Universal Service
Schools and Libraries and Rural Health Care Universal
Service Support Mechanisms(FCC)
Privacy
White House Effort Addresses Privacy (WP)
Gore Announces 'Electronic Bill of Rights' Aimed at Privacy (NYT)
E-Commerce
Internet Tax Ban Is Called Bias (NYT)
Television
Plenty of Words From the Sponsors (WP)
Shakeup in Chicago TV: Channel 5 News Looks for Fresh Start (ChiTrib)
Long Distance/Wireless
Battle Over Mexican Phone Market Heats Up (WSJ)
Ameritech, Qwest Join in Long-Distance Pact (WSJ)
Ameritech to Offer Long-Distance (ChiTrib)
Antitrust
PC Makers' Rights Key to Microsoft Suit (WP)
Software and Hardball (NYT)
** Universal Service **
Title: Schools and Libraries and Rural Health Care Universal
Service Support Mechanisms
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1998/da980872.wp
Issue: Universal Service
Description: Common Carrier Bureau Seeks Comment on Proposed Revision of
1998 Collection Amounts for Schools and Libraries and Rural Health Care
Universal Service Support Mechanisms.
** Privacy **
Title: White House Effort Addresses Privacy
Source: Washington Post (E1,E4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1998-05/14/051r-051498-idx.html
Author: Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Issue: Privacy
Description: Vice president Gore will announce several measures today to
give individuals more protection over how personal information is gathered
and used. His announcement, to be made at a commencement speech at New York
Univ., signals a new Clinton administration initiative to "grapple" with
consumer privacy issues in the information age. The directive will require
every federal agency to appoint a person to assess whether current privacy
law are being followed. He also plans to unveil a "consumer clearinghouse of
privacy tools and information" on the Web. Vice president Gore will call on
government, consumer and information industry officials to meet for a
privacy conference in Washington next month to begin developing an
"electronic bill of rights" to ensure privacy for everyone using the Internet.
Title: Gore Announces 'Electronic Bill of Rights' Aimed at Privacy
Source: New York Times (A16)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/051498gore-internet.html
Author: John Broder
Issue: Privacy
Description: According to officials that have helped write the speech, Vice
President Al Gore will define privacy as a basic American value during an
address to New York University graduates today. A new "Electronic Bill of
Rights" will help ensure consumer privacy concerning medical records,
Internet transactions, and other personal data. The action is an admission
that private industry has not done enough to safeguard confidentiality and
it is a recognition of growing uneasiness among consumers.
** Electronic Commerce **
Title: Internet Tax Ban Is Called Bias
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has said a ban on
state and local taxes on sales over the Internet would mean a tax break for
the affluent at the expense of people of modest means. Sales taxes account
for 1/4th of all local and state taxes. "Higher-income households who are
able to afford the computers, Internet access subscriptions and credit card
accounts that are a precondition of being able to buy goods and services"
online. The ban could create pressure to raise sales tax rates, a burden
which "would fall most heavily on lower-income households without the
resources to get online and avoid them."
** Television **
Title: Plenty of Words From the Sponsors
Source: Washington Post (A1,A18)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1998-05/14/046r-051498-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: TV
Description: Advertising executives estimate that one of every four minutes
in "Seinfeld's" 75 minute farewell episode tonight will be something other
than the actual sitcom. In TV talk, this phenomenon also is known as
"clutter," and it continues to grow bit by bit each year. According to the
American Assoc. of Advertising Agencies and the Assoc. of National
Advertisers, clutter has expanded by almost 15 percent over the past five
years. TV executives say that clutter growth is driven by three major
factors: 1) advertisers want more airtime as the economy continues to grow,
2) programming increasingly costs more money so networks sell more air time
to balance out profits, and 3) competition among broadcast and cable
networks push each network to air more promotions for upcoming shows. Some
critics think that increasing clutter will decrease the value of
advertiser's message and also is socially irresponsible when it comes to
serving "the public interest." Ronald K.L. Collins, a legal scholar and the
coauthor of "The Death of Discourse," a book about the cultural impact of
advertising, said the clutter trend indicates "that the public airwaves are
increasingly the corporate airwaves...Functionally speaking, the public
interest in being treated as synonymous with the interest of private
enterprise."
Title: Shakeup in Chicago TV: Channel 5 News Looks for Fresh Start
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec3,p1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/article/0,1051,ART-8558,00
.html
Author: Tim Jones & Jim Kirk
Issue: Television/Journalism
Description: A year ago this month, Chicago NBC-affiliate WMAQ-TV decided to
use Jerry Springer as a news analyst on the station's 10:00pm newscasts.
After the resignation of news anchors and slumping ratings since the
experiment, the two executives held responsible for hiring Mr. Springer --
General Manager Lyle Banks and news director Joel Cheatwood -- have been
dismissed. Mr. Cheatwood -- nationally recognized for adrenaline-driven
newscasts noted for crime, mayhem, flashy graphics and theatrics (he got the
moniker "Hurricane Joel" while working in Miami) -- has been replaced by the
news director from Chicago's #1 news team, WLS-TV. [See also Sec 3, p1
"Transition is sudden--and locally driven" by Jim Kirk
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/article/0,1051,ART-8536,00
.html]
** Long Distance/Wireless **
Title: Battle Over Mexican Phone Market Heats Up
Source: Wall Street Journal (A17)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jonathan Friedland
Issue: Wireless/International
Description: The Mexican government completed an auction of about $1 billion
of radio spectrum frequencies earlier this week. These spectrum frequencies
can be used to deliver low-cost wireless telephone service to the thousands
of Mexicans who cannot currently afford a telephone in their home. Companies
controlled by owner's of the country's two TV networks, TV Azteca SA and
Grupo Televisa SA, topped the list of wireless winners. Both companies
purchased enough bandwidth to give them the flexibility to offer coverage
nationwide.
Title: Ameritech, Qwest Join in Long-Distance Pact
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Long-Distance/Collaboration
Description: Ameritech Corp. has agreed to market the long-distance services
of Qwest Communications International Inc. This pact was made even as rivals
sue to block a similar agreement between Qwest and U.S. West Communications
Group Inc. Ameritech, like U.S. West, would receive and undisclosed fee for
each customer it signs up for Qwest's services. In turn, Qwest would
guarantee the Ameritech customer a low per-minute rate on long-distance calls.
Title: Ameritech to Offer Long-Distance
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec3,p1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/article/0,1051,ART-8541,00
.html
Author: Jon Van
Issue: Long-Distance
Description: Frustrated in attempts to offer in-region long distance service
and eager to offer "one-stop shopping," Ameritech is teaming up with
Denver-based Qwest Communications to offer long distance service to its
local service customers. Because Ameritech gets no revenues from the long
distance service, the company's lawyers believe the marketing partnership is
legal. Ameritech's local customers will be able to receive a flat rate of
$0.07/min on long distance calls placed after 7pm on weekdays and on
weekends, $0.15/min for weekday calls. Qwest forged a similar deal with US
West last week.
** Antitrust **
Title: PC Makers' Rights Key to Microsoft Suit
Source: Washington Post (A1,A16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran & Elizabeth Corcoran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The Justice Dept. plans to file a broad antitrust suit again
Microsoft Corp. today. The suit will be accompanied by a similar action to
be filed in federal court by at least 18 state attorneys general. The
government lawyers have said that they won't try to block tomorrow's
shipment of Windows 98 operating software but will instead focus on letting
PC makers change the software, if they so desire, before shipping computers
equipped with Windows 98 to consumers in late June.
Title: Software and Hardball
Source: New York Times (A1,D3)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/14microsoft.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Why should the Government get involved with the battle between
Netscape and Microsoft? And why should anyone outside the software industry
care? Well, even the chairman of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch has said,
"Everybody in the communications business is paranoid of Microsoft,
including me." By dominating the market for operating systems, Microsoft
controls what computer users see on their desktop. And, as the desk top is
the portal to the Internet, it is a very valuable space. The Government
seeks to pry open agreements between Microsoft and computer manufacturers --
to allow PC makers to personalize customers' machines before they are
shipped. Says UC Berkeley's Carl Shapiro, "The broad issue is: Does
Microsoft control a bottleneck, and what are the limits to that control? How
much of Internet commerce will Microsoft manipulate, if not capture? The
answer is we don't know. But Microsoft's potential control of the Internet
bottleneck is at least scary to anyone trying to set up commerce on the Web."
*********
Happy "Seinfeld" sendoff, hoopla and yadda, yadda, yadda!