POLITICAL DISCOURSE
A Barrage of E-Mail Helps Candidates Reach Media Instantly
and Constantly (WSJ)
Hollywood cash has softened Dem critics, Bush says (USA)
The Wrong Message (NYT)
The Ad Campaign: Battle on Prescription Drugs (NYT)
TELEVISION
Bill to Protect Children from Violent Programming (Senate)
Space: Network TV's Commercial Frontier (NYT)
The Future of the Interactive Television Services Marketplace:
What Should Consumers Expect? (House)
MERGERS
AT&T Reaching Out to British Telecom (USA)
Time Warner, EMI Bow to EC (USA)
The U.S. Consumer's Friend (NYT)
FCC Staff Proposes AOL Terms (WP)
Market Place: Telecommunications Woes Seem to Be Rolled
Up in Sprint (NYT)
INTERNET
Third Annual Privacy and Human Rights Survey (EPIC)
Olympic Web Watchers Show Muscle In Protecting Games'
Video Copyright (WSJ)
Satellite Web Links Let Indian Tribes Take a Technological Jump (NYT)
Boring 50 Percent of the People 80 Percent of the Time,or Vice Versa
(NYT)
E-Mail You Can't Outrun (NYT)
FCC
Technological Advisory Council to Hold Sixth Meeting (FCC)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
A BARRAGE OF E-MAIL HELPS CANDIDATES REACH MEDIA INSTANTLY AND CONSTANTLY
Issue: Political Discourse
With only 47 days left to Election Day, the presidential candidates can do
little to affect broad trends in the economy or world affairs that might
sway voters. But e-mail lets them reach reporters instantly, and constantly,
with their takes on important issues and their attacks on opponents. When
George W. Bush released his 16-page economic plan, "Blueprint for the Middle
Class," half a dozen aides to Vice President Al Gore labored furiously
at their Nashville headquarters, came up with a 24-page rebuttal, and
quickly dispatched it to the media. The delivery system: e-mail. The Gore
camp aimed to raise enough doubts about the Bush plan that reporters would
either ignore it or give the Gore critique equal time. This is politics at
cyberspeed. The e-mail barrage is designed to shape how news outlets portray
the presidential campaign to Americans who often distrust political
messages. But the growing importance of electronic mail also reflects a
broad irony: The more powerful communications technology becomes, the less
reliably campaigns can communicate directly with voters. More voters are
using new technology -- voice mail, caller ID, satellite dishes, remote
controls and digital programming -- to shut out political messages via
telephone bank or TV ad. Even the growth of the Internet hasn't helped
campaigns much. Many Web-heads aren't logging on for politics, and just 10%
of Americans tuned into live Web-casts from the GOP convention.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Bob Davis And Jeanne
Cummings]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB969499866323238.htm)
(Requires subscription)
HOLLYWOOD CASH HAS SOFTENED DEM CRITICS, BUSH SAYS
Issue: Media & Society
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush accused his opponent of
softening his stance towards the entertainment industry after raking in
millions of dollars from Hollywood. Last week Gore said he would give the
entertainment industry six months to ensure that violent films are not
marketed to children. But, according to Bush, Gore has since backed off his
tough position. "At the beginning of the week, he was sounding awfully tough
on Hollywood. . . . After a couple of fundraisers, he's changed his tune,"
Bush said. "Go out there to Hollywood to collect some money -- no longer is
it six months and tough talk." The Gore camp insists that it has not changed
its position and that the candidate "is not afraid to disagree with his
friends."
[SOURCE: USAToday (10A), AUTHOR: Jim Drinkard]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000921/2668997s.htm)
See Also:
LIEBERMAN IS CRITICIZED ON VIOLENT ENTERTAINMENT
[SOURCE: New York Times (A22), AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/politics/21LIEB.html)
(requires registration)
THE WRONG MESSAGE
Issue: Political Discourse
[Editorial] Gov Bush is trying to present an image of a more diverse,
inclusive Republican party, but a pro-Republican issue ads hampers this
effort. The ad features a white woman complaining that she had to "act fast"
and get her son out of a public school that had "a bit more diversity than
he could handle." The Associated Press noted that the ad is running in
Kansas City, where a bitter battle over school desegregation is being
fought. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for
Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, said in the Associated
Press article: "Instead of making a case for parental choice it appears to
make the case against diversity." Gov Bush quickly disavowed the ad. Ari
Fleischer, a spokesman for the Texas governor, said: "We talked to the
governor about that. His thought is that it is an inappropriate message and
the ad should not air....We think that diversity is a strength of America's
public school system. It's a strength of our country." The ad's producer was
asked if Gov Bush's objections would lead him to pull the ad. He said:
"Probably not. But we'll see."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A31), AUTHOR: Bob Herbert]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/opinion/21HERB.html)
(requires registration)
THE AD CAMPAIGN: BATTLE ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
Issue: Political Discourse
The advertising war over prescription drugs escalated this week: the
Republican National Committee broadcast a biting new commercial in 17
states, and the Gore campaign quickly responded. This story compares the
Republican and Gore campaign ads -- what's on the screen, the scripts and
their accuracy. Toner concludes: The Republican advertisement is appealing
to two powerful fears: The fear of "big government" intruding into private
health care decisions, and the fear of H.M.O.'s doing the same thing.
Democrats, meanwhile, are offering themselves as guardians of Medicare,
portraying the Republicans as bent on privatizing the system. With a month
and a half to go to Election Day, the advertising debate is already
reminiscent of the last two big health policy struggles: over Medicare
restructuring in 1995-96, and over national health insurance in 1993-94.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A20), AUTHOR: Robin Toner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/politics/21ADBO.html)
(requires registration)
TELEVISION
BILL TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM VIOLENT PROGRAMMING
Issue: Media & Society
From Press Release: The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
today approved 16-2 with one member voting present, a substitute bill to the
Children's Protection from Violent Programming Act, S.876. The bill was
introduced by Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC), Ranking Democrat on the
Committee, on April 26, 1999.
The bill would do the following:
* Direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to determine how
effectively the V-Chip and content-based rating system are protecting
children from television violence.
* If the FCC determines that the V-Chip and ratings system do not
effectively serve the governments' compelling interest in protecting
children from television violence, then the FCC must impose a blanket
prohibition on the delivery of violent programs when children are likely to
be watching.
* Directs the FCC to determine what constitutes violent programming and to
determine during what hours it may be shown.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-217.htm)
SPACE: NETWORK TV'S COMMERCIAL FRONTIER
Issue: Television
NBC signed a deal to hold a televised contest to send a civilian into space
aboard a Russian-built rocket. [Pause. Think of what we know of
Russian-built spacecraft and consider if you'd really want to "win."] A new
"space race" is on: A company with ties to NASA, Dreamtime Holdings,
proposed -- at meetings Monday with CBS, ABC, and Fox -- a show that would
use NASA facilities at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to train 20
contestants hoping to be selected to spend a week aboard the new
International Space Station, executives at the three networks said.
So-called 'reality TV' is reaching new heights [or depths, depending on your
perception] and upcoming programs involve everything from a scavenger hunt
around the world to a competition to escape from a high-technology prison.
Skepticism about reality shows is not widespread inside the network
entertainment divisions. "The networks not only remain enthusiastic about
the reality genre, but the next iterations are all about one-upping the
others," said Ben Silverman, the head of international packaging for the
William Morris Agency. Mr. Silverman noted that the shows have mainly been
imported from Europe, "and there shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
and "Survivor" are several years old. The Europeans are already onto the
next wave."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/business/21SPAC.html)
(requires registration)
THE FUTURE OF THE INTERACTIVE TELEVISION SERVICES MARKETPLACE: WHAT SHOULD
CONSUMERS EXPECT?
Issue: Television
Wednesday, September 27, 2000 11:00 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building
The Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection has
scheduled a hearing on Wednesday, September 27, 2000 at 11:00 a.m. in 2322
Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will be entitled: "The Future of
the Interactive Television Services Marketplace: What Should Consumers
Expect?" Witnesses will be by invitation only.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/schedule.htm)
MERGERS
AT&T REACHING OUT TO BRITISH TELECOM
Issue: Merger
At AT&T's annual summit in Basking Ridge, NJ, Chief Executive C. Michael
Armstrong is expected to ask his board for approval to merge the business
services divisions of AT&T and British Telecommunications into a separately
held company. The pair would build on international business services
venture Concert that offers Internet and data services to businesses
worldwide. This weekend, AT&T directors and top executives will also attempt
to address the question of how to deal with AT&T's ailing consumer
long-distance business. While long-distance generates $8 billion a year in
cash for the company, it is dragging down the company's overall growth rate.
AT&T, along with MCI and Sprint, has seen its market value collapse by more
than half over the past year. One option the phone giant might consider is
to spin off the consumer long-distance, which could then be sold to a
consortium of cable companies.
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Thor Valdmanis]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000921/2668942s.htm)
TIME WARNER, EMI BOW TO EC
Issue: Merger
To gain European Commission approval for their $20 billion merger, Time
Warner and EMI Group each offered to sell off four of their foreign record
labels. They also agreed to divest their CD distribution businesses and to
make digital music available to at least three music software players not
owned by themselves or America Online through 2005. Time Warner and EMI
offered the concessions to convince European antitrust authorities that
their joint venture would not control the recorded music market or Internet
music distribution. The EC is scheduled to rule on the Time Warner-EMI deal
by Oct. 18 and the AOL-Time Warner deal
by Oct. 24.
[SOURCE: USAToday (1B), AUTHOR: Keith L. Alexander]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000921/2668966s.htm)
THE U.S. CONSUMER'S FRIEND
Issue: International/Mergers
[Op-Ed] The best friend of American consumers may be the European Union's
office in Brussels, rather than Congress; federal and state consumer
protection agencies, or trial lawyers who sue companies in favor of
consumers. As all business goes global, the European Commission has more
power over decisions involving U.S. industries. Europe's regulatory agencies
provide a needed counterweight to the American tradition of keeping
government out of the marketplace -- a practice that has let the market go
too far at times. The EC and the Federal Trade Commission recently agreed to
a del that will protect the privacy of European consumers online. "How long
will it be until Americans start wondering why their government is willing
to insure the privacy of Europeans but not Americans?" Richter asks.
European review of mergers -- like the now dead Sprint WorldCom deal and
pending AOL Time Warner deal -- strengthens the hand of U.S. antitrust
agencies by sharing information and looking at the international
repercussions of mergers between American companies. Richter concludes: The
European Union's active role in protecting consumers doesn't mean that it is
slowing the march toward global economic integration. In fact, the E.U.
helps the cause by reducing the abuses of globalization. That takes
ammunition away from the powerful anti-globalist forces. In this way, Europe
is providing a public service not only to American consumers but to its
corporations as well.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A31), AUTHOR: Stephan-Gotz Richter, publisher of
TheGlobalist.Com, an Internet magazine]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/opinion/21RICH.html)
(requires registration)
FCC STAFF PROPOSES AOL TERMS
Issue: Merger
A Federal Communications Commission draft obtained by the Washington Post
recommends the agency approve the $183 billion merger of America Online and
Time Warner, on the condition that the companies make legally binding their
pledge to allow rival providers of high-speed Internet access to reach
customers over their cable television systems. AT&T and Time
Warner, the nation's two largest providers of cable service, are joint
investors in a cable partnership and AOL is the world's most-frequented
gateway to the global computer system. According to the draft order, FCC
staff believe that linking those three players "would create a powerful
duopoly through which AOL/Time Warner and AT&T would have the ability and
incentive to coordinate their cable deployment strategies." The draft
concludes that an "open access" condition--a rule requiring that Time
Warner's cable customers be allowed to freely choose their Internet
provider--would sufficiently protect against potential collusion with AT&T.
"It's astounding that, having found enormous dangers in the combined
ownership of the two companies, that the agency is not calling for an
absolute clear-cut divestiture of the Time Warner-AT&T partnership," said
Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the advocacy group Consumers Union. "Open
access is not enough." The FCC has set an Oct. 12 deadline for its staff to
issue a recommendation to Chairman William E. Kennard, according to sources.
The FCC's draft order comes to light as two other regulatory agencies, the
Federal Trade Commission in Washington and the European Union in Brussels,
are also reviewing the deal
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman and Alec Klein]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46622-2000Sep20.html)
MARKET PLACE: TELECOMMUNICATIONS WOES SEEM TO BE ROLLED UP IN SPRINT
Issue: Antimergers
Although the telecommunications industry is supposed to be improving the
lives o people around the U.S. and the world, from an investor's perspective
too many companies and too much newly raised capital are chasing too few
customers and too few revenue opportunities. Sprint has not been performing
as well as it did in the past, perhaps as a result of the failed merger with
WorldCom. "There was a belief that in getting the merger completed we would
have to divest some of the Internet business," Arthur Krause, Sprint's chief
financial officer, said. "So the focus on those sorts of products was not
the same as if we were trying to grow those markets independently. If the
deal had gone through, you wind up saying, 'O.K., we're looking at a
combined unit going forward.' So when the deal failed, we lost some momentum
that we can regain with some effort." Schiesel notes Krause's candor: the
company is now stuck with a data communications unit that was damaged
through neglect when Sprint thought it would have to sell that division to
someone else.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C14), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/business/21PLAC.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET
THIRD ANNUAL PRIVACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY
Issue: Privacy
On September 19, 2000 EPIC and Privacy International announced the release
of "Privacy and Human Rights 2000: An International Survey of Privacy Laws
and Developments". The report reviews the state of privacy in over fifty
countries around the world and finds worldwide recognition of privacy as a
fundamental human right. At the same time, the report notes that both law
enforcement agencies and private corporations are extending surveillance
powers through the use of new technologies and new Internet-based commercial
services, such as interactive television -- or "SpyTV" -- that record the
preferences of individuals." The report is available for sale at the EPIC
Bookstore (http://www.epic.org/bookstore/). See the Press Release
(http://www.epic.org/bookstore/phr/PHRrelease.htm) for more information.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
OLYMPIC WEB WATCHERS SHOW MUSCLE IN PROTECTING GAMES' VIDEO COPYRIGHT
Issue: Intellectual Property
Policing the Internet is an Olympian task, but the International Olympic
Committee is willing to undertake the challenge. To protect the $1.3 billion
of television-broadcast rights that the IOC sold to the Sydney Games, it
imposed a ban on almost all video of official Olympic events from being
broadcast over the Internet. To enforce the ban, the IOC hired French
software and services company Datops SA and NetResult, a joint venture
co-owned by Copyright Control, and digital copyright experts Active Rights
Management Ltd., London. The companies are working with the IOC and NBC
network to protect Olympic intellectual property on the Net. NBC also has
rights to show some tape-delayed Olympic footage online. Since the Olympics
opened Friday, Copyright Control has contacted 35 sites about violating the
video ban. If a webcaster refuses to take video off its Web site, the
IOC can pull their broadcast feed, and can contact the Internet service
provider and ask them to remove connectivity to that site, says Mr. Powell,
president and founder of London-based Copyright Control Services. His
company has helped close some 6,000 sites for copyright infringement since
it was founded two years ago. But a notice sent by Copyright Control to a
Russian site that has been running video of the Olympic opening ceremony so
far has been ineffective. "We didn't sign any international rights
agreement," says TV6 news Editor in Chief Mikhail Ponomarev, adding, "I have
received some interesting e-mail from this organization in London -- their
name doesn't mean anything to me. I don't know them. Anybody can send me
such an e-mail." "I know international laws about rights for broadcasting,"
Mr. Ponomarev says. "I do have the copyrights because my pictures are taken
from RTR." Russia's RTR-television channel is government-owned.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Jeanette Borzo]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB96952976371837686.htm)
SATELLITE WEB LINKS LET INDIAN TRIBES TAKE A TECHNOLOGICAL JUMP
Issue: Digital Divide
Earlier this month, two-way broadband satellite technology was deployed
among 120 locations on the Navajo, Hopi and Havasupai reservations. Ed
Groenhout, vice president for strategic initiatives at Northern Arizona
University said, "They are jumping generations of technology in a couple of
hours and into the 21st century." The three year pilot project is the first
commercial venture for StarBand, which plans to begin selling it's two-way
satellite broadband services to the public later this year. "This is a
turning point for our community," said Sally Tilousi, director of
Havasupais' Head Start School. "It's hard for people on the outside to
understand how isolated we are from so much technology." Sandy Colony, vice
president for corporate communications at StarBand Communications said, "In
some of these cases, this was their first Internet connectivity. It allows
more people access to all the benefits of the Internet with high-speed
delivery, long-distance learning, and it's always on."
[SOURCE: New York Times (E11), AUTHOR: Mindy Sink]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
(requires registration)
BORING 50 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE 80 PERCENT OF THE TIME, OR VICE VERSA
Issue: Internet
Internet research has been commanding the sort of media attention that was
once reserved for political polls. And according to Maryann Jones Thompson,
editorial director of the Metrics section for the Industry Standard, which
devotes six pages of each issue to Internet statistics, "It's really about
money. There's such a clamor for attention in the press that companies have
learned that a great way to get publicity is to produce a study about your
market and issue it as a study and have reporters pick it up." Such market
research reports are used as tools to sell products. And corporate clients
are more than willing to pay $45,000 a year to receive sales projections for
e-commerce, m-commerce, cell phones and hand held devices. However, Dr.
Stephen Fienberg, professor of statistics and social science at Carnegie
Mellon University, contends that people should be skeptical of studies
masquerading as social science. He said, "One needs to make a distinction
between the carefully crafted surveys that get done by government agencies
like the Census Bureau, and just using the tools to make a buck, where the
methodology isn't taken all that seriously."
[SOURCE: New York Times (E9), AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
(requires registration)
E-MAIL YOU CAN'T OUTRUN
Issue: Internet Appliances
Recently, BlackBerry, a wireless handheld e-mail device, has become a
coveted tool by America's business professionals who are dependent on being
accessible to colleagues and clients. BlackBerry's appeal has been its
ability to help users watch incoming messages and conduct other business at
the same time. Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the
original BlackBerry models, has marketed its $40-per-month email service to
corporations -- about 5,00 companies now use it. Consumers can now buy the
BlackBerrys online and soon they will be available in retail stores.
BlackBerry is expected to receive more intense competition from the cellular
market, but since the cellular network in the United States is a patchwork
of often incompatible standards, the BlackBerry, which uses a wireless data
network built for two-way messaging, has so far been able to provide better
coverage at lower prices that most mobile phone services. However, a
BlackBerry backlash of sorts has been developing in corporate meeting rooms
where the devices are present. For instance, they have been banned from
staff meetings at Loudcloud, an Internet company based in Sunyvale, CA.
"Staff meeting are not worth holding if everybody is there thumb-typing,"
said Ben Horowitz, Loudcloud's chief executive.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E1), AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
(requires registration)
FCC
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL TO HOLD SIXTH MEETING
Issue: FCC
From Media Advisory: The Technological Advisory Council ("Council"), will
hold its sixth meeting on Wednesday, September 27, at 10:00 a.m. at the
Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th St. S.W., Room TW-C305,
Washington, D.C. 20554. The Council was established by the Federal
Communications Commission to enable a wide array of distinguished
technologists from industry, academia, government, and the public to provide
recommendations to the FCC concerning technological developments in the
communications industry.
The subjects that will be considered include: (1) software defined radios
and similar devices, and ways that the availability of such technologies
might affect the FCC's traditional approaches to spectrum management in
light of electromagnetic noise levels, including the possibility of creating
a set of principles governing the behavior of intelligent communications
devices and the initiation of a noise floor study; (2) current technological
trends in telecommunications services, including changes that might
decrease, rather than increase, the accessibility of telecommunications
services by persons with disabilities, and ways by which the FCC might best
communicate to designers of emerging telecommunications network
architectures, the requirements for accessibility; (3) telecommunications
common carrier network interconnection issues and how the Council should
address those issues; (4) additional issues that the Council may choose to
address in the future.
Brief oral comments to the Council may be made with prior notice to, and
approval by, the Federal Communications Commission's Designated Federal
Officer for the Technological Advisory Council, David Farber (e-mail:
DFARBER( at )FCC.GOV).
For further information, contact Kent Nilsson at 202-418-0845 or TTY
202-418-2989.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Public_Notices/2000/da002
120.html)
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