POLITICAL DISCOURSE
Vote Trading Via the Net A Twist For Democracy (NYT)
Bush Has Advertised More in California Than
in Swing States (NYT)
Radio Hosts Say Bush and Gore Pale Next to Clinton
as a Talk Show Topic (NYT)
Could Net Polling Hasten Demise Of Phone Surveys? (USA)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
White House Gets A Bill To Tighten Official Secrecy (NYT)
INTERNET
Maddock, N.D., Stays Alive by Going Against the Grain (SJM)
With Dissidents On Board, Net Could See Revolution (USA)
Government Shouldn't Legislate Net Filters (SJM)
CORPORATE RETRENCHMENT
Telecommunications Giants Think Smaller (NYT)
Rising Woes Cast Doubt on Globalstar Survival (NYT)
Once Touted as the Future, Telecommuting Loses Favor (WSJ)
JOURNALISM
Chicago News Experiment Is Calling It Quits (NYT)
USA Today Widens Its Lead In Daily Circulation Figures (NYT)
Magazine Group Agrees to Buy About.com (NYT)
INFRASTRUCTURE
Fiber Optic Agreement in Japan (NYT)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
VOTE TRADING VIA THE NET A TWIST FOR DEMOCRACY
Issue: Political Discourse
"It's not going to have a big effect on the election, but it's the first
time I've seen voters talk to each other in a sophisticated way without
having to go through the media or parties," said Michael B. Cornfield, an
associate professor of politics at George Washington University.
"This is voters behaving like legislators: `I'll do this for you, and you
do this for me, and we both get what we want,' " Professor Cornfield said.
"Trading is something that elites do, not the masses." Prof Cornfield is
speaking of a number of Web sites that are promoting the notions that the
supporters of VP Al Gore and Ralph Nader barter votes. See
www.votexchange2000.com, www.voteexchange.com, and www.voteswap2000.com.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A20), AUTHOR: Daniel Wakin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/politics/31SWAP.html)
(requires registration)
BUSH HAS ADVERTISED MORE IN CALIFORNIA THAN IN SWING STATES
Issue: Political Discourse
In the week that ended October 24, Texas Gov George Bush and the Republican
Party spent $1.8 million on television advertising in California -- more
than in any of the "swing states." Since June 1, Bush and Republican Party
have spent $5.5 million on ads in the most populous state (mostly in
southern CA), but there's little evidence the spending has helped Bush in
the polls. During the same period, VP Gore put more of his resources in
Florida, but was outspent there -- $1.5 million to $1 million. Since June
1, Mr. Bush and the Republicans spent $65 million on television, and Mr.
Gore, the Democrats and outside groups spent $61.6 million.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A23), AUTHOR: Peter Marks]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/politics/31ADS.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
A REPORT CARD ON ATTACK POLITICS
[SOURCE: New York Times (A30), AUTHOR: NYT Editorial Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/opinion/31TUE1.html)
(requires registration)
WITH WEEK LEFT, LAZIO AND CLINTON USE FLURRY OF ADS AND STUMPING TO COURT
UPSTATE
[SOURCE: New York Times (A29), AUTHOR: Archibold & Murphy]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/politics/31UPST.html)
(requires registration)
RADIO HOSTS SAY BUSH AND GORE PALE NEXT TO CLINTON AS A TALK SHOW TOPIC
Issue: Political Discourse
Read how talk radio hosts think their jobs might change with the 2000
election. From Limbaugh to Mark & Ed, there might be some people who are a
little disappointed to see President Clinton go -- if only because he made
their jobs so easy.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A21), AUTHOR: Francis Clines]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/politics/31COUN.html)
(requires registration)
COULD NET POLLING HASTEN DEMISE OF PHONE SURVEYS?
Issue: Internet/Political Discourse
Polling, like all business, can have a tendency to get a little set in
its ways, ignoring important changes until it is too late. The most obvious
challenge facing public opinion polling is the growing resistance to
telephone interviewing. As a result, some pollsters have turned to the
Internet. Two main Internet polling contenders have different ways of
dealing with the major problem of polling by Internet, which is that too
many homes still don't use or have access to the Internet. Harris
Interactive, which is headed by former USA TODAY pollster Gordon Black,
represents the non-Internet users by giving extra weight to those Internet
users who are most like them. Another Internet pollster, Knowledge Networks,
starts with a large sample of the population and then provides Internet
access to those who don't already have it. Soon we will know which, if any,
of these pre-election polls has been doing it right.
[SOURCE: USAToday (17A), AUTHOR: Philip Meyer]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001031/2794091s.htm)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
WHITE HOUSE GETS A BILL TO TIGHTEN OFFICIAL SECRECY
Issue: Access to Gov Info
Administration officials are split on whether President should sign or veto
the Intelligence Authorization Act which would greatly tighten the lid of
secrecy on government information. The bill includes "antileak" provisions
that would subject government officials convicted of disclosing any
classified info to three years in prison. The Central Intelligence Agency
said it has lost agents and sophisticated surveillance methods because of
newspaper articles based on leaks of classified information. The CIA asked
for this legislation which was drafted with help from the Justice
Department. "It's potentially disastrous for a government spokesman,"
Kenneth H. Bacon, assistant secretary of defense for public information,
said today. "It's disastrous for journalists. It's disastrous for any
official who deals with the press in national security, whether at State,
the N.S.C. or the Pentagon."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Raymond Bonner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/politics/31INTE.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET
MADDOCK, N.D., STAYS ALIVE BY GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN
Issue: Digital Divide
This story is the last in a series in which the San Jose Mercury examines
issues related to Wiring the Rural West. This article chronicles the efforts
of a small town in North Dakota, Maddock, to join in technology revolution
that had reshaped much of the country's economy over the last few years. The
story focuses on the creation of a technology center to put all of Maddock's
economic development efforts under one roof.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: David Plotnikoff]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/special/ruralwest/docs/maddock.ht
m)
WITH DISSIDENTS ON BOARD, NET COULD SEE REVOLUTION
Issue: Internet
ICANN, the worldwide Internet governing body, has held its first elections
for at-large board members, which were open to the entire online community.
Among the 9 newly elected members is a "notorious" 29-year-old German
hacker, who says he'll fight for freedom from U.S. control of the Net and a
more open and democratic organization. Control of ICANN has been an
important issue for many. There are two main camps when it comes to Internet
governance. One wants to ensure commercial interests are considered in Net
administration, while the other is fighting to ensure that the needs of
individual users are not superseded by corporate interests. "ICANN is a
government. It's creating laws," says networking engineer Karl Auerbach, who
was elected to represent North America for ICANN. "Some of those potentially
damage the ability of companies to innovate on the Net. If we dampen that,
we're cutting down the goose that laid our economic golden egg."
[SOURCE: USAToday (3D), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001031/2794148s.htm)
GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T LEGISLATE NET FILTERS
Issue: EdTech/Internet
[Editorial] Congress is set to pass legislation that would require schools
and libraries to install porn filters as a condition of receiving federal
"e-rate" funds. According to Magid, filters are still far from perfect and
shouldn't be a required to receive federal funds. "Every filtering program
I've tested has both over-blocked (banned sites that should have been
allowed) and under-blocked (failed to block sites that many would agree to
be inappropriate for kids)." The Commission on Online Child Protection,
appointed by Congress to look into ways to protect children online,
recommended voluntary -- not mandatory -- use of filters, arguing
"government should encourage the use of technology in efforts to make
children's experience of the Internet safe and useful." Magid writes that
this type of policy is best left "in the hands of communities, parents and
educators."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Larry Magid]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/front/docs/lm102900.htm)
CORPORATE RETRENCHMENT
TELECOMMUNICATIONS GIANTS THINK SMALLER
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Because of the high costs of third-generation wireless licenses in Europe,
the cost of being in the telecommunications business is rising and has
caused a permanent 35% reduction in the market value of companies. That has
telecommunications giants like British Telecom thinking smaller instead of
bigger -- and looking for ways to reduce debt. See what investors are
thinking at the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C14), AUTHOR: Suzanne Kapner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/technology/31TELE.html)
(requires registration)
RISING WOES CAST DOUBT ON GLOBALSTAR SURVIVAL
Issue: Satellite
Investors are fleeing Globalstar, the satellite phone service which may be
headed to bankruptcy court like Iridium and ICO Global Communications.
"Globalstar needs 1.6 million customers just to cover its costs and service
its debt," said Marc Nabi, a telecommunications and satellite analyst with
Merrill Lynch who advised shareholders yesterday that the company's stock
was worthless. In the three months ending Sept. 30, Globalstar added just
under 10,000 subscribers to reach a total of 21,300.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Barnaby Feder]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/technology/31BIRD.html)
(requires registration)
ONCE TOUTED AS THE FUTURE, TELECOMMUTING LOSES FAVOR
Issue: Jobs
While many businesses have long promoted the work-from-home option to reduce
commutes and increase flexibly for employees, there is growing resistance
among employers to hire telecommuters. Many bosses believe telecommuting
causes resentment among office-bound colleagues and weakens corporate
loyalty, says Tom Ferrara, president and chief executive of
CareerEngine.com. Employers seem to fear that telecommuters are missing out
on important, and often spontaneous, interactions with co-workers. "We need
people working side by side, in the office, sharing ideas," says Barbara
Beasley, executive vice president of people at Fort Point Partners.
Inadequate broadband, or high-speed, connections for home offices can also
hamper employees' ability to work from home.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (), AUTHOR: Kemba J. Dunham]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB972952377125172714.htm)
(requires subscription)
JOURNALISM
CHICAGO NEWS EXPERIMENT IS CALLING IT QUITS
Issue: Journalism/Television
Chicago's CBS station, WBBM-TV, has ended its experiment with a no-frills,
late news program without all the flash and sensationalism that has
generally given the genre a bad name. During the July sweeps, the most
recent period for which exhaustive rating measurements were available, the
program's overall audience was about 20 percent smaller than that of the
program it replaced. It lost considerable ground in its audience between
the ages of 25 and 54, an important group for advertisers. Many fear that
the experiment's failure could be taken as reaffirmation that a serious
format cannot succeed -- that people need to be drawn in through celebrity
gossip and miracle diets introduced by bubbly anchormen and anchorwomen.
"We're still trying to provide quality, hard-hitting journalism," said the
station's general manager. "We just have to adjust as we go along, to make
sure that the style and tone are in line with what people find pleasing
today." Carl Gottlieb, deputy director of the Project for Excellence in
Journalism, a study group in Washington, said he did not think that the
program's failure should mean it should not be tried again. He blamed its
demise on its refusal to make any effort to entice viewers. "I think that
the failing was that they didn't take the important news and make it
palatable to the viewer," he said.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/national/31NEWS.html)
(requires registration)
USA TODAY WIDENS ITS LEAD IN DAILY CIRCULATION FIGURES
Issue: Newspapers
The Audit Bureau of Circulations' latest numbers were released yesterday.
Overall, the Newspaper Association of America reported a 0.4% drop in
overall circulation and a 0.7% drop in Sunday circulation. But circulation
figures were good for USAToday (+1.1%), the Wall Street Journal (+0.6%) and
the New York Times (+1%).
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
(requires registration)
MAGAZINE GROUP AGREES TO BUY ABOUT.COM
Issue: Ownership
Primedia, a magazine conglomerate, agreed yesterday to buy About.com for
$690 million in stock. Primedia's titles include New York magazine and
Seventeen, but it has 100 enthusiast magazines, like Cats and Hot Bike, and
90 industrial trade publications, like Fire Chief and Coal Age. About.com is
a Web guide created by independent, mostly part-time guides. About comprises
more than 700 Web sites on topics from astrology to woodworking. It now
reaches 60 million people a month, the seventh-largest audience on the Web.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/technology/31MAG.html)
(requires registration)
INFRASTRUCTURE
FIBER OPTIC AGREEMENT IN JAPAN
Issue: Infrastructure
Cable and Wireless P.L.C. outlined plans to build a nationwide fiber optic
network in Japan, as well as provide high- speed Internet and data services
to corporate clients. Cable and Wireless, based in Britain, will spend $1.4
billion to connect 80 cities in all 47 prefectures in Japan. In recent
years, foreign service providers have become more interested in Japan, the
second-largest market for telecommunication services. Last October, MCI
Worldcom announced plans for an advanced fiber optic network in Tokyo.
Japan's market for business Internet Protocol and data services is 0
Cable and Wireless said that Japan's market for business Internet Protocol
and data services was forecast to grow by at least 20 percent annually to
$28 billion dollars in five years.
[SOURCE: New York Times (W1)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/31/technology/31CABL.html)
(requires registration)
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