OWNERSHIP
School-Owned Airwave Rights Studied by FCC
Time is Now to Fight for Future of TV
JOURNALISM
Web Surfers Flock to Al-Jazeera
WORKFORCE
Event: 2003 National IT Workforce Convocation
OWNERSHIP
SCHOOL-OWNED AIRWAVE RIGHTS STUDIED BY FCC
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal that would
allow schools and universities to sell airwaves that are now licensed for
educational television to high-tech businesses for high-speed Internet and
wireless uses. While some commission officials see this move as an important
step to freeing up much sought after airwaves, Commissioner Michael J. Copps
believes it is a bad idea. "Such an outcome would threaten this important
educational tool," he said. "If [these parts of the airwaves] become just
another commercial service, we will have lost the last place on the spectrum
reserved specifically for education."
[SOURCE: Education Week, AUTHOR: Rhea Borja]
(http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=28fcc.h22)
TIME IS NOW TO FIGHT FOR FUTURE OF TV
[Commentary] TV's shift toward digital broadcasting should, in theory,
provide non-mainstream content providers an opportunity to offer channels
and services directly to American households. However, a fundamental shift
in the structure of the media system must be affected in order for this to
be realized in practice, says Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital
Democracy. Chester fears that the dominance of cable and satellite providers
in the emerging digital market will crowd out alternative voices, using
targeted advertising and "smart" boxes to further limit the types of images
viewers see. Furthermore, the FCC's policies prohibiting alternative ISPs
from using existing broadband networks create a high-speed service monopoly.
Chester advocates a legislative strategy that reduces the "stranglehold"
cable and satellite have on channel capacity at both the federal and local
levels while working to develop real programming alternatives.
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Jeff Chester]
(http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15538)
JOURNALISM
WEB SURFERS FLOCK TO AL-JAZEERA
Even after being temporarily knocked offline by hackers, the website of Arab
satellite news network Al-Jazeera was among the most sought-after on the
Internet last week. Al-Jazeera, which has a reputation for being an
unusually independent voice in the Arab world, drew interest from Web
surfers after it broadcast pictures of dead and captive US soldiers in Iraq.
US Internet users are visiting foreign sites in huge numbers for news on the
war, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project
released Tuesday.
[SOURCE: WIRED, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,58313,00.html)
WORKFORCE
EVENT: 2003 NATIONAL IT WORKFORCE CONVOCATION
The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host the sixth
annual National IT Workforce Convocation on Monday, May 5 in Arlington, VA.
The convocation will bring together leaders from industry, education, and
government to discuss collaborative ways to expand and develop America's IT
workforce. Registration information is available at the address below.
[SOURCE: Information Technology Association Of America]
(http://www.itaa.org/workforce/events/event.cfm?EventID=563)
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