MERGERS
WB Network Chief Takes Over Turner Operations at AOL Time Warner
(WSJ)
Post Unit's Deal Gets Antitrust Scrutiny (WP)
TELEPHONY
Long-Distance Calls via Internet (WSJ)
PRIVACY
The EU Data Protection Directive (House)
MERGERS
WB NETWORK CHIEF TAKES OVER TURNER OPERATIONS AT AOL TIME WARNER
Issue: Merger/Journalism
The AOL Time Warner entity has made for strange bedfellows. For years, Ted
Turner tried to get Time Warner to pull the plug on the WB Network. Now the
founder and chief executive of WB, Jamie Kellner, is taking over Turner's
programming empire. AOL Time Warner, in efforts to consolidate operations,
is folding the WB Network into Turner Broadcasting Systems. Unlike the WB
which has a solid youth audience, TBS and TNT have had a tough time holding
onto audiences because they lack clearly defined identities. Mr. Kellner
said in the interview that he doesn't necessarily think that the Turner
channels are broken. The moves will not affect Home Box Office. It is
unlikely that the programming of the successful Cartoon Network or CNN will
be dramatically affected by the restructuring.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 3/7/01 (B01), AUTOR: Flint and Beatty]
(http://interactive.wsj.com)
(Subscription Required)
POST UNIT'S DEAL GETS ANTITRUST SCRUTINY
Issue: Antitrust
Maryland's attorney general is reviewing allegations that the Gazette
Newspapers, a division of The Washington Post Co., violated antitrust laws
by acquiring 10 publications in Southern Maryland. The attorney general has
asked to be kept informed about a separate antitrust lawsuit filed in
federal court by two Maryland newspaper publishers. That lawsuit alleges
that The Post and Gazette are using their combined market power to buy up
local rivals and force others out of business. The Washington Times, on its
own behalf, has also asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate. Post
spokesman Guyon H. Knight said the antitrust lawsuit is without merit. "We
are fully prepared to have this transaction reviewed by anyone, because we
believe it serves the public interest, it is good for readers, advertisers
and the communities," Knight said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36644-2001Mar7.html)
See Also:
SLUMP HITS NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38714-2001Mar7.html)
TELEPHONY
LONG-DISTANCE CALLS VIA INTERNET SHAKE UP GLOBAL TELECOM INDUSTRY
Issue: Telephony
The number of free long-distance telephone calls over the Internet has risen
to one in 33 voice calls. The rise in Internet telephony is causing
telecommunications companies to rethink how to charge for service. "Internet
telephony means lower prices for consumers and big challenges for telecom
operators," said U.N. official Tim Kelly, an organizer of a three-day
meeting of 1,000 government regulators and industry experts that started
yesterday. Once the networks are fully developed, the potential market for
Internet telephony is the exact same market as for current analog calls over
circuit-switched networks: an estimated 1.5 billion telephone users
world-wide. An ITU survey found the cost of a one-minute call from the U.S.
to Australia over a traditional phone network to be 17 cents. The price of
the same call through a Net-based service could be as little as eight cents.
Calls to China drop to 21 cents from 59 cents a minute, the survey found.
Currently the U.S. does not regulate Internet telephony. European Union
competition regulators treat companies providing Internet telephony services
in the same way as traditional phone providers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 3/7, AUTHOR: Jonathan Fowler]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB983916372201974022.htm)
PRIVACY
THE EU DATA PROTECTION DIRECTIVE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE U.S. PRIVACY DEBATE
Issue: Privacy
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection is
holding a hearing on privacy issues: "The EU Data Protection Directive:
Implications for the US Privacy Debate." Live Audio Broadcast is available.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/hearings/03082001-49/08082001.htm)
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