BROADCASTING
A Voice In the Wilderness
Facing Outcry, NBC Ends Plan to Run Liquor Ads
Pentagon's Radio Afghanistan Goes Off The Air
INTERNET
Experts Doubt Pennsylvania Child Pornography Law Will Work
New Zealand Drafts Law Requiring 'Interception' Software
Perspective: The Privacy Imbroglio
BROADBAND
VCs Hit Up Washington For A Broadband Policy
SPECTRUM
NTIA Spectrum Summit
BROADCASTING
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to repeal its rule
prohibiting single ownership of a broadcast TV station and a newspaper in
the same community. According to Frank Blethen, such a move "will
dramatically accelerate the country's already narrow concentration of media
control," and "lead directly to the loss of an independent press and the
diversity of voices essential to the survival of a democracy." Blethen
writes that the largest conglomerates are advocating the elimination of
ownership caps, "as their ticket to grow profits through new acquisitions
and monopolistic market control." He is disturbed by the absence of
discussion about the social value of an independent press and a diversity of
voices. Because metropolitan areas can no longer support competing metro
newspapers, Blethen explains, "the separation of TV and newspaper ownership
in local communities vital to preserve multiple sources of news and a
diversity of community voices."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Frank A. Blethen (CEO and publisher of The
Seattle Times)]
(http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_disp
lay.jsp?vnu_content_id=1430591)
FACING OUTCRY, NBC ENDS PLAN TO RUN LIQUOR ADS
NBC has ended a plan to run the first hard liquor commercials on national
broadcast network television. NBC had designed guidelines that included
requiring liquor companies to run four months of "social responsibility" ads
encouraging designated drivers and responsible drinking before running
commercials for their liquor. While the plan did have some supporters
including the Cato Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, NBC
received considerable criticism from Congress, federal regulators, the
American Medical Association and public advocacy groups. In a telephone
interview from the NBC network headquarters, Alan Wurtzel, president for
research said, "We went into this knowing we'd be plowing new ground and it
would not come without controversy. We said we would do it as responsibly
as we could, and after listening to the House and Senate, to the interest
groups, we felt it was not appropriate to go to the next step at this
point."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/21/business/media/21ADCO.html?pagewanted=pr
int)
(Requires subscription)
PENTAGON'S RADIO AFGHANISTAN GOES OFF THE AIR
The Pentagon is ending six months of broadcasting messages and music as part
of their psychological warfare tactics against the Taliban. The 193rd
Special Operations Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard flew day and
night spreading messages for Afghan civilians and the Taliban. The messages
to civilians included information about food drops, when to stay indoors or
away from American fighting, and stating it was terrorists, not Afghan
civilians who were under attack. The 193rd is the U.S. military's only unit
of its kind consisting of six C-130s capable of transmitting television
broadcasts and in the near future, live satellite feeds. The programs are
usually broadcasted recordings in local languages, but at times native
speakers are brought aboard to do live broadcasts.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/03/20/pentagon-radio.htm)
INTERNET
EXPERTS DOUBT PENNSYLVANIA CHILD PORNOGRAPHY LAW WILL WORK
Legal and online experts are doubtful of the effectiveness of Pennsylvania's
attempt to reduce online child pornography. The new law requires Internet
service providers (ISPs) to block access to objectionable Web sites. Two
experts interviewed for this article argue that the state law is at best an
unfairly imposed extra expense, and at worst is unconstitutional. "Everyone
agrees that child pornography is bad," says telecom policy authority Glenn
Manishin. "But the idea of restricting content by imposing a prohibitive
cost on a third party - ISPs - causes a problem. These ISPs will have to
install software to deny access to an ever-changing list of sites." Manishin
suggests that there are two ways to get rid of an illegal product: cut off
the supply or the demand. The new law is somewhere in between. Bennett
Haselton, head of the anti-Internet-filtering Web site Peacefire.org, stated
that the legislation "reeks of lawmakers wanting to create the appearance of
doing something, rather than actually doing something." The law requires
ISPs to remove or disable access to child pornography sites within five
business days of notification by the state attorney general. "Many of these
sites operate from overseas. Even if the content could be blocked," says
Haselton, "the attorney general's office would have to spend all of its time
doing this. These sites appear and disappear on a regular basis."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Michael Bartlett]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175358.html)
NEW ZEALAND DRAFTS LAW REQUIRING 'INTERCEPTION' SOFTWARE
Telecommunication network operators and Internet service providers in New
Zealand will be legally obligated to install software that will allow police
or the secret service to eavesdrop on phone calls or e-mail messages. The
new bill, which is being drafted right now, will require all telecom and
ISPs to be "interception-capable." E-mail and vice messages may be
intercepted by carriers when a High Court warrant is presented to the
carriers. "This law on interception capability will bring us into line with
legal requirements already in place in a number of different countries
including the United States, Germany, Netherlands and the U.K.," says
Associate Minister of Justice Paul Swain. According to Swain, the government
is expected to pay for this provision for existing fixed and mobile networks
to be implemented within 18 months of enactment of the legislation. Past
that, however, network operators will have to bear the cost of installing
snooping software.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Adam Creed]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175371.html)
PERSPECTIVE: THE PRIVACY IMBROGLIO
[Commentary] With approximately 50 privacy-related laws scheduled for review
in Congress, David Holtzman feels it is time to consider what privacy is and
where we want to make our policy. Holtzman suggests that the proper forum
for the privacy debate is not Congress, but in the corporate boardrooms
across America. Currently, American companies write privacy statements as a
safeguard against legal action. Holtzman is concerned that these statements
(which he describes as "legal Muzak") do nothing for the long-term
maintenance of the customer relationship, do not enhance a company's
reputation and do not strengthen brands. Holtzman concludes that "it is easy
to fall into the trap of using legal restrictions and regulatory covenants
to create a universal definition of a prickly issue like privacy... Using
yes-or-no compliance as a litmus test creates a dichotomy that encourages
heated debate without truly understanding what the issues are and associated
trade-offs are. As a result, current developments are doing little to
guarantee the long-term happiness of businesses and consumers."
[SOURCE: CNET, AUTHOR: David Holtzman]
(http://news.com.com/2010-1075-865409.html)
BROADBAND
VCs HIT UP WASHINGTON FOR A BROADBAND POLICY
Many in the venture capital community see the promise of increasing
broadband services in the United States. This year the VC community is
stepping up activities to lobby for a national broadband policy they believe
would accelerate the availability of broadband services and stimulate
investments. "This could be an incredible catalyst to the economy", said
Guy Hoffman, senior partner at venture-capital firm TL Ventures. "If the
(large phone-service providers) start building out infrastructure, that's
obviously going to spur the equipment makers, which would also spur
investment in start-up companies. It could represent a tremendous boon to
our economy." In a victory for the telecom industry, the Tauzin-Dingell bill
recently passed the House, but is not expected to pass the Senate because of
concerns that the proposed deregulations would be anticompetitive. Despite
the expected failure of Tauzin-Dingell, the venture capitalists plan to
continue pushing for a national government policy. "We're not advocating for
a huge government infrastructure project, said Paul Brownell, vice president
for public policy at National Venture Capital Association, "but there are a
lot of steps the government can take."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jonathan Burns]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1016641946952814160,00.html?mod=technolo
gy%5Ffeatured%5Fstories%5Fhs)
(Requires subscription)
SPECTRUM
NTIA SPECTRUM SUMMIT
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will
host a summit April 4-5 in Washington DC to identify more efficient ways to
manage the nation's airwaves. The demand for radio spectrum from both
commercial industries and the government has increased tremendously in
recent years. The goals of the summit will be to develop policies to
increase efficient use of the spectrum; provide spectrum for new
technologies; and improve the effectiveness of domestic and international
spectrum management. The keynote speaker will be DOC Secretary of Commerce
Donald L. Evans. Other speakers include FCC Chairman Michael Powell and NTIA
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Nancy Victory. The
meetings are open to the public with seating available on a first-come,
first-served basis.
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR:
NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/summit/index.html)
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