April 2001

EDTECH
Bandwidth Constraints Begin to Worry Schools (NYT)
A Universal Library (NYT)

BROADCASTING
On TV; Not One Big, Happy Family Anymore (LA)
FCC to Announces Filing Windows for Low Power FM (FCC)

EDTECH

BANDWIDTH CONSTRAINTS BEGIN TO WORRY SCHOOLS
Issue: EdTech
Although schools have made significant progress in the past few years by
getting connected to the Internet, they are certainly among those who would
like to upgrade to faster access. This is a concern for Jeff Ogden,
associate director at Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit corporation that
provides networking services for many of the K-12 schools in Michigan. "The
vast majority of schools that have Internet access have relatively small
levels of bandwidth," he said. Once challenge to increasing bandwidth is the
fact that schools must negotiate so many different goals competing for
limited technology budgets -- such as more computers, teacher training and
technical assistance. As a result, upgrading a school's network
infrastructure may take a back seat to other demands. "For some school
districts, higher speed access is a priority," Mr. Ogden said, "But not the
majority. I think we have a ways to go in terms of showing teachers how it
can be used effectively."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Susan Stellin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/11/technology/11EDUCATION.html)
(requires registration)

A UNIVERSAL LIBRARY
Issue: Spectrum
[Op-Ed} Lawrence Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS, and Newton
Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and PBS,
propose that Congress direct funds raised by the auction of spectrum to
create a public trust administered on the model of the National Science
Foundation. They argue that the frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum
are among our nations most valuable and yet little known public assets. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates the auctions of these public assets to
raise $28 billion over the next 10 years. Grossman and Minow propose using
$18 billion from this windfall to make a digital gift to the nation: a
"Digital Opportunity Investment Trust" to fund public, educational uses of
the Internet and other digital communications technologies.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Lawrence K. Grossman (former president of
NBC News and PBS) and Newton N. Minow (former chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission and PBS)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/10/opinion/10MINO.html)
(requires registration)

BROADCASTING

ON TV; NOT ONE BIG, HAPPY FAMILY ANYMORE
Issue: Television
In March, 600 television stations filed a complaint with the Federal
Communications Commission, contending the networks are abusing their
relationship with affiliates--in violation, the stations argued, of existing
communications law. Local affiliates feel threatened by the increasing
amount of power held by networks they acquire more O&Os-that is, stations
that they "own and operate." Many broadcasters fear that the government will
further relax rules limiting how many TV stations a company can amass,
allowing the networks to further consolidate their power. "It's clear the
networks have gone dramatically over the line," said Alan Frank, president
of the Post-Newsweek TV station group. "And if you lift the ownership cap,
the abuses will be worse."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Brian Lowry]
(http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-TV-X!ArticleDetail-28734,0
0.html)

FCC TO ANNOUNCES FILING WINDOWS FOR LOW POWER FM
Issue: Low Power Radio
FCC has announced it the final filing windows low power FM applications. The
Commission is consolidating the filing window for states in Groups 4 and 5
to speed the filing process for applicants in these remaining states.
Applications will be accepted for the following stations from June 11
through June 15, 2001: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Guam, Iowa,
Kentucky, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin
Islands, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Public_Notices/FM_Windows/2001/da0109
04.html)

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

FCC
Democratic, Two GOP Candidates Are Nominated For FCC Posts By Bush
(WSJ)
FCC Releases Indecency Statute Policy Statement (FCC)
Consumer, Civil Rights Groups Ask FCC To Approve License For
Broadwave USA (CU)

JOURNALISM
Minority Staff Members in Journalism Are Fewer (NYT)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Libraries Offer a Touchstone For Intellectual Property Debate (WSJ)

PRIVACY
Survey: Net sparks call for privacy laws (USA)

FCC

ONE DEMOCRATIC, TWO GOP CANDIDATES ARE NOMINATED FOR FCC POSTS BY BUSH
Issue: FCC
President Bush has tapped two Republicans and a Democrat for seats on the
Federal Communications Commission. The nominees are Kevin Martin, a White
House aide who served as deputy general counsel of President Bush's election
campaign; Kathleen Abernathy, a prominent Republican telecommunications
executive and onetime legal adviser to former FCC Commissioner James Quello;
and Michael Copps, a longtime aide to Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D., S.C.) If
confirmed, they would join FCC Chairman Michael Powell in forming a 3-2
Republican majority on the five-member agency. Republican control of the FCC
will have an enormous impact on the nation's telecommunications industries,
with telephone companies, cable operators and broadcasters reaping large
rewards. Mr. Powell is widely expected to lead the agency down a sharply
deregulatory path. "The bottom line is that Powell has a working GOP
majority, and the FCC hasn't had that for years," said Scott Cleland, an
analyst with the Precursor Group. "This will make him a much stronger
chairman and allow him to pursue the things he's only been able to talk
about up until now."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: YOCHI J. DREAZEN]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB986579817785895138.htm)
(requires subscription)

FCC RELEASES INDECENCY STATUTE POLICY STATEMENT
Issue: FCC
The Federal Communications Commission today issued a Policy Statement to
provide guidance to broadcast licensees regarding compliance with the
Commission's case law interpreting the broadcast indecency statute. The
Policy Statement discusses the statutory basis for, and judicial history of,
indecency regulation; describes the approach the Commission uses in making
broadcast indecency determinations (including comparisons of selected
rulings); and describes the Commission's broadcast indecency enforcement
process.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Enforcement/News_Releases/2001/nren0109.html)

CONSUMER, CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS ASK FCC TO APPROVE LICENSE FOR BROADWAVE USA
Issue: Broadband
Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights, the United Latin American Citizens, the Center
for Media Education and the Media Access Project asked the FCC o approve
Broadwave's application for a license to provide video and roadband Internet
services. According to Broadwave, the company's "Northpoint" technology
would allow people to take an off-the-shelf satellite dish, point it to the
North, and receive 60-90 television channels for $20 a month. Broadwave also
plans to offer high-speed Internet service for an additional $20 a month,
which is considerably below the current cost of either high-speed cable
modem service or DSL (digital subscriber line).
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
(http://www.consumersunion.org/news/news.htm)

JOURNALISM

MINORITY STAFF MEMBERS IN JOURNALISM ARE FEWER
Issue: Journalism/Diversity
The American Society of Newspaper Editors 24th annual survey of minorities
found that the total number of minority journalists dropped from 6,665 to
6,563. Minorities now make up 11.64 percent of journalists, the survey
showed, compared with 31 percent of the national population. The numbers and
percentages fell among all four groups counted. William Sutton Jr., the
president of the National Association of Black Journalists and deputy
managing editor at The News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C., suggested that
because editors have not made minority hiring important publishers should
increase pressure by tying annual bonuses more closely to hiring goals.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/business/09DIVE.html)
(requires registration)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

LIBRARIES OFFER A TOUCHSTONE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEBATE
Issue: Intellectual Property
Public libraries are all too easy to forget these days. The more wired we
get, the further away the local library can seem. Yet the public library
system continues to serve millions of people. As the intellectual property
debate moves ahead, the role of the library should serve as an important
touchstone for keeping consumers' rights in perspective. When "we spend
money buying access to databases, we don't own a thing at the end of the
year," says Gary E. Strong, director of the Queens borough library system
in New York. Libraries have always grown by building collections, he says.
Yet the trend now is to move information into electronic form. "My fear is
that we will end up owning nothing," he says. Because digital content is so
easy to copy, we now have laws like 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act
and the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act, passed in some states
and under consideration in others. Combine those laws with upcoming
technologies and it's getting more difficult to share information even for
legitimate purposes. Meanwhile, Mr. Strong says, libraries and Internet
companies need to do more to preserve digital information. Historians have
long depended on archived copies of newspapers and magazines to understand
the past. But what if you want to find out what was on America Online's
"Welcome" screen two years ago?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Tom Weber]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB986768659189163431.htm)
(requires subscription)

PRIVACY

SURVEY: NET SPARKS CALL FOR PRIVACY LAWS
Issue: Privacy
Americans want laws to protect their private information, even at the cost
of restricting public access and free press, a new survey shows. The survey,
conducted by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in
collaboration with the American Society of Newspaper Editors found that
people were as concerned about privacy as they were about such issues as
health care and the future of Social Security. "There's tremendous potential
for backlash against public record access," said Ken Paulson, executive
director of the First Amendment Center Friday. "Americans understand we need
access to public records, but they don't understand why anyone would need
access to their records," Paulson said. Paulson said the findings "suggest a
long uphill fight to make the case for freedom of information," and
predicted that we'll see more laws like the one hurriedly passed last month
by the Florida Legislature, which voted to block release of autopsy photos
unless ordered by a judge.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-04-06-privacy-survey.htm)

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

FCC Is Expected to Clear Acquisition Of VoiceStream by
Deutsche Telekom (WSJ)
MIT to Make Course Materials Available for Free on the
Web (WSJ)
EU Ministers Agree Not to Veto National Telecom
Decisions (WSJ)

FCC IS EXPECTED TO CLEAR ACQUISITION OF VOICESTREAM BY DEUTSCHE TELEKOM
Issue: Mergers

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve as early as
Friday Deutsche Telekom's acquisition of VoiceStream Wireless with few or
no significant changes. At least three of the four current commissioners are
likely to vote in favor of the merger, which has drawn intense scrutiny by
several American lawmakers. While it is possible a vote could be held
Friday, some people suggest the complicated logistics of getting all the
commissioners to vote makes a final decision unlikely before next week. The
vote will be taken using a so-called circular, under which commissioners
cast written votes on the staff recommendation, rather than at a public
meeting. A majority of the four votes is needed to determine the outcome. A
deadlock would end the merger, at least for now. If the merger is approved,
it will mark one of the largest foreign acquisitions in the U.S.
telecommunications market. The deal will also be reviewed for
national-security concerns by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the
U.S., which is managed by the Treasury Department. The committee is also
expected to approve the merger.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: William Boston
And Yochi J. Dreazen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB986414897482322164.htm)
(requires subscription)

MIT TO MAKE COURSE MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON THE WEB
Issue: EdTech

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology said it will spend up to $100
million over 10 years to make course materials from all of its classes
freely available on the Internet. At a time when many universities have
begun offering online classes for a fee, MIT said it hopes its effort leads
other institutions to offer online educational resources free-of-charge.
University officials said they hope other institutions, particularly in
developing countries, will use the material to develop their own
curriculums. the effort -- dubbed MIT OpenCourseWare -- will encompass
lecture notes, course outlines and reading lists for more than 2,000
courses. "We see it as source material that will support education
world-wide, including innovations in the process of teaching and learning
itself," said MIT President Charles M. Vest.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Robert Tomsho]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB986407872485716755.htm)
(requires subscription)

EU MINISTERS AGREE NOT TO VETO NATIONAL TELECOM DECISIONS
Issue: Regulation

European Union ministers have rejected a bid by the European Commission, the
EU's executive body, for a veto right over regulation of telecommunications
across the 15-nation bloc. Meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers were
debating proposals related to how telecom companies should be regulated and
how competition law will be applied. Industry officials and the European
Parliament had supported strengthening the commission's role to avoid a
scenario where companies might face 15 potentially different regulatory
environments. But member states, led by Germany, Spain and Austria, balked
at creating what could become an EU-level regulator. The ministers also
decided against the commission's recommendation that existing competition
law be used to regulate the
industry, opting instead to adopt a new definition specific to telecoms.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated
Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB986416236425308564.htm)
(requires subscription)

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