MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Appeals Court Blocks Media Rules
Vivendi, GE Reach Deal on Merger with NBC
FCC Chairman Michael Powell Sees Bright Future for Online Media
Native Americans in the Media
INTERNET
Website Owner Nabbed in P0rn Scam
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Global Innovators Honored By Tech Museum
-------------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
APPEALS COURT BLOCKS MEDIA RULES
The US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit blocked the FCC's new media
ownership rules from taking effect today. The court made it clear yesterday
that the stay was not based on the merits of the rules, but the move is
nonetheless considered a victory for those who opposed the commission's
changes, including a large bipartisan group in Congress. The Prometheus
Radio Project in Philadelphia filed the motion with help from the DC-based
Media Access Project. The 3rd Circuit's three-judge panel weighed the risk
to the petitioners against the risk to the FCC and the rules' beneficiaries,
noting that the petitioners risked "the likely loss of an adequate remedy
should the new ownership rules be declared invalid in whole or in part ...
[whereas] there is little indication that a stay ... will result in
substantial harm to the Commission or other interested parties." An FCC
spokesman said the commission was "disappointed" by the decision but looked
forward to the court's ruling on the merits. Consumer advocates were
pleased, however. "This is a surprise to everybody," said Gene Kimmelman of
Consumers Union. Adds Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the Media Access Project:
"This action gives us the opportunity to convince Congress and, if
necessary, the courts, that the FCC's decision is bad for democracy and bad
for broadcast localism."
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23038-2003Sep3.html
View Case Documents Online:
http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/staymotion/Petition.htm
VIVENDI, GE REACH DEAL ON MERGER WITH NBC
Vivendi Universal announced a deal this week that would create one of the
world's largest media and entertainment companies. General Electric approved
for negotiation a proposed merger between Vivendi Universal Entertainment
(VUE) and NBC. The potential behemoth would have 2003 revenues of over $13
billion, including all of NBC's broadcast and cable holdings as well as
VUE's TR!O, SciFi and USA Networks. NBC CEO Bob Wright would head the new
company, of which GE would own 80 percent.
SOURCE: MediaPost
http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?SubMatter=Traditional&newsID=...
12
FCC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL POWELL SEES BRIGHT FUTURE FOR ONLINE MEDIA
In an interview with USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review editor Staci D.
Kramer, FCC Chairman Michael Powell waxed philosophical on all topics media,
including his take on media ownership. A self-professed techno-geek, Powell
was firm in his belief that advancements in electronic delivery systems will
prevent media giants from blocking messages from reaching the public. At the
same time, he laments that the speed and lack of editorial control over most
Internet and electronic news sources makes public policy less candid and has
the potential "to ruin people." Powell also noted the effect of the
technology on advocacy (and the efficacy thereof), noting the high volume of
public comments on the media ownership issue, "75 percent of [which] are
postcards from the NRA. ... [W]hat are they really telling us? I'm opposed
to big media. Period. Well, so am I."
SOURCE: USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review; AUTHOR: Staci D. Kramer
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/law/powell.php
See Benton's Article on the FCC's Track Record for Using Electronic
Comments:
http://www.benton.org/publibrary/issuesinfocus/FCCMay21.html
NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE MEDIA
According to many journalists, Native Americans lack representation in all
aspects of media. News organizations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are
looking to hire more Native Americans in mainstream media to ensure more
accurate representation of Native issues. Some of the misinformation and
general lack of coverage is due to a lack of participation on the part of
Native Americans themselves, said Neal Bennett, news director at KSFY Dakota
News First. John-John Williams IV, a beat reporter for the Argus Leader,
says cultural backgrounds bring an understanding of issues that outsiders
may not achieve. Marty Two Bulls, an Indian reporter at the newspaper,
agrees. "These stories belong to us," Two Bulls says. "And we should write
them." Young Native Americans have a new voice through a weekly audio news
show broadcast on the website of United National Indian Tribal Youth
(UNITY). Vince Feeling, vice president of UNITY, says he plans to
incorporate sources from Native American newspapers across the nation, as
well as from Reznet, the online newspaper by Native American college
students.
SOURCE: Connect For Kids; AUTHOR: Karen Ducheneaux and Craig Henry
http://www.connectforkids.org/benton_topics1544/benton_topics_show.htm?d...
d=191813
To hear Feeling's ongoing broadcasts, visit
http://www.unityinc.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=46
and click "listen to this week's broadcast."
INTERNET
WEBSITE OWNER NABBED IN P0RN SCAM
John Zuccarini, 53, was arrested Wednesday, charged with running websites
that use misspelled addresses to direct children looking for Disneyland or
the Teletubbies to graphic s-x instead. Federal agents had been
investigating Zuccarini as early as 1999, but were mostly helpless to
prosecute him until Congress passed the Amber Alert legislation in April. A
section of the law called Truth in Domain Names makes it a crime to use a
misleading domain name "with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing
material that is harmful to minors." Last year Zuccarini was ordered to stop
the scheme after the Federal Trade Commission sued him for registering
misspelled variations of sites for the Backstreet Boys, Victoria's Secret
and The Wall Street Journal. Once at the offending websites, users often
encountered a maze of pop-up advertising called "mousetrapping," which sends
up more ads when users attempt to leave the site. Manhattan US Attorney
James Comey referred to the scheme as a "cybermaze." "Few of us could
imagine there was someone out there in cyberspace, essentially reaching out
by hand to take children to the seediest corners of the Internet," he told
reporters.
SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Reuters
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60279,00.html
Note: Certain words have been selectively misspelled to prevent content
filters from inappropriately blocking this news story.
DIGITAL DIVIDE
GLOBAL INNOVATORS HONORED BY TECH MUSEUM
The Tech Museum of Innovation has announced the 25 laureates for the 2003
Tech Museum Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity. This year's winners were
selected from more than 500 nominations, representing 70 countries. The 2003
Tech laureates come from Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia,
Kenya, Nicaragua, Nepal and the United States. The Tech Museum Awards were
developed to recognize the need to bridge existing technology in emerging
countries and emerging technologies in developed countries. "The Tech Museum
Awards continue to attract the finest examples of technology creatively put
to use for the benefit of people around the world," stated Jim Morgan,
Chairman of presenting sponsor Applied Materials. Award categories include
health, education, environment and economic development.
SOURCE: The Tech Museum of Innovation; CONTACT: Gary Summers
http://techawards.thetech.org/press_release.cfm?id=46
----------------------------------------------------------------------