POLITICAL DISCOURSE
The Networks' Tricky Business of Covering the
Scripted Emptiness (NYT)
Hungry To Make Their Mark, Online Media Roam GOP Convention (SJM)
As Parties Tout Online Technology, Some Candidates Remain Web-Shy (WSJ)
EDTECH
Federal Meddling or Local Empowerment? Congress and
Educators Disagree (CyberTimes)
Handheld Computers Turn to Schools As Producers See
Lucrative New Market (WSJ)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Record Companies Explore Online Music Subscriptions (NYT)
TELEPHONY
Bell Atlantic Win Ends AT&T Suit (WP)
BROADCAST
Minority Stations Left Out Of Dot-Com Radio Ad Boom (USA)
U.S. Companies, Regulators Face Hurdles To Access of
Broadcast Frequencies (WSJ)
Television Hurdles the Web In Race for Olympic Gold (WSJ)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
THE NETWORKS' TRICKY BUSINESS OF COVERING THE SCRIPTED EMPTINESS
Issue: Political Discourse
Dan Rather has called the Republican convention an infomercial. Even for
people fascinated by politics, James writes, last night was the perfect time
to catch up with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Peter Jennings' daily email to
"World New Tonight" viewers read, "The challenge is to see the way the party
presents itself, and try to get you at home to match the image with the
record." The dullness of the Republican show may justify the networks' near
absence, but that doesn't let them off the hook. Viewers are being
shortchanged, not because they are missing the convention, but because no
one is replacing that lost prime time with more substantial, inventive
campaign reporting.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Caryn James]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/080200gop-tv.html)
HUNGRY TO MAKE THEIR MARK, ONLINE MEDIA ROAM GOP CONVENTION
Issue: Political Discourse
While network TV coverage of this summer's political conventions has been
limited to about an hour of live coverage a night, many Internet sites are
offering gavel-to-gavel coverage, interactive video and audio chats, and
profiles of candidates and delegates. By one estimate, about 150 of more
than 1,500 news outlets at the Republican Convention are broadcasting on the
Web. The question is: Is American logging on? The answer is still unclear.
One major barrier is that most home personal computers do not have the
high-speed Internet connections needed to receive broadband video feeds
featured on many of the Web sites.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Mary Anne Ostrom]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/top/docs/netnew080200.htm)
AS PARTIES TOUT ONLINE TECHNOLOGY, SOME CANDIDATES REMAIN WEB-SHY
Issue: Political Discourse
Despite pronouncements by both parties about being in touch with technology,
running for political office remains largely an offline affair. Even though
establishing a site on the Web is relatively cheap and easy, campaigns
likely will remain behind the curve for some time. Some 46% of candidates
running for Congress don't have a Web site dedicated to their campaigns,
according to a new study by NetElection.org. One surprise member on the
dot-not list is House Majority Leader Trent Lott. John Czwartacki, a
spokesman for the Lott campaign, says "We don't have a site because Sen.
Lott basically runs a grassroots, door-to-door, old-fashioned kind of race."
"All of the talk at the convention and in the parties is Web, Web, Web, and
yet we have all these candidates who are completely ignoring the Web. I
think that's a travesty," says Steven Schneider, a research fellow at the
University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, who also edited
the study by NetElection.org.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Jason Anders]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB965166063610625409.htm
EDTECH
FEDERAL MEDDLING OR LOCAL EMPOWERMENT? CONGRESS AND EDUCATORS DISAGREE
Issue: EdTech/Filtering
"Many schools are ahead of the curve on developing acceptable use policies
and using filtering," said Dan Fuller, director of federal programs for the
National School Boards Association. "Many schools have already developed
policies. This is members of Congress dictating local policy." Legislation
requiring filtering software at schools and libraries that receive e-rate
funding moved a little further through both the House and the Senate last
week. The White House does not support the plan. "This is designed for local
determination of content," said Bill Duncan, an aide to Rep. Ernest Istook
(R-OK), who successfully attached a filtering amendment to the funding bill.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pushed his own filtering provision in the Senate,
where an amendment by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) added the further
requirement that communities be able to provide input about blocking other
"inappropriate" Web sites that mention bomb making, drugs or other materials
deemed unsuitable, Duncan said. "We're going to have discussions about
what's appropriate," he said. "Do we want kids learning how to make propane
bombs on the Internet?"
"I don't hear of school districts simply going in and linking students to
the Internet without ensuring they can use it safely," said Barbara Stein,
senior policy analyst for education-technology issues for the National
Education Association. "I'm not certain where Congress gets the sense that
communities are saying 'We don't know what to do so tell us.'"
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Rebecca Weiner (rweiner( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/08/cyber/education/02education.html)
HANDHELD COMPUTERS TURN TO SCHOOLS AS PRODUCERS SEE LUCRATIVE NEW MARKET
Issue: EdTech
Handheld computer manufactures are rushing to get Palm-style machines into
schools and make them the dominant ed tech tool. The strategy is to give
them to teachers and administrators and sell them to students. According to
the U.S. Department of Education, there were 68.1 million students enrolled
in everything from elementary schools through universities in 1999. "There
are about 80 million consumers in the mobile work force," so the education
market is almost as large and potentially as lucrative, says Mike Lorion,
Palm's vice president of education. Handheld computers sell for $150 to $450
and are more affordable than personal computers for many schools. Some
industry analysts are concerned, however, about the introduction of
Palm-style machines into schools. "What about a student's privacy, security
and authentication?" asks Mike McGuire, an analyst at market-research firm
Dataquest Inc. Since most handheld devices now have an infrared capability
that permits information to be beamed from one machine to another, a student
might easily beam his test answers or essays to a group of his pals, for
instance.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Pui-Wing Tam (pui-wing.tam( at )wsj.com)]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB965169335851601846.htm)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RECORD COMPANIES EXPLORE ONLINE MUSIC SUBSCRIPTIONS
Issue: Intellectual Property
Based on Napster's popularity, EMI, Universal and Sony music plan to start
subscription services that will allow Internet users to download music. On
Monday, Universal announced it would be selling individual songs -- along
with song lyrics [bet you're excited about that, parents] and images of the
artist -- for $1.99/each. But the moves by the major record labels may be
too little, too late. Already, 20 million people are using Napster to
download music for free. The main draw of Napster is "the unbelievable ease
of use and selection," said Jay A. Samit, senior vice president of EMI. He
added that he believed his company would have a viable business model "if we
can monetize the same ease of use and offer name brand selection."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C5), AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/08/biztech/articles/02music.html)
TELEPHONY
BELL ATLANTIC WIN ENDS AT&T SUIT
Issue: Telephony
Yesterday, a federal court upheld a decision allowing Bell Atlantic to offer
long-distance service in New York state. Bell Atlantic, the first regional
phone firm since the 1982 antitrust breakup of AT&T to get permission by the
Federal Communications Commission to provide long-distance service,
gained approval in December to offer long-distance in New York. But AT&T,
the country's largest long-distance carrier, challenged the FCC decision,
charging Bell Atlantic with improperly steering customers to its own
long-distance service. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously rejected AT&T's complaint. "We
find no basis for faulting the commission's conclusion that Bell Atlantic
satisfied [the 1996 Telecommunications Act] . . . for entry into the long
distance telephone market," declared Judge David S. Tatel in writing the
unanimous opinion.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E03), AUTHOR: H. Josef Hebert ]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20407-2000Aug1.html)
BROADCAST
MINORITY STATIONS LEFT OUT OF DOT-COM RADIO AD BOOM
Issue: Diversity/Advertising
Dot-Com advertising has been a boon for radio stations around the nation,
but some stations seem to be left out of the lucrative Internet equation.
While Internet advertising represents about 14% of overall radio ad revenue,
owners of minority radio stations say they are being passed over by dot-com
dollars. For example, Los Angeles' No. 1 station, KSCA, a Hispanic station,
gains less than one percent of ad revenue from dot-coms. But LA's No. 2
station, KIIS, a top-40 station, boasts 15% of revenue from Internet
advertisers. "Dot-Coms are missing a big portion of the advertising pie. But
we have to educate them just as we have educated Mercedes-Benz and Macy's in
New York. They'll learn, too, that a lot of things they believed about our
market just aren't true," says Joseph Garcia, CFO at Spanish Broadcasting
Systems.
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Keith Alexander]
U.S. COMPANIES, REGULATORS FACE HURDLES TO ACCESS OF BROADCAST FREQUENCIES
Issue: Broadband
The explosion in wireless communications under way is making U.S. firms and
government regulators worried. They're afraid they may not be able to
satisfy the demand of wireless frequencies. The Government is having
difficulty buying or badgering broadcasters into giving up the frequencies
they have long used to transmit analog signals. That part of the broadcast
spectrum is needed to accommodate wireless communication
capable of delivering video and other data over cellular phones and handheld
devices. On Monday, the FCC said it would delay a much-anticipated auction
of TV spectrum, UHF channels 60-69, saying it was accommodating parties that
needed more time to prepare for the bidding. Telecom analysts say the delays
mean "the U.S. runs the risk of falling farther and farther behind other
countries" on deployment of next-generation wireless technologies. Countries
in Asia and Europe have been scrambling to clear spectrum for
third-generation wireless products. Auctions of licenses for the new
spectrum in Europe already have raised tens of billions of dollars. The FCC
has acknowledged the coming airwaves crunch and believes a major problem can
be avoided by steps to free up spectrum, but industry leaders are still
concerned.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A2), AUTHOR: Jill Carroll And Leslie Cauley]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB965172227199692573.htm
TELEVISION HURDLES THE WEB IN RACE FOR OLYMPIC GOLD
Issue: Old vs New Media
When the gun goes off during next month's Olympic Games, don't expect to
watch or listen to the races online. In fact, only one broadcaster, NBC,
bothered to create its own Olympics site (www.nbcolympics.com), which will
make do without event video or audio. All video and audio of competitions
will be banned from Web sites, by order of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC). This is because television has the broadcasting rights of
the Olympics, and is afraid of losing viewers to the Web. When asked by the
IOC if they'd approve online video or audio of events, live or archived,
networks world-wide refused. No event during the Olympics will be broadcast
live in the U.S. because once the video enters the public domain, newscasts
and talk shows can replay it, which would undermine the uniqueness of TV
coverage during U.S. prime time. The IOC plans to meet in Switzerland in
December to explore future Internet options. Any alteration, the
organization says, would have to protect broadcasters' rights, with radical
change unlikely to occur.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: David Sweet]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB961788133526124080.htm
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