MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Powell Won't Delay Media Ownership Vote
FCC Sees Local Gain to Age of Max Media
INTERNET
Administration Urges Keeping Online-Tax Ban
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Still Waiting for the Information Revolution
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
POWELL WON'T DELAY MEDIA OWNERSHIP VOTE
FCC Chairman Michael Powell yesterday refused a request from two of his
colleagues to postpone the vote on proposed changes to the Commission's
rules on media ownership. While it is customary to grant such requests,
which in this case came from FCC Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan
Adelstein, that precedent does not usually hold when a majority of the
commissioners object, said Powell, who also indicated that he was obligated
to hold fast to a Congressional timetable. He did extend the public comment
period until Friday, May 30th, the last day before the vote will occur.
[SOURCE: The Hartford Courant; AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
http://www.ctnow.com/business/hc-fccleasing0516.artmay16,0,5367205.story...
l=hc-headlines-business
FCC SEES LOCAL GAIN TO AGE OF MAX MEDIA
While local programming took center stage at Tuesday's media ownership
hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, TV-newspaper / radio-newspaper
cross-ownership was the source of a particularly heated exchange. Chairman
John McCain (R-AZ), equipped with a list of newspapers and their editorial
position on a 1996 FCC decision to either give away or auction off $70
billion in digital spectrum licenses, noted that every company that
supported the free spectrum was owned by a company with broadcast TV
holdings. McCain asked William Dean Singleton, head of the newspaper lobby
and president of MediaNews Group, whether this was "an anomaly," which
Singleton assured him it was. That McCain was less than convinced is
indicative of a widespread disagreement over whether relaxing rules on
cross-ownership will affect editorial content at the local level. Lawmakers
like McCain, along with public interest and consumer groups, believe that
increased concentration will lead to a monopoly of information in a given
market. In contrast, market observers note that the financial benefits of
cross-ownership to this point have been minimal, and companies such as
Viacom have indicated that they have no plans to purchase papers in markets
where they own broadcast stations.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61585-2003May15.html
INTERNET
ADMINISTRATION URGES KEEPING ONLINE-TAX BAN
Treasury Secretary John Snow told a group of Washington-area tech executives
yesterday that the Bush Administration supports an extension of the
Congressional moratorium on new Internet taxes. In a letter also signed by
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, Snow asked Congress to pass a five-year
extension on the tax ban, which applies to any new tax unique to the Web.
Though regularly misconceived as such, the ban does not prohibit states from
collecting taxes on Internet sales, since sales tax is already collected on
offline transactions.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Nicholas Johnston]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61595-2003May15.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
STILL WAITING FOR THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION
At a meeting of high-tech specialists organized by the UN Economic
Commission for Africa, leaders in southern Africa expressed concern over
their ability to deliver on the promise of ICT for development when funds
are low. "It would be nice to put a computer in every classroom, but what if
the school's priority is to have a desk for every student?" said May Muluzi,
an education consultant from Malawi. Attendees discussed the potential for
virtual libraries, geoinformation and e-governance to directly assist
governments in meeting their development goals. While the progress of
e-governance has been slow due to low levels of teledensity and Internet
access in many African nations, other technologies have been employed
effectively. Geoinformation obtained via satellite imaging, for example, has
enabled governments to identify uncharted communities in which infant
mortality is epidemic, helping them to direct resources to areas previously
unknown to them.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks)]
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305150744.html
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