JOURNALISM
Bush Cousin Made Florida Vote Call For Fox News (WP)
Russians Order Arrest of Media Executive (WP)
INTERNET
Florida Fiasco Might Help Usher In Age Of Net Voting (SJM)
Web Sites Pay To Propel Search Engines (USA)
WIRELESS
At Comdex, Wireless Is center of Hopes (WSJ)
Swiss Auction of Wireless Phone Licenses Collapses (NYT)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
D.C. Wants Settlement From AT&T (WP)
INTERNATIONAL
A Nascent Internet Takes Root in Vietnam (NYT)
PRIVACY
Financial Privacy Rule Takes Effect (EPIC)
JOURNALISM
BUSH COUSIN MADE FLORIDA VOTE CALL FOR FOX NEWS
Issue: Journalism
Making the story a little weirder, the head of Fox News's Election Night
decision desk -- who recommended calling Florida, and the election, for
George W. Bush -- turns out to be Bush's first cousin, John Ellis. As he was
leading the decision desk, Ellis was on the phone giving updates to cousins
Jeb and George W. Fox was the first to call the state for Bush at 2:16 a.m.,
followed by NBC, CBS, CNN and ABC shortly after. The embarrassed networks
retracted the decision less than two hours later. (Or have you heard this
part already?) "Appearance of impropriety?" asks Fox Vice President John
Moody, who approved Ellis's recommendation to call Florida for Bush. "I
don't think there's anything improper about it as long as he doesn't behave
improperly, and I have no evidence he did. . . . John has always conducted
himself in an extremely professional manner." But Moody admits that Ellis's
Election Night conversations with the cousins "would cause concern."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14385-2000Nov13.html)
See Also:
CALLING THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE, AND COUSIN GEORGE W.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A15), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/14/politics/14FOX.html)
(requires registration)
WHAT WILL THEY TALK ABOUT NOW?
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C2), AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15087-2000Nov14.html)
RUSSIANS ORDER ARREST OF MEDIA EXECUTIVE
Issue: International
Russian prosecutors have ordered the arrest of media tycoon Vladimir
Gusinsky on charges of embezzlement. Some think Gusinsky is being prosecuted
because Russian President Vladimir Putin does not like the coverage of his
administration on NTV, Gusinsky's flagship station. Gusinsky is currently in
Western Europe, failed to appear for interrogation and plans to file suits
accusing the prosecutor's office of misconduct. Vasily Kolmogorov, the
Russian deputy prosecutor general, described the case as "fraud in which
large credits were taken [based] on the security of nonexistent assets."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A37), AUTHOR: Sharon LaFraniere ]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11838-2000Nov13.html)
See Also:
RUSSIA TURNS UP HEAT ON MEDIA MOGUL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Jeanne Whalen]
(http://wsj.com/)
(requires subscription)
PUTIN CRITIC PUTS HIS MEDIA UNDER THUMB OF THE KREMLIN
[SOURCE: New York Times (A10), AUTHOR: Sabrina Tavernise]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/14/world/14RUSS.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET
FLORIDA FIASCO MIGHT HELP USHER IN AGE OF NET VOTING
Issue: Internet
With all the recent difficulties that traditional election technologies have
been experiencing, some pundits have begun to talk in earnest about whether
it's time to take a closer look at Internet balloting. However, a
significant number of people still believe online voting is a bad idea, due
to privacy, hacking and online fraud. "There's a fundamental distrust of
government's ability to deliver a complex technology project," says Alfred
Charles, California assistant secretary of state for e-government. His
office earlier this year ran a pilot program that concluded Internet voting
is still several years off. Paul Doscher, Executive Vice President of
Entrust Technologies Inc., a Texas-based provider of digital security
software, hopes the increasing acceptance of online shopping and banking
will help adults get more comfortable with voting the same way. One of the
key factors, he says, is secure digital signature technology. Many netizens
say they're already keen to vote as they shop. An Oct. 31 survey by Los
Angeles-based e-mall BizRate.com showed 72 percent of 7,200 online shoppers
polled would prefer to vote online in the next presidential election. This
month's Florida Fiasco could add impetus to the drive.
[Source: San Jose Mercury News, Author: Peter Delevett]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/pd111400.htm)
WEB SITES PAY TO PROPEL SEARCH ENGINES
Issue: Internet
Several popular search engines have begun taking money in exchange for
considering commercial listings. Called "paid inclusion," the option is
available at LookSmart, Ask Jeeves and Inktomi. Editors or computers at
those sites previously would search and index whichever Web pages seemed
most appropriate. Sites that wanted to be included in a search engine's
listing could send an e-mail asking to be searched, but the wait could be
several months. The new programs let sites that choose to pay a fee go to
the head of the line. Unfortunately, there's no way for users to know which
search results are there because somebody paid for them and which ones would
have popped up anyway as relevant to a search. "These three are only the
vanguard," says Danny Sullivan, who first wrote about the trend in his
online Search Engine Watch newsletter. "Search engines are trying to find
new ways to make money off of search. They've done the banner-ad route, and
they're not selling well. They're thinking, 'How do we stay in business?'"
One problem with this new model is that important sources of information,
such as non-profit groups and governmental sites, can't pay and so may not
be as deeply indexed or as easy to find. It's just like the real world: It's
easy to figure out where to buy a car because there are paid ads everywhere
telling you who sells them. It's harder to find out which cars pollute more
or which sports-utility vehicles tip most often because no one pays to
publicize those reports.
[Source: USA Today (3D), Author: Elizabeth Weise]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001114/2834791s.htm)
WIRELESS
AT COMDEX, WIRELESS IS CENTER OF HOPES
Issue: Wireless
"Wireless will have a huge effect on the future of our industry," said
Michael Dell during his keynote at the Comdex trade show. Some gloom has
crept into the computer industry, but wireless is seen as the way out.
Pocket communicators, wireless Internet connections for laptops,
tablet-styled systems, home networks and Internet-enabled cellphones are all
seen as saviors for the industry; wireless Internet is being called the next
"killer app." See who is saying what at the URL's below.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Clark, Mangalindan & Tam]
(http://wsj.com/)
(requires subscription)
See Also:
'SLUMP? WHAT SLUMP?': UPBEAT NOTES AT COMDEX
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12405-2000Nov13.html)
SWISS AUCTION OF WIRELESS PHONE LICENSES COLLAPSES
Issue: International/Wireless
Minutes before bidding was to begin for four next-generation spectrum
licenses in Switzerland, two bidders struck a deal to work together,
effectively reducing the number of bidders to four. Swiss authorities have
postponed the auction indefinitely; it was hoped to raise $3.4 billion. The
collapse of the auction in Switzerland - the first to occur before bidding
even started - followed a debacle in Italy last month when one of six
bidders, Blu S.p.A., a consortium controlled by cobiAutostrade S.p.A. of
Italy and cobiBritish Telecommunications, dropped out after only two rounds.
The withdrawal forced the premature end of competition for five licenses and
left the Italian government smarting with income of about $10.5 billion,
less than half the expected revenue. Prices paid in previous auctions
contributed to soaring debt and falling stock prices for European
telecommunications companies. They are much less likely to pay high prices
for any new licenses.
[SOURCE: New York Times (W1), AUTHOR: Alan Cowell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/14/technology/14AUCT.html)
(requires registration)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
D.C. WANTS SETTLEMENT FROM AT&T
Issue: Role of Local Government
The Washington, DC government will require AT&T to pay $4 million to $5
million because of the cable system's failure to live up to several
agreements with local regulators over the past 15 years. Among the
District's biggest complaints is that the cable system has not fulfilled its
promise to build a high-speed information network that would allow various
city agencies to communicate with one another. Other complaints include poor
customer service, a failure to upgrade the cable system, and violations of
an agreement that required the cable system to maintain a workforce in which
a majority of the employees are D.C. residents. "My hope is that this dollar
amount will meet the threshold of forgiveness," said outgoing D.C. Council
member Charlene Drew Jarvis (D-Ward 4). Jarvis chairs the Committee on
Economic Development. AT&T is currently trying to transfer control of the
local cable system to Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E4), AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14366-2000Nov13.html)
INTERNATIONAL
A NASCENT INTERNET TAKES ROOT IN VIETNAM
Issue: International
"Business and war have different objectives," says Truong Gia Binh, the head
of F.PT., Vietnam's largest technology company, "but the North Vietnamese
army has much to teach software developers.
We're applying the lessons of the People's War to the computer business."
F.P.T, Vietnam's second-largest and fastest-growing Internet service
provider, has 30,000 subscribers, nearly one-third of the country's
minuscule market. Like their counterparts in China, Vietnamese officials
have kept tight reins on the Internet's development. Vietnam has licensed
five Internet service providers, and the government allows only the Vietnam
Post and Telecommunications Corporation to connect the country to the
outside world. Between high prices and slow transmission speeds, the
Internet is still little more than a novelty in Vietnam. With a population
of 79 million and barely 100,000 users, the penetration rate lags far behind
that of China or Indonesia, let alone that of more developed neighbors like
Thailand or Malaysia. Still, many in Vietnam are determined to lift Internet
penetration from where it is now at 0.1 percent, to the global average by
2010. Given expectations that this figure will be 10 percent, this is a
lofty goal.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Mark Landler]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/14/business/14VIET.html)
(requires registration)
PRIVACY
FINANCIAL PRIVACY RULE TAKES EFFECT
Issue: Privacy
On November 13, the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Rule
(http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/05/65fr33645.pdf), which implements the privacy
provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 1999, became effective. The rule
requires banks and other financial institutions to provide consumers with
clear and conspicuous notice of privacy practices and the opportunity to
opt-out of the disclosure their "non public personal information" to
nonaffiliated third parties. As a result of a time extension granted earlier
this year, however, the financial institutions do not have to fully comply
with these provisions until July 2001.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
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