Benton RSS Feed

Communications-related Headlines for 4/12/2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Changing Girls' Attitudes About Computers (CyberTimes)

BROADCASTING
Broadcasters See A Digital Detente Between PC, TV (SJM)
Kennard Blasts Broadcasters Over Digital TV (WSJ)
Fighting Low Power Radio (FCC)
Vulgar Content on TV Rises, Despite Industry Vows, V-Chip (USA)

ECOMMERCE
Governors Criticize Internet Tax Panel (NYT)
Net Firms Soar on Campus Students Start E-Businesses
Amid Classes (USAToday)
E-Commerce: The New 'Copernican Revolution' (NTIA)

BROADBAND
Excite to offer high-speed Net service (USAToday)

LEGISLATION
Status of Deployment of Broadband Technologies (House)
Mark-Up Schedule (Senate)

JOURNALISM
AOL, AT&T May Be Talking, Fairly Reliable People Say (USAToday)
Belgrade Stepping Up Intimidation Of Journalists (NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CHANGING GIRLS' ATTITUDES ABOUT COMPUTERS
Issue: Digital Divide/Gender
As the San Jose Mercury reported yesterday, the American Association of
University Women Educational Foundation issued a new report, "Tech-Savvy:
Educating Girls in the New Computer Age," which recommends a number of ways
that girls could be encouraged to take an interest in technology.
Recommendations include: 1) Teachers should use computers in innovative ways
throughout the school curriculum, so that girls who are not necessarily
drawn to the computer lab might have their interest in computing sparked in,
say, a literature class; 2) Teachers should receive better training not only
in incorporating the computer into the classroom, but in ensuring that girls
as well as boys use the equipment; 3) Computer games and educational
software should display less gender bias; 4) Initiatives should be launched
to combat stereotypes that many girls have about the antisocial nature of
computer work; and 5) Support should be given to efforts to start computer
clubs and summer-school computer classes for girls.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels at mendels( at )nytimes.com]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/education/12education.html)
One Reader Writes:
That females need encouragement is not news it's OLD NEWS -- The Educational
CyberPlayGround is a resource of people that know what to do, and that
should be of interest. Here are cool women that are doing it! 1) FEMALE
Ring Leaders on the PlayGround
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/Home_ringleaders.html), 2) Computer
Women Pioneers
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/cwomen.html), 3) More Women Pioneers
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/IEC/pioneers.html)
What you can do to help GRRLS get into technology! Here are all kinds of
resources, mentoring programs, projects, and links for helping girls using
science, math, technology, to cross that digital divide.
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/womengrrlstech.html). Best Online
Resources For Women and Minorities in Science and Technology
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/womenminoritiestech.html), The Gender
Divide The Digital Divide
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/digitaldivide.html), Bonnie Bracey -
Teacher Agent of Change
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/bonnie.html), Leni Donlan - Pioneer,
Creator of web curriculum and online collaborative projects
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/leni.html), March is Women's History
Month
(http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/womenmonth.html)

BROADCASTING

BROADCASTERS SEE A DIGITAL DETENTE BETWEEN PC, TV
Issue: Digital TV
Industry experts from both broadcasting and technology are now saying that
broadcast television and the Internet can exist simultaneously. Broadcasters
were once worried that the two media delivering content to divergent
audiences, would fragment the audience. Now they see potential for
co-existence among the two media that will ultimately boost their viewership
and advertising revenue. The concerns that the two media would compete for
the same audience has changed to enthusiasm over delivering content to
highly targeted viewers in the audience. "Fragmentation? Bring it on,"
declared Sumner Redstone, chairman of media giant Viacom Inc. In the past
years industry members argued over whether movies would be streamed through
to PCs or broadcast to TVs. Additionally, TV executives blamed the Internet
for lower ratings. But, now both sides see new video streaming on the
Internet, personal video recorders, two-way TV software, and digital set-top
boxes as changing the audience/broadcaster dynamic entirely.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Bob Tourtellotte]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/415715l.htm)

KENNARD BLASTS BROADCASTER OVER DIGITAL TV
Issue: Digital TV/Radio
FCC Chairman William Kennard "blasted" the broadcasting industry for not
fully embracing the conversion to digital television, fighting Congress on
Low-power FM radio and not doing enough public service. Speaking at the
National Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Las Vegas, the
chairman said he was frustrated with the industry. Kennard told the audience
that the switch to digital televisions would happen "as sure as day follows
night." While Kennard did praise the industry's adapting new technologies,
the high costs of converting TV stations to carry high-definition and
digital programming has been a particular sticking point for the industry.
NAB President Edward Fritts took issue with Kennard's remarks. Broadcasters
should be worried about "investing more than the asset value of their
stations" to convert to digital, if the FCC is not going to ensure that the
cable boxes will be able to carry the new signals, he said. Fritts also took
issue with Kennard's commenting that the NAB study showing $8.1 billion
spent on public-interest obligations was "interesting" but did not answer if
there were public needs not being served.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955488599367456353.htm)

FIGHTING LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
From Press Release: William E. Kennard, chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission, urged the nation's broadcasters to shift their
resources from fighting the introduction of Low Power FM Radio to exploring
the enormous opportunities prompted by the digital revolution. He made these
remarks at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Broadcasters
in Las Vegas and in phone conversations with Members of Congress and other
advocates on both sides of the Low Power FM issue. "Why," he asked, "amidst
all this opportunity for broadcasters, have you chosen to muster your
considerable resources to deny churches and schools and community-based
organizations just a little piece of the broadcast pie? What this is about
is fear of new entrants in the market," he said. "It is no different from
the battles to kill low power TV, cable TV, satellite radio and satellite
television." Chairman Kennard warned the broadcasters that, while they were
consumed by the Low Power FM fight, they were missing opportunities brought
about by emerging digital technologies. He cited examples of companies and
industries that were seizing the digital opportunity and urged broadcasters
to join them enthusiastically.
See full text of speech (http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/2000/spwek010.html)
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/2000/nrmc0017.html)

VULGAR CONTENT ON TV RISES, DESPITE INDUSTRY VOWS, V-CHIP
Issue: Content
[EDITORIAL] Two years ago, broadcasters were touting the V-chip, combined
with new program ratings, as the answer to parents' outrage over television
sex and violence. In those two years neither the V-chip nor the broadcasters
have lived up to their promise. Three major networks have failed to promote
the V-chip's use through public service spots. Since Jan. 1, ABC, NBC and
Fox combined have shown the spots only five times, according to Federal
Communications Commissioner Gloria Tristani. The National Association of
Broadcasters defends itself by saying the V-chip has filtered into enough
homes through new television set purchases. But there's evidence that the
broadcasters have not been "willing to wait before ratcheting up the
raunchiness of their programs." The Parents Television Council (PTC), which
looked at four weeks of programming last fall in the 8 p.m.-11 p.m. time
slot, totaled up 1,173 vulgarities (nearly five per hour) on six networks. The
rate is five times higher than in 1989. While "hell" and "damn" are among
that count, the group also found prime-time examples of "bastard," "bitch"
and other strong language. The industry bought into the rating and V-chip
system and then promised FCC that it would help educate the public. Instead,
broadcasters have turned up the dial on sex and foul language.
[SOURCE: USA Today (28A), AUTHOR: USA Today Editorial Staff]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000412/2137027s.htm)

ECOMMERCE

GOVERNORS CRITICIZE INTERNET TAX PANEL
Issue: Ecommerce
By last night, 36 governors had signed a letter to be delivered to Congress
denouncing the Internet tax commission as a forum for special interests who
are seeking tax breaks. The most important reason to oppose the Internet tax
commission's report "is that it would substantially interfere with state
sovereignty," the governors wrote. "The U.S. Constitution was very clear in
both ensuring state sovereignty and creating a critical balance between
federal and state authority. For well over 200 years the federal government
has respected state sovereignty and has been extremely careful not to
interfere with the states' ability to independently raise revenues. This
proposal would dramatically undercut this precedent," the governors wrote.
The letter also says that the Internet tax commission ignored its mandate,
instead pursuing special interest tax breaks sought by companies with seats
on the commission. "Instead of addressing the requirements laid out in the
law to recommend a new state and local sales tax system to provide for
fairness and balance," the governors wrote, "the proposal chose to use this
opportunity to seek a host of new and expensive special tax breaks. We urge
you to reject the report." The letter was signed by 19 Republicans, 15
Democrats and two independents, Jesse Ventura of Minnesota and Angus King of
Maine.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: David Cay Johnston]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/12tax.html)
See Also:
INTERNET TAX PANEL TO DELIVER REPORT
The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce Report is set to be delivered
to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott
(R-MS) at a ceremony at the Capitol this morning.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56785-2000Apr11.html)

NET FIRMS SOAR ON CAMPUS STUDENTS START E-BUSINESSES AMID CLASSES
Issue: Ecommerce
Commercial Space Available: Great Cambridge, Mass. space to be shared. Rent
is $35,400, includes all utilities, meal plan and 10 undergraduate level
classes. Interested parties should submit SAT scores.
Amid the massive growth of undergrad-run start-ups, Harvard University has
reversed its long-ignored policy against running businesses out of dorm
rooms. And as students have amazing access to technology and plenty of spare
time, more universities are likely to follow suit. This rush to start and
run businesses is popular (and even more popular in the news media), but it
does come at a cost. "It can be very stressful," Geoffrey Cook, a Harvard
College senior says. "I was a better student last year. I go to half my
classes."
[SOURCE: USA Today (1B), AUTHOR: Stephanie Armour]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000412/2137057s.htm)

E-COMMERCE: THE NEW 'COPERNICAN REVOLUTION'
Issue: Ecommerce
Remarks by Assistant Secretary Rohde at the National Association of
Broadcasters E-Commerce Supersession, April 11, 2000. NTIA Dir.Greg Rohde
highlighted opportunities for broadcasters in online world; broadcasters are
well-positioned to make billions from e-commerce. But Dir Rohde warned that
some radio and TV stations could be inviting regulation: an informal study
by the Commerce Dept has revealed that broadcasters' Web sites are doing a
poor job of disclosing what, if anything, would be done with personal data
given by site visitors.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/nab41100.htm)

BROADBAND

EXCITE TO OFFER HIGH-SPEED NET SERVICE
Issue: Broadband
Seeking to increase its reach, Excite At Home announced Tuesday that it
would begin providing high-speed Internet access through digital subscriber
line (DSL) connections in cities where the local cable operator isn't
affiliated with the company. The offering is a joint venture with Rhythms
NetConnections [why isn't it AT&T?], which provides DSL service in 46
markets. The deal will increase Excite At Home's potential market by 15.3
million households over the next two years. "This is the first of several
platform extensions," says Adam Grosser, president of subscriber networks
for Excite At Home.
[SOURCE: USA Today (6B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000412/2136998s.htm)

LEGISLATION

STATUS OF DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES
Issue: Broadband
The audio archive of the 4/11/2000 hearing by the Subcommittee on
Telecommunications, Trade, & Consumer Protection on the Status of Deployment
of Broadband Technologies is now available at the link below.
Representatives of Internet companies, nonprofit groups, health care
organizations, rural development councils and state telecom consortia told
the subcommittee to promote efforts to close the digital divide.
Subcommittee members heard witnesses called on them to encourage deployment
of broadband services to isolated rural areas and poor, inner-city
communities through legislative changes, subsidies and/or market reforms.
But few witnesses pressed lawmakers for specific remedies, leaving it to
Subcommittee Chmn.Tauzin (R-LA) to promote his bill (HR-2420) to lift
restrictions on Bell companies offering high-speed data services across
state lines. "We ought to let our markets work," Rep Tauzin said, repeatedly
calling for removal of regulatory "barriers" blocking installation of
high-speed telephone lines."We ought to free our people."
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/media/040112000ttcp.ram)

MARK-UP SCHEDULE
Issue: Legislation
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation, announced the following tentative agenda for the mark-up
scheduled for Thursday, April 13, at 9:30 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell
Senate Office Building: 1) Mobile Telecoms Sourcing Act. S.1755: The bill
would replace the thousands of different state, local, federal taxes and
charges on wireless telephone bills with uniform charges. S.1755 was
introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) on October 20, 1999, and a
hearing was held on March 7. 2) Technology Administration Authorization Act,
S.1407: The bill authorizes appropriations for the Technology Administration
of the Department of Commerce for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002. The
bill was introduced by Senator Bill Frist (R-TN), Chairman of the Science,
Technology, and Space Subcommittee, on July 21, 1999, and a hearing was held
on April 21, 1999. 3) Electronic Commerce Technology Promotion Act, S.1912:
The bill facilitates the growth of the electronic commerce by promoting its
use within federal government agencies and small and medium-sized
businesses. Senator Frist introduced the bill on November 10, 1999, and a
hearing was held on October 28, 1999. 4) Next Generation Internet, S.2046:
The bill reauthorizes the Next Generation Internet Act for fiscal years 2000
through 2003. It increases research and development funds to develop the
next hi-speed test bed to be used by federal agencies, universities and
laboratories. Senator Frist introduced the bill on February 9, 2000.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-151.html)

JOURNALISM

AOL, AT&T MAY BE TALKING, FAIRLY RELIABLE PEOPLE SAY
Issue: Journalism
[Op-Ed] Kevin Maney tosses several barbs at the speculative nature of
reporting on merger mania with the following statement: "America Online and
AT&T are on the verge of dividing up the cable modem world like Stalin and
Roosevelt at Yalta, say friends of mine in the industry who also said they'd
drop a hungry ferret in my shorts if I named them." Maney goes on to suggest
that in these days of convergence, an AT&T-AOL merger would make sense for
both companies. Their combined assets, which include Excite At Home (which
AT&T controls) and Time Warner's Road Runner high-speed Internet access
service would no doubt benefit by being partnered, particularly with AOL's
content source, Time Warner. Maney also points out that if the two companies
are not talking, they should, because if they don't, "they'll end up
colliding and stepping all over each other and never reach all the customers
they want to."
[SOURCE: USA Today (3B), AUTHOR: Kevin Maney]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000412/2137054s.htm)

BELGRADE STEPPING UP INTIMIDATION OF JOURNALISTS
Issue: Journalism/International
As an executed journalist was mourned in Belgrade, opposition politicians
and journalists showed solidarity as the government continues to intimidate
and impoverish the independent press. Under the 1998 Public Information Law,
journalists can be fined for criticizing the government. "The government can
now do whatever they want, but we will defend our rights," said one journalist.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A5), AUTHOR: Steven Erlanger]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/041200yugo-journalists.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They
describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation -- primarily
those covering long term trends and developments in communications,
technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone does
not represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang (kevint( at )benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org), and Nancy Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org) -- we
welcome your comments.

The Benton Foundation works to realize the social benefits made possible
by the public interest use of communications. Bridging the worlds of
philanthropy, public policy, and community action, Benton seeks to shape
the emerging communications environment and to demonstrate the value of
communications for solving social problems. Through demonstration
projects, media production and publishing, research, conferences, and
grantmaking, Benton probes relationships between the public, corporate,
and nonprofit sectors to address the critical questions for democracy in
the information age. Other projects at Benton include:
Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org)
Open Studio: The Arts Online (www.openstudio.org/)
Destination Democracy (www.destinationdemocracy.org/)
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org/)

Communications-related Headlines for 4/11/2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Report Urges Change in Male-Dominated Culture of Computing (SJM)
Japan Internet Access Jumps to 19.1% of Households (SJM)

SATELLITES
Iridium, Bankrupt, Is Planning A Fiery Ending For Its 88 Satellites
(NYT)
Bruised Teledesic at Brink (USA)

TELEVISION
Bumpy Road Slows Digital TV Rollout (SJM)
DTV: Getting Over the Hurdles (NTIA)
Europe's 'Reality' TV: Chains and Big Brother (NYT)

WIRELESS
'Spammers' New Calling: Cell Phones (WP)

ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
Going Online: The Opinions That Count (NYT)

ANTITRUST
An Online Scoop On Microsoft Goes Poof (NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

REPORT URGES CHANGE IN MALE-DOMINATED CULTURE OF COMPUTING
Issue: Digital Divide/Gender
A report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) scheduled
for release today cites an imbalance in the computing/science coursed taken
by female and male high school students. Female students account for 17
percent of the students that opt to take the College Board's Advanced
Placement exam in computer science; earn 28 percent of the computer science
bachelor's degrees awarded; and make up only 20 percent of information
technology professionals. What's needed is change in the culture that
discourages female participation in these academic and professional areas
contends the report, "Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age."
The male-dominated computer culture must change in order to attract girls
and women to technology. Sherry Turkle, professor of sociology at MIT,
co-chaired the commission that wrote the report. The lack of participation
by females in these areas seems not to be related to a phobia of math or
science, but instead a lack of interest in currently promoted uses of
computers. When asked to describe a person who was really good with
computers, the girls interviewed would often describe a man. The report also
noted: "Girls outnumbered boys only in their enrollment in word processing
classes, arguably the 1990s version of typing." Parents are also providing
boys more opportunities with computers. Boys tend to have a computer in
their bedrooms, attend computer camps, and are allowed to tinker with
machines. The commission report concludes that students need to be better
educated about the range of career options that use technology.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Martha Woodall, Knight Ridder]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/girls041100.htm)

JAPAN INTERNET ACCESS JUMPS TO 19.1% OF HOUSEHOLDS
Issue: Digital Divide/International
Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications said in an annual
report on Tuesday that 19.1 percent of Japanese households had access to the
Internet, up from 11.0 percent a year earlier. In 1997 the rate was just
6.4%. Japan has a population of 125 million. Companies using the
Internet also rose. 78.3 percent of firms reported that they were accessing
the Web compared to 63.7 percent the year before.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/011662.htm

SATELLITES

IRIDIUM, BANKRUPT, IS PLANNING A FIERY ENDING FOR ITS 88 SATELLITES
Issue: Satellites
In another example why we should just trust marketplace forces, Iridium, the
bankrupt global satellite telephone company, will begin spiraling 88 giant
satellites toward Earth and a fiery death. [Don't you worry, we believe
they'll all crash in Schaumburg, IL] Total cost for the system which
promised anytime communication with anyone, anywhere: over $5 billion. Total
subscribers: ~55,000 -- not enough to pay the interest on the start-up
costs. "It was a technology that didn't live up to its hype or its billing,"
said James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, who has
chronicled Iridium's problems, noting that the telephones could not even be
used indoors. "People chose to overlook the risks because they were
bedazzled by the technology and the promoters or sponsors."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: David Barboza]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/11iridium.html)

BRUISED TELEDESIC AT BRINK
Issue: Satellites
Teledesic, the $10 billion plan to build an "Internet in the sky," faces a
slew of troubles including problems with partners, an economically
unfeasible design, and a financial community skeptical about satellites
since the demise of Iridium. Craig McCaw, the cellular pioneer who is one of
the projects major backers, believes the venture can be saved and will
release a secret plan to do so in the coming weeks. The plan is said to
include a dramatic redesign of the system by cutting the number of
satellites, and adding an infusion of capital through the recruitment of new
investors. The company was started in 1994 when McCaw and Bill Gates,
chairman of Microsoft, each put in $5 million to start the system with a
goal of providing worldwide high-speed Internet access to much of the world.
Since then, the plan has hit snag after snag. The number of satellites,
originally envisioned at 840, has been cut several times, and the date that
service would start, originally 2001, has been pushed back several times to
its current date of 2004. Additionally, the prime contractor for the
satellites has been moved from Boeing to Motorola, causing further delays
and straining relations with investors.
[SOURCE: USA Today (1B), AUTHOR: Kevin Maney]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000411/2131983s.htm)

TELEVISION

BUMPY ROAD SLOWS DIGITAL TV ROLLOUT
Issue: Digital TV
The road ahead for digital television is going to be bumpy. TV makers are
claiming more content in the high-definition format must be created by
broadcasters. Broadcasters are saying that manufacturers must develop better
digital TVs and make them compatible with cable boxes. Meanwhile the FCC is
pressuring TV set makers and cable companies to resolve differences over how
to make digital TV sets compatible with cable boxes. The talk of changing
standards is making everyone jumpy. The unresolved cable issue is
significant. First more than two-thirds of Americans get their TV signals
via cable. If that weren't enough, customers who buy digital TV sets, now
are getting only slightly better picture because the cable box can't
communicate with the set. On top of that sundae of issues add the sprinkles
and cherries of unanswered questions about labeling devices telling
consumers whether their digital set connects to other digital appliances,
such as VCRs and copy protection technologies. The FCC is expected on
Thursday to begin devising rules on those matters if the industries can't
work it out themselves.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Kalpana Srinivasan, Associated Press]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/411090l.htm)

DTV: GETTING OVER THE HURDLES
Issue: Digital Television
Remarks by Assistant Secretary Rohde at the annual meeting of the
Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), April 10, 2000. "The term
"conversion" has its origins in a Greek word which means "to repent" or to
"have a new outlook." The conversion to digital for the television industry
is creating a whole new perspective for television. While there are some
constants - such as the unquestionable value of local news and information
and the need for that to be free and accessible to all citizens in our
society - the digital era opens up new avenues to serve the needs of local
communities."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/lv41000.htm)

EUROPE'S 'REALITY' TV: CHAINS AND BIG BROTHER
Issue: Television
Another article on the hottest new genre in international television:
reality TV. CBS plans to air a version of a European show called Big Brother
in which five men and five women are sealed into a heavily-microphoned and
camera-laden home for 100 days. Viewers vote to kick some of the contestants
out until just one winner remains. The shows creator thinks he has 20-25
similar formats that could work in the US. "My explanation is that our
everyday life has become very boring and nondramatic," said Jens Jessen,
chief culture editor of Die Zeit, the German newsweekly. "People are missing
the real life in their lives, so they want a substitute life."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A4), AUTHOR: Edmund Andrews]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/europe-tv.html)

WIRELESS

'SPAMMERS' NEW CALLING: CELL PHONES
Issue: Wireless
Users of AT&T wireless phones with text messaging received unsolicited text
messages from a company that wanted to sell them cell phone accessories.
This seems to be particularly possible on AT&T's system because it is set up
so that users of its text messaging feature automatically get an email
address consisting of their phone number, followed by "( at )mobile.att.net."
"Because of the way AT&T sets up the e-mail account, all you need to do is
just try consecutive numbers," said Nick Nicholas, an "evangelist" at the
Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organization that tries to get Internet
providers to cut off spammers' access. AT&T spokeswoman Alexa Graf hadn't
heard of the unsolicited transmission until she received a call from a
reporter yesterday. "The last thing we want to do is start spamming our
customers," she said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51301-2000Apr10.html)

ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO

GOING ONLINE: THE OPINIONS THAT COUNT
Issue: Access to Government Info
The Supreme Court has announced that it will make its decisions available
online hours after their 10am release through a link to a site run by the
Government Printing Office. The address for the Court will be
(www.supremecourtus.gov). Other information to be available on the Web site
includes the weekly orders granting and denying new appeals; the court's
schedule and argument calendar; the court's rules; bar admission forms and
instructions; visitors' guides; news releases; and general information, like
biographies of the justices.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A19), AUTHOR: Linda Greenhouse]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/scotus/articles/041100scotus-online
.html)
See Also:
HIGH COURT GETS OFF THE CYBERBENCH OPINIONS, ORDERS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO
PUBLIC ONLINE
[SOURCE: USA Today (3A), AUTHOR: Richard Willing]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000411/2132095s.htm)
A BROADER AUDIENCE FOR THE COURT
A NYTimes op-ed urging the Supreme Court to open its proceedings to TV cameras.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A30), AUTHOR: NYTimes Editorial Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/11tue3.html)

ANTITRUST

AN ONLINE SCOOP ON MICROSOFT GOES POOF
Issue: Journalism/Antitrust
For a while yesterday morning, The Wall Street Journal's Web site knew
something that no one else did. Microsoft might be forced by the Justice
Department to make the source code for Internet Explorer available to
customers and rivals. The story was picked up by Reuters and sent all over
the world. Then, just as the scoop was being broadcast by news outlets
jealous of the Journal's good fortune, and miffed at having to use wire
copy, the story was unceremoniously pulled from the site. The Journal is
being reticent about the whole thing. Dick Tofel, a spokesman for the paper,
would say nothing about the article's accuracy, and little more than nothing
about why it was removed. "The story was not ready for publication and
should not have been posted," he said.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C8), AUTHOR: Claudia Deutsch]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/11wall.html)
See Also:
MICROSOFT HIRES A BUSH ADVISOR TO LOBBY BUSH
Microsoft hires Ralph Reed, a senior consultant to Gov George Bush (R-TX),
to lobby Gov Bush in opposition to the government's antitrust case against
the software giant.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/11soft.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 4/10/2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Closing the Digital Divide (NTIA)

NEWS AND INFORMATION
A Knack For Controversy Worries ABC News (NYT)
Pick Up a Phone, TellMe Will Surf the Web For You (SJM)
Big News On Little Screens (NYT)
Technology's Frontier: Reinvention of Politics (SJM)
Campaign News Online: Not Much to Look At (WP)
Staid Know-It-All Goes Hip and Online (NYT)
Journal of Commerce Plans to Scrap Daily Edition, Weighs
Moving Offices (WSJ)
Mom Hunts Pedophiles On Internet (WP)

INTERNET
Patents: Historians Take A Longer View Of Net Battles (NYT)
A Leader In Cyberspace, It Seems, Is No Politician (NYT)
Internet Tax (Senate)

TELEVISION
TV Makers to Roll Out Digital-TV Sets Even as Standard Change is
Considered (WSJ)
Religious and Noncommercial Broadcasting (House)
Pearson-Bertelsmann TV Firm Plans for Its US 'Dream' Market (WSJ)

SECURITY/PRIVACY
Intel Plans to Give Away Security Software Via Web (WSJ)
Coalition Challenges PrivacyBot.com Safe Harbor Application (CME)

INFRASTRUCTURE
Old Company Learns New Tricks (USA)
Status of Deployment of Broadband Technologies (House)
Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative (NTIA)

FCC
Comments Requested in SBC's Sec 271 Application (FCC)
Federal Communications Commission's Annual Performance Report for
Fiscal Year 1999 (FCC)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
From Press Release: The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has received grant
applications proposing 662 projects that support the innovative use of
advanced technologies to bring the benefits of information technology to
underserved areas of the country. The applications, from 48 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are part of
the public/private sector effort to close the nation's digital divide. In a
July 1998 report, the Commerce Department said the gap between those with
access and those without access to information technology, tools critical
for economic success and
advancement, had widened significantly.
The projects outlined in the applications seek $270 million in federal funds
in Fiscal Year 2000 under the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), NTIA's
highly-competitive, merit-based program. TOP provides start-up money for
innovative, practical projects that use advanced telecommunications and
information technology. Applicants pledged $430 million in non-federal
matching funds.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/top40700.htm)

NEWS AND INFORMATION

A KNACK FOR CONTROVERSY WORRIES ABC NEWS
Issue: Journalism
ABC News and its president, David Westin, have come under fire of late for
some controversial moves. Infamous former OJ detective Mark Fuhrman was
almost hired as a consultant to Good Morning America. The network broadcast
an interview with 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez. And, now, Westin is deciding on
using footage of teen idol Leonardo DiCaprio interviewing President Clinton
for an Earth Day special. [Did we mention the interview with the sock-puppet
spokesdog for a company Disney is invested in?] "I think in a first-rate
news division of any sort, one has to be moving forward," Mr. Westin said
last week in a telephone interview. "We can't keep programming news programs
just the way we did five or 10 years ago. Society has changed around us; our
competition has changed." "Yes, it's a changed business and we ought to
recognize that," Sam Donaldson said last week. "But we also all have to
recognize that we have to do things according to the standards that will
help us retain our credibility."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/abc-divisions.html)

PICK UP A PHONE, TELLME WILL SURF THE WEB FOR YOU
Issue: InfoTech
The telephone is giving a new twist on Internet browsing: voice recognition.
TellMe Networks today launches a voice-recognition service that allows users
to pull information from the Internet by calling a number and speaking into
the phone. The voice commands can retrieve movie listings and reviews,
traffic, weather, sports scores and stock quotes, all without touching a
button. TellMe's software automatically pulls updated data from various Web
sites - much like the way the various movie listing services work.
Eventually, the founders say, the service will allow users to buy and sell
using spoken commands. TellMe is entering a field that, though not fully
populated, is being looked at by several companies with telephone-menu
experience.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/tellme041000.htm)

BIG NEWS ON LITTLE SCREENS
Issue: InfoTech
"You are entering this story at the moment of maximum hype," says one
technology research executive. From America Online and Microsoft to Reuters
and The Associated Press to The New York Times, E.W. Scripps' Knoxville
News-Sentinel and Knight Ridder's MercuryCenter.com, news and information
organizations are bringing their wares to the diminutive screens of portable
electronic devices. The bet is that people are going to grow used to being
able to get up-to-the-minute data on traffic, movies, sports and news while
they are on the go. Media companies see traditional outlets -- TV, radio --
delivering news in the home; the computer in the office; and hand-held
devices for times spent in between.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10palm.html)
See Also:
HAND-HELD SYSTEMS TEMPT NEWS-HUNGRY CITY (London, if you are wondering)
[SOURCE: New York Times (C20), AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10euro.html)

TECHNOLOGY'S FRONTIER: REINVENTION OF POLITICS
Issue: Political Discourse
The Internet is already changing how candidates reach voters and raise
money, but the technology may also change what Americans want and get from
their political, parties and government. Technology has become so deeply
embedded in our lives that techno-concerns like online taxation and Internet
child predators will increasingly dominate voters' relationship with their
government. Instant feedback e-mail and a direct, if virtual, wire to
representatives will allow for insurgent candidates to arise. At the same
time, Americans will ask for the traditional consumer protections by
government. Meanwhile the potential of the technology lags behind the
political structures. A ruling last year by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration that reflected the growing use of home offices and
workplace safety standards was ridiculed and abruptly canceled. The 40-hour
workweek is a relic to workers who log on after dinner and who think 40
hours is part time. Said Rep. James Moran D-VA), "People don't care if
they're working overtime."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Steve Thomma]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/tecpol041000.htm)

CAMPAIGN NEWS ONLINE: NOT MUCH TO LOOK AT
Issue: Political Discourse
A study by the Committee of Concerned Journalists, found that although many
journalists have made use of the Internet this campaign season, they have
not necessarily made good use of it. The study looked at a dozen or so of
the most popular Web sites' coverage of the primary season. It found that
while journalists took good advantage of the speed of the medium, at times
this speed did not necessarily constitute good coverage. For instance, on
Feb. 28, AOL News, which relies on wire services for copy, failed to lead
its site with the speech in which John McCain attacked Pat Robertson and
Jerry Falwell. While the Web has unlimited possibilities for putting news
online, the rush to fill the medium seems to have left out a certain amount
of substance, the report found.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1) AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45318-2000Apr9.html)

STAID KNOW-IT-ALL GOES HIP AND ONLINE
Issue: Content
The Oxford English Dictionary is going online (www.oed.com). As part of a
$55 million, 10-year overhaul that will add more than 600,000 new words to
the 20 volume collection of 640,000 words, the new online dictionary will be
available for a subscription fee: $550 for individuals and $795 and up for
institutions. "Clearly, if you've got a print dictionary you're limited in
the way you can look through it: you can either look up something by the
head word, or you can browse serendipitously, opening the book at random for
guidance," said John Simpson, the dictionary's chief editor. But online, he
said, you can summon and compare all the citations that quote Milton or Mark
Twain. [If you're fascinated by words and their history, check out the URL
below.]
[SOURCE: New York Times (B1), AUTHOR: Sarah Lyall]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/041000oed-online.html)

JOURNAL OF COMMERCE PLANS TO SCRAP DAILY EDITION, WEIGHTS MOVING OFFICES
Issue: Publishing
It's a sad day for newspaper junkies when the Journal of Commerce, the
nation's oldest business newspaper, announces that it will scrap its daily
edition and replace it with a weekly magazine and a Web version for breaking
news. The Journal of Commerce has been covering trade, transportation and
insurance issues since 1827. It was originally founded by Samuel Morse, the
inventor of Morse Code, and was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s when it
was the only venue available for shippers to publish their schedules. The
change is attributed to internal problems as much as to the Internet. In
1998, the group laid off 14% of its 450 staff as part of a $7 million
restructuring plan to reduce operating costs. The Journal is also
considering moving its offices in the New York World Trade Center to New
Jersey. [Wow, you know you're really in trouble when you gotta move to Jersey]
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B18), AUTHOR: Matthew Rose]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955316112516199392.htm

MOM HUNTS PEDOPHILES ON INTERNET
Issue: Content
As the Web becomes more and more a part of lives, several groups have set up
"neighborhood watch" type groups online. The groups patrol online keeping a
particularly sharp lookout for those who would harm children. Lawrence
Sherman, a University of Pennsylvania professor and president of the
International Society of Criminology, said that the scope of the
"neighborhood" has made many people particularly worried. "Instead of your
kid walking out of the house and you worrying what's in the big bad
neighborhood, now people are worrying about the whole world," Sherman said.
The FBI taskforce on online predators, Innocent Images, opened some
1500 cases last year focusing on children on the Internet, many of them
based on tips from parents or online patrol groups such as Internet Watch, a
group run by Nancy Casey, a mother of two who patrols online disguised as
various teenaged girls. Casey is very careful about the work she does
online, never sending the first message, never broaching sexual topics and
never sending images. "I haven't had to testify, which means I'm doing it
right," Casey said. "I get enough information that they can go out and make
a good arrest." Dave Canham, who investigated a recent case that was brought
with Casey's help, praised her, and encourages her to keep at it. "Nancy is
careful," Canham said. "She knows what she's doing."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Maria Glod]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45059-2000Apr9.html)

INTERNET

PATENTS: HISTORIANS TAKE A LONGER VIEW OF NET BATTLES
Issue: Intellectual Property
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is coming under fire for awarding
technology patents that are extremely broad. Critics are raising questions
of whether the USPTO staff understands the technologies it is evaluating.
Critics of Internet patents contend that the software components are not
original [and, therefore, not patent-able], but instead build on existing
innovations. The office recently awarded a patent to Amazon.com for
one-click online shopping. America Online has at least fourteen patents; one
of which is for a system that will "search all resources on the Internet
with one search command." Yet historians of technology and communications
are taking a broader view. They say the patent battles looming on the
Internet have historical precedent in similar battles that arose over the
telegraph, telephone, radio and television. "I don't see the development of
the Internet as being significantly different from the development of other
communications technologies since the 1840s," said Brian Winston, the head
of the School of Communication, Design and Media at the University of
Westminster in London. "The creation of the Internet falls into a pattern.
It's part of that pattern that there will always be a terrible row over
patents." Morse was an innovator for his "software" the Morse code.
Historical precedents aside, critics are still charging that the most
fundamental question is whether business models should be patented at all.
"Are people going to look back a hundred years from now and think that
one-click ordering was a revolutionary model?" said Paul Ceruzzi, a
historian at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and
the author of "A History of Modern Computing." "We don't know," he said. "We
have to wait for the dust to settle."
Patents may be viewed at www.uspto.gov on the Web or may be ordered through
the mail, by patent number, for $3 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, Washington 20231.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Teresa Riordan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10pate.html)

A LEADER IN CYBERSPACE, IT SEEMS, IS NO POLITICIAN
Issue: Policymakers
A profile of Esther Dyson, chairwoman of Icann. She's criticized for running
Icann meetings "with a mix of impatience, frustration and condescension" --
in short, of being a bad politician. But a different reading of Ms Dyson
could celebrate her intolerance for having her time wasted and for stupidity.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10dyso.html)

INTERNET TAX
Issue: Ecommerce
Full Senate Commerce Committee hearing set for Wednesday, April 12, at 9:30
a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senator McCain will
preside. Members will examine S.2255, a bill to extend the moratorium for
five years. Witness list will be announced.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-150.html)

TELEVISION

TV MAKERS TO ROLL OUT DIGITAL-TV SETS EVEN AS STANDARD CHANGE IS CONSIDERED
Issue: Digital Television
Television manufacturers will proceed with their planned release of digital
television sets next year, despite the chance that broadcasters will change
the standard by which digital television signals will be transmitted.
Broadcasters lobbied the Advanced Television Systems Committee to consider a
modification, in the standard, saying the existing digital-signal technique
can't be picked up in some urban areas. Eight large manufacturers of
televisions believe the likelihood of such a change is small enough that
they are willing to take the risk and move forward with their rollout.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B2), AUTHOR: Evan Ramstad]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955314658165711397.htm)

PEARSON-BERTELSMANN TV FIRM PLANS FOR ITS US 'DREAM' MARKET
Issue: Television
The new company created out of the merger of Britain's Pearson television
unit with Bertelsmann's broadcasting arm has created an entity, "big enough
to start businesses in the US," said Bertelsmann's Chairman and Chief
Executive Thomas Middlehoff. The new company, as yet unnamed, is considering
an equity position in a major US television network, a move that would first
require the US to change rules that restrict foreign ownership of TV
stations to about 25%. Without being able to control the stations, it would
make little sense for the new company to buy a network. "The Americans now
know that there is a pan-European leader that could be of interest to them,"
said Mr. Middlehoff.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A26), AUTHOR: Charles Goldsmith]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955311604283433883.htm

RELIGIOUS AND NONCOMMERCIAL BROADCASTING
Issue: Broadcasting
Thursday, April 13, 2000 Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and
Consumer Protection hearing focusing on H.R. 3525, the Religious
Broadcasting Freedom Act and H.R. 4201, the Noncommercial Broadcasting
Freedom of Expression Act of 2000.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/)

SECURITY/PRIVACY

INTEL PLANS TO GIVE AWAY SECURITY SOFTWARE VIA WEB
Issue: Security
Intel is expected to announce tomorrow that it plans to distribute an "open
source" version of its advanced security software that implements a set of
security functions known as the Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA), an
industry-wide security standard first established just over two years ago.
The move is designed to bolster Intel's growing support for the free Linux
operating system. Intel plans to release the "open source" version over the
Internet, making it accessible to software developers world-wide. The first
CDSA programs, which will be available for downloading on May 15th, will run
on Linux and be optimized to run on Intel processors. Intel stands to
benefit from anything that makes encryption and other computation-intensive
security technology more widespread, since such activities tend to drive
demand for Intel's high-end microprocessors. Intel's efforts show an
increasing divergence from its longtime partnership with Microsoft, which
also offers encryption and similar security functions - but only when used
with its Windows operating system.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: David Hamilton]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955313014887504684.htm

COALITION CHALLENGES PRIVACYBOT.COM SAFE HARBOR APPLICATION
Issue: Privacy
From Press Release: A coalition of child advocacy, health, and consumer
groups called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to deny approval of
PrivacyBot.com's proposed guidelines for "safe harbor" status. Calling
PrivacyBot's proposed guidelines "inadequate," the comments said that FTC
approval "would set a dangerous precedent that undermines the goal of
protecting children's information in the online environment." PrivacyBot, a
fee-based privacy seal program, is the first to submit guidelines for
approval under the "safe harbor" program included in the FTC Rule
implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Safe harbor is designed for industry groups or others who want to create
self-regulatory programs to govern Web site operators' compliance with the
FTC Rule. The Rule, which goes into effect on April 21, 2000, requires
commercial Web sites that collect personal information from children under
age 13 to have a clearly posted privacy policy, obtain verifiable parental
consent before collecting and using personal information, and provide
parents the option to review and delete their child's personal information.
The coalition questions whether PrivacyBot has sufficient resources to
enforce its guidelines and to make sure member Web sites stay in compliance
with COPPA. The coalition is particularly concerned that PrivacyBot's method
of handling consumer complaints is flawed.
The full text of the coalition's comments are available online
(http://www.cme.org/press/000406_comments.pdf)
[SOURCE: Center For Media Education]
(http://www.cme.org/press/000406pr.html)

INFRASTRUCTURE

OLD COMPANY LEARNS NEW TRICKS
Issue: Infrastructure
Corning, a company founded before the Civil War and best known for the
cookware it stopped making, has transformed itself into a high-tech
innovator. Having always been a maker of glass products, Corning has shed
its old-economy structure and emerged as the world's largest maker of
optical fiber. The company employs 1,500 scientists and engineers who apply
for nearly a patent a day. The transformation has not been easy. While the
demand for ever-greater bandwidth continues to march on, a reduction in
fiber demand due to the Asian economic crisis of 1998/1999 dropped the share
price below $25. And now, in its new form, Corning makes a product with a
commercial life of less than one year. Corning Ware, the company's old
glass-ceramic dishes could withstand housefires. The jitters are offset by a
solid core of employees. Corning has hired 700 more people with Ph.D.s in
the past three years, mostly in optical physics, electronics, software and
materials.
[SOURCE: USA Today (B1), AUTHOR: Josh Chetwynd]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000410/2128095s.htm)

STATUS OF DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES
Issue: Broadband
Tuesday, April 11, 2000 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection oversight
hearing on the Status of Deployment of Broadband technologies.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/)

WIRELESS INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE
Issue: Wireless
From Media Advisory: The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) will host the first meeting under the
Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative (WICI), a new NTIA
initiative to enable the federal government to promote more actively
innovation in the development and use of new communications technologies.
The WICI Committee, established as an ad hoc committee of the
Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, is composed of senior experts from
various federal government agencies. The WICI will include a series of
meetings in which representatives from federal agencies will discuss their
communications requirements and industry representatives will be invited to
present new technology developments to Committee members that might respond
to these needs.
This first joint meeting will focus on software radio developments in the
Department of Defense. A detailed information brief will be provided by
representatives from the Department of Defense on the Joint Tactical Radio
System (JTRS). The JTRS is a family of high-capacity tactical radios capable
of operating across the 2 MHz to 2 GHz for command, control, communications,
computers, and intelligence functions. Dynamic bandwidth management and
software re-programmability are key features of these radios. Attendees to
the meeting from other federal agencies and industry are invited to join in
the discussion of this major federal program.
Online registration for industry representatives is required. Instructions
for registration are provided on the NTIA web site at
www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/wici
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/wici/advisory1.htm)

FCC

COMMENTS REQUESTED IN SBC'S SEC 271 APPLICATION
Issue: Long Distance
On April 5, 2000, SBC Communications filed an application for authorization
to provide in-region, interLATA service in the State of Texas, pursuant to
section 271 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), 47
U.S.C.

Communications-related Headlines for 4/7/2000

TELEVISION
Networks Cede Political Coverage to Cable (NYT)
With Eyes On Cable Networks Permit Racier Plots, Unprintable
Dialogue (WSJ)
Access to Local Broadcast Television Signals in Rural and
Small Markets (NTIA)
Pearson Confirms Deal With CLT-UFA; Merger Will Meld Content
and Stations (WSJ)

EDTECH
School Plan Would Trade Ad Space for Computers (NYT)
Logging On to College (WP)

JOBS
Firms Vow Millions For Tech Diversity (SJM)

ECOMMERCE
Legality of 'Deep Linking' Remains Deeply Complicated (CyberTimes)
Report of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (House)

SPECTRUM
Spectrum Usage for the Fixed Services (NTIA)
Wireless Telecommunications Sourcing and Privacy Act (House)

INFO TECH
Undoing a Traffic Jam at the Light (WP)

TELEVISION

NETWORKS CEDE POLITICAL COVERAGE TO CABLE
Issue: Journalism/Television
"We will be on the air with more coverage from the conventions than the
hours the conventions are in session," said Rick Kaplan, the president of
CNN. The cable network will ask for four skybooths within the convention
hall. Over at ABC, however, executives are wondering how to do their
coverage on the cheap. "We're not going to cover this convention the way we
have in the past," said Marc Burstein, executive producer of special events
for ABC News. "You have to be living on Mars to not know we're living in a
new era of fiscal reality." Marks writes, "...the approach to the
proceedings is merely one more example of the radical shift in election
coverage on television. CNN and its cable competitors -- C-Span, MSNBC and
Fox News Channel -- have usurped the role of the old broadcast networks as
the dominant source for the nation's political news. Said CBS New anchor Dan
Rather, "We have a public responsibility beyond delivering stockholder
value. In some ways, we have abrogated that civic trust." "Cable is the
political conduit of the air," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew
Research Center for the People and the Press. "If you don't have that cable
coming into your house, you're getting a whole heck of a lot less
information about politics."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Peter Marks]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/040700wh-media.html)

WITH EYES ON CABLE, NETWORK PERMIT RACIER PLOTS, UNPRINTABLE DIALOGUE
Issue: Television
Network content is taking a racier turn inspired partly by the runaway
successes and of HBO's series "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City." The
premiere of ABC's "Wonderland" depicted a pregnant woman stabbed in the
stomach, "Falcone" depicted a knifing after a sex scene and UPN, etc. The
broadcast networks are loosening guidelines on language and violence for
more "realism." "Absolutely," says CBS TV's president and chief executive,
Leslie Moonves, when asked if HBO is influencing the broadcast networks.
Televised events ranging from the Senate's hearings on the confirmation of
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Clinton-Lewinsky has exposed
network audiences to decidedly graphic descriptions of sexual acts. Despite
the relaxing rules, some boundaries are still too sensitive to cross. Peter
Berg, the creator of ABC's "Wonderland", says the networks are still fairly
conservative on depicting sex. Orgasmic sounds and "moving hips" are bad, he
says.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955056883972597028.htm)

ACCESS TO LOCAL BROADCAST TELEVISION SIGNALS IN RURAL AND SMALL MARKETS
Issue: Television
A summary of the discussion at the 3-02-00 Roundtable on Access to Local
Broadcast Television Signals in Rural and Small Markets is now available.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ruraltvroundtable/rtvfinalsummary.htm)

PEARSON CONFIRMS DEAL WITH CLT-UFA; MERGER WILL MELD CONTENT AND STATIONS
Issue: Television/International
The television unit of media group Pearson PLC confirmed that it has agreed
to merge with Europe's biggest commercial broadcaster, CLT-UFA. Pearson
owns and produces such content as "Baywatch" and "The Price is Right" in
more than 30 countries. Pearson also has stakes in newspaper and Internet
publishing. The terms of the deal do not cover these interests.
Luxembourg-based CLT-UFA is owned by Bertelsmann AG. The company has holdings
in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Combined, the two companies
had 1999 sales worth nearly 3.85 billion dollars U.S. (4 billion Euro) The
merger would create a company in Europe that has both broadcasting and
content production ability. The merger announcement was not entirely a
surprise, the two companies have had collaborations in the past.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A15), AUTHOR: Charles Goldsmith]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB95505571614165551.htm)

EDTECH

SCHOOL PLAN WOULD TRADE AD SPACE FOR COMPUTERS
Issue: Ed Tech
Two months after the New York School Board approved a proposal to allow
corporate donors to have their names attached to school classrooms,
libraries and athletic field in recognition of donations, some school
officials and computer executives are circulating to distribute laptops to
city schoolchildren and set up school Web sites which would include company
advertising. The plan would help pay for programs that can not be paid for
with taxes. Irving S. Hamer, a board member who oversees the task force that
has explored the Web site idea for nine months, said he thought the laptop
distribution and Internet proposal would be approved by the full board.
"This is a major shift in the ways we think about teaching and learning and
how we fund these activities," he said. "We have a great deal of concern
about the negative potential of using children to promote commercial
concerns and using class time for things that could be considered as
advertisements," said Vicki Rafel, the vice president for legislation at the
National PTA.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A22), AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/07portal.html)

LOGGING ON TO COLLEGE
Issue:
With more than a third of U.S. colleges offering degrees online, distance
learning via the Internet is fast becoming part of the mainstream. At the
University of Maryland University College, more than half of all students
take at least one course online, and one third take all their classes from a
distance. While few believe that a virtual university could replace a
traditional one since students are eager to leave home for the first
time, there is a place for online education. Older students who have
families and full-time jobs are attracted to the freedom virtual education
offers. In this way, online education attracts many students who would
otherwise not pursue a degree at all. The possibilities of the new medium
have led to the creation of many joint ventures between universities and
private companies. Web sites such as HungryMinds.com and CollegeLearning.com
act as middlemen between schools and potential students, while other
start-ups work with colleges to market their Web ventures. Some of the
endeavors are attracting controversy, such as UNext.com, a virtual business
university backed by former financier Michael Milken that has schools like
Columbia, Stanford and the London School of Economics developing courses for
it.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (B1), AUTHOR: Dan Eggen]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28125-2000Apr6.html)

JOBS

FIRMS VOW MILLIONS FOR TECH DIVERSITY
Issue: Workforce Training
President Clinton announced Thursday that Silicon Valley-based Adobe, Intel,
and Sun Microsystems and 22 other companies nationwide have agreed to spend
a total of $250 million over the next 10 years as part of Clinton's "One
America" initiative. The comprehensive initiative is designed to increase
the number of minorities, women and disabled workers in technology-related
jobs through scholarships, internships and job training. The initiative is
designed to have the companies set aside pledged sums of money and use
them for their own company programs.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: JIM PUZZANGHERA]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/top/docs/divers040700.htm)

ECOMMERCE

LEGALITY OF 'DEEP LINKING' REMAINS DEEPLY COMPLICATED
Issue: Legal Issues/Ecommerce
"Deep linking" is the practice of linking to a page deep inside another Web
site. A March 27 ruling by Judge Harry Hupp of Federal District Court in Los
Angeles was thought to make the practice unambiguously legal, but some
believe there is still a great deal of confusion. Judge Hupp wrote,
"hyperlinking does not itself involve a violation of the Copyright Act
(whatever it might do for other claims) since no copying is involved." And
in another part of his opinion, Judge Hupp concluded that "deep linking by
itself (i.e., without confusion of source) does not necessarily involve
unfair competition." But the judge allowed some of the deep linking items in
the case he is overseeing to proceed. "I certainly don't think that this is
a conclusive decision that says 'linking is O.K.,' which a number of people
have characterized it as," said Jessica R. Friedman, a lawyer with Reboul,
MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard & Kristol in New York who specializes in
intellectual property and the Internet. "The way I read this is, that when
you run through all the claims, and after you consider what the judge left
in, deep linking under this ruling may constitute passing off, reverse
passing off, tortious interference and even breach of contract," she said,
adding that she believes it may be difficult for Ticketmaster to actually
win on its linking claims.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Carl Kaplan (kaplanc( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/cyberlaw/07law.html)

REPORT OF THE ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Issue: E-Commerce
Link to prepared testimony for the House Telecom Subcommittee hearing.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/090e61ffe054bd8d852568b800692cce?OpenDocument)

SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM USAGE FOR THE FIXED SERVICES
Issue: Spectrum
Need something to read this weekend? NTIA's Institute for Telecommunication
Sciences (ITS) has released a report, Spectrum Usage for the Fixed Services
(NTIA Report 00-378) (report is in .pdf format). This study is an update to
a 1993 ITS staff study, entitled "A Preliminary Look at Spectrum
Requirements for the Fixed Services." That study included a description of
the services provided in 30 of the Government and non-Government frequency
bands between 406 MHz and 30 GHz, known as point-to-point terrestrial
microwave bands. Sure, not much of an ending, but...
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/pub/ntia-rpt/00-378/)

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOURCING AND PRIVACY ACT
Issue: Wireless/Privacy
Link to prepared testimony for the House Telecom Subcommittee hearing.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/a3fa790f7b097bb5852568b800697a17?OpenDocument)

INFO TECH

UNDOING A TRAFFIC JAM AT THE LIGHT
Issue: Info Tech
Researchers have developed a new gadget that could increase the speed of
fiber-optic networks up to ten times their current levels. The gizmo, a type
of "electro-optic modulator, " works to overcome one of the worst
bottlenecks on any fiber-optic network -- the point at which electrical signals
that travel over wire are converted to optical signals for travel over
fiber-optic cable. The development is actually a new material that is
capable of changing its level of transparency as electrical current passes
through it. Although the use of materials with similar properties is already
widespread in fiber-optics, the new substance is able to be switched at a
much greater rate, using far less power than current technology allows. One
of the material's inventors, Larry R. Dalton, a professor at both the
University of Washington and the University of Southern California, said
that with the new device at work on fiber-optic networks, "instead of
waiting nine minutes for a big file to download, you're going to get it in
seconds."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A3), AUTHOR: Curt Suplee]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28631-2000Apr6.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here. Have a great weekend.

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 4/6/2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Hispanics Are Narrowing the Digital Divide (NYT)
The Man Who Gives Computers to Kids (WP)

BROADCASTING
LPFM Application Forms Are Now Available (FCC)
Class A Television Service (FCC)

INTERNET
Role In Net Control Up For Vote Everyone Online Can Help Elect 5
Board Members (USA)
Children and the Internet Forum (NSBA)
AOL Introduces Net Appliance Line (NYT)

E-COMMERCE
That Online Religion With Shopping, Too (NYT)
Report of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (House)
Postal Service Unveils E-Payment Program (WP)

PRIVACY
Businesses Criticize US - EU Privacy Pact as Hurdle to Global
E-Commerce Efforts (WSJ)
'Digital Storm' Brews at FBI (WP)
Wireless Telecommunications Sourcing and Privacy Act (House)

MERGERS
WorldCom, Sprint Face Skeptics (WP)

ANTITRUST/REGULATION
Judge Orders Fast-Track Remedy in Microsoft Antitrust Case (NTY)
Dismantle Microsoft, With Care
Techies Fear Microsoft Trickledown (USA)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

HISPANICS ARE NARROWING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
Cheskin Research, a California market research firm in Redwood Shores,
California, released a 150-page report today that says the digital divide is
narrowing for Hispanics and that Hispanic home PC computer purchases far
outstrip that of the general population. Titled "The Digital World of the
U.S. Hispanic," the report is based on a telephone survey of 2,017 Hispanic
households in February. Among the findings is that 42 percent of the
nation's 9.3 million Hispanic households have a computer -- representing a
68 percent increase over 1998. The general population had a corresponding 43
percent increase. The report also finds that economics still plays a large
role in ownership. Part of the reason for the large increase in computer
purchases among Hispanics, said Felipe Korzenny, a principal at Cheskin
Research, is "a very strong motivation of not being left behind." Mr.
Korzenny added that innovative sales techniques could get more computers
into the homes of Hispanics. One company, La Curacao, goes door to door,
offering credit to low-income Hispanics with no credit history. "I tell
computer executives that if they would partner with these companies and sell
computers that way they could sell hundreds per day," he said.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/circuits/articles/06hisp.html)

THE MAN WHO GIVES COMPUTERS TO KIDS
Issue: EdTech/Digital Divide
Phil Shapiro, an instructional technology coordinator for the Arlington
County (VA) Schools, is making a personal effort to narrow the digital
divide by refurbishing donated computers and giving them to low-income
students. Shapiro believes that old, outdated, computers are better than no
computers at all, because these computers still allow students to become
familiar with keyboards, software and problem-solving. Arlington County
Schools requires third-grade students to learn how to type. In donating
refurbished computers Shapiro hopes to help the young students, who
otherwise wouldn't have access to a computer at home, feel more comfortable
as they're being introduced to basic computer skills in the classroom.
Shapiro hopes that the computers he refurbishes will help prevent low-income
children from falling behind their more affluent peers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (B3), AUTHOR: Emily Wax]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22151-2000Apr6.html)

BROADCASTING

LPFM APPLICATION FORMS ARE NOW AVAILABLE
Issue: Radio
Application for Construction Permit for a Low Power FM Broadcast Station is
available in Acrobat (pdf) format. Form 318 is available online
(http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/) and through the FCC's Forms webpage.
Applications will be accepted only in designated filing windows. The
Commission will be accepting applications in five waves -- evenly divided
among the 50 states, as well as U.S. possessions and territories -- over the
next year. Applications will be accepted during a five-day filing window
that will be announced in a Public Notice to be issued at the end of April
-- 30 days prior to the first day of the filing window, which will be at the
end of May. When information is available on when to file applications for
low power radio stations it will be posted on the Commission's LPFM website
at www.fcc.gov/lpfm or available by phone from the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC.
A Low Power FM applicant's guide is also available
(http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/lpfmguide.pdf)
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/)

CLASS A TELEVISION SERVICE
Issue: Television
The FCC has released the Report and Order creating a Class A television
service.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/2000/fcc00115.pdf)

INTERNET

ROLE IN NET CONTROL UP FOR VOTE EVERYONE ONLINE CAN HELP ELECT 5 BOARD
MEMBERS
Issue: Internet
Do you want a say in who controls the primary database that tells computers
connected to the Net how to find one another? If yes, go to the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers site (ICANN) to register to vote
in this November's elections. Anyone with an e-mail address and a fixed
postal address anywhere in the world is entitled to a ballot. Some believe
that most of ICANN's substantive policies have already been decided and that
the election process is merely for show, says Karl Auerback, a tech
executive who is afraid ''people will mistake ICANN's faux democracy for the
real thing.'' Jerry Berman from the Center for Democracy and Technology in
Washington DC disagrees, "The election was set up to make sure that (the
Internet community's)interests were taken up. It's supposed to be about
technical issues, but ICANN could end up making important policy issues
affecting how the Internet is run."
[SOURCE: USA Today (3D), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000406/2117349s.htm)

CHILDREN AND THE INTERNET FORUM
Issue: Internet
A week has passed since the National School Boards Foundation (NSBF)
released it's national survey of children's use of the Internet. Unlike
previous research that contends that the Internet isolates people, or
sensationalized news reports that evoke fear of pornography and pedophiles,
or, at the other end of the spectrum, claims that the Internet is a force
for all things good, this survey supplies hard data about how families are
using the medium. The survey also provides a basis for a national
discussion, which is why the NSBF is hosting a forum this week at
www.edvancenet.org. (Follow the "Community Center" link.) Here is your
chance to comment on the report's findings -- too glowing? missed the mark?
just right? -- and help shape the national debate.
(You could link to news coverage in today's Washington Post
or Ed Week http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=30net.h19)
[SOURCE: National School Boards Foundation]
(http://www.edvancenet.org)

AOL INTRODUCES NET APPLIANCE LINE
Issue: Internet
America Online has joined with Gateway in introducing a line of small
Internet "appliances" that will let people tap into the World Wide Web
without a PC. AOL officials said the new appliances, some of which are
expected to be shipped for delivery before the Christmas season, will use
the upstart Linux operating system and feature the new Netscape 6 browser.
The two companies are introducing hree small devices: a counter-top
appliance that may be used in kitchens; a wireless Web pad that can fit
inside a briefcase; and a desktop device that serves as a lower-cost
alternative to the personal computer. The devices feature wireless or
traditional keyboards.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/06appliance.html
)

E-COMMERCE

THAT ONLINE RELIGION WITH SHOPPING, TOO
Issue: E-Religion
As the Web has grown, so too have religious sites. They now include the
homepages of churches, synagogues and mosques, but also for-profit portals
like Beliefnet and the imminent Faith.com and SpiritChannel.com. (In what is
just about the most priceless quote ever,) Steve Waldman, the journalist who
started Beliefnet in January, said that his site is " not all that different
than the sex sites on the Web. Religion is really important to people, the
way sex is." Catholic theologian Tom Beaudoin, says that "The Internet is an
invitation for people who are skeptical. They feel released and can ask the
religious questions they want to explore. I've received e-mails at 3 a.m.
from people who haven't stepped inside a church in years." Many for-profit
sites are mutifaith focused but SpiritChannel.com, goes beyond traditional
denominations to include New Age Spirituality. Created by Issac Tiggret,
founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues, Spirit Channel wants
to become the "first holistic lifestyle brand," a press release says.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E1), AUTHOR: Lori Leibovich]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/circuits/articles/06reli.html)

REPORT OF THE ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Issue: E-Commerce
Live audiocast of today's House Telecom Subcommittee hearing.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/090e61ffe054bd8d852568b800692cce?OpenDocument)

POSTAL SERVICE UNVEILS E-PAYMENT PROGRAM
Issue: E-Commerce
The U.S. Postal Service yesterday launched its a program that allows
consumers to pay their bills electronically. The new service, a joint
venture between the Post Office, CheckFree Corp. and CheckFree Corp. and
YourAccounts.com, will have the no-nonsense name of eBillPay. In addition to
allowing customers to pay their bills electronically, the service will cut a
check to allow users to pay bills to companies that do not accept electronic
payment. The Post Office is betting, along with many banks, credit card
companies, and other various dot-coms, that the number of Americans who pay
bills online will jump from the barely 5 percent that are currently
estimated to do so, to include many more. The service will be free fir the
first six months. After that, it will cost either $6 for 20 payments (and 40
cents for each additional payment) or $2 with a 40 cent charge for each
payment.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E2), AUTHOR: Stephen Barr]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20926-2000Apr5.html)

PRIVACY

BUSINESSES CRITICIZE US - EU PRIVACY PACT AS HURDLE TO GLOBAL E-COMMERCE
EFFORTS
Issue: Privacy/E-commerce
General Electric, Seagram, Home Depot and Aflac are just some of the
companies that are part of the newly formed National Business Coalition on
E-Commerce and Privacy which is objecting to a new privacy pact between the
U.S. and the European Union. The pact requires U.S. companies, when dealing
with European consumers, to observe stringent EU rules for disclosing
consumer data. If they observe the rules, they obtain "safe harbor" from
prosecution or litigation by EU governments. In arguing against the deal on
trade grounds, the coalition noted that the U.S. has no such law on its
books, nor do many other countries. "The safe harbor agreement in effect
establishes a nontariff trade barrier in that a U.S. person cannot do
business with the EU unless that person agrees to play by EU rules. This
trade barrier will disadvantage U.S. companies in relation to their
competitors in other areas which do not have to abide by the principles of
the EU directive," said the coalition in a letter to the Commerce
Department. The group said the U.S. government should solicit further input
from U.S. companies and undertake more study of the deal, as well as consult
Congress. It should put off enforcement of the rules "at a minimum for a
period of at least two, or preferably three, years."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Glenn Simpson]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954968119196052057.htm)

'DIGITAL STORM' BREWS AT FBI
Issue: Privacy
The FBI is seeking $75 million in budget appropriations to update its
court-sanctioned telephone and cellular phone data collection systems. One
is called "Digital Storm" and allows agents to monitor telephone calls and
analyze computerized recordings. The FBI is also looking to create a system
that would provide the "foundation for an up-to-date flexible digital
collection infrastructure" for wiretaps and an "enterprise database" that
would enable agents to analyze and share a huge amount of data via a secure
World Wide Web network. FBI officials said the bureau's information
technology systems are aging and need to be updated to keep pace with
criminal activities that occur both on the Internet and offline. But civil
liberties activists, legislators and legal specialists claim that the
bureau's proposal could erode constitutional protections that limit
government searches. For example, the FBI estimates that the technological
advances would so improve the ability to conduct wiretaps that the number of
approved taps would increase by 300 percent over the next decade. Deputy
Assistant Director Edward Allen played down that number.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Robert O'Harrow Jr.]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20426-2000Apr5.html)

ANTITRUST/REGULATION

JUDGE ORDERS FAST-TRACK REMEDY IN MICROSOFT ANTITRUST CASE
Issue: Antitrust
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson set a "fast track" schedule today intended to
conclude the proceedings in the Microsoft antitrust case and impose a remedy
roughly by the end of May. Now, with a deadline looming, the state attorneys
general and the Department of Justice are considering against asking the
judge to break up the company, several officials said today. Under the plan
announced Judge Jackson, the state and federal governments must submit their
remedy proposal to the judge no later than April 28, and Microsoft is to
offer its reply on May 10. A hearing would begin on May 24. Additionally,
Judge Jackson could recommend that Microsoft's appeal be filed directly to
the Supreme Court once the proceedings in his court are over
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: JOEL BRINKLEY]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/06soft.html)

DISMANTLE MICROSOFT, WITH CARE
Issue: Antitrust
[Op-Ed] Charles Ferguson, the founder of a Tech company that was sold to
Microsoft, and author of "High Stakes, No Prisoner: A Winner's Tale of the
Internet Wars," argues that "for the good of both consumers and industry, a
major structural solution is called for," on the question of Microsoft.
Ferguson writes that competing software companies who have called for
Microsoft being broken up into "Baby Bills," full service companies that
would compete, much as the former Bell Operating companies did, "are
interested in their own good, not the world's." The author suggests that the
only reasonable solution to the Microsoft case is to split the company along
"technological" lines; creating an operating system company, an applications
company, and an Internet company. This would provide each company with "
incentives to discipline the other." Furguson claims that if one of the
companies behaved poorly, the others could seek new partners with whom to do
business.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A23), AUTHOR: Charles Ferguson]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20897-2000Apr5.html)

TECHIES FEAR MICROSOFT TRICKLEDOWN
Issue: Internet Regulation
In the wake of this week's antitrust ruling against Microsoft, some
technology companies are worried the judge's decision could heighten
government scrutiny of the industry on issues ranging from privacy to how a
company runs its business. Rob Enderle, an industry watcher with Giga
Information Group predicts that "At ome level, the government is going to
want to fix the broad problems" affecting the industry by enacting
legislation or requiring oversight. Issues such as Net security, privacy and
encryption have become important to many policymakers. And though technology
companies are grappling for their own solutions, government is getting
impatient. The industry that stricter oversight or regulation could
potentially threaten innovation. "IF the government gets in the position of
designing software and specifying what types of features to have in what
software, it will be devastating" to innovation, said Jonathan Zuck,
president of the Association for Competitive Technology, which represents
9,000 companies, including Microsoft.
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Deborah Solomon]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000406/2117416s.htm)

MERGERS

WORLDCOM, SPRINT FACE SKEPTICS
Issue: Mergers
MCI WorldCom and Sprint spent yesterday morning before a committee at the
Federal Communications Commission, defending their claim that a merger of
the two companies would benefit consumers by not forcing them to choose
between former Bell companies and cable companies like AT&T or Time Warner
for their telecommunications services. MCI WorldCom and Sprint contend that
their licenses to offer high speed Internet access and local phone service
over the wireless technology known as MMDS would allow them to increase
competition by offering it as an alternative to the traditional phone, DSL
and cable services of the others. Moreover, the two companies contend that
they will be able to get the service to market more efficiently if allowed
to merge. This claim raised questions. "I'm trying to understand where the
synergies might be on the local side," said Larry Strickling, chairman of
the FCC Common Carrier Bureau. Merger opponents like rival SBC and the
Telecommunications Research and Action Center, a consumer advocacy group
came out more strongly against the claims that the merger would provide
financial benefits. They pointed to the fact that MCI WorldCom and Sprint
had each separately paid more than $1 billion before the merger. The groups
asked why either company would spend that kind of money if they didn't think
it would be profitable.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E2), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19623-2000Apr5.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 4/5/2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Clinton Announces Initiative To Close Digital Divide (SJM)

EDTECH
Technology Critic Takes On Computers in Schools (CyberTimes)

E-COMMERCE
Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce Report Hearing (House)

PRIVACY
Should Schools Allow Companies Into The Classroom To Collect
Personal Information From Children? (CU)
You've Got Inappropriate Mail (NYT)
Telecom Firms Lobby for Funding of Upgrades to Ease Surveillance
(WSJ)

MERGERS
BellSouth and SBC Expected to Announce New Wireless
Phone Company (SJM)

ANTITRUST
Microsoft Appeal May Go Directly To High Court (WP)

CONTENT
iWon.com TV Special, to Air on CBS, Raises Questions on
Media Convergence (WSJ)
Computer Programs Protected by Amendment (WSJ)
Eisner Says Net Content Doesn't Have To Be Free(USA)
Primedia and Sony Pictures To Create Soap Opera Site (NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CLINTON ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
At a White House East Room ceremony yesterday, President Clinton announced a
"National Call to Action" to bridge the Digital Divide in the United States.
President Clinton proposed two major goals during the event: 1) Giving
students better access to "21st century learning tools" by connecting every
classroom to the Internet, improving access to multimedia computers and
expanding technology literacy opportunities to teachers; and 2) Connecting
every household to the Internet, expanding community technology center
programs and improving technology training opportunities for adults. The
President also announced the details of his 3rd "New Markets Tour," which
will commence April 17 and 18. During the tour he will examine digital
divide issues by visiting a computer center in East Palo Alto, Ca; a Navajo
reservation in Shiprock, NM; and the Comdex computer conference in Chicago,
IL. Ten days following the two-day tour, Clinton will also examine broadband
deployment issues in rural North Carolina.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/clint040500.htm)
See Also:
CONNECTING AMERICAN FAMILIES
In his Fiscal Year 2001 budget request, President Clinton has proposed the
creation of a new $50 million program to increase the number of low-income
families that have access to the Internet in their homes. NTIA has posted a
Fact Sheet on the Home Internet Access Program, which it is calling
"Connecting American Families," to help answer some of the most frequently
asked questions.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/hafacts40400.htm)

E-COMMERCE

ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE REPORT HEARING
The Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection
hearing to receive the report of the Advisory Commission on Electronic
Commerce has been scheduled for Thursday, April 6, 2000 at 10:00 a.m. in
2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Immediately following the above hearing, the Subcommittee on
Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing on
H.R. 3489, the Wireless Telecommunications Sourcing and Privacy Act.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/)

EDTECH

TECHNOLOGY CRITIC TAKES ON COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS
Issue: EdTech
Clifford Stoll, an astronomer, computer expert and technology gadfly, warns
against classroom computing in his new book _High Tech Heretic: Why
Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer
Contrarian_. "Here's a policy being put into place without any hearings or
public debate," Stoll said . "No one is asking, 'What problem does this
solve? What problem does this cause?'" Stoll believes the computer skills
kids need can be learned in a couple of weeks by high school students and
that the prominent place of technology in the classroom could end up doing a
lot of real harm to students: time on the computer inevitably means time
taken away from real interaction with teachers and other students and means
reduced time for things that children do master more easily than grown-ups,
like foreign languages and musical instruments. "Stoll is back in the old
debate about whether we should have computers in school or not," said Keith
R. Krueger, executive director of the Consortium for School Networking, a
nonprofit Washington group that promotes the use of technology in schools.
"That's the wrong question. The question is, how do we use computers and
technology to improve schools and learning?" Krueger also said that Web
sites and educational software do not necessarily lack intellectual merit
because students find them entertaining. Indeed, he argues, young people
look forward to the increasing levels of difficulty in video games. "I agree
that learning is hard and rigorous," he said. "But that's not necessarily
mutually exclusive with 'fun.'"
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels (mendels( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/education/05education.html)

PRIVACY

SHOULD SCHOOLS ALLOW COMPANIES INTO THE CLASSROOM TO COLLECT PERSONAL
INFORMATION FROM CHILDREN?
Issue: Privacy
From Press Release: Companies are being allowed into America's classrooms to
collect personal information from students so the companies can learn the
best ways to market their products to children:
* A California company provides schools with free computers, software, and
access to certain web sites. In exchange, the company monitors students' web
browsing habits and sells the data to other companies.
* Children in a Massachusetts elementary school spent two days tasting
cereal and answering an opinion poll to help the company sell to kids.
* Children in a New Jersey elementary school filled out a 27-page booklet
called "My All About Me Journal" as part of a marketing survey for a cable
television channel.
Consumers Union supports the Student Privacy Protection Act, a bill in
Congress that would require parents to give informed consent before
companies can collect information on their children in school. It also calls
for the Comptroller General to conduct a national study on the prevalence
and effect of commercial activity in schools.
"A classroom should be a place for children to learn, not a place for
companies to learn how to market to kids," said Frank Torres, legislative
counsel for Consumers Union.
The Student Privacy Protection Act was introduced by Rep. George Miller of
California and Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. The House bill number
is H.R. 1734 and the Senate bill number is S. 1422.
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
(http://www.consumersunion.org/other/schooldc400.htm)

YOU'VE GOT INAPPROPRIATE MAIL
Issue: Privacy
More and more companies are storing and reviewing email messages sent and
received by employees. The employers are looking for messages that may be
overloading and/or crashing their network systems, items that have nothing
to do with work, off-color or ethnic jokes that could be fodder for lawsuits
and the possibility that employees are sharing company secrets. The American
Management Association estimates that over 38% of companies will monitor
email this year -- up from just 15% in 1997.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Lisa Guernsey]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/05mail.html)

TELECOM FIRMS LOBBY FOR FUNDING OF UPGRADES TO EASE SURVEILLANCE
Issue: Privacy
The telecommunications industry is pressing Congress for nearly $500 million
to help pay for software upgrades needed by law-enforcement agencies to
upgrade their wiretap digital and wireless-telephone networks. The FBI has
warned that the conversion to digital and wireless equipment was threatening
to undermine the usefulness of court-approved phone surveillance. Digital
systems don't have the analog pulses that traditional intercept gear is used
to monitoring. Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Donnie Marshall said
that any further delay in upgrading "[could reduce] our current ability to
listen in on the inner sanctums of drug-trafficking organizations." An
emergency spending bill was approved by the House last week, which would
make $382 million available. But it's part of a larger appropriations
package, involving funding for the Pentagon and to fight narcotics
trafficking in Colombia, that is caught in a Senate battle. The FBI has
reached tentative agreements to pay equipment manufacturers like Nortel,
Lucent, Siemens and Motorola for the cost of developing the upgrades, but
none of the manufacturers are willing to complete a deal until Congress
appropriates the money.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A4), AUTHOR: David Cloud]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954898560823693018.htm)

MERGERS

BELLSOUTH AND SBC EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE NEW WIRELESS PHONE COMPANY
Issue: Mergers
BellSouth and SBC are set to combine their wireless telephone businesses,
creating the second-largest company in the U.S. wireless world. Both
companies' boards were meeting last night to vote on the deal, which is
expected to be announced today. SBC's network extends into the Southwest,
Midwest and California; BellSouth's is in the Southeast. Combined, the two
would cover much of the country, possibly reducing out-of-network "roaming"
charges for its 16.5 million customers. The merger has been in negotiations
for over a month, but the companies have yet to decide on the top executives
for the new company, which will have 25,000 employees. On Tuesday, Bell
Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch announced a similar deal which will create
Verizon,a giant wireless company with 24 million customers throughout the
country.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/054879.htm)
See Also:
2 PHONE GIANTS SAID TO BE NEAR DEAL TO MERGE WIRELESS UNITS
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/f/AP-BellSouth-SBC.html)

ANTITRUST

MICROSOFT APPEAL MAY GO DIRECTLY TO HIGH COURT
Issue: Antitrust
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who ruled Monday that Microsoft
violated the law by attempting to quash competition in the software
business, said yesterday that he might put any appeals of his decision on "a
fast track" to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson said that he did not want
"to have caused this thing to drag on through a number of months of
additional proceedings." If he sends the case directly to the Supreme Court,
it could get there as early as this summer, shortening the timeline for a
resolution of the case by many months. Before the judge can send the case to
the high court, the bypass of the appeals court must be requested by one of
the parties in the case. If such a request were to come from the Justice
Department, it would have to be approved by the solicitor general, the
Attorney General or even the President. The law allowing the appeals court
bypass has only been used once in the last quarter century. It was used for
a review of the case that broke up AT&T.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: James V. Grimaldi]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11689-2000Apr4.html)

CONTENT

IWON.COM TV SPECIAL, TO AIR ON CBS, RAISES QUESTIONS ON MEDIA CONVERGENCE
Issue: Ownership
When CBS airs the "iWon.com Annual $10 Million Giveaway" special, most
viewers won't be aware that CBS will be the biggest winner: the network gets
a
half-hour of prime-time exposure for an Internet company in which it owns a
majority stake. Jeffrey Chester, from the Center for Media Education, says,
"This is clearly a commercial for a CBS investment and needs to be labeled
as such." But its not. ABC ran into trouble last month for airing segments
on "Good Morning America" featuring the sock-puppet spokesdog for Pets.com,
a site in which ABC's parent Walt Disney just bought a 5% stake. "Everyone
talks about convergence in the industry...Here we've done it in an opposite
way. We've taken a site that is 100% Internet and gone backwards to
traditional media." says CTC Bulldog founder Bill Daugherty, which created
iWon. But Chester believes that this type of convergence erodes the
public's confidence in what they are watching.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B13A), AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954873289140897996.htm)

COMPUTER PROGRAMS PROTECTED BY AMENDMENT
Issue: Free Speech
The Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that computer programs used to
scramble electronic messages are protected by the First Amendment because
those codes are a means of communications among programmers. The finding
came from a lawsuit filed by Cleveland law professor Peter Junger that
claimed that the government violated his free-speech rights by requiring
licenses to export programs that scramble electronic messages. Raymond
Vasvari, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said,
"This is a great day for programmers, computer scientists and all Americans
who believe that privacy and intellectual freedom should be free from
government control."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com)

EISNER SAYS NET CONTENT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FREE DISNEY CHIEF WANTS TO SELL
TO WEB USERS
Issue: Intellectual Property
Disney CEO Michael Eisner's condemnation of those who say all content should
be free on the Internet was the talk of the Variety/Schroders Big Picture
Media Conference on Tuesday. Eisner says Disney will oppose an effort in
Washington to let Web sites use anyone's content after paying a
government-set fee. "These Internet pirates try to hide behind some
contrived New Age arguments of the Internet. But all they are really doing
is trying to make a case for age-old thievery. . . . Theft is theft, whether
it is enabled by a handgun or a computer keyboard." The entertainment giant
also plans to work with other nations to fight piracy, explain its position
to consumers and support encryption initiatives. Disney will also try to
undercut pirates by selling its entertainment products on the Web. Eisner
cited a UCLA study that found consumers would be willing to pay $2.50 to
download a movie and watch it once.
[SOURCE: USAToday (5B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000405/2112247s.htm)

PRIMEDIA AND SONY PICTURES TO CREATE SOAP OPERA SITE (NYT)
Issue: Lifestyles!
Looking to find new ways to take advantage of the loyal following attracted
by television soap operas, Primedia and Sony Pictures have reached agreement
on a joint venture to create a new online site for soap fans. Thomas S.
Rogers, the chairman of Primedia, said his company's two soap opera
magazines, Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly, would combine with the
Sony Web site SoapCity.com. The new venture -- aimed at the "hard-core
demographic interested in soap operas" -- is expected to generate revenues
through everything from sales of items of apparel worn by soap opera stars
to pay-per-view telecasts of episodes of shows that fans might have missed.
Sony and Primedia anticipate significant e-commerce opportunities related
to the soaps.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C27), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/soap-opera-site.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 4/4/2000

ANTITRUST
Microsoft's Illegal Monopoly (NYT)
Is a Breakup Next? Not Likely(WSJ)
The Verdict (WP)
U.S. Judge Says Microsoft Violated Antitrust Laws With Predatory
Behavior (NYT)
Still Worth Settling(WP)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Gore Denounces Disparities in Minority Access to Computers (NYT)

INTERNET
Foes of Internet Tax Ban Vow to Fight On (NYT)

BROADBAND
High-Bandwidth Standards Being Crafted (WSJ)

TELEPHONY
Bell Atlantic, GTE Announce Name of Combined Firm (WSJ)
Competitors of Telmex Say It Still Acts Like a Monopoly (NYT)

ADVERTISING
Biotech Ad Campaign Attempts to Shape US Attitudes Toward Modified
Crops (WSJ)

ANTITRUST

U.S. JUDGE SAYS MICROSOFT VIOLATED ANTITRUST LAWS WITH PREDATORY
BEHAVIOR
Issue: Antitrust
The judge, Thomas Penfield Jackson of United States District Court, has
sided with the government on the most important points in its
exhaustive antitrust suit against Microsoft. In the ruling, which
Microsoft said it would appeal, the judge wrote that "the court
concludes that Microsoft maintained its monopoly power by
anticompetitive means and attempted to monopolize the Web browser
market," as well as "unlawfully tying its Web browser to its operating
system" -- all in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The judge,
however, surprised lawyers on both sides by ruling that Microsoft's
marketing arrangements with other companies to promote its Web browser
at Netscape's expense did not violate the law. Options for remedies
range from imposing restrictions on Microsoft's conduct to breaking up
the company. Many state and federal officials are interested in
requesting a breakup, said sources close to the case. Both Microsoft
and the government said they remained open to the idea of restarting
settlement talks.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/04soft.html
)

THE VERDICT
Issue: Anti-Trust
Nearly everyone had an opinion about the Microsoft verdict handed down
yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson (Were
you sleeping?). On the newsgroup alt.destroy.microsoft, Robert Lyday of
Oakhurst, Calif., wrote ""M$ stock is getting hammered today! It's off
15 1/8 points! I haven't seen it hit that hard in a long time!
Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!" Many comments were more subdued,
however. "The government's case stands on the shifting sands of a
rapidly changing marketplace," House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey
(R-Tex.) said in a statement supporting Microsoft's vow to appeal.
Microsoft's competitors also weighed in. "Microsoft's predacious
behavior is finally being recognized and condemned," said Michael
Morris, general counsel of Sun Microsystems Inc. Shoppers at CompUSA on
Rockville Pike, near Washington, DC, put in their two cents worth,
coming out on both sides of the case. "It was a total waste of
taxpayers' dollars," said Michael Berman, 50, a biotech executive who
was shopping in the store with his high-school-age daughter. "Microsoft
was super competitive. Their products are great." Another shopper had a
different view. "Microsoft has been a savage predator in the software
industry," said Pat Clawson, president of a small Internet software
company in Winchester, Va. "It's high time they had to respect the same
laws as the rest of us do."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A17), AUTHOR: John Schwartz and Peter S.
Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2903-2000Apr3.html)

IS A BREAKUP NEXT? NOT LIKELY.
Issue: Antitrust
[Op-Ed] In his "findings of fact" last November, Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson concluded that Microsoft had a monopoly in operating systems
for Intel-based computers. In yesterday's "conclusions of law", he
ruled - to no one's surprise - that Microsoft had violated antitrust
laws. The question is, what will be the remedy? Since forced breakups
are rare, it's unlikely that Judge Jackson will order one. What is more
likely is a "future conduct" injunction that will force Microsoft to
open up the interfaces that define how Windows interacts with other
programs, and limit Microsoft's freedom to set prices and conditions of
use. The new information-centered markets seem to focus on interfaces
and which player dominates each one: operating systems (Windows),
browser(Explorer), Internet service(AOL), search engine(Yahoo!) and
various e-commerce and content applications(e.g., Amazon). The best
hope for competition seems to lie in making sure that different firms
come to dominate different interfaces. The irony is that the Windows-
Intel desktop is in decline and that users are moving to running their
"net appliances" and "personal digital assistants" on stripped-down
non-Windows operating systems. But doesn't this mean the case was a
waste of time? Not at all. For "operating system" and "browser" you can
substitute any number of other hardware/software or software/software
pairs that define the interfaces of the new digital economy: "cable
programming" (like CNN) and "distribution channel" (Time Warner Cable);
or "airline reservation system" and "airline". In due course, many of
these software-defined interfaces might end up in court.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A26), AUTHOR: Peter Huber]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954806268381884149.htm)

MICROSOFT'S ILLEGAL MONOPOLY
Issue: Antitrust
[Editorial] Now that Thomas Penfield Jackson has ruled that Microsoft
illegally used its monopoly over Windows to get consumers to use its
browser, he has the difficult task of devising a remedy. According to
the authors, his challenge is compounded with no one solution being
completely appropriate for the ruling. The judge could require Microsoft
to publish all the technical information that software companies need to
make their programs work smoothly with Windows. But such a remedy would
do nothing to address the government's core accusation: that
Microsoft's illegal acts eliminated potential competition in the market
for operating systems. Judge Jackson might then chose a structural
remedy that would go the final step -- breaking up Microsoft into separate
companies. "The advantage of this remedy," write the authors, "is that
it would break Microsoft's monopoly choke hold and avoid the need for
constant government oversight."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A30), AUTHOR: New York Times Editorial Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/04tue1.html)

STILL WORTH SETTLING
Issue: Anti-Trust
[Editorial] The Washington Post laments the failure of settlement talks
in the Microsoft anti-trust case, saying that a ruling will be bad both
for the public and the company. "For the public," the editorial says,
"it means that remedies to rein in the company's market power and
behavior will be delayed." For the company, the Post says, a ruling
merely delays the period of uncertainty about its future. The Post also
hints that the blame for the failure of the talks rests with the 19
state attorneys general involved in the case. The editorial quotes
Judge Richard Posner, mediator in the settlement talks, as saying "the
collapse of the mediation is not due to any lack of skill, flexibility,
energy, determination, or professionalism on the part of the Department
of Justice and Microsoft Corporation." The Post cites the judge's
failure to mention the attorneys general as an indication of their
complicity in the failure. The Post reiterates its support of further
settlement talks saying, "[e]ven with Judge Jackson's findings,
settlement is still the best way to resolve this matter--and the search
for one ought to go on. Both sides have a lot to lose by litigating
this matter to the end."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A28), AUTHOR: Post Editorial Staff]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5642-2000Apr3.html)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

GORE DENOUNCES DISPARITIES IN MINORITY ACCESS TO COMPUTERS
Issue: Digital Divide
Speaking yesterday on the eve of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death
to about 500 students at Morehouse College (Dr. King's alma mater), Vice
President Al Gore called for programs to narrow the digital divide. Noting
the existence of high-paying jobs that are left unfilled because of an
inadequate training, even as "we have hundreds of thousands and millions who
have the ability, the curiosity, the desire to learn and to succeed but have
not had the opportunity and the access." The Vice President proposed a few
solutions: 1)government financed Internet computers in every classroom and
library; 2) training for teachers in the technologies and integrating tech
into their curriculums; 3)computer learning centers in needy communities
and; 4) Internet access for every household. Gore also said that the nation
should commit to a goal of every student being computer literate by the
eighth grade. Gore's remarks echoed other government officials who fear that
the computer divide may exacerbate the existing racial disparities in
education, employment and income. Though studies are showing that Internet
access is expanding rapidly, the persistent gaps in access based on income,
race, education level and region are still cause for national concern.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A12), AUTHOR: Kevin Sack]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/040400wh-dem-gore.html)

INTERNET

FOES OF INTERNET TAX BAN VOW TO FIGHT ON
Issue: Internet Taxes
Although the committee formed to investigate the issue of taxes on
sales over the Internet voted 10-8 last week to extend the ban on
Internet sales taxes for another 5 years, state and local groups
opposed to the tax ban are continuing their fight. On Friday, the
several groups, including the National Association of Counties, the
United States Conference of Mayors and the National Governors
Association will hold a news conference to criticize both the report
and the tactics of the committee's chair, Gov. James Gilmore of
Virginia. The organizations fear that banning taxes on Internet sales
will harm states and localities by reducing the revenue collected
through taxes on sales by traditional retailers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Cyber Times), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/capital/04capital.html
)

BROADBAND

HIGH-BANDWIDTH STANDARDS BEING CRAFTED
Issue: Broadband
More than 30 telecommunications and Internet companies are expected to
announce plans to establish industry standards for sending video, phone
calls and other data-intensive traffic through communications networks.
The companies are seeking to accelerate a change in the way computers
access the Internet, partly by storing high-bandwidth data content in
so-called co-location centers near Internet service providers. Nortel
Networks, AT&T's Broadband & Internet unit, NBC Internet, Qwest
Communications, Sun Microsystems, and British Telecommunications,
Akamai Technologies, Bertelsmann, and Hewlett-Packard, among other
companies, are members. The group is called the Broadband Content
Delivery Forum and will hold its first formal meeting in Orlando,
Florida next month.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: Mark Heinzl]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954797033296523157.htm)

TELEPHONY

COMPETITORS OF TELMEX SAY IT STILL ACTS LIKE A MONOPOLY
Issue: Competition
Since the former state owned Mexican telecommunications monopoly,
Tel

Communications-related Headlines for 4/3/2000

BROADCASTING
Statement on Low Power Radio (FCC)
Class A Television Service (FCC)

PRIVACY
Officials Worried Over A Sharp Rise In Identity Theft (NYT)

INTERNET/ONLINE SERVICES
Internet Tax (Senate)
AOL's Lyre? Two Words: Cash and Customers (WP)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Columbia in Web Venture To Share Learning For Profit (NYT)

PHILANTHROPY
Internet Millionaires Take a New Approach to Charity (NYT)

MERGERS
AT&T Group to Buy Net2Phone Stake In a Turning Point for
Web Telephony (WP)
Merger Approvals (FCC)

ANTITRUST
Analysts See Risk For Microsoft, But Gates Hopes To Win Appeal (NYT)

RELIGION
Wailing Wall Vs Firewalls As Rabbis Ban Web (SJM)

BROADCASTING

STATEMENT ON LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
From ???( at )??? Mon Apr 03 10:14:00 2000
Return-Path: owner-benton-compolicy( at )CDINET.COM
Delivered-To: taglang( at )enteract.com
Received: (qmail 85033 invoked from network); 3 Apr 2000 15:00:25 -0000
Received: from wx5.benton.org (HELO exchange.benton.org) (216.200.81.5)
by pop3-3.enteract.com with SMTP; 3 Apr 2000 15:00:25 -0000
Received: by wx5.benton.org with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)
id HQCV257F; Mon, 3 Apr 2000 11:07:45 -0400
Received: from periplum.cdinet.com ([198.77.80.2]) by exchange.benton.org with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Service Version 5.5.2650.21)
id HQCV2571; Mon, 3 Apr 2000 11:07:36 -0400
Received: from periplum (periplum.cdinet.com [198.77.80.2])
by periplum.cdinet.com (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id KAA25893;
Mon, 3 Apr 2000 10:58:01 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from CDINET.COM by CDINET.COM (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8d) with
spool id 56582 for BENTON-COMPOLICY( at )CDINET.COM; Mon, 3 Apr 2000
10:52:46 -0400
Received: from exchange.benton.org (wx5.benton.org [216.200.81.5]) by
periplum.cdinet.com (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id KAA25714; Mon, 3 Apr
2000 10:52:41 -0400 (EDT)
Received: by wx5.benton.org with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) id
HQCV256Y; Mon, 3 Apr 2000 10:59:35 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Approved-By: "Anderson, Rachel" rachel( at )BENTON.ORG
Message-ID: 377AFDDED85BD3118095009027A8F38D3C0E3C( at )wx5.benton.org
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 10:59:26 -0400
Reply-To: lists( at )BENTON.ORG
Sender: The Benton Communications Policy Mailing List
BENTON-COMPOLICY( at )CDINET.COM
From: "Anderson, Rachel" rachel( at )BENTON.ORG
Subject:
Comments: To: UPFORGRABS-L( at )CDINET.COM
To: BENTON-COMPOLICY( at )CDINET.COM

Communications-related Headlines is a free daily online news
service provided by the Benton Foundation. It will keep you up
to date on important industry developments, policy issues, and
other pertinent communications-related news events. This service
is available online at (www.benton.org/News/).
--------------------------------------------------------------

COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for APRIL 3, 2000

BROADCASTING
Statement on Low Power Radio (FCC)
Class A Television Service (FCC)

PRIVACY
Officials Worried Over A Sharp Rise In Identity Theft (NYT)

INTERNET/ONLINE SERVICES
Internet Tax (Senate)
AOL's Lyre? Two Words: Cash and Customers (WP)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Columbia in Web Venture To Share Learning For Profit (NYT)

PHILANTHROPY
Internet Millionaires Take a New Approach to Charity (NYT)

MERGERS
AT&T Group to Buy Net2Phone Stake In a Turning Point for
Web Telephony (WP)
Merger Approvals (FCC)

ANTITRUST
Analysts See Risk For Microsoft, But Gates Hopes To Win Appeal (NYT)

RELIGION
Wailing Wall Vs Firewalls As Rabbis Ban Web (SJM)

BROADCASTING

COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for APRIL 3, 2000

BROADCASTING
Statement on Low Power Radio (FCC)
Class A Television Service (FCC)

PRIVACY
Officials Worried Over A Sharp Rise In Identity Theft (NYT)

INTERNET/ONLINE SERVICES
Internet Tax (Senate)
AOL's Lyre? Two Words: Cash and Customers (WP)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Columbia in Web Venture To Share Learning For Profit (NYT)

PHILANTHROPY
Internet Millionaires Take a New Approach to Charity (NYT)

MERGERS
AT&T Group to Buy Net2Phone Stake In a Turning Point for
Web Telephony (WP)
Merger Approvals (FCC)

ANTITRUST
Analysts See Risk For Microsoft, But Gates Hopes To Win Appeal (NYT)

RELIGION
Wailing Wall Vs Firewalls As Rabbis Ban Web (SJM)

BROADCASTING

STATEMENT ON LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
Today's action by the House Commerce Committee would eliminate 75% of the
opportunities for schools, churches, transit authorities, local governments,
volunteer fire departments and other community and civic groups to have
access to the public's airwaves. Those who want to silence Low Power FM
radio are ignoring a strong, substantive, methodically-developed, two-year
public record replete with solid engineering analysis. As someone who began
my career in college radio, I would never authorize or approve a new radio
service that causes harmful interference to existing broadcasters. The only
real interference to Low Power FM radio is from high priced Washington
lobbyists.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/2000/stwek025.html)
See Also:
SUPPORT OF LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
The National Association of Broadcasters has been making misguided and
misleading claims about interference that low power radio will cause.
Congress is currently considering legislation that would end the FCC's new
low power radio service. This bill, entitled the "Radio Preservation Act of
1999," would reverse the FCC's decision to establish a low power radio
service and prevent the FCC from considering the issue again in the future.
A mark-up of this legislation is scheduled in the House Commerce Committee
on Tuesday, March 28. Find out more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/urgactn.html)

CLASS A TELEVISION SERVICE
Issue: Television
From Press Release: The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules
establishing a Class A television service. Class A licenses will be
available to qualifying low- power television ("LPTV") licensees. Class A
licensees will, in many respects, have "primary" status as television
broadcasters, thereby gaining a measure of protection from full-service
television stations. The Report and Order implements the Community
Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 ("CBPA"), which was signed into law
November 29, 1999. The CBPA requires the Commission, within 120 days after
the date of enactment, to prescribe regulations establishing a Class A
television service available to licensees of qualifying low-power television
("LPTV") stations. The CBPA directs that Class A licensees be subject to the
same license terms and renewal standards as full-power television licensees,
and that Class A licensees be accorded primary status as television
broadcasters as long as they continue to meet the requirements set forth in
the statute for qualifying low-power stations. In addition to other matters,
the CBPA sets out certain certification and application procedures for
low-power television licensees seeking to obtain Class A status, prescribes
the criteria low-power stations must meet to be eligible for a Class A
license, and outlines the interference protection Class A applicants must
provide to full power analog (or "NTSC") and digital television stations
("DTV"), LPTV, and TV translator stations.
Mass Media Bureau Contacts: Kim Matthews - Service Rules (202) 418-2210
Keith Larson - Engineering (202) 418-2600
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2000/nrmm0006.html)

PRIVACY

OFFICIALS WORRIED OVER A SHARP RISE IN IDENTITY THEFT
Issue: Privacy
Law enforcement officials and consumer advocates are warning that the
Internet and Web sites that sell personal information are making it easier
for thieves to acquire credit, make purchases and even secure residences in
someone else's name. They are calling identity theft the signature crime of
the digital age. The Social Security Administration received 30,000
complaints about misuse of Social Security numbers last year -- up from
11,000 in 1998 and just 7,868 in 1997. "The Internet allows these criminals
to work anonymously and from all over the world," aid Gregory Regan, head of
the Secret Service's financial crimes division. "We don't think that people
should be afraid of using the Internet, but all of this enthusiasm should be
tempered with a little bit of caution."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Timpthy O'Brien (we think)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/03theft.html)
See Also:
WEB PRIVACY GROUP TO OFFER A SEAL OF APPROVAL
[SOURCE: New York Times (C8), AUTHOR: Laurie Flynn]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/03priv.html)
E-WORLD: NET'S TOUGH QUESTION: COULD YOU SHOW ME SOME ID, PLEASE?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Thomas E. Weber]
(http://www.wsj.com)
WEB'S DESIGN HINDERS GOALS OF USER PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: David P. Hamilton]
(http://www.wsj.com)

INTERNET/ONLINE SERVICES

INTERNET TAX
Issue: Legislation
Full Senate Commerce Committee hearing set for Wednesday, April 12, at 9:30
a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senator McCain will
preside. Members will examine S.2255, a bill to extend the Internet tax
moratorium for five years. Witnesses will be announced at a later time.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-149.html)

AOL'S LURE? TWO WORDS: CASH AND CUSTOMERS
Issue: Ecommerce
Why are fledgling companies so keen to hitch their wagons to AOL? Well,
because not only because AOL has a customer base of 22 million people,
it is also more than willing to make deals with startups that it see as
promising. AOL will trade venture funds and space in their universe for
equity in the startups. Currently the value of AOL's investments is more
than $2 billion. If a start up is willing to give AOL equity in its company,
the startup is rewarded with a lower promotional fee. This practice is not
without its critics. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) recently asked the chairs
of both AOL and its potential partner, media giant Time Warner, if the
equity-for-promotion deal doesn't violate a 1992 law preventing cable
companies for requiring that channels give the operator equity as a
condition of appearing on their networks. Steve Case, AOL's chairman,
responded that the two situations are not analogous, because while space on
a cable network is finite, the Internet is not. While AOL promotes its
partners to its subscribers, it does not block those who choose not to
partner with it.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B12), AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield]
(http://www.wsj.com)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

COLUMBIA IN WEB VENTURE TO SHARE LEARNING FOR PROFIT
Issue: Intellectual Property
Columbia University, the New York Public Library, the British Library, the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, the London
School of Economics and Political Science and Cambridge University Press are
set to announce a for-profit venture (Fathom.com) to provide knowledge in
its broadest forms -- classes taught by prominent academics, reference
books, interviews and documents -- using new media technologies. "We want to
make sure that our core intellectual capital is not picked off by outside
for-profit vendors," said George E. Rupp, Columbia's president. "But for
that, we have to be able to say to our faculty that we will devise ways they
can communicate with a wider audience, which many of them would like." "The
idea of bringing together universities, libraries and museums -- the
cultural repositories of the world -- and making them available through the
Internet is important," said Gene DeRose, chairman of Jupiter
Communications, an Internet research company based in New York. "I have not
seen anything like it."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A22), AUTHOR: Karen Arenson]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/03web.html)

PHILANTHROPY

INTERNET MILLIONAIRES TAKE A NEW APPROACH TO CHARITY
Issue: Philanthropy
Until recently, charities have found it much harder to raise money from the
new millionaires of Silicon Valley than from more traditional sources of
wealth. But there are signs that the high tech elite is beginning to reach
into its pockets more freely, including the $100 million gift by James
Barksdale, former chief executive of Netscape Communications, to improve
reading in his native Mississippi. And just this year, Bill Gates added more
than $5 billion dollars to his charitable foundation. Additionally,
contributions to the San Francisco Foundation, a major Bay Area charity, are
up 300 percent from a year ago. High tech philanthropists, however, have a
new approach to charity. They want to incorporate their business ideas into
their giving. For some contributors this means bringing
Internet access to public schools and poor neighborhoods. For others, it is
spreading the gospel of entrepreneurship as a force for social change. One
example is Flatiron, a venture firm, founded by Fred Wilson and Jerry
Colonna in 1996. The firm will invest in for-profit businesses with socially
redeeming goals, such as ventures that expand access to capital for women,
minorities and others who have not traditionally had access to capital.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/03neco.html)

MERGERS

AT&T GROUP TO BUY NET2PHONE STAKE IN A TURNING POINT FOR WEB TELEPHONY
Issue: Merger
AT&T together with two other companies will buy a 39 percent stake in
Net2Phone, the fast growing Intertnet telephone company. AT&T beat out such
companies as America Online for control. AOL had considered expanding its 5
percent stake into a majority portion. The deal hints that Internet
telephone technology is coming of age after being derided by traditional
telephone companies for providing scratchy and spotty service. Commenting on
the deal, C. Michael Armstrong, AT&T's chairman, said "we acknowledge that
this technology is going to be pervasive on the Internet." Adding, "You
could say that we wanted to participate in the leadership of this technology
rather than chase it."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B12), AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein]
(http://www.wsj.com)

MERGER APPROVALS
Issue: Mergers
From Press Release: The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless
Telecommunications and International Bureaus have granted approval for Bell
Atlantic Corporation (Bell Atlantic) and Vodafone AirTouch, Plc (Vodafone),
a U.K. corporation, to transfer control of or their U.S. wireless licenses
and authorizations to Cellco Partnership (Cellco). The bureaus also have
approved the transfer of control of licenses and authorizations from Aerial
Communications, Inc.(Aerial) to VoiceStream Wireless Corporation
(VoiceStream). The bureaus concluded that these transactions do not present
competitive concerns. Rather, the creation of two new national wireless
competitors likely will result in a various number of public interest
benefits.
Cellco will be the vehicle for Bell Atlantic and Vodafone to form a
domestic, nationwide wireless business that will combine their cellular,
PCS, paging, and other wireless properties in the United States. According
to the applicants, the combination of their domestic wireless operations
will result in Cellco having the capability of serving more than 90 percent
of the U.S., 49 of the top 50 wireless markets, and 209 million people,
making Cellco one of the largest wireless providers in the country. The
companies also state that they intend to initiate "national-one-rate"
service to compete with current national service providers.
The combination of VoiceStream and Aerial, according to the applicants, will
bring together two major providers of GSM services in the U.S., creating one
of the largest wireless carriers in the country by population covered and
one of the largest entities in the world employing GSM technology. Last
month, the Commission approved the applications involved in VoiceStream's
acquisition of Omnipoint, another major GSM carrier in the United States.
VoiceStream's acquisition of Aerial will further enable international
roaming throughout the 133 countries that have adopted a GSM standard. The
combination of VoiceStream, Omnipoint, and Aerial creates a combined company
that will hold licenses for areas covering more than 200 million people in
the U.S., which the applicants state will facilitate creation of a seamless
national network capable of competing with other established nationwide
competitors.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/2000/nrwl0011.html)

ANTITRUST

ANALYSTS SEE RISK FOR MICROSOFT, BUT GATES HOPES TO WIN APPEAL
Issue: Antitrust
Settlement talks in the Microsoft case have collapsed and that's probably
not good news for the software giant. "Microsoft is now back in the legal
quagmire, and nothing good is going to happen to the company anytime soon,"
said David Readerman, a managing director at Thomas Weisel Partners, a
technology investment firm. But Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates believes
the company will ultimately prevail in the case. In part, Microsoft's future
may hinge on the Presidential race: Gov George W. Bush (R-TX) has said he
believes antitrust enforcement should be confined mainly to combating price
fixing.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr & John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/03soft.html)
See Also:
ANTITRUST ALLIANCE NOT QUITE SOLID
[SOURCE: New York Times (A18), AUTHOR: Joel "What About Digital TV?"
Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/03trus.html)
MICROSOFT ALLIES URGED GATES TO STRIKE A DEAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: James V. Grimaldi]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63493-2000Apr2.html)

RELIGION

WAILING WALL VS FIREWALLS AS RABBIS BAN WEB
Issue: Religion
An Ultra-Orthodox rabbinic court has ruled that surfing the Web is a
dangerous pratice and is thus forbidden. The Institute of Science and
Halacha (Jewish law), which is devoted to determining how Jewish Law fits
into modern society by ruling on such issues as how to properly pray on the
moon, and what it takes to make a submarine Sabbath-compliant.
Unfortunately, the ban has been enacted because the Institute has been
unable to come up with a filter sensitive enough to keep out all
objectionable content. "We have seen what we are liable to get to by surfing
the Web," Rabbi Levy Yitzkak Halperin head of the Institue said. "To my
great regret and heartache the world is truly licentious today. There are no
limits. Anything goes." Ban or not, some of the pious will keep on surfing.
Arnie Sleutelberg, a Detroit-area rabbi is against the ban. "The Internet
is an incredible tool and has the potential to reveal great things,
including making religious materials...available to many," Sleutelberg said.
"Of course, like just about anything in our world, it can be used and
abused, so we have to careful that it doesn't become a tool for negative
things, or to bring darkness into the world. It has the potential to bring a
lot of light."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: BRADLEY BURSTON (REUTERS)]
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/382849l.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 3/31/00

BROADCASTING
Static Over Low-Powered Radio (NYT)
Markup Session: LPFM/Rural Television (House)
Cable ahead of Networks in Minority Programming (USA)
Coalition of Marketers Push for 'Family Friendly' Prime-Time TV
(NYT)

INTERNET
Pirated Copies of King E-Book are Distributed (WSJ)
Web Tax Panel Falls Short of Goal (WP)
Judge Says Old Rule on Libel Suits Applies Online (NYT)
Yahoo! Says FTC Asked For Information on How Firm Collects
Consumer Data (WSJ)

WIRELESS
FCC Approves Creation Of Mobile-Phone Giants (WP)
BT and Microsoft Include AT&T in Wireless Pact (WSJ)

BROADCASTING

STATIC OVER LOW-POWERED RADIO
Issue: Radio
A House committee has passed legislation this week that could undermine
the Federal Communications Commission's plan to allow schools, churches
and other community groups to set up low-powered FM radio stations.
With a new class of non-commercial licenses, the FCC has given
nonprofit groups a chance to communicate with audiences living within a few
miles of the radio station. Broadcasters have charged that the low-
powered stations will interfere with existing broadcast signals.
However, the commission says that exhaustive engineering studies prove
that there will be, at worst, minimal interference. If wrong, Chairman
Kennard has said he is prepared to move quickly if existing radio stations
are degraded. "To fulfill that promise, the commission needs to require
low-powered stations that interfere with existing broadcasters to
eliminate the interference or shut down," say the authors. "Then
the broadcasters would have nothing to fear from the commission's
plan other than healthy competition from local groups who think
they have something neighbors want to hear."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A28), AUTHOR: New York Times ]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/31fri2.html)

MARKUP SESSION: LPFM/RURAL TELEVISION
Issue: Legislation
Markup actions and amendments to H.R. 3615, The Rural Local Broadcast
Signal Act and H.R. 3439, The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-
notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/a307cd824841bb16852568b1006d8a81?OpenDocument)
See Also:
BLILEY STATEMENT ON LOW POWER FM RADIO, AND RURAL LOCAL BROADCAST
SIGNAL BILLS
(http://com-
notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/eadde0fa3359c86b852568b10065da27?OpenDocument)

CABLE AHEAD OF NETWORKS IN MINORITY PROGRAMMING
Issue: Television/Cable
In the wake of recent NAACP protests and the Brownout of last year,
movie studios have found ways to appeal to the Latino audience, but
television has done far less. Similarly, cable networks are ahead of
broadcast television networks in their number of shows with black cast
members. While the current landscape is bleak, change is in the
air: CBS has a pilot, called American Family, which stars Edward James
Olmos as a community lawyer, and featuring Esai Morales. HBO began shooting
The Arturo Sandoval Story, the biography of the Cuban jazz trumpeter.
It stars and is produced by Andy Garcia. HBO also has a documentary in
the works called Americanos: Latino Life in the United States. Showtime
is working on a family movie and a series called Resurrection Blvd,
about an East Los Angeles Latino family with a legacy
of professional boxing. Most Latinos (75%) already watch the Spanish-
language networks Univision and Telemundo, making it difficult for
broadcasters to attract them as an audience without similar quality
programming. Combined, the six broadcast networks bring in only half of
the prime-time audience brought in by the two Spanish channels, according
to TN Media analyst Stacey Lynn Koerner.
[SOURCE: USA Today AUTHOR: Gary Levin]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000331/2093415s.htm)

COALITION OF MARKETERS PUSH FOR 'FAMILY FRIENDLY' PRIME-TIME TV
Issue: Advertising
A coalition of marketers known as the Family Friendly Programming
Forum is attempting to generate more "family friendly" programming
during prime-time on television said representatives of the companies
involved. The coalition include such advertising
giants as AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor, General
Motors, Gillette, I.B.M., Kellogg, McDonald's, and Procter & Gamble.
"We're not saying everything should be sweet all the time," said J.
Andrea Alstrup, vice president for advertising at Johnson & Johnson.
"We're saying that in the early hours of prime-time, up to 10 o'clock,
there's a need for entertainment that people can enjoy together,
intergenerationally." Some, however, question whether the programs
produced under the collation's auspices may be more suitable for
viewers of the 20th century than the 21st.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: New York Times Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/columns/033100tv-adcol.html)

INTERNET

WEB TAX PANEL FALLS SHORT OF GOAL
Issue: Internet Taxes
(In a shocking surprise)The Advisory Commission on Internet Commerce,
the group formed to study the problem of taxes on online sales, was
unable to come up with a resolution to the problem as it held its final
meeting yesterday. The best the group could do was recommend extending
the existing moratorium on new Internet taxes for another five years
and that states simplify their tax structures. The 19 member commission
required a super-majority of 13 of its members to approve any real
recommendations. However, the committee was so divided
that this was not a possibility. Instead, a simple majority of the
group voted yesterday to approve the report. Virginia Gov. James S.
Gilmore III (R), the commission's chairman, will deliver the report to
Congress on April 12.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48719-2000Mar30.html)
See Also:
INTERNET TAX PANEL TO ASK CONGRESS TO EXTEND BAN FOR 5 YEARS
[SOURCE: New York Times (C5), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/31tax.htm)

JUDGE SAYS OLD RULE ON LIBEL SUITS APPLIES ONLINE
Issue: Law Online
In most states, if an individual wants to bring a libel suit against
someone it must be done within a year of the publication date of the
alleged libelous material. However, the age of the World Wide Web has
caused some to question the validity of this statute of limitations.
Material posted to the Web stays there for a very long time, if not
forever. Does this negate the idea of the one-year limit? A suit in New
York State forced Judge Francis T. Collins of the state's Court of
Claims to examine the question. Collins ruled that Web publications are
not exempt from the one-year rule. The plaintiff in the case argued
that since a Web site can be changed every day, it is actually
published anew each day. The court found that there was no difference
between something published and left on the Web and a print publication
that is kept on file in a library.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Cyber Times), AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/cyber/cyberlaw/31law.html)

YAHOO! SAYS FTC ASKED FOR INFORMATION ON HOW FIRM COLLECTS CONSUMER
DATA
Issue: Privacy
Yahoo has been asked by the Federal Trade Commission to explain how it
collects consumer information. "We've been contacted by the FTC and
asked to help them understand certain of our data-collection
practices," said Diane Hunt, a Yahoo spokeswoman. Yahoo's GeoCities,
the online "community" it bought in May, is subject to a consent decree
reached with the FTC that prohibits it from collecting certain types of
data from consumers. The FTC's inquires were sparked by a January
report from the California Heathcare Foundation that singled out a
number of health-related sites for poor privacy policies. While Yahoo
played down the impact of the federal inquiry, they did warn, in a
government filing, that efforts by regulators to curb its business
practices could affect its operations.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A4), AUTHOR: Jerry Guidera]
(ttp://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954445744238838529.htm)

PIRATED COPIES OF KING E-BOOK ARE DISTRIBUTED
Issue: Internet
Two hackers downloaded software used to read Stephen King's new
exclusive e-book and managed to break the encryption code, distributing
pirated copies to about six Web sites and chat groups. The encryption
software was designed to stop more than one customer from having access
to each electronic copy sold. The incident confirms publisher's fears
about the ability to distribute books on the Web. "All the publishers
are well aware there is no perfect technical solution to this problem,"
said Len Kawell of Glassbook. Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon &
Schuster, played down security concerns, "This was limited to a handful
of people from what we understand." Most of the sites distributing the
pirated copy of the book have been shut down.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B7), AUTHOR: Matthew Rose]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954465411569087773.htm)

WIRELESS

FCC APPROVES CREATION OF MOBILE-PHONE GIANTS
Issue: Mergers
A really big wireless company was created yesterday as the Federal
Communications Commission approved the merger of Bell Atlantic's
wireless division and Vodafone AirTouch. The new company will have 20
million customers and a possibility of 3 million more if regulators
approve Bell Atlantic's merger with GTE. Scott Cleland, an analyst with
Legg Mason Precursor Group, described the new company in no uncertain
terms: "We now have a bona fide Bigfoot in the wireless industry," he
said. The FCC yesterday also approved VoiceStream Wireless' takeover of
Aerial Communications. The announcement comes as SBC Communications and
BellSouth are engaged in talks that are expected to be finalized soon.
The wireless companies are merging at a frantic rate, in efforts to
increase their scope so that they can offer the possibility of reduced
"roaming" rates for calls outside of a customer's home network, and
also so that the companies can offer reliable data services such as
email, and instant text messages, over their phones.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48759-2000Mar30.html)
See Also:
FCC CLEARS MERGER OF WIRELESS FOR 2 MAJOR DEALS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen and Nicole
Harris]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954465877372787351.htm)

BT AND MICROSOFT INCLUDE AT&T IN WIRELESS PACT
Issue: Wireless
British Telecomm (BT) and Microsoft have brought AT&T into an alliance
that is focused on new high-speed mobile Internet technologies.
According to a Yankee Group report, one billion mobile Internet access
devices will be in use around the world by 2003. The alliance's
proposed offering would allow subscribers to access their e-mail,
calendar and address books, in addition to playing games, listening to
music and reading electronic books - all via their cell phone.
Microsoft will provide the software to run the services and build
wireless applications in cooperation with the carriers. The addition of
AT&T to the alliance will more than double the alliance's base of
subscribers, to 48 million in 15 countries.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Kevin Delaney]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954411093913707743.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 3/30/00

BROADBAND
AT&T Boosts Control Over Excite's Board (WP)

INTERNET
6 Health Plans Are Developing Online Venture (NYT)
DTV Digital-TV Panel Shows Willingness to Alter Industry Technical
Standard (WSJ)

ACCESSIBILITY
New Help for Disabled Math Students (NYT)

MERGERS
BellSouth, SBC Near Final Stages Of Talks to Merge Wireless Units
(WSJ)
Italy's Fininvest Charts Internet Course With IPO for Unit,
Challenges Merger (WSJ)

BROADBAND

AT&T BOOSTS CONTROL OVER EXCITE'S BOARD
Issue: Broadband
In a move meant to prop up Excite( at )Home, AT&T announced
yesterday that it has strengthened its control over the company and
that Excite's place within its empire is secure for the next eight
years. AT&T plans to use its cable television network, the largest in
the country, to offer high speed Internet access and is in a good position
to maintain Excite's existence. With AT&T now in control of the board,
Excite's fortunes seem better to investors, causing the company's stock
to jump nearly 10 percent yesterday. However, AT&T's control has
renewed concerns about open access. While AT&T has pledged to allow its
cable customers to be able to choose their own Internet service
provider, it has also stated that Excite At Home's Web portal will
continue to appear prominently on the first screen that customers see
when they log on. This drew criticism from Greg Simon, co-director of
the OpenNET coalition, a consortium of Internet service providers that
has lobbied to force AT&T to share its cable system with rivals. "That
is not open access," Simon said. "That will drive the [Federal
Communications Commission] crazy."
[SOURCE: The Washington Post (E2), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40601-2000Mar29.html)
See Also:
AT&T ACTS TO GAIN CONTROL OF EXCITE FROM CABLE FIRMS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein, Don
Clark, Leslie Cauley]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954337370394065992.htm)
AT&T TAKES FULL CONTROL OF AT HOME CABLE VENTURE
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schisel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/30cable.htm
l)

INTERNET

6 HEALTH PLANS ARE DEVELOPING ONLINE VENTURE
Issue: Health/Internet
Several of the biggest health insurers are developing an online project
in an attempt to prevent Internet Web sites from usurping their
relationships with patients and doctors. The insurers -- Aetna U.S.
Healthcare, the Cigna Corporation, WellPoint Health Systems, Oxford
Health Plans, Foundation Health Systems and PacifiCare Health System -
- hope the project will make it easier for patients to enroll in health
plans and choose doctors and hospitals by allowing them to do it
online. The new initiative, tentatively called MedUnite, pits these
insurers against Healtheon/WebMD, the largest Internet health care
company. It is also hoped that the project can smooth relations with
disaffected physicians by speeding communications through use of the
Internet. "The health plan companies want to stake out their claim.
They have very important relationships with doctors and patients and
lots of data and information that they have aggregated," said Ed Kroll,
a health care analyst at SG Cowen. "They want to be participants in
this connectivity process, rather than risk being left out of the
loops."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Milt Freudenheim]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/30health.ht
ml)

ACCESSIBILITY

NEW HELP FOR DISABLED MATH STUDENTS
Issue: Accessibility/EdTech
For individuals with visual or physical impairments, doing advanced
math can be nearly impossible because of the difficulty of converting
Braille or the spoken word into equations on paper. Henry Gray, a
professor of statistics and mathematics at Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, is creating software that aids the disabled
by allowing them to accept and read back mathematical symbols and
commands. Dr. Gray's software works in combination with other programs
to translate mathematical voice commands into corresponding expressions
on the computer and to help perform the computations. "There's a need
for this kind of software," said Richard Ring, supervisor of the
International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, a division
of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore. "There aren't as
many people in the sciences in general because of the difficulty in
representing math in Braille."
[SOURCE: New York Times (E6), AUTHOR: Catherine Greenman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/circuits/articles/30math.htm
l)

DTV

DIGITAL-TV PANEL SHOWS WILLINGNESS TO ALTER INDUSTRY TECHNICAL STANDARD
Issue: DTV
In a win for the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the Advanced Television
Systems Committee (ATSC) has agreed to form a task force to review the
technical standards involved in the reception of digital signals.
Sinclair Broadcasting has complained for over a year to the ATSC and
FCC that the existing digital transmission standard can't be received
in dense urban areas and in moving vehicles. This disappoints the many
TV stations that are looking to offer mobile data services after they
convert to digital signals. If the digital TV technical rules change,
the 10,000 consumers who have already purchased digital TV receivers,
and the broadcasters who have started transmitting digital signals,
may be forced to replace or supplement their equipment. General Electric's
NBC and Walt Disney's ABC recently joined Sinclair in urging the ATSC
for a technical review. A review doesn't guarantee that a change in
technical standards will take place. It's the Federal Communications
Commission that ultimately decides digital TV technical rules. The
FCC adopted the current standard based on ATSC's recommendations in 1996.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B2), AUTHOR: Evan Ramstad]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB95436949566992861.htm)

MERGERS

BELLSOUTH, SBC NEAR FINAL STAGES OF TALKS TO MERGE WIRELESS UNITS
Issue: Merger
BellSouth and SBC could announce a deal which would merge the two
companies' wireless businesses as soon as next week. If completed, the
merger would create a wireless company with around 16.5 million
customers, making it second in size only to the pending venture of
Vodaphone AirTouch and Bell Atlantic, which will have more than 20
million customers. Wireless companies have sought to increase their
scope through mergers and joint ventures. The added reach of the
networks, they say, reduces the amount customers pay in "roaming" fees,
which are calls outside their home networks. The BellSouth/SBC merger
would create a network that covers a large portion of the country,
including 40 of the top 50 markets.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: Nicole Harris]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954374685784098118.htm)

ITALY'S FININVEST CHARTS INTERNET COURSE WITH IPO FOR UNIT, CHALLENGES
MERGER
Issue: Merger
Europe's $25.9 billion merger between the Italian Web portal Pagine
Gialle and the Internet access unit of Telcom Italia is facing a legal
challenge from Fininvest, the media empire controlled by Silvio
Berlusconi, who claims that the pending merger unfairly restricts
competition. The legal challenge comes on the heels of Fininvest's
announcement to expand Jumpy, the group's Internet business, into a
pan-European Web powerhouse. Plans call for Jumpy to be transformed
into a full-service Italian-language Web portal over the oncoming
months, soon followed by a Spanish-language, German-language and
French-language Jumpy portal. Fininvest already operates in Spain
through Telecinco, a Spanish TV network it controls, and has a joint-
venture agreement with the German media giant Kirch Group.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A24), AUTHOR: Yaroslav Trofimov]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954338932428026883.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Benton

Search

Benton

Daily Digest

Analysis

Benton RSS Feed

Communications-related Headlines for 4/12/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/11/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/10/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/7/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/6/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/5/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/4/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 4/3/2000

Communications-related Headlines for 3/31/00

Communications-related Headlines for 3/30/00