ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY
Santa Monica Seeking a Return to On-line Civic Forum of Yore (NYT)
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Kids and Computers: How Wired Should a
Student's World Be? (WP
TELEPHONE REGULATION
Regional Bells Lose an Appeal Over Service (WSJ)
SATELLITES
News Corp and An Affiliate of TCI Set Tentative Accord to
Control Primestar (WSJ)
News Corp, TCI Close in on Primestar (B&C)
Kennard Wants More Time for Satellite Subs (B&C)
Satellite Home Viewer Act (NTIA)
CABLE
Faced with 'Convergence,' FCC Takes Closer Look at
Internet Access Via Cable (WSJ)
ADVERTISING
Issue Ads to Boost Political Spending (B&C)
RADIO
Digital Radio Services (NTIA)
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Starting to Click (WSJ)
)
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ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY
====================
SANTA MONICA SEEKING A RETURN TO ON-LINE CIVIC FORUM OF YORE
Issue: Electronic Democracy
City officials in Santa Monica are trying to rekindle the enthusiasm that
surrounded the city's Public Electronic Network (PEN) when it started back
in 1989. The city of 90,000 lost a major public forum when Copley Newspapers
shut down the city's only newspaper. "Everyone in Santa Monica politics got
up first thing in the morning and read [the paper's] letters to the editor,"
said a City Councilman. But 50% of the households in Santa Monica have
Internet access and 10% of the population is registered on PEN. Starting
September 1, the League of Women Voters has agreed to moderate PEN's forums
on candidates and issues in the November election. The hope is that
moderators can save PEN's forums from the rants that drove many users of old
away.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A17)]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/biztech/articles/08internet.html
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
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KIDS AND COMPUTERS: HOW WIRED SHOULD A STUDENT'S WORLD BE?
ISSUE: Education Technology
President Clinton has pledged that "every single child must have access to a
computer, must understand it, must have access to good software and good
teachers and to the Internet, so that every person will have the opportunity
to make the most of his or her own life." Schwartz asks, "Will the
cornucopia of computers, Internet connections and more improve education? Or
will it turn out like so many other technologies that have been thrust on
students over the years, one more attempt to come up with a machine that can
do the work of a teacher?" There appear to be two 'school' of criticism in
regards to wiring schools: 1) ed tech is a costly fad that wastes class time
and educational funds and 2) since this is such a powerful tool, the
students who do not get access will be doomed to failure. [Can you spell
contradiction?] The long article examines the "failed promise" and the
"digital divide." [For more on wiring schools, see the Learning Connection
http://www.benton.org/Library/Schools/. For more on the digital divide see
Losing Ground Bit by Bit http://www.benton.org/Library/Low-Income/]
[Source: Washington Post (Z7-Z9), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-09/08/051l-090898-idx.html
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TELEPHONE REGULATION
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REGIONAL BELLS LOSE AN APPEAL OVER SERVICE
Issue: Long Distance/Telephone Regulation
The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans voted 2-1 on
Friday to reverse a ruling that would have allowed SBC, US West, and Bell
Atlantic to enter the long distance market. The Regional Bell Operating
Companies (RBOCs or Baby Bells) argued that provisions in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 were a "bill of attainder" or a specific
punishment for past behavior without a trial. "First and foremost, we think
that the [provisions of the law] are not punitive because they do not impose
a perpetual bar," the court wrote. The FCC has not approved any RBOC bids to
enter the long distance market -- the Commission continues to try to use
approval as a way to open to competition the $110 billion local phone market.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A14), AUTHOR: John Simons]
http://wsj.com/
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SATELLITES
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NEWS CORP AND AN AFFILIATE OF TCI SET TENTATIVE ACCORD TO CONTROL PRIMESTAR
NEWS CORP, TCI CLOSE IN ON PRIMESTAR
Issue: Satellite/Ownership
News Corp and the United Video Satellite Group have tentatively agreed to
pay $700 million to gain control of Primestar. The deal would remove four
big cable company investors who currently control 60% of the
satellite-to-home broadcaster. Earlier this year the Department of Justice
sued to block a deal that would have sold some of News Corp's satellite
holdings to Primestar.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B3), AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley & John Lippman]
http://wsj.com/
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable (p.7), AUTHOR: John Higgins]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
KENNARD WANTS MORE TIME FOR SATELLITE SUBS
Issue: Satellites/Television
About 1 million satellite TV subscribers are receiving illegal network TV
feeds and a judge has set October 8 as the deadline for ending these
signals. The FCC, Congress and the competing industries are trying to broker
an agreement that would delay the cut off date by at least six months. The
FCC would review its definition of a subscriber eligible to receive the
network signals. Currently, only households that do not get clear pictures
more than 50% of the time are eligible to receive such signals.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable (p.), AUTHOR:]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
SATELLITE HOME VIEWER ACT
Issue: Satellite/Television
"In a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman William
Kennard, Commerce
Assistant Secretary Larry Irving urged the FCC to expeditiously review a
recent federal court decision which could result in millions of households
in America losing access to satellite-delivered network programming. The
letter also urges the FCC to undertake a rulemaking to define which
households can receive satellite delivered network programming under current
law."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/090498dbs.htm
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/9498shva.htm
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CABLE
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FACED WITH 'CONVERGENCE,' FCC TAKES CLOSER LOOK AT INTERNET ACCESS VIA CABLE
Issue: Cable/Regulation
Is Internet over cable a "cable service," a "telecommunications service" or
an information service"? A working paper released by the FCC last week
begins to address this question and how the agency should approach
regulation. The paper is meant to begin a discussion between branches of the
government and industry. "The whole point," said the paper's author, "is to
say, hey, we've got this problem, and it's a big problem. When you have the
capability the Internet provides -- now you can do almost anything over one
medium -- you have to start thinking which rules are applicable, or whether
any of our rules are applicable at all." [Get a copy of the paper at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OPP/working_papers/oppwp30.wp]
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: John Simons]
http://wsj.com/
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ADVERTISING
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ISSUE ADS TO BOOST POLITICAL SPENDING
Issue: Advertising
Issue advertising for this election may boost broadcasters' revenues to 1996
Presidential election levels. The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB)
estimates that some $400 million may be spent on issue ads this year. "We're
going to see more advocacy advertising than we did in 1996," says Penn's
Kathleen Hall Jamison. Since it's unaccountable money, it's going to be
used. Parties will tacitly encourage its use because it will benefit them."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable (p.11), AUTHOR: Richard Tedesco]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
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RADIO
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DIGITAL RADIO SERVICES
Issue: Radio
The United States and Canada have reached agreement on conditions for
implementing digital radio services.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/090498digitalradio.htm
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ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
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STARTING TO CLICK
Issue: Electronic Commerce
The WSJ has a special section on online trading today. Stories include looks
at investment advice available on the Web, choosing the right online trading
firm, where to direct complaints, and security.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Section R)]
http://wsj.com/
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