TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Speech: Defining Government's Role in the
New Telecommunications Landscape (NTIA)
TELEVISION
Tailoring Local TV to Local Tastes (WP)
INTERNET
The Media Gets a Message (WP)
Cheaper or Free Internet Entry Seen (WP)
For Neighborhoods in Many Cities, Virtual Community Centers (NYT)
For Teen-Agers, a New Forum for Frank Talk About Sex (CyberTimes)
Whales in the Minnesota River? (NYT)
The Web Finds Long-Lost Ancestors (WSJ)
Peru Expedition Broadcast on Web (SJ Merc)
TELEPHONY
Bell Atlantic Adds a 24-Cent Charge (WP)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft Peers Urge Restructuring It Firm Loses Trial (WSJ)
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SPEECH: DEFINING GOVERNMENT'S ROLE IN THE NEW TELECOMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE
Issue: Telecommunications
Larry Irving's remarks at the Third Annual Florida Communications Policy
Symposium: "We have been exploring whether the Act has, in fact, changed the
telecommunications landscape, and whether consumers have been affected by
these changes. Three years after the Act's passage, it looks as though the
ball is finally now in play. The telecommunications field is changing, and
Americans are beginning to feel its benefits. With these developments, state
and federal governments will need to play new roles." Mr. Irving addresses
The Changing Paradigms in Telecommunications, The New Challenges for State
and Federal Government, Meeting the Challenges through Partnership, and
Coordinating Efforts to Connect Communities. He concludes: "We know that
it's important to connect communities so that they can get health care
information. We know the excitement of schoolchildren when they see
real-life depictions of the pyramids. We know that new technologies are
about the ability to participate directly in a political poll or discussion,
at the click of a mouse. None of these are part of electronic commerce or
included in our GDP, but every one is reason why should be excited about the
Information Revolution and what we are doing here today. These are the
developments that go to the core of what makes America truly great."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/fla21899.htm
TELEVISION
TAILORING LOCAL TV TO LOCAL TASTES
Issue: Television
WAMI (pronounced "whammy") is changing television in Miami and hopes to
change television around the country. Channel 69 is the prototype for a new
kind of station which seeks to put local back in TV. TV mogul Barry Diller
is behind the experiment and is prepared to put similar programming on a
nationwide string of stations. To counter TV's nationalization trend, Diller
set up WAMI last June as a research and development laboratory for his
company, USA Networks, which operates 12 local TV stations nationwide along
with the Home Shopping Network and cable's USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel.
WAMI is a ratings laggard and presently is losing money, but its owner
appears not to care. It is, he contends, the future. Although the viewer
sees M*A*S*H and Roseanne reruns, and the ballgames of the Miami Heat and
Florida Marlins, the station produces much of its programming, including
normal evening newscasts, a quirky children's show, two nightly news
magazines, a local sports highlight program, a late night newscast that
features the news read by talking lips and "Ocean Drive," a program that
scans the street and Miami Beach for scantily clad persons. Attitude infects
even the commercials that run on WAMI with some being done live from the
office of the advertisers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/tv/features/localtv0304.htm
INTERNET
THE MEDIA GETS A MESSAGE
Issue: New Media vs. Old Media
New media has old media on the run. Both worlds convened in New York last
week to talk about the Internet. One conclusion is that print media is still
slow to grasp the Internet's action-oriented nature. Senior people from
magazines, newspapers and TV defended their Internet strategies. Yet their
vision lacked the sparkle of speeches from people running pure Internet
companies. And it didn't help that speaker after speaker trotted out Web
traffic data showing sites run by old-line media companies trailing those of
pure Internet firms. By 2002, Jupiter Communications analysts say, the
number of American households using the Internet will eclipse those taking a
newspaper. More than half of heavy Internet users report watching less TV;
one in four say they have reduced the time they spend with magazines. Major
media companies are arguing internally about whether to spin off their
new-media units and sell stock to the public. Writer Leslie Walker
concludes, "I hope they pour every dime into interactive tools and services
that allow users to transform the Internet's static text and images into a
dynamic experience. Because one of the hardest lessons for traditional
companies to learn about new media is that it is fundamentally more about
other people's content than their own."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/biztop920550942907.htm
CHEAPER OR FREE INTERNET ENTRY SEEN
Issue: Internet
Following Great Britain's success with free Internet access, the US may not
be far behind. Freeserve, which began operating in September in Britain and
has already surpassed America Online as that country's most popular Internet
access provider, allows customers to dial up for free. That same spirit
seems to be crossing the Atlantic. NetZero has signed up 400,000 customers
since it launched a free service in October. NetZero is led by a group of
venture capitalists that have already created one stampede by giving away
advertisement-rigged computers. Gateway announced last week that it would
throw in a free year of Internet service with any computer purchase of more
that $1,000. A company named Freewwweb.com advertises "free Internet access"
but its interpretation of the term may be different from that of the typical
customer. The company requires a one-time fee of $120, but it does offer
local dial-up numbers across most of the country. Another service,
webCOMBO, charges a one time fee of $149.95 for otherwise free access to its
national network. Others such as zDial, FreePPP and FreeI charge nothing but
only have dial-up numbers in a specific region. These companies make their
money by the advertising displayed on the screens. Concerned observers
suggest that these companies may offer little or no customer support and
subscribers run the risk that the service might suddenly vanish (along with
the user's e-mail address).
[SOURCE: Washington Post (Online), AUTHOR: Bruce Meyerson (Associated Press)]
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990304/V000200-030499-idx...
FOR NEIGHBORHOODS IN MANY CITIES, VIRTUAL COMMUNITY CENTERS
Issue: Community Networks
More and more people are turning to the World Wide Web to find out what's
happening down the block. E.Central, a Denver based company, is taking
advantage of the growing trend of community websites maintained by
neighborhood groups and other community organizations. Nonprofit community
networks, or freenets, have long provided community groups with free sites.
Differing from these nonprofit projects, E.Centeral intends to make money by
selling advertising on their Neighborhood Link site. They report that 285
neighborhood associations in Denver have been using their site to post
notices, newsletters, and hold interactive discussions. AT&T and Conoco oil
company have agreed to pay $30,000 for a year worth of advertisements on the
site. The city of Denver is very supportive of the project, which they see
as a means for "revolutionizing the way neighborhoods and organizations can
communicate with the community and with themselves," according to Andrew
Hudson, a spokesman for the Mayor Wellington E. Webb.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E7), AUTHOR: William Long]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/circuits/articles/04neig.html
FOR TEEN-AGERS, A NEW FORUM FOR FRANK TALK ABOUT SEX
Issue: Internet
Planned Parenthood has launched a new website that provides young adults
with information about sex and birth control. Teenwire.com is a safe,
private place for teen to ask questions and get information, say the site's
creators. The casual and frank tone of the site, which is intended to put
teens at ease, has drawn criticism from some corners. "It looks like a Web
site drafted by kids without any adult supervision, what na