Corporate Retrenchment
WSJ: US West's Plan to Split Up Reflects Failure in Strategy
NYT: Two Regional Bells Take Different Paths To Growth
WP: Big Mergers Get Bigger In The '90s
Television
WSJ: As the Focus Shifts, the Big Picture Brightens at MSNBC
NYT: Satellite Broadcasters Face Higher Programming Fees
FCC: Broadcasting and the First Amendment
Online Services
WP: AOL to Raise the Curtain On Entertainment Asylum
Journalism/Advertising
WP: N.Y. Times Online Ads: Custom Service
WP: The News Business
Global Information Infrastructure
FCC: From Buenos Aires to Geneva and Beyond
NTIA: Networks for People
Electronic Commerce
WP: Online Trading Delayed
Lifestyles!
WP: With E-Mail, Absence Makes Families Fonder
TelecomAM: BellSouth Targets Young Telecom Consumers With
'Lifestyle-Based' Services
** Corporate Retrenchment **
Title: US West's Plan to Split Up Reflects Failure in Strategy
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B4)
Author: Leslie Cauley
Issue: Convergence
Description: Analysts and industry executives say the decision to split US
West into two companies is an admission that the strategy to provide
in-region phone service and out-of-region cable service has not worked. The
split will leave US West Communications Group a stripped-down phone company
much as it was before its push into cable in 1993. It may also make the
phone company -- which serves 14 western states -- a prime target for a
takeover bid. [Yeah, like there's a chance of that in the competitive,
post-Telecom Act telecommunications market]. The Denver-based Bell has
already talked to Ameritech and SBC Communications.
Title: Two Regional Bells Take Different Paths To Growth
Source: New York Times (D12)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/phones-marketplace.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Telecommunications
Description: U.S. West announced yesterday a plan to split into two separate
telephone and cable television companies by the end of next year. After
five years of trying to integrate its telephone and cable television
services, U.S. West conceded that it had failed. Also yesterday, the
Ameritech Corporation announced that it will acquire control of Tele
Danmark, Denmark's national telephone company, for $3.2 billion in cash.
This purchase is made in a continuation of Ameritech's so-far successful
expansion into the overseas market. In response to these Bell deals, Eric
Strumingher, an analyst for Paine Webber said, "All carriers are certainly
in an accelerated phase of evaluating business opportunities, evaluating
disposition of assets and lining up the assets that will allow them to grow
earnings above the market rate."
Title: Big Mergers Get Bigger In The '90s
Source: Washington Post (A1, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/
Author: Tim Smart
Issue: Mergers
Description: The end-of-the-century boom in mergers and acquisitions like
the $30 billion battle for Washington's MCI Corp. is far broader and deeper
than the one that marked the heyday of the '80s. In the past 2 weeks, huge
acquisitions have been announced like the Home Shopping Network's $4.1
billion purchase of Universal Studios Inc.'s cable and TV operations. The
reasons behind "the rush" to combine are many but primarily reflect the
deregulation of large industries with too many players and the availability
of relatively inexpensive capital in the form of corporate stock trading at
high values and modest interest rates.
** Television **
Title: As the Focus Shifts, the Big Picture Brightens at MSNBC
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B1)
Author: Kyle Pope
Issue: Cable Content
Description: MSNBC is still losing money, but analysts believe it is
becoming a valuable asset for partners General Electric/NBC and Microsoft.
The cable news network enjoyed increased ratings -- as did other news
outlets -- when viewers tuned in for info on Princess Diana, but it has done
a better job of retaining those viewers than its counterparts. The network
has also changed focus -- shows on computers and technology have been
canceled or scaled back -- replaced with celebrity features and culture
stories. Average prime-time ratings for the Big Three of cable news: Fox
News 24,000, MSNBC 99,000, and CNN 766,000.
Title: Satellite Broadcasters Face Higher Programming Fees
Source: New York Times (D10)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/bird.html
Author: Bloomburg News
Issue: Television
Description: Under a ruling issued by the United States Copyright Office
yesterday, the rates that satellite broadcast companies pay to transmit
television signals will quadruple starting January 1. The rate hike will
benefit owners of tv programming at the expense of direct broadcast
satellite (D.B.S.) companies. This decision puts D.B.S. companies at a
disadvantage because cable rivals pay lower rates. "The decision defies
common sense," said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for W.J. (Billy) Tauzin (R-LA)
who is chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications. "It will
force consumers to pay dramatically higher rates for satellite services, and
at the same time slow down competition in the marketplace." The Satellite
Broadcasting Communications Association will ask the U.S. Copyright Office
to delay the implementation of their decision while it challenges the ruling
in court.
Title: Broadcasting and the First Amendment
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov
Author: James Quello
Issue: Broadcasting/First Amendment
Description: "Dean of Communications, Jim Spaniolo, suggested that you might
be interested in my viewpoint on that contentious and pervasive subject,
'Broadcasting and the First Amendment.' My principal views were articulated
in a speech titled, 'The Reeding of the First Amendment,' which received
considerable press coverage. The speech presented opposition arguments to
Chairman Reed Hundt's pro-regulatory viewpoints, artfully expounded in
several of his well-structured speeches. Areas of contention that need
clarification include: Should broadcast spectrum be auctioned? Is allocating
digital spectrum to broadcasting really 'the biggest give-away in history?'
Should the allocation of digital spectrum to broadcasters be accompanied by
additional quantifiable public interest obligations?"
** Online Services **
Title: AOL to Raise the Curtain On Entertainment Asylum
Source: Washington Business (WashTech, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/0041-102797-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet: Sales and Services
Description: AOL plans to unveil a splashy online site about the
entertainment industry that will be available on AOL and the World Wide Web.
"Entertainment Asylum" will feature reviews about movies, TV shows, music,
chat rooms, and online games. The site represents AOL's effort to tap into a
much larger electronic community. Ted Leonsis, the president of the AOL
Studios division, said, "This is an opportunity for AOL to truly
diversify...now we can go for 100% of the market."
** Journalism/Advertising
Title: N.Y. Times Online Ads: Custom Service
Source: Washington Post (C1) (10/27/97)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Howard Kurtz
Issue: Journalism/Advertising
Description: The New York Times is involved in an extraordinary marketing
effort with corporate America. Every time a reader accesses the NYTimes
Internet site, for a fee, advertisers can find out your income, age, Zip
code, credit card habits and even what kind of computer you use. These
disclosures allow advertisers to target their message to a more specific
demographic base. The NYTimes can provide marketers with this information
because when subscribers sign up for the paper's Web site they are required
to register and complete a questionnaire. Martin Nisenholtz, president of
New York Times Electronic Media, calls this "the largest and most
comprehensive" such effort on the Web. He dismisses privacy concerns by
saying, "We don't know who you are. We don't collect your name or telephone
number. We do collect your email address, but we don't sell that.
Occasionally we send out promotional New York Times information messages."
This new technology will possibly replace the pollsters and focus groups
that newspapers use today to determine who is reading what. With the
ability to find out exactly what the majority is reading, there is concern
that low-rating subjects might be altogether banished.
Title: The News Business
Source: Washington Post (A25, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/0341-102797-idx.html
Author: Meg Greenfield
Issue: Journalism
Description: There is a feeling among many journalists of melancholy over
what has happened to onetime serious news organizations that have seemed to
have abandoned coverage of serious news for trivia, sensationalism, and
embarrassing sexual revelations. Greenfield contends that real interesting
news is as available and accessible as it ever was, but we're often looking
in the wrong place. The evidence of public lack of interest really lies in
how journalists present a certain issue. If it's made relatable to the
audience at large, without underestimating them, then there would be more
interest in these issues. Another point made was the fact that, despite the
denials, there's a tendency among the media to think of the public as not
quite ready for or up to the seriousness of the issues themselves, and thus
are in need of melodramatic intros to capture their attention.
** Global Information Infrastructure **
Title: From Buenos Aires to Geneva and Beyond
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Hundt/spreh759.html
summary at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1997/nrmc7072.html
Author: Reed Hundt
Issue: Global Information Infrastructure
Description: FCC Chairman Reed Hundt Describes how Information Revolution is
Fueling Creation of the Global Economy. (FCC Summary) In an address
yesterday to the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia, FCC Chairman Reed
Hundt predicted that "the ability of countries, businesses, and individuals
to compete in this new global economy will be shaped by telecommunications
policy." Observing that trade in services is growing on a worldwide basis at
twice the rate of trade in goods, Hundt said that "information revolution is
a catalyst of expansion in the services sector, and in other sectors of the
economy from agriculture to manufacturing." He added that "of the 12 million
jobs created since President Clinton took office, 8 million have been in the
information sector, which now comprises one-seventh of the U.S. economy."
Title: Networks for People
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/networks102797.htm
Issue: TIIAP
Description: Commerce Department to release report and hold conference on
October 28. The conference, called "Networks for People," will be held in
the Commerce Department's auditorium from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
October 28, with demonstrations throughout the day in the main lobby.
** Electronic Commerce **
Title: Online Trading Delayed
Source: Washington Post (A6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/28/0751-102897-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: Compounding the stock market dive, computer users reported
severe delays connecting to finance-related Internet sites, especially
providers of electronic trading. Yesterday was on-line trading's big test.
E*Trade of Palo Alto, Calif., reported that it handled almost double its
average daily volume of 24,000 trades. Despite complaints of many
investors, a spokeswoman for E*Trade said, "Our system was working the way
it should have...it could have been Internet traffic in general." Analysts
say the online trading is popular because of the convenience and lower
commissions. According to Forrester Research, Inc., more than 1.5 million
investors have online trading accounts.
** Lifestyles! **
Title: With E-Mail, Absence Makes Families Fonder
Source: Washington Post (A1, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/1441-102797
Author: Jacqueline L. Salmon
Issue: Education Technology
Description: Parents who send a son or daughter off to college know about
the availability of e-mail on campus. What they don't expect is that their
children will become frequent e-mail correspondents. E-mail has become a
different medium, a tool for spontaneous, candid, 24-hour-a-day exchanges
between parent and child that has transformed the college experience for
both of them. More than 7 million of the nation's 9 million students use
e-mail regularly, according to IDC/Link, a N.Y.-based research firm.
Title: BellSouth Targets Young Telecom Consumers With
'Lifestyle-Based' Services
Source: Telecom AM http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Lifestyles!
Description: BellSouth will introduced its new Teen Line Pack (no, not a new
addition to the teenage football league) in mid-November. The pack is
designed to provide families with a separate phone line for their teenagers
that are obsessed with music, fashion and food. The Teen Line Pack is the
first offering in BellSouth's Home Series Line, "a portfolio of lifestyle
packages designed to change the way people think about how they shop for
telecommunications services," said a company spokesperson.
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