Benton RSS Feed

Television
NYT: Advertising: GM Sponsors Documentary Maker to Reach PBS Viewers
NYT: Could NBC Live Without "E.R."?
NYT: Satellite TV Provider Waits for World to Catch Up
B&C: Tauzin ponders program-access "fine-tune"

Internet
WSJ: Senate Internet Panel to Probe Microsoft's Power
NYT: Publication Date Open to Dispute In Internet Age
NYT: No Card Necessary at Net Libraries
NYT: Going From a Crawl to a Run
NYT: B-schools are gearing up for electronic commerce
WSJ: Looney Tunes Will Soon Star in Web Ads

FCC
B&C: It's the Kennard FCC now

Mergers
TelecomAM: Merger Mania Rages On
TelecomAM: Justice Seeks Additional Info from Worldcom on MCI Deal
TelecomAM: Worldcom and BT Chiefs Differ On Outcome of MCI Deal
WSJ: MCI Brass Set Out to Rally Dispirited Troops
WP: The Region and the Revolution

InfoTech
WSJ: Diamond Multimedia's New Modem Uses 2 Phone Lines to Double Speed

** Television **

Title: Advertising: GM Sponsors Documentary Maker to Reach PBS Viewers
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/gm-burns-ad-column.html
Author: Robyn Meredith
Issue: Advertising
Description: The latest Ken Burns documentary, Lewis and Clark, begins
Tuesday on PBS. Before and after each two-part program, General Motors will
run a 15-second commercial promoting its sponsorship of the film (and
slipping in a reference to the cars it sells). The automaker has spent
$15-20 million over the last ten years sponsoring Mr. Burns' films. "These
are my Medicis; these are my patrons," says the film maker. GM values the
spots because of the demographics of the PBS audience: they have higher
incomes and education levels than the average commercial television viewer.
The best part according to Mr. Burns: "They don't tell me how to make films
and I don't tell them how to make cars."

Title: Could NBC Live Without "E.R."?
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-bidding-media.html
Author: Bill Carter
Issue: Television Economics
Description: Warner Brothers is preparing to demand $10 million per episode
for highly-rated show NBC. Most hour-long dramas get about $1 million per
episode and ER probably gets $2 million per right now. All four major
networks appear eager to land the prized show in this "NFL-type deal." The
show appears central to any network's plan on becoming #1.

Title: Satellite TV Provider Waits for World to Catch Up
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/ussb-stock.html
Author: Geraldine Fabrikant
Issue: Satellite
Description: Stanley S. Hubbard, founder of the United States Satellite
Broadcasting Company, has stayed true to a vision of providing satellite TV
for 16 years. USSB now delivers DirecTV which includes Time Warner and
Viacom programming like HBO, the Movie Channle, MTV, and Nickelodeon.
Because of the unwieldy agreements between the two companies, many analysts
believe that the two companies should merge, but Mr. Hubbard does not appear
keen on the idea. DirecTV/USSB is the industry leader now, but #3 player
Echo Star is approaching the one-million customer mark and is growing at a
rate faster than DirecTV.

Title: Tauzin ponders program-access "fine-tune"
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.22)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Cable
Description: After receiving complaints that cable programming does not come
cheap or easy, Rep Billy Tauzin (R-LA) may fine-tune cable program-access
rules. Cable programmers are supposed to provide their services to cable
competitors (like DBS and Baby Bell Ameritech which is building new cable
systems in the Midwest) on the same terms as they do to cable operators. But
vertically integrated programmers are not complying, competitors say.

** Internet **

Title: Senate Internet Panel to Probe Microsoft's Power
Source: Wall Street Journal (B2)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: John R. Wilke
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: "Microsoft now has the ability to virtually annihilate any
competitive product it wants by bringing it into the next version of
Windows," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch. He
continued, "there's evidence that they are aggressively seeking to extend
that monopoly to the Internet, and policy makers have to be concerned about
it." Hatch's rising alarm about this issue has given bipartisan political
support to the new antitrust chief, Joel Klein. Kevin Arquit, a former FTC
official, has agreed to testify that Microsoft is poised to dominate
information and commerce on the 'Net. "If they control content on the
Internet, they can control the information people get, and that is a serious
public policy concern." Microsoft has continued to deny the allegations in
their entirety, with a spokesman saying recently, "We don't believe anyone
is going to be the gatekeeper of the Internet."

Title: Publication Date Open to Dispute In Internet Age
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/110397libel.html
Author: Robin Pogrebin
Issue: Publishing
Description: Online publishing has raised a number of questions like 1) who
is the publisher -- the electronic carrier or the magazine company; 2) where
is the publishing location -- where the work is uploaded or downloaded; and
3) when is the publication date -- when a work is available online or in
paper. The latter question came before the courts last week when Business
Week contended that New York's one-year statute of limitations for libel
claims expired one year after an issue of the magazine was made available
online.

Title: No Card Necessary at Net Libraries
Source: New York Times (D4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/sites/110397sites.html
Author: John Dvorak
Issue: Libraries
Description: The proliferation of library websites is a lesser-known story
of the Internet. Many university and public libraries are making their card
catalogs available on the Web -- and, coupled with interlibrary loans, this
is making research a lot easier. But some sites are also making the full
text of some works available online, too: "in essence creating a virtual
research library reading room." Library Webmasters also provide some of the
best lists of favorite sites -- often a useful alternative to search engines
like Yahoo. Story includes a number of useful links like Public Libraries
with online services
http://sjcpl.lib.in.us/homepage/PublicLibraries/PubLibSrvsGpherWWW.html#www
srv, the Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/, and New York Public
Library http://www.nypl.org/. [For more on libraries in the digital age
see Local Places, Global Connections: Libraries in the Digital Age
http://www.benton.org/Library/Libraries/ and Buildings, books, and bytes:
Libraries and communities in the digital age
http://www.benton.org/Library/Kellogg/buildings.html]

Title: Going From a Crawl to a Run
Source: New York Times (D5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/110397web.html
Author: Sreenath Sreenivasan
Issue: Internet Content
Description: A look at Eliot Christian and the Global Information Locator
Service (GILS) http://www.fedworld.gov/gils. The project started as a way
to make global environmental data more accessible and is now a far-reaching
collaboration between government agencies, industry, and academia in the US
and elsewhere to make standardize government data access. Says the
University of Pittsburgh's Toni Carbo, "The US Government is the world's
largest producer and user of information. For business executives,
researchers and individual citizens to have access to that information is
essential. GILS helps in that process because it serves as an atlas that
combines all the maps to the territory in one place."

Title: B-schools are gearing up for electronic commerce
Source: New York Times (D5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/digicom/110397digicom.html
Author: Peter Lewis
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: Business schools are beginning to graduate a new breed of MBAs
that are "degree-carrying specialists in electronic commerce." Vanderbilt's
Professor Donna Hoffman says, "It sells management short to say that the
Internet is just another tool. What we teach here is that this is a
revolution. And it's very important to understand how the unique elements of
this interactive medium can be used to devise new ways of competing and new
strategies. See Vandy's Project 2000 http://www2000.ogsm.vanderbilt.edu/
as well as the Center for Research and Electronic Commerce at UT Austin
http://cism.bus.utexas.edu.

Title: Looney Tunes Will Soon Star in Web Ads
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Advertising On-Line
Description: Today, Warner Bros. will announce a technology-licensing
accord that will make characters like Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote become a
new breed of "Web spokes-characters". The hope is that these characters will
win over consumers who usually balk at interactive advertising, encouraging
corporate advertisers to sign up to sponsor the characters' Web wanderings.
Aaron Sugarman, VP and creative director of Agency.com Ltd., said, "Right
now the Net is all too quiet...it's an unusual and uncomfortable brand
space, because you're used to marketing communications singing and dancing.
You don't see that on the Web."

** FCC **

Title: It's the Kennard FCC now
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.6)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak & Chris McConnell
Issue: FCC
Description: After confirmation of William Kennard, Gloria Tristani, Michael
Powell and Harold Furchtgott-Roth last week, the new commissioners are
expected to sworn in today in a private ceremony. Vice President Gore plans
an open "formal" swearing in by weeks end. (Mr. Powell and Mr.
Furchtgott-Roth are not expected to attend that ceremony).

** Mergers **

Title: Merger Mania Rages On
Source: Telecom A.M.---Nov. 3, 1997
http://www.capitol( at )cappubs.com
Issue: Mergers
Description: The scale of merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. has
hit a record with transactions valued at $749 billion so far this year. The
worldwide record is $1,305 billion worth of takeovers announced so far this
year. After the U.S., Europe ranks second with $335 billion in deals, and
Asia ranks third with $69 billion in takeovers. Gary Parr, co-head of global
mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, said the boom had been driven by
"certain industries undergoing dramatic consolidation due to deregulation
and globalization." He also said, "The bulk of merger activity is strategic
and a number of industries are still very fragmented. There is a lot more to
be done."

Title: Justice Seeks Additional Info from Worldcom on MCI Deal
Source: Telecom A.M---Nov. 3, 1997
http://www.capitol( at )cappubs.com
Issue: Mergers
Description: The Dept. of Justice has asked Worldcom for additional info
on its bid for MCI in order to satisfy the stipulations of the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1967. Worldcom "fully
expected" the request, and used the chance to build its case in print in a
release on the issue. It said that a Worldcom/MCI deal would "accelerate
competition--especially in the local markets--by creating a company with the
capital, marketing abilities and a state-of-the-art network."

Title: Worldcom and BT Chiefs Differ On Outcome of MCI Deal
Source: Telecom A.M.---Nov. 3, 1997
http://www.capitol( at )cappubs.com
Issue: Merger
Description: Where the MCI deal is headed next amidst all of the
massive bids for its shares is now the subject of rising controversy.
Investors expressed concern about the impact of turbulence in the U.S. stock
market on Worldcom's all-stock bid for MCI. Worldcom's stock, as it stands
now, is valued less than what they offered for each of MCI's $40 shares. Sir
Peter Bonfield, a BT chief exec, said BT believes that its 20% stake in MCI
and it 75% ownership of their joint venture, Concert Communications, gives
it "significant rights" that could influence the outcome of the merger
battle. He refused to elaborate.

Title: MCI Brass Set Out to Rally Dispirited Troops
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: John Helyar
Issue: Mergers
Description: MCI spotted a disturbing trend following the three
record-breaking bids: sales slumped. In an effort to "rally the troops" at
MCI, a new campaign code-named "Rainmaker" was designed to reassure and
reaffirm faith in the company in employees, customers, and even competitors.
The campaign's running theme is "MCI: Our star is rising. Rise with it." Its
message to competitors is slightly different, however: "Our prime motive is as
always: crushing you in the marketplace with better products, prices, and
service." MCI officials insist that this isn't an effort to counter
demoralization, sales actually perked up after each downturn. They merely
want to get in front of a problem that could only get worse as the bidding
war rages on. "We probably overreacted, but it puts us in an offensive
position," says Brian Brewer, a business-markets senior VP who heads the
campaign. "That's vintage MCI."

Title: The Region and the Revolution
Source: Washington Business (WashTech, p.21)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/03/0111-110397-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Mergers
Description: The Washington region has been central to the era of
competitive telecommunications ever since William McGowan moved MCI Corp. to
the District 25 years ago this fall. Communications technology companies
have employed at 86,000 people and have a combined revenue of $26 billion,
according to the Potomac Knowledgeway Project. On Oct. 21 nearly a thousand
people came to N. Virginia to hear from Nextel's founder Morgan O'Brien;
Orion Network Systems Chairman John Puente; LCI Internat'l Corp. Chairman
Brian Thompson; cellular financier Mark Warner; and Mario Marino, a software
millionaire. Marino said, "The region possesses a remarkable concentration
in the communications sector...it is arguably the hub of the
telecommunications industry..." The region's strength as a technology center
is focused on telecommunications and information, rather than computing.
"But," Marino continued, "we are now beginning to usher in a new era of the
convergence of communication, computing and content."

** Info Tech **

Title: Diamond Multimedia's New Modem Uses 2 Phone Lines to Double Speed
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://www.wsj.com
Author: Lee Gomes
Issue: Info Tech
Description: Diamond Multimedia Systems is to unveil today a modem that
connects to two phone lines and runs 112 kilobits, twice as fast as the
current top speed for one phone line. These "bonded modems" are expected to
cost under $200 and will ship out early next year. Nearly on quarter of
U.S. homes have more than one phone line. This new modem is likely to be
only "stopgap technology", with even faster systems like the cable modem and
"subscriber digital link" technology that promises connection speeds in the
millions of bits per second.
*********

FCC
TelecomAM:
FCC: Nominees Approved: Additional Info

Regulation
NYT: Is a Better CDA Preferable To Opaque Censorship?
NYT: FCC Suggests V-Chips for PCs
TelecomAM: Computer Industry Should Be Driven By Competition, Not
Regulation

Spectrum
TelecomAM: FCC Fines Wireless Carrier For Cheating In Auction

** FCC **

Title: It's Official: Senate Clears FCC Nominations
Source: Telecom AM---Oct. 30, 1997 http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: FCC
Description: The Senate confirmed William Kennard as FCC chairman in an
overwhelming vote, 99-1, with Sen. Conrad Burns casting the sole dissenting
vote. They also OK'd the three other nominees and all will be sworn into
office as early as Nov. 7, according to an FCC official. Kennards's
confirmation wasn't without some concern from the Senate as to how he will
deal with the many issues that outgoing Chairman Hundt left behind. Sen.
Burns said that Kennard should be deemed guilty by association. Another big
point of concern, expressed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is Kennard's
involvement with an FCC that hasn't been in the Congress' favor for some time.

Title: Nominees Approved: Additional Info
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov
Issue: FCC
Description: Additional information on the new FCC Commissioners
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/nominees/welcome.html; statement by new
FCC Chairman Bill Kennard
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek702.html; statement of
outgoing Chairman Reed Hundt http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Hundt/st971029.html.

** Regulation **

Title: Is a Better CDA Preferable To Opaque Censorship?
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/law/103097law.html
Author: Carl Kaplan kaplan( at )nytimes.com
Issue: Communications Decency Act
Description: Professor Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School believes that
the filtering software touted by civil libertarians in Reno vs. ACLU may be
far more restrictive than the Communications Decency Act. "Promoting a
CDA-like solution to the 'problem' of indecency is very much to step out of
line," he writes. "I am not advocating a CDA-like solution because I believe
there is any real problem. In my view, it would be best just to let things
alone. But if Congress is not likely to let things alone, or at least if the
President is more likely to bully a private solution then we need to think
through the consequences of these different solutions...We may well prefer
that nothing be done. But if something is to be done, then whether through
public or private regulation, we need to think about its consequences for
free speech." [For additional information see the CyberTimes CDA HomePage
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/cda-index.html or Benton's
Telecom Act of 1996 Homepage (http://www.benton.org/Policy/96act/#restrictions)]

Title: FCC Suggests V-Chips for PCs
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/103097vchip.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: V-Chip/Internet
Description: The Federal Communications Commission is considering requiring
V-chips to be installed in all new computers. The proposal reflects the
converging of PC and TV technology. "I think that the risk of this kind of
approach is that instead of capitalizing on the user empowerment potential
that the Internet has, the FCC risks dragging the Internet as an interactive
and empowering medium back to the state of television, which offers users
very little control," said Daniel Weizner, deputy director of the Center for
Democracy and Technology http://www.cdt.org. The FCC's proposed rules are
available at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Notices/1997/fcc97340.txt.

Title: Computer Industry Should Be Driven By Competition, Not Regulation
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 30, 1997
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Regulation/Competition
Description: Ira Magaziner, senior advisor to Pres. Clinton for policy
development, said that the estimates of Internet users that will come to 1
billion by 2005 and the technology used to access it will generate a
"tremendous boom in the economy," and that gov't. involvement should be
minimum. Magaziner was speaking at the 3rd annual D.C. Bar Computer and
Telecommunications Law Section conference in Technology for the Information
Age. The computer industry moves too quickly for the gov't. to regulate it,
and according to Magaziner, "It needs to be a market-driven arena."
Magaziner addressed issues of legislation that would only offer a "false
sense of security", opposition to tariffs and taxes, codes of privacy
protection, and forms of encryption.

** Television **

Title: Public Eye: TV Chases the Internet
Source: CyberTimes (Oct. 30, 1997)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/103097bloomberg.html
Author: Phil Patton
Issue: Television
Description: TV screens are becoming filled with logos and clocks,
thermometers and stock tickers. For more than a year, CNN's Headline News
has been fringed with a sports ticker, depending on the hour. Boxes and
boxes of print are infiltrating news channels: they represent TV's envy of
the Internet. Today, we are as likely to read television as to watch it.
George Lois, an adman who helped pioneer the conjunction of character and
image in his "I want my MTV" ads, said that today's lettered screens show "a
disjunction between word and image."
** Spectrum **

Title: FCC Fines Wireless Carrier For Cheating In Auction
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 30, 1997
http://captiol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Spectrum
Description: The FCC fined Mercury PCS II LLC $650,000 for illegal bid
signaling in the PCS D, E, and F block auctions earlier this week. Mercury
was nailed because they placed trailing numbers at the end of 13 of its bids
which disclosed its business strategy in a reflexive manner that
specifically invited collusive behavior. The FCC's order, 97-288, said,
"Mercury's decision to use trailing bids was clearly purposeful...it
admitted that it intentionally inserted the market numbers into its bids
which in turn had the effect of conveying information to other bidders."
*********

FCC
WSJ: Three Nominees to FCC Are Approved by Senate

Infrastructure
NYT: Washington Hears Testimonials On Program to Connect the Masses

Political Participation
NYT: Who Says You Want a Revolution?
TelecomAM: Nearly 8 out of 10 Web Users Will Vote This Year

Mergers
WSJ: MCI Winner, Be It WorldCom or GTE, May Find It Has
Not Yet Begun to Fight

Competition
TelecomAM: 8th Circuit Decision on Unbundled Network Elements Stifles
Competition, says Comptel
WSJ: Congress May Rescue Satellite Broadcasters From Royalty Boost

Spectrum
TelecomAM: Wireless Auction Participant Files Bankruptcy,
FCC Continues Feud
TelecomAM: Satellite Market Drives Demand For More Capacity

InfoTech
TelecomAM: Bellsouth Adds E-Mail Capability to Digital Phones

Privacy
NYT: Underdeveloped, In 'Gattaca' Plot, a Lesson in Online Identity

** FCC **

Title: Three Nominees to FCC Are Approved by Senate
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B9)
Author: Dow Jones Newswires
Issue: FCC
Description: Last night the Senate approved three of President Clinton's
four nominees to the Federal Communications Commission by voice vote.
Michael Powell (son of retired Gen. Colin Powell), Harold Furchtgott-Roth
(the House Commerce Committee's chief economist), and Gloria Tristani
(commissioner of the New Mexico State Corporation Commission) have all been
approved. The Senate is expected to debate the nomination of Bill Kennard today.

** Infrastructure **

Title: Washington Hears Testimonials On Program to Connect the Masses
Source: New York Times/ CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/102997wiring.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: "Networks for the People," a conference focusing on bringing
the information superhighway to all of America, was held yesterday in
Washington, DC. The conference was hosted by the Department of Commerce's
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Award
winners showcased and shared experiences about how they have used technology
to improve lives and their communities through projects that had been
financed by the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance
Program (TIIAP), which was initiated by the Clinton Administration.
Although there
are several technology grants offered by the federal government, Larry
Irving, assistant Commerce Secretary and the director of NTIA, said that the
TIIAP Program has become the most competitive because it includes a number of
disciplines - education, law enforcement, health and welfare. Irving added,
"It's not about what people in Washington think is important, it's what
communities need."

** Political Participation **

Title: Who Says You Want a Revolution?
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/persuasion/102897persuasion.html
Author: Rebecca Fairley Raney
Issue: Internet Uses
Description: As many of us hope for the rise of a computer-driven democracy
where ideas are king and it is knowledge, information and participation for
all that reign, Bruce Bimber, a political scientist at the University of
California at Santa Barbara, has just released some sobering news. In the
most comprehensive study to date on political behavior on the Internet, he
has found that people are not politically participating on the Internet.
"The respondents to his survey represented not the general population, but
about 12,000 people who are deeply entrenched both in politics and the
Internet." Mr. Bimber also looked to community organizations to see if they
were contacting people through the Internet, and he found that only 1
percent of those who were highly politically involved received online
contact from community groups. Bimber concludes that "So far, the
"cyberocracy" is falling flat." "I think the new democracy is going to look
like the old democracy," he said. "The people who are going to be most
effective using the Net are the people who have been most effective with
television, the same organizations that dominate direct mail."

Title: Nearly 8 out of 10 Web Users Will Vote This Year, says new research
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 29, 1997
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: The NPD Group, a marketing information firm, conducted a
recent study that revealed that 78% of the U.S. online community will vote
in next week's political elections. NPD said that these findings underscore
the strong political involvement of today's Web users when compared to the
general population. But, there were some key areas of growth and decline
among the online population as well. More women will vote this year than
last year, but 3% fewer male Web users said they will vote. Younger voters
from ages 18-24 will turnout 5% more than last year, while the largest
drop-off in voters appeared among 45-54 year olds, a 6% drop-off.

** Mergers **

Title: MCI Winner, Be It WorldCom or GTE, May Find It Has Not Yet
Begun to Fight
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B8)
Author: Bryan Gruley & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Mergers
Description: WorldCom and GTE executives are trying to convince MCI
shareholders that their respective deals will easily pass regulatory muster.
Regulators in DC and two dozen states must approve any deal and will be
considering what effects it has on competition. Approval could take as long
as year as regulators decide how the deal should benefit local, long
distance, and Internet customers. GTE, with local monopolies in 28 states,
may face tougher regulatory scrutiny.

** Competition **

Title: 8th Circuit Decision on Unbundled Network Elements Stifles
Competition, says Comptel
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 29, 1997
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Competition
Description: The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision on unbundled
network elements (UNEs) effectively shuts competitors out of the residential and
small business local markets, according to the Competitive
Telecommunications Assoc (CompTel). The decision gave the incumbent local
exchange carriers the OK to split network elements that normally work
together, thus forcing the competitors to rebundle the elements before
providing local services. CompTel's General Counsel, Ginny Morrelli, said
the group may ask the FCC to find a way around the problems caused by this
decision because "time is of the essence here." The problem lies in the high
costs local entrants will have to pay for disconnecting the UNEs as well
reconnecting them.

Title: Congress May Rescue Satellite Broadcasters From Royalty Boost
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B6)
Author: Dow Jones Newswires
Issue: Satellite
Description: Members of Congress are already making noise about changing the
newly-set royalty fees charged to DBS operators. Copyright officials have
increased the fees from $0.06-$0.17 per subscriber to $0.27. The move could
hamper the ability for DBS to compete with cable television.

** Spectrum **

Title: Wireless Auction Participant Files Bankruptcy, FCC Continues Feud
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 29, 1997
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Spectrum
Description: Dallas-based General Wireless, which bid $1.1 billion in
May's gov't. auction, filed for bankruptcy to protect itself from creditors.
Outgoing FCC Chairman Reed Hundt blamed the Commission, saying that the
filing was "not surprising given the failure of the commission to adopt a
workable solution for the larger C-block licensees. Now the bankruptcy court
must slowly sift through the barrage of clever legal arguments made by the
debtor's lawyers designed to keep these licenses on ice." FCC Commissioner
Susan Ness disagreed. "It is not the role of the commission to bail
out...those who overbid or who are over-leveraged. The marketplace, not the
FCC, should determine winners and losers. That's what a market-driven
auction is all about." The licenses offered at these auctions would allow
wireless companies to offer personal communication services. The FCC's
airwave auctions, which started in '94, have raised more than $20 billion
for the U.S. Treasury.

Title: Satellite Market Drives Demand For More Capacity
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 29, 1997
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Satellites
Description: A global explosion of telecommunications services has created
an unprecedented demand for satellite capacity. Today, satellites are used
for a myriad of services, but in the next few years will be joined by a mass
of interactive services, including high-speed Internet links. One solution
for the demand is to build more powerful satellites. Satellite TV is
creating much of the demand for larger satellites from companies like the
L.A.-based Hughes Space & Communications, whose orders value close to $4.3
billion. Digital technology might seem to be the solution to the increasing
demand for more capacity, even though broadcasting trends suggest otherwise.
Satellites will also be used more for interactive and online services. Jack
Juraco, a satellite product line manager at HSC, said, "The biggest
challenge is trying to squeeze more satellite capacity in the same volume or
form. These things have got to fit into a launcher vehicle, and launcher
capacity doesn't develop as fast."

** InfoTech **

Title: Bellsouth Adds E-Mail Capability to Digital Phones
Source: Telecom A.M.---Oct. 29, 1997
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Information Technology
Description: BellSouth Mobility DCS is making responding to e-mail from
digital phones possible for customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Tennessee. All that is needed is an e-mail address similar to a DCS phone
number. Customers can receive an e-mail of up to 160 characters and send
messages to DCS subscribers from e-mail software that supports 'Net
communication.

** Privacy **

Title: Underdeveloped, In 'Gattaca' Plot, a Lesson in Online Identity
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/under/102997under-wayner.html
Author: Peter Wayner
Issue: Privacy
Description: As we move towards a more computer oriented society the ability
to identify ourselves is becoming increasingly difficult. Biometrics is one
option that is just beginning to reach the marketplace "as companies create
fingerprint readers, retina scanners and other devices for machine
recognition." Peter Wayner thinks that anyone who places faith in these
devices or is interested in the realm of online commerce should make a point
to see the movie "Gattaca." While it is typical Hollywood in many
ways, "it's far more instructive about how the financial system and online
commerce are heading for a disaster because the Net is rapidly trying to
incorporate techniques for paying bills that revolve around our identity."
*********

Corporate Retrenchment
WSJ: US West's Plan to Split Up Reflects Failure in Strategy
NYT: Two Regional Bells Take Different Paths To Growth
WP: Big Mergers Get Bigger In The '90s

Television
WSJ: As the Focus Shifts, the Big Picture Brightens at MSNBC
NYT: Satellite Broadcasters Face Higher Programming Fees
FCC: Broadcasting and the First Amendment

Online Services
WP: AOL to Raise the Curtain On Entertainment Asylum

Journalism/Advertising
WP: N.Y. Times Online Ads: Custom Service
WP: The News Business

Global Information Infrastructure
FCC: From Buenos Aires to Geneva and Beyond
NTIA: Networks for People

Electronic Commerce
WP: Online Trading Delayed

Lifestyles!
WP: With E-Mail, Absence Makes Families Fonder
TelecomAM: BellSouth Targets Young Telecom Consumers With
'Lifestyle-Based' Services

** Corporate Retrenchment **

Title: US West's Plan to Split Up Reflects Failure in Strategy
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B4)
Author: Leslie Cauley
Issue: Convergence
Description: Analysts and industry executives say the decision to split US
West into two companies is an admission that the strategy to provide
in-region phone service and out-of-region cable service has not worked. The
split will leave US West Communications Group a stripped-down phone company
much as it was before its push into cable in 1993. It may also make the
phone company -- which serves 14 western states -- a prime target for a
takeover bid. [Yeah, like there's a chance of that in the competitive,
post-Telecom Act telecommunications market]. The Denver-based Bell has
already talked to Ameritech and SBC Communications.

Title: Two Regional Bells Take Different Paths To Growth
Source: New York Times (D12)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/phones-marketplace.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Telecommunications
Description: U.S. West announced yesterday a plan to split into two separate
telephone and cable television companies by the end of next year. After
five years of trying to integrate its telephone and cable television
services, U.S. West conceded that it had failed. Also yesterday, the
Ameritech Corporation announced that it will acquire control of Tele
Danmark, Denmark's national telephone company, for $3.2 billion in cash.
This purchase is made in a continuation of Ameritech's so-far successful
expansion into the overseas market. In response to these Bell deals, Eric
Strumingher, an analyst for Paine Webber said, "All carriers are certainly
in an accelerated phase of evaluating business opportunities, evaluating
disposition of assets and lining up the assets that will allow them to grow
earnings above the market rate."

Title: Big Mergers Get Bigger In The '90s
Source: Washington Post (A1, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/
Author: Tim Smart
Issue: Mergers
Description: The end-of-the-century boom in mergers and acquisitions like
the $30 billion battle for Washington's MCI Corp. is far broader and deeper
than the one that marked the heyday of the '80s. In the past 2 weeks, huge
acquisitions have been announced like the Home Shopping Network's $4.1
billion purchase of Universal Studios Inc.'s cable and TV operations. The
reasons behind "the rush" to combine are many but primarily reflect the
deregulation of large industries with too many players and the availability
of relatively inexpensive capital in the form of corporate stock trading at
high values and modest interest rates.

** Television **

Title: As the Focus Shifts, the Big Picture Brightens at MSNBC
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B1)
Author: Kyle Pope
Issue: Cable Content
Description: MSNBC is still losing money, but analysts believe it is
becoming a valuable asset for partners General Electric/NBC and Microsoft.
The cable news network enjoyed increased ratings -- as did other news
outlets -- when viewers tuned in for info on Princess Diana, but it has done
a better job of retaining those viewers than its counterparts. The network
has also changed focus -- shows on computers and technology have been
canceled or scaled back -- replaced with celebrity features and culture
stories. Average prime-time ratings for the Big Three of cable news: Fox
News 24,000, MSNBC 99,000, and CNN 766,000.

Title: Satellite Broadcasters Face Higher Programming Fees
Source: New York Times (D10)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/bird.html
Author: Bloomburg News
Issue: Television
Description: Under a ruling issued by the United States Copyright Office
yesterday, the rates that satellite broadcast companies pay to transmit
television signals will quadruple starting January 1. The rate hike will
benefit owners of tv programming at the expense of direct broadcast
satellite (D.B.S.) companies. This decision puts D.B.S. companies at a
disadvantage because cable rivals pay lower rates. "The decision defies
common sense," said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for W.J. (Billy) Tauzin (R-LA)
who is chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications. "It will
force consumers to pay dramatically higher rates for satellite services, and
at the same time slow down competition in the marketplace." The Satellite
Broadcasting Communications Association will ask the U.S. Copyright Office
to delay the implementation of their decision while it challenges the ruling
in court.

Title: Broadcasting and the First Amendment
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov
Author: James Quello
Issue: Broadcasting/First Amendment
Description: "Dean of Communications, Jim Spaniolo, suggested that you might
be interested in my viewpoint on that contentious and pervasive subject,
'Broadcasting and the First Amendment.' My principal views were articulated
in a speech titled, 'The Reeding of the First Amendment,' which received
considerable press coverage. The speech presented opposition arguments to
Chairman Reed Hundt's pro-regulatory viewpoints, artfully expounded in
several of his well-structured speeches. Areas of contention that need
clarification include: Should broadcast spectrum be auctioned? Is allocating
digital spectrum to broadcasting really 'the biggest give-away in history?'
Should the allocation of digital spectrum to broadcasters be accompanied by
additional quantifiable public interest obligations?"

** Online Services **

Title: AOL to Raise the Curtain On Entertainment Asylum
Source: Washington Business (WashTech, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/0041-102797-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet: Sales and Services
Description: AOL plans to unveil a splashy online site about the
entertainment industry that will be available on AOL and the World Wide Web.
"Entertainment Asylum" will feature reviews about movies, TV shows, music,
chat rooms, and online games. The site represents AOL's effort to tap into a
much larger electronic community. Ted Leonsis, the president of the AOL
Studios division, said, "This is an opportunity for AOL to truly
diversify...now we can go for 100% of the market."

** Journalism/Advertising

Title: N.Y. Times Online Ads: Custom Service
Source: Washington Post (C1) (10/27/97)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Howard Kurtz
Issue: Journalism/Advertising
Description: The New York Times is involved in an extraordinary marketing
effort with corporate America. Every time a reader accesses the NYTimes
Internet site, for a fee, advertisers can find out your income, age, Zip
code, credit card habits and even what kind of computer you use. These
disclosures allow advertisers to target their message to a more specific
demographic base. The NYTimes can provide marketers with this information
because when subscribers sign up for the paper's Web site they are required
to register and complete a questionnaire. Martin Nisenholtz, president of
New York Times Electronic Media, calls this "the largest and most
comprehensive" such effort on the Web. He dismisses privacy concerns by
saying, "We don't know who you are. We don't collect your name or telephone
number. We do collect your email address, but we don't sell that.
Occasionally we send out promotional New York Times information messages."
This new technology will possibly replace the pollsters and focus groups
that newspapers use today to determine who is reading what. With the
ability to find out exactly what the majority is reading, there is concern
that low-rating subjects might be altogether banished.

Title: The News Business
Source: Washington Post (A25, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/0341-102797-idx.html
Author: Meg Greenfield
Issue: Journalism
Description: There is a feeling among many journalists of melancholy over
what has happened to onetime serious news organizations that have seemed to
have abandoned coverage of serious news for trivia, sensationalism, and
embarrassing sexual revelations. Greenfield contends that real interesting
news is as available and accessible as it ever was, but we're often looking
in the wrong place. The evidence of public lack of interest really lies in
how journalists present a certain issue. If it's made relatable to the
audience at large, without underestimating them, then there would be more
interest in these issues. Another point made was the fact that, despite the
denials, there's a tendency among the media to think of the public as not
quite ready for or up to the seriousness of the issues themselves, and thus
are in need of melodramatic intros to capture their attention.

** Global Information Infrastructure **

Title: From Buenos Aires to Geneva and Beyond
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Hundt/spreh759.html
summary at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1997/nrmc7072.html
Author: Reed Hundt
Issue: Global Information Infrastructure
Description: FCC Chairman Reed Hundt Describes how Information Revolution is
Fueling Creation of the Global Economy. (FCC Summary) In an address
yesterday to the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia, FCC Chairman Reed
Hundt predicted that "the ability of countries, businesses, and individuals
to compete in this new global economy will be shaped by telecommunications
policy." Observing that trade in services is growing on a worldwide basis at
twice the rate of trade in goods, Hundt said that "information revolution is
a catalyst of expansion in the services sector, and in other sectors of the
economy from agriculture to manufacturing." He added that "of the 12 million
jobs created since President Clinton took office, 8 million have been in the
information sector, which now comprises one-seventh of the U.S. economy."

Title: Networks for People
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/networks102797.htm
Issue: TIIAP
Description: Commerce Department to release report and hold conference on
October 28. The conference, called "Networks for People," will be held in
the Commerce Department's auditorium from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
October 28, with demonstrations throughout the day in the main lobby.

** Electronic Commerce **

Title: Online Trading Delayed
Source: Washington Post (A6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/28/0751-102897-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: Compounding the stock market dive, computer users reported
severe delays connecting to finance-related Internet sites, especially
providers of electronic trading. Yesterday was on-line trading's big test.
E*Trade of Palo Alto, Calif., reported that it handled almost double its
average daily volume of 24,000 trades. Despite complaints of many
investors, a spokeswoman for E*Trade said, "Our system was working the way
it should have...it could have been Internet traffic in general." Analysts
say the online trading is popular because of the convenience and lower
commissions. According to Forrester Research, Inc., more than 1.5 million
investors have online trading accounts.

** Lifestyles! **

Title: With E-Mail, Absence Makes Families Fonder
Source: Washington Post (A1, Oct. 27, 1997)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/10/27/1441-102797
Author: Jacqueline L. Salmon
Issue: Education Technology
Description: Parents who send a son or daughter off to college know about
the availability of e-mail on campus. What they don't expect is that their
children will become frequent e-mail correspondents. E-mail has become a
different medium, a tool for spontaneous, candid, 24-hour-a-day exchanges
between parent and child that has transformed the college experience for
both of them. More than 7 million of the nation's 9 million students use
e-mail regularly, according to IDC/Link, a N.Y.-based research firm.

Title: BellSouth Targets Young Telecom Consumers With
'Lifestyle-Based' Services
Source: Telecom AM http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Lifestyles!
Description: BellSouth will introduced its new Teen Line Pack (no, not a new
addition to the teenage football league) in mid-November. The pack is
designed to provide families with a separate phone line for their teenagers
that are obsessed with music, fashion and food. The Teen Line Pack is the
first offering in BellSouth's Home Series Line, "a portfolio of lifestyle
packages designed to change the way people think about how they shop for
telecommunications services," said a company spokesperson.
*********