Television (And you thought there was nothing on TV in August)
NYT: A Gulf Develops Among Broadcasters on Programming Pledge
B&C: HDTV Falling Out of Favor
B&C: Crime spree on network news
NYT: In TV's Dull Summer Days, Plots Take Wing on the Net
NYT: Broadcasting: Two Would-Be TV Networks Battling It Out
B&C: TV finds more room for gays
Radio
NYT: A Keen Ear For Stories Behind Stories
B&C: C-SPAN buying Washington FM
New at the FCC
WSJ: Whose Side Is the FCC On?
B&C: Bill Kennard: The "Prince" Who Would Be Chairman
FCC: The Light at the End of the Tunnel vs.
the Fog: Deregulation vs. the Legal Culture
Internet
WP: Digital Flubs
WSJ: Netscape to Offer New Internet Software In Bid
to Head Off Inroads by Microsoft
Education Technology
WP: Wiring and Learning
Wireless
WSJ: Iridium Creates New Plan for Global Cellular Service
Publishing
NYT: Middling (and Unloved) in Publishing Land
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* Television *
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Title: A Gulf Develops Among Broadcasters on Programming Pledge
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/081897hdtv.html
Author: Joel Brinkley
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Some broadcasters are going back on their pledge to air
high-definition TV (HDTV) on their second, "digital" license. The president
of ABC said last week, that the network is more interested in airing several
subscription channels than one HDTV program. CBS and NBC say they will show
some HDTV programming. But just a few months ago, ABC wrote to the FCC
pleading "The only way for the Commission to assure that enough HDTV
programs are in fact offered is for the Commission to require each
broadcaster to offer a minimum number of hours of HDTV." (This in the age of
de-regulation). [For more info see http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/#digitaltv]
Title: HDTV Falling Out of Favor
Source: Broadcasting&Cable http://www.broadcastingcable.com/(p.4)
Author: John Higgins
Issue: Digital TV
Description: "This is a giant game of five-way chicken going on here," says
media analyst Tom Wolzien speaking of the HDTV vs SDTV debate. "Nobody's got
the model yet. I think it's going take a year for this to shake out." ABC
has announced that it is more interested in multiple standard definition
channels (SDTV) than in one prettier HDTV signal. (And if you had ESPN and
Disney programming to fill the extra stations, wouldn't you, too?) Fox and
NBC seem to be leading to a SDTV-HDTV mix and CBS seems the only network
interested going with all HDTV all the time. (But if you had a hunk like Dan
Rather to show off, wouldn't you?)
Title: Crime spree on network news
Source: Broadcasting&Cable http://www.broadcastingcable.com/(p.28)
Author: Steve McClellan
Issue: Journalism/Television Content
Description: Crime coverage on nightly network news has tripled since 1993,
a Center for Media and Public Affairs study reports. Coverage of murders is
up 700%. Excluding the OJ Simpson case, murder coverage is up 356%. Since
1993, these newscasts have also aired 50% more stories on entertainment than
on the environment.
Title: In TV's Dull Summer Days, Plots Take Wing on the Net
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/081897fanfiction.html
Author: Amy Harmon
Issue: Old vs New Media
Description: Summer couch potatoes may find it maddening to wait for their
favorite shows to start their new seasons, but if they visit "fanzine" type
websites, they can read new storylines offered by other fans -- or even
write or submit their own. This "reflects the power of the Internet as a
grassroots publishing platform, making every viewer a potential
contributor." See Fanfic Resources
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bentley/fanfic/fanfic.html.
Title: Broadcasting: Two Would-Be TV Networks Battling It Out
Source: New York Times (D7)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-upn-media.html
Author: Bill Carter
Issue: Ownership
Description: In Media column, Carter looks at the fight over station
affiliates for the two newest television networks UPN and WB. The industry
once thought that the most likely course would be for UPN and WB to merge
since there doesn't seem to be enough room in the country for five broadcast
networks. But the merger seems less and less likely so its a fight to the
death for the two upstarts. (No, CBS isn't going anywhere; they still have
Diagnosis Murder to keep them afloat). WB scored big lately by convincing
some UPN affiliates to switch. The deal still has to be settled in court,
though.
Title: TV finds more room for gays
Source: Broadcasting&Cable http://www.broadcastingcable.com/(p.27)
Author: Lynette Rice
Issue: Television Content/Minorities
Description: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reports
that the 1997-98 television season will be a banner year for gay roles.
Thirty gay, lesbian and bisexual characters will appear in prime time
broadcast TV shows. "This historic number of characters signals America's
increasing appreciation of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community as part
of their own lives," GLAAD says. On the other hand, Morality in Media says
the its just another sign in the trend of "turning over the public airwaves
to be little more than an instrument of propaganda to promote an agenda.
It's purposely intended to change public attitudes about homosexuality."
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* Radio *
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Title: A Keen Ear For Stories Behind Stories
Source: New York Times (B1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/think-radio.html
Author: Ralph Blumenthal
Issue: Radio
Description: A look at the wide variety of "think radio" pieces airing
lately. One reporter, Helen Borten, says that the story behind almost all
her stories have a common thread: "they are all, in one way or another,
about home."
Title: C-SPAN buying Washington FM
Source: Broadcasting&Cable http://www.broadcastingcable.com/(p.34)
Author: Elizabeth Rathbun
Issue: Radio
Description: C-SPAN will purchase WDCU from the struggling University of the
District of Columbia and offer simulcasts of its national public affairs TV
programming over the radio station. Salem Communications Corp had won with
it's $13 million bid, but many protested that the commercial Christian
broadcaster was buying a noncommercial license through a nonprofit spinoff.
The Media Access Project http://www.essential.org/map/ is still raising
concerns that C-SPAN will address local needs. "That won't be a problem,"
promises C-SPAN's Brian Lamb. "I think it's going to be a tremendous service
to this town."
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* New at the FCC *
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Title: Whose Side Is the FCC On?
Source: Wall Street Journal (A14)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Editorial Staff
Issue: Telephone/Internet Regulation
Description: Have you ever made an international telephone call...and
paid a quarter of what most long distance carriers would charge? You
will. No, this isn't an AT&T commercial, it's Internet telephony and if
the FCC supports it, it may just save you a bundle of money in the not
so distant future. The FCC has indicated that it will support such
technology, but there are some well-reasoned skeptics who warn us to
keep the champaign on ice for now. Under President Bush, the FCC was a
champion of what is called "call back." This allows callers from
countries with high calling rates, such as Italy, to call the United
States using U.S. carriers, which saved them $2-3 a minute. In 1995,
the FCC issued an order stating that U.S. carriers could no longer
provide such service in countries that had declared call back illegal.
The editorial suggests that the FCC make a statement that "The U.S. will
not enforce foreign laws antithetical to world wide competition" which
would deter foreign governments from passing laws against Internet
telephony.
Title: Bill Kennard: The "Prince" Who Would Be Chairman
Source: Broadcasting&Cable http://www.broadcastingcable.com/ (p.16)
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Federal Communications Commission
Description: B&C's cover story on President Clinton's choice to head the
FCC, current FCC General Counsel Bill Kennard. "He's the nicest guy
broadcasters may ever want to neutralize," the article begins. A Kennard
Commission will have to address broadcast ownership rules as well the public
interest obligations of digital broadcasters. The Commission will receive
recommendations from a Presidential advisory committee being assembled this
summer. Mr. Kennard is viewed as a more soft-spoken, more collegial version
of Chairman Reed Hundt.
At the FCC http://www.fcc.gov
Chairman Hundt's 8/14/97 Speech "The Light at the End of the Tunnel vs. the
Fog: Deregulation vs. the Legal Culture"
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Hundt/spreh741.htmlto the American Enterprise
Institute.
"A year-and-a-half after the President signed a law that replaced a hundred
years of monopoly in communications with a commitment to competition, we
should ask: is it working? Will Congress and the President see their
intentions come true? Will we get competition and deregulation in local
telephone markets -- perhaps the largest remaining monopolized markets in
our economy?"
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* Internet *
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Title: Digital Flubs
Source: Washington Post (Washington Business p.15)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/18/013l-081897-idx.html
Author: WashTech Staff
Issue: Journalism
Description: The Hong Kong government "accidentally" posted the names,
passport numbers, and identity card numbers of around 1,000 journalists
on the Internet. The journalists were in town to cover the arrival of
Chinese army units in the former British Colony. Such personal
information is supposed to be protected under Hong Kong law, and people
are watching to see if the Chinese government will respect it.
Title: Netscape to Offer New Internet Software In Bid to Head Off
Inroads by Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Nick Wingfield
Issue: Internet Business
Description: Netscape has changed course and decided to introduce a
stand-alone version of its new web browser. In its ongoing battle with
industry giant Microsoft the company had changed its tactics this year,
developing a "combination program," called Communicator, which included
its Navigator browser, e-mail, and other "groupware" functions that
would facilitate worker collaboration over networks. The new strategy,
which was developed to grab a larger share of the corporate software
market, put Netscape in competition with allies like IBM and Novell.
According to John McCarthy, and analyst at the Forrester Research
firm, the revised strategy should help appease the corporate customers
who disliked Communicator. Netscape's new Navigator 4.0 will include
Netcaster, which will provide news "using broadcast style techniques," a
scheduling program called Calendar express, and a simplified version of
Netscape's current e-mail program.
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* Education Technology *
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Title: Wiring and Learning
Source: Washington Post (A19)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/18/028l-081897-idx.html
Author: WP Editorial Staff
Issue: Education Technology
Description: This editorial revisits the oft asked question "Does Ed
Tech work?" It sites a study published in the journal "Science," which
looked at how people develop motor skills. Apparently, motor skills
"consolidate" in your brain in the six hours after you first learn them,
leading some to believe that if you try to learn something else during
that time period, the consolidation will be impaired. The study doesn't
really draw these conclusions but one of its authors said that it might
be true. This intellectual roller coaster ride concludes with the warning
that "the search for great new ways to start kids off with computers"
should proceed with some respect for the mystery that is our brains.
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* Wireless *
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Title: Iridium Creates New Plan for Global Cellular Service
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Quentin Hardy
Issue: Wireless
Description: Up until recently, most cellular phones worked on either an
analog or a digital network. In other words, the phone you bought in New
York would not work if you tried to use it in Tokyo. In order to solve
that problem, Iridium has developed phones with removable cards which
allow customers to easily adapt their phones to the different networks
around the world. All calls go through Iridium's network, which allows
the customer to pay a single bill and keep a single phone number.
Critics claim that Iridium has fundamental design flaws that make its
system more expansive compared to competitors Globalstar LP and
Qualcomm, Inc. One advantage that Iridium has is that it will be ready
to use before its competitors, with a scheduled start up date set on
September 23, 1998. Iridium plans to charge customers $50 a month plus
user fees, with satellite service costing $1.75 a minute, plus long
distance fees.
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* Publishing *
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Title: Middling (and Unloved) in Publishing Land
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/midlist-authors-media.html
Author: Doreen Carvajal
Issue: Publishing
Description: "Midlist" authors -- an industry label denoting writers whose
books sell modestly and names lack the marquee value of a Tom Clancey or a
Stephen King -- are finding it hard get their works published. Major houses
are slowing their acquisitions and reducing their title lists -- squeezing
midlist authors out. Many of them are trying to get published by university
and small presses.
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