OWNERSHIP
Murdoch's DirecTV Deal Scares Rivals
Powell: 'Rising Anxiety Over Radio Ownership
FCC Plan in Media Proceeding Unlawful Says Government Agency
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Creating Our Future: Shaping the Agenda of Community Technology
IQ Test for Rebuilding Iraqi Net
OWNERSHIP
MURDOCH'S DIRECTV DEAL SCARES RIVALS
News Corp.'s $6.6 billion purchase of a controlling interest in Hughes
Electronics' DirecTV satellite service has competitors in a frenzy. Rivals
of Rupert Murdoch's Fox holdings fear that the deal gives him a powerful
hold on both content and distribution, enticing him to jack up prices of his
"prize holdings" to cable providers or threaten to pull them off cable
altogether. Murdoch states that the details of the DirecTV deal prevent him
from doing just that. He will be in Washington today to discuss the deal
with lawmakers.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5256-2003Apr10.html)
FCC PLAN IN MEDIA PROCEEDING UNLAWFUL SAYS GOVERNMENT AGENCY
In a letter to the FCC, the Small Business Administration's Office of
Advocacy claimed that the upcoming proceeding on media ownership limits
violates federal law. The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to
report on the impact of proposed rule changes on America's small businesses
and allow small businesses to comment on the report. "A substantial number
of America's small businesses will be impacted. In fact, the tens of
thousands of small businesses and creative entrepreneurs who constitute
America's Creative Community may suffer immediate and irreparable harm,"
said Jonathan Rintels, Executive Director of the Center for the Creative
Community. The CCC proposes a flexible rule scheme to encourage more
independently produced programming on network schedules, particularly in
primetime.
[SOURCE: Center for the Creative Community]
(http://www.creativecommunity.us/page/page/475223.htm)
POWELL: 'RISING ANXIETY OVER RADIO OWNERSHIP'
FCC chairman says he's uneasy with regulating explicit radio and TV content.
Speaking before the joint Radio and Television News Directors Association
and National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, FCC
Commissioner Michael Powell discussed a wide range of topics surrounding the
radio industry. On the ownership issue, Chairman Powell conceded that
consolidation since the `96 Telecommunication Act had been "both good and
bad," citing the rescue of several failing stations as a positive.
Acknowledging the internal strife over the radio-TV cross-ownership
proceedings, he argued that "the record is quite mature," with over 15,000
comments filed. Powell also expressed reluctance to become too deeply
involved in the regulation of radio content, particularly that which is lewd
or indecent, claiming that the FCC is not an elected body and is
unaccountable to the people.
[SOURCE: The Poynter Institute, AUTHOR: Al Thompkins]
(http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=29240)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
CREATING OUR FUTURE: SHAPING THE AGENDA OF COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY
CTCNet will hold the 12th Annual National CTCNet Conference on June 27-29,
2003 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC. CTCNet expects over 700
professionals from a diverse range of CTCs, nonprofit, government and
corporate sectors to join in this discussion of issues central to the future
of Community Technology.
[SOURCE: CTCNet]
(http://www2.ctcnet.org/conf/2003/)
IQ TEST FOR REBUILDING IRAQI NET
A British ISP is leading a grassroots movement to rebuild Iraq's Internet
infrastructure using funds generated by auctioning off .iq domain names. "We
think there's a lot of goodwill toward the Iraqi people and a desire to help
them get the benefits of an open Internet," said Ben Fitzgerald-O'Connor,
leader of the Committee for Information Technology Reconstruction in Iraq
project. While CITRI would offer domain names to Iraqis at a reduced cost,
they believe they can raise $10 million by auctioning "IQ" domain names to
groups such as Mensa International. The project will not be easy - the .iq
domain name is currently maintained by a Texas-based company recently
indicted on charges of supporting the Hamas terrorist organization, and
ICANN has said that transferring the domain will require the full support of
the international Internet community and the Iraqi people.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Brian McWilliams]
(http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,58406,00.html)
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