BROADCASTING
Objections May Scuttle NBC's Plan to Accept Hard-Liquor Ads (NYT)
Radio Station's Journalists Aim To Buy Part Of Majority Stake from
Gazprom (WSJ)
MERGERS
Comments To The FCC On The Merger Of Echostar And Directv (MAP)
EDTECH
Online Education Becomes Tech Success Story For DC Area (WP)
Using The Internet To Increase Boys' Reading Skills (WP)
BROADCASTING
OBJECTIONS MAY SCUTTLE NBC'S PLAN TO ACCEPT HARD-LIQUOR ADS
Issue: Television
NBC opened itself to criticism two months ago, when it became the first
broadcast network to accept commercials for hard liquor like vodka, rum or
whiskey. Advocacy organizations, and even some members of Congress, have
lined up against NBC and may seek to roll back a decision in 1996 by the
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States to lift a voluntary ban
against such commercials. Since then, liquor spots have run tens of
thousands of times on hundreds of local TV stations and cable systems. But
NBC was the first network to air such ads. A desire to increase revenue in a
soft economy is clearly contributing to the arrival of liquor on broadcast
TV, said David Verklin, chief executive at the Carat North America division
of Carat in New York, part of the Aegis Group. But the "creeping toward the
center to get liquor on mainstream television" is also "an inexorable part
of the trend to loosen what can and can't appear on TV," he added. [SOURCE:
New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/business/media/12ADCO.html)
(requires registration)
RADIO STATION'S JOURNALISTS AIM TO BUY PART OF MAJORITY STAKE FROM GAZPROM
Issue: Journalism
Journalists at Echo of Moscow, a leading Russian news-radio station, have
made a bid to buy part of the majority stake currently held by state-run
natural gas giant OAO Gazprom. According to the station's chief editor, it
is an attempt to preserve their independence, and will mean a "hidden
nationalization" of the radio station if Gazprom refuses to comply. The
struggle over the radio station has shined the spotlight on current
international concern about media freedom in Russia.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1013452417264979040,00.html?mod=europe_b
usiness_whats_news)
(requires subscription)
MERGERS
COMMENTS TO THE FCC ON THE MERGER OF ECHOSTAR AND DIRECTV
Issue: Satellite
In a February 4, 2002 filing, the Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation
of America and the Media Access Project submitted comments to the FCC
regarding the merger of EchoStar and DirecTV. While not opposed to the
merger, the group voiced concerns that, without conditions, the merger is
not in the public interest. The comment suggests conditions to minimize
potential anti-competitive harms while maximizing competition for high-speed
Internet services. Among the suggestions are protections for rural markets,
immediate licensing to allow new competitors for MVDDS (Multi-channel Video
and Data Distribution Service), mechanisms to ensure public-interest
capacity set-asides, and open access for competitive Internet service
providers.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/filings/cucomments.pdf)
EDTECH
ONLINE EDUCATION BECOMES TECH SUCCESS STORY FOR DC AREA
Issse: EdTech
The online education industry is on it's way to becoming a stable, and
potentially lucrative industry predicted to be worth $11 billion by 2005.
While academia continues to be a primary revenue source, online education
companies are making fast inroads into corporations and the government
sector. In the Washington DC area many federal agencies were drawn to the
flexibility and convenience of e-learning to train employees stationed
around the world. Many online education companies in the DC area have been
able to leverage relationships with federal clients to bolster their client
lists with corporations.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen McCarthy]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A60674-2002Feb11?language=printer)
USING THE INTERNET TO INCREASE BOYS' READING SKILLS
Issue: EdTech
Boys consistently score lower than girls on national reading and writing
tests according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
In an effort to engage boys in reading, former schoolteacher Jon Scieszka
has launched an Internet initiative called Guys Read. The idea, says
Scieszka, is to provide boys a place to meet and talk about reading. The
core of the site is a database of guy tested and guy approved books. The
biggest challenge for the site is competition from entertainment sites.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: M.J. Rose]
(http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,50350,00.html)
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