MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC Track Record on e-Comment Consideration Suspect
The Faint, Fading Voice of the Left
PRIVACY
Pentagon Details New Surveillance System
WIRELESS
Juniper Packs Wi-Fi Hot Spot in a Box
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC TRACK RECORD ON E-COMMENT CONSIDERATION SUSPECT
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has stated that the public record on the media
ownership proceeding is "comprehensive," containing more than 20,000
comments and obviating the need for postponement of the June 2nd ruling.
Employing evidence from both academia and interest groups, the Benton
Foundation finds that the FCC typically turns a deaf ear to the public in
such
proceedings. This is not a new phenomenon - the Commission has a long
track record of minimizing public comments, despite the advent of its highly
touted e-filing system. In fact, some observe that electronic comments may
even
receive less consideration than those filed on paper. The article suggests
that
the FCC will merely pay lip service to the public's opinion on media
consolidation.
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) alluded to the piece in her questioning of
witnesses
in this morning's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on media ownership.
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation; AUTHORS: Norris Dickard and Charles E. Meisch,
Jr.]
http://www.benton.org/ownership/fccecomments.html
THE FAINT, FADING VOICE OF THE LEFT
"[T]he biggest problem with America's public discourse today is that the
left is barely
represented at all on mainstream TV and radio talk shows and in major
newspapers
and magazines," argues Thane Peterson, who notes that discourse in the UK is
far
more well-balanced, with both the left and right well represented in
broadcast media.
If the FCC goes forward as planned with a rewrite of its media ownership
rules, things
are likely to get much worse, with more homogenized and less substantive
programming.
Peterson is particularly concerned by the misleading proposition that US
media market
is generally liberal when in fact the most notorious TV talk show hosts lean
to the right,
which has kept the media ownership issue off of network TV. "Market forces
should create
alternatives. Yet, I don't see that happening in our major media['s]
political coverage. My
theory is that big companies controlling the media just aren't much
interested in creating
liberal alternatives."
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek; AUTHOR: Thane Peterson]
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2003/nf20030520_8395_db02...
m
PRIVACY
PENTAGON DETAILS NEW SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
A report on the Pentagon's proposed electronic surveillance system featured
a new name
and specific goals. The Terrorist Information Awareness (TIA) System,
formerly known as
the Total Information Awareness System, could identify people at great
distances using optics,
facial features or their gait, analyze travel plans and incorporate
financial, medical, educational
and biometric records "to try to predict terrorists' acts or catch them in
the planning stage."
Members of the Senate, who had raised specific questions related to the
privacy of American
citizens, were less than impressed with the report. "I don't take a back
seat to anybody in fighting
the Mohamed Attas of the world, but before we send people on a virtual goose
chase, the country
needs to understand what's at stake," said Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore), who
added that the system
relied on too many theoretical possibilities to warrant the massive
investment of public funds. The
Department of Defense has budgeted $9.2 million dollars for the TIA system
this year and another $45
million in the following two years.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Ariana Eunjung Cha]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17121-2003May20.html
WIRELESS
JUNIPER PACKS WI-FI HOT SPOT IN A BOX
Sunnyvale, CA-based Juniper Networks will offer a "hot spot in a box"
bundle, targeted at
telephone, broadband and cell phone service providers that offer public
Wi-Fi access. The
$800 package includes all the hardware, software and technical know-how
necessary to
build a single subscription wireless network. The company hopes to tap into
the burgeoning
Wi-Fi market amongst broadband providers, who spent $500 million dollars
last year to add
hotspots to their networks, by offering hardware at less than half the cost
of competitors such
as Cisco. Market analysts expect the investment in Wi-Fi to continue to rise
in the coming years,
as large DSL and cable providers seek to maintain market share over smaller
ISPs.
[SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-1008167.html?tag=fd_top
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