INTERNET
U.S. Expected to Support Shift in Administration
of the Internet (NYT)
Privacy Rules Send U.S. Firms Scrambling (WSJ)
Caught in a Web of 'Sticky' Services (CyberTimes)
TIIAP
1998 Networks for People (NTIA)
CAMPAIGNS
Attack Ads Carpet TV; High Road Swept Away (WP)
A Grass-Roots Message on Reform (NYT)
BROADCAST
Direct-Broadcast Satellite Companies Expected to Face
Public-Interest Rules (WSJ)
Networks Face A Weak Kickoff For Pro Football (WSJ)
Speech: Chairman Kennard at NAB Radio Convention (FCC)
MICROSOFT
Microsoft Assailed in Court (WP)
'Microsoft Engaged in . . . Predatory Acts' (WP)
Gates Under Fire as Microsoft Trial Opens (WSJ)
Antitrust Case Relies Heavily on Events at a 1995 Meeting (NYT)
Government Goes After Gates in its Opening Argument (ChiTrib)
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INTERNET
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U.S. EXPECTED TO SUPPORT SHIFT IN ADMINISTRATION OF INTERNET
Issue: Internet
Today, the Clinton Administration is expected to commit itself to hand over
the administration of Internet to a nonprofit corporation. The Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) will administer the
Domain Name System, which doles out names for the Internet. While the idea
of a policy making body that crosses geographic boundaries has won broad
support, the proposed corporation has received criticism from governments in
Latin America and Africa, who complained that their regions were not
represented on the corporation's proposed board.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20internet.html
PRIVACY RULES SEND U.S. FIRMS SCRAMBLING
Issue: Privacy
"Cautiously optimistic" is the view of an IBM representative as the US
braces for a tightening of European right to privacy provisions. On Monday,
October 26, new regulations take effect in the European Union which could
have an effect on the passage of information between the US and Europe. Any
country that does not provide adequate data protection will not be able to
receive such basic information as names, addresses and ethnicity from direct
mail lists, travel reservations, Internet purchases, or medical records from
within the European Union. And the US may not meet the standards. The
Commerce Department has been working with European representatives to assure
a cutoff of information does not occur with the change in European rules.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Robert O'Harrow, Jr.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/frompost/oct98/privacy20.htm
CAUGHT IN A WEB OF 'STICKY' SERVICES
Issue: Internet
The challenge of getting customers to stay with a particular portal site [we
love www.fcc.gov, by the way], ISP or Web retailer has been dubbed
"stickiness." The strategy is to get people to invest time in personalizing
services -- entering company codes to track stocks or typing in friends'
names for chat sessions and instant messaging -- so they wouldn't want to
bother to leave for another site. "With portals, the battle is now about
customer retention, and it's a defensive battle," said Barry Parr, director
of Internet and electronic commerce strategies at International Data Corp.,
a research and consulting firm. "As a result, we'll see fewer changes in
market share in the future. It's like World War I trench warfare, where
every hundred yards will be very expensive." "It starts with e-mail," said
Barry Schuler, president of AOL Interactive Services. "Then you get them
interested in a buddy list, so they can find their friends and family. Then
you move them into shopping, and managing their money, and gift reminder
services. When people adopt things online that they do offline, then they
can get stuck to it -- all the better because it creates a big switching
barrier."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/cyber/articles/20commerce.html
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TIIAP
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1998 NETWORKS FOR PEOPLE: SOCIETY & INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE,
THE NEXT GENERATION
Issue: TIIAP
NTIA's forum to discuss the connections of people, information technology,
and services across a broad spectrum of American life will be held December
8 - 9. Save the date to participate in this important conference.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/tiiap/conference/Title_Page.html
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MEDIA & POLITICS
================
ATTACK ADS CARPET TV; HIGH ROAD SWEPT AWAY
Issue: Campaigns/Advertising
In resent years there has been much public outcry about negativity of
political advertising, yet the mid-term elections commercials are as full of
attacks as ever. Candidates accuse their opponents of outrageous positions,
which they back up by reports of votes and statements taken out of context.
While not technically false, many ads simply mislead or confuse voters.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/
ads102098.htm
A GRASS ROOTS MESSAGE ON REFORM
Issue: Campaign Reform
Even though Congress has just killed the most recent campaign finance bill
to reach the floor, that does not mean that public support for reform is
waning. If Massachusetts and Arizona are any indications, there appears to
be a growing momentum for change. Voters in those two states will be
deciding on proposals for publicly financed campaign systems this Fall. If
the rest of country continues to speak up about campaign financing,
Washington just might have to listen.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A30), AUTHOR: New York Times Editorial Staff]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/20tue2.html
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BROADCAST
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DIRECT-BROADCAST SATELLITE COMPANIES EXPECTED TO FACE PUBLIC-INTEREST RULES
Issue: Satellite TV
The FCC on Thursday is expected to require direct-broadcast satellite
operators to set aside 4% to 7% of their channel capacity for
public-interest programming. The FCC definition of the requirement will be
"noncommercial programming that is educational or instructional in nature."
The decision is based on the 1992 cable television law but action had been
held up because of legal wrangling. The satellite companies say the
public-service requirement is burdensome. Unclear presently is how the FCC
and the satellite companies will determine what is "informational" or
"educational."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: John Simons]
http://www.wsj.com/
NETWORKS FACE A WEAK KICKOFF FOR PRO FOOTBALL
Issue: Television Economics
They are blaming the exciting baseball season. They are blaming Monica
Lewinsky. The TV networks are looking for any reason to explain a nearly
10% drop in all of the NFL telecasts on network and cable television. With
a new, expensive contract between the broadcasters and the NFL, some
networks are already slashing prices on commercial time and admitting they
will end with a financial loss on football for the year. That comes only
months after networks raised commercial rates 15% to 20% this season. Some
advertisers are asking for free air time making up for the smaller
audiences. Ratings for ABC's"Monday Night Football" are off 11%. Ratings
for the Sunday night broadcasts on ESPN and Fox's Sunday afternoon games are
off about 10%. CBS seems to be holding its own with its Sunday afternoon
telecasts and says it will not lose money this year. Besides the late
season interest in baseball and the preoccupation with national news
coverage recently, other reasons offered for the decline are the glut of
football (including games, talk shows, pregame and postgame shows), a broad
decline in the audience for network television, and an earlier start time
for the Monday night game (making it less attractive on the West Coast).
David Hill, president of Fox Broadcasting Co. says, "We're seven weeks in.
You can't judge any season until it's over."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Stefan Fatsis & Kyle Pope]
http://www.wsj.com/
SPEECH: CHAIRMAN KENNARD AT NAB RADIO CONVENTION
Issue: Radio
Remarks by Chairman Kennard to NAB Radio Convention in Seattle, Washington
on October 16, 1998: The industry had over 13 billion dollars in revenue
last year. Radio stocks have seen record growth. And radio is part of the
daily lives of virtually every American. Ninety-five percent of Americans
listen to radio every day. They spend an average of 20 hours per week
listening to the radio. But, of course, radio means much more than profits.
Radio connects people to their communities -- perhaps more than any other
medium. Radio is our nation's first electronic medium. And after all these
years, radio remains unique, and most importantly, it remains local. It is
the lifeblood of local information in our culture.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek832.html
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MICROSOFT
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MICROSOFT ASSAILED IN COURT (WP)
'MICROSOFT ENGAGED IN . . . PREDATORY ACTS' (WP)
GATES UNDER FIRE AS MICROSOFT TRIAL OPENS (WSJ)
ANTITRUST CASE RELIES HEAVILY ON EVENTS AT A 1995 MEETING (NYT)
GOVERNMENT GOES AFTER GATES IN ITS OPENING ARGUMENT (CT)
Issue: Antitrust
Day One: The opening arguments by the Justice Department's lawyers on
Monday charged that Bill Gates personally directed a campaign to crush a
competitor that threatened his company's monopoly. The Microsoft Corp.
campaign was aimed at Netscape Communications and its Internet browser.
Microsoft had planned a browser of its own for use with the Windows 95
operating system. Playing four video clips of Bill Gates' pretrial
deposition, the lawyers challenged his credibility under oath. Gates
claimed not to know of key events that the case involves; memoranda
presented suggest that he was following the events. The government's lead
counsel, David Boies, charged that Microsoft made exclusionary deals
favoring its own browser. He also claimed Microsoft restricted computer
software to be placed on new PCs. Microsoft will deliver its opening
arguments today in the non-jury antitrust trial which was brought by the
Justice Department and 20 states.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A10), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran & Mark Leibovich]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/stories/19
98/barksdale102098.htm
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke]
http://www.wsj.com/
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/biztech/articles/20microsoft-test
ify.html
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.1), AUTHOR: Andrew Zajac]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9810200128,00.html
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