TELEVISION
TV Networks Are Scrambling To Deal With Era Of New Media (NYT)
Network Advanced Ad Sales Are Seen Rising (WSJ)
TV Violence (Senate)
Speech: National Association of Broadcasters (NTIA)
INTERNET
Children's Internet Protection (Senate)
The Web's Identity Crisis (WSJ)
Interest in Online Bill Payment Grows (CyberTimes)
Net Site Seeks To Build Bridges (SJ Merc)
Computer Companies Cater To Elderly (SJ Merc)
Search Engine Provides Quicker Response, Ads (NYT)
Federal Web Sites Joined by Gov.search (WP)
A Public Discussion Regarding the Management and Administration of
.us Domain Space (NTIA)
TELEPHONY/MERGERS
SBC and Ameritech: Let Them Play (ChiTrib)
US West and Global Crossings to Announce Plans to Merge (WP)
Access to Buildings and Facilities by Telecommunications
Providers (House)
Start-Up Leads Phone Cause In Battle For Internet Access (NYT)
Speech: Communications Law in the Next Millennium Conference (NTIA)
FCC REFORM
Federal Communications Commission Reform:
The States' Perspective (House)
NEWSPAPERS
Efforts To Reinvent The Los Angeles Times Falter (NYT)
ANTITRUST
Judge's Query Spawns Scenarios For Ending Of Microsoft Case (WSJ)
TELEVISION
TV NETWORKS ARE SCRAMBLING TO DEAL WITH ERA OF NEW MEDIA
Issue: Broadcasting
Over the last few weeks network executives have gathered to select Fall
programs with an increased urgency. With a declining audience (down from 65%
to 55% in the last five years), networks are attempting to become more
versatile. Despite audience declines, advertisers are expected to set a
record of nearly $7 billion in advance purchase of commercials for the Fall.
With multiplying competition from cable and Internet, TV still attracts
audiences of tens of millions, making broadcasting more valuable to
advertisers. Internet companies are buying commercial time as well. In turn,
broadcasters are investing in Internet companies. While attempting to
reinvent themselves, networks are trying to protect their economic base.
Strategies to this end include buying up programming and repurposing shows
on digital channels and cable. Video streaming is also being discussed.
Networks are expected to sell products related to their shows as wells as
lobbying regulators to own more stations. Federal regulation limits a
network from owning stations that reach more than 35% of the country. Robert
Iger, Chairman of ABC Group, says that with all the push to merge
broadcasting and the Internet, at the core they are still all about "show
business." While Mr. Iger wonders about "the mouse-click generation," NBC
president Robert Wright notes that for the most part TV will remain passive:
"I just think that people still will want to watch and just relax."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A17), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/biztech/articles/17tube.html)
NETWORK ADVANCED AD SALES ARE SEEN RISING
Issue: TV/Advertising
Although the buying season for network TV ads doesn't official begin until the
end of this week, negotiations are already underway. Wall Street is expecting
at least an 8% gain over last year's advanced prime-time ad sales. The
proliferation of viewing choices has resulted in advertisers paying more for
the few shows that still reach large audiences. It is the economy's general
health, however, that is most responsible for predicted increase in ad TV
revenue.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B11), AUTHOR: Sally Beatty and Kyle Pope]
(http://wsj.com/)
TV VIOLENCE
Issue: Television Content
Full Commerce Committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 18, at 9:30 a.m.
in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Members will discuss
legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to create a
time period when children are protected from violent programming. Senator
Fritz Hollings (D-SC), Ranking Democrat on the Committee, introduced S.876
on April 26.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-59.htm)
SPEECH: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS
Issue: Convergence/Jobs
Speech by Larry Irving to the National Association of Broadcasters
Convention, Las Vegas (NV), April 1999: Your conference also represents
another type of "convergence" - a union of unions. And this union of
interests is becoming increasingly important in today's broadcasting world.
Industries are going through radical changes: they are merging, adopting new
affiliates, and venturing into new media outlets. Employees may be
significantly affected by these changes, and they will be best represented
by a coalition of unions that speaks with one voice....So what are the
central issues that should concern unions in this era of media convergence?
To begin with, we are in the midst of a heated controversy regarding the
existing broadcast ownership rules -- an issue that may directly impact
companies and employees.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/nab42099.htm)
INTERNET
CHILDREN'S INTERNET PROTECTION
Issue: Internet Content/Filtering
Full Committee hearing scheduled for Thursday, May 20, at 9:30 a.m. in room
253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senator McCain (R-AZ) will
preside. Members will discuss the Children's Internet Protection Act, S.97,
introduced by Senators McCain and Hollings (D-SC) on January 19. The bill
requires schools and libraries that use universal service funds also use
those funds to purchase filtering or blocking technology.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-59.htm)
THE WEB'S IDENTITY CRISIS
Issue: E-Commerce
A federal appeals court in California has ruled that Web sites cannot use
trademarked names which don't belong to them in their metatags. Most Web
documents contain an invisible description of the site's contents, called a
"metatag." These metags are then used by search engines to categorize sites.
The California case involved a video chain that had included the name of a
trademarked entertainment site in its metatag. The judges in the case compared
metatags to highway exit signs. Concluding that consumers could be mislead by
inaccurate labeling.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A26), AUTHOR: Steven Johnson]
(http://wsj.com/)
INTEREST IN ONLINE BILL PAYMENT GROWS
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Online consumer billing seems to be catching on with some of the nation's
biggest billers adopting online systems. The idea is to cut the ~$3/bill
costs of printing and mailing bills as well as reducing paperwork for banks.
Bills could be emailed or aggregated at a Web site that consumers know to
check periodically. Among the companies competing to bring more billers
online are the Checkfree Corporation, the industry leader so far, and
Transpoint, a joint venture of Microsoft, First Data and Citigroup. "This
technology is unbelievably sticky," Robert Sterling, a Jupiter
Communications analyst, said, using industry jargon for features that keep
viewers coming back to a particular site. Customers who pay bills on one
site will not only return out of habit, Sterling said, but will be reluctant
to learn another site's system. With tens of billions of bills mailed in the
United States each year, at least millions of repeat site visits could be at
stake. "This is potentially a King Midas technology," Mr. Sterling said.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi (tedeschi( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/cyber/commerce/17commerce.html)
NET SITE SEEKS TO BUILD BRIDGES
Issue: Internet/International
Sina.com, a Sunnyvale (CA)-based Internet company, claims to be the largest
Chinese-language gateway to the World Wide Web. With more than 700,000
registered uses, Sina.com reports that 60% of its traffic emanates from
Asia, while the remaining users are from other parts of the world -- mostly
North American. The Club Yaun dating service is one of the most popular
destinations for US visitors. Offered in both Chinese and English, the news
is the biggest draw for most users. The site fulfills expatriates' hunger
for news about their home land. "The American reports are good," says
Taiwanese student Kevin Lin, "but they have a different point of view."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: K.Oanh Ha]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/sina051799.htm)
COMPUTER COMPANIES CATER TO ELDERLY
Issue: Internet/Elderly
Only one in every four people over the age of 60 own a computer. But several
high-tech companies are eager to change that statistic. Microsoft, Intel and
America Online are using instructional videos, training seminars and targeted
Web sites to market computers and the Internet to older Americans. People over
50 are already the second-fastest-growing group of Internet users, and companies
like Microsoft are working to boost that trend. The software company has
recently issued guidelines on how to make Web sites more accessible and
user-friendly for seniors. "We see it as a very important market," said Greg
Lund of Gateway. "These are people who are not only not scared of technology,
they're willing to experiment with it."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: John Hughes (Associated Press)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/449208l.htm)
SEARCH ENGINE PROVIDES QUICKER RESPONSE, ADS
Issue: Advertising
Internet searchers of real audio and video at http://real.snap.com will soon be
using a faster search engine and be exposed to advertising while waiting to
download entertainment. Real Networks, a multimedia software maker, and
Snap.com, an Internet portal site, have made a deal to equip the site with
faster searching capabilities and Real Networks's Real Guide directory service
that offers links to real audio and video programming sites. In order to use
the new services, users must download the free software provided by Real
Networks' Real Player G2. Once users attempt a search, advertising will appear.
The companies say that a new deal signed between Snap.com, NBC Internet (which
owns Snap.com together with CNET) and Xoom.com, a direct marketing company, is
unrelated. In the future, the companies plan to offer a multimedia search site
for users with high-access capabilities, http://speed.snap.com.
[SOURCE: The New York Times (C10), AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/biztech/articles/17snap.html)
FEDERAL WEB SITES JOINED BY GOV.SEARCH
Issue: Access to Government Info
The US Government is launching a new fee-based search engine today, Gov.search,
to be marketed to federal agencies and companies in federally regulated
industries. The Department of National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
hopes to improve its search engine at the FedWorld Web site and offer "a
broader, deeper and more precise way" to jointly search Web sites and
Government research archives. "We've done some testing with researchers in
corporate libraries and Government agencies, and they like the one-stop
shopping," said Susan Stearns, director of business development for Northern
Light, a privately held search engine company that developed Gov.search with
the NTIS. Gov.search focuses more on technical and scientific information than
other government free search services including (thomas.loc.gov). Fees for
using the service range from $15 -$30 -- extra for using specific documents on
the site.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (F6), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
(http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/17/100l-051799-id...)
A PUBLIC DISCUSSION REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF
.US DOMAIN SPACE
Issue: Internet
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
announced that it has
established an electronic mailing list for a public discussion regarding the
management and administration of .us domain space. All parties interested in
the discussion of .us domain space issues are invited and encouraged to
participate. In an effort to provide the public an open forum to freely
discuss the broad range of issues regarding the .us domain space, NTIA will
not actively moderate the mailing list. NTIA requests that participants keep
discussions focused on issues related to the future management and
administration of the .us domain space. Digest archives of mailing list
discussions may be posted periodically on the NTIA web site. Instructions
for subscriptions is available at
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usrfc/dotuslistfedreg51099.htm)
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/usdoma51499.htm)
TELEPHONY/MERGERS
SBC AND AMERITECH: LET THEM PLAY
Issue: Mergers
(Editorial) The Tribune agrees with Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman
Richard Mathias who has called the record "extremely vague" on how
residential and small business customers will fare if the SBC-Ameritech
merger is approved. But killing the deal, the editorial staff writes, will
not "move the ball closer to the goal of true competition in the local phone
market." The answer is already apparent -- AT&T will offer the needed
competition through its acquisitions of cable providers TCI and MediaOne.
Scope and scale are necessary for the all out competition envisioned by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. "Yes, the ICC -- and the FCC -- should set
conditions on this merger and they should be tough enough to make sure that
Illinois consumers benefit from the coming competition. But taking these
companies out of the game just when it's getting interesting doesn't serve
the public interest." [Sure, the risk is for residential and small business
customers -- but who cares about them, anyway?]
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p10), AUTHOR: Tribune Editorial Staff]
(http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9905170061,00.html)
US WEST AND GLOBAL CROSSINGS TO ANNOUNCE PLANS TO MERGE
Issue: Mergers
Although official declarations have not been made, US West and Global
Crossing, an international telecom upstart, are expected today to announce
plans to merge. The companies have set the broad outlines of their deal,
according to sources close to the negotiations. US West (based in Colorado)
plans to buy 9.5% of Global Crossing (based in Bermuda) and an ownership
share of Global Crossing's long-distance company, Frontier Corps (based in
NY) for $2.4 billion. The companies will be run by the CEO's of both
companies, former AT&T president Robert Annunziata of Global Crossing and US
West chief executive Solomon Trujillo.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A4), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/17/076l-051799-id...)
ACCESS TO BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES BY TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS
Issue: Competition
Links to testimony at May 13 hearing.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/Witnesses?OpenView&StartK
ey=8343CFE30C7933D585256767006A2E7A)
START-UP LEADS PHONE CAUSE IN BATTLE FOR INTERNET ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
Northpoint -- a Bay Area start-up company that builds high-speed data networks
from normal phone lines -- hopes to operate and maintain these lines, freeing
up Internet Service Providers (ISP) to focus on finding customers, operating
e-mail and World Wide Web servers, and providing customer service. This may be
an attractive proposition to ISP's who have been squeezed out by giants like
AOL. The technology Northpoint is using is a digital subscriber line, or DSL.
If embraced, the technology could replace dial-up modem access offered by ISPs.
Northpoint has brokered deals with Baby Bells to install their network
equipment inside Bell companies' central offices. By controlling the network,
Northpoint is in a good position to profit.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/biztech/articles/17spee.html)
SPEECH: COMMUNICATIONS LAW IN THE NEXT MILLENNIUM CONFERENCE
Issue: Competition/Bandwidth
Speech by Larry Irving at the Communications Law in the Next Millennium
Conference, American University, April 12, 1999. With an eye on increased
competition in local markets, Mr. Irving believes that the future of
telecommunications will be "All About Bandwidth." He addresses the effects
of consolidation, the need for more bandwidth, and spurring the deployment
of broadband. He concludes: Providing data services to rural areas,
low-income areas, and residents young and old will remain a challenge
through the next millennium. But it is a worthwhile challenge. When we think
about the 1996 Telecommunications Act, we must remember that its ultimate
goals are to make telecommunications services cheaper and more broadly
available, and to extend new advanced services to as many Americans as
possible. As President Clinton said, "The new promise of the global economy,
the information age, unimagined new work, life-enhancing technology: all
these are ours to seize. That is our honor and our challenge. We must be
shapers of events, not observers, for if we do not act, the moment will
pass and we will lose the best possibilities of our future."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/bandwidth41299.htm)
FCC REFORM
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION REFORM: THE STATES' PERSPECTIVE
Issue: FCC Reform
Thursday, May 20, 1999 at 2:00 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building.
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing
on Federal Communications Commission Reform: The States' Perspective.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/schedule.htm)
NEWSPAPERS
EFFORTS TO REINVENT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES FALTER
Issue: Newspapers
Many fault the business decisions of Mark Willes, Chairman and chief
executive of Times
Mirror who became publisher of the Los Angeles Times 18 months ago, for
contributing to the newspaper's failings. As two-thirds of senior executives
have left, Willes' policy of appointing a general manager to each newspaper
section to facilitate business and editorial cooperation is not working.
Circulation was flat and declined in April. Profits for 1998 dropped by 15%
to $165 million. Reporters have complained of "ad hoc" and "helter-skelter"
management. "Both the city of Los Angeles and the newspaper had been
undergoing a slow-motion nervous breakdown," said Steve Wassermank the book
editor of The Times. The demographics of The Times readership has been
affected by the shattering of the defense economy, decline in retail sales
and the 1992 riots. LA has lost its sense of self, he said. Other moves
Willes has made include adding 11 new business journalists, cutting regional
reporting staff and adding a dozen "Our Times" papers which provide local
communities information such as local crime reports and high school sports
scores. Other
changes include a new Health section and a separate Hispanic news desk with
123 journalists. However, Willes notes, "If we were to find out how many
additional readers we've had because of this very expensive effort with the
Latino desk, I could probably count it on these fingers."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/la-times-media.html)
ANTITRUST
JUDGE'S QUERY SPAWNS SCENARIOS FOR ENDING OF MICROSOFT CASE
Issue: Antitrust
Before adjourning for "spring break," the judge in the Microsoft antitrust
trial poised a provocative question to both sides: Why not just let
personal-computer makers and consumers pick the software they want on new
machines? This query may provide insight into how Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson might envision a resolution to this case. The judge's question
suggests that he is not convinced of Microsoft's argument that their
browser is inseparable from Windows. The query, however, does not indicate
that the Court is ready to take extreme action, such as breaking up the
company. At this moment, a settlement might be the most painless ending in
sight. For an agreement to occur, Microsoft would have to assure the
government that in reference to Judge Penfield's question -- PC makers would
be given greater choice in the software and Internet access options for
computers they sell.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1), AUTHOR: John Wilke]
(http://wsj.com/)
--------------------------------------------------------------
CPP welcomes Debbie Becht to the Headlines team. Debbie is joining us this
summer from Georgetown University.