contributions to parties or advocacy groups, who, in
turn, buy ads for certain candidates. Additionally, the company will add $1
million to the budget for its newsmagazines and cable channels to cover
serious issues in next year's election. Times Mirror, owner of the Los
Angeles Times, was forced to reconsider its efforts to improve business at
the newspaper at the expense of its reputation for editorial independence.
Publisher Kathryn Downing acknowledged that she went too far when she
agreed to share $2 million in ad revenue with the Staples Center from an
issue of the Sunday magazine devoted to the arena. Media watchdog Brill's
Content which in its February issue explained "why CBS News and CNN should
merge" is now arguing that in the wake of Viacom's deal to buy CBS, "having
a few huge corporations control our outlets of expression could lead to
less aggressive news coverage and a more muted marketplace of ideas." And
finally, at a panel marking the results of a study raising concerns
about media influence on children, WB Network CEO Jamie Kellner, didn't
defend his free speech rights nor did he urge those who object to a show to
change the channel. Instead, he said he has rejected proposals for shows
that he deemed antisocial and cultivated pro-social programming.
[SOURCE: USA Today (3B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/colmedia.htm)

ANTITRUST

MICROSOFT FACES A CLASS ACTION ON 'MONOPOLY'
Issue: Anti-trust
Lawyers say they are preparing to file a class-action suit against
Microsoft on behalf of millions of California residents who bought
Microsoft Windows. The suit will accuse Microsoft of using its monopoly in
operating systems software to overcharge buyers of Windows 95 and Windows
98. The complaint does not estimate the financial impact to Windows users,
but the three lawyers bringing the case are seeking triple damages if the
suit leads to an eventual finding of financial harm. Earlier this month
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued his findings of fact in the
government's antitrust case against Microsoft, concluding that Microsoft is
a monopoly whose anti-competitive acts have stifled innovation and harmed
consumers. A judge's findings of fact in a federal antitrust case are not
generally considered admissible as evidence in private suits. But Jackson's
findings agreed so strongly with the case presented by the Justice
Department and 19 states that antitrust experts say his final verdict is
expected to find that Microsoft is a monopoly that violated the law. An
estimated 90 percent of Windows 98 users received the software preloaded on
new machines. Legally, this is significant because a 1977 Supreme Court
ruling -- the Illinois Brick Company vs. the State of Illinois -- declared
that indirect purchasers of goods could not recover damages in class-action
antitrust cases. Since 1977, however, 18 states including California and
New York have passed laws allowing indirect purchasers to qualify for
triple damages in antitrust class actions.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/22soft.html)

EMPLOYMENT

AT AMAZON.COM, SERVICE WORKERS WITHOUT A SMILE
Issue: Employment
While Amazon.com has been hailed in trade publications for its generally
quick attention to customer needs, Amazon.com employees paint a picture of
a disaffected workplace. Amazon's customer service centers are home to
time-worn industrial tensions between gung-ho managers and disaffected
employees; speedy machines and mortal paces; union and anti-union
interests. Additional animosities exist between stock-option millionaires
and low-wage co-workers. In the new economy workplace the promise of speed
still rests heavily with rote-work employees -- the men and women who spend
their days and nights boxing books at Amazon's distribution centers, and
those who answer e-mail. While technology has helped eliminate the tedium
in many fields, most of the jobs created by the new economy are low paying,
low skilled and monotonous. Customer service workers are typically in their
twenties, unmarried and unmortgaged. An unknown proportion have been at the
company long enough to receive significant equity compensation to
supplement their wages, nearly all of which are $10 to $13 a hour. Customer
service representatives are expected to maintain a high rate of
productivity, and output is watched closely, several employees said.
Supervisors push "productivity" and "efficiency" in meetings, memos and
evaluations. Amazon.com has also faced a union-organizing campaign, led by
group of Amazon employees in conjunction with the Washington Alliance of
Technology Workers (WashTech), a grass-roots group affiliated with the
Communications Workers of America. Last December, WashTech published
"Holiday in Amazonia," a report that detailed working conditions at
Amazon's customer service centers. Employees complained of overcrowding
with up to four people sharing cubicles, low wages making regular overtime
necessary, and a top-down management style.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Mark Leibovich]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/22/152l-112299-idx.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

KIDS & MEDIA
Plugged In Generation (WP)
Circuits Holiday Buying Guide (CyberTimes)
FCC Chairman Kennard Celebrates the Success of the E-Rate (FCC)
Statement by the President: E-rate (WhiteHouse)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Digital Divide: Digital Opportunity (NTIA)

INTERNET
Leading Media Companies Forming Joint Web Venture (NYT)
Microsoft Ends Row With AOL Over Instant-Messaging Software (WSJ)
Site Offers Videos of Candidates, Without the Flash (CyberTimes)

TELEPHONY
Sprint and MCI Request Approval (WSJ)
FCC Will Adopt Policy Allowing Data Firms to Share Phone Lines (WSJ)
The Global Search Continues For a Single Wireless Standard (WSJ)

PRIVACY
ACLU Launches ECHELON Website (EPIC)
Safe Harbor or Pirates Cove? (EPIC)

CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Time Warner Is Planning to Stop 'Soft Money'
Political Donations (WSJ)

INTERNATIONAL
Trade Deal Will Send Overseas Capital Flooding Into
China's Internet Industry (WSJ)

KIDS & MEDIA

PLUGGED IN GENERATION
Issue: Children & Media
Children spend the equivalent of an adult work week alone and unsupervised
with media. More precisely, "Kids & Media ( at ) The New Millennium," a new study
by the Kaiser Family Foundation surveying 3,000 children ages 2 - 18, found
children on average spend 5 hrs 29 min/day with some form of media. For
children 8 and older the number is higher -- 6 hrs 43 min/day. The survey
looked at all media: television, music, video games and reading materials.
"Most parents will say, 'Not my child.' And most parents will be wrong,"
said Donald F. Roberts, a Stanford University communications professor.
Despite the press' attention on computers, television remained the
dominant medium with an average of 2 hrs 46 minutes/day -- though 17% of
the surveyed children spend more than five hours in front of the TV. Music
came in second. Computer use and Internet use placed last and second to
last. The survey results averaged to 21 minutes/day on computers outside
of the school, including 8 minutes of Internet use. Children between the
ages of eight and thirteen were the heaviest users.

The survey also revealed that minority children are more likely to live in a
home where the TV is on "most of the time" -- a response given by 42% of the
children about TV use in the house. Fifty-six percent of African American
children gave this response compared to 42% of Hispanics and 39% of White
children. Forty-nine percent of the children said there are no household
rules about television. Another aspect of the survey was a look at where the
media are used: 53% have a television in their bedroom including 32% of the
2-7 year olds. Use of media "has become an increasingly isolated activity,"
said Vicky J. Rideout of the Kaiser Family Foundation's program on
entertainment media and public health.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, (A1), AUTHOR: Ellen Edwards]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/A12569-1999Nov17.html)
See Also:
KIDS & MEDIA ( at ) THE NEW MILLENNIUM
[SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation]
(http://www.kff.org/content/1999/1535/)
TV GRABS BIGGEST SHARE OF KIDS' TIME
[SOURCE: USA Today (D1), AUTHOR: Peter Johnson]
(www.usatoday.com)
HEADLINES EXTRA: FAMILIES & TECHNOLOGY
Posted to this list earlier today. Available at
(http://www.benton.org/News/Extra)
CIRCUITS: BATTERIES INCLUDED
Issue: E-Commerce
The New York Time's Circuits section is a holiday buying guide this week.
Stories cover games, pagers, home computers, digital cameras, office
technology, A/V equipment, and site where you can buy all this stuff.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E1), AUTHOR: New York Times Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/circuits/index.html)

FCC CHAIRMAN KENNARD CELEBRATES THE SUCCESS OF THE E-RATE
Issue: Universal Service/EdTech
From the News Release: FCC Chairman William Kennard announced yesterday that
over a million classrooms will be connected to the Information Superhighway
because of the e-rate. "The e-rate is working," stated Chairman Kennard,
"enabling children in over one million classrooms to access a whole new
world of knowledge. It is a critical investment in the next millennium for
our schools, our children, and our country." This week marks the final wave
of funding for the second year of the e-rate program, established by the
bipartisan Snowe-Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey amendment to the Telecom Act of
1996. It provides 20% to 90% discounts on telecommunications services,
Internet access and internal connections to schools and libraries. This
morning Chairman Kennard celebrated the success of the e-rate at a
roundtable discussion, entitled "Kids & Media ( at ) The New Millennium, hosted
by the Kaiser Family Foundation in New York city. A report on kids and
media, released at the event, highlights the importance of the e-rate
program.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1999/nrmc9076.html)

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT: E-RATE
Issue: Universal Service/EdTech
Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced that the "e-rate"
will help connect over one million classrooms to the Internet. This is a
giant step toward the goal that Vice President Gore and I set to connect
every classroom and library to the Internet by the year 2000. Children all
over the United States are now able to log on to the Library of Congress,
get online mentoring from a scientist halfway around the world, and acquire
the skills they need to succeed in the high-tech economy of the 21st
century, because of the e-rate. Parents also benefit by now being able to
communicate more frequently with teachers, and follow the academic
performance of their children. Combined with investments that my
Administration is making in multimedia computers, teacher training, and
high-quality educational software, the e-rate is putting the future at the
fingertips of our children. It is also helping to bridge the "digital
divide" by providing the deepest discounts to the poorest schools and
libraries that need it most.
[SOURCE: White House]
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

DIGITAL DIVIDE: DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
Issue: Digital Divide
A draft agenda for the upcoming Digital Divide Summit is now available.
Includes sessions on: Access, Training & Education, Marketing & Content in
Underserved Communities, Technology & Economic Development in Underserved
Areas, Sustainable Public Access Points, Lowering Barriers to Access Through
New Product Development, Marketing to and Content for Underserved
Populations, Rural Communities -- Targeted Solutions and Workforce
Development -- Training and Education
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/summit/agenda.html)
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/summit/)

INTERNET

LEADING MEDIA COMPANIES FORMING JOINT WEB VENTURE
Issue: Journalism/Alliances
As part of an unprecedented media alliance announced yesterday, the
journalism of the Washington Post, NBC News, Newsweek and MSNBC will be
available on both MSNBC.com, Washingtonpost.com and a planned new
Newsweek.MSNBC.com. Tom Wolzien, a media analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein
& Co., said that the effort to aggregate high-quality journalism on a Web
site could quickly broaden that site's audience -- and its appeal to
advertisers. According to company executives, advertising revenue from the
collaborative ventures will be shared. This alliance is seen as a
significant move responsive to the growing challenge of attracting audiences

in the narrowcasting era of cable TV and the Internet. Other media
companies, such as The New York Times and ABC have also been exploring
joint ventures.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C16), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer ]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/18web.html)
See also:
NEWS TITANS LINK IN DEAL WITH REACH
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99111801
95,FF.html)

MICROSOFT ENDS ROW WITH AOL OVER INSTANT-MESSAGING SOFTWARE
Issue: Online Services
Microsoft says it will at least temporarily stop trying to make
its instant-messaging software communicate with AOL's similar software.
Microsoft tried to break into instant messaging, which is one of AOL's most
successful software applications, by introducing MSN Messenger Service.
Microsoft designed the software so that its own users could send messages
to people who use AOL's service. Microsoft said its decision is the result
of the techniques AOL uses to lock its system, which Microsoft says could
pose a security threat to both companies' customers. Deanna Sanford, a
Microsoft lead program manager, said AOL Instant Messenger software
contains a bug, known as a "buffer overrun," that makes it possible to run
software code on a user's personal computer without his knowledge or
approval. AOL, she said, has used that bug to help identify MSN users.
Microsoft has introduced a version of the service for MSN users only. AOL
has denied that anything in its software is dangerous to its users.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Don Clark]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942876389354431090.htm)

SITE OFFERS VIDEOS OF CANDIDATES, WITH OUT THE FLASH
Issue: Political Discourse
Doug Bailey, a well-known Republican consultant, has launched an Internet
site that offers voters no-frills, 90-minute video clips of candidates
stating their positions on issues important to voters. The nonprofit
venture, the Freedom Channel, provides free studio time to candidates for
president, governor, and the United States Congress. Paul Taylor, executive
director of the Alliance for Better Campaigns, which encourages the media
to improve it's coverage of campaigns, called the Freedom Channel "the
ultimate cornucopia" for political information. "There's the potential here
to get broadcasters to use this material," he said. Tony Wilhelm, director
of communications policy for the Benton Foundation, hoped that sites like
the Freedom Channel would making the most of the Internet potential to
allow citizens to set the political agenda. "The question is whether it's
television by another name, and whether it will engage a larger portion of
the public," Wilhelm said.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Rebecca Fairley Raney]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/cyber/articles/18campaign.html

GERMAN COURT OVERTURNS PORNOGRAPHY RULING AGAINST COMPUSERVE
Issue: Internet/Content
Yesterday, a Bavarian court ruled that the former top executive of
Compuserve's German subsidiary is not guilty of distributing pornography.
Two years ago, Compuserve executive Felix Somm was convicted of
distributing pornography because customers could use the Internet service
provider to download child pornography from Web sites in the United States.
Compuserve argued that it had tried to block German customers from a long
list of pornographic sites. Germany is one of the most aggressive Western
nations in trying to police the Internet. Online service companies
considered this decision a victory, as it helps clarify their legal
responsibility for material that customers might obtain from the Internet.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Edmund L. Andrews]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/18compuserve-ger

many.html)

TELEPHONY

SPRINT AND MCI REQUEST APPROVAL
Issue: Mergers
Yesterday, MCI filed papers with the Federal Communications Commission
seeking approval for its purchase of Sprint. The companies expressed
in the filing that the merger of the second and third largest long distance
carriers would give them the leverage needed to compete within local
telephone service as well as a way to compete with AT&T to build broadband
networks. Federal regulators are likely to give the deal scrutiny as the
merger would leave about 80% of the current long distance customers in the
hands of AT&T and the merged company. The FCC and Justice Department both
made public statements this weekend saying they have not prejudged this
merger and will give it the usual review. MCI and Sprint argue that there
are plenty of new networks offering long-distance and that would force them
to keep its prices competitive, as they would lose their customers to the
competing long-distance companies.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, (E3), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A13478-1999Nov17.html)

FCC WILL ADOPT POLICY ALLOWING DATA FIRMS TO SHARE PHONE LINES
Issue: Broadband
Today, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to adopt a policy
called "line sharing" that will allow competing digital subscriber line
(DSL) carriers to share the copper phone wire that delivers voice-telephone
service to homes and businesses. Currently, customers buying DSL broadband
service from companies such as Covad Communications, must buy a second
telephone line from the local incumbent telephone company. But the Baby
Bells and GTE sell high-speed data services over the same wire that carries
voice traffic, which gives the local phone companies an automatic price
advantage over competitors because customers don't have to spend the extra
$20/month or so for that second line. More residential consumers could
obtain high-speed Internet access via the DSL technology at lower cost under
the FCC's proposed policy. The Bell companies have argued the FCC has no
authority to require them to share their lines and say their rivals should
lease
a line from the Bells wholesale and offer both voice and data services on
it. Covad argues that it needs line sharing to make residential broadband
service affordable for residential customers. Other companies providing data
services via DSL include Rhythms NetConnections and NorthPoint
Communications.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Wingfield - Dow Jones Newswires]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942882563241089608.htm)

THE GLOBAL SEARCH CONTINUES FOR A SINGLE WIRELESS STANDARD
Issue: Wireless Telephony
"There will be multiple broadband-wireless standards," said Mark Lowenstein,
an analyst for the Yankee Group, a consulting firm in Boston. Consolidation
in the wireless industry is prompting AT&T and British Telecommunications,
which are forming an international venture, to push hard for "multimode"
phones that will work on different networks on either side of the Atlantic.
The problem has been the standards built into the phones. Some industry
executives had hoped the next generation of wireless networks would
encompass a single standard -- but that is still not the case. There are
several standards for wireless service today, ranging from Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM) to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). In
2000, two phone makers are expected to use another digital standard, Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA). The most popular standard worldwide is GSM,
which boasts more than 230 million users, according to the Yankee Group.
Phones introduced last year allow customers to use their GSM phones in the
U.S., Asia and Europe -- but GSM has attracted only about five million users
in North America. One of the reasons the wireless industry likes to have
many different standards is that if customers could use their phone on any
network, they might be more inclined to switch wireless phone companies much
the way they switch long-distance carriers. Having more than one standard
stops people from switching so easily. In addition, not all carriers are
pushing to deliver worldwide wireless services. "I'm not sure how much
market there is" in providing international wireless services, said Richard
Lynch, chief technology officer of Bell Atlantic's wireless unit.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (A6), AUTHOR: Stephanie N. Mehta]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942877844806187254.htm)

PRIVACY

ACLU LAUNCHES ECHELON WEBSITE
Issue: Privacy
The American Civil Liberties Union, in conjunction with Omega Foundation and
EPIC, has launched a new web site www.echelonwatch.org, which is designed to
focus public attention on the threats to civil liberties which are posed by
Project ECHELON. Echelon is perhaps the most powerful intelligence gathering
organization in the world. Reports suggest that this network is being used
to spy on private citizens everywhere, including on the Internet. This site
is designed to encourage public discussion of this potential threat to civil
liberties, and to urge the governments of the world to protect our rights.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)

SAFE HARBOR OR PIRATES COVE?
Issue: Privacy
The Department of Commerce has posted a revised version of its privacy
principles and "Frequently Asked Questions" (http://www.ita.doc.gov/ecom)
that provide guidance to U.S. organizations seeking to take advantage of the
"safe harbor" proposal instead of actually providing privacy protections for
their customers in Europe and the United States. Comments from the public
(http://www.ita.doc.gov/ecom/aaronmemo1199.htm#Attachment A) are due by
December 3.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

TIME WARNER IS PLANNING TO STOP 'SOFT MONEY' POLITICAL DONATIONS
Issue: Politics
Time Warner said it would no longer make large contributions to political
parties. Time Warner and Timothy Boggs, its top lobbyist, donated $471,000
to national party committees in the last election and similar amount to
various state party committees. So far this year, the company has donated
$155,000 to the national parties. Time Warner also said that it would spend
$2.6 million to bolster the campaign coverage of its media outlets and
support a youth voter-registration drive as well as the Committee for
Economic Development, which advocates banning soft money. It's unclear
whether Time Warner's move will lead to a trend. Soft-money contributions
are skyrocketing as the parties raised well over $200 million for each of
the past two elections, more than double what they had raised in each of the
previous two. The Committee for Economic Development has persuaded about 200
top executives to support its soft-money ban. "They have made a courageous
decision, and we hope it will be a model for other companies," said CED's
president, Charles Kolb.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (A28), AUTHOR: Phil Kuntz]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942887490446554182.htm)

INTERNATIONAL

TRADE DEAL WILL SEND OVERSEAS CAPITAL FLOODING INTO CHINA'S INTERNET
INDUSTRY
Issue: Telecommunications/International
Foreign investors will finally be allowed to legally invest in China's
thriving Internet industry. The decision was part of a trade deal reached
with the U.S. this week as China's attempts to join the World Trade
Organization. Under the deal, China will allow foreign investors to hold 49%
of certain telecommunications-service companies -- including Internet firms
-- once the country enters the global trade body. Investors will be allowed
to increase their stakes to 50% in two years. However, it is investors who
ignored Beijing's earlier bans who may benefit most. Under the terms of the
trade deal, existing investments in all service industries, including the
Internet, will be legal despite the fact that many give foreigners larger
stakes than the WTO agreement permits. Such "grandfathering" is common in
trade deals to prevent rollbacks from current positions. In this case
companies who gambled and invested ahead of the law are basically being
rewarded. Some still caution that the industry isn't yet in the clear as
Beijing needs to draft regulations that will implement the market-opening
measures its trade negotiators agreed to. Additionally, removing a ban on
foreign investment does not erase the fact that the Internet is still
regarded with suspicion by many Chinese policy makers. Chinese officials are
discussing how to license Internet companies and review content on Chinese
Web sites, areas that existing laws don't address.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (A16), AUTHOR: Leslie Chang]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942867426523651360.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

TELEVISION/RADIO
The Info Culture: Big Picture (ChiTrib)
Last-Minutes Addition Snags Satellite TV Bill (USA)

Does This Sound Right? (MAP)

TELEPHONY
Telecom, Texas Style (WP)
MCI Lodges Complaint In Europe Against Five Mobile-Phone Firms (WSJ)
Court Accepts Petition to File Amicus on Telephone Privacy Case (EPIC)

INTERNET/ONLINE SERVICES
Disney Must Change Go.com Logo (WP)
AOL Takes Major Step in Latin America (WSJ)
Don't Block Consumer Access To Information On The Internet! (House)
Web Sites Help Newbies Take Big Step (USA)
E-Mail Help Accelerates Weight Loss (USA)

TELEVISION/RADIO

THE INFO CULTURE: BIG PICTURE
Issue: Television
Keller writes: "The Sound Bite Society: Television and the American Mind"
(Four Walls Eight Windows) by Jeffrey Scheuer advances a provocative thesis:
The rise of conservatism in America can be attributed to the concomitant
rise of television as the predominant venue of communication and
entertainment. In short: It was "Rugrats," not Ronald Reagan, that made
conservatism cool. Television favors the simplistic argument and primitive
image. "Simplification," Scheuer writes, "promotes, and epitomizes,
political conservatism." Liberalism, he claims, requires sophistication and
thoughtfulness. "This structural impatience and short-term focus of TV,
always hurrying to get on to something new, favors the limited agenda of
conservatives and the quick fix over the more far-reaching, structural and
long-term goals of liberals." His characterization of the medium is deeply
incisive, Keller writes. Television, Scheuer notes, depends on linearity,
which means it "may be socially, intellectually, or morally vacuous, but it
is never disorganized, incoherent, or empty, except when a station goes off
the air." Moreover, "TV has a deep structural bias toward appearances and
concreteness -- immediacy in time and space -- and against generality or
abstractness." Television glorifies law-enforcement figures in its
entertainment programming, he adds, and most often is obsessed with "a
history of the present moment, not a way of understanding or generalizing
about the past, present, or future." Although Keller loves the book, she
hardly agrees with anything Scheuer writes.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 5, p.3), AUTHOR: Julia Keller]
(http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/tempo/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-991
1160291,FF.html)

LAST-MINUTES ADDITION SNAGS SATELLITE TV BILL
Issue: Satellite
A last minute snag could kill the Satellite Home Viewers Act, designed to
allow satellite customers the opportunity to see of their local TV stations.
Sen Phil Gramm (R-TX) has threatened to hold the bill in committee if the
authorized $1.3 billion in loan guarantees for TV providers improving
service in rural areas is not removed from the language of the bill.
Internet service providers are also fighting over this bill, as they object
to a provision that would stop them from retransmitting television signals
on the same terms as satellite and cable companies. At year's end, if this
bill is not passed, companies will lose the right to
offer local viewers signals from distant markets-- so there is a lot of
pressure on Congress to get this bill through.
[SOURCE: USA Today, (3B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com)

DOES THIS SOUND RIGHT?
Issue: Radio
From Press Release: On Monday, Nov. 15, 1999 a coalition of national
religious organizations released a technical analysis demonstrating that a
National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) study previously submitted to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not stand up under scrutiny.
Similar criticisms are applicable to another study submitted by the Consumer
Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA). The NAB filed its technical
study to show that low power radio will harm current radio broadcasts. In an
extreme effort to demonstrate potential harm, the NAB purported to
demonstrate that at least half of all radios used by Americans today cannot
adequately receive radio station broadcasts. "Obviously, most consumers
today are pleased with their radios, and therefore, arguments based on the
inadequacy of current radio receivers just do not fly" stated Cheryl A.
Leanza, Deputy Director of the Media Access Project. "Only if they claim
that radios do not perform well currently can incumbent broadcasters claim
that radios will not perform after the
introduction of low power radio." [See the coalition's filing at
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/filings/replyco.pdf); a summary of the technical
study is available at http://www.mediaaccess.org/filings/lptest.html).
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/filings/lppress.html)

TELEPHONY

TELECOM, TEXAS STYLE
Issue: Mergers
The recent acquisitions of Pacific Bell, Southern New England Telephone,
and Ameritech have made SBC the largest local telephone company in the
nation, while giving it the broadest European holdings of any foreign firm.
In the local telephone market, SBC has its sights on 30 new domestic
markets from Seattle to Miami. Last month, the company completed its $72
billion purchase of Ameritech, the local company that dominates the
Midwest. It now controls roughly a third of the nation's local telephone
lines. SBC will also spend about $6 billion over the next three years on
high-speed Internet access to wire up customers throughout its service
area. The company believes data is where the money is. SBC is relying on
technology known as DSL, or digital subscriber line, which allows huge
amounts of data to pass quickly over standard copper phone lines. Recently,
the company announced plans to purchase Radiofone Inc, a New
Orleans-based cellular and paging firm. SBC is also expected to formally
apply to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to sell
long-distance service in Texas. However, under the Telecommunications Act
of 1996, SBC would be allowed in only after it has persuaded federal
regulators that it has opened its markets to competition. SBC claims
it has, pointing to the hundreds of competitors in Texas. Its rivals say
the company is slow to process orders from customers wanting to switch.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a5768-1999nov16.htm)
See also:
ICC REJECTS BIDS TO REOPEN SBC TAKEOVER
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.6), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99111602
47,FF.html)
SBC HALTS AMERITECH CABLE GROWTH PLANS
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.2), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99111602
41,FF.html)

MCI LODGES COMPLAINT IN EUROPE AGAINST FIVE MOBILE PHONE FIRMS
Issue: Antitrust
MCI WorldCom filed a formal antitrust complaint against five
European mobile-phone operators, alleging the five are abusing their
dominant positions in local markets to charge inflated interconnection fees
to fixed-line telephone service providers to "terminate" their calls with
mobile-phone customers in the same country. The companies include Deutsche
Telekom AG subsidiary DeTeMobil; Mannesmann AG's Mannesmann Mobilfunk
GmbH; KPN NV and Libertel NV, both of the Netherlands; and Comviq of
Sweden. If found guilty, each company could be ordered to pay fines in
addition to lowering the lucrative interconnection levies. MCI is the first
US company to haul former European monopolists and other prominent
mobile-phone providers before European antitrust regulators over the
charges. The "termination rate" is the fee that mobile-phone operators in
Europe charge a calling party in order to complete the call. The rate is
also higher than the cost of completing a call from one fixed line to
another in the same country. Historically, MCI WorldCom and other new
entrants on the European fixed-line phone-service scene were able to
circumvent some of the controversial charges by routing calls through
low-cost countries such as the U.S. and U.K. in a process called
"tromboning." MCI WorldCom decided to file its complaint after the five
companies began blocking the U.S. company's attempt to route calls to
mobile phones through foreign countries.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brandon Mitchener]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942704801760918876.htm)

COURT ACCEPTS PETITION TO FILE AMICUS ON TELEPHONE PRIVACY CASE
Issue: Privacy/Telephony
The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has accepted
(http://www.epic.org/privacy/litigation/uswest/order_granting_amicus.PDF)
the petition of fifteen consumer and privacy organizations, and 22 law
professors and privacy scholars to file a "friend of the court brief"
(http://www.epic.org/privacy/litigation/USWest/amicus_brief_SRPR.html)
urging a federals appeals court to reconsider a decision that would
eliminate an FCC safeguard which protects the privacy of telephone customer
records. More information on FCC v. US West
(http://www.epic.org/privacy/litigation/uswest/).
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)

INTERNET/ONLINE SERVICES DISNEY MUST CHANGE GO.COM LOGO
Issue: Intellectual Property
A federal judge has issued an injunction ordering the Walt Disney Co. to
stop using the emblem for its Go.com Internet sites because the image
resembles the one used by the similarly named GoTo.com search engine. In
December 1997, GoTo.com began using the logo of a green circle on a yellow
background with the letters "GoTo" in white. In January of this year,
Disney began using a logo of a green traffic light in a yellow case with
"Go" written in white to link its various Web sites under the Go Network
heading. U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter issued a preliminary injunction
that forces Disney to change its logo. Disney has spent millions of dollars
advertising the Go Network logo since it was created in January. Disney
officials said they will fight to retain the company's original logo when
the matter goes to trial next spring.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a5762-1999nov16.htm)

AOL TAKES MAJOR STEP IN LATIN AMERICA
Issue: International
On Tuesday, America Online made a major step into the Latin American
Internet market with the launch of a Portuguese-language Web site aimed at
Brazilian Web users. The American Internet giant will face fierce local
competition. Universo Online SA, or UOL, the world's largest non-English
Web site, dominates Brazil's online market with over half-a-million paid
subscribers and a growth rate of 12%/month. Gustavo Cisneros, chairman of
Cesneros Group, AOL's partners in this Latin American endeavor, says, "We
will spend what is needed to be a market leader."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (A24), AUTHOR: PETER FRITSCH]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942711279413162060.htm)

DON'T BLOCK CONSUMER ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET!
Issue: Access to Info
A letter from Reps Michael G. Oxley (R-OH) and John D. Dingell (D-MI) urging
members of the House Commerce Committee to oppose H.R. 354, "The
Collections of Information Antipiracy Act": The basic information policy of
our country has served us extremely well. That policy says: Facts - the
building blocks of all information products - cannot be owned, they write.
H.R. 354 would create a quasi-property right in facts themselves, granting
the compiler of information an unprecedented right to control value-added,
downstream uses of the resulting collection. This would significantly chill
the free flow of information that has dramatically benefitted business,
investors and consumers. The Commerce Committee has produced legislation,
H.R. 1858, the "Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act of 1999"
that provides database producers with a significant additional enforcement
tool - beyond the strong protections like contract and copyright already
afforded under existing law - to make sure that compilers of information
have sufficient incentive to engage in database creation without going so
far as to create an unprecedented and destructive property right in facts.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/72f34f401ce959998525682a0073e913?OpenDocument)

WEB SITES HELP NEWBIES TAKE BIG STEP
Issue: E-commerce
By International Data Corp.'s numbers, about 2.1 million companies with
fewer than 100 employees will have home pages this year, nearly double that
of 1998. Part of the ease of small businesses getting onto the Web are sites
that offer free Web services to upstarts. Bigstep.com is a site that allows
the person(s) with no Web experience to come onto the site, fill out a
few templates and have an e-commerce site up and running in no time. Intel's
iCat Commerce On-line Division will host a site for $10/month if the
business sells ten or fewer products and goes up to $250/month for between
500 and 1000 items. Depending on the company, the services they offer differ
and range from hosting the site to advertising the site to listing the
site. Some say these sites have tradeoffs such as if the business prospers,
the costs rise. But Freemerchant.com CEO Serge Wilson says member stores
will never have to pay a cent as his company makes money by selling
advertising and taking commissions from business partners whenever members
opt to use their services. For example, if a small business uses Office Depot
products, Freemerchant.com gets a piece of that pie.
[SOURCE: USA Today, (3B), AUTHOR: Edward C. Baig]
(http://www.usatoday.com)

E-MAIL HELP ACCELERATES WEIGHT LOSS
Issue: Lifestyles!
Yesterday, a study released by the North American Association for the Study
of Obesity says that dieters who received interactive guidance on the Web
lost more weight than those who didn't. Researchers at the Brown University
School of Medicine assigned 90 people that were at least 20 pounds over
weight to two groups. Each had 45 minute counseling sessions and access to
an intranet site - but one of the two groups received interactive help. That
group gave their weekly diaries to a behavior modification specialist and
received feedback via e-mail on how they could improve as well as access to
an online bulletin board so they could talk to others about the diet. After
three months, the interactive group lost an average of nine pounds whereas
the non-interactive group only lost an average of three pounds. Deborah
Tate, a
research associate at Brown, said, "The Internet may be the answer for
people who don't have the time or access to other weight-loss programs."
Thomas Wadden, obesity researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said
Internet dieting could help people lose weight without going to the doctor's
office or the gym. (Hmm - no going to the gym or the doctor's - I am all for
that!)
[SOURCE: USA Today, (1D), AUTHOR: Nanci Hellmich]
(http://www.usatoday.com)

--------------------------------------------------------------