March 2000

BROADCASTING
Markup Session: LPFM/Rural Television (House)
Coalition Calls for FCC Rules on Educational Obligations,
Advertising Safeguards, in Digital Television (CME)

NONPROFITS/PHILANTROPY
A Political Voice, Without the Strings (NYT)
Foundation Giving Is At $23 Billion High (NYT)

EDUCATION
Is Anybody Not Out for E-Billions? Josie True, for One (NYT)
Citing a Crisis, Bush Proposes Literacy Effort (NYT)

BROADBAND
Georgia City Putting Entire Community Online (NYT)
Cox Will Consider Open Cable Lines For Different ISP's (WSJ)
Lawmakers Mull Rural Web Service (SJM)
Video Network Coming To Net (SJM)

INTERNET
Japan is Bringing Miniaturization to the Internet (WSJ)
U.S. Will Give Web Patents More Scrutiny (WSJ)
An Internet Race Nets Landlords Some Rich Perks (WSJ)
Indian Couples Discover Love at First Site (WSJ)

TELEPHONY
SBC's Long-Distance Bid in Doubt (WP)
Qualcomm, Motorola End Cell-Phone Patent Suits (WSJ)

E-COMMERCE
E-Commerce: A Special Section (NYT)

ANTITRUST
Judge in Microsoft Case Delays a Verdict as Mediation Intensifies
(NYT)

BROADCASTING

MARKUP SESSION: LPFM/RURAL TELEVISION
Issue: Legislation
The House Commerce Committee will meet in open markup session at 2:30 p.m.
today Wednesday, March 29, 2000, and subsequent days if necessary, in 2123
Rayburn House Office Building, to consider the following measures:
1. H.R. 3615, Rural Local Broadcast Signal Act, as amended;
2. H.R. 3439, Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 1999
Additional legislation may be noticed for this markup in conformity with
House Rules.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/schedule.htm)
See Also:
SUPPORT OF LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
The National Association of Broadcasters has been making misguided and
misleading claims about interference that low power radio will cause.
Congress is currently considering legislation that would end the FCC's new
low power radio service. This bill, entitled the "Radio Preservation Act of
1999," would reverse the FCC's decision to establish a low power radio
service and prevent the FCC from considering the issue again in the future.
A mark-up of this legislation is scheduled in the House Commerce Committee
on Tuesday, March 28. Find out more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/urgactn.html)
LOW POWER FM APPLICANT'S GUIDE
Direct link to new 7 page applicant's guide for low power radio station.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/lpfmguide.pdf)

COALITION CALLS FOR FCC RULES ON EDUCATIONAL OBLIGATIONS, ADVERTISING
SAFEGUARDS, IN DIGITAL TELEVISION
Issue: Digital Television
A coalition of child advocacy, health, and education groups called on the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today to develop rules designed to
ensure that digital broadcasters serve the needs of children. The Center for
Media Education (CME), the National PTA, the National Education Association
(NEA), Peggy Charren (founder of Action for Children's Television), and six
other organizations, filed formal comments with the FCC calling for a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on public interest obligations for digital
broadcasters. The groups asked the Commission to develop clear, quantifiable
guidelines on how digital TV (DTV) broadcasters can meet the educational and
informational needs of children, as well as new rules on digital
advertising, marketing, and data collection directed at children.
Specifically, CME's comments proposed that digital broadcasters use their
digital capacity to serve children's educational and informational needs in
a variety of ways, including: 1) Airing additional "core" educational and
informational (E/I) programming. 2) Providing broadband or datacasting
services to local schools, libraries or community centers that serve
children. 3) Supporting the production of children's educational programming
by local public stations or other noncommercial program producers. 4)
Develop children's advertising safeguards for digital television.
The full comments submitted to the FCC are available in PDF format at
(http://www.cme.org/press/000327_comments.pdf)
[SOURCE: Center For Media Education]
(http://www.cme.org/press/000327pr.html)

NONPROFITS/PHILANTHROPY

A POLITICAL VOICE, WITHOUT THE STRINGS
Issue: Nonprofits
A loophole in IRS code allows some groups to spend unlimited amounts on
political activities -- including advertising -- without any disclosure, as
long as they do not expressly advocate voting for a candidate. The provision
was written over 25 years ago to protect the income of political parties
from taxation. Recent IRS interpretation and court rulings have widened the
scope of the provision, however, allowing nonprofit political organizations
to avoid donor disclosure rules and contribution limits of federal election
law. "The new Section 527 organizations are a campaign vehicle now ready for
mass production," Frances R. Hill, a professor of law at the University of
Miami, wrote in a recent issue of Tax Notes, a publication for taxation
specialists. The 1996 election was marked by concerns and scandals over the
unregulated contributions known as soft money, she noted. "The 2000 federal
election may be equally important in campaign finance history for the
flowering of the new Section 527 organizations," she said. Representative
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) is preparing legislation to regulate Section 527
groups, requiring, at a minimum, disclosure of contributors and
expenditures. "The problem is, our political system is being polluted with
substantial amounts of secret contributions and secret expenditures used to
attack candidates," Rep Doggett said.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Broder & Bonner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/032900irs-527-donate.html)

FOUNDATION GIVING IS AT $23 BILLION HIGH
Issue: Philanthropy
With growing endowments and new money from wealthy individuals and
corporations, the nation's foundations set a record by giving away an
estimated $22.8 billion in grants in 1999, according to a study to be
released today by the Foundation Center of New York. Giving by every type of
foundation has increased. There has been a noticeable increase in large
scale and long-term giving. The number of grants of $5 million or more has
been climbing sharply. The tendency to give larger grants, often to large
charities with national agendas, gives some cause for concern. "It can be
counter to what people see as strategic grant making," said Sara Engelhardt
of the Foundation Center. Foundations may "look for more of the sure bets,"
established charities, rather than fostering experiments or creativity by
financing small nonprofit organizations.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Reed Abelson]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/philantropist-boom.html)

EDUCATION

IS ANYBODY NOT OUT FOR E-BILLIONS? JOSIE TRUE, FOR ONE
Issue: Digital Divide
Meet Josie True, the cartoon Chinese-American girl who is the heroine of an
online game.(www.buffalo.edu/scripts/newnews/index.cgi?article=theadventu)
Josie time-travels, hunting for her missing teacher, encountering along the
way little-known historical heroines like Bessie Coleman, the first
African-American to earn an international pilot's license. Market
potential? Huge. Profit margin? Irrelevant. Mary Flanagan, an assistant
professor of media studies at the University of Buffalo, who is developing
the game is concerned about the lack of educational software aimed at girls,
particularly minority girls. Ms. Flanagan is worried about the digital
gender gap: girls still take fewer advanced computer-science classes than
boys and are less like to entertain career paths in engineering, according
to a 1998 report by the American Association of University Women. Part of
the reason, the report says, is that boys' familiarity with computer games
translates into a level of comfort with computers. The game should be
finished by the end of this year. For schools and girls without Web access,
Ms. Flanagan intends to produce CD-ROM's. The Josie True initiative is one
among several efforts to produce credible, noncommercial content for the
Internet. In public libraries in Newark, Harlem and Melbourne, Australia,
children are using www.kahootz.com.au to create and publish animated stories
and inventions online. "It's all about bringing underrepresented groups
online," said Justine Cassell, a Media Lab professor who was one of the
program's organizers and is a co-editor of the book "From Barbie to Mortal
Kombat: Gender and Computer Games."
[Source: New York Times, H14 AUTHOR: Andrea Adelson]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/technology/29adel.html)

CITING A CRISIS, BUSH PROPOSES LITERACY EFFORT
Issue: Education
Republican presidential candidate, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas today
proposed a five-year, $5 billion national literacy program. The program
would provide grants to states to test reading skill of kindergarten and
first grade students, make tutoring available to poor readers and to train
teachers. "There is nothing more fundamental than teaching our children how
to read," Mr. Bush said in a speech in Reston, Va. "Too many of our children
cannot read. In the highest-poverty schools -- I want you to hear this
statistic -- in the highest-poverty schools in America, 68 percent of fourth
graders could not read at a basic level in 1998." The Bush plan was quickly
dismissed by aides to Vice President Al Gore. While Mr. Bush has introduced
several education proposals that seem more Democratic than Republican in
nature, none of these reaches near the amount of the $5 billion he spoke of
today. That sum in turn is dwarfed by the $115 billion that Gore has
proposed in education initiatives over a ten year period. Bush has shaped
his education proposals around the states' abilities to bring out the most
effective, local programs. He has urged too that Head Start, the
early-childhood development program, be primarily a literacy program.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Clifford Levy]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/032900wh-gop-bush.html)

BROADBAND

GEORGIA CITY PUTTING ENTIRE COMMUNITY ONLINE
Issue: Broadband
Last week, La Grange, GA., a small city 60 miles southwest of Atlanta,
announced a plan to capitalize on fiber-optic cable the town laid a decade
ago by wiring every household, school, government office and retail store.
This would make La Grange the largest fully-wired city in the country. By
combining the old fiber-optic cable with coaxial cable from Charter
Communications, the city's network would provide Internet service at
broadband speeds. Households and businesses would receive free installation,
cable modems and free Internet service for at least the first year. Homes
without computers receive a set-top Internet access device for their
televisions. Besides providing the TV Internet-access devices for the
households without PCs, the city plans to send technicians into homes to
train people unfamiliar with the Internet. WorldGate Communications, which
specializes in interactive television, will provide the Internet access.
Jeff Lukken, the city's mayor says one motivation for the "La Grange
Internet TV Initiative" was maintaining the city's role as regional center
for several Fortune 500 companies. Lukken also said the network should
attract and keep big employers, let teachers communicate more easily with
parents, enable more students to use the Internet at home and help local
retailers compete on the Internet. The network and equipment will cost the
city roughly $300,000. Most of the cost are associated with wiring currently
unwired homes.
[SOURCE: The New York Times (3/27/00), AUTHOR: Laurie J. Flynn]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27town.html)

COX WILL CONSIDER OPEN CABLE LINES FOR DIFFERENT ISPS
Issue: Broadband
Following on the heels of Comcast's announcement, Cox Communications
announced that it will consider opening its cable lines to different ISP
providers after its exclusive contract with Excite( at )Home expires in 2002.
AT&T, America Online and Comcast have already signed agreements in principle
supporting open access. Open access proponents continue to press
Congress and regulators for a government-mandated policy, arguing that
government intervention is necessary to ensure that all ISPs get equal
access to cable's fast-speed pipes. As part of its announcement, Cox
acknowledged that one challenge to any open access deal is how to
accommodate ISPs or users seeking to stream video, a process that could clog
up the cable company's network.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A15), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen (kathy.chen( at )wsj.com)]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954288889217246796.htm)

LAWMAKERS MULL RURAL WEB SERVICE
Issue: Broadband
Unless advanced broadband services are provided to all American communities
"we will have a digital divide," said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) at Tuesday's
Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on rural broadband deployment. Sen.
Dorgan then introduced a proposal to set aside low interest loans for rural
broadband construction that was modeled after 1930s laws used to facilitate
the deployment of electric services to rural communities. The Senate hearing
provided a stump for senators to introduce a wide variety of tax credits,
low-interest loans and regulatory relief.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/367422l.htm)

VIDEO NETWORK COMING TO NET
Issue: Broadband
A group of telecommunications and broadcasting companies are creating a
video network for the Internet, promising to deliver cinema-quality pictures
to office computers and, eventually, the home. The new venture, GeoVideo
Networks, will use fiber-optic lines to transmit video without the quality
problems that plague typical Internet broadcasts. Video images don't travel
well over the Internet because of the amount of data needed to produce
smooth, full-screen images. GeoVideo hopes to solve those problems by
providing fiber-optics connection from the source of the video all the way
to the recipient. Currently, fiber lines don't generally reach single-family
homes. Consumers' first taste of the network could come in a movie theaters.
Company officials are talking to movie studios about using the network to
transmit high-definition films directly to screens.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Jon Healey]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/geovid032900.htm)

INTERNET

JAPAN IS BRINGING MINIATURIZATION TO THE INTERNET
Issue: Internet/InfoTech
Japan's booming cell-phone market is enticing Japanese content providers to
tweak their Web sites so they can be beamed directly to cell phones. Nippon
Telegraph & Telephone said it has five million i-mode users (i-mode is
the service that connects a handset to the Internet), which makes it
the world's largest mobile-Internet service. Users of the service access
minisites that focus on sports scores, weather forecasts, banking, concert
tickets, train timetables, recipes and horoscopes. "They're making the
Internet accessible to people who don't have an interest in PCs, or the
budget or space in their homes," says Tim Clark, president of the
Tokyo-based consultancy TKAI Inc. Here in the U.S., Sprint Corp. is
expanding its Wireless Web Service to offer subscribers access to Yahoo,
Amazon and CNN over their cell phones.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A17), AUTHOR: Robert Guth]
(http://interactive.wsj.com)

U.S. WILL GIVE WEB PATENTS MORE SCRUTINY
Issue: Intellectual Property
The U.S. Patent and Trademark office is expected today to unveil an overhaul
of the way it examines applications and awards patents for many online
practices. The patent office has come under criticism for granting broad
patents on basic Web techniques, such as Amazon.com's patent on the
"one-click" ordering process and Priceline.com's patent on its practice of
having shoppers propose the price at which they are willing to purchase
merchandise. Q. Todd Dickinson, commissioner of the patent office, said he
plans to add several steps to improve the review process for applications
for computerized "business method" patents. One new step would be that
patent officers will have to search online databases to check that an idea
is truly innovative. Mr. Dickinson is trying to create a comprehensive
database of innovations. He is also planning to invite technology leaders to
a round-table discussion this summer and to set up regular meetings between
the patent office and industry. Currently though, the patent office is
having to address more immediate issues, such as the concern that the
government has accepted patents that were too general, and given protection
to technology ideas that weren't new or exclusive.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Anna Wilde Mathews]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954286078412266261.htm)

AN INTERNET RACE NETS LANDLORDS SOME RICH PERKS
Issue: Infrastructure
The race to wire office buildings with fiber-optic cable to provide
high-speed access to tenants is moving quickly, and the winners seem to be
the landlords. Companies such as eLink Communications Inc. are willing to
wire buildings for free, share revenues from selling internet access to the
tenants, and even offer stock warrants which allow real estate companies to
buy stock in the ISP who wired their building at a low rate. Since most real
estate holding companies are privately held, the warrants generally go
straight to the landlord. This can mean huge profits to the owners. One
company involved in wiring buildings, Allied Riser of Dallas, has a stock
market value of $2.3 billion. Building owners say that tenants are under no
obligation to go with the company who wired the building, even though the
landlords stand to make money from tenants using that company. "There is
total choice," Adam Hochfelder whose Max Capital Management Corp. is the
third-largest owner of office buildings in New York.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Barbara Martinez]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954285585571975889.htm)
SEE ALSO: FCC INDICATES IT HAS CONCERNS ON SBC FILING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B7), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954298962577208771.htm)

INDIAN COUPLES DISCOVER LOVE AT FIRST SITE
Issue: Lifestyles!
Four months ago, Sourabh Singha's father posted an ad on Indian Web sites
that reads: "Parents, belonging to affluent business family based in New
Delhi, seek alliance for their son, BS Computer Science from U.S. and
working in San Francisco." Twenty-eight years ago, says the elder Mr.
Singhal, his sisters lined up prospects for him. As he sees it, this is "the
same system superimposed on the Web." The Web, long accused of destroying
traditional culture world-wide, is helping to maintain traditional Indian
marriages, it seems. Despite the fact that only around 2 million Indians
have Internet access, about 40 matrimonial sites have sprung up, and new
ones keep appearing. About half the ads on the Web are placed by members of
India's 20 million strong overseas community. Rather than supplant the
matchmakers necessary to arranged marriages, the Web has actually extended
their range. Matchmaker Falguni Mehta has been online since India got
Internet service in late 1995. The bureau places ads on the Web for its
clients, and serves as a facilitator once interest is expressed by a
particular party.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B13B), AUTHOR: Miriam Jordan]
(http://interactive.wsj.com)

TELEPHONY

SBC'S LONG-DISTANCE BID IN DOUBT
Issue: Long Distance
SBC Communications, the country's largest local telephone company, will
likely have its bid to enter the long distance market in Texas rejected by
the FCC. The bid, made possible by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which
gave regional Bell companies the opportunity to enter the lucrative market,
provided that they opened their own markets to competition. SBC had hoped to
follow Bell Atlantic in qualifying to offer long distance, but the
Department of Justice, argued that SBC does not reliably provide access to
its local loop, and thus should not be allowed to enter the long distance
market. The Justice Department's opinion seems to have rung true to the FCC,
in whom rests the final decision. The rejection, if it comes will hurt SBC's
plans to offer a full array of telecommunications services, including
wireless and high-speed Internet access along with local and long-distance
phone services.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post (E2), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34872-2000Mar28.html)

QUALCOMM, MOTOROLA END CELL-PHONE PATENT SUITS
Issue: Wireless
Qualcomm and Motorola have agreed to dismiss all claims against each other
in a series of patent-infringement lawsuits. The agreement will end a long
and complicated legal battle and open the door to a closer relationship
between the two companies. Three years ago, Motorola claimed that Qualcomm's
digital "Q" phone was strikingly similar to the design of a Motorola
cellular phone called the StarTac. Seeking to disprove that Qualcomm's
claims, Motorola filed the first lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 1997.
Since then, they leveled a total of seven claims and counterclaims against
each other. "The settlement will put the two companies in a much better
environment going forward," said Motorola spokesman Scott Wyman, adding that
they "hope to use the settlement as a springboard to broaden the
relationship."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Khanh Tran]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954261372404354857.htm)

E-COMMERCE

E-COMMERCE: A SPECIAL SECTION
Issue: E-Commerce
Forty pages of pure e-commerce stories -- don't call me 'til lunch time, you
know what I'm doing. You may want to check out: 1) You May Be Young, You May
Be Rich, But My Lobbyist Can Beat Up Yours by Jeri Clausing
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/technology/29clau.html)
and 2) Charities See Web's Potential, But Are Finding It Hard to Afford by
Reed Abelson
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/technology/29abel.html)
in which Benton's Tony Wilhelm shockingly says, "Most nonprofits are small,
and most small organizations are not networked." [OK, he probably said more
than that, but there wasn't enough ink/space left]
[SOURCE: New York Times (Section E)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/technology)
See Also:
More E-Commerce Courses
In the last 18 months or so, there has been an explosion of university-level
efforts to give students training in the ins and outs of electronic
commerce.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels (mendels( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/cyber/education/29education.html)

ANTITRUST

JUDGE IN MICROSOFT CASE DELAYS A VERDICT AS MEDIATION INTENSIFIES
Issue: Antitrust
As USA Today coverage predicted yesterday, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson
delayed his decision in the Microsoft antitrust trial, due yesterday, as a
court-appointed mediator tries to settle the case by next Wednesday.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/29soft.html)

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RADIO
FCC Heads For Showdown With Congress Over Radio Plan (NYT)

ECOMMERCE
Digital Commerce: Technology Has Made Some People Money,
But Is That All There Is? (NYT)
E-Commerce: Charitable Groups Find Revenue in Web Retailing (NYT)

JOURNALISM
Wall Str. Uses Webcasts to Give Opinions Directly to Investors (NYT)
The Sock Puppet That Roared: Internet Synergy
or a Conflict of Interest? (NYT)
Respect Eludes Net (USA)

BROADBAND
Comcast Hopes to Offer in 2002 Open-Access Policy (WSJ)
Broadband Deployment in Rural Areas (Senate)
Hollywood Greets Online Entrepreneurs (NYT)

INFOTECH
Cisco Takes Internet Phones to Next Stage (NYT)
Two New Systems to Help Deaf and Blind at Movies (NYT)

INTERNET
Court Orders FCC to Reconsider Ruling That Internet Calls
Are Long Distance (WSJ)
Digital Capital (WP)
ACLU joins Battle to Counter Net Filter (USA)

EDTECH
Patents: An Online Classroom That Keeps Students Awake (NYT)

ADVERTISING
Free Air Time Makes Cell Ads Easy to Take (WSJ)

INTERNATIONAL
Deutsche Telekom Mulls Breakup Into Four Operating Divisions (WSJ)
Iceland Warms to the Net From their Rocky Outpost (USA)

ANTITRUST
Microsoft Proposal Likely Will Fall Short (USA)

RADIO

FCC HEADS FOR SHOWDOWN WITH CONGRESS OVER RADIO PLAN
Issue: Radio
Today, the Federal Communications Commission intends to begin the licensing
process for new, low power radio stations by conducting a lottery to
determine which states will be eligible first. The licenses would enable
so-called micro-radio broadcasters to use inexpensive equipment and
relatively small antennas for 100-watt stations that could beam programs
over geographic areas as large as seven miles in diameter. But Congress may
have a different plan. Responding to a powerful lobbying group, the National
Association of Broadcasters, legislation to block low power radio, with 153
co-sponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate, is moving swiftly on Capitol
Hill. Consideration of the bill by the House Commerce Committee is expected
soon and, since Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) support it, a vote on the
House floor may not be too far behind. Broadcasters content that the new
stations will interfere with existing, full-power stations.
"The broadcasters have engaged in a systematic campaign of misinformation
and scare tactics to shut off new voices from coming onto the airwaves,"
said FCC Chairman Bill Kennard. "This is not rocket science. We have studied
the way FM signals propogate around the country. The interference argument
is being used as a smokescreen to mask an historic battle by incumbents who
want to protect their markets. There seems to be this undercurrent that
low-power licensees -- community groups, schools, churches -- are somehow
riff-raff and that's just not fair. My plea to people is they should allow
this to go forward, and once they see that it will not create havoc they
will calm down."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/fcc-radio.html)
See Also:
SUPPORT OF LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
The National Association of Broadcasters has been making misguided and
misleading claims about interference that low power radio will cause.
Congress is currently considering legislation that would end the FCC's new
low power radio service. This bill, entitled the "Radio Preservation Act of
1999," would reverse the FCC's decision to establish a low power radio
service and prevent the FCC from considering the issue again in the future.
A mark-up of this legislation is scheduled in the House Commerce Committee
on Tuesday, March 28. Find out more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/urgactn.html)
FCC Lottery Today Determines Order for Accepting Applications for Low Power
FM Radio Station Licenses.
Actual Dates of Filing Windows to be Announced in Later Public Notice.
(http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/)
Statement of Dale Hatfield, Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology, and
Roy Stewart, Chief, Mass Media Bureau Concerning Low Power FM Engineering
Issues and Responding to Congressional Subcommittee Markup of LPFM Bill.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/2000/nret00
05.html)

ECOMMERCE

DIGITAL COMMERCE: TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE SOME PEOPLE MONEY, BUT IS THAT ALL
THERE IS?
Issue: Ecommerce
Caruso suggests that perhaps the present means in the "dot com" world --
poor business practices, rejection of even sensible government oversight and
early profit-taking -- do not justify the ends -- getting hit by the money
truck. "We're moving toward the toxic extreme of capitalism," said Silicon
Valley player Randy Komisar recently. A focus on money, to the exclusion of
substance and human relationships, he said, will ultimately fail, perhaps
spectacularly. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the
"digital divide," which lately has been given a lot of lip service but not
much else, Caruso writes, does not involve only the issue of which people
have computers and which people do not. It also has to do with the attitude
of those who hit the jackpot in our new casino economy and who are
completely comfortable with pressing their advantage -- behaving with
staggering hubris because they believe that merely having money entitles
them to do so. "In the 60s it was all about 'wait until the revolution
comes,'" Komisar said. "Well, guess what? If you take your billions and
flaunt them in front of people who don't have enough to eat, ultimately you
will get your revolution. You can't keep that toxic edge. It's not
sustainable." Some are beginning to encourage executives to move from
"mercenary" to :missionary:" to think about starting companies and building
products that they believe will change the world, rather than merely
amassing wealth.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Denise Caruso in her last Digital
Commerce column. Caruso is starting her own nonprofit research venture.]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27digi.html)

E-COMMERCE: CHARITABLE GROUPS FIND REVENUE IN WEB RETAILING
Issue: Ecommerce
Nonprofits such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle
Association and Save the Children, now sell goods online, while institutions
like the Pew Charitable Trusts use the Internet to skim inefficiency from
the paper-intensive grant process. The groups are both finding new revenue
streams and better using the funds they do have. Of the $102 billion raised
by nonprofits last year, $18 billion came from selling products online and
through the mail -- $2 billion more than in 1998 and $5 billion more than in
'96. "Nonprofits are finding that the Internet makes niche marketing even
more palatable and profitable than direct mail," said H. Robert Wientzen,
chief executive of the Direct Marketing Association, many of whose members
are nonprofit organizations.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C11), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/cyber/commerce/27commerce.html)

JOURNALISM

WALL STR. USES WEBCASTS TO GIVE OPINIONS DIRECTLY TO INVESTORS
Issue: Broadband/Journalism
Using video streaming video technology, large brokerage companies are
bypassing traditional media outlets are providing interviews of analysts
directly to investors. Essentially broadcasting over the Internet with daily
programs that resemble half-hour newscats, the development further blurs the
line between financial service companies and traditional media -- a process
that began years ago when some of the big brokerage firms started sending
television stations recorded interviews with analysts and video news
packages featuring the firms' big clients. Wall Street webcasts are an
example of how "the walls that have separated e-commerce from the media are
coming down," said Mark A. Thalhimer, director of the Future of News project
at the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. "What's happening now
is that the news provider, to a much greater degree than before, has a
financial stake in the transaction that is being presented to the public,"
Thalhimer said. "I wonder how consumers will view that, and how they will
make the distinction between the news and someone so closely associated with
selling something."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Anthony DePalma]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27wall.html)

THE SOCK PUPPET THAT ROARED: INTERNET SYNERGY OR A CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
Issue: Journalism/Mergers
As ABC's "Good Morning America" hosts Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer
chatted with their guest, a charming sock puppet, on February 23, they made
no mention of the ethical ambiguities the puppet brought along to the studio
that morning. The guest, who insisted on being called by its full name
"Pets.com sock puppet," makes its living as a spokespuppet for Pets.com, an
Internet pet supply company. While the puppet at no time made mention of any
of the various products Pets.com offers on its Web site; neither was any
mention made of the fact that Go.com, the Internet arm of the Walt Disney
Company, ABC's parent company, had bought 5 percent of the site not a month
earlier. The incident is a prime example of the trouble facing the news
divisions of media companies as they try to avoid conflict of interest, even
as their parent companies rush to merge or trade equity in start-ups for
advertising time. "As we move on, things are becoming more and more
complicated," said Eileen Murphy, the spokeswoman for ABC News.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Leslie Kaufman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/media-mergers.html)

RESPECT ELUDES NET MEDIA REPORTERS FIGHT FOR RECOGNITION IN GROWING POOL
Issue: Journalism
Many online journalists say they are being discriminated against, especially
when it comes to big
news events. Gene Gibbons, managing editor of Stateline.org, says
Stateline's 19 journalists have been denied congressional press credentials
and have to apply separately before each congressional event they want to
cover. ''This just doesn't make sense.'' Carrie Borzillo, a former editor at
Billboard magazine, was denied access to this year's Grammy Awards as the
managing editor of CDnow.com's Allstar news. "No media area has ever had as
many entities or grown as fast. How do you know which is some guy at home
doing it or a big corporation doing it?" said Paul Shefrin, who handled
publicity for the awards show. ''There is no way that any of us have the
time to investigate every one of these.'' Internet journalists say they
realize press credentials at many events are limited, but Net sites should
be represented along with other media. ''We feel this is a very important
issue of disclosure for the public at large. We think selectively choosing
members of the media is selective disclosure,'' says Jonathan Krim, editor
of TheStreet.com .
[SOURCE: USA Today (4B), AUTHOR: Keith L. Alexander]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075178s.htm)

BROADBAND

COMCAST HOPES TO OFFER IN 2002 OPEN-ACCESS POLICY
Issue: Broadband
Comcast joined with AOL and AT&T in pledging that it will open its cable
pipes to rival Internet Service providers in 2002, after Comcast's exclusive
agreement with cable ISP Excite( at )Home ends. AT&T and AOL have argued that the
open access issue can be resolved by the marketplace, and signed agreements
in principle pledging to open their cable lines to rival ISPs. But the
openNet Coalition, which represents 900 ISPs, said it would continue to
press Congress and regulators to guarantee open access. AOL originally led
the openNet coalition, until AOL announced in January its planned merger
with Time Warner.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A42), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954109854769135281.htm)

BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT IN RURAL AREAS
Issue: Broadband/Universal Service
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation, announced the following Committee hearing:
Broadband Deployment in Rural Areas: Communications Subcommittee hearing
scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, at 9:30 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell
Senate Office Building. Members will examine the current state of
deployment of hi-speed Internet technologies, especially in rural areas.
Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chairman of the Subcommittee, will preside.
Witnesses will be announced at a later time.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-144.html)

HOLLYWOOD GREETS ONLINE ENTREPRENEURS
Issue: Broadband
For two days last week, the Yahoo Internet Life Online Film Festival sought
to bring Hollywood together with the Internet industry in a bizarre mix of
traditional entertainment companies and online upstarts. While it is not the
first, or only festival dedicated to online filmmaking and distribution, the
Yahoo festival, provided a venue for the two industries to come together,
get to know each other, and, most importantly, make deals. For example,
Shockwave announced that the director David Lynch would join "South Park
creators," Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and the filmmakers Tim Burton and
James L. Brooks in creating films exclusively for its site. Also, Universal
Pictures announced that it would invest in Reelshort.com in hopes of
"providing an online exhibition platform for cutting-edge creative work."
"All revolutions are great unless they kill you," Peter Guber of Mandalay
Films, said. "This is a potentially lethal time. But daring times require
bold actions. Blazing a trail to the future is hazardous duty."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C13), AUTHOR: Rick Lyman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27yaho.html)

INFOTECH

CISCO TAKES INTERNET PHONES TO NEXT STAGE
Issue: InfoTech
The Internet's final frontier: Cisco will announce an office phone based on
Internet technology today. Although many communications companies have been
touting Internet telephony, the technologies and systems needed to reliably
transmit high-quality calls have not been on place. But since office
networks tend to be more stable than the public Internet, they may be more
amenable to early Internet telephony efforts. Many offices no maintain
separate networks for phones and computers -- run by separate staffs.
Cisco's vision is to combine the two, reducing cost and adding features to
the telephone. "The networks that can't do data, voice and video are
dinosaurs," said Cisco CEO John Chambers. "We're going to see open standards
for any new telecommunications or computer product to connect to one
network. This is the first gauntlet thrown down in that direction."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27phon.html)

TWO NEW SYSTEMS TO HELP DEAF AND BLIND AT MOVIES
Issue: Accessibility
Last month, citing the Americans With Disabilities Act, eight
hearing-impaired Oregonians filed a lawsuit against several national theater
chains, complaining of insufficient access to first-run movies. Two new
technologies could help make these entertainments more accessible. Both are
being experimented with at General Cinema theaters in the New York City
area. 1) The National Center for Accessible Media, a joint effort of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Boston's WGBH, has developed a new
technology that allows the deaf to view subtitles that are not visible to
those in the movie audience able to hear the dialogue and soundtrack. With
the text-display system, called rear-window captioning, subtitles are
displayed, in mirror reverse, on a 7-foot-wide, 16-inch-tall
light-emitting-diode screen at the rear of the theater. People watch the
film through a small smoked plexiglass panel, which reflects the subtitles
behind them while allowing them to also see the movie screen at the front of
the theater. The panel, 4 inches by 12 inches, is attached to a gooseneck
extension that fits into the cup holder on the armrest of the theater seat.
2) DVS Theatrical delivers a spoken interpretation of the visual elements of
a film to special headsets.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C13), AUTHOR: Thomas Holcomb]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27scre.html)

INTERNET

COURT ORDERS FCC TO RECONSIDER RULING THAT INTERNET CALLS ARE LONG DISTANCE
Issue: Internet Regulation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the
Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a ruling that all Internet
calls should be considered long distance. Under the complicated policy of
"reciprocal compensation," phone companies must pay each other for handing
off local calls. The policy had originally allowed independent carriers to
collect hundreds of millions of dollars from the Baby Bells for linking
calls from Bell customers to Internet service providers. But the FCC said in
February 1999 that Internet calls are long distance, not local, and
therefore not subject to such compensation. At the same time, the FCC also
gave state regulators authority to determine compensation arrangements
between the Bells and rival carriers; 35 states have already ruled that the
Bells must compensate rival carriers to pass calls on to ISPs. In its
decision, the court upheld the right of states to negotiate terms of
compensation between the two sides. Larry Strickling, head of the FCC's
telecommunications bureau, said he doesn't expect the court decision to have
much practical impact on the market, since state regulators are now largely
overseeing the issue.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954109894531014717.htm)
SEE ALSO:
Court Sends Back Internet Connection Rules
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/024002.htm)

DIGITAL CAPITAL
Issue: Lobbying
With the selection of the next president still months away, a small
Washington think tank is sending all the candidates information about the
internet in an effort to make sure that the winner of November's election is
Internet savvy, regardless of party affiliation. The Internet Policy
Institute gets its funding from such groups as America Online Inc., MCI
WorldCom Inc. and The Washington Post, all of whom have kindly agreed to
stay out of the institute's way as it produces its reports. The IPI has
already published the beginnings of a series of 12 papers on its Web site,
and hopes to meet with the candidates and their staffs to brief them on the
"state of the Internet." "It's designed to give the next president of the
United States--and policymakers, business people and voters as
well--information on the key issues that will govern the development of the
Internet in the 21st century," said Kimberly Jenkins, president of
Institute.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post (F5), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20982-2000Mar26.html)

ACLU JOINS BATTLE TO COUNTER NET FILTER
Issue: Filtering
The American Civil Liberties Union is getting involved in a legal battle
pitting civil libertarians against Net filtering company Cyber Patrol, owned
by Mattel.
The ACLU is taking up the cause of three hackers, who say they were fighting
censorship when they created a program that allows owners of the Cyber
Patrol software to look at its list of blocked sites and gives users a way
to circumvent the program. Spokeswoman Sydney Rubin says Cyber Patrol's list
of blocked sites is competitive information that is protected by copyright
law, something the ACLU and the defendants dispute. The ACLU says they were
making political statements about ''censorware." Cyber Patrol says the
hackers and those who copied their program on Web sites were violating
copyright. The three were among dozens of recipients of email subpoenas
telling them that the program was illegally posted.
[SOURCE: USA Today (6D), AUTHOR: Janet Kornblum]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075318s.htm)
See Also:
EPIC Joins ACLU to Challenge Censorware Injunction (EPIC)
Issue:
EPIC is joining the ACLU as counsel to three U.S. websites that have been
ordered to remove copies of "cphack," a program that decodes the filtering
program Cyber Patrol. Created by filtering critics in Canada and Sweden, the
program discloses the list of sites that Cyber Patrol blocks and reveals the
password used to enable the software. Microsystems Software Inc., which
sells Cyber Patrol, filed suit against the program creators on March 15, and
a federal judge in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against
distribution of the program. Microsystems lawyers are also seeking to
identify individuals who downloaded the program and have also issued
subpoenas to individuals who linked to the "cphack" code. A motion to quash
the subpoenas and an opposition to Microsystems' motion for a preliminary
injunction have been filed and will be argued in U.S. District Court in
Boston on March 27. See the ACLU press release
(http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorware/cyberpatrol_suit_pr.html) for
more details.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)

EDTECH

PATENTS: AN ONLINE CLASSROOM THAT KEEPS STUDENTS AWAKE
Issue: EdTech
Online learning, so much the rage, has one major strike against it. All too
often lectures given over the Internet are indistinguishable from lectures
offered over television, and are just as interactive. But two entrepreneurs
have developed a system to allow a computerized professor to teach by the
Socratic method, give pop quizzes and even send a disruptive out of the
"room." The pair, Peter Tong and Chi Fai Ho, received their 10th such patent
last month, for a system that monitors and responds to the learning of
students in a virtual classroom, both individually and as a group. Tong and
Ho are basing their company, ProfessorQ, on natural-language search engine.
The engine "allows you to learn through questioning," Tong said. "Based on
your answers, the computer knows your level of understanding -- whether you
need to review material or move on."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C10), AUTHOR: Teresa Riordan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27pate.html)

ADVERTING

FREE AIR TIME MAKES CELL ADS EASY TO TAKE
Issue: Advertising
Consumers in Hong Kong have found a way to cut their mobile phone bill by
50% to 60%. All they have to do is agree to listen to a 10-second
commercial in exchange for a minute of free airtime. Since the average
length of a mobile call in Japan is only 1.7 minutes, that adds up to
significant savings. The service is optional and in great demand among the
16 to 29-year old crowd, for whom the high cost of mobile phone service can
be prohibitive. "Consumers are showing a fair amount of acceptance of using
advertising to subsidize the cost of a conversation - so long as their phone
conversation isn't interrupted every few minutes with an ad," says Joe
Laszlo, an analyst with Jupiter Communications.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A13A), AUTHOR: Jennifer Rewick]
(http://interactive.wsj.com)

INTERNATIONAL

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM MULLS BREAKUP INTO FOUR OPERATING DIVISIONS
Issue: International
Deutsche Telekom is considering a broad restructuring that would break the
company into a holding company and four independent, publicly listed
operating units. The four units would be: T-Mobile International AG,
T-Online International AG, T-System Information, and T-Net. The company's
breakup would make its activities more transparent to investors and
accelerate the global expansion of the company's main business. No formal
decision has been reached yet but senior management expects the
restructuring to occur, possibly this year.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A24), AUTHOR: William Boston]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954107417164709257.htm)

ICELAND WARMS TO THE NET FROM THEIR ROCKY OUTPOST
Issue: International
Nowhere is the Net's power in better evidence than in Iceland, world's
per-capita leader of Internet connectivity. The icebound nation of 270,000
inhabitants boasts about 200 information-technology companies in the past
five years, accounting for 4,000
jobs. Nearly 70% of Icelanders tap into the Net from home, work or school,
compared with only 55% in the USA. The high level of connectivity can be
explained by the populations high level of education and high standard of
living said Skuli Mogensen, CEO of Icelandic software developer Oz.com.
''Besides, we have nothing better to do here,'' he says jokingly. ''It's an
island.'' One hundred years ago, ''we lived in bad houses in small villages
mostly isolated from one another,'' says Gudbjorg Sigurdardottir, head of
the government's Information Society task force. ''At the start of the 21st
century, we are a nation in touch with each other and the world. Something
important has happened here.''
[SOURCE: USA Today (6D), AUTHOR: Marco R. della Cava]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075317s.htm)

ANTITRUST

MICROSOFT PROPOSAL WILL FALL SHORT
Issue: Antitrust
Microsoft has submitted a wide-ranging proposal that could lead to the
settlement of the landmark antitrust case against the software giant. The
offer could result in the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides
since settlement talks began four months ago. Microsoft was eager to make
concessions before a ruling expected Tuesday from Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson. A decision against Microsoft might help plaintiffs in the numerous
class-action lawsuits it faces. In the roughly 9-page proposal, sent to
government lawyers Thursday night, Microsoft says it would: give personal
computer makers some ability to remove its Internet browser from its Windows
operating system; charge all makers the same price for Windows, except for
volume-based discounts; and more fully disclose the technical inner
workings of Windows so software developers can make their products work well
with the system. People familiar with the matter,
however, say that the proposed agreement falls short of government demands.
[SOURCE: USA Today (3A), AUTHOR:
Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075386s.htm)

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(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
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describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation -- primarily
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DIGITAL DIVIDE
Study Finds Gaps in Internet Content (NYT)
Detroit Elementary First to Receive Free Cable Modem Service (DN)
Two Brothers Bet Everything On Free-Broadband Start-Up (WSJ)

INTERNET
The Web Remains Free (WSJ)
Online Patents: Leave Them Pending (WSJ)
Community 'Newspapers' In Real Time (USA)
Safe & Smart: A Discussion of Children's Internet Use (NSBF)
Palestinians Given Own Internet Domain (CyberTimes)

MERGERS
Disney Frets Over AOL Merger Plan (WSJ)
Microsoft-Liberty Media Plan to Control Telewest Draws Antitrust
Concern of EU (WSJ)
Merger Will Link Gay Print and Internet Outlets (NYT)

TELEPHONY
Consumer Friendly Billing Workshop (FCC)

INFOTECH
A Better, Cheaper Way To Bring Your TV Set Into
the Digital Age (WSJ)

FREE SPEECH
Taxation Isn't Censorship (WSJ)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

STUDY FINDS GAPS IN INTERNET CONTENT
Issue: Digital Divide
Two recent reports make valuable contributions to the canon of studies that
try to describe, explain and propose fixes for the digital divide. The
first, released last week by the Children's Partnership found "severe gaps"
in Internet content meeting the needs of low-income and immigrant groups,
despite their increasing use of the Internet. Wendy Lazarus, co-founder and
co-director of the Children's Partnership, said the study found that
"low-income folks see the Web as a way for self-improvement and for job
opportunities, which makes the practical content all the more important."
The second report, released in January by the Conference Board, calls on the
private sector, specifically the computer industry, to make the investments
necessary to close the gap. That report states that even as the percentage
of home computer purchases rises, an increasing proportion of the machines
bought are bought either as replacements or additions to existing to home
computers. 40 percent of sales, according to the report, are being made to
households purchasing a computer for the first time.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E5), AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/circuits/articles/23divi.html

DETROIT ELEMENTARY FIRST TO RECEIVE FREE CABLE MODEM SERVICE
Issue: Universal Service
This month, Coleman A. Young Elementary School became the first
Detroit public school to be wired to the Internet via cable modem
technology. The Comcast Corporation supplied Young Elementary with
Comcast( at )Home cable modems that connect the school's media center at speeds
100 times faster than its previous online service. Over the coming months,
each classroom within the elementary school will also receive a cable modem.
The program is the first step in Comcast's goal of deploying free cable
modem service to all Detroit schools and libraries by the end of the year.
The deployment is expected to cost the company $25 million.
[Source: The Detroit News, Author: Anne Fracassa]

TWO BROTHERS BET EVERYTHING ON FREE-BROADBAND START-UP
Issue: Broadband
Chad and Ryan Steelberg want to give away free broadband Internet access.
What's more, they are convinced that they are going to make money doing it.
Their company Broadband Digital Group launched in January already
has 700,000 subscribers signed up for free digital subscriber line (DSL)
service that will come out next month. The company faces Herculean obstacles
in its quest to speed up download times. For one thing, Broadband Digital
doesn't own the phone lines that DSL technology uses. They will have to make
deals with the phone companies that do own them. The Steelbergs plan on
giving away a relatively slow type of DSL, with speeds of only 144Kps.
Higher speed access will be available, but for a price. Additionally,
Broadband Digital will require users to have a permanent bar on their
screens which will feature (what else?) advertising.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Andrea Petersen]
(http://wsj.com/)

TAX CREDIT FOR RURAL BROADBAND PROPOSED
Issue: Broadband
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) are
introducing a bill this week that proposes a 10 percent tax credit for
companies investing in providing broadband services to rural America. Rural
America as defined by the bill as locations at least 15 miles from towns
with a minimum population of 25,000. The bill is seen as an effort to
narrow the growing bandwidth divide between urban and rural America.
According to Senator Rockefeller, "The result of the broadband disparity
could be disastrous for rural Americans: job loss, tax revenue loss, brain
drain and business failure concentrated in rural areas."
[SOURCE:CNET News.com AUTHOR: John Borland]
(http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20000322/tc/20000322007.html)

INTERNET

THE WEB REMAINS FREE
Issue: E-Commerce
[Editorial] The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, which was
organized to advise Congress on Internet tax policy, failed to reach a
two-thirds majority on its formal recommendations. Despite the repeated
abstention of the Clinton-Gore appointees from voting on every significant
sales-tax issue repeatedly abstained, Commission Chairman James Gilmore
managed to gather approval from 11 of the 19 commissioners for a proposal
that would eliminate the 3% federal excise tax on communication services.
"One of the big frustrations throughout this commission is that the federal
representatives are refusing to vote," said Commissioner Dean Andal, a
California tax official. "It's the administration that's holding us in
gridlock. They don't want to take a vote one way or the other that might
negatively reflect on either the President or the Vice-President on such a
controversial issue in an election year." States say they will simplify
their tax regimes if Congress increases their authority to tax. But
Commissioner Andal, who supports the Gilmore proposal, says it should be the
other way around. The authors believe that a good recommendation is to
extend the current moratorium on new Internet taxes to 2006. "It would give
e-commerce time to grow and governments time to join the 21st century.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal Editorial
Staff]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953772186953425098.htm)

ONLINE PATENTS: LEAVE THEM PENDING
Issue: Ecommerce
[Op-Ed] Were you thinking that the Internet was still a regulation free
zone? Guess again. Patents are rapidly filling cyberspace. This form of
regulation empowers the government to say who may use what ideas and for how
long. There are some 40,000 software patents floating in the ether, Lessig
writes, and in 1998 the U.S. Court of Appeals ratified the "business method
patent," which gives patent holders control over ways of doing business in
cyberspace. Priceline has a patent on the reverse auction and Amazon holds
patents for the "one-click" technology and its associates program. Patents
create incentives, but they also impose costs, Lessig cautions. He argues
that Congress should declare a moratorium on software and business model
patents and begin studying the effects of government-granted monopolies on
innovation.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Lawrence Lessig, Harvard School
of Law]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953775997191851021.htm)

COMMUNITY 'NEWSPAPERS' IN REAL TIME
Issue: Publishing
An Internet company called Streetmail is trying to bring back the
old-fashioned community newspaper -- minus the paper. Streetmail is setting
up a nationwide network of what will soon be hundreds of local e-mail
newsletters written community correspondents who are "a cross between a
local reporter and a talk-show host," says founder Bo Peabody. The
newsletters now go to more than 660,000 subscribers a week in 55
communities. Besides hot topics, the newsletters contain frequent polls and
quizzes, event calendars, local people's accomplishments and classified ads.
"We don't think it's going to replace the local newspaper. We're focusing on
the interactivity of it," Peabody says. "It's like if the paper had a
letters-to-the-editor section that was in real time and allowed you to
converse with the media product."
[SOURCE: USAToday (3D), AUTHOR: Leslie Miller]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000323/2062099s.htm)

SAFE & SMART: A DISCUSSION OF CHILDREN'S INTERNET USE
Issue: Media & Society
Next Tuesday, the National School Boards Foundation and Grunwald Associates,
a leading market research firm specializing in technology, will release an
unprecedented national survey on the role the Internet plays in children's
lives. With generous support from the Children's Television Workshop and
Microsoft Corporation, the survey is the result of telephone interviews
conducted with over 1700 parents of children aged two to 17.
In addition to releasing the report, which is entitled Safe & Smart:
Research and Guidelines for Children's Use of the Internet, the School
Boards will be hosting an online forum. For one week, April 3-7, you are
invited to contribute to a discussion of the findings of the report and the
children's online safety issues that are at its core. Among the topics that
we will be tackling are:
* The role of parents as guides to good content on the Web;
* The educational value of linking young people to electronic resources;
* Bridging the digital divide;
* How girls and boys' use of the Internet is similar and different;
* Privacy and collection of children's personal information;
* E-commerce directed at kids; and
* Connectivity vs. isolation.
To participate in the discussion, highlight work that your organization or
company is doing to serve children in the online environment or share links
to online safety Web sites and other valuable resources, visit the
Community Center section of EDvancenet at www.edvancenet.org
For questions, please contact Shelley Pasnik, the host of the forum, at
shelley( at )pasnik.com or 212.807.4255.
[SOURCE: National School Boards Foundation]

PALESTINIANS GIVEN OWN INTERNET DOMAIN
Issue: Internet
The Palestinian Authority was granted official status on the Internet with
the designation of its own two-letter addressing suffix, or top-level
domain, Wednesday. Adding the .ps domain marked the first time that the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has granted a
new domain since it took over the administration of the Internet in 1998.
ICANN stressed that the new Palestinian domain should in no way be taken to
signal any new political standing for the Palestinian Authority. What it
does mean is that Palestine has met the necessary criteria for obtaining a
domain. For instance, it has been added to the United Nation's list of
country and territory codes, ISO 3166, which was used by the late John
Postel as a guide for granting Internet country domains. The domain will be
administered by Ghassan Z. Qadah, the supervisor-general of the Government
Computer Center in Palestine and the senior adviser for technology to the
Palestine Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. Qadah will
work with another computer scientist, Yaser Dolah. Doleh, who lives in New
York, said Wednesday that "Now companies will be able to register under .ps
if they exist in that part of the world, and people will know it is in that
part of the world."
[SOURCE: Cyber Times, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/cyber/articles/23palestinian.html
)

MERGERS

DISNEY FRETS OVER AOL MERGER PLAN
Issue: Mergers
Fearing that its programming won't get fair access to America Online Inc.'s
Web sites, Walt Disney Co. is quietly lobbying Congress to warn against the
online company's planned merger with Time Warner Inc. Disney's campaign
comes amid negotiations to keep ABC stations owned by Disney on Time Warner
Cable systems in several markets. While few other content
providers have publicly voiced concerns about the merger, they have been
expressed privately. Seagram, which owns Universal Music Group and Universal
Studios, fears that consumers signing on to AOL could be directed to Warner
Music artists, for instance, and may have to scour the Internet to find
musicians from rival labels. "The companies privately say, 'We're worried,
but there's not a lot we could do. We're not going to get in some conflict
position with companies we have to do business with,'" said Mike McCurry,
former Clinton White House Spokesman. McCurry is co-chairman of iAdvance, a
lobbying coalition that is pushing for cable companies to provide open
access to their networks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A24), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953777457960509295.htm)

MICROSOFT-LIBERTY MEDIA PLAN TO CONTROL TELEWEST DRAWS ANTITRUST CONCERN OF EU
Issue: International/Ownership
European Union antitrust regulators have raised "serious doubts" about
Microsoft's plans to take joint control with Liberty Media of UK cable
operator Telewest. European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti has
requested another four months to review the deal. Regulators are concerned
that other competitors could be excluded from the market. Microsoft is
attempting to by MediaOne's stake in Telewest from AT&T which is buying
MediaOne and already has a stake in Telewest thru Liberty Media. [Yeah, my
head is spinning, too.]
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Brandon Mitchner]
(http://wsj.com/)

MERGER WILL LINK GAY PRINT AND INTERNET OUTLETS
Issue: Mergers
In a deal that would create a multiplatform media company aimed at the gay
and lesbian market, Internet company Planet Out, and Liberation
Publications, the publisher of The Advocate and Out, two of the most
recognized gay and lesbian magazines in the United States, announced plans
to merge. It is the latest example of a new-media company buying or joining
forces with an old-media company. Megan Smith, the chief executive of Planet
Out, said that the Internet was popular with gay and lesbian readers because
of what she termed "the closet factor." "Some people are just not going to
buy magazines like these publicly, off the newsstand," she said. Bill Dobbs,
a lawyer and an advocate of gay rights in New York, said that the merger was
not good for the gay community. "This media concentration is not good," he
said. "A minority community by its very nature does not have a lot of access
to media, and if all the ownership and interests lie with one group, it
limits voices."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C11), AUTHOR: Alex Kuczynski]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/23planetout-acqu
ire.html)

TELEPHONY

CONSUMER FRIENDLY BILLING WORKSHOP
Issue: Telephone Regulation
The Federal Communications Commission's Consumer Information Bureau (CIB)
and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC)
Committee on Consumer Affairs are pleased to announce that they will jointly
host a workshop to promote consumer friendly billing practices on Wednesday,
March 29, 2000, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The workshop will take place in
the Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC.
The workshop will provide a forum for industry members, state regulatory
agencies and consumer groups to share information and discuss ways to
develop bills that are easy to understand in response to the well-documented
need on the part of consumers. In prior orders, the FCC encouraged NARUC's
member commissions to develop model state truth-in-billing rules. NARUC's
Committee on Consumer Affairs has set up a working group to develop model
state rules for discussion at NARUC's July 2000 summer meetings in Los
Angeles. NARUC believes this workshop will provide useful background
information that will help facilitate that project.
Anyone wishing to attend this workshop should contact Roger Goldblatt,
Director, Consumer Education Office (202) 418-1035, rgoldbla( at )fcc.gov. For
additional information or to request reasonable accommodations, please
contact Nancy Plon (202) 418-2899; nplon( at )fcc.gov.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Consumer_Information/Public_Notices/2000/da00055
8.html)

INFOTECH

A BETTER, CHEAPER WAY TO BRING YOUR TV SET INTO THE DIGITAL AGE
Issue: Digital Television
Ok, here goes. We've seen the potential for digital television service
expressed in three ways: satellite TV that is comparable or better than
cable; Internet services delivered to your TV, often marketed as a personal
computer alternative; and the new personal TV services that would make your
television operate like a VCR -- without the VCR. While these are all very
exciting, they can also require installation, hook-up costs, and expensive
hardware purchases. A new technology may be a better, cheaper way to get all
of the digital TV enhancements in one package: the DishPlayer 500. The
DishPlayer 500, a joint product of EchoStar and WebTV, combines a satellite
receiver with a harddisk, modem and Internet capacities. Glitches with the
hard drive and viewing TV programs and their Web links simultaneously still
need to be worked out. The service pricing varies by options.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Walter S. Mossberg]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953766914306110447.htm)
See Also:
A RETRO CONCEPT THAT WORKS: MOVING POWER OFF THE DESKTOP
Issue: Network Computing
The market was not ready for the return of the "dumb terminal" when Oracle
introduced the Network Computer a few years ago. But the rise in popularity
of the Internet has breathed new life into the concept. Story discusses
Compaq's Ipaq.
[SOURCE: Washington Post- Hands On (E11) Author: Michael Cheek]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-03/23/257l-032300-idx.html)

FREE SPEECH

TAXATION ISN'T CENSORSHIP
Issue: Free Speech
[Op-Ed] Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling in Board of Regents v. Southworth
upheld the ability of universities to charge students for activity fees that
ultimately fund speech that the students may not agree with. [OK, Rachel
insists that the school in question is the University of Wisconsin] Volokh
writes: The Constitution stops the government from outlawing or punishing
speech because of its viewpoint. It also, as the court reiterated Wednesday,
bars the government from excluding a few disfavored viewpoints from a public
forum that's supposed to further the speech of a wide range of groups. This
viewpoint-neutrality requirement in public forums must apply regardless of
where the money comes from, be it taxes, tuition, or fees, for it focuses on
the rights of speakers, not the rights of taxpayers. But when the question
is only whether we may be exempted from a fee because we don't like the
ideological purpose for which it's used, the free-speech clause shouldn't be
in the picture. Taxes can be foolish or oppressive -- but they aren't
abridgements of free speech.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Eugene Volokh, UCLA]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953779463262398431.htm)

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

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

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

The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They
describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation -- primarily
those covering long term trends and developments in communications,
technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone does
not represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang (kevint( at )benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org), and Nancy Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org) -- we
welcome your comments.

The Benton Foundation works to realize the social benefits made possible
by the public interest use of communications. Bridging the worlds of
philanthropy, public policy, and community action, Benton seeks to shape
the emerging communications environment and to demonstrate the value of
communications for solving social problems. Through demonstration
projects, media production and publishing, research, conferences, and
grantmaking, Benton probes relationships between the public, corporate,
and nonprofit sectors to address the critical questions for democracy in
the information age. Other projects at Benton include:
Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org)
Open Studio: The Arts Online (www.openstudio.org/)
Destination Democracy (www.destinationdemocracy.org/)
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org/)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Sen. Dorgan Fears Digital Divide For America's
Rural Areas (Roll Call)
Rep. Closing Digital Divide, Quashing Spam (PNS)

ECOMMERCE
Agreement on Internet Taxes Eludes Deeply Divided Commission (NYT)
A New Wrinkle in Surfing the Net Dot-coms' Mighty Dot-size
Bugs Track Your Every Move (USA)

MEDIA & SOCIETY
TV's White House Is Just Too White (USA)
Impact of Interactive Violence on Children (Senate)

MERGERS
Viacom Buys Chris-Craft's Stake in UPN for $5 Million (NYT)
Extra, Extra! Local Media Battle For Your Loyalty (USA)
MCI Worldcom and Sprint tell FCC Pact would Aid consumers,
Competition (WSJ)

POLITICS ONLINE
After Arizona Vote, Online Elections Still Face Obstacles (NYT)

EDTECH
CyberU: What's Missing (WP)

JOBS
The Global Fight for Talent (WP)

INFOTECH
E-mail Comes Alive with Interactive Technology (USA)

SPECTRUM
18th Annual International Spectrum Management Seminar (NTIA)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

DORGAN FEARS DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR AMERICA'S RURAL AREAS
Issue: Digital Divide
Roll Calls interview Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), chairman of
the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, on several communications-related
topics. On the topic of rural broadband infrastructure and the digital
divide, the senator says that if steps beyond traditional market incentives
are not taken, "there are a lot of communities around the country who will
be on the wrong side of the digital divide." For those who believe in the
concept of universal service, the senator continues, "...we have to do
something beyond relying on the current market system." Sen Dorgan said he will
introduce a bill that would create a broadband program similar to the Rural
Electrification Administration program, which brought electricity to rural
areas. Sen Dorgan describes the bill as "a mirror what we did with the buildup
of electricity in the country back in the 1930s -- providing low-interest
loans." The senator claims the bill would be "technology-neutral" and would
be funded by the Universal Service Fund.
[SOURCE: Roll Call, (3/20/200) AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://www.roll.com)

REP. CLOSING DIGITAL DIVIDE, QUASHING SPAM
Issue: Digital Divide
A house bill (H.R. 1685) introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va) that
will increase the capacity of local telephone companies to provide Internet
service at local rates has a good chance of becoming law in the coming
weeks. H.R. 1685 would allow Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILEC) to
extend out of their local network (LATA) if they do so through the use of
their own network hardware.
[SOURCE: Phillips Business Information, Inc. Author: Eric Ladley]

ECOMMERCE

AGREEMENT ON INTERNET TAXES ELUDES DEEPLY DIVIDED COMMISSION
Issue: Ecommerce
On the eve of the opening of its final meeting, members of a commission
advising Congress on Internet taxation traded heated accusations as it
became increasingly clear that the commission would not be able to return
any recommendations at all. Commission member Mayor Ron Kirk of Dallas
accused the six members from business of a "multibillion-dollar tax grab."
The business group had joined forces with the anti-tax faction of the 19
member commission to back a proposal that no taxes be collected, at least
until 2006, on sales in states where the Internet sellers have no
bricks-and-mortar presence. The alliance controls 11 members of the
commission, two short of the two-thirds majority needed to approve any
proposal. Still, the commission's chairman, Gov. James S. Gilmore 3rd of
Virginia, head of the anti-tax group, said a report would be sent to
Congress based on simple majority vote, though it would lack the "dignity of
being called findings and recommendations." The commission was created by
Congress 14 months ago to advise on taxes on interstate commerce over the
Internet. At the insistence of anti-tax Republicans and Internet companies,
the law required a two-thirds vote for any policy findings or
recommendations, which they felt would curb any pro-tax efforts.
[SOURCE: The New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: David Cay Johnston]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/21tax.html)
See Also:
PROPOSALS SEEK DELAY OF INTERNET SALES TAX
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A47305-2000Mar20.html)
ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Thursday, March 23, 2000 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing
to receive the report of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce .
Testimony will be received from one witness, the Honorable James Gilmore,
Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Chairman of the Advisory
Commission on Electronic Commerce, for the purpose of summarizing the
Commission's Report to Congress, as required by the Internet Tax Freedom Act.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/schedule.htm)

A NEW WRINKLE IN SURFING THE NET DOT-COMS' MIGHTY DOT-SIZE BUGS TRACK YOUR
EVERY MOVE
Issue: Ecommerce/Privacy
As if this "cookie" thing weren't enough, now Web cruisers need to worry
about bugs. Not the real critters that you can find in your backyard, but
instead the Web bugs that can hide behind a 1-by-1 pixel dot and track your
wanderings on the Web. The bugs are so small that you can't see them, the
only way to tell that they're there is to call up a Web site's underlying
computer code and look for them, line by line. These bugs are perfectly
legal and have been around for about three years. It's only lately that
they've been garnering attention, ever since their use as a tracking device
has become more prevalent. Web bugs provide exactly the kind of information
sites need to find out whether their advertising is successful. "It allows
us to look at how our customers are using our Web properties, and we adjust
our sites to better meet the needs of our customers," said Gretchen Briscoe
of Proctor & Gamble. But David Medine from the Federal Trade Commission
doesn't agree, "Sure, consumers like to get targeted ads, but not at the
price of giving up all privacy."
[SOURCE: USA Today (3D), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000321/2052504s.htm)

MEDIA & SOCIETY

TV'S WHITE HOUSE IS JUST TOO WHITE
Issue: Television/Diversity
Ben Johnson, who runs the President's Initiative for One America -- the
White House office Bill Clinton focused on mending our nation's racial
divisions -- recently made a visit to the set of the The West Wing, the hit
NBC drama about life in the White House. Johnson spoke to the producers
about the show's poor reflection of the racial and ethnic diversity of the
real White House staff. President Clinton's staff is, in fact the most
diverse in history, Johnson explained to Llewellyn Wells, one of the show's
producers. Fourteen of the President's 28 assistants are women or people of
color. In contrast, the show has only one regular black cast member: a young
aide whose job is to wake up the president and keep him on schedule. Wells
told Johnson he'd try to work more people of color into the program. But he
made no promises.
[SOURCE: USAToday (15A), AUTHOR: DeWayne Wickham]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000321/2052365s.htm)

IMPACT OF INTERACTIVE VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN
Issue: Media & Society
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) announced the tentative
witness list for the Full Committee hearing on the Impact of Interactive
Violence on Children.
The Full Committee hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 21, at 9:30 a.m.
in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senator Brownback will
preside.
Panel I
Dr. David Walsh, President, National Institute on Media and the Family
Mrs. Sabrina Steger, Pediatrics Nurse, Lourdes Hospital
Danielle Shimotakahara, Student
Panel II
Dr. Craig Anderson, Department of Psychology, Iowa State University
Dr. Eugene F. Provenzo, School of Education, University of Miami
Dr. Jeanne Funk, Department of Psychology, University of Toledo
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-141.html)

MERGERS

VIACOM BUYS CHRIS-CRAFT'S STAKE IN UPN FOR $5 MILLION
Issue: Antimerger
Viacom made a deal yesterday to buy Chris-Craft's half of the UPN network
for the low, low price of $5 million -- setting the stage for the first-ever
ownership of two networks by a single company. If all goes well with
Viacom's acquisition of CBS, which is expected to close in the next month,
Viacom will own both networks, pending Federal approval. That approval
should come, according to executives at all three companies, because UPN
currently has a greater share of minority viewers than any other network,
and without the buyout of Chris-Craft's half, UPN would be in a serious
struggle for its survival. The $5 million deal was forced on Chris-Craft
after Viacom invoked a clause in their partnership agreement which required
Chris-Craft to either buy out Viacom's half, or sell theirs to Viacom. Thus
Chris-Craft was forced to sell just as UPN is starting to gain ratings.
[SOURCE: The New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/viacom-upn.html)
SEE ALSO: VIACOM AGREES TO ACQUIRE 50% STAKE IN UPN NETWORK FROM CHRIS-CRAFT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953599682635925301.htm)
CHRIS-CRAFT SELLS SHARE OF UPN TO VIACOM
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Keith L. Alexander]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000321/2052510s.htm)

EXTRA, EXTRA! LOCAL MEDIA BATTLE FOR YOUR LOYALTY
Issue: Journalism/Mergers
Recent mergers, such as $6.4-billion purchase of Times Mirror by
Chicago-based Tribune, have people questioning where their news will be
coming from in the future. When media forms combine, either through joint
ownership or through the pooling of reporting efforts, figuring out where to
go and whom to trust gets more complicated. According to Philip Meyer, media
outlets will lose readers and their trust if they pander to advertisers and
let them influence editorial content. "Under old technology," he writes
"media companies defined themselves by their delivery systems." Now that the
means of delivery are converging, media forms need to win the audiences'
trust to make themselves distinctive.
[SOURCE: USAToday (A15), AUTHOR: Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000321/2052364s.htm)

MCI WORLDCOM AND SPRINT TELL FCC PACT WOULD AID CONSUMERS, COMPETITION
Issue: Mergers
MCI Worldcom and Sprint said in their 400 page filing yesterday with the
Federal Communications Commission that their planned merger will benefit
both consumers and competition. The filing contained study results that
showed that, after the merger, about 98 percent of US households would be
able to choose from at least three long-distance carriers and more than 90
percent would have a choice of at least four carriers. They also assured the
FCC that they wouldn't dominate the booming Internet-backbone market because
they would be willing to take steps to address any concerns of regulators.
"There's no basis that the merger will jeopardize vibrant competition in
either sector," said Jonathan Sallet, MCI Worldcom's chief policy counsel.
European Union antitrust authorities expressed concerns over whether the
merged company could create a bottleneck for trans-Atlantic telephone
traffic and limit competition in the markets for global corporate
communications and Internet services.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB953589496541042507.htm

POLITICS ONLINE

AFTER ARIZONA VOTE, ONLINE ELECTIONS STILL FACE OBSTACLES
Issue: Politics Online
A week after Arizona Democratic Party members were allowed for the first
time to vote in the party's primary on the Web, it is clear to election
officials in other states that there are several problems to be overcome
before Web-based voting becomes more widespread. Arizona voters faced such
pitfalls as an hour-long Web site failure, and user-side software problems.
Despite this, though, some 36,000 individuals cast their votes online
between March 7 and 11, double the number of people who cast ballots at
polling places on March 12, the only day they were open. Mark Fleisher,
chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party said he was "real pleased with the
turnout, considering
that it was a non-competitive race." Arizona's Democratic primary was a
private election,
administered by the party and not under the jurisdiction of the state's
election laws. Election officials from other states, facing much larger
elections, are skeptical. "I call it chaos," said Thomas Wilkey, executive
director of the New York State Board of Elections. "Equipment failure?" he
added, "If you can't get online or if the system is down, how do you
accommodate the voter?" Alfie Charles, assistant secretary of state in
California, was a little more upbeat, but also concerned. "We can learn from
the mistakes in Arizona," He said. "It just shows the need to take a slow,
cautious, incremental approach," he said. "In an election office, we cannot
tolerate an outage or a lack of access to the ballot. That results in a
disenfranchisement of voters."
[SOURCE: Cyber Times, AUTHOR: Rebecca Fairley Raney]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/cyber/articles/21vote.html)

EDTECH

CYBERU: WHAT'S MISSING
Issue: EdTech
[Op-Ed] A look at how computers and the Internet are changing higher
education. Distance learning programs have doubled in the last three years,
but education -- and especially colleges and universities -- are not about
the size of audience or just filling minds: it is about forming minds.
Higher ed in the 21st century is about teaching people to learn how to
learn, to sort and evaluate information, to make judgements about evidence
and sources. Students need the capacity to imagine, not just know. That's
why one-on-one interaction is so important. The two most significant factors
that contribute to college students' learning are interaction with each
other and their interaction with teachers. Myers concludes: The emergence of
computers challenges us to know what our business is. We must respond that
we are in the business of ideas, not information, of forming minds, not
filling them.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A25), AUTHOR: Michele Tolela Myers, President of
Sarah Lawrence College]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49560-2000Mar21.html)

JOBS

THE GLOBAL FIGHT FOR TALENT
Issue: Jobs
[Op-Ed] The world is waking up to America's competitive advantage brought
about by "cherry-picking" the international talent pool of high-tech
workers. Germany, Canada, the UK and Australia, among others, are joining
the sweepstakes for these workers. In the information age, the demand for
"knowledge workers" far outpaces the supply -- due, in part, to education
systems' slow adaptation to the new economy. Process-heavy training
programs, like Germany's apprenticeship system, may now ill-serve many
graduates. The "just-in-time" approach to management inventory is spreading
to recruitment of foreign workers. These realities, Papademetriou suggests,
means that the U.S. must do three things differently: 1) we should keep our
eyes fixed on what is best for all of us and convince businesses to improve
the conditions of workers everywhere; 2) if high-end temporary visa classes
are defined carefully and reviewed periodically and impartially, numerical
limits should become irrelevant; and 3) a permanent visa may need to become
part of the "total package" a company can offer a foreign worker.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A25), AUTHOR: Demetrios Papademetriou, Carnegie
Endowment for Peace]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48541-2000Mar20.html)

INFOTECH

E-MAIL COMES ALIVE WITH INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Issue: InfoTech
Two companies are merging interactive features with e-mail. The first
company, FireDrop, has created a product called Zaplets. A person could go
to www.zaplet.com, write a note and have it sent to any number of their
friends. When each friend opens the Zaplet, it automatically connects back
over the Internet to FireDrop's server and becomes a live window. Responses
to the note pile up in that window, with the note's initial author ending up
with just one file that contains all of the input. The second company is
Gizmo, which is focused more on multimedia than personal interaction. A
person can create a Gizmo and then e-mail it to the intended recipient.
When the recipient opens it, a window that looks like a compact Web page
opens up. It establishes a link over the Net to a server and comes alive
with content. As long as the Gizmo is open, fresh content can find it and
load into it.
[SOURCE: USA Today (B1), AUTHOR: Kevin Maney]
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000321/2052565s.htm

SPECTRUM

18TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
Issue: Spectrum
From Press Release: The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) and the United States
Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) will conduct an extensive
radio spectrum management training seminar March 20-31 for leading
regulators and communications professionals from 17 developing countries.
Eighteen representatives from 17 developing countries including Sri Lanka,
Morocco, Ghana, Grenada, Ecuador, Pakistan, and Paupa New Guinea will
participate in the training seminar which will be held in Washington. The
seminar will be conducted by NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management with
assistance from experts from Comsearch and Motorola. It will address various
elements of spectrum management principles, engineering analyses, and
computer-aided spectrum management techniques. In the last 18 years, NTIA
has trained 390 individuals from 106 countries in radio spectrum
management.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/usttipr31700.htm)

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

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

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

The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They
describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation -- primarily
those covering long term trends and developments in communications,
technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone does
not represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang (kevint( at )benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org), and Nancy Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org) -- we
welcome your comments.

The Benton Foundation works to realize the social benefits made possible
by the public interest use of communications. Bridging the worlds of
philanthropy, public policy, and community action, Benton seeks to shape
the emerging communications environment and to demonstrate the value of
communications for solving social problems. Through demonstration
projects, media production and publishing, research, conferences, and
grantmaking, Benton probes relationships between the public, corporate,
and nonprofit sectors to address the critical questions for democracy in
the information age. Other projects at Benton include:
Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org)
Open Studio: The Arts Online (www.openstudio.org/)
Destination Democracy (www.destinationdemocracy.org/)
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org/)