DIGITAL DIVIDE
We're Not All Connected, Yet (NYT)
Cheap Computers Bridge Digital Divide (WSJ)
INTERNATIONAL
China Issues Rules to Limit E-Mail and Web Content (NYT)
France Telecom Outbids Partner From Germany for Global One (WSJ)
Now Playing Europe: Invasion of Multiplex, and Fear of Culture
Snatching (NYT)
TELEVISION
Minorities Eye Government Role (USA)
INTERNET
Simple New Gadget Lets You Go Online (WSJ)
Computer Access in Schools Varies, MD Report Shows (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
WE'RE NOT ALL CONNECTED, YET
Issue: Federal Initiatives
President Clinton is expected to raise the issue of home Internet access at
tonight's State of the Union address. Expected is a Silicon Valley-inspired
proposal with the working name of "ClickStart." The program, which is
currently in trial phase, would include $50-$100 million in competitive
grants to communities and organizations involved in efforts to help families
go online. For a $5 copayment each month, each recipient will get a $10
monthly federal subsidy in the form of a voucher. Proponents feel
comfortable that the $180-per-year subsidy is enough to buy both a
functional PC and Internet access. [Note: The proponents are looking at the
many combinations of advertising-supported PC and Internet access programs.]
Some technology access advocates are torn. "Historically, the poor are the
most susceptible to advertising generally...and the most prone to being
misled by dishonest advertising," said Mr. Daniel Ben-Horin, president of
CompuMentor in San Francisco, one of the nation's largest providers of
technology assistance services to nonprofit groups and schools. At the same
time, Mr. Ben-Horin said he lauded the effort as the first one to approach
the problem on a large scale.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/01/circuits/articles/27clic.html
CHEAP COMPUTERS BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Federal Initiatives
[Op-Ed] John Simons, a former technology policy reporter with The Wall
Street Journal and Markle fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington
questions the need for massive federal programs to fight what may be solved
by the market. Simons asks, "Is the digital divide really a problem that
requires a government solution?" He argues that the reasoning behind the
ClickStart initiative - survey numbers from the Department of Commerce - do
not reflect the falling price of PC's - which he places at $844 - or the
increased market attention to first-time buyers. Simons also argues that the
second-hand PC market and smaller hand-held devices can off-set the divide.
Additionally, corporations and organizations such as the Information
Technology Association of America (ITAA) can affect the shortage of minority
workers through existing programs and proposed "digital opportunity
initiatives" under which its member companies will offer internships to
talented minority students." Simons does see a limited and specific role for
government: "As part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, telecom companies
pledged to deploy new services--such as high-speed Internet access and
digital cable--to rural areas and inner cities. The Federal Communications
Commission should keep a watchful eye on megafirms like America Online-Time
Warner to make sure they live up to this commitment. Policy makers should
also consider offering tax incentives to companies that provide technical
school-to-work training. For the poorest of the poor, government might
consider subsidizing public street-corner Internet kiosks, as it did with
public telephones decades ago. But we don't need massive new government
programs to bridge the ever-dwindling digital divide."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: John Simons, Markle Fellow at
the New America Foundation]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB948928952965420429.htm
INTERNATIONAL
CHINA ISSUES RULES TO LIMIT E-MAIL AND WEB CONTENT
Issue: International/Internet
The Chinese government has just issued strict new rules to limit the release
of information on the Internet. The new regulations, published today in the
Communist Party newspaper People's Daily, involve the posting of "state
secrets," a term loosely used to describe information that the government
has not sanctioned for release. Today's announcement is basically a
reiteration of existing laws, but serves as a warning that could have
chilling effects on the lively discussions that crisscross China via e-mail
and chat-room postings. "These regulations will not have much of an effect
on us now, since we already conform to these kind of requirements," said
Paul Jin, deputy executive general manager at Sina.com, one of China's most
popular sites. In the last year, the government arrested people for posting
illegal information on the Web.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Elisabeth Rosenthal]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/27china.html)
FRANCE TELECOM OUTBIDS PARTNER FROM GERMANY FOR GLOBAL ONE
Issue: International/Mergers
France Telecom announced Wednesday that it has reached agreements with
Sprint and Deutsche Telekom to buy their shares in the ownership of Global
One for $3.89 billion and assumed debt. France Telecom will pay Sprint $1.13
billion and will assume $276 million in debt for its share and will pay
Deutsche Telekom $2.76 billion in cash and pay off $188.5 million worth of
debt for its part of Global One, which provides multinational businesses
with telecommunications services. These agreements mark the end of several
months of contention as to the future of the joint venture. Sprint has
sought to leave since it was bought by MCI WorldCom, a deal which will help
it gain international prominence. Deutsche Telekom is expected to use its
cash to expand its Internet business, and may end up bidding on Sprint's
Internet backbone. France Telecom will use the assets it acquired to further
its goal of becoming a major carrier throughout Europe.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1), AUTHORS: Kevin J. Delaney, William Boston
and Nicole Harris]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB948894064894142846.htm)
See Also:
SPRINT CUTS COSTLY TIES, SELLS STAKE IN GLOBAL ONE
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Shawn Young]
(http://www.usatoday.com/)
NOW PLAYING EUROPE: INVASION OF MULTIPLEX, AND FEAR OF CULTURE SNATCHING
Issue: International/Media and Society
The European anxiety over the importation of American culture is well known,
especially when it comes to France. So it wasn't surprising that it took
Bruno Frydman, who works for AMC Entertainment, six years to open a $20
million dollar, 20 screen, 4,010 seat multiplex theater in Dunkirk, France.
Karsten Grummitt, managing director of Dodona Research, said that "in France
and Italy, particularly, where governments protect the film industry,
multiplexes are viewed as an intrinsically American plan that leads to
American domination of the industry." So how did Mr. Frydman get the
multiplex built? In Dunkirk, where the decline of heavy industries like
steel and chemicals has driven unemployment to 15 percent, the offer to
create 600 jobs was well received. And while some still fear for the future
of the local film industries, local planners were convinced that a big
shopping anchored by a multiplex theater would offset the decline in their
inner city. But what about the two existing movie houses -- one of which was
created in the 1960's as part of the French government's effort to sustain
interest in high quality film and the national film heritage? A deal was
struck allowing the theater to show non-French movies, including popular
American films, with the original English-language soundtrack but with
French subtitles; the multiplex would show only dubbed versions. The other
theater was demolished.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Tagliabue]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/europe-multiplex.html)
TELEVISION
MINORITIES EYE GOVERNMENT ROLE
Issue: Television/Media and Society
NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, speaking before the National Association of
Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention Wednesday, said that
government involvement might be necessary to increase the level of minority
involvement in television. "We may. . .have to look at other options, like
government regulations," said Mfume. Other activists agree with his
statement. Felix Sanchez of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts
said that prime time diversity "should be a campaign issue" this year.
Seeking to remedy the lack of minority representation both on and off camera
in the television industry, the NAACP has voluntary agreements with NBC and
ABC and should announce one with Fox soon. A similar agreement is in the
works with CBS. Some are skeptical of the networks' commitment to keeping
these agreements, however. Jacqueline Kong, of Asian American Media
Development noting certain absences at NATPE sessions devoted to diversity
asked, "If NBC signed an agreement, and no one from NBC is here, how is it
going to be implemented?" Kong added, "It's possible we also need
legislation." When questioned whether his call was aimed at scoring public
relations points, Mfume replied "Sure it's good PR, but it's also the right
thing to do. . . communications affects behavior just as much as civil
rights issues do."
[SOURCE: USAToday (5D), AUTHOR: Jefferson Graham]
(http://www.usatoday.com/)
SIMPLE NEW GADGET LETS YOU GO ONLINE
Issue: Internet/Access
If you are new to the Internet and just want an easy way to get on, or you
and your family are in need of a secondary Internet access device, you might
want to know about i-Opener, a product by the company Netpliance. i-Opener
is one of the devices known as "Internet Appliances," a growing line of
products focus on only a few aspects of the Internet. The class of products
include "smarter" digital phones and hand-held computers. In this case, the
i-Opener is the first full color desktop meant to provide only Internet
access. It has a 10 inch flat panel color screen hooked up to a small
keyboard. The keyboard has specific keys for checking e-mail, the weather,
doing shopping, or even ordering pizza. There's no operating system to worry
about, no files or folders to mess with. It dials into the Internet six
times a day to fetch your e-mail and update your content.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Walter Mossberg]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB948931736257096456.htm)
COMPUTER ACCESS IN SCHOOLS VARIES, MD REPORT SHOWS
Issue: Internet/Education
The Maryland Business Roundtable released a report showing that the
percentage of Maryland classrooms connected to the Internet has increased,
from 23% in 1997 to 58%. The ratio of students per high or mid-speed
computer has also improved, 8 to 1 versus the 12 to 1 in 1995. But all this
good news was tempered by the fact that some counties are doing much better
than others. Within school districts, technology varies greatly at different
schools. "We should insist that all schools have comparable systems. "It's
unfair for some students, who attend a school simply because they have
parents who are more affluent, to have more access to better stuff than
children is less affluent areas," said Prince George's Board of Education
Chairman James Henderson. Prince George's School Superintendent Iris Metts
has put forward a plan to lower the ratio of students to high-speed
computers to 5 to 1 within five years. She's hoping that parents and
politicians will take note of the report and push for more funding for
technology in schools, "We have to make sure that the dollars be distributed
equitably, with state and federal funding giving priority to low-income
communities."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (B2), AUTHOR: David Nakamura]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/metro/A32939-2000Jan26.html)
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