MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Leading Academics Decry FCC Methodology for Lifting Ownership
Safeguards
Event: May 7 Philadelphia Media Ownership Forum
EDTECH
School Board: Teacher's Personal Website is Grounds for Dismissal
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Fiorina, Tech Execs Tackle Digital Divide
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
LEADING ACADEMICS DECRY FCC METHODOLOGY FOR LIFTING OWNERSHIP SAFEGUARDS
[Press Release] A group of nearly 300 academics have asked the FCC to
disclose its plans for a rulemaking "diversity index" and other quantitative
measures prior to its scheduled June 2 vote on media ownership deregulation.
The academics join a growing chorus of public interest organizations and
consumer groups critical of the FCC's plan to strip the ownership rules. "We
have grave doubts that any single measure can effectively analyze the
complexities of the media marketplace in terms of its impact on journalism,
citizen access to information, and competition," they wrote. University of
Illinois professor Robert McChesney added, "The existing media rules were
created to guarantee the citizens their basic rights to a diverse and
independent media. Chairman Powell seems focused solely on the impact of
media rules on the advertising marketplace, not the marketplace of ideas.
Regardless of the index or rule Mr. Powell chooses, hundreds of leading
scholars justifiably believe that any proposal should be first released for
scholarly review and comment."
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/academicsDecryFCC.html
View the letter and a list of signatories:
http://www.democraticmedia.org/resources/filings/Academic_letterFINAL.doc
EVENT: PHILADELPHIA MEDIA OWNERSHIP FORUM
FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps will participate in another public forum
on media ownership deregulation next week in Philadelphia. The event will be
held Wednesday, May 7 at 7pm at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg
School for Communication. Local speakers will include representatives from
Clear Channel Communications, the Communications Workers of America and the
Philadelphia Inquirer. Time will be allowed for public comment as well.
Other FCC commissioners have been invited but have not yet confirmed. The
event is sponsored by a coalition of local universities, associations and
media outlets.
[SOURCE: Mediatank.org]
http://mediatank.org/events.html
EDTECH
SCHOOL BOARD: TEACHER'S PERSONAL WEBSITE IS GROUNDS FOR DISMISSAL
An online free speech controversy is brewing in Pennsylvania, where the
Grove City Area School District has suspended a local music teacher because
of the content of a personal website he developed before his employment. The
teacher, Dan Konnen, created a website that included a collection of
off-color jokes. Konnen never showed the website to students or talked about
it at school. Nonetheless, the district says it is considering dismissing
him on the grounds of "immorality, incompetence, intemperance, persistent
negligence," among other complaints. The district, however, may find itself
embroiled in a larger First Amendment fight: to date, numerous students
around the US have successfully forced schools to rescind punishments that
were meted out because of personal websites created off-campus. In some
cases, schools have had to pay the student compensatory damages. Whether or
not a similar outcome would occur when the webmaster in question is a
teacher rather than a student, though, remains to be seen.
[SOURCE: eSchoolNews; AUTHOR: eSN staff and wire reports]
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/ssunreg.cfm?ArticleID=4374&ul=%2Fnews%2F...
Story%2Ecfm%3FArticleID%3D4374
Judge for yourself -- Dan Konnen's website:
http://www.geocities.com/d_konnen/index2.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
FIORINA, TECH EXECS TACKLE DIGITAL DIVIDE
HP chief executive Carly Fiorina urged technology companies to seek a
diverse workforce and strive to bring technology and tech skills to
underserved areas, citing the impact to the field's bottom line. "Somebody
who you help to help themselves today may very well be your partner, your
customer or your very best employee tomorrow," Fiorina said at the 2003
Digital Connections Conference in San Jose, CA. The conference was sponsored
by Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. For years, Jackson has been
critical of the lack of diversity within Silicon Valley companies. He noted
that the recent wave of layoffs in that area have disproportionately
affected African Americans and Hispanics.
[SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Lisa M. Bowman]
http://news.com.com/2100-1022-999036.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------