LOBBYING
Wireless Industry Begins Lobby to Block Wireline Regulation
(TelecomAM)
TELEVISION
FCC Requires More Captioning (B&C)
Execs Relieved After Testimony Opens the Season (WP)
TV's Coverage Show Up the Internet (WP)
INTERNET
Getting Ahead: Web Transforms Art of Negotiating Raises (WSJ)
Voice on the Net: The Promise and the Challenges Ahead (NTIA)
FCC/NTIA
FCC Chief of Staff John Nakahata to Resign on October 31 (TelecomAM)
Open Dialogue on the Net (NTIA)
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LOBBYING
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WIRELESS INDUSTRY BEGINS LOBBY TO BLOCK WIRELINE REGULATIONS
Issue: Wireless/Lobbying
As more consumers replace their traditional wireline phone with a wireless
one, the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) is trying to build a
"political infrastructure" -- at Congress and the FCC -- to avoid major
changes in current regulations. "We are at a watershed point in the history
of this industry," said CTIA's President Thomas Wheeler. The industry is
trying to avoid a replay of what has happened in Europe, where wireless
progress has prompted consideration of imposing new rules that would treat
wireless phone service more like traditional phone service. "That is the
quickest way to kill the kind of competitive, innovative new services that
wireless is delivering," Mr. Wheeler said.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
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TELEVISION
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FCC REQUIRES MORE CAPTIONING
Issue: Disabilities
Responding to complaints by the National Association of the Deaf and other
advocates for the handicapped, the FCC last week tightened requirements for
closed-captioning for video broadcasts. One change increases the closed
captioning requirements for nearly all new programming from 95 per cent to
100 per cent by 2006. Captioning for reruns, Spanish-language programming
and live newsroom reports from broadcast stations or networks were also
tightened.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (p. 11), AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com 9/21/98
EXECS RELIEVED AFTER TESTIMONY OPENS THE SEASON
Issue: Minorities
Hispanics do not see positive role models on English-language television.
That was one of the conclusions of a study released yesterday by the Tomas
Rivera Policy Institute which says Hispanics are regularly portrayed
negatively on television. Hispanic perceptions are that news stories on
Hispanic men are most frequently about crime or immigration and Hispanic
women are most often portrayed as victims of crime. Non-Hispanic whites
polled did not perceive news reporting on Hispanics to be as negative.
[See this story about 9 paragraphs below this headline]
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E07), AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-09/22/085l-092298-idx.html
TV'S COVERAGE SHOWS UP THE INTERNET
Issue: Old vs New Media
The Internet did not prove to be a successful medium for the Monday video
release of President Clinton's testimony to the grand jury. The video
accessed via the Internet was herky, jerky and unpredictable. However,
RealNetworks, Inc. reported record demand for the Webcast. The 3,183 pages
of supporting evidence also was not as accessible because its volume made
download time lengthy and was not as searchable because of the way the
Government Printing Office initially loaded the documents onto the Web.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E7), AUTHOR: Linton Weeks and Leslie Walker]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-09/22/074l-092298-idx.html
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INTERNET
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GETTING AHEAD: WEB TRANSFORMS ART OF NEGOTIATING RAISES
Issue: Internet
Burgeoning numbers of Internet sites offer salary surveys and job listings
with specific pay levels. Using that information, workers are able to
better compare their own salaries to that of other similar employees or to
determine what they could make in a new job. The figures presented offer
information for generic positions and don't always take into account
industry, company size, specific skills, geography and demand. Sponsors of
the Internet sites do charge for the information.
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Joann S. Lublin]
http://www.wsj.com
VOICE ON THE NET: THE PROMISE AND THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
Issue: Internet
Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry Irving delivered a speech, "Voice on
the Net: The Promise and the Challenges Ahead", to the Fall '98 Voice on the
Net (VON) Conference on September 17: 'No industry that I know of has grown
so quickly as Internet telephony, or voice over IP service. In fact, this
conference reminds me of the line: "The world is so fast that there are days
when the person who says 'it can't be done' is interrupted by the person
doing it." You are, indeed, the people that are doing it, and with great speed.'
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/von91798.htm
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FCC/NTIA
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FCC CHIEF OF STAFF JOHN NAKAHATA TO RESIGN ON OCTOBER 31
Issue: FCC
As posted to this list yesterday, FCC Chief of Staff John Nakahata is
leaving the agency October 31. FCC Chairman William Kennard said Mr.
Nakahata offered "wisdom, counsel and insight." He has "an uncanny ability
to cut to the heart of an issue, simultaneously seeing the big picture and
the critical details." See the Commission's announcement at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1998/nrmc8051.html
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
SOURCE: Washington Post (D01)]
OPEN DIALOGUE ON THE NET
Issue: NTIA
Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry Irving will conduct an "Open Dialogue
on the Net," September 23-25, to seek comments and suggestions from the
public on improving services of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA). The dialogue will be part of the
"Conversations with America" program, initiated by President Clinton and
intended to seek
input from the public about improving government service. Information and
results from the dialogue will become part of a report to Vice President
Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/converse.htm
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