September 2003

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
TV Networks Join Forces to Fight Backlash over Station Ownership

E-GOVERNMENT
Website Helps Residents Find City Services
Commentary: PCs Open Courthouse Door

TELECOM POLICY
Spectrum Issues Key for New NTIA Chief

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Digital Rift Needs Global Help

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MEDIA OWNERSHIP

TV NETWORKS JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT BACKLASH OVER STATION OWNERSHIP
FOX, NBC and CBS are launching a campaign on Capitol Hill to convince
legislators that the American public is uninterested in the media ownership
debate. "America Says: Don't Get Between Me And My TV," is the slogan the
four networks are using in ads aimed at the congressional audience this week
as the country's lawmakers return from fall recess to tackle the FCC's June
rules. Republican pollster Frank Luntz produced numbers suggesting that
Americans are not as opposed to the new rules as the opposition in Congress
has indicated. For example, 87 percent of those polled by Luntz think they
have an adequate number of choices for receiving news, while only 11 percent
believe network ownership of their local station is a bad thing. The
networks are also suggesting that more lax regulations would help preserve
free TV for the 15 to 20 percent of households who rely on it. "I have never
seen a situation where politicians have a greater disconnect from the people
they represent," Mr. Luntz says. Opponents scoff at this notion, reminding
legislators of the millions of communications submitted to the FCC decrying
the rules even before the June 2nd vote. Consumers Union's Gene Kimmelman
adds that while viewers may not care who owns the stations they watch, they
certainly don't want few big players to dominate the landscape. Despite the
impending congressional stand-off, the next stage of the battle occurs
tomorrow morning, as a group of consumer advocates led by the Media Access
Project argue in federal court for a stay of the new rules.
SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal; AUTHOR: Matthew Rose
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106245564775778000,00.html
(subscription required)
For more info on the Media Access Project's case in Philadelphia, see:
http://www.mediaaccess.org/PressRel08-27.pdf

E-GOVERNMENT

WEBSITE HELPS RESIDENTS FIND CITY SERVICES
A new website for residents of Camden, New Jersey, lists more than 400
community organizations and groups, including contact information and a
description of services they provide. Site visitors can also search by zip
code or by category, such as education, technology and workforce
development, and anyone can add organizations to the site. In addition,
demographic maps show statistics such as how many people live below the
poverty line, number of vacant houses and percentage of residents with a
high school diploma -- citywide and for each neighborhood. The website was
created by Hopeworks 'N Camden, a nonprofit that teaches low-income
residents aged 13 to 23 computer skills such as Web design and programming.
A drawback of the site is that "not many people have access to the
Internet," said Dr. Lawrence Ragone, whose clinic provides eye care to
uninsured and underinsured residents. However, some might benefit indirectly
from the listing. Skipper Grant, a case manager at a day center for homeless
men, said that staff could use the site to find services for their clients.
SOURCE: The Courier-Post; AUTHOR: Lavinia DeCastro
http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m090203f.htm
Hopeworks 'N Camden's website:
http://www.camdenresources.org

PCs OPEN COURTHOUSE DOOR
[Commentary] Colorado is the first state to allow low-income people who
can't afford legal representation to file their own cases electronically and
affordably, through its I-CAN! (Interactive Community Assistance Network)
system. Forms on the Internet with instructions geared toward a fifth-grade
reading level in English or Spanish will allow people to file civil
complaints. Computers will be available in courthouses in three counties for
a small fee, which can be waived. The system, which is being paid for by a
$165,000 federal technology grant, "has the potential to open the civil
justice system to thousands of people who have traditionally been powerless
to go to court for such problems as evictions, small claims and restraining
orders," writes the Denver Post editorial staff. If it proves successful,
the project could be adopted nationwide. "We're fortunate to have the
opportunity to not only empower our own citizens but also to be a model for
the rest of the country," the editorial says.
SOURCE: The Denver Post; AUTHOR: Editorial Staff
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~1604693,00.html

TELECOM POLICY

SPECTRUM ISSUES KEY FOR NEW NTIA CHIEF
"I want to make sure that the NTIA is providing strong policy support for
the creation of additional jobs and economic growth," said new National
Telecommunications and Information Administration chief Michael Gallagher.
Gallagher, who replaces Nancy Victory following her departure last month,
recently served as an executive for Verizon Wireless and as chief of staff
to former Congressman Rick White. His goal at the Department of Commerce
will be to ensure the efficient use of spectrum, which he calls "an
under-appreciated resource by the American people." Gallagher specifically
worries about signal interference between owners of neighboring swaths of
spectrum, which at worst could interrupt emergency communications between
fire and rescue workers. Moving high-tech business users to "comparable
spaces in the spectrum chart" has proved to be a solution thus far.
Gallagher faces an even more formidable task in the coming months, albeit
one over which he has no control: the possible move of NTIA under the
Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, a move pending
congressional approval.
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7661-2003Aug31.html

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

DIGITAL RIFT NEEDS GLOBAL HELP
The World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) last Friday adopted a
statement affirming that cooperation between states and public-private
partnerships to bridge the digital divide were crucial to help reduce world
poverty. The statement, adopted by delegates of 68 states and numerous
technology companies, will be used as input for the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva this December. The knowledge society is
about "technical solutions and their financing," said International
Federation for Information Processing President Klaus Brunnstein, "but it is
also about truly being informed, which requires education, since nothing is
gained if people only play games, surf randomly or watch p0rn0graphy," he
added. Lephimotswe Boyce Sebetela, minister of technology in Botswana (which
will host WITFOR in 2005) said infrastructure was a first important step.
"One goal is by 2015 to double access to a telephone in Africa to two per
100 inhabitants," Sebetela said. He stressed that big foreign investors, an
engine of economic growth, are loath to do business where communications
services are unreliable.
SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Reuters
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,60252,00.html

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