JOURNALISM/POLITICAL DISCOURSE
G.O.P. Lawmakers See Bias by Networks in Calling Races (NYT)
Hearing Too Much and Learning Too Little (NYT)
Advertising: Democrats and Republicans Have Brand-Name Problems
(NYT)
INTERNET
Cable Connection Selections (WP)
Deutsche Telekom Is Ordered to Open Lines to Competing
Internet Services (WSJ)
Seven New Domain Suffixes Approved (WP)
Ruling Favors Tobacco Companies (CyberTimes)
PRIVACY
Newly-Released Carnivore Documents Raise Questions (EPIC)
JOURNALISM/POLITICAL DISCOURSE
G.O.P. LAWMAKERS SEE BIAS BY NETWORKS IN CALLING RACES
Issue: Journalism
Florida Representative Billy Tauzin has led House Republicans in accusing
the national television networks today of being biased against Gov. George
W. Bush in election-night coverage. They claimed that Republicans in
conservative strongholds like the Florida Panhandle were discouraged from
turning out to vote after the all the major networks erroneously called
Florida for Mr. Gore before all the state's polls had closed. Rep. Tauzin, a
Louisiana Republican who heads the House Commerce subcommittee on
telecommunications, said he would hold hearings early next year to examine
how the networks called winners. In an interview, Mr. Tauzin said that he
did not know if the bias was "accidental, intentional or the product of bad
modeling, but someone has to explain it." As Republicans accused the
networks bias, a controversy has arisen over revelations that Gov. Bush's
cousin and Fox News executive, John Ellis, was trading information with the
Bush campaign on election night.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Schmitt]
(http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/elections/index.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY NETWORKS BIASED
[SOURCE: USAToday (13A), AUTHOR: USAToday Editorial Staff]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001117/2848507s.htm)
HEARING TOO MUCH AND LEARNING TOO LITTLE
Issue: Journalism
[Op-Ed] Television's coverage of the 2000 election results may be the worst
moment in the 50-year history of the medium's coverage of politics.
Misleading coverage not only failed to report what had actually happened on
election night but created and has sustained the suggestion of an election
that was called back and might be stolen, when the truth is simply that a
very narrow election is late in being decided. The close race has exposed
longstanding weaknesses in the modern political press; the only good outcome
will be if it leads to serious self-examination and appropriate changes.
Political reporting has given way to campaign reporting -- looking at the
technology used by campaigns instead of getting in touch with voters. Covet
and Rosensteil outline solutions and conclude: the press should start
viewing the election not as two campaigns but as a national conversation. It
should stop interviewing voters in artificial focus groups and start
knocking on doors. In short, reporters need to begin to try to understand
the campaign that now goes on inside the private space. Only then can
journalism begin to help us all understand the underlying factors in our
elections and provide the context for societies to self-govern.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, the
Committee of Concerned Journalists ]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/opinion/17ROSE.html)
(requires registration)
ADVERTISING: DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS HAVE BRAND-NAME PROBLEMS
Issue: Advertising
According to a two-year study about how consumers relate to brands, the
G.O.P. and the Democrats tied for last place on a "relationship monitor"
developed by FCB Worldwide in New York. FCB, part of True North
Communications, interviewed a national sample of some 2,400 consumers in
late 1999 about their relationships with 60 brands, from Oreo cookies to
Burger King. The results showed that consumers had stronger commitments to
Clorox than they did to America's two major political parties. "We were
fascinated that consumers had stronger relationships with these inanimate
objects than with political parties," said Janet Pines, FCB's director of
competitive strategy and proprietary techniques. "It's scary yes, but I
think it's also easy to see that a bottle of bleach is less likely to betray
you than a politician." "What we found is that while relationships are
infinitely complex, there's a method to the madness," said Dr. Mark Ingwer,
a clinical psychologist for Insight Associates in Chicago, which conducted
some of the research with FCB. "Basically people aren't clear what drives
them to do what they do. We are accessing a deeper level of the consumer
experience to tease out the emotional wants and needs that help advertisers
and marketers connect with people." Understanding the special feelings
consumers have about brands is crucial for brand profitability in a world
where there is often little difference among products. The cost of acquiring
a new customer is five times that of maintaining an existing one, and loyal
customers account for a disproportionate share of overall sales.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Patricia Winters Lauro]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/business/17ADCO.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET
CABLE CONNECTION SELECTIONS
Issue: Open Access
Should you be able to choose your Internet service provider when you sign up
for cable-modem Internet access? What seems to be a minor point in an
argument that has been going on for years, may or may not be settled with an
FTC approval of the AOL - Time Warner merger. But what does it mean to you?
When a consumer buys cable-modem service that consumer pays for not only
speed, but also a complete Internet account--e-mail address, news group
access and so on. If the customer would like to use a cable Internet service
provider other than the choices presented by the cable television firm - or
keep a current account - the consumer must pay more. Contrast this with
dial-up accounts: first you pay for the connection--whether it's a DSL
circuit or a second phone line. Then you decide who you want to transport
data over that link. For many consumers this isn't a concern, service
reliability is the big factor, not choice. But, for many there is not really
a choice, anyway: DSL, Satellite and fixed wireless don't have the
penetration rates that cable enjoys.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Rob Pegoraro]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37115-2000Nov16.html)
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM IS ORDERED TO OPEN LINES TO COMPETING INTERNET SERVICES
Issue: Open Access
A rule set Thursday by German telecommunications regulators that requires
Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany's former telephone monopoly, to give competing
Internet-service providers flat-rate access to its lines could spur
increased Web use and e-commerce in Europe's biggest economy. The decision,
expected to take effect in February will allow companies such as America
Online's AOL Europe to pay one fee for unlimited access -- as is the norm in
the U.S. -- instead of paying for each incremental minute. Currently,
service providers offer their subscribers a flat rate, but the ISPs have to
pay Deutsche Telekom by the minute for phone-line use. Independent Internet
service providers say the per-minute system puts them at a disadvantage
against Deutsche Telekom, but the giant telecom company argued against the
decision, saying that cheap rates for Internet surfing would put too much
traffic on its telecommunications network with its mostly older generation,
narrowband lines. Deutsche Telekom said that by not offering flat rates for
accessing the Web over narrowband lines, it wants to encourage customers to
sign up for newer, broadband lines that carry more data. "This decision is
pushing massive investment in the completely wrong direction -- into
narrowband, instead of broadband," Deutsche Telekom spokesman Hans Ehnert
said. "It puts all the risk on Deutsche Telekom."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B5), AUTHOR: Associated Press
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB974396330343752868.htm)
(requires subscription)
SEVEN NEW DOMAIN SUFFIXES APPROVED
Issue: Internet
ICANN has approved seven new domain suffixes in hopes of expanding the
borders of cyberspace. Yesterday the organization voted to authorize adding
.info, .biz, .name, .pro, .coop, .museum and .aero to the list of possible
suffixes. On the one hand, the new names promise to open new possibilities
in the demand for simple, memorable Web addresses. On the other hand, the
new names also promise to make hunting for Web addresses that much more
complicated as the list of suffixes expand beyond .com, .org, .gov or .net.
ICANN has arranged a two-pronged system. Some registrars have exclusive
rights to register certain suffixes. Register.com, for example has exclusive
rights to .pro, a suffix intended for "professionals." ICANN envisions
doctors, lawyers and such using this suffix to register their practices.
ICANN has also given all of 19 current registrars the ability to register
some of the suffixes, such as .info. Esther Dyson, the board's chairwoman,
was opposed to awarding any names to that consortium, but was overruled by
the board. "It doesn't foster competition in the sense that we've created a
competitive market only to see cooperatives formed. . . . Gives me a queasy
feeling," Dyson said. General use names: .info for anyone, .biz for
businesses, .name for individuals. Targeted names: .pro for professionals,
.museum for museums, .coop for business cooperatives and .aero for airlines.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Ariana Eunjung Cha]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35598-2000Nov16.html)
See Also:
7 DOMAINS TO COMPETE WITH .COM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Chris Gaither]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/technology/17DOMA.html)
(requires registration)
WEB OVERSIGHT BODY SELECTS SEVEN NEW DOMAIN SUFFIXES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B5), AUTHOR: TED BRIDIS
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB974414816342355105.htm)
(requires subscription)
DOT-COM GETS COMPANY: DOT-BIZ, DOT-PRO . . .
[SOURCE: USAToday (1B), AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001117/2848558s.htm)
DOMAIN NAME LIST TO EXPAND BY 7
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Elise Ackerman]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/icann111700.htm)
RULING FAVORS TOBACCO COMPANIES
Issue: Ecommerce
A federal judge has ruled that a New York law effectively banning the direct
sale of cigarettes to New Yorkers via the Internet is likely to be
unconstitutional. The ruling follows a major trend in Internet-related court
cases: findings by judges that a state's attempt to regulate Internet
activities within its borders runs afoul of the Constitution's commerce
clause. Critics fear that, taken as a whole, recent rulings could be used by
companies to wipe out state regulation of cyberspace. For more on the
rulings, see the URL below.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Carl Kaplan (kaplanc( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/technology/17CYBERLAW.html)
(requires registration)
PRIVACY
NEWLY-RELEASED CARNIVORE DOCUMENTS RAISE QUESTIONS
Issue: Privacy
FBI documents released to EPIC as part of a Freedom of Information Act
lawsuit suggest that the Carnivore surveillance system may capture more
information than the Bureau has previously claimed. See the Carnivore
Documents Page (http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/foia_documents.html)
and EPIC's press release
(http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/11_16_release.html) for additional
information.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here. Happy BLUE Friday.