1. Monthly archive
  2. April 2003

April 2003

Communications-Related Headlines for April 30, 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Indie Producers Speak Out
Working to Tame the Giants

DIGITAL DIVIDE
NetAid and UNV Honor Outstanding Online Volunteers

INTERNET
Virginia Threatens Spammers with Jail Time
Justices Decline to Take Healthgrades.com Case
'New' Rating Confirms Google's Crown

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

INDIE PRODUCERS SPEAK OUT
Independent TV producers took part in a forum on media ownership this week
with the FCC's two Democrat commissioners and US Congressman Xavier Becerra
(D-CA). "We may be on the verge of creating a new Citizen Kane for the 21st
century, or maybe a handful of them," FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
said at the forum, which was held at the University of Southern California.
Rep. Becerra said that FCC Chairman Michael Powell's plan to push through
the new rules by early June "seems like a runaway train." Writer-producer
William Blinn, known for his work on the landmark TV miniseries Roots, added
that placing product control in the hands of too few media industry voices
"tends to homogenize what is put out because it homogenizes the creators."
Alex Wallau, president of Disney's ABC Television Network, retorted that
Disney owns a diversity of channels, such as ABC, ESPN and SoapNet. "To say
there is a homogenization is ludicrous," he said. "These are very diverse
voices."
[SOURCE: Newsday; AUTHOR: wire reports]
http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzfcc303260514apr30,0,19...
4.story?coll=ny-business-print

WORKING TO TAME THE GIANTS
[Commentary] Columnist Mark Jurkowitz profiles four activists who are
leading the policy battle against the FCC's proposals to deregulate media
ownership rules. Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music
Coalition, is a musician and a former independent record label exec. Her
organization published a major report on media consolidation in the radio
industry, and is fighting to make sure that musicians have a seat at the
table during this important debate. Gene Kimmelman, director of the
Consumers Union's Washington office, is passionate about the issue. "For
local information, more than 70 percent of consumers live in communities
with one newspaper," he explains. "Take this major source and put it
together with a broadcaster, [and] other broadcast stations won't even try
to compete.... They'll go to entertainment. They'll go to sports. They won't
compete on news." The Center for Digital Democracy's Jeff Chester is a
"committed gadfly" who's not known for mincing words. "I think the most
important thing is Michael Powell's intellectual dishonesty," he says of the
FCC chairman. "The vision these companies have for the media, at the end of
the day, is a system for promoting advertising. I call it the 'brandwashing
of America.'" Andrew Schwartzman runs the Media Access Project, a nonprofit
media law firm in DC. "I sometimes say our clients are the IRA and we are
the Sinn Fein," says Schwartzman. "They throw the stink bombs, and we
explain it in polite language."
[SOURCE: Boston Globe; AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/120/living/Working_to_tame_the_giants+...
ml

DIGITAL DIVIDE

NETAID AND U.N.V. HONOR OUTSTANDING ONLINE VOLUNTEERS
Earlier today, NetAid and the United Nations Volunteers program (UNV)
announced the names of 10 online volunteers of the year for 2003. The 10
volunteers were singled out as "having performed outstanding work for
international development organizations around the world." Congratulating
the winners, UNV Executive Coordinator Sharon Capeling-Alakija said, "It is
of great importance to recognize the contributions of people who make their
time, skills, expertise and creativity available to others via the Internet.
It is equally important to highlight that online volunteering generates many
new opportunities for people to volunteer." Winners represented Serbia,
Cameroon, France, Kenya, Canada, the US and Turkey, volunteering over the
Internet for organizations in Nigeria, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Uganda, Kenya, the
US and Armenia. "Whether they were Web designers, researchers, writers or
marketers, these online volunteers have made tremendous contributions to
their host organizations," explained NetAid's Bea Bezmalinovic. "We hope
that the recognition of these individuals will highlight their contributions
and motivate more organizations to work with online volunteers and benefit
from their services."
[SOURCES: NetAid, UNV]
http://www.unvolunteers.org/infobase/news_releases/2003/03_04_30DEU_neta...
tm

INTERNET

VIRGINIA THREATENS SPAMMERS WITH JAIL TIME
While many states have adopted some kind of anti-spam legislation, no state
has matched the stiff penalties signed into law yesterday in the
commonwealth of Virginia. At a bill signing event yesterday at AOL's Dulles
headquarters, Virginia Governor Mark Warner signed the bill, which would
impose up to five years in prison and allow authorities to seize assets
obtain as a result of the unsolicited email activity. The law has
applicability even to senders outside the state, since much of the country's
email traffic passes through Virginia. The law prohibits automated spamming
tools and the forging of headers to disguise the origin of the message.
[SOURCE: CNN; AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/04/30/fighting.spam.ap/index.html

JUSTICES DELINE TO TAKE HEALTHGRADES.COM CASE
Maintaining its reluctance to resolve Internet jurisdictional issues, the
Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal in the Healthgrades.com
case over the choice of venue. Healthgrades.com, a Colorado-based company
that provides scores for healthcare providers, was sued in the state of
Washington when a provider there claimed that a lower-than-expected rating
amounted to defamation. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the
company had established minimum contacts in Washington by rating a
Washington-based provider and by obtaining information for the rating from
state records in
Washington.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48029-2003Apr28.html

"NEW" RATING CONFIRMS GOOGLE'S CROWN
Few were surprised when Google's name appeared at the top of another search
engine ratings list, but some controversy has risen nonetheless. ComScore
Networks' qSearch ratings were released yesterday amid claims that the
scores were more accurate than previous methods for assessing search engine
usage. The qSearch method purports to be more direct by counting individual
unique searches as opposed to unique visitors to an engine -- only 64
percent visitors to a portal or search site actually perform searches there
in any given month, according to some statistics. Critics contend that other
services, such as Nielsen-NetRatings, have drilled down beyond the visitor
level for several years and that qSearch offers little new to the
literature, including results.
[SORUCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Paul Festa]
http://news.com.com/2100-1024-998845.html?tag=fd_top

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 29, 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC Chief Says Rule Barring Media Cross-Ownership Likely to be
Dropped
Huge Turnout at San Francisco FCC Meeting
Diverse Critics Fight FCC on Media Ownership Rules

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Media Lab Asia's Restructuring in the Cards
Spreading The Digital Word

INTERNET
Licensed to War Drive in New Hampshire
Qwest, Comcast Duel over DSL Ads

TECHNOLOGY
Proteins Produce Nano-Magnetic Computer Memory

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

FCC CHIEF SAYS RULE BARRING MEDIA CROSS-OWNERSHIP LIKELY TO BE DROPPED
At the Newspaper Association of America convention in Seattle yesterday, FCC
Chairman Michael Powell said that it's likely that the commission will end
the 28-year-old rules regarding media ownership at its June 2 meeting.
Critics of the proposal say that deregulation will reduce local news and
increase media outlets' power over the public. "Every major paper is going
to try and buy or be bought by a TV station; certainly the major chains will
just go hog wild," said Mark Cooper, research director at Consumer
Federation of America in Washington. Frank Blethen, publisher of the Seattle
Times, was one of the few media owners to speak out against Powell's
comments. "It's amazing to hear somebody use so many words to say nothing,"
Blethen said. "He's focused on technology and not news and how news serves
our democracy, and the loss of the diversity of voices we're seeing through
concentration of ownership." Gregg Jones, publisher of the Greenville Sun in
Tennessee, voiced support for deregulation, saying that the rules had
prevented him from buying local TV stations. "Had we been in the game, there
might have been more local ownership, less radio consolidation, resulting
very likely in more local news and information," he said.
[SOURCE: The Seattle Times; AUTHOR: Brier Dudley]
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134685149_powell29.
html

HUGE TURNOUT AT SAN FRANCISCO FCC MEETING
An audience of more than 400 people filled the chamber at San Francisco City
Hall last Saturday to express their concerns over FCC proposals to
deregulate US media ownership rules. FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein was
in attendance. "You put the word out," Adelstein told the audience. "I'm
going to track down each of my four colleagues and I'm going to tell them
that people in the Bay Area are alarmed that they haven't heard more about
this." Adelstein also criticized the argument that deregulation would create
greater economic efficiencies. "The FCC's legal responsibility is to protect
the public interest," he said. "The fact that this increases their economic
efficiency isn't our legal responsibility." Dozens of speakers criticized
the FCC proposals, including Brother J of the hip-hop group X-Clan, who
worried that deregulation would stifle diverse voices over the airwaves.
"Creativity is buffeted right now, because if you don't fit into a bracket,
you don't get played," he said. Artists are forced to "fit into a mainstream
of foolishness, and that has to change."
[SOURCE: The Argus; AUTHOR: Suzanne Bohan]
http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83~1971~1357420,00.html

DIVERSE CRITICS FIGHT FCC ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
[Commentary] The Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group, and
liberal advocacy group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) rarely
agree on anything. But now they've both lining up to encourage the FCC to
slow down the process for overhauling America's media ownership rules, says
columnist Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times. The Media Research
Center worries that consolidation of media outlets will lead to more
indecency on television. "We feel, with further media consolidation, you're
going to see a proliferation of indecent material," said Lara Mahaney of the
Parent's Television Center, an offshoot of the Center. For its part, FAIR
argues that the FCC proposals will hinder public debate. "In a country this
size, you can't carry on a political debate without the media to help you,"
said FAIR spokeswoman Rachel Coen. "When ownership of that media system is
concentrated in a very few corporate hands, it decreases the amount of news
and information people have access to, and it narrows the range of debate.
Both of those things are inimical to democracy." Columnist Deggans urges the
public to get involved in the debate by sharing their thoughts with the FCC
directly by visiting the commission's ownership website
(http://www.fcc.gov/ownership) or by contacting their representatives in
Congress.
[SOURCE: St. Petersburg Times; AUTHOR: Eric Deggans]
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/04/29/Columns/Diverse_critics_fight.shtml

DIGITAL DIVIDE

MEDIA LAB ASIA'S RESTRUCTURING IN THE CARDS
India's information technology minister said this week that he is asking the
Indian government for its opinion regarding the future of Media Lab Asia.
The MIT Media Lab established the center in India to address technology
research that would benefit people at large. To date, though, the lab has
failed to attract significant private sector support, so the Indian
government is now considering an idea to retool the lab for government-aided
research and development. While there were no plans to shut down the lab, IT
Minister Arun Shourie said that he expects there to be a major
restructuring.
[SOURCE: Rediff.com; AUTHOR: Business Standard Corporate Bureau]
http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/apr/29media.htm

SPREADING THE DIGITAL WORLD
Putting a new spin on a tried and true idea, digital librarian Brewster
Kahle introduced his Bookmobile at last week's O'Reilly Emerging Technology
Conference in Santa Clara, California. The Bookmobile does not actually
carry printed books, however: it's equipped with a satellite, a printer, a
book-binding machine and a searchable database of the 20,000 books currently
part of the public domain. Kahle noted the decrease in flow of works into
the public domain since the Eldred v. Ashcroft court decision, saying that
he wanted to give people the opportunity to obtain public works for a low
cost. The fee for downloading and printing a book is one dollar. Kahle
lauded the government of India, which agreed to purchase 30 Bookmobiles on
the spot at OETC. Eventually, he hopes that authors will see the simple
technology employed by Bookmobile as incentive to publish their works in the
public domain.
[SOURCE: ExtremeTech.com; AUTHOR: Radhika Kaushik]
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1047454,00.asp

INTERNET

LICENSED TO WAR DRIVE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
A proposed bill in the New Hampshire state legislature would create legal
protections for individuals who tap into unsecured wireless networks. The
practice, know as "war driving," has gained popularity recently, to the
chagrin of unwitting wireless network hosts. The issue is more broadly
embraced by the grassroots "open network movement," which is attempting to
create a worldwide grid of wireless access points. The law would require
network operators to properly secure their networks from unintended outside
use. While the bill is intended to protect those who happen to stumble upon
a wireless network, some critics fear that it will provide a defense for
malicious hackers.
[SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Brian McWilliams]
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58651-2,00.html

QWEST, COMCAST DUEL OVER DSL ADS
In a letter to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, QWEST CEO Dick Notebaert accused
his high-speed Internet service rival of "censorship," citing a Comcast
policy against airing commercials for DSL services. DSL and cable broadband
offerings are in high competition, and Comcast claims that the First
Amendment of the US Constitution protects them from having to advertise DSL
companies. However, Media Access Project CEO Andrew Schwartzman says that
the "First Amendment [offers no] protection to use a monopoly to violate
anti-trust laws."
[SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: David Lieberman and Andrew Backover]
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-04-28-dsl_x.htm

TECHNOLOGY

PROTEINS PRODUCE NANO-MAGNETIC COMPUTER MEMORY
The British company Nanomagnetics is touting a new protein-based technology
that could increase computer hard drive capacity a hundredfold. The company
has developed a way to utilize the protein apoferritin, a molecule used by
the human body for storing iron. Nanomagnetics removes the iron and fills
the molecule with a magnetic cobalt-platinum, creating a liquid called
DataInk that can be sprayed onto the surface of a hard disk. When heated,
the DataInk dries and locks the molecules together, allowing each of them to
store the equivalent of one bit of data. The CEO of Nanomagnetics believes
that the technique will allow the company to store as much as five terabits
of data (5000 gigabits) per square centimeter of hard disk. The product may
take another six to 10 years before it reaches the market.
[SOURCE: New Scientist; AUTHOR: Will Knight]
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993664

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 28, 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC Member Warns About Consolidation

INTERNET
Internet Radio Takes Off ... Bit by Bit
Three Email Providers Join Spam Fight

COPYRIGHT
Movie, Music Giants Win One, Lose One

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

FCC MEMBER WARNS ABOUT CONSOLIDATION
Last Friday, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein warned that the proposed
deregulation of US media ownership rules could lead to the "McDonaldization"
of news. "We're about to consider a profound re-examination of all the rules
concerning media ownership," said Adelstein, who has been touring the
country to raise awareness of the pending decision. "This could mean the
greatest increased concentration in media in this country ever." Adelstein
cited a recent case in Minot, North Dakota: when a train carrying toxic
ammonia derailed nearby, local police called all six of the local radio
stations to get a warning out over the airwaves. But all six stations are
owned by Clear Channel: "Clear Channel had pared down its local operations,"
Adelstein explained, "and no one answered the phone for more than an hour."
Adelstein added that there needed to be ample opportunity for citizens to
chime in on the issue. "There needs to be a public opportunity to comment on
something that has such an effect on people's lives," he said.
[SOURCE: Marin Independent Journal; AUTHOR: Keri Brenner]
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~1352201,00.html

INTERNET

INTERNET RADIO TAKES OFF ... BIT BY BIT
More than 100 million listeners have sampled the offerings of Internet
radio, with the number of regular listeners tripling in the last three
years, according to radio rating agency Arbitron. Unlike commercial radio on
the airwaves, however, Web listeners are looking for something off the
beaten path, typically searching for music or formats that they cannot find
elsewhere. Internet users can look for their hometown station by searching
www.radio-locator.com, and DJs around the world can create their own
stations via www.Live365.com, whose network of Web stations was rated number
one by Arbitron. For listeners looking for the familiar, however, Yahoo's
Launch music service allows for the creation of customized playlists.
[SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2003-04-24-webcasts_x...

THREE EMAIL PROVIDERS JOIN SPAM FIGHT
Email service providers America Online, MSN and Yahoo will announce today a
newly-formed alliance designed to attack spam. The three companies vowed to
work jointly to track down spam emailers while developing standards to
prevent the creation of bulk email. Their hope is that they will lead the
industry toward making spam messages easier for email clients to filter
while also identifying networks that might be seized by spammers in order to
hide the true origin of the message. The three welcome the support of
anti-spam activists, many of whom have already developed information on
spammers which would be useful. Though the Federal Trade Commission and
Congress both intend to hold hearings on the matter shortly, a Yahoo
spokesman said that the alliance was not created to develop or support a
particular piece of legislation.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45816-2003Apr27.html

COPYRIGHT

MOVIE, MUSIC GIANTS WIN ONE, LOSE ONE
Just a day after a federal judge affirmed a lower court's decision to force
Verizon to reveal the names of suspected illegal file-swappers, the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) faced a surprising court
defeat. The US District Court for Los Angeles ruled Friday that file-sharing
software networks Grokster and Morpheus were not liable for the illegal use
by their customers, since the applications had legitimate, lawful uses.
Judge Stephen Wilson noted that ruling in favor of the RIAA would be
analogous to finding VCR or copy machine companies liable for the
possibility of copyright infringement by users. The Verizon decision, a
clear victory for the RIAA, has caused heartburn for ISPs, civil liberties
organizations and consumer groups that are fighting for the privacy rights
of Web surfers. Some ISPs worry that without significant oversight the wrong
customer could be identified or the information could be used to "wiretap"
Internet users' activities. Some ISPs are considering not keeping records of
which IP address is assigned to whom to ensure compliance with the law by
"now knowing."
[SOURCE: DC.Internet.com; AUTHOR: Alex Goldman and Roy Mark]
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2197311

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 25, 2003

Communications-Related Headlines is a free, daily news service posted Monday

through Friday by the Benton Foundation (http://www.benton.org). This
service will keep you up to date on important industry
developments and policy issues in communications, technology, journalism,
public service media, regulation and philanthropy.

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

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Customised Copyright Licenses Going Global

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC Rules of the Game: Sound Off on Media Consolidation

DIGITAL DIVIDE
IT Has Failed to Help the Common Man: Experts

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
CUSTOMISED COPYRIGHT LICENSES GOING GLOBAL
The Creative Commons, a US-based non-profit, will soon offer a fully
customizable copyright license template to an international audience. The
licenses, which will be available in five countries by the end of the year,
are more flexible than standard forms and are designed for artists who wish
to allow use of their work without royalties. Some of the customization
includes choosing whether to allow a user to reproduce the work only
non-commercially, to create derivative works or to use it freely if
crediting the original author. The forms will also include a code tag, which
will be included in a Creative Commons database so that users can search for
pieces that they can incorporate into their own works.
[SOURCE: New Scientist; AUTHOR: Will Knight]

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC RULES OF THE GAME: SOUND OFF ON MEDIA CONSOLIDATION
[Commentary] In describing the potential ill effects of media consolidation,
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein made the rare but crucial point that
this field is not like other industries. "Some say media consolidation would
simply echo a nationwide business trend. But media do not compare with other
goods. ... Control of the media affects the vibrancy of political and civic
discourse -- what the U.S. Supreme Court has called the `uninhibited
marketplace of ideas' ... the very health of our democracy." Adelstein also
emphasized the importance of local control, citing an example in the radio
industry in which local authorities in a small town attempted to spread word
of an emergency via the four local stations, all owned by Clear Channel
Communications. Since the company had pared down its operations, no one
answered the phone for several hours. Adelstein closed by imploring the
public to be aware and involved in the discourse as the time until the FCC's
June 2nd deadline grows shorter.
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle; AUTHOR: Jonathan Adelstein]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/0...
/ED108322.DTL

DIGITAL DIVIDE
IT HAS FAILED TO HELP THE COMMON MAN: EXPERTS
Despite boasting a more rapid rate of technological advancement than any
other country in the world, the benefits of IT in India have yet to reach
the common man, say many experts. Professor Kenneth Keniston of MIT notes
that the hopes attached to e-commerce and e-governance have been "an
illusion" due to the prohibitive cost of purchasing a computer, the
saturation of high-end markets for goods and widespread social injustice and
corruption at all levels of government. Keniston also points out that while
developers give lip service to sustainability, the concept is often lost in
practice. Finally, he says that tele-connectivity is of value but not a
substitute for physical connectivity in rural areas.
[SOURCE: India Times; AUTHOR: PTI]
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?arti...
939191

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 24, 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Event: Tell the FCC to Let Black Radio Live
The Death of Local News
Rewrite FCC Rules on Cross-Ownership

EDTECH
FCC Adopts E-Rate Reform Rules
Beyond Bamboozlement

SPECTRUM
Regulators Expand Airwaves for Emergency Communication

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

EVENT: TELL THE FCC TO LET BLACK RADIO LIVE
[Commentary] Harrison Chastang, news director at KPOO 89.5 FM in San
Francisco, says it's imperative for Bay-Area African Americans to take part
in this Saturday's public hearing on FCC proposals to deregulate media
ownership rules. Chasting cites the cover story of the latest issue of Black
Enterprise magazine, which explores how recent media deregulation has
already allowed many African American radio stations to be taken over by
non-black corporate owners. "[T]otal deregulation of the broadcast industry
could encourage the extinction of the few remaining Black-owned stations,"
he says. And with less than one percent of people in radio management being
African American, it's becoming even more difficult for radio stations to
program news and entertainment of specific interest to the African American
community. The public forum will be held from 10am to 4pm in the Board of
Supervisors Chambers at San Francisco City Hall. Chasting's station, KPOO
89.5 FM, will carry a broadcast of the event live, and will stream it over
the Internet via their kpoo.com website.
[SOURCE: San Francisco Bay View; AUTHOR: Harrison Chastang]
http://www.sfbayview.com/042303/tellthefcc042303.shtml
http://www.kpoo.com

THE DEATH OF LOCAL NEWS
"Tune into the evening news on Madison, Wisconsin's Fox TV affiliate and
behold the future of local news," writes Paul Schmelzer of AlterNet.
Schmelzer quotes a series of remarks by commentator Mark Hyman mocking peace
activists and the progressive community as "wack jobs" and "the loony left."
What worries Schmelzer is the fact that Hyman isn't a local commentator, but
rather the vice president of corporate communications for Sinclair Broadcast
Group, which pipes his conservative commentary to its stations around the
country. Once the owner of a sole UHF station in Baltimore, Sinclair has
acquired 62 stations nationally that cover 24 percent of the US market. From
its Baltimore headquarters, Sinclair promotes what it calls a "revolutionary
news model" -- combining prepackaged news stories with snippets of "local"
news targeted to each of its stations around the country. The
Baltimore-based anchors are coached to make sure they pronounce local towns
correctly, and weatherman engage in light banter about tomorrow's weather as
if the anchors were actually based at the local station rather than
Baltimore. "We should all be conscious of the dangers that are present when
you have one newsroom producing the news," says John Nichols, associate
editor at The Capital Times in Madison and co-author with Robert McChesney
of the books Our Media, Not Theirs, and It's the Media, Stupid. "That's a
real possibility. It's a very dangerous future, but Sinclair is already
living in the dangerous future ."
[SOURCE: AlterNet; AUTHOR: Paul Schmelzer]
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15718

REWRITE FCC RULES ON CROSS-OWNERSHIP
[Commentary] "We're not supposed to talk about this subject; it's bad form,"
writes the editorial board of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The newspaper,
one of 12 dailies owned by Hearst Corp., says that up until now they've
avoided voicing an opinion on the media ownership debate because they
worried readers would believe that their business interests would trump
their editorial judgment. "But too much of the discourse has been weighted
toward one notion: that democracy is at risk," they continue. "There is
another side to this debate -- and it's worth exploration." The editorial
cites FCC statistics suggesting that the number of TV and radio stations in
10 markets surveyed has increased 195 percent since 1960, while the number
of independent owners is up by 139 percent. "As we said, we have a dog in
this fight," the editors conclude. "And it's bad form for us to say much
more. But we think there's another point to be made."
[SOURCE: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer; AUTHOR: Seattle P-I Editorial
Board]
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/118695_fcced.html

EDTECH

FCC ADOPTS E-RATE REFROM RULES
The FCC adopted new rules governing the Commission's E-Rate program, which
uses funds provided by long-distance carriers to finance Internet
connectivity subsidies in public schools and libraries. The program has come
under criticism from some congressional leaders amid cases of fraud and
abuse. The new rules would provide stronger oversight to the program,
barring anyone guilty of criminal conduct or civil liability related to the
program from participating for a minimum of three years. Additionally, the
rules would prevent funding for entities providing duplicative services in
the same area. The changes "represent the first stage in a more
comprehensive reform effort," Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy said. FCC
Chairman Michael Powell noted that despite the abuses, the program has been
highly effective. "The schools and libraries program has done a great deal
to strengthen our nation's networks of schools and libraries. Today, due in
no small part to the program, 99 percent of all public schools are connected
to the Internet."
[SOURCE: DC.Internet.com; AUTHOR: Roy Mark]
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2195701

BEYOND BAMBOOZLEMENT
[Commentary] "Before committing huge sums to new enterprises, schools need
to consider the likelihood of winning a major return on the investment,"
says author Jamie McKenzie. Though the consensus among Internet scholars is
that time spent on the Web by students is thoughtful and productive, the
combined threats of inadequate technology and misuse may hinder the value
that such technology can add to the learning environment. McKenzie cautions
school administrators against employing technology "for technology's sake,"
focusing instead on devices can be used for expanding worldviews, instilling
an affinity for collaborative problem-solving and enhancing reading, writing
and thinking skills. McKenzie concludes by listing 10 criteria that must be
met to justify edtech investment.
[SOURCE: From Now On; AUTHOR: Jamie McKenzie]
http://www.fno.org/apr03/bamboozlement.html

SPECTRUM

REGULATORS EXPAND AIRWAVES FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
In a 5-0 vote yesterday, the FCC moved to double the amount of spectrum
dedicated to first responder communication. Instead of the "slivers" of
unconnected bandwidth allowed under existing regulations, the larger chunk
of airwaves permit a wider range of broadband applications, such as video.
"The big lesson of September 11 was you have all of these people showing up
at a spot because of a national disaster and their devices couldn't
communicate," said FCC wireless chief John Muletta. The new rules would also
enable firemen to use helmet-mounted cameras to broadcast live feeds while
downloading building floor plans to a handheld device to find and rescue
people trapped in burning buildings, among other uses. It is not clear
whether less-funded public safety agencies could afford such high-tech
gadgets, though the hope is that they can use existing wireless devices.
[SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-04-24-airwaves_x.htm

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 23, 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Fighting Media Monopoly: April 26 San Francisco Forum on Media
Ownership
Free Press, Consumers Union Urge Citizens to Take Action on Media
Ownership

21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Will Code for Food
South African College Established to Train IT Journalists

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Experts Chart Future of Indian Fonts

EDTECH
Virus Pushes Schools to Go Virtual
Schools Look to Wireless to Boost Learning

PRIVACY
Amazon.com Accused of Privacy Violations

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

FIGHTING MEDIA MONOPOLY: APRIL 26 SAN FRANCISCO FORUM ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP
[Commentary] After prodding by the Center for Digital Democracy and Media
Alliance, the FCC will take part in a San Francisco public hearing over the
proposed deregulation of US media ownership rules. The San Francisco Bay
Guardian implores local residents to take part in it: "This liberal city,
with its historic traditions of freewheeling publications and open debate,
is now under the thumb of a handful of out-of-town media corporations that
don't come close to reflecting the political, cultural and artistic
diversity of the community," they write. The Guardian lays out the "local"
statistics: 10 San Francisco radio stations are owned by Texas-based Clear
Channel; NY-based Hearst owns the one major newspaper; the local cable
franchise, Comcast, has no local roots; and none of the major broadcast TV
stations have local owners. "And if Powell gets his way, the situation will
just get worse," they add. The event will begin at 10am on Saturday, April
26 in the main rotunda at San Francisco City Hall, and is open to the
public.
[SOURCE: San Francisco Bay Guardian]
http://www.sfbayguardian.com/37/30/news_ed_fcc.html

FREE PRESS, CONSUMERS UNION URGE CITIZENS TO TAKE ACTION ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Public-interest organizations Free Press and Consumers Union are encouraging
their website visitors to tell members of Congress what they think about
proposed media ownership deregulation. "The range of news analysis and
debate is shrinking along with the diversity of media ownership, placing an
extraordinary degree of economic and social power in a very few hands,"
writes Free Press on their MediaReform.net website. The Consumers Union
website, meanwhile, allows users to submit their zip code and send a letter
directly to their particular representatives in the House and Senate.
[SOURCES: Free Press, Consumers Union]
http:/www.mediareform.net/
http://capwiz.com/consumersunion/issues/alert/?alertid=1656736&type=CO

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

WILL CODE FOR FOOD
At the height of the dot-com bubble three years ago, job seekers attending
the BrassRing employment conference were bombarded by offers from 500
employers-in-waiting, each boasting a smorgasbord of perks in the hope of
attracting desperately-needed IT workers. Today, of course, the bubble has
burst and the brass ring of opportunity is tarnished: thousands of
highly-skilled, unemployed workers now find themselves standing in line at
the conference trying to attract the attention of the 30 employers in
attendance. "This is the worst I've seen," said David Levy, 51, an
unemployed systems integration analyst who's worked in IT for nearly 30
years. "I'm running into people who have been out of work a year or a year
and a half. It's definitely an employer's market out there." Levy is part of
a growing trend: along with the many young dot-commers at the conference are
middle-aged technologists, some boasting PhDs from Stanford and MIT. "There
are a lot of gifted people out of work," said Matt Blunt, a recruiter at
defense industry consulting company. "It's really quite sad."
[SOURCE: CNET News.com; AUTHOR: Lisa Bowman]
http://news.com.com/2100-1022-997499.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed

SOUTH AFRICAN COLLEGE ESTABLISHED TO TRAIN I.T. JOURNALISTS
The Acacia Institute has established a training college in Johannesburg,
South Africa for aspiring information technology journalists. The college
will focus on training young journalists from disadvantaged backgrounds, in
the hope of having them play a leading role disseminating IT knowledge
across Africa. Acacia, funded by the Canadian government, has spent the last
half decade studying the role of the Internet in low-income African
communities. "What we try to do in this program is to fast track young
journalists to understand science and technology... to popularize it," says
professor Graeme Addison, "and we hope if we do this... those journalists
will go into the media and be able to educate their colleagues."
[SOURCE: SABCnews.com]
http://www.sabcnews.com/sci_tech/internet/0,1009,57419,00.html

DIGITAL DIVIDE

EXPERTS CHART FUTURE OF INDIAN FONTS
This past week in Bangalore, India, more than three dozen of India's leading
experts in the development of computer fonts gathered to discuss the need
for open standards. While various Indian companies have been developing
Indian language fonts for some time, the fact that many of their fonts have
been based on incompatible technologies has made it impossible for any of
them to be adopted ubiquitously. The experts discussed proposals to create
open source Indian fonts and operating systems that would help avoid
situations where companies like Microsoft would own the rights (and thus
control the use) of a font, potentially slowing down adoption by Indians.
"India has 18 officially recognized languages, and more than 1,000
languages," explained Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya from Ekgaon Technologies.
"Every year a language in the world dies. The onslaught of sweeping computer
technology could further accelerate the demise of Indian languages. We are
harnessing the same technologies to safeguard and revitalize Indian
languages through regional workshops held across India."
[SOURCE: Mahiti.org; AUTHOR: Niyam Bhushan, Hindustan Times]
http://www.mahiti.org/news/News_Item.2003-04-16.1646go

EDTECH

VIRUS PUSHES SCHOOLS TO GO VIRTUAL
SARS may have forced schools in Hong Kong to close last month, but the virus
has not claimed learning as a victim. Thanks to the efforts of Macromedia
and First Virtual Communications, a pair of west coast tech companies,
teachers and students in China are interacting via the Web. From their
homes, students can watch their teachers live via a webcam and use instant
messaging technology to make comments or ask questions. While distance
learning has become a rather popular tool in the US, this marks the first
instance in which an emergency or social breakdown has forced its use.
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle; AUTHOR: Benny Evangelista]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/0...
/BU190788.DTL

SCHOOLS LOOK TO BOOST WIRELESS LEARNING
Around the US, schools and universities are investing in wireless networks,
changing the way in which children learn. The shift is particularly
noticeable at the pre-college level, where the wireless Web allows for
individualized student experiences based on ability and a "flexible
reconfiguration of classrooms" as students can take laptops outside the
traditional classroom. The trend toward adoption of wireless requires a
"tremendous cultural shift," say experts, especially since teachers must
adapt to the amount of control each student is given and the diminishing
lack of attention the teacher may receive.
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News; AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030422/tc_nm/techno...
_schools_dc

PRIVACY

AMAZON.COM ACCUSED OF PRIVACY VIOLATIONS
Privacy and consumer advocacy groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission
to investigate Amazon.com's privacy practices with respect to children.
According to a complaint filed by a group of organizations led by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Media Access Project, Amazon
allows minors to post product reviews to the its website while collecting
personally identifiable information such as name and email address in the
process. Such practice, the groups claim, violates the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act of 1998. Lawyers for Amazon argue that the law only
applies to sites that market directly to children, which Amazon does not.
Critics disagree, however. If the FTC hits Amazon with a fine, the action is
likely to stir up a flurry of self-examination among e-commerce sites.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: David McGuire]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13246-2003Apr22.html

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 22, 2003

21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Women Among First IT Specialists Trained in Afghanistan
Make IT Compulsory, Say Aussie Teachers

PHILANTHROPY
MTN Foundation Gives Internet Connectivity to South African Schools
HP Provides $1.3 Million in Technology Grants to Nonprofit
Organizations Nationwide

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Snowe, Allies Look to Forestall FCC Reform

INTERNET
Penn State Students Lose Net Access for File Sharing
Digital Dilemmas

LIBRARIES
America's Oldest Public Library May Close the Books

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

WOMEN AMONG FIRST I.T. SPECIALISTS TRAINED IN AFGHANISTAN
The first graduating class of the University of Kabul's new Cisco Networking
Academy completed their studies this month. The 17 students, including 6
women, were the first inside Afghanistan to complete a certified networking
program. "I am now one of the first Afghan women with a world-class
information technology certificate in Afghanistan," said Nabila Akbari, one
of the academy's students. "My personal goal is to share this knowledge with
other Afghans, especially Afghan women. I want very much to help my country
build an advanced, high-tech networking system." The UN Development Program
partnered with Cisco to introduce the training in Kabul, which for more than
two decades has faced a severe shortage of high tech workers. "This
graduating class is making history for Afghanistan," said UNDP Country
Director Ercan Murat. "They are the first highly-trained computer
specialists in Afghanistan who were trained in their own country. They now
have the tools to make a difference at home."
[SOURCE: UNDP]
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2003/april/17apr03/index.html

MAKE I.T. COMPULSORY, SAY AUSSIE TEACHERS
An Australian edtech association has called on governments to make
information technology skills compulsory in secondary schools. Stella
Cugley, president of the Victorian Information Technology Teachers
Association, says that IT should be treated as a core subject in its own
right, not unlike math, science or history. "You would hope that it would be
compulsory but there is nothing to say it is," she said. A recent survey in
Australia suggested that students valued IT training when they received it,
and the demand of IT skills has increased in Australia's vocational schools.
Additionally, research by Multi-Media Victoria (MMV) suggests that there's
little information available for students to learn more about potential IT
careers. MMV and the IT Skills Hub recently partnered to launch
PositionMentor, an online tool linking IT job advertisements with the
training programs required to apply for those jobs. The tool has proven so
popular in its first two weeks that there are now plans to expand the site
nationally.
[SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald; AUTHOR: Sue Cant]
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/14/1050172523913.html
PositionMentor:
http://www.itskillshub.com.au/mentor

PHILANTHROPY

MTN FOUNDATION GIVES INTERNET CONNECTIVITY TO SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
Seeking to "improve the quality of education" as well as knowledge and use
of IT in public schools, the MTN Foundation has successfully implemented its
Schools Connectivity Program in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The
foundation installed multimedia computing centers in 11 schools, each
consisting of a PC network, a printer-copier-scanner-fax machine, a TV, a
VCR and a high-speed GPRS modem. "This project will benefit disadvantaged
children by giving them an opportunity to compete with their peers in urban
areas," said Education MEC Joyce Mashamba. "It will also give them an
opportunity to develop skills and access information in a way that is
relevant to the economic development of the province and the country.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com; Author: Vanguard]
http://allafrica.com/stories/200304210600.html

HP PROVIDES $1.3 MILLION IN TECHNOLOGY GRANTS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
NATIONWIDE
[Press Release] HP announced Friday its award of $1.3 million in grants to
26 nonprofit organizations across the county as part of its Community
Technology Center initiative. The grants consist of computer equipment and
HP staff volunteerism in their local communities. The CTC program targers
underserved populations, and grant-worthy organizations demonstrated both
service to such populations as well as dedication to training people with
disabilities. "By providing grants to these computer technology centers, we
leverage technology to support the organizations' programs that provide
training in computer literacy, academic success and job skill training....
[while providing] an opportunity for highly skilled HP employees to be a
part of our community in a real way," said HP philanthropy program manager
Nancy Iaconis.
[SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance]
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030418/185005_1.html

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

SNOWE, ALLIES LOOK TO FORESTALL FCC REFORM
Moderate Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine is one of several
senators strongly encouraging FCC Chairman Michael Powell to not rush into
deregulating US media ownership rules. Sen. Snowe last month teamed with
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to recruit 15 fellow senators -- including a
majority of the Commerce Committee -- to sign a letter petitioning Powell to
take more time before making a decision in the matter. Powell recently
responded in a letter of his own by stating he intends to stick with his
June 2 deadline, but Snowe insists that it's vital that the public receive
more opportunities to debate the issue. "Time is running short to provide
full public disclosure of the rule changes," Snowe said. Frank Blethen,
whose family publishes the Seattle Times and three Maine dailies, applauded
Snowe's perseverance. "As she's gotten into it, she's really 'gotten it,'
and she's stepping up to take leadership, which is really wonderful," he
said.
[SOURCE: Editor & Publisher; AUTHOR: Todd Shields]
http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.js...
u_content_id=1870473

INTERNET

PENN STATE STUDENTS LOSE NET ACCESS FOR FILE SHARING
Officials at Pennsylvania State University announced yesterday that they had
taken away dorm-room broadband Internet access from 220 students because
they were distributing copyright-protected content through online
file-sharing services. "Upon investigation, we found that the students had
publicly listed copyright-infringing materials on their systems to other
members of this network," said university spokesman Tysen Kendig. On March
31, the university's executive vice president sent an email to more than
110,000 students, faculty and staff stating that file-sharing copyrighted
material is illegal and would not be tolerated on campus. Students
apparently did not expect to get busted, however. "I was kind of surprised
at being caught," said Jason Steiner, a Penn State freshman, in an interview
with the student newspaper. "I was sitting there online, and all of a sudden
I wasn't, with no idea why." Spokesman Kendig says students' broadband
privileges will be restored once students remove the copyrighted materials
from their computers.
[SOURCE: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030422pennstate0422p5.asp

DIGITAL DILEMMAS
It seems like so long ago, but it has been less than a decade since tech
gurus proclaimed the Internet to be a "civilization of the mind" in
cyberspace. While such claims may seem comical to some, the reality is that
the tech bust of the past few years does not diminish the role of Web-based
technology in the future. In fact, the Web will continue to have "profound
and unprecedented" effects on the way we live. If history is any guide, the
immediate failures of several railroads and carmakers at the dawn of those
technologies did not reduce their influence on our lives. Similarly,
advances in microcomputing, wireless technology and the like suggest that
the Internet has nowhere to go but up. The challenge for society is to
decide how to use these discoveries and what their effects on our notions of
privacy, security and government will be.
[SOURCE: The Economist; AUTHOR: David Manasian]
http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1534303

LIBRARIES

AMERICA'S OLDEST PUBLIC LIBRARY MAY CLOSE THE BOOKS
In 1778, Benjamin Franklin decided to show his appreciation to the town of
Franklin, Massachusetts for naming their community after him by donating a
collection of over 100 books; they would eventually form the core collection
of the town's library. Today the nation's oldest public library, the
Franklin Library is a shadow of its former self, having laid off a quarter
of its staff and slashed its operating hours because of local budget cuts --
and now it may have to be closed altogether. "You hate to be closing the
oldest library in the country," said Kenneth Wiedemann, chairman of the
Franklin Library Board of Directors. "We are not happy about it. But what
are you going to do?" Facing as much as a $6 million budget shortfall, the
town is facing the grim choice: slash the police force, close a fire station
or shutter the library. "You think of the fact that we were the first town
to be named for Ben, and he was good enough to get us started in our
learning," said Barbara Smith, Franklin's historian. "These books weren't
frivolous. They weren't the latest love story. These were for learning."
[SOURCE: Boston Globe; AUTHOR Franco Ordonez]
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/111/metro/Franklin_library_may_close_t...
ooks-.shtml

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 21, 2003

FCC
Media Ownership Deregulation Debate Heats Up
FCC Proposal Would Let Schools Sell Spectrum Rights

DIGITAL DIVIDE
E-stonia: From Iron Curtain Obscurity to Wired Wonderland
Libraries Turn to Taxpayers for Help
Sultanate of Oman Seeks to Establish "Knowledge Oasis"

INTERNET
A New Wave of Wireless

PRIVACY
Local Officials Rise Up to Defy The Patriot Act

FCC

MEDIA-OWNERSHIP DEREGULATION DEBATE HEATS UP
Members of Congress continue to express their opinions regarding the current
review of media ownership rules by the FCC. "It is time for the commission
to amend all of its broadcast ownership rules and bring them into alignment
with the realities of today's media marketplace," said Rep. Billy Tauzin
(R-LA.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a letter to
FCC Commissioner Michael Powell. Opponents of the deregulation decry the
proposal, warning that such measures could quash the diversity of voices in
local media. "Existing rules have been put in place to ensure that local
communities have access to varying viewpoints on local issues," said Rep.
Janice Schakowsky (D-IL). "These rules must be maintained and should be
strengthened, instead of weakened." Schakowsky singled out radio station
conglomerate Clear Channel, owner of 20 percent of US radio stations, which
used its ownership power to block anti-war commercials while promoting
pro-war rallies.
[SOURCE: Newark Star-Ledger; AUTHOR: Bruce Alpert]
http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-4/10509062722...
0.xml

FCC PROPOSAL WOULD LET SCHOOLS SELL SPECTRUM RIGHTS
An FCC proposal to utilize the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS)
bandwidth more efficiently has drawn criticism for a provision that would
allow schools to auction off unused parts of the spectrum to private
companies. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on how best to
use this bandwidth, which has been a distance learning tool for educators
and students since the 1960s. While some suggested solutions include a
geographic licensing approach that would allow for unlicensed use by schools
in a region, the private commercial auction option is far less favorable.
Critics contend that the opportunity for cash-strapped schools to sell their
licenses to the highest bidder might be too enticing, sounding the death
knell for "the last place on the spectrum reserved specifically for
education." FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy notes that "unused spectrum
has little value," adding that the FCC must inquire as to how the unused
bandwidth might best be used.
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Corey Murray]
(http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/K12unreg.cfm?ArticleID=4362&ul=%2Fnews%2Fsh
owStory%2Ecfm%3FArticleID%3D4362)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

E-STONIA: FROM IRON CURTAIN OBSCURITY TO WIRED WONDERLAND
A country with almost no home telephone lines and only a handful of personal
computers as recently as a decade ago, Estonia has become one of the world's
most wired nations. A recent World Economics Forum report ranks "E-stonia"
8th out of 82 nations surveyed in terms of putting the Web to practical use.
About half of the country's 1.4 million people bank online, placing the
nation among the world's leaders in that industry. Furthermore, the national
government has made revolutionary strides in e-governance, offering citizens
the opportunity to "vote" on particular issues online and streamlining
internal government processes. The speed at which cultural adoption of IT
has occurred is most impressive -- Estonia was so low-tech at the time of
its independence from Soviet rule that it may have been even easier to
leapfrog to the latest technology.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2003-04-21-estonia_x.htm)

LIBRARIES TURN TO TAXPAYERS FOR HELP
Library districts in and around the city of Cleveland, Ohio are asking local
voters to pass new levies that would increase the amount of property taxes
collected for library services. As citizens rely increasingly on libraries
as community technology centers, the cost of maintaining these information
technology services has placed an additional financial burden on these
institutions. "We need [funding] very badly," said Phyllis Cettomai,
director of Reed Memorial Library. "We've been busting at the seams for 10
years now." The Cleveland Public Library, for example, says it needs to
public to pass a levy that would generate about $31.5 million a year. The
levy would raise the library services tax a homeowner of a $100,000 home
would pay from $93 to $193 per year. Along with covering technology
expenses, the levies would cover the loss of funds cut from the state
budget, among other expenses.
[SOURCE: Cleveland Plain Dealer; AUTHOR: Tom Breckenridge]
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/10509...
2125941.xml

SULTANATE OF OMAN SEEKS TO ESTABLISH "KNOWLEDGE OASIS"
Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi, Undersecretary of Oman's Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, recently gathered together policymakers and business leaders to
tout the development of Knowledge Oasis Muscat, a cutting-edge information
technology park being developed to raise Oman's profile as an emerging
player in the information economy marketplace. The Knowledge Oasis, a
68-hectare campus 30 minutes outside of Muscat, has already attracted two
technical universities; Siemens, Omantel, Gulf Air and other corporations
are also setting up shop. With more bandwidth than had been previously
available in the sultanate, the oasis is part of a national strategy to
attract information economy businesses to Oman and increase opportunities
for Omanis to develop IT skills.
[SOURCE: The Times of Oman; AUTHOR: John Lopez]
http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=29901&pn=business

INTERNET

A NEW WAVE OF WIRELESS
Once considered merely a simple alternative to Ethernet networking, Wi-Fi
technology has become "a tool to expand the boundaries of the Internet."
Wireless "hotspots" have quadrupled in number over the last year,
particularly fee-based access points in restaurants, hotels and coffee
shops. Small local companies have seized the opportunity to provide
high-speed Internet access to communities that lack alternatives to dial-up,
some installing wireless antennae and offering the service from their homes.
A glaring deficiency, though, is the general lack of public access networks;
many (but certainly not all) establishments charge a fee.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54030-2003Apr18.html)

PRIVACY

LOCAL OFFICIALS RISE UP TO DEFY THE PATRIOT ACT
Arcata, California (pop. 16,000) has become the first US locality to pass an
ordinance outlawing voluntary compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.
Local librarians and bookstore owners around the country object to
provisions in the Act requiring them to turn over information about patrons'
reading or Web use habits upon request. Federal law supercedes state law and
local ordinances in this case, but the people of Arcata are ready to fight
-- and so are 89 other cities that have passed resolutions condemning the
Act and may follow Arcata's lead in outlawing local compliance. Meanwhile,
on Capitol Hill, members of Congress have requested that Attorney General
John Ashcroft provide detailed reports of how the Justice Department has
used its powers under the Act to date, as well as its plans for the future,
including the yet-to-be-proposed "PATRIOT Act II."
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Evelyn Nieves]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64173-2003Apr20.html)

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

Communications-Related Headlines for April 17, 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Copps: Media Should Cover FCC Reform

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Eluding the Web's Snare
Software Rams Great Firewall of China

WIRELESS/BROADBAND
Can Wi-Fi Take Us to the Last Mile?
Event: Wireless Innovations: New Technologies and Evolving Policies
The Storm over Broadband Bundling

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

COPPS: MEDIA SHOULD COVER FCC REFORM
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has crisscrossed the United States in recent
months, repeating a mantra to all who will listen: the US media is failing
to inform the public about the potential impact of media ownership
deregulation. "The media have not done a very good job of teeing up this
debate for the American people," He said recently at the Northwestern
University School of Law. "Whatever your side, someone's got to tell them
what's up for grabs." According to the Pew Research Center for the People
and the Press, more than seven out of 10 Americans surveyed said that
they've heard "nothing at all" about the proposed deregulations, while only
four percent surveyed -- less than one in 20 -- said they had heard "a lot"
about the issue. "Three out of four people don't know -- that's not
acceptable," Copps said. "My plea, for all people with the media, is to
exercise your responsibilities and your rights in this debate."
[Source: Editor and Publisher, AUTHOR: Mark Fitzgerald]
(http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?v
nu_content_id=1865715)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

ELUDING THE WEB'S SNARE
The group of Web non-users described as "Net evaders" by the Pew Internet
and American Life Institute's recent study are a curious lot --- the Web is
at their fingertips but for various reasons they choose not to employ its
resources and services. For some, like 57-year-old Vicki Lewis of Bethesda,
MD, the Web is too impersonal. For others, such as Peter O'Grady of Chapel
Hill, NC, the Internet is an intimidating world -- an opinion not shared by
his two adult children and wife, each an avid user. Somewhat surprisingly,
the Net evader population cuts across generations, as many young adults
avoid the Web for the same reasons while older adults embrace the ability to
keep in touch with old friends and grandchildren.
[SOURCE: The New York Times, AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/17/technology/circuits/17shun.html)

SOFTWARE RAMS GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA
The International Broadcasting Bureau's Voice of America arm has
commissioned software to assist Chinese Web surfers in circumventing
government-imposed Internet restrictions. The software allows PC users to
create a "circumvention Web server" that can tunnel under the government
firewall, giving them access to, among other sites, Voice of America news.
"The Chinese government jams all of our radio broadcasts and blocks access
by their people to our Web site. We want to allow the people there to have
the tools to be able to have a look at it," said Ken Berman, program manager
for Internet anticensorship at IBB. The pairing of IBB and software
developer Bennett Haselton is noteworthy in its irony. Haselton has been a
vocal opponent of content filtering laws effecting public computers, and the
software he developed could very well be used to undermine filtering efforts
domestically.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Paul Festa]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1028-997101.html?tag=fd_top)

WIRELESS

CAN WI-FI TAKE US TO THE LAST MILE?
[Commentary] Cory Doctorow, co-editor of the boingboing.net blog and
outreach coordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, laments the
FCC's recent decision to abandon rules requiring Baby Bell telephone
companies to accommodate broadband services competition. Doctorow says the
decision will impact the growth of local wireless Internet access, since the
Baby Bells forbid their customers from setting up free wi-fi access through
their broadband connections. "The feds have thrown the rate-pricing question
back to the states, saying, in effect, You figure it out," he writes. "That
means that in some states we might get vibrant markets, while in others --
places where the phone company is in bed with the local government -- we'll
get no competition." Doctorow says there's still hope, though, as nonprofit
groups like the Bay Area Wireless Users Group establish their own community
wireless ISPs, or WISPs. So unless the Baby Bells begin to treat their users
like customers rather than "passive consumers," Doctorow says,
"entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts may be the only ways to make
broadband service ubiquitous and competitive."
[SOURCE: Busines 2.0, AUTHOR: Cory Doctorow]
(http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,47997,00.html)

EVENT: WIRELESS INNOVATIONS: NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND EVOLVING POLICIES
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, in
conjunction with the FCC and the State Department's International
Communications and Information Policy Group, will hold a two-day wireless
forum as an extension of last year's "Spectrum Summit." On May 12th, a
Technology Showcase will display the latest innovations in wireless tools
and applications, and the May 13th forum will feature a policy panel with
experts from the industry, government and academia. The events will be held
in the U.S. Department of Commerce Lobby and Auditorium, 1401 Constitution
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2003/04162003wi.htm)

THE STORM OVER BROADBAND BUNDLING
[Commentary] Don't fret over the bundling of cable service and high-speed
Internet, insists Randolph J. May of the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
Contrary to critics who call for the investigation of companies such as
Comcast, May argues that bundled video and Internet offerings violate
neither the letter nor the spirit of antitrust law. In fact, he says,
competition in the multichannel video market is quite robust, with satellite
customer growth outpacing that of cable. Such competition benefits the
consumer: they get an immediate price break, they reap the benefits of
competitive reactions in the market, and they benefit from the economic
stimulus that comes with increased broadband deployment.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Randolph J. May]
(http://news.com.com/2010-1071-997226.html)

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

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.