POLITICAL DISCOURSE/JOURNALISM
TV Talk Shows See Hope in the Never-Ending 2000 Election (NYT)
Tech CEOs Vote for Web-Based Elections, but Others Wary (USA)
ABC Fires Radio Host Matt Drudge (WP)
TELEPHONE REGULATION
State Registry Lets New Yorkers Block Telemarketing Calls (NYT)
Service Quality Reporting Requirements for Local
Telephone Companies (FCC)
Japanese Agree to Create A Regulator for Telecoms (WSJ)
JOBS
Dot-Com Workers Boomerang Back to Bricks (USA)
MERGERS
Dissecting the Deal (NYT)
EMI Is in Talks With Bertelsmann About Combining
Music Interests (WSJ)
Federal Court Invalidates Florida Law Requiring AT&T to
Open Cable Lines (WSJ)
SPECTRUM
Radio Crunch Threatens Air Travel (WP)
Secondary Markets in Radio Spectrum (FCC)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
MediaDefender Says Music Industry Can Beat Napster at
Its Own Game (WSJ)
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (NTIA)
RELIGION
Web Pastor Spreads God's Word on the Net (USA)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
TV TALK SHOWS SEE HOPE IN THE NEVER-ENDING 2000 ELECTION
Issue: Political Discourse
"This could go on forever," says one TV political talk show host and all of
them are probably secretly hoping that the fight to determine who won
election 2000 does go on and on because in the nights since the elections,
their rating have almost doubled. Many in this field had been in a panic,
the most polarizing political figure in recent political history was about
to exit the stage as a less stirring figure would become president. Now,
the controversy over the election could last the next four years, some
think. Read what the players are thinking at the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/13/business/13MEDI.html)
(requires registration)
TECH CEOS VOTE FOR WEB-BASED ELECTIONS, BUT OTHERS WARY
Issue: Political Discourse
A growing number of CEOs of technology companies say it's time to throw out
the 1890s system of mechanical-lever machines and punch cards in favor of
Internet voting. Raj Sharma, CEO of HydraWeb Technologies, an Internet
traffic company, says the controversy in Florida over lost ballots and
inadvertent voting for the wrong candidate can be alleviated with Web-based
voting. "By the time of our next presidential election, it will be in
place," he says. Not likely, says Jim Cannavino, CEO of computer security
firm CyberSafe. A secure Internet voting system could be ready in eight
years, possibly four, but he predicts it won't happen until 2050. It will
take government leaders that long to understand the system well enough to
approve it. And it will be almost as long before Americans no longer fear
that hackers could throw an election. "I don't want to have a president
elected by the guys who spray-paint buses," Cannavino says. But other CEOs
say that almost all issues can be resolved with a combination of passwords
and $1 smart cards that use encryption to limit use to one person. The
biggest obstacle, CEOs agree, will be politics rather than technology. Roy
McDonald, CEO of software company Connectix and a Democrat, says he's for
Internet voting except that it will almost certainly give more close
elections to Republicans. Once votes can be placed from virtually any PC,
more wealthy office workers will have the opportunity to vote while surfing
the Web.
[Source: USA Today (12B), Author: Del Jones]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001113/2831995s.htm)
ABC FIRES RADIO HOST MATT DRUDGE
Issue: Journalism
Despite his immense popularity, ABC has given the boot to cyber-gossip Matt
Drudge and his syndicated radio show. Drudge's program plays in 135 markets,
including nine of the top 10 markets; is number 1 in New York in its time
slot; has generated modest income ($400,000); and was slotted to move into a
five-day-a-week format. The problem? ABC higher-level execs never wanted
Drudge - and the cyber columnist gave them reason to get rid of him. For
example, Drudge called Don Ohlmeyer, executive producer of ABC's "Monday
Night Football, a liar for allegedly misleading reporters about whether he
had met with Rush Limbaugh as a possible color man for the broadcast. In his
book "Drudge Manifesto," the author includes Disney Chairman Michael Eisner
among "the latest incarnation of vampires" who "have sucked the blood from
the fourth estate, leaving behind infotainment formaldehyde." "I see it as
punishment for daring to report on ABC's activities," Drudge says. "The
whole notion that this is a political payback for my Web reporting is an
explosive accusation, but I'm willing to make it." ABC spokeswoman Julie
Hoover says the decision was made by Broadcast Group President Bob Callahan,
with no involvement by parent company Disney. "Sunday night talk shows are
just not a good business," she says. "We're just not going to be in that
business anymore. . . . It takes up a lot of your time but makes very little
money." Now, without Fox and without ABC, Drudge is back to being a lone
gun: "The air we breathe is free, the airwaves are not," he says.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C01), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7060-2000Nov12.html)
And, FYI:
SHAW, A CNN ORIGINAL, TO LEAVE NETWORK IN FEBRUARY
[SOURCE: New York Times (C20), AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/13/business/13CNN.html)
(requires registration)
TELEPHONE REGULATION
STATE REGISTRY LETS NEW YORKERS BLOCK TELEMARKETING CALLS
Issue: Telephone Regulation
More than 180,000 New Yorkers have put their names on a "do not call" list
in expectation of a law to go into effect April 1. Under the law, every
telemarketer who places calls in New York State will have to buy the list
and could be fined as much as $2,000 for every call made to a person on the
list. "Telemarketing companies and their persistent calls have multiplied
to the point where it seems you can't sit down to a meal without being
interrupted," Gov. George E. Pataki said when he signed the registry bill
into law on Oct. 12. "Even worse, telemarketers often dupe consumers into
buying products they don't want or can't afford." Debra Martinez,
chairwoman and executive director of the Consumer Protection Board, said
the elderly were particularly vulnerable to high-pressure sales tactics.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A27), AUTHOR: Joseph Fried]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/13/nyregion/13CALL.html)
(requires registration)
SERVICE QUALITY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPANIES
Issue: Telephone Regulation
From Press Release: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed
to revamp the service quality information that price cap, or larger, local
phone companies report to the FCC. Currently, these carriers report more
than thirty categories of service quality information annually. The FCC
seeks to accomplish the following three goals: 1) Eliminate Unnecessary
Regulations as Competition Develops, 2) Make Service Quality Information
More Consumer Oriented, 3) Enhance Federal-State Partnership.
In an effort to make the information more useful to consumers and to
eliminate unnecessary rules, the Commission is proposing to streamline
reporting requirements into six core categories of information: 1) Missed
Installations -- A missed installation occurs when service is not provided
when promised to the customer. 2) Installation Intervals -- The length of
time it takes for service to be installed. 3) Trouble Reports -- The number
of times there is a problem with the line. 4) Out-of-Service Troubles -- An
out-of-service trouble means that a consumer cannot make or receive calls.
5) Missed Repair Appointments -- A missed repair commitment occurs when a
customer trouble is not repaired when promised to the customer. 6) Repair
Intervals -- How long it takes to fix service problems.
Common Carrier Staff Contact: Louise Klees-Wallace (202) 418-0800
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/2000/nrcc0056.html)
JAPANESE AGREE TO CREATE A REGULATOR FOR TELECOMS
Issue: International
Japan may soon have a telecom regulating body, an equivalent of the Federal
Communications Commission, in a move that would go a long way toward meeting
the demands of U.S. trade negotiators, said the prime minister's top adviser
on information technology. A telecom regulator would add to the growing
trend in Japan toward a competition policy that could threaten the market
dominance of former telephone monopoly Nippon Telegraph & Telephone. A
government advisory body plans to recommend this week that the NTT holding
company relinquish control over its mobile phone and international units,
according to Japanese media reports. Officials in the U.S. believe such
moves would help U.S. companies compete in Japan. Mr. Idei, who heads the
prime minister's IT Strategy Council and is also the CEO of Sony, said the
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications "agreed to create an FCC function
within the ministry" to ensure fair competition and build a "fire wall"
between that function and other ministry sections with potentially competing
interests. "The next step is an independent FCC," said Mr. Idei, although he
cautioned that no agreement has been reached on a full spinoff of the
regulator.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A23), AUTHOR: Peter Landers]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB974055129323602466.htm)
(requires subscription)
JOBS
DOT-COM WORKERS BOOMERANG BACK TO BRICKS
Issue: Jobs
"Dozens of prominent e-tailers face make-or-break holidays," says Jill
Frankle, director of retail e-commerce at Gomez Advisors. "The running joke
is that B2C stands for back to consulting, and B2B means back to business
school." Since December 1999, 22,267 dot-com employees have lost jobs,
including 5,450 in retail, says outplacement firm Challenger Gray &
Christmas. "The worst of the (Internet) shakeout, especially in the
(business-to-consumer) area, may well arrive with the holiday," CEO John
Challenger says. Another wave of dot-com deaths and consolidation is
expected in January and February because many e-tailers lack sufficient
funding. "These companies are running on fumes," says Fogdog Sports CEO Tim
Harrington. His sporting goods e-tailer was acquired by Global Sports on
Oct. 24. Brockway, 29, a marketing director, missed the "commitment to
consumer marketing" at Levi's Brand. She left Egreetings Network, an
online greeting card company, when it de-emphasized consumer marketing and
shifted to business-to-business. Last month, the start-up laid off 60 of 180
workers, and its CEO resigned. At Levi, Brockway has received 10 r