TELEVISION
Technology Standards and the Public Interest (NYT)
Study Finds Weakness in TV Ratings (B&C)
Novel TV Deal Could Rein in Program Costs (NYT)
How Much Is Too Much? (B&C)
Speech: Radio-Television News Director Association
Annual Convention (FCC)
Block That Signal (B&C)
DOJ Opens Door for Primestar Deal (B&C)
LEGISLATION
House Backs Away From Regulating Spam (CyberTimes)
Oxley Moves 'Net Smut Bill (B&C)
DC Appeals Court Grills FCC in 'Bill of Attainer' Case (TelecomAM)
INFRASTRUCTURE/ACCESS
Wired-Nation Concept Fails to Connect with Singapore Residents
(ChiTrib)
SPRINT
Why Sprint Goes It Alone and What May Change That (NYT)
Sprint Plans to Offer Shares in Wireless IPO (WSJ)
INFOTECH
For Sale: Free Software (NYT)
By Pager, Phone or Fax, New Service Can Deliver the Email (ChiTrib)
Phones By the Numbers (ChiTrib)
SECURITY
Potentially Big Security Flaw Found in Netscape Software (ChiTrib)
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TELEVISION
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TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Issue: Digital Television
A look at the public's role in setting the technical standards for the
soon-to-arrive digital television. For over a decade, the television
industry and the Federal Communications Commission worked to create a new
television system offering clearer pictures and better sound. Late in the
process, the computer industry also got involved and tried to get the
television industry and the FCC to adopt broadcast formats that would be
more "computer friendly." The FCC finally decided that the not the
Government, but the marketplace should decide what is the best technical
format for DTV. The FCC approved 14 different formats that broadcasters and
set manufacturers can use. But some people who have been part of this long
process think the FCC should have selected one format. "That's the really
important question that has not yet been answered," the insider said. "If we
give broadcasters the spectrum for free, what does the public get back in
return? Separate from developing new services and products, 'public
interest' obviously needs to be redefined. If it's just about pretty
pictures, why bother?" [For related documents see http://www.atsc.org/,
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/tech/schreiber.html,
http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/ and http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/]
[SOURCE: New York Times (C3), AUTHOR: Denise Caruso]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/28tech.html
STUDY FINDS WEAKNESS IN TV RATINGS
Issue: Content
A study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation says that the new TV
ratings system does not adequately flag objectionable content. Their study
said that, for instance, 79% of shows with violence do not carry a "V"
warning. They concluded that parents cannot rely on the content descriptors
to identify shows with sex, violence or adult language. Of parents who use
the TV ratings, most think content-descriptors are more useful than
age-based ratings. The Kaiser group looks forward to use of the V-chip.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (19), AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
NOVEL TV DEAL COULD REIN IN PROGRAM COSTS
Issue: Television Economics
Bedford Falls, the company owned by Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (the
creators of "Thirtysomething"), has entered a deal with ABC and Fox to
develop TV shows. The deal is unique in that the shows will be produced at
studios that the networks own and Bedford Falls will retain 50% of
syndicated rerun profits. "This deal represents what the future is going to
be," said Lloyd Braun, chairman of Buena Vista. "The system as currently
constituted is madness." Under the current system, writers are paid millions
in upfront fees to develop programming -- if the show is a success, the
studio makes lots of money, little of which is seen by the writers. If the
show fails, the network loses a lot. This deal trades some of the network's
risk by lowering the upfront fees for a share in potential profit down the line.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Cill Carter]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-costs-media.html
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
Issue: Content
Racy content in television newscasts was a major subject at the annual Radio-
Television News Directors Association meeting last week. Participants in
panel discussions wrangled with kid's innocence and "the reality of what we
put on TV." Peggy Charren of Action for Children's Television said deregulation
has led to irresponsibility in "providing choices for kids." Some
participants encouraged network television and affiliates to do more to
explain news stories for children, something they suggested that cable has
been doing the past few years.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (10), AUTHOR: Dan Trigoboff]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
SPEECH: RADIO-TELEVISION NEWS DIRECTOR ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONVENTION
Issue: Ownership/Journalism
In a speech to the Radio-Television News Director Association Annual
Convention in San Antonio on Friday, FCC Chairman Kennard said continued
concentration of ownership of broadcasting stations would have an effect on
the quality of news coverage. He said that consolidation "causes broadcast
owners to cutback on serious reporting and replace it with fluff and
syndicated news." He also said he is working with the Justice Department on
whether the government will appeal a court decision on the FCC's equal
employment opportunity rules.
[SOURCE: FCC website]
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek829.html
BLOCK THAT SIGNAL
Issue: Satellite TV
The National Association of Broadcasters and some broadcasters oppose a
phased-in must-carry system for local broadcast stations to be carried by
satellite TV providers. Several bills are presently under consideration in
Congress for carrying local stations on satellite systems. Most provide a
grace period prior to requiring all signals in a market to be carried. The
NAB opposition reduces the probability that any legislation will pass in
this congressional session.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (15), AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
DOJ OPENS DOOR FOR PRIMESTAR DEAL
Issue: Satellite TV
Primestar got a little breathing room on their merger with ASkyB last week
when a federal judge granted two-week extensions on some pretrial deadlines
on the Justice Department's suit to halt the merger. Both Primestar and the
DOJ asked for the extra time. The request for time is seen as a DOJ effort
to continue negotiations for a settlement of the issue prior to trial. For
Primestar financing is the other major unresolved issue.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (18), AUTHOR: Price Colman]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
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LEGISLATION
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HOUSE BACKS AWAY FROM REGULATING SPAM
Issue: Internet Regulation
The House Commerce Committee backed off from trying to regulate unsolicited,
commercial email and has decided instead to study it: "In order to avoid
interference with the rapid development and expansion of commerce over the
Internet, the Congress should decline to enact regulatory legislation with
respect to unfair or intrusive practices on the Internet that the private
sector can, given a sufficient opportunity, deter or prevent," the text
approved Thursday said. It is the "responsibility of the private sector to
use that opportunity promptly to adopt, implement, and enforce measures to
deter and prevent the improper use of unsolicited commercial electronic
mail." "I think there are people that will be discouraged that there wasn't
legislation passed," said Deidre Mulligan of the Center for Democracy and
Technology http://www.cdt.org, "but I think everyone should be heartened
by the fact that Congress decided, rather than do something that wasn't
quite right, they decided to wait and have a full hearing on the issue."
Anti-spamming legislation did pass in the Senate however and could be passed
by both houses this session.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/cyber/articles/28spam.html
OXLEY MOVES 'NET SMUT BILL
Issue: Content
The House Commerce Committee last week passed and sent to the House
legislation that restricts children's access to Internet smut. The Child
Online Protection Act uses a "harmful to minors" standard which is meant to
answer a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year which struck down a previous
law as too broad. The new law would require greater use of screening
devices by content providers and would require service providers to provide
additional information to users about filtering and blocking software. The
Senate has already passed a similar measure.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (19), AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
D.C. APPEALS COURT GRILLS FCC IN 'BILL OF ATTAINDER' CASE
Issue: Long Distance/TelecomAct of '96
BellSouth is challenging Sec 271 provisions of the Telecommunications Act of
1996 that restrict the local phone giant from entering the long distance
market within its region. The Baby Bells have argues that the this section
of the 96 Act is an unconstitutional bill of attainder because it illegally
singles out the Bells for punishment. On Friday, the US Appeals Court, DC
held a hearing on BellSouth's challenge and surprised the FCC by indicating
some support for the phone company's claims. Said Chief Judge Harry Edwards,
"You still have something that looks different. It doesn't matter to me if
the Bell companies are better or worse off. That is not the issue here."
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
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INFRASTRUCTURE/ACCESS
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WIRED-NATION CONCEPT FAILS TO CONNECT WITH SINGAPORE RESIDENTS
Issue: Internet Access
The government in Singapore announced 1996 plans to link every household,
school and office in the city-state to Singapore One (One Network for
Everyone). So far, the government has invested $86 million in the
fiber-optic network while multinational technology and information companies
and local banks have invested an additional $114 million. "The key selling
point is the speed and the multimedia dimension," said Tay Lay Kheng of the
government-run National Computer Board. "Internet is still largely
text-based. And on Singapore One, you can do a virtual walk through the
apartment you want to buy or rent." But so far only about 1% of Singaporeans
use the high-speed network. Many regular Internet users there focus mainly
on email and are not interested yet in paying ~$6 more per month for access
to Singapore One. The government hopes to have half the population using the
network by 2001.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 4, p.6), AUTHOR: Jasmina Kuzmanovic (AP)]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9809280063,00.html
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SPRINT
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WHY SPRINT GOES IT ALONE AND WHAT MAY CHANGE THAT
Issue: Mergers (and lack thereof)
After BellSouth, Sprint is the largest telephone company that has not been
part of a big merger. The third largest long distance provider in the US
also provides local service, data communications, and wireless with an
international strategy. But what's wrong with these guys? Don't they have
the urge to merge? Sprint's chairman, William Esrey, says he could sell for
the right price and that this may not be the best time for a deal with
economic problems in Japan and before the Baby Bells can offer long
distance. [See related story on Sprint's advertising "Sprint's Sudden Shift"
(C9) http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/sprint-ad-column.html]
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/sprint-marketplace.html
SPRINT PLANS TO OFFER SHARES IN WIRELESS IPO
Issue: Wireless
Sprint PCS is planning an initial public offering of stock in an effort to
raise $600 million for the wireless phone service. Three cable companies
now own a majority stake in the company with Sprint owning about 40%. After
the IPO the new arrangement will leave Sprint with about 53% of the Sprint
PCS stock. Sprint's arrangement with the cable companies originally was
intended to promote phone service through cable TV connections. That has
proven to be more expensive than predicted.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B2), AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein]
http://www.wsj.com/
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INFOTECH
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FOR SALE: FREE SOFTWARE
Issue: InfoTech
Red Hat Software is building a business selling Linux, free operating
software you can download on the Internet. Linux is part of the open source
movement which is built of freely distributing the basic commands for
computers. "The software industry is built on intellectual property," said
Robert Young, Red Hat's chief executive. "You own your technology, and if
you get it widely disseminated you can coerce your user base into buying new
releases. We give up that control -- and those profits -- but that is
exactly what is going to drive our success, because that is what's best for
the user." Red Hat may get the backing of Intel and Netscape as early as
tomorrow. The company plans to build its business around customer service
and technical support for the free operating system.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/biztech/articles/28linux.html
BY PAGER, PHONE OR FAX, NEW SERVICE CAN DELIVER THE E-MAIL
Issue: InfoTech
You have new email. New E-Mail Communications Systems provides a service
that automatically phones you when you get email. After hearing sender and
subject info, a subscriber can choose to get the email sent to a computer or
a fax machine. The service cost ~$5 for every 50 notifications. Industry
analysts say the goal is universal messaging -- a message sent by fax could
be heard on the phone or read in email or vice versa.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 4, p.7), AUTHOR: AP]
Below is the URL for the link on the Trib site, but the story is not found
there.
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9809280064,00.html
PHONES, BY THE NUMBERS
Issue: Telephone
A look at everything you'd ever want to know about your next phone purchase
directed at the telecommunter -- corded or cordless, features, answering
machines...you name it.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 4, p.8), AUTHOR: Phillip Robinson]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9809280066,00.html
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SECURITY
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POTENTIALLY BIG SECURITY FLAW FOUND IN NETSCAPE SOFTWARE
Issue: Privacy/Security
Dan Brumleve, a 20-year-old independent computer consultant has reported on
the Internet that Netscape browsing software has a flaw that allows an
outsider to read a user's cache files. "It concerns me, because it means
that a high-traffic Web site might use this to find out what other Web sites
their visitors are going to," Mr. Brumleve said. He said that the flaw could
also be used by an employer to see if employees were searching for
pornography, for example. "This is a huge privacy issue and it goes directly
to the current lack of adequate technical standards to protect privacy on
line," said Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center, a public policy group in Washington. "There's even a question of a
company like Netscape might be liable for the improper disclosure of
private information." "We're taking a look at the bug, which appears to have
privacy implications," said Eric Byunn, a Netscape product manager. He said
that the company would make an announcement soon about its plans for
responding to the flaw.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: John Markoff]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/28java.html
U.S. MILITARY ORDERS REVIEW OF ITS WEB SITES FOR SECURITY REASONS
Issue: Internet
A review of U.S. military Web sites is underway which will reduce the amount
of information available from the thousands of websites sponsored by
military groups. The review is partly due to the possibility of terrorism.
A Deputy Defense Secretary ordered the review because the Web provides "too
much detail on Defense Department capabilities, infrastructure, personnel
and operational procedure."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A18), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter]
http://www.wsj.com/
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