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Communications-related Headlines for 9/12/97

Johnson, TCI Make Bid for BET
WP: Johnson, TCI Make Offer To Buy All of BET Holdings
WP: A Powerful Partnership Pays Off

Digital TV
WSJ: Hype Definition: Waiting for HDTV? Don't Go
Dumping Your Old Set Just Yet

Internet Infrastructure
WSJ: Is the Internet Outgrowing Its Volunteer Traffic Cops?

*********************************************
* Johnson, TCI Make Bid for BET *
*********************************************
Title: Johnson, TCI Make Offer To Buy All of BET Holdings
Source: Washington Post (E1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/12/079l-091297-idx.html
Author: David Segal
Issue: Ownership/Cable
Description: BET founder Robert Johnson and corporate partner Liberty Media
(owned by cable giant TCI) have offered to buy the 6 million shares of BET
they don't own and make it a private company. BET will set up a special
committee of board members to consider the deal. If successful Mr. Johnson
and Liberty would become the owners of the Black Entertainment Network
(which reaches 50 million households), restaurants, a pay-per-view network,
a jazz channel, and Emerge magazine.

Title: A Powerful Partnership Pays Off
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/12/082l-091297-idx.h...
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Ownership/Cable
Description: Robert Johnson and TCI's John Malone are long-time partners.
Mr. Johnson represented TCI while he worked at the National Cable Television
Association. And when Mr. Johnson needed seed money for his idea of a cable
channel targeted at black viewers, Malone's TCI came up with $500,000. The
partnership continues as TCI and Mr. Johnson try to buy the remaining shares
of BET.

*********************************************
* Digital TV *
*********************************************
Title: Hype Definition: Waiting for HDTV?
Don't Go Dumping Your Old Set Just Yet
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (A1)
Author: Kyle Pope & Mark Robichaux
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Rarely in the history of American business has there been a new
technology that promised so much -- and delivered so little. Broadcasters
worked for ten years for the Government to approve HDTV. In the 1980s the
idea of HDTV was born to by the broadcast community to keep valuable
broadcast spectrum from being parceled out to paging and data services
companies. Convinced that TV air space was there right, broadcasters argued
that they needed spectrum for advanced television technology, which they
said would guarantee free, over-the-air TV forever. Now that they've won the
war, they are backing out of promises to deliver High Definition Television
(HDTV) which makes possible nearly three-dimensional images and
crystal-clear sound on digital television sets. "This whole digital
transition has been left to the engineers until just about six months ago,"
says Michael Jordon, the chairman of CBS parent Westinghouse Electric. "All
of a sudden we got this thing approved, and nobody knows has a clue what
they are going to do." [For more information, see The Debate Over the Future
of Television http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/].

*********************************************
* Internet Infrastructure *
*********************************************
Title: Is the Internet Outgrowing Its Volunteer Traffic Cops?
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B6)
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: Internet/Infrastructure
Description: All the Internet traffic in the world depends on 13 "root
servers" that are supervised by 8 volunteers. This system seemed to work
fine when the Internet was a casual research tool, but as it has grown in
importance -- and July's "Jelly Donut" fiasco -- some think that a
professional solution should be found. Network Solutions Inc, the company
that controls the domain name system and supervises four root servers, has
asked the Department of Commerce to support employment contracts for
root-server operators.
*********
...and swoosh. We are outta here! KT's gone next week, so our pinch-hitters
will be stepping up to the plate again.

Communications-related Headlines for 9/11/97

Telephone Regulation
NYT: States Plan to Sue F.C.C. On Jurisdiction Over Bells

Television
NYT: Microsoft Facing a Challenge Over Internet-Cable TV Link
NYT: Can You Spell "Compliance," Boys and Girls?
FCC: Unsolved Mysteries in Law, Communications, and Cyberspace
FCC: Commission Seeks Comment on
Revised Industry Proposal for Rating Video Programming

Wireless Telephony
WSJ: FCC Wireless Auction May Reap $7 Billion Less
WSJ: SPECIAL SECTION: Telecommunications

Privacy
NYT: Trifling With Medical Privacy

Arts
NYT: A Showdown In Texas On Money For the Arts

*********************************************
* Telephone Regulation *
*********************************************
Title: States Plan to Sue F.C.C. On Jurisdiction Over Bells
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/fcc-phone-suit.html
Author: Mark Landler
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: Another court battle for the Federal Communications Commission.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, regulators
from California, Iowa, and Florida, and possibly Bell South and other Baby
Bells will file suit -- perhaps as soon as tomorrow -- accusing the FCC of
violating its jurisdiction by setting the terms by which local phone
companies must open their networks to new rivals. The FCC has been
attempting to pry open to competition the $100 billion local telephone
service market leveraged by its authority to allow local phone companies to
enter into long-distance service. "This could be a regulatory Pearl Harbor,"
said one senior Government official.

*********************************************
* Television *
*********************************************
Title: Microsoft Facing a Challenge Over Internet-Cable TV Link
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/091197television.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Convergence
Description: A small start-up company, Worldgate Communications of Bensalem,
PA, is developing the cable industry's strategy to thwart Microsoft's bid to
blend the Internet and cable TV. The cable industry's plan may bring the
Internet to TV households much quicker than Microsoft envisions. Worldgate
plans to begin offering in the next few weeks Internet service through
set-top convertor boxes, existing TVs, remote control, and optional
keyboards. The suggested retail price is $12/month. The service data rate
would be four times faster than the fastest connections over conventional
phone lines. "Worldgate is Web TV and Microsoft's worst nightmare," says an
industry consultant.

Title: Can You Spell "Compliance," Boys and Girls?
Source: New York Times (B1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/tv-networks.html
Author: Lawrie Mifflin
Issue: Children's Television
Description: The fall television schedule begins this week and broadcasters
must provide three hours of educational programming for children. The
programming to fulfill this federal requirement is a mixed bag. CBS will
offer "The Weird Al Show" with Weird Al Yankovic who says an educational
message never entered his mind when he set out to do the show. ABC has
retooled "101 Dalmations" with sentimental lessons on friendship and
responsibility. Fox has no new programming for kids. And NBC, the most
watched network, continues to argue that "NBA Inside Stuff" doesn't just
promote basketball, its designed to teach "life lessons." "My concern is
that they'll use these little formulas and will not really try to improve
anything or try new things," says the Center for Media Education's Kathryn
Montgomery [see http://tap.epn.org/cme/]. "I'm worried that they'll do the
bare minimum and hope the public complaints will eventually go away." [See a
summary of the FCC's new rules on kidvid
http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/kidstv-sum.html]

At the FCC http://www.fcc.gov
Chairman Hundt Speaks at George Washington University Law School on Unsolved
Mysteries in Law, Communications, and Cyberspace: "I love TV; doesn't
everyone?" http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Hundt/spreh744.html

Commission Seeks Comment on Revised Industry Proposal for Rating Video
Programming (FCC 97-321, CS Docket No. 97-55) Comments are due on October 6,
1997, and reply comments are due on October 20, 1997. Interested parties
should send comments and reply comments to: Office of the Secretary, Federal
Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20554.
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Public_Notices/1997/fcc97321.html

*********************************************
* Wireless Telephony *
*********************************************
Title: FCC Wireless Auction May Reap $7 Billion Less
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (A3)
Author: Bryan Gruley
Issue: Spectrum/Auctions
Description: Bidders in FCC spectrum auctions committed $10 billion to win,
but now say they cannot afford to pay for the licenses and build their
networks. The FCC and Congress are trying to figure out how to save the
licenses from being tied up in bankruptcy court for years to come by giving
the bidders some sort of relief. "Either these loans are marked to market
[price] by the FCC, or they will be marked to market by bankruptcy courts,"
says FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. Estimates have the FCC collecting only $3 to
$5 billion for the licenses now.

Title: Telecommunications
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (R1)
Issue: Cellular Phones
Description: A special section in the Wall Street Journal examines the
present and future of wireless communication. Includes tips for consumers,
concerns over privacy, and a look at the technology.

*********************************************
* Privacy *
*********************************************
Title: Trifling With Medical Privacy
Source: New York Times (A34)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/11thu3.html
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Privacy
Description: As part of a 1996 law making health care coverage more
accessible for millions of Americans, the Congress required the Department
of Health and Human Services to develop a plan on medical records privacy.
Secretary Donna Shalala will unveil that plan today at a Senate hearing. The
Administration's plan will place new safeguards to limit access to medical
records by employers, drug manufacturers, and direct-marketing companies.
But there is an exemption for law-enforcement agencies who would not have to
get court orders or to notify patients when they are seeking medical
records. Although there is a need to investigate fraud in the nation's
trillion dollar health-care industry, it should not come by making health
records less private than bank records, e-mail messages, or cable and movie
rental records.

*********************************************
* Arts *
*********************************************
Title: A Showdown In Texas On Money For the Arts
Source: New York Times (B1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/sanantonio-arts-funds.html
Author: Judith Dobrzynski
Issue: Arts
Description: Following similar battles in Charlotte and Greensboro, NC,
Anchorage AK, and Jackson Hole, WY, the San Antonio City Council will decide
the fate of the city's Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs (DACA) today.
DACA provides ~$2.7 million in grants annually to 39 cultural organizations,
from the San Antonio Symphony to urban mural projects. "It's an attack on
arts funding overall, the trickling down of the controversy surrounding the
National Endowment for the Arts," says DACA's director, Eduardo Diaz. "These
issues have been festering." Grass roots movements on both sides of the
battle have organized to decide San Antonio's arts funding.
*********

Communications-related Headlines for 9/10/97

Universal Service
TelecomAM: Hundt Sets Up Three Universal Service Boards

Advertising
WP: Persuading Young Minds to Buy

Encryption
NYT: Format Makes Rental Films Disposable

*********************************************
* Universal Service *
*********************************************
Title: Hundt Sets Up Three Universal Service Boards
Source: Telecom AM http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: FCC Chairman Reed Hundt named the members of the three boards
charged with implementing the federal universal service support mechanisms.
A full list of members can be found at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1997/nrmc7063.html.

*********************************************
* Advertising *
*********************************************
Title: Persuading Young Minds to Buy
Source: Washington Post (9/9/97)
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/09/027l-090997-id...
Author: Martha Hamilton
Issue: Advertising
Description: Children spend ~15 billion/year and they are probably
influential in another $160 billion/year of purchases. So, its no wonder
advertisers want to target youngsters. Marketers are looking for new venues
to reach young people -- vehicles like Disney's new children radio. Michael
Brody, a child psychiatrist, says a smaller and smaller number of
entertainment conglomerates are creating the stories that "suffuse
children's lives and are crowding out the ones they might make up for
themselves." Dr. Brody sees advertising aimed at children as an invasion of
children's fantasy life. The Center for Media Education
http://tap.epn.org/cme/ has studied Websites and found them to be an
invasion of children's privacy as well. A new model of one-to-one marketing
is emerging on the Internet, CME reports: "The goal is not to create
advertising to appeal to a general demographic group...but to create an
individual profile, to get to know a specific user and her likes and dislikes."

*********************************************
* Encryption *
*********************************************
Title: Format Makes Rental Films Disposable
Source: New York Times (D7)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/091097disk.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Encryption
Description: Circuit City Stores and major film studios have reached an
agreement with makers of digital video disk players on a technology that
would create disposable rental films. Divx, an encryption technology, is
designed to prevent movie piracy. Divx-formatted films would be sold for $5
each and would be playable for 48 hours after they are placed in a digital
videodisk player. Disks should be available in test markets next spring and
nationwide next summer.
*********

Communications-related Headlines for 9/9/99

Let the Spin Begin: WorldCom/AOL/CompuServe Deal
WSJ: How One Company Is Quietly Buying Up the Internet
NYT: Latest Cyberdeal Seems to Have Room for Two Winners
WP: AOL Shifts Its Strategic Direction
NYT: America Online to maintain 2 Services
WSJ: Some Compuserve Members Fret Over AOL Deal
WP: Next AOL Test: Holding On to Compuserve Loyalists

Internet Sales and Service
WSJ: Start-Ups Are Putting Internet to Work for the Big Guys

Telecommunications Act of 1996
WSJ: The FCC vs. the Constitution

Philanthropy
WSJ: Gift Rift

Access to Government Info
NYT: Now Available: City Hall at Your Fingertips

International
NYT: France to Sell Large Stake In Telcom

****************************************************
* Let the Spin Begin: WorldCom/AOL/CompuServe Deal *
****************************************************
Title: How One Company Is Quietly Buying Up the Internet
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B1)
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Mergers
Description: The AT&T of the Internet isn't AT&T -- it's WorldCom which in
the past year has purchased Compuserves high-speed networking division and
UUNet. Like Theodore Vail purchased small telephone networks to form AT&T a
century ago and Craig McCaw bought up small cellular phone carriers in the
past decade to build McCaw Cellular (now AT&T Wireless), Bernard Ebbers and
WorldCom have strung 50 purchases together over the past ten years. UUNet is
the Internet gateway for the Microsoft network and AOL and WorldCom entered
into a five year agreement with yesterday's deal -- so WorldCom now claims
the two largest commercial online services as its customers.

Title: Latest Cyberdeal Seems to Have Room for Two Winners
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090997compuserve-marketplace.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Mergers
Description: If you follow the money in yesterday's stories about the
WorldCom, Compuserve, AOL deal, you'll see that the real value lies in the
dull plumbing of cyberspace, not the glamour of new media. WorldCom
purchased Compuserve for ~$1.2 billion, held onto the data networks and sold
the online service for $250 million -- which means Compuserve's plumbing was
worth nearly $1 billion. Shares of WorldCom rose $2.25 yesterday; shares of
AOL closed +$6.125. A Forrester Research analyst says, "The next stage of
the Internet economy is that the media companies will start to make money,
not just the infrastructure suppliers as has been the case until now.
America Online is taking a leading role in that development....You assemble
an audience of more than 10 million subscribers, and madison Avenue has to
pay attention."

Title: AOL Shifts Its Strategic Direction
Source: Washington Post (C1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/09/148l-090997-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Mergers/Online Services
Description: America Online announced a strategy changed yesterday: it will
now focus solely on content and let someone else -- WorldCom -- worry about
the infrastructure that delivers that content to computer screens. AOL sold
its national data network -- ANS -- to WorldCom and will now concentrate on
its core business: creating an online community. Critics say that the need
for cash and the zeal for more subscribers lead AOL to sell a major part of
its house just to have to rent it back.

Title: America Online to maintain 2 Services
Source: New York Times (D11)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090997compuserve.html
Author: Laurie Flynn
Issue: Mergers
Description: America Online executives insist that they will keep AOL
focused on the consumer market and families and keep Compuserve focused on
small business and technical users. AOL's chief executive, Steve Case, said
"The expectation is we will continue to manage Compuserve with its own
technologies and brand forever." Analysts believe that Compuserve has lost
most of its resonance in the market and that AOL will eventually fold the
service into AOL.

Title: Some Compuserve Members Fret Over AOL Deal
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B4)
Author: Thomas Weber
Issue: Mergers
Description: "I use Compuserve because it's fast and purposeful, and AOL is
just the opposite," says one concerned Compuserve subscriber. Included in
subscribers concerns are: 1) will e-mail addresses change? 2) will the price
of Compuserve go up?, and 3) will Compuserve subscribers start getting more
busy signals when trying to connect?

Title: Next AOL Test: Holding On to Compuserve Loyalists
Source: Washington Post (C1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/09/020l-090997-idx.html
Author: Beth Berselli
Issue: Mergers
Description: The billion dollar question for America Online: Can it hold on
to Compuserve customers? "I hope the purchase of Compuserve by AOL does not
mean an end to the Compuserve forums, threaded messages, etc., with the
adaptation of AOL's Mickey Mouse mentality," says one subscriber. If this
happens, I will seek another ISP." Many Compuserve subscribers are ex-AOLers
who will refuse to subscribe again to the largest online serve provider.

*********************************************
* Internet Sales and Service *
*********************************************
Title: Start-Ups Are Putting Internet to Work for the Big Guys
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (B2)
Author: Rodney Ho
Issue: Internet Sales and Services
Description: Small specialized entrepreneurs are beating bigger competitors
in efforts to train large corporations how to profit from the Internet.
Applications include better communications between central offices and
distributors, Websites, and growing demand for broader services. These big
companies appreciate the "small company mentality" that every customer counts.

*********************************************
* Telecommunications Act of 1996 *
*********************************************
Title: The FCC vs. the Constitution
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (A18)
Author: Laurence Tribe
Harvard Professor and lawyer for SBC Communications
Issue: Telecommunications Act of 1996
Description: The lawyer leading SBC's lawsuit challenging the
constitutionality of the telecommunications Act of 1996 outlines his
problems with the legislation [not with the federal Communications
Commission]. Tribe says the Act unfairly targets the Baby Bells and prevents
them from offering long distance service in their home [monopoly] local
markets. [For more on the Telecommunications Act of 1996 see
http://www.benton.org/Policy/96act/]

*********************************************
* Philanthropy *
*********************************************
Title: Gift Rift
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/ (A1)
Author: Monica Langley
Issue: Philanthropy
Description: Corporate Giving Watch had named Microsoft Corp. the nation's
top giver last year with contribution of $73.2 million. But Microsoft -- and
Corporate Giving Watch -- based the value of its contributions -- mostly
software -- on the retail prices of the packages. IBM -- which placed #2 in
the ranking -- based its contributions on wholesale prices. If calculated on
retail prices, IBM's contributions were worth $92.7 million. But there are a
number of critics of these valuations of gifts -- values that don't mean
much more than bragging rights for large corporations. "Inflated software
gifts are the junk bonds of the new philanthropy," says Josef Woodman,
founder of Lightworks Technology Foundation
http://arcana.catalogue.com/geninfo/qanda.htm.

*********************************************
* Access to Government Info *
*********************************************
Title: Now Available: City Hall at Your Fingertips
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090997kiosk.html
Author: David Halbfinger
Issue: Access to Government Info
Description: New York City is attempting to make government information more
available by installing 37 ATM-like kiosks in public areas that allow
residents to pay parking tickets and property taxes with credit and banking
cards, check building inspection records, and print out applications for
jobs, permits and licenses. Tourists can tell the machines where they are
from so they can update the old "I Love New York" ad campaign. After
experimenting with the 37 kiosks, the City now plans to expand the system to
hundreds of terminals throughout the five boroughs.

*********************************************
* International *
*********************************************
Title: France to Sell Large Stake In Telcom
Source: New York Times (D3)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/09france.html
Author: Bloomberg News
Issue: International
Description: The French Government will sell 38% of France Telecom S.A. for
76 billion frncs ($12.5 billion). The sale will help the Government meet
financial qualifications for joining the European Union currency. It will
also add France Telecom in international expansion.
*********

Communications-related Headlines for 9/8/97

Mergers: AOL and CompuServe
WSJ: WorldCom to Buy Compuserve Corp.
NYT: Worldcom Set to Acquire Compuserve
WP: AOL Wins CompuServe Subscribers

Internet Service Providers
WP: UUNet Outdistances Its Peers

Internet Services/Content
NYT: Technology: On the Net
NYT: Calls Via the Internet, But in Low Fidelity
NYT: Infoseek Set to Announce Web-Searching Innovation
WP: Wiring Social Security
WP: Junk Mail Online Pushes The Envelope

Infrastructure
NYT: Panel Reviews U.S. "Life-Support Systems"

Universal Service
TelecomAM: FCC Seeks to Waive PICC for Lifeline Customers
WSJ: Telecommunications Companies Unite To
Track Nonpaying Phone Customers FCC
TelecomAM: Hollings Blinks on Kennard's Nomination; Senate
Schedules Hearings

Minorities & Media
NYT: Newscasts in Tagalog and Songs in Gaelic

Journalism/Magazines
WP: Magazine's High Hype

*********************************************
* Mergers: AOL and CompuServe *
*********************************************
Title: WorldCom to Buy Compuserve Corp.
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Mergers/Online Services
Description: WorldCom outbid leveraged-buyout firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson &
Stowe in the purchase of Compuserve from H&R Block. WorldCom will retain
Compuserve's 1,200 corporate customers and sell the online company's 3
million consumer customers to America Online. AOL will turn over its
high-speed Internet access division, ANS Communications, to WorldCom. The
deal makes WorldCom a giant in business networking -- serving the two
largest commercial online services and thousands of corporate customers. AOL
will increase its customer base to 12 million -- roughly six times the size
of its nearest competitor, Microsoft Network. The AOL deal may raise some
antitrust concerns, however, and the meshing of AOL and Compuserve corporate
philosophies may cause problems for both employees and customers.

Title: Worldcom Set to Acquire Compuserve
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090897compuserve.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Mergers/Online Services
Description: The nation's fourth-largest long-distance company, Worldcom,
has agreed to buy Compuserve for $1.2 billion in stock. The company will
then sell the online subscription service to America Online. Worldcom will
retain Compuserve's high-speed telecommunications lines and Internet
gateways and add them to its Internet services unit, UUNet Technologies.
Compuserve is mainly owned by H&R Block.

Title: AOL Wins CompuServe Subscribers
Source: Washington Post (A1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/digest/tech2.htm
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Mergers/Online Services
Description: America Online will buy its biggest competitor in a deal to be
announced today. Compuserve would continue to exist, but would be operated
by AOL. "AOL is going to use its scale and its resources to make it more
focused and efficient in servicing the business and professional market," a
source said. AOL will also receive $175 million from WorldCom for AOL's ANS
network service in the three way deal.

*********************************************
* Internet Service Providers *
*********************************************
Title: UUNet Outdistances Its Peers
Source: Washington Post (WashTech p.17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/08/009l-090897-idx.html
Author: Beth Berselli
Issue: Online Services
Description: The "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" approach --
called "peering" -- of the Internet has allowed various Internet Service
Providers to exchange e-mail without costs to either side. Recently, UUNet,
the world's largest ISP, has dumped peering and, if other large ISPs do the
same, it may mean higher rates for some Internet consumers.

*********************************************
* Internet Services/Content *
*********************************************
Title: Technology: On the Net
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090897poll.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Online Services
Description: Odyssey, a market research firm in San Francisco, will release
survey results today that uncover a severe image problem for commercial
online services. From January to July, only 18% of PC-households rate the
major online services -- AOL, MSN, Compuserve and Prodigy -- "excellent" or
"very good." Many believe these services are afflicted with traffic jams,
are slow and hard to use. "If toothpaste had the same lowly ratings as the
on-line services, no one would be brushing their teeth," says the president
of Odyssey. But in the last two years, the number of American households
online has doubled and in the last year, the average amount of time online
has risen from 6.5 hrs/week to 12.8 hrs/week.

Title: Calls Via the Internet, But in Low Fidelity
Source: New York Times (D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Online Services
Description: Starting today, IDT Corporation will begin selling prepaid
calling cards that transmit calls over the Internet instead of the telephone
system. Rates will be $0.13/minute -- 2 cents/minute cheaper than AT&T's
domestic flat-rate plan. But sound quality is bad -- comparable to cell
phones in 1989 when the cans came with really long strings. [The transcript
from NTIA's Internet Telephony Forum
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/forums/telephony/itelhome.htm, held September 4,
1997 in Washington, DC. The forum, first in a series, focused on Internet
Telephony, one of a number of new applications on the Information
Superhighway, and examined the corresponding policy implications]

Title: Infoseek Set to Announce Web-Searching Innovation
Source: New York Times (D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090897search.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Online Services
Description: Infoseek, a popular search engine on the World Wide Web, will
announce today that it has received a patent on new technology that will
make Web searches even better. The new technique uses multiple indexes and
searches across numerous databases and Web sites throughout the Internet.
Steve Kirsch, Infoseek's founder and chairman, likens the process to a
library. First, an individual searches a centralized card catalog and is
directed to a certain book which itself contains individual indexes.
[Infoseek is at http://www.infoseek.com/]

Title: Wiring Social Security
Source: Washington Post (A16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/08/022l-090897-idx.html
Author: WP Editorial Staff
Issue: Privacy
Description: The Social Security Administration has run head-on into the
great paradox of the computer era: How do you make government information
more accessible to citizens without making it available indiscriminately to
anyone who might want it? All government agencies will eventually have to
deal with these issues as people rightly expect safety and confidentiality
of their information collected by the government.

Title: Junk Mail Online Pushes The Envelope
Source: Washington Post (WashTech p.17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/08/011l-090897-idx.html
Author: John Burgess
Issue: Internet
Description: Junk e-mail is increasing -- offering "tons of the nastiest
pics available," pyramid schemes, and other "investment opportunities." Even
though the Government takes the view that what's illegal in the real world
is illegal online, there is a lot of gray area out there. Who has
jurisdiction in cases involving the Internet?

*********************************************
* Infrastructure *
*********************************************
Title: Panel Reviews U.S. "Life-Support Systems"
Source: New York Times (A15)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: The President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure
Protection has recommended that the Government should spend more on research
and development of protections for the nation's power, water, finance, and
emergency systems. Currently the US spends $100 million/year on this
research. The Commission recommends this investment grow to $1 billion/year.
"These are the life-support systems of the nation," says retired-Gen. Robert
T. Marsh, chairman of the Commission. "They're vital, not only to day-to-day
discourse. They're vital national security. They're vital to our economic
competitiveness world wide. They're vital to our very way of life."

*********************************************
* Universal Service *
*********************************************
Title: FCC Seeks to Waive PICC for Lifeline Customers
Source: Telecom AM http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Federal Communications Commission is accepting comments on
a proposal to waive the $0.53 presubscribed interexchange carrier charge
(PICC) for Lifeline consumers who elect to receive toll-blocking. The
Commission will accept comments on this proposal until September 25.

Title: Telecommunications Companies Unite To Track Nonpaying Phone Customers
Source: Wall Street Journal (B11A)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie Mehta
Issue: Telephone
Description: AT&T, BellSouth, and Citizens Utility won approval from the
Justice Department last week to begin sharing information on residential
customers who fail to pay their bills. During the 1970s and 1980s, phone
companies enjoyed a very low rate of uncollectible bills. But last year that
percentage reached 6% -- $6 billion. "We are starting to see a growing
number of customers who sign up for service, fail to pay, and end up signing
with a [competitor] and doing it again," says an Ameritech executive.
Telecos fears these problems will increase with increased competition. Some
companies are already experimenting with credit checks and deposits.

*********************************************
* FCC *
*********************************************
Title: Hollings Blinks on Kennard's Nomination; Senate Schedules Hearings
Source: Telecom AM http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Federal Communications Commission
Description: Sen Ernest Hollings (D-SC) will not block the nomination of
Bill Kennard for FCC Chairman. Sen Hollings had originally backed former
aide Ralph Everett for the spot. The Senate will hold confirmation hearings
September 20 for FCC nominees Michael Powell and Harold Furchtgott-Roth and
on October 1 for Mr. Kennard. The President has yet to officially nominate
Gloria Tristani of the New Mexico State Corporation Commission for the final
vacant seat.

*********************************************
* Minorities & Media *
*********************************************
Title: Newscasts in Tagalog and Songs in Gaelic
Source: New York Times (D11)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/ethnic-tv-press.html
Author: Sreenath Sreenivasan
Issue: Minorities
Description: Despite small budgets and limited technology, ethnic television
programming is healthy and expanding in US markets with high immigrant
populations. Big name advertisers -- like long distance telephone companies
and credit card companies -- are starting to warm up to these niche markets.

*********************************************
* Journalism/Magazines *
*********************************************
Title: Magazine's High Hype
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Howard Kurtz
Issue: Journalism/Magazines
Description: Steve Brill, the creator of American lawyer magazine and
CourtTV is starting a new magazine, "a kind of Columbia Journalism Review on
steroids." The new rag, called "Content" will debut early next year covering
news outlets to advertising, publishing and the World Wide Web. "This isn't
a magazine about journalists written by journalists for journalists. It's a
magazine about one of the most powerful forces shaping everything in our
society and culture, meant for the consumers of media," says Brill.
*********

Communications-related Headlines for 9/5/97

Merger: Fox Buys the Dodgers
NYT: Fox Group Agrees to Buy the Dodgers
WP: Murdoch Agrees to Buy Dodgers

Privacy
WP: Social Security Urged to Delay Internet Access

Campaign Finance Reform
WP: "Hard" and "Soft" Money: A Crucial, Sometimes Fine Line

*********************************************
* Merger: Fox and Dodgers *
*********************************************
Title: Fox Group Agrees to Buy the Dodgers
Source: New York Times (A1/C21)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/sports/bbn-dodgers-sale.html
Author: Richard Sandomir
Issue: Mergers
Description: Peter O'Malley has agreed in principle to sell the Los Angeles
Dodgers to Fox Group. The price tag has been reported at $350 million -- the
highest ever paid for an American sports franchise. The sale must be
approved by three-quarters of the National League and a majority of American
League owners. Fox competes with the Chicago Tribune Company, owner of the
Chicago Cubs, and Time Warner's Ted Turner, owner of the braves. The Dodgers
already provide programming for Fox Sports West and this deal would mean
that Fox will never lose TV rights to a competitor.

Title: Murdoch Agrees to Buy Dodgers
Source: Washington Post (C1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/05/183l-090597-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Mergers
Description: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp will purchase the Los Angeles
Dodgers, Dodger Stadium and surrounding land in downtown LA for $350
million. The Dodgers will become part of News Corps corporate empire which
includes cable and broadcast TV properties and other sports holdings. This
sale dwarfs other sports purchases like Peter Angelos' $173 million deal for
the Baltimore Orioles in 1993 and Jerry Jones' $130 million deal for the
Dallas Cowboys in 1989. Baseball owners will vote on approval of the sale at
meetings Sept 16-18 in Atlanta.

*********************************************
* Privacy *
*********************************************
Title: Social Security Urged to Delay Internet Access
Source: Washington Post (A15)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/05/132l-090597-idx.html
Author: Judith Havemann
Issue: Privacy
Description: Members of Congress are asking the Social Service
Administration to delay opening its revised website until after a new,
permanent commissioner is named and hearings are held so that Congress can
be involved and "this program can earn the support of the American people."
Although the new site will require computer users to email the SSA to
"unlock" data before it is accessible on the Web, Rep Jim Bunning (R-KY) and
others are not convinced that their are enough safeguards.

*********************************************
* Campaign Finance Reform *
*********************************************
Title: "Hard" and "Soft" Money: A Crucial, Sometimes Fine Line
Source: Washington Post (A16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/05/100l-090597-idx.html
Author: Ruth Marcus
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform
Description: If someone is not familiar with the terms "hard" and "soft"
money, discussions over their differences may seem like "the most niggling
of technicalities." But the distinction made a big difference to the
Democratic Party in the 1996 election -- and it could make a big difference
in the political future of Al Gore. Hard up for cash, the Democratic Party
split some large donations into soft and hard money donations without
notifying donors or (possibly) Vice President Gore. If the money Vice
President Gore had raised remained "soft," everything was legal. But if he
used federal offices to raise "hard" money, there could be trouble. [To help
chart the campaign finance maze, visit Destination Democracy
http://www.destinationdemocracy.org/intro.html]
*********

Communications-related Headlines for 9/4/97

Media Strategies
WP: Consultant Offers GOP a Language for the Future

Campaign Finance Reform
NYT: Nonprofit Groups to Defy Subpoenas in Senate Inquiry
NYT: 7 Groups Join to Resist Panel Subpoenas

Privacy
WP: Freeh Seeks Encryption Decoding Key
NYT: U.S. to Go Back on Internet With Social Security Benefits
WP: Social Security Online Service Modified

Internet Services
WP: Seeing the Sites On a Custom Tour

At the FCC
FCC: FCC Issues First DTV Construction Permit Application
FCC: Program Requirements in New Children's Television
Rules go into Effect

International
NYT: Panama's Move to Oust Editor Sets Off Storm
NYT: Soros Closes Foundation In Belarus

*********************************************
* Media Strategies *
*********************************************
Title: Consultant Offers GOP a Language for the Future
Source: Washington Post (A1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/04/089l-090497-idx.html
Author: Ceci Connolly
Issue: Media Strategies
Description: Frank Luntz distributed to Republican lawmakers a 222 page opus
he introduces as "the most serious effort to put together an effective,
comprehensive national communication strategy." Luntz's "The Language of the
21st Century" is a how-to marketing strategy for politicians who don't know
what to say or how to say it. Luntz thinks the problem with Republicans is
that they don't know how to talk to "real people" -- like women. "The
Language of the 21st Century" includes language for Republicans to use to
start winning debates on policy issues -- including deep phrases like "All
children deserve a chance at a quality education."

*********************************************
* Campaign Finance Reform *
*********************************************
Title: Nonprofit Groups to Defy Subpoenas in Senate Inquiry
Source: New York Times (A16)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/washpol/nonprofits-funds.html
Author: Neil Lewis
Issue: Lobbying/Campaign Finance Reform
Description: More than two dozen nonprofit groups -- representing a broad
range on the political spectrum -- said today that they will not comply with
subpoenas for information. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee --
headed by Sen Fred Thompson (R-TN) -- is asking for confidential strategy
memorandums, correspondence with candidates and all files related to
publicly debated issues. The Committee wants to know if the groups skirted
campaign finance laws by coordinating efforts with candidates or national
parties.

Title: 7 Groups Join to Resist Panel Subpoenas
Source: Washington Post (A12)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/04/105l-090497-idx.html
Author: Helen Dewar
Issue: Lobbying/Campaign Finance Reform
Description: Nonprofit groups are fighting subpoenas from the Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs saying they are an "overly broad, unduly
burdensome and oppressive" threat to their constitutional freedom. A Senate
Committee spokesman disagrees saying that the groups' donor and membership
lists have First Amendment guarantees, but the Committee is requesting
information about possible illegal or improper coordination with political
parties or campaigns.

*********************************************
* Privacy *
*********************************************
Title: Freeh Seeks Encryption Decoding Key
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/04/195l-090497-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Encryption/Privacy
Description: FBI Director Louis Freeh told a Senate subcommittee yesterday
that law enforcement should have keys to any encryption software sold in the
US. In Director Freeh's plan, the default settings in all encryption
software would allow access by authorities, but savvy computer users would
be able to change the settings. The plan -- Free Speech for Geeks -- has not
been formally endorsed by the Clinton Administration and drew criticism for
the software industry which calls it costly and unworkable. [For more on
encryption and privacy see http://www.cdt.org/]

Title: U.S. to Go Back on Internet With Social Security Benefits
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090497social.html
Author: Robert Pear
Issue: Privacy
Description: The Clinton Administration will soon re-establish an online
site so that people can check their social security benefits. The site was
closed earlier this year due to privacy concerns. The new site will include
safety features to protect private information. The Social Security
Administration describes the service as "the beginning of where the
Government will be in the next century in allowing consumers to serve
themselves."

Title: Social Security Online Service Modified
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/04/109l-090497-idx.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Privacy
Description: The Social Security Administration's web site will be back
within the year offering taxpayers access to calculations on their future
retirement benefits. The revised site will not include earnings histories,
however.

*********************************************
* Internet Services *
*********************************************
Title: Seeing the Sites On a Custom Tour
Source: Washington Post (E1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/04/187l-090497-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet
Description: A new Web search engine does better than the keyword searches
we have been using. Alexa -- named after the ancient library in Alexandria,
Egypt -- looks for patterns in the Web. For example, from the UPS website,
Alexa would point you to the FedEx site and the Postal Service site.
"Sometimes it's spooky how helpful it can be," says a founder. See for
yourself http://www.alexa.com.

*********************************************
* At the FCC *
*********************************************
FCC Issues First DTV Construction Permit Application to Station KHVO (TV),
Hilo, Hawaii
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1997/nrmm7012.html

Program Requirements in New FCC Children's Television Rules go into Effect
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1997/nrmc7062.html

*********************************************
* International *
*********************************************
Title: Panama's Move to Oust Editor Sets Off Storm
Source: New York Times (A3)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/panama-journalist.html
Author: Larry Rother
Issue: Journalism/International
Description: Gustavo Gorriti, a Peruvian journalist working in Panama, has
so annoyed the Panamanian Government with news of corruption in campaign and
administration of President Ernesto Perez Balladares and the Democratic
Revolutionary Party that the government is demanding that he leave the
country immediately. "Like all governments with authoritarian pretensions,
this one confuses its own interests with those of the nation," says Mr.
Gorriti who is living and working out of the offices of his employer, the
daily La Prensa.

Title: Soros Closes Foundation In Belarus
Source: New York Times (A6)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/belarus-soros.html
Author: Judith Miller
Issue: Philanthropy/International
Description: Faulting persistent harassment from the government -- including
criminal investigations of employees -- American financier and
philanthropist George Soros closed his foundation in Belarus yesterday. The
foundation had been the largest independent nongovernmental organization in
the country. Mr. Soros says the government's pressure on the foundation is
part of a broader campaign to "destroy independent society" in the country.
*********

Communications-related Headlines for 9/3/97

Education Technology
NYT: At UCLA, a Mixed Reaction to Web-Based Courses
NYT: Despite Aid, School Ills Are Persistent

Campaign Fiance Reform
NYT: Next Round for Campaign Reform
WP: Back to the Thompson Hearings

Internet Advertising
WSJ: Knock, Knock! Who's There? Noisy New Internet Ads

International/Bosnian TV
NYT: Serb Faction Pledges to Halt Its Broadcasts Against Peace
WP: Bosnian Serbs Back Off, but Get TV Tower

*********************************************
* Education Technology *
*********************************************
Title: At UCLA, a Mixed Reaction to Web-Based Courses
Source: New York Times (A29)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090397ucla.html
Author: Steven Knowlton
Issue: Education Technology
Description: In mid-July, the University of California at Los Angeles
announced that it would make a Web page available for every course in the
College of Letters and Sciences by September 25. The move represents a trend
to integrate use of the World Wide Web into higher education curriculum.
Some professors are setting up elaborate sites with audio/video links while
others are only making their syllabus available online. [For more on What's
Working in Ed Tech see http://www.benton.org/Practice/Edu/]

Title: Despite Aid, School Ills Are Persistent
Source: New York Times (A23)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/ny-schools.html
Author: Jacques Steinberg
Issue: Education Technology
Description: Students in the New York City school system are returning to
find four new computers and a printer in (nearly) every classroom, but they
still will also face overcrowding. The system has received millions in the
past few months after years of cuts. Their are many new teachers and many
teachers received computer training over the summer. [For more on Ed Tech
see The Learning Connection http://www.benton.org/Library/Schools/]

*********************************************
* Campaign Fiance Reform *
*********************************************
Title: Next Round for Campaign Reform
Source: New York Times (A30)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/03wed1.html
Author: NYTimes Editorial Staff
Issue: Campaign Fiance Reform
Description: Senator Fred Thompson's (R-TN) hearings on campaign finance
resume tomorrow and a new draft of the McCain-Feingold bill is expected
soon. "Many lawmakers who have thrived by the system would like the public
to believe that the chances for reforming it are nil. This is not true." New
momentum may be mounting. The Senate Committee has subpoenaed a number of
nonprofit groups to investigate "soft money" contributions and "educational"
messages to voters. The reform effort will try to tackle these issues as
well. [For more on the campaign finance debate see Destination Democracy
http://www.destinationdemocracy.org]

Title: Back to the Thompson Hearings
Source: Washington Post (A19)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/03/011l-090397-idx.html
Author: Elizabeth Drew, author of
"Whatever It Takes: The Real Struggle for Political Power in America"
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform
Description: As hearings resume this week, Drew offers some ways to think
about them: 1) Don't look for crimes, watch for patterns; 2) Don't look for
new techniques but variations on old ones, and quantum leaps; and 3) Don't
look for news, look for information. "The full flavor of the hearings on the
most fundamental issue in American politics today isn't available to the
public in any convenient form. But they are more revealing, interesting and
even funny than most of the public has any opportunity to see." [For more on
the campaign finance debate see Destination Democracy
http://www.destinationdemocracy.org]

*********************************************
* Internet Advertising *
*********************************************
Title: Knock, Knock! Who's There? Noisy New Internet Ads
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Sally Goll Beatty
Issue: Internet/Advertising
Description: If you thought BLINK was bad, now some Internet ads on
websites will be "whinning for attention." AT&T will unveil Web ads this
week that capture a user's attention with the sound of someone knocking on a
door. "Where we see this going is bringing more TV-like experiences to the
Web," says the software developer behind the ads. "They'll be more sound,
more graphics and more animation being employed. Its what advertisers and
agencies have been waiting for to express themselves better." /BLINK

*********************************************
* International/Bosnian TV *
*********************************************
Title: Serb Faction Pledges to Halt Its Broadcasts Against Peace
Source: New York Times (A8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/03bosnia.html
Author: (Reuters)
Issue: International
Description: NATO troops returned control over a television transmitter to
Bosnian Serbs after an agreement that the Serbs would moderate their
propaganda war against the Bosnian peace agreement. The Serbs had threatened
to boycott upcoming elections if the station was not returned.

Title: Bosnian Serbs Back Off, but Get TV Tower
Source: Washington Post (A21)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/bosnia/bosnia.htm
Author: Lee Hockstader
Issue: International
Description: US troops relinquished control of a key television tower in
Bosnia. The move returned control of the facility and the airwaves of
eastern part of the Bosnian Serb Republic to allies of Radovan Karadzic who
oppose the integrated, multiethnical Bosnia laid out in the 1995 peace plan.

*********
Thanks to all the pinch-hitters over the past week+!

Communications-related Headlines for 9/2/97

With Vigor, Labor Surges in Politics

India May Pull Plug on News Corp.'s TV

CNN: No Longer Exactly On Top of the News

The Internet: From Here to Ubiquity

MCI/British Telecom Merger

What You Can Do About Unsolicited Telephone Marketing Calls and Faxes

Privacy and Self-regulation in the Information Age
*********************************************
Title: With Vigor, Labor Surges in Politics
Source: New York Times (A16)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/washpol/labor-politics.html
Author: Richard Berke
Issue: Lobbying
Description: "You have to credit the labor community with doing a superb job
of putting itself at the front and center of the political dialogue," a
Democratic pollster said. "They've worked hard to carve out a place for
themselves at the table." Labor unions are getting more attention -- good
and bad -- than they have in years and they are gearing up to participate in
a number of issues in the coming months including an expansion of NAFTA,
campaign finance reform, and welfare reform.

Title: India May Pull Plug on News Corp.'s TV
Source: Wall Street Journal (A15)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Jonathon Karp
Issue: International
Description: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is in hot water in India. Mr.
Murdoch recruited the nation's a former chief of India's state-owned
broadcaster who, in turn, built his team with several other senior officials
from the government's broadcasting, telecommunications, and intelligence
services. But last month, the government demanded the top executive's
resignation, alleging he violated rules requiring bureaucrats seek
permission before joining the private sector. The government also alleges
that the executive disclosed state secrets to News Corp.

Title: CNN: No Longer Exactly On Top of the News
Source: Washington Post (D9)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-09/02/030l-090297-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Journalism
Description: No longer the innovator, CNN is struggling to retain audience
ratings in a sea of look-alike competitors. Parent company Time Warner
recently hired ABC news veteran Rick Kaplan, a 34-time Emmy winner, to
oversee the news channel's facelift. CNN News Group now includes seven news
channels, such as Headline News, CNNfn financial news, CNN/SI (with Sports
Illustrated), and the new CNN en Espanol.

At the FCC http://www.fcc.gov
"The Internet: From Here to Ubiquity": FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, in an
address to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer's Symposium
on Hot Chips http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Hundt/spreh742.html, Praises
Internet as Key to Competition and Economic Growth, Calls for Law to Free
Internet From Unwise Regulation and Monopoly Bottlenecks.

FCC Approves MCI/British Telecom Merger Subject to Certain Conditions
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/International/News_Releases/1997/nrin7033.html

FCC releases new brochure on What You Can Do About Unsolicited Telephone
Marketing Calls and Faxes http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/consumer_news/

At the NTIA http://www.ntia.doc.gov
NTIA has received a new supply of Privacy and Self-regulation in the
Information Age, (still available at
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/reports/privacy/privacy_rpt.htm as well), a report
containing a collection of papers from recognized experts that explore the
extent to which industry self-regulation can be effective in reducing the
risks information technologies pose for individual privacy. The papers
address the benefits, challenges, and limitations of self-regulatory privacy
regimes. Please contact Mary Wallach mwallach( at )ntia.doc.gov or call
202-482-3999 for ordering information.

*********

Communications Related Headlines

Note: We'd like to thank guest editor, Pat Aufderheide,
for contributing her skills to today's CRH. Kevin Taglang
will return next week; in the meantime, enjoy this last
three-day weekend of the summer.

In today's headlines:

Telephone / Cable:
WSJ: U S West Takes Over a Huge Cable Firm, Then Angers Its Brass
WSJ: AT&T's Zeglis Leads Race for CEO Post

Movies / Entertainment:
WSJ: Cut the Cute Stuff: Kids Flock to Adult Flicks

Internet Industry:
WSJ: Four Makers of Telecom Equipment Join to Invest in
Project to Speed Up Internet

Internet Content:
WSJ: Will Threat of Libel Suits Chill Cyberspace Chatter?
Wash. Post: Online News Providers Resist Ratings
Wash. Post: Two Facing Libel Suit over E-Mail

Television:
NYT: 3 Networks, Set Makers In Standoff Over HDTV

******************* TELEPHONE / CABLE *********************

Title: U S West Takes Over a Huge Cable Firm, Then Angers Its Brass
Source: Wall Street Journal (A1) http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Leslie Cauley
Issue: Cable/Telco

Alone among Baby Bells, U S West continues to purchase and upgrade cable
businesses, although decision to move the headquarters of newly
purchased Continental has created turmoil within the company and shaken
investor confidence. U S West, the Baby Bell with the most sprawling
territory, has pursued cable and "opportunities of electronic commerce"
in an era of convergence since divestiture in 1984. It also owns cable
systems in Atlanta and 25 percent of HBO and other cable-related
elements of Time Warner. But it's not clear when U S West could start
declaring profits. Telephone service over cable lines still appears
stalled by technical problems, and regulatory structures around cable
and telephone are still different even after the Telecommunications Act
of 1996. U S West may even consider spinning off the cable side. So much
for synergy.

Title: AT&T's Zeglis Leads Race for CEO Post
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
Author: John J. Keller
Issue: Telephone Business

Candidates for the new AT&T CEO are narrowing, as the board of directors
continues to search after a month. Front runner is AT&T Vice Chairman
John D. Zeglis. But as an insider would he be tarnished by AT&T's recent
troubled market behavior? He also has no experience as CEO. Luring in
outsiders would be costly, and any leading executives of telecom firms
would bring with them conflict-of-interest prospects in a time of
mergers.

******************* Movies / Entertainment **********************

Title: Cut the Cute Stuff: Kids Flock to Adult Flicks
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
Author: Bruce Orwall
Issue: Movies, children

Young children are increasingly going to films aimed at an older market,
such as "Men in Black" and even "My Best Friend's Wedding," hurting the
box office for films aimed at them, such as "Free Willy 3: The Rescue."
Parents and business analysts think TV is training kids to watch more
mature material. Although News Corp., Time Warner and DreamWorks SKG are
all launching animation units, they may be aiming at a video, not a
theatrical market.

********************** Internet Industry ************************

Title: Four Makers of Telecom Equipment Join to Invest in
Project to Speed Up Internet
Source: Wall Street Journal (B10) http://www.wsj.com/
Author: G. Christian Hill
Issue: Telecommunications industry, Internet
Description: Four of the world's five largest telecom-equipment makers are
putting aside their rivalries to invest in a Silicon Valley start-up that is
building a device to speed up Internet communications. The startup,
Juniper Networks Inc., is receiving $40 million from Telefon AB LM Ericsson,
Northern Telecom Ltd, 3Com Corp. and Worldcom Inc's UUNet Technologies. The
technology is considered essential to ending bottlenecks on the Internet.
Cisco Systems says it's already in field trials with a similar device.
Juniper's CEO claims their product will ship within the next year.

Title: After the Degree...a Disconnection
Source: Washington Post (K1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/29/214l-082997-idx.html
Author: Beth Berselli
Issue: Internet
Description: College grads are suffering cyber-withdrawal. Accustomed to
free e-mail and Internet access -- often higher quality and faster than
commercial services -- at school, now they discover they have to pay for
it. Prodigy and EarthLink have targeted alumni as a prime market, and
analysts like their plans.

*********************** Internet Content ************************

Title: Will Threat of Libel Suits Chill Cyberspace Chatter?
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Internet content / Libel

White House Advisor Sidney Blumenthal's defamation lawsuit against Matt
Drudge, who had claimed on his AOL rumor-mill Website that Blumenthal had
a history of spousal abuse, tests the definition of on-line services as
a medium of expression and providers' responsibilities. Libel lawyers
agree that once a third party has access to the material, libel laws
apply. Current law has two opposite precedents for providers'
responsibilities. One decision says CompuServe had no responsibility
because it had no editorial control, another says Prodigy acted as an
editor.

Title: Online News Providers Resist Ratings
Source: Washington Post (K3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/29/208l-082997-idx.html
Author: David E. Kalish
Issue: Internet content
Description: About 25 news organizations announced that they would not
assign "ratings" to the material they provide over the Internet, despite
Clinton administration efforts to encourage the online industry to
establish ratings or other labels to flag controversial content. The news
organizations expressed concern that since they routinely report stories
that include violence and sexual situations, these ratings would limit
access to legitimate news sites. The situation mirrors the ratings scheme
for TV, which exempts TV news organizations from rating their shows.

Title: Two Facing Libel Suit over E-mail
Source: Washington Post (D1)
http:/www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/29/150l-082997-idx.html
Author: Marylou Tousignant
Issue: Internet Content
Description:After a 23-year-old Virginia man posted a complaint about police
brutality toward his mother on a website, the police officer he named
filed a defamation suit. According to U of Virginia law professor Robert
M. O'Neil, people often believe that communication in cyberspace does
not have the weight of printed matter, which is not true. The trial is
set for March 23 in Fairfax, VA.

*********************** Television ****************************

Title: 3 Networks, Set Makers In Standoff Over HDTV
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/082997hdtv.html
Author: Joel Brinkley
Issue: HDTV
Description: Broadcasters are waiting to see what kinds of sets TV
manufacturers are going to be producing, and the manufacturers are
waiting for the broadcasters to reveal exactly how they are going to use
the digital spectrum before finalizing their plans for HDTV sets in the
latest incarnation of the question, "Which came first, the chicken or
the egg?" Neither side wants to make a move until the other has
committed to HDTV. The only channel that has committed to
high-definition programming is HBO, which will begin HDTV broadcasting
next summer. Although it is understandable why corporations on both
sides would not want to tip their hats to their competitors, many feel
that it would serve everyone's best interest to have a meeting between
leaders of both industries to set the standards for the introduction of
HDTV. With major networks losing viewers to cable and direct-satellite
broadcasting, and TV manufacturers losing money because of consumers
anticipating the arrival of HDTV, a solution to this "problem" probably
isn't too far away.