DIGITAL DIVIDE
United Negro College Fund Campaign Raises $90 Million (SJM)
Digital Divide At Work Persists For Women (WP)
Europe Lags In Internet Race (BBC)
OWNERSHIP
Masters of the Media (WP)
INTERNET
Congress to Enter ICANN Fray (WIRED)
FCC Cable Ruling At Odds With Congress, Public Interest (CDD)
Piracy, or Innovation? It's Hollywood vs. High Tech (NYT)
High-Tech Senate GOP Agenda Tackles Taxes, Privacy (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND CAMPAIGN RAISES $90 MILLION
Issue: Digital Divide
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has raised more than $90 million in
cash and other support from major corporations in an effort to bridge the
digital divide. The campaign will provide everything from equipment to
training for students and faculty at black colleges, according to William
Gray, president of UNCF. Gray says a 1998 study revealed that "the digital
divide between black colleges and majority colleges was even wider than the
digital divide in society. We found that only 15 percent of UNCF students
owned their own computers, compared with 55 percent of the students at
majority colleges." Further, the study revealed that only approximately one
half of UNCF faculty owned computers, compared to about 71 percent computer
ownership among national faculty. Companies that have contributed to the
campaign include Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, General Motors, Dell
Computer, JP Morgan Chase and Procter & Gamble.
[SOURCE: The Mercury News; AUTHOR: John Boudreau]
(http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/2854373.htm)
DIGITAL DIVIDE AT WORK PERSISTS FOR WOMEN
Issue: Digital Divide
According to statistics released yesterday by Neilsen/NetRatings, Internet
use at work is dominated by men. The gap may be traced to workplace
disparities that see more men in professional and managerial roles and a
greater proportion of women in clerical jobs where Internet use is less
common. NetRatings said that "web usage by females at work lags behind usage
by males in every metric, with men using the Internet more aggressively.
Female office workers initiated 11 percent fewer surfing sessions in
January, spent 18 percent less time online and viewed 13 percent fewer Web
pages (than) male surfers." Dawn McCaffrey Brozek, a senior Internet analyst
at NetRatings said: "Socio-cultural factors contribute to the gendered
division of labor at work, with women clustered in clerical or
administrative fields, while men dominate professional, executive or
managerial positions."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Steven Bonisteel]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/15640-1.html)
See Also:
Further information about the Neilsen/NetRatings data may be found at the
following URL:
(http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=NTRT&script=411&lay
out=-6&item_id=268418)
EUROPE LAGS IN INTERNET RACE
Issue: Digital Divide
European ministers will be meeting this week to discuss ways of narrowing
the digital divide across Europe and encourage adoption of the Internet and
e-commerce. In comparison to America's online population of 58%, Europe had
just 38% at the end of last year. There are huge disparities in populations
between some member states. In the Netherlands 60% of the population is
online, while there is only 10% online in Greece. Demand for broadband
technologies has continued to slow and there is concern that Internet
adoption has started to flatten. As part of the meeting this week the EU
will explore ways to ensure broadband technologies are cheap and widely
accessible. Future goals of the EU are to increase Internet use for learning
and to facilitate interaction with the government.
[SOURCE: BBC New, AUTHOR: Jane Wakefield]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1866000/1866980.stm)
OWNERSHIP
MASTERS OF THE MEDIA
Issue: Ownership
The public interest is the loser in the recent decision by the federal
appeals court in Washington to relax television ownership limitation,
according to William Baker. He writes that the effect of 1996
Telecommunications Act was to stifle competition by reducing the number of
media owners. The effects have been most dramatic in the radio industry,
which was all but completely deregulated in 1996. There are now at least
1,100 fewer station owners than before -- a decline of nearly 30 percent in
six years. Baker argues that the easing of ownership caps and the lifting of
cross-media ownership rules pose a threat to the public's access to a
healthy marketplace of ideas. He gives the example of television news, which
struggles as media giants attempt to increase margins by closing newsrooms,
merging staff and producing multiple newscasts on different stations from
the same desk. Since FCC Chairman Michael Powell has made it clear that he
is not interested in preserving ownership caps, Baker suggest "that it is
now up to Congress to take a stand by holding public hearings with an eye to
protecting the quality and diversity of American media through legislation."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: William F. Baker (president of Thirteen/WNET New
York)]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11061-2002Mar11.html)
INTERNET
CONGRESS TO ENTER ICANN FRAY
Issue: Internet
The U.S. Congress is planning oversight hearings to investigate the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the troubled nonprofit
organization tasked with overseeing domain names and Internet addresses. The
heightened scrutiny is in part due to a controversial restructuring proposal
circulated by ICANN president, M. Stuart Lynn. In a letter requesting
hearings, Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana) wrote, "More fundamental
questions also need to be addressed, such as whether ICANN is even the most
appropriate organization to be tasked with such a critical mission, which is
central to our national security." ICANN's long-standing refusal to allow
review of financial information is another issue driving the Congressional
hearings.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51041,00.html)
FCC CABLE RULING AT ODDS WITH CONGRESS, PUBLIC INTEREST
Issue: Broadband
The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) has stated it is likely the FCC will
rule today to put broadband in the category of "information service" and
thus remove the cable industry from regulations such as nondiscriminatory
interconnection and carriage, fair contribution to universal service and
availability of advanced telecommunications to disabled individuals. Mark
Cooper, Research Director of the Consumer Federation of America said, "This
policy will undermine the open communications environment that applications
developers and content suppliers need to drive innovation, and citizens need
to enjoy vibrant civic discourse. Mark Wahl, CDD broadband project director
said, "By pandering to the interests of network owners alone, the Commission
is abandoning the public interest safeguards that make the Internet a
valuable communications medium in the first place."
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/fccCableRuling.html)
PIRACY, OR INNOVATION? IT'S HOLLYWOOD VS. HIGH TECH
Issue: Intellectual Property
Tensions continue to rise between the technology and entertainment
industries over proposals to stop consumers from illegally copying digital
movies and music. Disney and other entertainment companies are asking
Congress to create legislation that would require computer and consumer
electronics companies to develop copyright protection technology, or accept
a standard designed by the government. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee
will be discussing the consumer disadvantages of increasing protections on
digital media. The technology industry is resisting such legislation saying
it would slow innovation and may not be technically feasible. In a recent
interview, Andrew S. Grove, the chairman of Intel said, "Is it the
responsibility of the world at large to protect an industry whose business
mode is facing a strategic challenge? Or is it up to the entertainment
industry to adapt to a new technical reality and a new set of consumers who
want to take advantage of it?" Peter Chernin, president of the News
Corporation has stated that "without copyright protection we will change our
business models and the loser will be the public...We're not going to offer
ways for people to go and loot our content."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/14/technology/14PROT.html)
HIGH-TECH SENATE GOP AGENDA TACKLES TAXES, PRIVACY
Issue: Policy
The Senate Republican High Tech Task Force (HTTF) yesterday unveiled its
policy agenda for the remainder of the current session of Congress. The task
force promises to fight for broadband tax credits, consumer privacy online
without comprehensive legislation, cyber-security, liberalized trade ability
and a permanent research and development tax credit. HTTF also said that it
would not support federal control of Internet content or define what is
'decent' online content, preferring instead to encourage parents to take a
role in deciding what their children see or hear.
[SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Newsbytes Staff]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15642-1.html)
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