MEDIA & SOCIETY
Viewers Seek Fairness In TV Political News (USA)
Technology Sent Wall Street Into Market for Pornography (NYT)
Asia and Latin America Lead PC Sales Surge (NYT)
Faced With Privacy Question, Should You Opt In or Opt Out? (WSJ)
Digital Times, Private Lives Are Breaking Up Party Lines (USA)
CORPORATE RETRENCHMENT
Corporations Push for Tax Breaks Under Guise of Easing
Digital Divide (WSJ)
A Wounded Giant, AT&T to Consider A Split Into 4 Parts (NYT)
Time, AOL and Early Illusions (NYT)
E-Commerce: Public Broadcasting on Sale (NYT)
OWNERSHIP
Patents: Disproving Idea Ownership (NYT)
Media Titan Surveys His Empire at Frankfurt Book Fair (NYT)
Web-Firm Layoffs Increase Steadily and May Accelerate (WSJ)
SPECTRUM
Plan for Third Generation Wireless Services (NTIA)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
VIEWERS SEEK FAIRNESS IN TV POLITICAL NEWS
Issue: Political Discourse
The Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) in Washington has devised a
way to test the fairness of television coverage of the presidential
candidates. They track all the statements about the Democratic and
Republican candidates that are made on the evening news by journalists,
voters and "experts" and categorize them as positive or negative. The group
has found that this election year Gore's coverage is 39% positive and 61%
negative; Bush's coverage is 33% positive and 67% negative. MPA President
Robert Lichter concludes that election journalism doesn't reward or reflect
ideology or even previous achievements, but mainly campaigning skill.
[SOURCE: USAToday (14A), AUTHOR: Stephen Hass]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001023/2772012s.htm)
TECHNOLOGY SENT WALL STREET INTO MARKET FOR PORNOGRAPHY
Issue: Media & Society
Spurred by changes in technology that make pornography easier to order into
the home than pizza, and court decisions that offer broad legal protection,
the business of selling sexual desire through images has become a $10
billion annual industry in the United States, according to Forrester
Research and the industry's own Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
And some of the country's most recognizable corporate names are now
involved: 1) the General Motors Corporation, the world's largest company,
now sells more graphic sex films every year than does Larry Flynt, owner of
the Hustler empire 2) EchoStar Communications Corporation, the No. 2
satellite provider, whose chief financial backers include Rupert Murdoch,
makes more money selling graphic adult films through its satellite
subsidiary than Playboy, the oldest and best-known company in the sex
business, does with its magazine, cable and Internet businesses combined 3)
AT&T Corporation, the nation's biggest communications company, offers a
hard- core sex channel called the Hot Network to subscribers to its
broadband cable service. It also owns a company that sells sex videos to
nearly a million hotel rooms. Nearly one in five of AT&T's broadband cable
customers pays an average of $10 a film to see what the distributor calls
"real, live all-American sex -- not simulated by actors." None of the
corporate leaders of AT&T, Time Warner, General Motors, EchoStar, Liberty
Media, Marriott International, Hilton, On Command, LodgeNet Entertainment
or the News Corporation -- all companies that have a big financial stake in
adult films and that are held by millions of shareholders -- are willing to
speak publicly about the sex side of their businesses. "How can we?" said
an official at AT&T. "It's the crazy aunt in the attic. Everyone knows
she's there, but you can't say anything about it."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Timothy Egan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/technology/23PORN.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION ACT COMMISSION
Assistant Secretary Rohde welcomes the final report of the Child Online
Protection Act (COPA) Commission. Assistant Secretary Rohde served as an ex
officio member of the Commission.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2000/copa102000.htm)
ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA LEAD PC SALES SURGE
Issue: Digital Divide
Worldwide, the personal computer industry continued its torrid pace of
growth in the third quarter according to two reports scheduled to be
released today. PC sales growth has slowed in United States, Canada and
Europe, as those markets reach saturation. One of the two reports indicates
that the United States market may have slipped below double-digit
percentage growth for the first time since 1994. Worldwide, International
Data estimated that sales grew 18.3 percent from the comparable period last
year, while Gartner reported 15.2 percent growth.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C10), AUTHOR: Chris Gaither]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/technology/23DATA.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
PEOPLE PC FINDS NICHE IN CORPORATE SALES
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Laurie Flynn]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/technology/23PEOP.html)
(requires registration)
FACED WITH PRIVACY QUESTION, SHOULD YOU OPT IN OR OPT OUT?
Issue: Privacy
When your personal privacy is at stake online, would you prefer to be left
alone except when you grant permission? Or are you comfortable having your
movements tracked unless you specifically object? The debate about Internet
privacy comes down to two very different approaches. In privacy jargon, the
first is known as "opt in." Marketers agree not to collect or use personal
data unless you affirm that you want to participate in their programs. "Opt
out" takes the opposite tack, assuming you want to participate unless the
site hears otherwise. So far, the Net is primarily an opt-out world. When
the Federal Trade Commission examined popular Web sites earlier this year,
it found 75% had opt-out policies. Lately privacy has become such a hot
button issue that legislators are floating proposals that would regulate how
Web sites gather personal data. Should consumers be worried? So far, much of
the privacy firestorm has centered on tracking data from cookies, which
reveal information about which Web pages a consumer visits. But with the
growth of e-commerce, information about purchasing behavior is potentially
more valuable. The real privacy challenges are yet to come. Personal video
recorders like ReplayTV and TiVo and the boom in online music raise the
possibility that marketers will monitor what we watch and listen to.
Continued interest in so-called dynamic pricing suggests that an
individual's penchant for buying Madonna CDs might tempt a Web merchant to
"customize" the price on her next release by an extra buck or two. And
wireless Web services will eventually be able to pinpoint your location in
the real world as well as the virtual one.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Tom Weber]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB972257070604027502.htm)
(Requires subscription)
DIGITAL TIMES, PRIVATE LIVES ARE BREAKING UP PARTY LINES
Issue: Telephony
Today, when it not uncommon for homes to have multiple phone lines, it's
hard to imagine multiple homes sharing the same line. But 70 years ago, most
people had party lines. In the Bell System, 36% of residential customers
were on two-party lines, and 27% were on four-party lines. Now, no telephone
company offers new party-line service, and existing party lines are
gradually being converted to single party lines. It is estimated that there
are only about 5,000 partly lines left, out of 167 million access lines in
America. Most party lines can't handle digital signals and don't allow users
to have services such as caller identification, speed dialing and call
waiting.
[SOURCE: USAToday (19A), AUTHOR: Rick Hampson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001023/2772046s.htm)
CORPORATE RETRENCHMENT
CORPORATIONS PUSH FOR TAX BREAKS UNDER GUISE OF EASING DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
If you thought closing the "digital divide" is supposed to help poorer
people and those in rural areas hop on the Internet, think again. As
Congress wraps up spending bills and prepares to leave town, billions of
dollars in tax breaks for big corporations pitching to help bridge the
digital divide are under serious consideration. Yet many of the bills that
lobbyists are promoting as a way to solve the digital divide aren't focused
exclusively on have-nots. One proposed measure would repeal the 3% federal
excise tax on phone bills. That break, long sought by phone companies, would
cost the government's coffers about $55 billion over 10 years. One
digital divide proposal would grant computer makers a broader tax break for
donating used machines to schools and libraries. But critics say those
machines might be of more use by giving them to needy adults instead. Most
recently, digital divide arguments have been used to lobby for a measure
that would grant big new tax credits to telecommunications companies that
build high-speed connections for Internet access, especially in the rural
areas, whether it's upscale or not. Fiber-optic leader Corning is pushing
the measure, which likely would benefit from increased sales. Privately,
even a few boosters of the broadband credit admit to piggybacking on a
popular idea. Consumer groups say neither credit
would be effective at addressing the real digital divide. The Clinton
administration is raising questions, too. A few analysts say it is even
possible that the bill could encourage a new sort of digital divide. "Down
the line we see a broadband divide" between well-to-do areas on one hand
and urban poor and rural areas on the other, says Kevin Taglang, senior
telecommunications policy analyst for the Benton Foundation.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: John D. Mckinnon]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB972255312373686698.htm)
(Requires subscription)
A WOUNDED GIANT, AT&T TO CONSIDER A SPLIT INTO 4 PARTS
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
The board of AT&T is expected to consider today a plan to split the company
into four parts: wireless, cable, long distance and a core division of
global networking (data communications and business services). It would be
the company's second voluntary revamping since the federal court-ordered
breakup of the Bell system in 1984. In 1996, AT&T spun off its
communications equipment business as Lucent Technologies and shed the
troubled NCR computer unit.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/business/23DEAL.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
AT&T BOARD TO CONSIDER SPINOFF PLAN
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A04), AUTHOR: Jackie Spinner]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59421-2000Oct23.html)
AT&T CONSIDERS FOUR-WAY BREAKUP TO HELP BOOST PROFIT AND SHARE VALUE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Solomon & Deogun]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB972249595290559969.htm)
(Requires subscription)
TIME, AOL AND EARLY ILLUSIONS
Issue: Mergers
The long engagement is finally reaching wedding day, so maybe it is time to
ask, Are these two really meant for each other? Maybe Time Warner came tame
that fast lane America Online; maybe AOL can add some zest to TW. One thing
we've learned since this marriage was announced in January -- the Internet
may not be too great a bet. AOL had been making big bucks off of start up
.com companies. The venture capital that funding those companies -- and
their ad campaigns -- has dried up however. And regulators may work against
the plan to bring TW's broadband cable pipes and AOL's Internet content
under one roof. There's also the dowry: this was a stock-based deal and
AOL's stock has dropped from $110.62 to just $69.86/share. The deal is
awaiting approval from the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal
Communications Commission. Approval is expected by the end of the year.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Saul Hansel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/technology/23AOL.html)
(requires registration)
See Also
FIRM DEVELOPS METHOD TO TRACK AOL'S 'CLICKABLE' ADVERTISEMENTS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Jennifer Rewick]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB972255465558498009.htm)
(Requires subscription)
WEB-FIRM LAYOFFS INCREASE STEADILY AND MAY ACCELERATE
Issue: Jobs
Layoffs at Internet companies have been increasing steadily since May and
appear likely to accelerate over the next three months, according to a
report to be released Monday by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas Inc. John A. Challenger said he noticed the first trickle of
layoffs at dot-com firms in December, when he recorded 301 layoffs. But he
said the rate that dot-com firms were cutting jobs intensified in May, when
investors started putting greater pressure on the dot-com firms to generate
revenue and turn a profit. He also predicted that many Web firms that are
selling services and products directly to consumers will be struggling
through this year's holiday season and heading to failure, as they try to
hit critical mass. He noted that it will take a much longer time than the
dot-com firms expected to convince consumers to change their purchasing
habits and buy everything online. "I think it's very likely that November,
December and January are going to be a heavy period and may very well
define the peak period of layoffs for the dot-coms." Challenger Gray said
it bases its study on notices of layoffs and corporate filings such as 10-Q
documents. It said it also calls the companies to verify the layoffs. [You
mean that "Get Ted" commercial is really about axing poor Ted?]
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Khanh T.L. Tran]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB972249682463306053.htm)
(Requires subscription)
E-COMMERCE: PUBLIC BROADCASTING ON SALE
Issue: E-Commerce
Public radio and television stations are starting to establish strong
e-commerce presence on the Internet. As they do, they are looking not only
to generate revenue, but to remain relevant to their audiences in an age
when viewers and listeners have increasing media choices. As public
broadcasters increasing look to generate revenues on the Web, there is some
tension between the networks and their member stations, which also want to
drive viewers to the own Web sites and online stores. "It's one of these
affiliate-versus-national struggles that goes on all the time," said Steve
Behrens, editor of Current magazine, which covers the public broadcasting
industry. "Revenue is part of what's driving this. But more important, they
want the direct relationship with viewers that PBS is getting."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/technology/23ECOM.html)
(requires registration)
OWNERSHIP
PATENTS: DISPROVING IDEA OWNERSHIP
Issue: Intellectual Property
BountyQuest.com is a Web site where people and companies can offer rewards
for information that leads to the de-bunking of patents. One of the first
bounties posted came from Tim O'Reilly, a publisher of software books and
online information. And here's the rub: He is offering a $10,000 reward to
anyone with proof that Amazon's one-click patent should be revoked. In the
letter, Mr. O'Reilly called the Amazon patent "one more example of an
`intellectual property' milieu gone mad," and said it was "a land grab, an
attempt to hoodwink a patent system that has not gotten up to speed on the
state of the art in computer science." "I didn't talk to [Amazon founder
Jeff Bezos] directly about it," Mr. O'Reilly said last Wednesday, the day
the Web site went into operation. "But others at BountyQuest did, and Jeff
is very supportive. He's trying to be forthright because he believes he has
a good patent. And if he doesn't, then he'll acknowledge that, too. I
commend him for that approach." The way the BountyQuest system works is
that a company or individual, remaining anonymous to the public, must pay
BountyQuest $2,500 to post a bounty on the site. It is up to the person or
organization that solicits the patent challenges to evaluate the submitted
material and determine its validity. BountyQuest, which is to receive a 40
percent commission on bounties paid, will monitor the process and will be
liable to pay the bounty if the posting group cannot or will not pay it to
a deserving party.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C8), AUTHOR: Sabra Chartrand]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/technology/23PATE.html)
(requires registration)
MEDIA TITAN SURVEYS HIS EMPIRE AT FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR
Issue: Ownership
Thomas Middelhoff's tour of the Frankfurt Book Fair led him to joke, "You
know, it really is my fair. It is the Bertelsmann Book Fair." The Frankfurt
Book Fair is a relic of the days before FedEx, faxes and email; it is the
heart of a marketplace for trading rights to translate books and sell them
around the world. Germany's Bertelsmann AG is the biggest player in book
publishing these days: Long the largest publisher in Germany, with about 10
percent of the book market, Bertelsmann two years ago became the largest in
the world by acquiring Random House, gaining about 15 percent of the United
States trade book market. In April, its myriad European and Latin American
publishing units will be integrated into a single company, folded in under
the Random House name. And publishing is just one of Bertelsmann's angles
on the book business. Bertelsmann sells to publishers through its printing,
technology and distribution divisions. And Bertelsmann is its own
publishers' best customer, too, through its book clubs and online stores.
Learn more about the state of book publishing and Bertelsmann at the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C19), AUTHOR: David Kirkpatrick]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/business/23BOOK.html)
(requires registration)
SPECTRUM
PLAN FOR THIRD GENERATION WIRELESS SYSTEMS
Issue: Wireless
From Media Advisory: In accordance with the President Clinton's October 13
Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and agencies on third
generation wireless systems, Secretary of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta today
released a plan to select spectrum for third generation wireless systems
and to lead a government-industry outreach effort. The plan, developed by
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in
cooperation with the Department of Defense and the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), and other Federal agencies is the first step in the
process that will allow the FCC to identify spectrum for third generation
wireless systems. The plan calls for the identification of spectrum by the
FCC in coordination with NTIA by July 2001.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/threeg/3g_plan14.htm)
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2000/3g102000.htm)
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