DIGITAL DIVIDE
Tribes Seeking Phone Systems As Step to Web (NYT)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Public Lives: For Film Lobbyist, Freedom Means
Including the Muck (NYT)
When Is a TV Audience Considered Too Young? (NYT)
Video Game Ratings Depend on Humanity of the Victim (NYT)
Get Tech (DoC)
Technology For Kids Sparks Useful Debate (SJM)
TV Has New Stories to Tell, but Reality Lurks in the Wings (NYT)
PRIVACY
Consumer Internet Privacy (Senate)
INTERNET
Forum Presents ICANN Candidates (EPIC)
ECOMMERCE
Digital Signatures Gain Legal Status In the U.S. as Legislation
Takes Effect (WSJ)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Napster to Appear Before Appeals Panel, As It Fights for
Legality of Music Swapping (WSJ)
New Economy: Time to Rewrite Copyright Law? (NYT)
WIRELESS
SBC and BellSouth Get Clearance By FCC for
Wireless Joint Venture (WSJ)
JOBS
Position Available (MAP)
LIFESTYLES
Democrats, Republicans Visit Different Corners of the Web (WSJ)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
TRIBES SEEKING PHONE SYSTEMS AS STEP TO WEB
Issue: Digital Divide
Mescalero Apache Telecom Inc is the latest effort by the Mescalero Apache
Indian tribe to promote economic development on its reservation. Godfrey
Enjady, the new company's general manager, intends to expand basic telephone
service beyond the 40 percent of the tribe's households with phones,
ring the reservation with a fiber-optic network and introduce high-speed
Internet connections. And the Mescalero Apaches are not the only Indian
Nation to form a tribally-owned and operated telecommunications company.
There are a half-dozen American Indian-owned telephone companies in
operation on Indian lands. And their numbers are expected to grow after the
Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to add as much as $35
million to the $550 million in federal money already available to companies
that expand access to basic phone service on Indian reservations. Only 47
percent of the nation's 720,000 Indian households have basic telephone
service, compared with a nationwide rate of 94 percent, according to the
F.C.C. "The Indian people are at the top of the list of groups that are most
at risk of being left out of the emerging dot-com economy," said William E.
Kennard, the chairman of the F.C.C. "When a tribal government establishes
its own telephone company, it is creating an economic development nucleus."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Simon Romero]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/technology/02TRIB.html)
(requires registration)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
PUBLIC LIVES: FOR FILM LOBBYIST, FREEDOM MEANS INCLUDING THE MUCK
Issue: Lobbying
"It's the price you pay for freedom," said Jack Valenti, the advertising man
turned White House speechwriter (for President Johnson) turned film-industry
spokesman. "The price you pay for it is this slime. You have to allow
tawdry, meretricious, soiling, loathsome, even unwholesome stuff into the
marketplace." Mr Valenti is in the middle of the controversy born by a
Federal Trade Commission report about how the entertainment industry markets
violent content to children under 17. "I think some of the transgressions
that are obvious are not going to be committed again," Mr. Valenti said. He
is clearly less distressed by the failings of his industry than his critics
had hoped. In the age of the Internet and satellite television, he suggests,
there is little the film industry can do to protect children beyond the
ratings system (now G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17) that Mr. Valenti created in
1968. "It's a new world," he said with the drawl of his native Texas but the
lofty rhetorical style of a man who likes to quote Churchill and Lord
Macaulay. "The walls have been breached. Tell me, with hundreds of channels
of satellite television and 1,100 over-the-air television stations, how can
you advertise anywhere some children aren't going to be watching?" "If
parents feebly perform the duty of parenting, if they have a casual regard
for where their children go to school, what they read, what they listen to,
what they watch, then no ratings system -- and by the way, no law -- is
going to be able to deal with that," he said. "If this moral shield breaks
down, do you want the Federal Trade Commission to tell you how to raise your
kids? I don't think so." More about the man in front of the industry at the
URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A12), AUTHOR: Philip Shenon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/national/02LIVE.html)
(requires registration)
WHEN IS A TV AUDIENCE CONSIDERED TOO YOUNG?
Issue: Media & Society
Weeks after the Federal Trade Commission released a report on how violent
films are marketed to children, it remains unclear how things will change on
the most powerful promotional tool: television. Only 2 of the 6 major
broadcast networks -- ABC/Disney and Fox/News Corp -- announced plans to
stop this type of marketing. And even their new standards probably will not
reduce the number of ads for R-rated films they show. ABC already had a
loose policy not to show R-rated film ads during the first hour of prime
time; Fox is barring ads from any prime time show that has an audience made
up of 35%+ children -- but there's not many prime time shows that meet that
criteria. "As usual, these companies try to get by with doing as little as
they can in the heat of the pressure and hope the pressure goes away," said
Kathryn Montgomery, president of the Center for Media Education, a
Washington group that monitors how the media influences children.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/business/02TUBE.html)
(requires registration)
VIDEO GAME RATINGS DEPEND ON HUMANITY OF THE VICTIM
Issue: Media & Society
The video game industry has the most comprehensive self-regulatory body, but
"mixed" compliance at best when it comes to marketing its most violent
games, rated 'M,' to children. Sales of games for personal computers and
video game consoles, like Sony's Playstation and the Nintendo 64, amounted
to $5.5 billion in the United States last year, an increase from $4.7
billion in 1998, according to International Development Group, a San
Francisco-based market research firm. Of last year's sales, roughly 10
percent were for games rated mature or adults only. The industry is debating
whether to curb advertising of M-rated games in magazines and on television
programs with large teenage audiences, and whether retailers should require
identification from those buying such games.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/technology/02VIDE.html)
(requires registration)
GET TECH
Issue: Media & Society
From Press Release: The U.S. Department of Commerce and the National
Association of Manufacturers today unveil "GetTech," a new public service
campaign designed to encourage students to prepare for careers in science
and technology. The GetTech program is a response to growing concern that
too few young people understand how studying math, science and technology in
junior high school can lead to rewarding careers. Many of the fastest
growing and highest paying jobs in the future will be in science,
manufacturing and technology, but students opt out of the math and science
courses that will prepare them for these careers because of negative
stereotypes and a lack of role models and career information. The GetTech
campaign features a teen-friendly website (www.gettech.org) public service
announcements (PSAs), and materials for teachers and students. The target
audience is middle school students, ages 11 to 14. The TV and radio PSAs
and print materials are designed to draw students to the website, which
provides information about technology careers. The PSAs will be distributed
to television and radio stations in the top 100 metropolitan areas.
Educational materials also will be distributed to more than 14,000 middle
schools.
[SOURCE: Department of Commerce]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/new.html)
TECHNOLOGY FOR KIDS SPARKS USEFUL DEBATE
Issue: Ed Tech
Larry Magid, technology journalist and commentator, shares his opinions on a
controversial report, "Fools Gold, A Critical Look at Computers and
Childhood," from the Alliance for Childhood (www.allianceforchildhood.com).
The report challenges the notion that computers are necessarily good for
young children, explores the dangers of placing computers in front of kids
under 11 and calls for "an immediate moratorium on the further introduction
of computers in early childhood and elementary education, except for special
cases of students with disabilities." The recommendations are more than just
controversial, they are also a threat to companies like Mattel Interactive
and other software companies that make "toddler-ware", designed for
3-to-5-year-olds or even toddlers as young as 18 months. The report claims
that computers "pose serious health hazards to children," including the risk
of "repetitive stress injuries, eyestrain, obesity, social isolation, and,
for some, long-term physical, emotional, or intellectual developmental
damage." While the report also questions the education value of computers
for children and questions "the seeming national obsession" to put dollars
behind technology for primary education. Though Magid disagrees with the
report, he finds some ideas on target, concluding, "...when it comes to
young kids, technology is a bit like apple juice. In moderation it's good
for kids. But too much can cause decay and spoil their appetite for all the
other things in life."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Larry Magid]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/business/top/020828.htm)
TV HAS NEW STORIES TO TELL, BUT REALITY LURKS IN THE WINGS
Issue: Television
'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and 'Survivor' prove that given the right
show, a broadcast TV network can still be a truly dominant entertainment
source for the nation. But network executives are still trying to guess what
that "right show" is. Over the next 6 weeks, a lot of new TV shows will
premiere and, later in the season, a host of reality shows will air. One
executive said: "It's going to be a tough year for story-form shows."
'Millionaire' and 'Survivor' have made that format vulnerable because
nothing performed on Hollywood sound stages in the last five years came
close to capturing their viewer interest. Garth Ancier, the president of NBC
Entertainment, said, "What happened with those two shows in being so
different is that they broke the stranglehold of story-form television."
[SOURCE: New York Times (B1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/arts/02SEAS.html)
(requires registration)
PRIVACY
CONSUMER INTERNET PRIVACY
Issue: Privacy
Full Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday, October 3, at 9:30 a.m.
in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Members will review
legislation dealing with improving Internet privacy including S. 2928, the
Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act.
The hearing will be broadcast live on the Internet. To access the hearing
please go to the Commerce Committee website at
http:www.commerce.senate.gov, or if computer is already equipped with real
player, please go to the following address:
pnm://zrn1.webcasting.evoke.com/basic/providers/senate/commerce.rm
Witnesses to be announced.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-224.htm)
INTERNET
FORUM PRESENTS ICANN CANDIDATES
Issue: Internet
The Internet Democracy Project and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society
at Harvard University will be holding a Candidate Forum
(http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/candidateforum/) on October 2 in
Cambridge, MA. All seven North American candidates will be participating in
a debate about the role of ICANN and issues confronting the organization.
The event will be open to the public and web-cast live.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
ECOMMERCE
DIGITAL SIGNATURES GAIN LEGAL STATUS IN THE U.S. AS LEGISLATION TAKES EFFECT
Issue: Ecommerce
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act went into
effect Sunday, making so-called electronic signatures on the Internet as
enforceable by federal law as those signed on paper. The new technology is
poised to revolutionize the way companies do business. The electronic
signature is a string of code, not an actual signature. It can be used over
and over again for unlimited transactions and uniquely identifies the user.
To avoid misuse or fraud, the signature will need to be verified, either by
entering personal information, such as a social security number, or by the
use of biometrics. Industry analysts say it likely will be two years before
consumers get on board with the new technology. A lack of standards in the
technology for ensuring consumer privacy and safety will make them wary.
While some industries already employ the use of digital signatures,
consumers still have to mail in final copies of signed documents. Vendors
are eager to profit by eliminating courier and overnight deliveries of legal
documents and mortgage closings. Businesses are still required, however, to
give customers the option of corresponding by regular mail.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Jennifer L. Rewick]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB970442580681975491.htm)
(Requires subscription)
See Also:
E-SIGNATURES BECOME VALID FOR BUSINESS
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/02/technology/02SIGS.html)
(requires registration)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
NAPSTER TO APPEAR BEFORE APPEALS PANEL, AS IT FIGHTS FOR LEGALITY OF MUSIC
SWAPPING
Issue: Intellectual Property
Napster is ready to fight to make the case that its Internet music-swapping
service is legal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in
San Francisco Monday morning. The case is expected to draw huge crowds and TV
satellite trucks associated with celebrity trials, rather than highly
technical appellate proceedings involving intricacies of copyright law, as
evidence of the interest in Napster and the way it has reshaped the public's
view of music distribution in the Internet age. The record industry is
pursuing the case. Napster wants the court to overturn an earlier ruling by
a federal judge in San Francisco that it stop making available unauthorized
music on its service. Napster contends that it is legal for people to
exchange music files over the Internet, as long as it is noncommercial. Most
observers expect the judges to simply hear arguments during the morning, and
then to issue a written opinion in the next few weeks. But similar
predictions were made at the time of the July hearing by Judge Marilyn Hall
Patel, who ended up ruling immediately on the matter from the bench.
Whatever the Ninth Circuit decides, the matter is expected to be appealed
immediately to the Supreme Court.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Lee Gomes]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB970437615563266736.htm)
(Requires subscription)
NEW ECONOMY: TIME TO REWRITE COPYRIGHT LAW?
Issue: Intellectual Property
With music widely available online, is it now time to tighten copyright laws
or consider rewriting them to reflect reality? In January, MP3.com copied
thousands of compact discs into a database to create a service that lets
consumers listen to copies of music they already own from any computer
connected to the Internet. Almost ever since, the company has argued that
making those copies is legal under existing copyright law. But a federal
judge ruled in April that MP3.com had infringed copyrights of the five major
recording labels and last month ruled that the company had done so
willfully. Faced with paying more than $100 million in damages, it hired a
high-powered lobbyist. He has achieved fast results. Last week, a bill was
introduced in Congress. If passed, the Music Owners' Listening Rights Act
2000 would legalize the MP3.com service. For the first time in this year's
digital music wars, it raises the question of what is right rather than what
is legal. "What matters is whether new technologies are consistent with the
theory of the copyright laws, not just consistent with the details of the
copyright law, says Rep Boucher, a Democrat who is sponsoring the bill.
Should MP3.com be legal? Or, is the service simply an effort by MP3.com to
"build a for-profit business using someone else's property," as the
copyrights holders have argued? Regardless of the answer, Rep. Boucher's
proposal might be debated somewhere other than the courtroom. That would be
a departure from the litigious wrangling that has tended to dominate the
discourse on how culture will be manufactured and used in the digital age.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
(requires registration)
WIRELESS
SBC AND BELLSOUTH GET CLEARANCE BY FCC FOR WIRELESS JOINT VENTURE
Issue: Wireless
The Federal Communications Commission approved a joint venture between the
wireless telephone operations of BellSouth and SBC Communications. The joint
venture creates the second-largest wireless provider in the nation with
19 million subscribers. Verizon Wireless is the nation's largest carrier
with 25.6 million subscribers. SBC and BellSouth already have agreed to
divest operations in Louisiana, Indianapolis and Los Angeles to comply with
FCC ownership rules and federal antitrust law. The FCC review represented
the final regulatory hurdle. The venture will serve 40 markets, including 19
of the top 20 markets, reaching 190 million people. "This is another
instance of wireless companies combining to form a national footprint," an
FCC official said. "It's a benefit to consumers to have
another company able to compete against national providers" such as Sprint,
Verizon, Nextel and AT&T.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: JOURNAL Staff Reporter
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB970265161637643821.htm)
(Requires subscription)
See Also:
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/2000/nrwl0036.html)
JOBS
POSITION AVAILABLE
Issue: Jobs
Media Access Project (MAP) is seeking a part-time administrative assistant.
Applicants should be mature, organized, dependable, motivated, and
articulate individuals who would be able to commit to a regular schedule of
approximately 10-15 hours per week. This position would be ideal for someone
who is interested in getting a firsthand view of the legal profession or
public policy issues surrounding the electronic media. No legal experience
is necessary. This position begins immediately and starts at $8.00 per hour.
If interested, please mail or fax a resume and cover letter expressing your
interest in MAP to:
Christian Albert
Operations Assistant
Media Access Project
950 18th Street, NW, Suite 220
Washington, DC 20006
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/about/jobann.htm)
LIFESTYLES
DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS VISIT DIFFERENT CORNERS OF THE WEB
Issue: Lifestyles
A survey released by Media Metrix on Thursday concludes that Democrats and
Republicans not only vote differently, the surf differently as well. It
boils down to this: Republicans check on their money and Democrats hunt for
a hand-out. "You don't want to be the one to reinforce a stereotype, but
that's what the data show," said Media Metrix analyst Anne Rickert. Sites
the survey listed included E*Trade, whose second-quarter visitors were 43.4%
Republican. The site with the highest concentration of Democrats was
Colonize.com, with 1.17 unique visitors in the second quarter. The site
offers, among other things, special offers and shopping deals. Free advice
on Askme.com drew 1.3 million Democrats, the second-highest concentration of
Democrats on the Web. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans flocked
most to high-end financial and news sites, such as TheStreet.com.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB970238837422561040.htm)
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