Journalism
NYT: Study Finds Less Traditional News as Outlets Seek
More 'Relevant' Content
Television
B&C: White House threatens veto
B&C: V-chips to debut on July 1, 1999
WSJ: Cable-TV Giant Brawls With a Utility
B&C: New York loves 'Seinfeld'
Internet
NYT: Teachers See Benefits of Internet, But Drawbacks Raise Concerns
NYT: Taxing Sales on the Internet; Many Governors vs.
Congressional Legislation
NYT: With Gotocom's Search Engine, the Highest Bidder Shall
Be Ranked First
NYT: Filtering the Internet
Telephony
FCC: Premature Bell Entry into Long Distance Will Create
Megamergers, Not Competition
FCC: Technology and Regulatory Thinking: Albert Einstein's Warning
NYT: Cellular Carriers Set $4.1 Billion Merger
Security
WP: The Guardians of Computer Security
Our Man Bill
NYT: Critiques of Microsoft (With a Wink to Pogo)
WSJ: Gates to Write Book With Microsoft Researcher
** Journalism **
Title: Study Finds Less Traditional News as Outlets Seek
More 'Relevant' Content
Source: New York Times (D8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/news-coverage-media.html
Author: Iver Peterson
Issue: Journalism
Description: "The Project for Excellence in Journalism, a non-profit
research center financed by Pew Charitable Trust, classified 3,760 reports
on the three nightly network news programs and in major newspapers and
weekly news magazines in March 1977, 1987 and 1997. The number of stories
devoted to straight news -- what happened yesterday --" declined from 52.3
percent in 1977 to 31.5 percent in 1997. Features on celebrities, human
interest stories and scandals increased from 15.4 percent in 1977 to 43
percent in 1997. "While content studies have their limits, and the question
of what is entertainment and what is news is open to question," the study
said, "the data clearly indicate that there have been major shifts in how
the news media define the news."
** Television **
Title: White House threatens veto
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.8)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Free Time for Candidates
Description: The White House has promised to veto a spending bill if the
Senate attaches provisions that would keep the Federal Communications
Commission from requiring free time for political candidates. "I would be
very surprised if that provision came out of the bill," said Sen. Trent
Lott's (R-MS) chief of staff. "It's something Republicans and some
Democrats...feel strongly about, that the FCC does not have the authority to
do this." [See the President's weekly radio address
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/html/1998-03-14.html for more information]
Title: V-chips to debut on July 1, 1999
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.8)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: V-Chip
Description: Last week, the Federal Communications Commission adopted
technical standards and approved the television industry's new rating
system. Half of all TV sets will be equipped with the blocking technology by
July 1999. All sets will be v-chip equipped by January 1, 2000. Only NBC and
cable channel BET have resisted the rating system and the FCC may weigh that
when licenses for NBC affiliates come up for renewal.
Title: Cable-TV Giant Brawls With a Utility
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Ross Kerber
Issue: Cable/Competition
Description: A turf war in Massachusetts between Cablevision Systems and
Boston Edison Co. has broad implications for the future of cable TV,
Internet service, and the deregulation of utilities throughout the country.
Their fight is over 126 miles of fiber-optic data lines that the utility
began laying in eastern Massachusetts in 1990. In Nov. 1996, Boston Edison
assigned use of those lines to an unregulated telecommunications joint
venture, gaining access to Cablevision's previously exclusive franchise. At
issue is the dollar value of the fiber-optic lines. Boston Edison
transferred the lines to its joint venture for their book value of $7
million. Cablevision maintains that's a fraction of their true worth and
deprives the utility's ratepayers of as much as $67 million. Cablevision has
asked state officials to re-examine the transfer of Boston Edison's
fiber-optic lines to the joint venture, and its request has won the support
of the Massachusetts's attorney general. Boston Edison says the assets were
fairly valued and argues that Cablevision is merely trying to keep out
competition.
Title: New York loves 'Seinfeld'
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.4)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Joe Schlosser
Issue: Television Economics
Description: Columbia TriStar Television, the distributor of Seinfeld,
congratulated WPIX-TV in New York for beating all of the 11 p.m. New York
City newscasts will reruns of the popular comedy. The second cycle of
Seinfeld reruns is expected to generate $4-$6 million per episode after it
has been sold in all markets. Columbia TriStar's ad campaign coincides with
the opening of bidding for the show in the nation's largest market. In NYC,
the reruns are expected to generate $250,000-$350,000 per week.
** Internet **
Title: Teachers See Benefits of Internet, But Drawbacks Raise Concerns
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/cyber/articles/15poll.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: EdTech
Description: The Global Strategy Group Inc., a New York City-based public
opinion research company, conducted a survey in January based on telephone
interviews with 400 teachers and 1,600 other adults nation-wide. The poll
found that 48 percent of the teachers responded "yes" to the question: Do
you use the Internet in teaching? Yet at the same time, 60 percent of
teachers and 62 percent of the adults surveyed said they were "fairly
concerned" or "very concerned" about students using the Internet. Peter J.
Feld, director of research for Global Strategy Group Inc,. said: "What was
most striking to me was that teachers see both sides: the benefits of the
Internet and the downside." He said that "teachers see the Internet as a
plus, but it has drawbacks and they are looking for ways to cope with the
drawbacks." Based on focus groups conducted in preparation for the survey,
Feld identified several problems that teachers envision with using the
Internet for education. Among them: "that information available on the World
Wide Web is of uneven quality; that the unscrupulous could prey on children;
that there is a glut of online information and that navigating the Web can
be cumbersome and time-consuming." At the same time, Feld points out that
he was struck by the fact that although the World Wide Web is barely four
years old, almost half of the teachers surveyed are using it and other parts
of the Internet for educational purposes. The survey was commissioned by MCI
in connection with the launch of MarcoPolo, "a new free Web site and
education initiative targeted at teachers, that MCI helped develop with
National Geographic, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Council of
Economic Education. [For more on connecting schools, see
http://www.benton.org/Library/Schools/. For more on Marcopolo see
http://www.mci.com/aboutus/company/corporate/marcopolo/mp.shtml]
Title: Taxing Sales on the Internet; Many Governors vs.
Congressional Legislation
Source: New York Times (D1,D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16nettax.html
Author: Peter Passell
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: In response to fears that conflicting state and local Internet
taxes will stunt the growth of Internet commerce, Congress is working to
pass legislation that would "bar sales tax on Internet transactions" until
2004. But some analysts and many governors fear that "a federal moratorium
would set a precedent that would permanently deprive state and local
governments of a huge potential revenue source." House leaders are promising
a vote on the bill titled the "Internet Tax Freedom Act," sponsored by Rep.
Christopher Cox (R-CA), this month.
Title: With Gotocom's Search Engine, the Highest Bidder Shall
Be Ranked First
Source: New York Times (D5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16search.html
Author: Laurie J. Flynn
Issue: Internet Services
Description: Search engines were initially developed to help the user find
information among the million of sites on the World Wide Web. Today,
however, search engines are offering more than just tools for searching.
Alan Braverman, Internet analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said: "The
function of searching has become a commodity...so search engine companies
are making a transition into Internet media companies." Not only does this
translate into visitors to sites like Yahoo, Excite and Infoseek staying
longer but also into more advertising and thus greater profits. While Jerry
Yand, co-founder of Yahoo, acknowledges that Yahoo is "certainly becoming
more online service-like." He also points out that this move "doesn't make
our navigation service any less important." But while sites like Yahoo are
working to become destinations in themselves, a new start-up called Goto.com
is taking a completely different approach. Goto.com, a spin-off of Idealab,
says it will focus entirely on searching and will make money by encouraging
Web sites to pay for more "prominent placement" in the search results. Bill
Gross, president of Idealab, said that one of the main differences between
Goto.com's approach and that of other search engines is that "they make
money when you stay -- I make money when your leave...We're changing the
alignment of the proposition. We really are a true search engine."
Title: Filtering the Internet
Source: New York Times (A28)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/index.map?158,150
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Internet Regulation/EdTech
Description: Less than a year after the Supreme Court struck down the 1996
Communications Decency Act, Congress is once again considering legislation
that would infringe upon free speech in the name of protecting children.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), is sponsoring a bill that would require schools
and libraries receiving federal subsidies for Internet hook-ups to install
filtering software on their computers. Sen. McCain has anticipated the
potential for opposition to this bill, and has thus kept open compromise
possibilities for when it reaches the Senate floor. On the other hand,
Senator Conrad Burns (MT) has offered a more sensible, less controversial
approach, to protecting children from smut and pornographic material on the
Internet. Sen. Burns' substitute bill would require schools and libraries
that receive federal subsidies to adopt "appropriate Internet use policies"
as they see fit for children. Many public institutions have already
implemented this approach without denying children and adults access to the
huge amounts of information that are available to them.
** Telephony **
Title: Premature Bell Entry into Long Distance Will Create
Megamergers, Not Competition
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek808.html
Author: Chairman Kennard
Issue: Regulation/Competition
Description: FCC Chairman William Kennard warned that approval of Bell entry
into long distance before local markets are open will create megamergers,
not competition. In warning of unwarranted consolidation, Kennard said that
if the FCC "permit[s] Bell entry before the local market is open to
competition, long distance companies will have no alternatives but to merge
with an ILEC."
Title: Technology and Regulatory Thinking: Albert Einstein's Warning
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Powell/spmkp804.html
Author: Commissioner Michael Powell
Issue: Regulation/Competition
Description: "At a meeting hosted by "The Precursor Group" of the securities
brokerage firm Legg Mason, Inc., FCC Commissioner Michael Powell urged an
audience of investment analysts, policymakers, and industry representatives,
to "keep a watchful eye on communications developments in an effort to
predict whether proposed [communications] reforms will be implemented and
whether they will be successful." Quoting Albert Einstein, Powell said, "The
unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of
thinking and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe." Reflecting on
where is the country in the communications revolution, Powell remarked "I
often think of Einstein's warning," and questioned whether the industry is
"truly changing enough, and quickly enough to accommodate" the
transformation to a pro-competitive, de-regulatory communications regime.
Title: Cellular Carriers Set $4.1 Billion Merger
Source: New York Times (A14)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/cellphone-deal.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Merger
Description: Last night, the Alltel Corp and 360 Communications Co., a
wireless telephone carrier, reached a $4.1 billion merger agreement.
Executives close to the companies say that the deal is aimed at creating a
new force in the cellular-telephone industry.
** Security **
Title: The Guardians of Computer Security
Source: Washington Post (F12)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/16/022l-031698-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Computer Security/Mergers
Description: Trusted Information, V-One and Axent, three fast-growing
computer-security companies, have seen demand for their products surge over
the last two years, as corporations have decided to connect more of their
computers to local area networks and the 'Net. Trusted makes "firewalls,"
which act like doors to parts of the network, only admitting authorized
users. V-One specializes in "virtual private network" technology. Axent
recently acquired Raptor Systems, a firewall maker, and has made itself the
nation's 3rd-largest computer-security firm. Network Assoc. Inc. said it
would buy Trusted for $307 million, a deal that would make it the biggest
player in the security market. Execs and industry analysts say the deals
largely were driven by a need to offer one-stop shopping to corporate
customers, who have begun to view security products not as disparate
utilities that can be picked up from various vendors but as a central
component of their computing strategy that they want to buy from a large firm.
** Our Man Bill **
Title: Critiques of Microsoft (With a Wink to Pogo)
Source: New York Times (D7)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16microsoft.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Competition/Microsoft
Description: A three-year study, conducted by a four-person team led by
Murali Chandrashekaran, an associate professor at the Univ. of Cincinnati's
business school, found that the "crucial variable in determining software
innovation was not competition but the health of the company." The study
concluded that the more successful the company, the less incentive it has to
innovate. Chandrashekaran said: "Success-driven complacency is the real
culprit behind a failure to innovate, not a lack of competition." So the
study suggests a "line of reasoning" not yet pondered by Microsoft's crew of
lawyers and PR consultants. "It would be called the Pogo defense, recalling
the observation of Walt Kelly's cartoon 'possum: 'Yep, son, we have met the
enemy and he is us.'"
Title: Gates to Write Book With Microsoft Researcher
Source: Wall Street Journal (B10)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Lifestyles
Description: Bill Gates is writing a second book, this time focusing on how
businesses are making intelligent uses of technology. Collin Hemingway, a
Microsoft researcher who is co-writing the book, said the book isn't simply
a sales pitch for the software giant's products. He said the book wasn't an
attempt to improve Mr. Gates's image. "We get a lot of questions about how
do you run an $11 billion company using PC software," Mr. Hemingway said.
[So do we]
*********