COPYRIGHT
Why College Radio Fears The DMCA (Salon)
E-GOVERNMENT
An E-Government Pill For The Tech Sector (CNET)
MERGER
Vivendi Unveils $10.3 Billion Deal With USA Networks (NYT)
COPYRIGHT
WHY COLLEGE RADIO FEARS THE DMCA
Issue: Copyright
Internet radio broadcasts once represented the promise of free flow of
information over the Web. But if a 1998 federal law is fully enforced,
webcasting could be just a fond memory for college radio. Under the terms of
the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), radio stations must pay
thousands of dollars in annual fees to broadcast streaming audio over the
Web. Under long-standing U.S. copyright law, broadcasters pay a coalition of
songwriters' groups, but not record companies or performers, to air music
over the Internet and the airwaves. Under the DMCA, Congress allowed
performers and record companies to start collecting fees on songs sent over
the Web. The fees, if implemented, would mean the end of webcasting at KALX,
the University of California at Berkeley's radio station, says KALX general
manager Sandra Wasson. KALX pays a total of $623 per year to songwriters (as
opposed to performers) to play music over the Web. But if the recording
industry's fee proposal goes through, KALX would have to dish out $10,000 to
$20,000 a year in webcasting fees, Wasson said.
[SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: Mark L. Shahinian]
(http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/12/13/college_webcast/print.html)
E-GOVERNMENT
AN E-GOVERNMENT PILL FOR THE TECH SECTOR
Issue: E-Government
The federal government has unsuccessfully promoted the idea of e-government
for years, but a confluence of events may give the idea--and the tech
industry--a significant boost next year. President Bush has already made
e-government one of his top priorities, asking for $100 million over three
years to start e-government projects. A decline in corporate spending has
lead tech executives see the government as the best way to build their
businesses, and it's starting to pay off for their companies. Accenture
announced two contracts with the Department of Education on Wednesday, with
a maximum value of $234 million.
[SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: Larry Dignan]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-8182655.html?tag=tp_pr)
MERGER
VIVENDI UNVEILS $10.3 BILLION DEAL WITH USA NETWORKS
Issue: Merger
Vivendi Universal of France, Europe's biggest media company, announced in
Paris today that it had agreed to acquire the television and film units of
USA Networks Inc. in a deal worth about $10.3 billion. Among the operations
that Vivendi has acquired from USA Networks are the USA and Sci-Fi Channel
cable networks, the film studio that produced the movie "Traffic" and the
television studio that produces "Law and Order" and the "Jerry Springer"
talk show. The company intends to combine these properties and place them in
a venture under the day-to-day control of Barry Diller, the chairman and
chief executive of USA Networks, making Mr. Diller one of the industry's
most powerful executives. The deal is an important step in Vivendi's
continuing transformation from a French water-treatment utility into one of
the world's premier media companies, able to compete against giants like AOL
Time Warner, Disney, Viacom and the News Corporation.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/17/business/17CND-USA.html)
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