POLITICAL DISCOURSE
Are the Media Tilting to Gore? (WP)
Family's Patterns Can Blunt The Effect of Video Violence (NYT)
Public Lives: From the Bayou to the Beltway,
With Slyly Civil Ferocity (NYT)
MERGERS
Liberty Media and News Corp. Said to Be Negotiating a Deal (NYT)
Time Warner and AOL Offer New Terms to Rescue Merger (WP)
Europe Eyes Megamergers with Caution (USA)
Joint Effort Set to Combine Cell Phone and Hand-Held Computer (NYT)
ECOMMERCE
Leading E-Mail Marketers to Issue Standards to Curb the
Use of Spam (WSJ)
E-Commerce Report: The Middlemen of Content (NYT)
'Privacy Gap' Splits Net Users, Execs (USA)
COMMUNICATIONS AND THE OLYMPICS
Leery of the Web, Olympic Officials Set Limits on News (NYT)
If Cell Phones Were Sport, A Platinum Medal for Aussies (NYT)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Copyright Lesson For Kids Angers Napster Fans, Legal Experts (USA)
INFOTECH
Analysts Say High-Tech Spending Boom Is Starting to Level Off
and May Decline (WSJ)
RADIO
Reconsideration Order for Low Power FM Radio (NYT)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
ARE THE MEDIA TILTING TO GORE
Issue: Political Discourse
Some journalists are joining Republican voters in expressing concern
that the media has tilted their coverage to favor VP Al Gore. The turning point
seems to have been The Kiss. While journalists disagree that their personal
ideologies are favoring the VP, the perception that the press is favoring
Gore has taken hold. More than half of all Bush supporters say the press is
biased against the Texas governor, according to an Editor & Publisher poll.
Only a minority of Gore backers see the media as biased, not surprisingly,
but 35 percent of those who do concede that Gore has gotten more than an
even break. Granted, Bush has received more favorable coverage for longer
than Gore in this election - the spring being particularly good for Bush.
But since Sept. 4, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs,
comments about Gore on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts have been 55
percent positive, compared with 35 percent positive for Bush. By contrast,
Bush got 62 percent positive evaluations in July. "Bush did get good press
for a long time," said Robert Lichter, the center's director. But, he said,
"the pattern has been that in the general election, Democrats get balanced
coverage and Republicans get terrible coverage." What really riles those on
the right is the conviction that not all gaffes are treated equally by the
media. For example, they say, the rats were big news and the dog was not.
The NYT ran a front-page story on a Republican ad that included the word
"rats" for 1/30th of a second. But when the Boston Globe reported last week
that Gore had misstated the prices of prescription drugs for his
mother-in-law and his dog, the Big Three evening newscasts didn't touch the
controversy for three days.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8949-2000Sep24.html)
FAMILY'S PATTERNS CAN BLUNT THE EFFECT OF VIDEO VIOLENCE
Issue: Media & Society
All us '80s hipsters know that video killed the radio star, but can Mom and
Dad kill the video bad guys? Members of the Senate Commerce Committee
prepare for Round 2 on Wednesday in the debate over violent entertainment.
Some childhood development experts contend that the issue is not just what
children see, but how and where they see it. Private household choices --
where to put the family computer or video game console, how many television
sets a household has -- can greatly affect the impact these entertainments
have. As more of the machines find their way into children's rooms, "the
whole pattern of use of mass media works to isolate children from adults,"
said William Damon, director of the Stanford University Center on
Adolescence. "Parents don't feel they have access to their children's
electronic worlds," Dr. Damon said. "In lots and lots of ways, parents have
stepped back from believing kids need their guidance, including a 'no.'"
There's much more about the media choices of kids and parents at the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: John Leland]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/technology/25TEEN.html)
(requires registration)
PUBLIC LIVES: FROM THE BAYOU TO THE BELTWAY, WITH SLYLY CIVIL FEROCITY
Issue: Policymakers
A profile of House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) who, if
Republicans retain majority control of the House, will become Chairman of
the Commerce Committee. He is a top fund-raiser for Republicans, helping
pull in, by his count, "well more than $8 million" for candidates in tight
races across the country. Making his career as a Democrat, Rep Tauzin became
a Republican just in time to sign the Contract With America in 1995. The
secret for surviving in a "corrupting world" is he says, "Always remember
where you come from and how you got there, and who you really answer to."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A14), AUTHOR: Christopher Marquis]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/politics/25LIVE.html)
(requires registration)
MERGERS
LIBERTY MEDIA AND NEWS CORP. SAID TO BE NEGOTIATING A DEAL
Issue: Mergers
In a complicated deal, John Malone's Liberty Media and Rupert Murdoch's News
Corp would increase investments in eachother's companies. The deal could put
News Corporation in a better position to bid for the Hughes Electronics
division of General Motors. G.M. has said it is considering an outright sale
of the company, a merger or partnerships and joint ventures with other
companies. Liberty's primary business is owning stakes in cable programming
companies, including a 20 percent interest in Gemstar-TV Guide, which owns
TV Guide and provides electronic program guides like VCR Plus. That stake is
worth about $6 billion. In the next month, News Corp is expected to take
public its global satellite TV operations, calling it Sky Global.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C2), AUTHOR: Geraldine Fabrikant]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/business/25NEWS.html)
(requires registration)
TIME WARNER AND AOL OFFER NEW TERMS TO RESCUE MERGER
Issue: Merger
AOL and Time Warner agreed to extend from three years to five the duration
of equal treatment they would provide to rivals seeking access to the
combined company's music distribution channels and music catalog, according
to people familiar with the situation. Last week, in an effort to gain
antitrust clearance from the EU, AOL and Time Warner spelled out in more
detail what they are prepared to do to escape the regulatory ax from the
European Commission. But one point sticks out -- an extra two years during
which the combined entity would be obliged not to discriminate against rival
Internet-service providers that would like to compete with AOL for online
distribution of music. One of the more pressing antitrust concerns is that
a merged EMI/Time Warner will favor AOL for online distribution of
music. For that reason, the two separate merger discussions are bleeding
into one another. Last week, the European Commission's antitrust department
circulated two documents recommending that both deals be blocked. The
revised set of remedies came under fire from the companies' competitors,
which say AOL and Time Warner simply rehashed their previous promises
without adding any more substance. The competitors, including British
Telecommunications PLC and Walt Disney received the list of the new
antitrust remedies Thursday and have until midnight Monday to give their
opinions to the commission. Their response is expected to emphasize that the
nondiscrimination clause applies largely to music distribution but fails to
specifically mention other content, such as news and videos.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A27), AUTHOR: Philip Shishkin]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB969818841290458500.htm)
(Requires Subscription)
See Also:
BOTH SIDES GET TOUGH IN LATEST MANEUVERS ON AOL-TIME WARNER MERGER PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB969827037958535866.htm)
EUROPE EYES MEGAMERGERS WITH CAUTION
Issue: Mergers
The European Commission is taking a tough stance as it considers Time
Warner's proposed megamerger with America Online and its joint music
venture with EMI Group. It is likely that it will take a harder line
than U.S. regulators will. "They are more suspicious of the possibility
for competitive harms, especially when one of the parties has a
commanding position in the market,'' says Bill Kovacic of George
Washington University Law School. Last week, the companies offered
concessions aimed at addressing some of the EC's issues. The commission
is vetting proposed concessions and is expected to consult with its
member states before it makes final rulings in mid-October. The only
time it barred a deal involving two U.S. firms came recently when it
rejected WorldCom's $129 billion planned merger with Sprint. The U.S.
Justice Department also opposed it.
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000925/2680527s.htm)
JOINT EFFORT SET TO COMBINE CELL PHONE AND HAND-HELD COMPUTER
Issue: Convergence
Motorola and Palm today will announce plans to collaborate on a new portable
phone that will have all the features of a Palm hand-held computer, but have
the size and shape of a cell phone. Mike Zafirovski, president of the
Motorola PCS division, said the company had been working with its own
operating system, as well as Palm and Symbian, and planned to continue all
three efforts. "Obviously a number of companies are working with various
devices," he said. "We're absolutely convinced that putting our two
companies together will produce the right product for the first quarter of
2002."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Lawrence Fisher]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/technology/25PALM.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
AOL TO LINK UP WITH NTT DOCOMO TO DEVELOP MOBILE INTERNET SERVICES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A28), AUTHOR: Robert A. Guth]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB969818624558759722.htm)
(Requires Subscription)
ECOMMERCE
LEADING E-MAIL MARKETERS TO ISSUE STANDARDS TO CURB THE USE OF SPAM
Issue: Ecommerce
The unwanted stuff known as spam that clogs your email box with unwanted
messages may stop coming your way. Several top companies in the e-mail
marketing industry have banded together to form the Responsible Electronic
Communications Alliance (RECA), which Monday will announce new "privacy
protection standards" designed to curb unwanted e-mail. The proposed
privacy-protection standards are based on guidelines issued by the Federal
Trade Commission, the RECA says. The rules require mailers to give
recipients a way to register complaints and to unsubscribe -- also known as
"opt out" -- from lists. Only people who have previously given their consent
will receive marketing communications. Although details of the rules remain
to be worked out, they will be enforced by RECA. The industry came together
because it recognizes that if it's going to grow and prosper it's got to
respect privacy, and we're not unaware that if we don't go ahead and do it,
the government might," said Washington lawyer Chris Wolf, who will serve as
the group's president.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Glenn R. Simpson]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB96982808494289528.htm)
(Requires Subscription)
E-COMMERCE REPORT: THE MIDDLEMAN OF CONTENT
Issue: Ecommerce
Many Web sites struggle with the challenge of filling the public's
insatiable appetite for new information. While many sites depend on
their own stables of writers and multimedia producers to constantly
refresh editorial content, some Web sites are striking deals with other
companies that provide material. Syndicators such as iSyndicate,
ScreamingMedia, YellowBrix and News-Edge are quickly building their
client lists as Web executives look for help in filling their sites with
content. Media companies and others that supply content have found that
syndicators have given them a much-needed, and unexpected, revenue
source."Demand for these services is definitely growing," said Dan
O'Brien, senior analyst with Forrester Research, an Internet consulting
firm. "And the law of supply and demand indicates that as the Web grows
- and as the need for content grows faster than the supply - this will
pay off much more than it does now." Jupiter Communications forecasts
that online content syndication and licensing will amount to a $1.5
billion market in 2004, up from $343 million this year. Analysts say the
leading content syndicators are iSyndicate and ScreamingMedia.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/technology/25ECOMMERCE.html)
(requires registration)
'PRIVACY GAP' SPLITS NET USER, EXECS
Issue: Privacy
While research shows privacy is a foremost concern among Net users, few
Internet executives think it is an issue. The Pew Internet & American
Life Project has found that 84% are worried about privacy online. But
only half Web executives in a recent poll think consumers worry about
it, according to a Millward Brown IntelliQuest survey out today. Anand
Jagannathan, CEO of Responsys.com, which commissioned the study, calls
the difference the ''privacy gap.'' The survey, conducted among 352
online business executives Aug. 29-31, reveals another gap: While Pew
found that 79% of consumers think their movements are being tracked
online, only 30% of sites said they do such tracking. Jagannathan, who,
like most industry executives, opposes Net regulation, nevertheless is
calling on the Federal Trade Commission to develop privacy guidelines
that businesses can voluntarily follow.
[SOURCE: USAToday (1D), AUTHOR: Janet Kornblum]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000925/2680389s.htm)
COMMUNICATIONS AND THE OLYMPICS
LEERY OF THE WEB, OLYMPIC OFFICIALS SET LIMITS ON NEWS
Issue: Intellectual Property
Ah, the thrill of victory and the agony of intellectual property in the
digital age. The 27th Olympic Games may be remembered for many things, but
it will surely be a benchmark in the struggle between those who hold
intellectual property rights in sporting events and those seeking to cover
sports, especially for the ever-expanding universe of news outlets on the
Internet. The Olympic Committee fears that the power of the Internet could
undermine the economic foundation of the games and, therefore, is going to
great lengths to control how accounts and images of events reach the public.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/technology/25WEB.html)
(requires registration)
IF CELL PHONES WERE SPORT, A PLATINUM MEDAL FOR AUSSIES
Issue: Wireless
"For telecommunications, these Games have produced the largest concentration
of demand for services at any singular event ever," said Brian Pilbeam,
general manager of Olympics services for Telstra, Australia's publicly
traded but still state-controlled phone company, which has prompted company
executives to strain for superlatives. The company connected 500,000 mobile
calls in Olympic Park on the first day of the Games. About 125,000 of those
were made inside Stadium Australia, which was packed with 110,000 people for
the opening ceremony. "We believe it's the densest cellular network in any
structure in the world," said Anthony Goonan, regional manager of Telstra's
mobile division. He said the network's only potential rival had been at the
Stade de France in suburban Paris, where the World Cup soccer final was
played in 1998.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Mark Landler]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/technology/25CELL.html)
(requires registration)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
COPYRIGHT LESSON FOR KIDS ANGERS NAPSTER FANS, LEGAL EXPERTS
Issue: Intellectual Property
Critics say that a cyber-ethics Web site financed by the Justice
Department and the recording industry is pushing anti-Napster
propaganda. They say the site, www.cybercitizenship.org, which is
supposed to teach children not to break copyright and other laws on the
Net, understates the rights consumers may have with online technologies
such as Napster, a popular song-sharing service. The controversy is
focused on a section titled ''What is cyber crime?'' that originally
declared: ''Recently, tools have surfaced that allow Web users to
download and save music from the Internet for free -- music that is
copyrighted by artists and sold in stores. Taking tracks from the
Internet is no different from stealing a CD or tape from a music
store.'' Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), which
administers the site under a government grant, has soften the language
as a result of complaints. Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer
Electronics Association, which filed a court brief backing Napster in
its fight against the recording industry, says: ''I'm offended the DOJ
would fund a Web site which is telling millions of Americans they are
committing a crime when they are not. This is wishful thinking by the
(music industry). The fact is, my son is not a criminal; 20 million
Napster users are not criminals.''
[SOURCE: USAToday (3D), AUTHOR: Will Rodger]
( http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000925/2680686s.htm)
INFOTECH
ANALYSTS SAY HIGH-TECH SPENDING BOOM IS STARTING TO LEVEL OFF AND MAY
DECLINE
Issue: InfoTech
Many would agree that technology spending -- which has been a major
underpinning of the economy for the past several years, accounting for about
30% of the growth in the nation's gross domestic product -- is the driving
force behind the U.S economic strength. Is that strength beginning to fade?
While statistics continue to show that companies are spending a fortune on
building high-technology infrastructure, some economists and analysts warn
that the growth in spending on a wide variety of high-technology will level
off soon at best and possibly even decline. The reasons for the predicted
pull-back, say economists, are numerous. After shelling out huge amounts of
money to upgrade equipment to handle the so-called year-2000 computer glitch
or to improve productivity, some companies are running out of things to buy.
Others, seeing the recent demise of many dot-com companies, are adopting a
wait-and-see attitude regarding their digital futures. Then there is the
obvious problem: The economy is slowing, which typically leads to spending
cuts. "When growth slows, and corporate profits come under pressure, you see
a deceleration in capital spending, and I don't see tech spending as any
different," says Richard Berner, chief U.S. economist at New York securities
firm Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. "We've been in this virtuous cycle where
companies have been investing heavily and using it to improve productivity,
which has boosted profits," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at
Economist.com. "If businesses stop investing, that virtuous cycle becomes
less potent, and the economic nirvana we're in loses its luster."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Patrick Barta]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB969829967682879241.htm)
(Requires Subscription)
RADIO
RECONSIDERATION ORDER FOR LOW POWER FM RADIO
Issue: Radio
From Press Release: The FCC has affirmed its order creating a new low power
FM radio service, created a procedure to resolve complaints from listeners
of full power radio stations claiming unexpected interference from LPFM
stations and provided additional protection for those stations providing
radio reading services for blind or low vision listeners. In a Memorandum
Opinion and Order on Reconsideration, the Commission reiterated its views
that the new 100 watt (LP100) and 10 watt (LP10) classes of FM radio service
would provide opportunities for new voices to be heard, while at the same
time preserving the integrity and technical excellence of existing FM radio
service and safeguarding a digital transition for radio. The Commission
reaffirmed its finding that the risk of interference from LPFM stations is
small and did not require LPFM stations in general to provide 3rd adjacent
channel protection to full power FM stations. However, in response to
concerns expressed by parties, including Radio Reading Service and National
Public Radio, the Commission adopted an exception that provides additional
protection to radio reading services transmitted via FM station subcarrier
facilities. Pending its analysis of a study being conducted to assess the
performance of specialized equipment used to receive radio reading services,
the Commission will require LPFM stations to meet 3rd adjacent channel
spacing standards with respect to existing full power stations operating
radio reading services as of the date of this Order.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2000/nrmm0040.html)
For more on LPFM, see:
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/)
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