Benton RSS Feed

Phone Regulation
FCC Halts Ameritech-Qwest Deal While It Reviews Legality
(TelecomAM)
Bell Atlantic to Ask FCC to Declare Internet Traffic
Interstate (TelecomAM)

Internet
Differences Over Privacy On the Internet (NYT)
China and Net Are Odd Bedfellows (CyberTimes)

Nonprofits
A Closer Look at Nonprofits (ChiTrib)

Minorities/Jobs
Testing for Discrimination Gains Wider Acceptance (WSJ)

Computers
A Push for Kid's Computer Literacy (CyberTimes)
Microsoft Delays Release of Windows NT Revamp (WSJ)

Cable
Cable Internet Access Coming to Alexandria (WP)

Advertising
Advertising: Lowe & Partners/SMS Will Promote
Commercials for CBS (NYT)

** Phone Regulation **

Title: FCC Halts Ameritech-Qwest Deal While It Reviews Legality
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: The Federal Communications Commission has ordered local phone
giant Ameritech to stop enrolling its customers for Qwest's long distance
service and to cease marketing Qwest's service for 90 days. The FCC will
investigate if the arrangement is legal. The FCC said that said it had to
stop the joint marketing deal "before there are any lasting effects."

Title: Bell Atlantic to Ask FCC to Declare Internet Traffic Interstate
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Internet/Telephone Regulation
Description: Bell Atlantic regulatory officials Ed Young and Thomas Tauke
announced at a news conference yesterday that the local phone giant will ask
the Commission to declare that Internet traffic is interstate, and not
subject to the reciprocal compensation rules of other local traffic. Bell
Atlantic and other Baby Bells content that the current rules favor new
telephone companies: "new local entrants that serve Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) receive more money from incumbents for terminating calls to
the ISPs than they pay for transferring traffic to the incumbents' networks,
because ISPs receive a great deal of traffic but send comparatively little
back to the incumbent," TelecomAm reports. Bell Atlantic reports that it
receives just 1 minute of Internet traffic for every 7 minutes that it sends
to ISPs served by its competitors; it will pay $150 to $200 million more in
reciprocal compensation than it will receive this year. Bell Atlantic argues
that new entrants have less incentive to win local customers because they
would lose the ISP reciprocal compensation and ISPs are discouraged from
using high-speed networks because they are "rewarded" for using the old
network.

** Internet **

Title: Differences Over Privacy On the Internet
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/biztech/articles/01privacy.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Privacy
Description: Growth of electronic commerce over the Internet may be slowed
by differences between European and American governments' approaches to
privacy. The Clinton Administration favors self-regulation of industry while
the European Union is toughening laws which restrict the ability of
businesses to collect personal information without an individual's
permission. After reviewing new Internet browser privacy standards -- the
Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) and the Open Profiling Standard (OPS) --
the EU's Working Party on the Protection of Individuals' Personal Data
issued a report criticizing the technology stating "We believe technology
has a role to play in enhancing privacy protection, but we have some
concerns about seeing technology as the magic bullet." The technology, the
Committee recommends, still needs to be applied within a framework of
enforceable laws.

Title: China and Net Are Odd Bedfellows
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/cyber/articles/01china.html
Author: Matt Richtel
Issue: Censorship/Access
Description: The Chinese government is working to portray itself as more
permissive of "expression and the free flow of information these days," and
some outsiders believe that the Internet is partially responsible. They say
that the growth of the Internet has made it almost impossible for the
government to restrict information flow to the degree it has in the past.
But in reality, the Internet has left the Chinese government with conflicted
feelings. "On one hand the government has made it a criminal offense to use
the Internet to access or spread anti-government information, a law that
wields symbolic power, even if it's not easily enforceable. On the other,
China is desperate to participate in the high-tech revolution and is eager
to put the engine of the new economy into citizens' hands." David Brooks,
director of international product strategy for Microsoft Corp., predicts
that "within a couple of years, the aggregate consumption of PC's in China
will be among the highest in the world." But access to the Internet, as in
much of the world, is lagging. In part, this is because China's telephone
infrastructure is sorely lacking and thus creating a serious barrier to
Internet access. For a better idea of China's current infrastructure, here
are some comparative numbers according to the World Competitiveness Report:
for every 1,000 residents in China, there are 55 phone lines, compared to
626 in the United States, 182 in Russia or 451 in South Korea.

** Nonprofits **

Title: A Closer Look at Nonprofits
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.28)
http://chicago.tribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9807010327,00....
Author: Chicago Trib Editorial Staff
Issue: Nonprofits
Description: A new survey of 441 nonprofits in Illinois by the Illinois
Facilities Fund and the Donors Forum finds that half of their income -- more
than $20 billion -- comes from government contracts and grants. The survey
is part of an effort led by Independent Sector, an organization that works
on behalf of the philanthropic community, to encourage more charitable
giving, volunteering, and support for policies that favor nonprofits. Rep
Philip Crane (R-IL) has sponsored the Charitable Giving Relief Act, a bill
that "would allow taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on their tax
returns to deduct 50 percent of their annual charitable contributions in
excess of $500. Supporters estimate that the measure -- which would cost the
U.S. Treasury $12.1 billion over five years -- would generate $16.5 billion
in giving over that time, including $762 million in Illinois. It's a
tradeoff that may be worth considering." Nonprofits are trying to follow
business by streamlining operations and diversifying funding. "Still, these
organizations aren't businesses. Part of their value and appeal is that they
are driven by a sense of mission rather than by money. Their diverse scope
allows citizens of all persuasions an opportunity to act on their ideals and
convictions. Any effort that illuminates their unique contributions and as
well as their needs is valuable."

** Minorities/Jobs **

Title: Testing for Discrimination Gains Wider Acceptance
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Leon E. Wynter
Issue: Minorities/Jobs
Description: The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has
launched a pilot project to compare how two -- so-called matched-pair
testers -- investigators of differing skin colors and posing as consumers
are treated. The project will monitor hiring in Washington D.C. and Chicago.
Critics say that setting up fake encounters, rather than looking at
statistical data, is equivalent to entrapment. "In many ways, testing is a
more intrusive approach in that you have people going into the workplace,
initiating the process, without any intention of working for you," says
William Milani, an attorney with Epstein Becker & Green, New York. "That's
what employers find troublesome." But the EEOC says it is counting on the
cooperation of most businesses. "We're hopeful that a responsible testing
program will support the companies that do what they can to avoid
discrimination and help us find those who are not," says action EEOC
Chairman Paul Igasaki.

** Computers **

Title: A Push for Kid's Computer Literacy
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/cyber/education/01education.html
Author: Rebecca Mendels
Issue: Computer Literacy
Description: A panel of experts in technology and education have suggested a
new set of standards on what young students should know about computers and
other devices. The group is recommending that children as young as four
years old being to learn such high-tech basics as how to use a keyboard and
a mouse. Critics of the proposal say that children have plenty of time later
in their academic life to learn about technology and that early exposure may
do more harm than good. The new guidelines were recently published by the
International Society for Technology in Education, a professional
organization of about 44,000 technology teachers, school district technology
coordinators and education professors. The suggested standards are part of a
larger, ongoing project, the National Educational Technology Standards
Project, which will eventually develop guidelines on related issues such as
how teachers can "weave" technology use into their curriculum. You can
access the International Society for Technology In Education's Web site at:
http://www.iste.org/

Title: Microsoft Delays Release of Windows NT Revamp
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3,A6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank
Issue: Software
Description: The Microsoft Corp said it would postpone delivery of a second
test version of its Windows NT operating system, a product said to be
pivotal in shaping Microsoft's success in taking over big corporate
computing jobs. The software giant wouldn't disclose a date for shipping the
final product, but analysts predict that the decision would delay shipment
from three to six months.

** Cable **

Title: Cable Internet Access Coming to Alexandria
Source: Washington Post (C11,C14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-07/01/055l-070198-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Cable
Description: At Home Corp., a Redwood City, Calif.-based company owned by
Tele-Communications Inc., which is being acquired by AT&T Corp., announced
Tuesday that it would bring high-speed Internet access and "proprietary"
news and information service to Alexandria, VA cable TV subscribers later
this year. During yesterday's announcement, At Home Chief Executive Thomas
A. Jermoluk had harsh words for America Online Chairman Steve Case, who
suggested last week that cable operators be required to let competitors hook
into their networks, similar to local phone companies. Steve Case said he
was "confident that under AT&T's ownership, TCI's cable infrastructure will
be opened up so we and others can purchase broadband connectivity wholesale
and make it available to our online customers." Case added: "We look forward
to entering into a broadband reseller agreement with AT&T once the merger
with TCI is complete." Case'e comments "certainly do nothing but [anger]
cable operators such as ourselves," said Thomas Jermoluk. "If he expects up
to put in all this plant and upgrade our capacity and provide broadband
high-speed access to him without him sharing any of his revenue with us,
he's nuts. Nobody wants to become a dumb pipe in this equation." The higher
speeds offered by At Home will allow it to provide the customer with
something AOL cannot: custom video and audio services, including TV - and
radio - like updates from Bloomberg News and CNN.

** Advertising **

Title: Advertising: Lowe & Partners/SMS Will Promote Commercials for CBS
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/brands-ad-column.html
Author: Stuart Elliott
Issue: Advertising
Description: Out to gain a younger audience, CBS launched a new series of
promotional commercials over the last two weeks. The ads are to convince
viewers that CBS loves television as much as any other network. One ad
depicts make-believe mobsters caught on surveillance camera outside a
"Goodfellas"-type social club discussing how much they like CBS programs.
Disney's ABC is dropping last year's campaign "TV is good" for a less
cynical "We love TV" for this season.
********
Altogether now: "TV is GOOD and WE LOVE IT!"

Education/Minorities
Racial College-Degree Gap Is Still Wide (WSJ)
Women, Blacks Gain in Educational Levels (WP)

Internet
We, the People of the Internet (NYT)
Group Weighs Need for Rules For Internet (WSJ)
Privacy From Whom? (WP)
Ideas Whose Time Has Come for Free Access (WP)

Radio/Television
Kennard Concerned About Rep Remarks (B&C)
Low Marks for Kids TV (B&C)
Prime Time for Documentaries (B&C)

Mergers
Media Convergence (NYT)

** Education/Minorities **

Title: Racial College-Degree Gap Is Still Wide
Source: Wall Street Journal (A2)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Christina Duff
Issue: Education/Minorities
Description: New data released by the Census Bureau shows that the gap
between the numbers of African Americans and whites who earn college
degrees, though narrowing, remains relatively wide. In 1987, census data
reported that about 23 percent of white adults aged 25 to 29 earned at least
a bachelors degree, compared with 11 percent of African Americans. Now ten
years later, more people in both groups are earning their college degrees,
but the gap still remains. Data from 1997 shows that 29 percent of whites
had obtained college degrees compared with 14 percent of African Americans.
At the same time, among young adults aged 25 to 29 who have earned high
school diplomas, the gap has disappeared. As of 1997, over 85 percent of
young adults from each race had graduated from high school. Analysts say
that this difference between high school and college graduation has a lot to
do with money. The rising cost of college is "a huge barrier" for black
students, says Jennifer day, chief of the Census Bureau's educational and
social stratification branch. The fact that African Americans have not fared
as well as whites on the college level has "everything to do with access,"
says economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute. "We've done
a great deal to promote access to high school education. Not only have we
not done enough to promote access to college education, but in fact policy
seems to be going the other way." Minorities can only go so far in this
economy," said Bernstein, "without access to higher education."

Title: Women, Blacks Gain in Educational Levels
Source: Washington Post (A7)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/29/058l-062998-idx.html
Author: The Associated Press
Issue: Education/Minorities
Description: A report released yesterday by the Census Bureau says that the
proportion of women completing college has "topped" that of men and that the
lead is continuing to grow. In comparing men and women in the same age
group, 29.3 percent of women completed four years or more of college as of
1997, compared to 26.3 percent of men. In addition, the report titled
"Educational Attainment in the United States, March 1997" states the
percentage of young African Americans graduating from high school have
almost caught up with whites. "The educational attainment of young African
Americans indicated a dramatic improvement by groups who historically have
been less educated," said Census population expert Jennifer Day.

** Internet **

Title: We, the People of the Internet
Source: New York Times (D1,D10)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/29net.html
Author: Amy Harmon
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: A variety of groups will be meeting at different times this
summer to discuss serious issues about the Internet, who will run it and
how. Jon Postel, a Univ. of Southern Calif. researcher who has recently been
anointed a founding father of the Internet's "nascent" political structure,
offers several examples of the questions being asked: "How do we form a
representative board? How do we make it international? How do we find enough
agreement to move forward?" etc. Postal and others are trying to reach some
sort of conclusions about the Internet before the deadline for the U.S.
government to hand over control of a key portion of the Internet to an,
as-of-yet, unformed nonprofit international group takes place on Sept. 30.

Title: Group Weighs Need for Rules For Internet
Source: Wall Street Journal (B7B)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jennifer L. Schenker
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: Leaders in the high-technology industry will meet in Brussels
today to put forth their wishes on regulating the Internet. The meeting is
being organized by European Commissioner Martin Bangemann as part of his
ongoing effort to strengthen international coordination on governing the
Internet. A possible outcome of the meeting will be the creation of an
industry-led group called the Global Business Dialogue. U.S. officials and
the European Union Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce say they
don't see the need for an international charter or another industry group
working to settle Internet governance issues. But Paul Verhoef, the member
of Bangemann's cabinet responsible for information issues, points out that
it currently takes the commission two to five years to pass legislation, a
pace far over-taken by technological developments.

Title: Privacy From Whom?
Source: Washington Post (A14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: WP Editorial Staff
Issue: Privacy
Description: Last week, Vice President Al Gore issued warnings to companies
doing business on the Internet in regards to privacy practices and spoke of
the administration's preference for "self-regulation." The administration's
interest in "self-regulation" focuses mainly on the types of information
gathered in electronic commerce. But electronic commerce is only a small
piece of the pie in the larger privacy problem in an increasingly electronic
world. "It is trivial next to the threats of intrusion on people's medical,
financial and employment data." But the "foot-dragging" of private companies
on the matter of self-regulation is a symptom of the difficulty of
protecting privacy on these other issues. "The trouble with urging companies
to self-regulate is that the real incentives all lie in the other direction.
The administration needs to recognize that and stop issuing ineffectual
warnings."

Title: Ideas Whose Time Has Come for Free Access
Source: Washington Post (Bus-20)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/29/031l-062998-idx.html
Author: John Schwartz
Issue: Technology Online
Description: In August, technicians will begin to connect one of the single
largest databases ever offered on the World Wide Web, the official record of
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). How big of a deal is this? Well,
as Bruce A. Lehman, commissioner of patents and trademarks puts it: "This
database in the record of technology at this moment in time." I something
unimaginable were to blast the U.S., Lehman said, the survivors could pull
the PTO's backup tapes out of the salt mine in Pennsylvania where they are
stored and "entirely reproduce all of the technology of the 20th century."
And now, he continued, "we are putting the entire library of the technology
of our time on the Web, available with a few keystrokes." You can
access the U.S. Patent and Trademark Web site at: www.uspto.gov

** Radio/Television **

Title: Kennard Concerned About Rep Remarks
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p22)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnel
Issue: Minorities
Description: Both FCC Chairman William Kennard and FCC Commissioner Gloria
Tristani said that the commission could be taking a closer look at the
advertising industry's impact on minority-owned stations. An internal memo
from the Amcast unit of Chancellor Media-owned Katz Radio Group said, sales
representatives were encouraged to advertise to "nonethnic" consumers and to
steer clear of urban stations. Another portion of the memo read: "When it
comes to delivering prospects, not suspects, the Urbans deliver the largest
amount of listeners who turn out to be the least likely to purchase." In
response, Commissioner Tristani said: "We need to find out what is going on
in the advertising world and how attitudes like these affect minority
ownership." At the same forum where this issue was discussed, the media's
portrayal of minorities was also brought up. Chairman Kennard pointed out
that children are bombarded with media images and added, "Not all those
images have to be positive, but they have to be fair." Kennard and Tristani
cited a recent study on media stereotypes by Children Now. "White actors are
more often seen as having money, being well-educated and being leaders,
while characters of color are often criminals, lazy and 'act goofy',"
Tristani said. "These stereotypes have an impact, especially on children."

Title: Low Marks for Kids TV
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p26)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Children's TV
Description: In its annual assessment of children's programming, the
Annenberg Public Policy Center found that the percentage of network-aired,
"highly educational" programs dropped from 43 percent to 29 percent. At the
same time it found the percentage of "minimally educational" programs
increased from 22 percent to 26 percent. The study also found that many of
shows containing fantasy violence are omitting the "TV-FV" label from
children's programming. "A full 75 percent of programs containing 'a lot' of
violence had no such rating," the report says. "We feel this is something
that needs to be addressed in the coming seasons," adds Amy Jordan,
Annenberg senior research investigator.

Title: Prime Time for Documentaries
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p34)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Kim McAvoy
Issue: Television (Trends?)
Description: Documentary programming is becoming increasingly popular on
cable television. The genre is becoming so popular that some cable networks
are discussing putting documentary series on their new digital channels.
"We'll air 50 to 60 documentaries a year on HBO, Cinemas, Signature and Zone
-- as opposed to the 12 or 13 hours we were doing five years ago," says
Sheila Nevins, HBO senior vice president, original programming. "Cable has
become a home for documentary programming," says Pat Mitchell, president of
Time Inc.-CNN productions. Mitchell believes that TV documentary is in a
golden age. "Documentaries are no longer a highbrow thing to watch.
[Viewers] now see that documentaries are for them," says Geoffrey Darby,
president of CBS Eye on People. (Farewell Springer - Hello Discovery!)

** Mergers **

Title: Media Convergence
Source: New York Times (A1,A11)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/29phone.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Mergers
Description: AT&T's announced merger with TCI last week is the latest in the
rising trend of corporate deals sweeping up telecommunications, cable
television and media companies as these industries become increasingly
dependent of digital technology. The "business logic" behind these trends is
that these companies have a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to become early
leaders in the new markets of the information age. Whether any of these
deals pay off will largely depend on people who are technologically affluent
and whether they will turn to one company for one-stop shopping.
*********

Merger-Merger-Mergers
AT&T-TCI Merge in $68-Billion Deal for Local
Entry Using Cable (TelecomAM)
With Cable Deal, AT&T Makes Move to Regain Empire (NYT)
Breakthrough for AT&T Came at Secret Meeting (WP)
AT&T Buys TCI, Looks to One-Stop Future (WP)
A High Tech Vision Faces Big Hurdles (WSJ)
AT&T to Acquire TCI for $37.3 Billion (WSJ)
Connected: The AT&T-TCI Linkup (WSJ)
Telecom World Is Wondering 'Who's Next?' (WSJ)
Hooking Up The Nation (NYT)
Phone Strike in Puerto Rico Nearly Doubles (NYT)

Campaign Finance Reform
Parties to Corruption (WP)

Minorities
Black America on the Air (NYT)

Lifestyle
Panel Urges Americans to Turn Off TV, Get Involved

Antitrust
Microsoft Rushes On (NYT)
A Mistaken Microsoft Ruling (NYT)

Infrastructure
Kennard Offers Deal to Encourage Advanced Networks (TelecomAM)

Arts
Guggenheim to Add Digital Art to Its Collection (CyberTimes)

Internet
Judge Issues Injunction Against State Internet Porn Law (CyberTimes)

Telephony
Phone Giants Team Up to Challenge Microsoft (WSJ)

Lifestyles II
Talk About Fresh Vegetables! These Made Film Raters Blush

** Merger-Merger-Mergers **

Title: AT&T-TCI Merge in $68-Billion Deal for Local Entry Using Cable
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Title: With Cable Deal, AT&T Makes Move to Regain Empire
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/25merger.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Title: Breakthrough for AT&T Came at Secret Meeting
Source: Washington Post (A8)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/25/138l-062598-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Description: AT&T will pay $68 billion to merge will TCI; $48 billion for
TCI's shares plus an additional $20 billion for TCI's Liberty Media Corp.
The new company AT&T Consumer Services (ACS) will offer video, Internet and
telephony over a single connection. The Baby Bell companies replied by
issued a joint statement calling on the FCC to step up the process of
approving in-region long distance entry. [See reaction from FCC Chairman
Kennard http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek850.html]

Title: AT&T Buys TCI, Looks to One-Stop Future
Source: Washington Post (A1,A14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/25/168l-062598-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Title: A High Tech Vision Faces Big Hurdles
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1,B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jared Sandberg & Thomas E. Weber
Issue: Mergers
Description: Following AT&T's announcement of its $48 billion takeover of
Tele-Communications Inc. yesterday, AT&T vowed to become the one-stop
provider of a variety of telecommunications services to households across
the U.S. Both TCI's chairman, John C. Malone, and AT&T chairman, C. Michael
Armstrong, promised on Wednesday that millions of residential customers
would ultimately benefit from the companies' merger. AT&T said by coupling
its long-distance lines with TCI's cable connections it will be able to
offer the first major competition to the regional Bell phone companies,
which now own a "near-monopoly" on local phone service. AT&T also envisions
a time when customers will be able to pay for all major telecommunications
services via a single monthly bill.

Title: AT&T to Acquire TCI for $37.3 Billion
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3,A16)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Leslie Cauley
Title: Connected: The AT&T-TCI Linkup
Source: Wall Street Journal (A16)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie Mehta, David Bank
Issue: Mergers
Description: AT&T, signed an agreement yesterday to acquire most of TCI's
cable and digital assets, including its stake in At Home Corp., the
cable-backed Internet service. "This will combine the best brand in the
industry with the best broadband company in the industry," said C. Michael
Armstrong, AT&T's chairman.

Title: Telecom World Is Wondering 'Who's Next?'
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1,B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Kyle Pope
Issue: Mergers
Description: More mergers? Analysts not only expect more mergers between
phone and cable companies but a buying frenzy within the cable industry.
"One way or another, these companies are going to be affiliated with phone
companies," said Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Jessica Reif Cohen. "There's
going to be consolidation in this industry." They also predict that the
combination of cable and phone services is a precursor to the marketing of
bundled cable services.

Title: Hooking Up The Nation
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/25merger-assess.
html
Author: Saul Hansell
Issue: Mergers
Description: Hey, does all this sound familiar. Phone giant buys cable giant
TCI and changes the communications landscape. Five years ago, it was Bell
Atlantic that was hot for TCI in the "mother of all anti-mergers." What's
different now? The Internet. While the TCI-Bell Atlantic deal promised 500
video channels to the home -- a service no one knew if consumers wanted --
the deal with AT&T is actually a scramble for the two companies to keep pace
and provide Internet access over phone and cable networks. The competitors
are Time Warner and other cable companies and companies that weren't on the
map five years ago like WorldCom-MCI and America Online. "Though few would
have predicted it back in 1993, the Internet and its multimedia World Wide
Web have become that vaunted information highway -- and the main vehicle for
driving it is not a television set but an increasingly TV-like computer,"
Hansell writes.

Title: Phone Strike in Puerto Rico Nearly Doubles
Source: New York Times (A15)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Issue: Mergers
Description: The last government-owned telephone company in the US, Puerto
Rico Telephone, is being sold to a consortium led by GTE. The $1.875 billion
deal has hit a bit of a snag as workers strike in protest of the sale.
Twenty percent of the companies subscribers are without service due to the
strike. The strike is growing from telephone workers to other industries as
well.

** Campaign Finance Reform **

Title: Parties to Corruption
Source: Washington Post (A23)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/25/102l-062598-idx.html
Author: Philip B. Heyman and Donald J. Simon
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform
Description: While Congress is considering legislation to completely ban
soft money, two political parties have filed parallel lawsuits asking a
federal court to find that the First Amendment requires that they be allowed
to "radically" expand their use of soft money. They hope that the
"mind-boggling" complexity of the campaign finance system will keep people
from noticing what they are doing. If the parties win, the whole effort to
combat the corruption in the U.S. campaign finance system by limiting money
in politics will crumble.

** Minorities **

Title: Black America on the Air
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/regional/ny-bedford.html
Author: Jim Yardley
Issue: Minorities/Television
Description: At a time when blacks were largely only seen on TV in newscasts
about riots, protests, or crime, Charles Hobson produced "Inside
Bedford-Stuyvesant." "This was a way for blacks to hear their voices," said
Hobson. "Here's a community of about 400,000 people at that time, with all
of their culture and churches, and no coverage." Mr. Hobson has edited
excerpts of the 1968-70 show [were you trying to guess the year?] into a
55-minute film. The show had a 52-program run on WNEW in New York. It ended
when sponsorship money dwindled.

** Lifestyle **

Title: Panel Urges Americans to Turn Off TV, Get Involved
Source: Washington Post (A6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/25/143l-062598-idx.html
Author: David S. Broder
Issue: Lifestlyes
Description: The bipartisan National Commission on Civic Renewal released an
18-month study yesterday, titled "A Nation of Spectators." The study reports
that community and civic life are on the wane and recommends that the remedy
lies in turning off the television set and getting more involved with
family, school, neighborhood and church. The private commission said the
concern and cynicism that many Americans voiced cannot be placed entirely on
poor leadership but involves the indifference of those who spend more time
watching TV than working with their neighbors. The 20-member commission has
made several suggestions for solving this problem, most of which are likely
to be considered controversial.

** Antitrust **

Title: Microsoft Rushes On
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/25rush.html
Author: Douglas Rushkoff, author
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Rushkoff proposes that antitrust regulators are fighting a
"phantom battle" with Microsoft. "[W]hat happens when there is no such thing
as software? Thanks to rivals like Netscape, which were threatening to
expand their programs into entire operating systems, Microsoft got the
bright idea of expanding its operating system into programs. In the Windows
future, users will no longer open a separate program for word processing,
spreadsheet calculations or Internet browsing. The same system window will
do all those things. Only the menu bar might change. In other words, the
operating system will not be the platform from which a computer user
launches software; it will be the software. Instead of buying new programs,
people will simply add functionality to the system, much in the way they now
download plug-ins like video players." Rushkoff suggests we take cable
regulation of the '70's [everyone's favorite regulatory model] and apply it
to Microsoft and Intel: "If they want to become the architects of our
information infrastructure, then they will have to demonstrate their
willingness to promote the public interest. For cable television, that meant
public access programming and reasonable rates for basic services. For
systems architects, it could mean on-line libraries, educational provisions
or open coding standards. What will serve the public interest is not
greater competition between information architects, but greater cooperation
and greater accountability."

Title: A Mistaken Microsoft Ruling
Source: New York Times (A26)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/25thu2.html
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Antitrust
Description: "One month after the Justice Department filed its sweeping
antitrust suit against Microsoft, a Federal appeals court has issued a
deeply flawed ruling that may weaken the Government's case. The three-judge
panel seemed to adopt Microsoft's arrogant claim that it has the right to
incorporate its browser, or any other software, into its Windows operating
system as long as doing so offers certain advantages to consumers. But if
the thinking behind this decision prevails, it could permit Microsoft to use
its monopoly power to crush competitors throughout the Internet. The Justice
Department thus needs to mount a vigorous counterattack invoking the full
force of antitrust laws."

** Infrastructure **

Title: Kennard Offers Deal to Encourage Advanced Networks
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Several of the Baby Bell companies have petitioned the FCC to
apply "regulatory forbearance" to their development of broadband networks.
The companies cite Section 706 of the Telecom Act that requires the FCC
encourage broadband development. The Bell companies
say regulations such as the ones requiring them to share the networks with
competitors are disincentives to building new networks. In a speech June 24,
FCC Chairman Bill Kennard is offering a deal: the FCC would waive some
discount resale or unbundling regulations if Bells, 1) give competitors use
of local loops, operations support systems (OSS) and space in central
offices to collocate equipment; 2) provide access to facilities under the
same terms and conditions that they give to themselves and "with the same
information about network technology and interfaces;" and 3) provide
interconnection to competing network providers so customers can talk to each
other. [See speech http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek819.html]

** Arts **

Title: Guggenheim to Add Digital Art to Its Collection
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/artsatlarge/25artsatlarg...
Author: Matthew Mirapaul
Issue: Arts
Description: "In the most ambitious effort of its kind by a major American
cultural institution, the Guggenheim Museum is launching a $1 million
project to commission, acquire and display works of digital art. It marks
the first time that a top-rank U.S. museum has made a substantive commitment
to interactive, computer-based works of art, a genre already taken seriously
in Europe and Japan but one yet to be legitimized by the U.S. art
establishment. 'Everybody looks at the Guggenheim in the late 20th century
as redefining in global terms what the museum is, that it's not one site but
multiple sites,' said John G. Hanhardt, the museum's senior curator of film
and media arts. 'The Virtual Museum will not simply be a point of
transmission; it will become a location for innovation and a laboratory for
further transforming our thinking about what the museum is.'"

** Internet **

Title: Judge Issues Injunction Against State Internet Porn Law
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/articles/25censor.html
Author: Matt Richtel
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: U.S. District Judge C. LeRoy Hansen, in New Mexico, issued a
preliminary injunction earlier this week to bar a state law scheduled to
take effect in July that would have made it a crime to electronically
transmit sexual images or content to minors. Judge Hansen indicated that the
law could possible violate First Amendment rights on free speech and
constitutional protections on interstate trade.

** Telephony **

Title: Phone Giants Team Up to Challenge Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Matthew Rose, Amlar Latour & Quentin Hardy
Issue: Telephony
Description: In a challenge to Microsoft Corp., three mobile phone
companies, Nokia Corp, Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Motorola Inc., formed a
venture with Psion PLC, a British hand-held computer company, to build
software that could become "the brains" behind the next generation of mobile
phones. The four companies said they would produce an operating system
through a new company, Symbian Ltd., using Psion's technology. The
announcement marks a "milestone" in the growing market for "smart phones" -
combined with personal computers and mobile phones

** Lifestyles II **

Title: Talk About Fresh Vegetables! These Made Film Raters Blush
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Ernest Beck
Issue: Food Style
Description: (Yes, this was really in the paper!) Britain's Vegetarian
Society launched an ad campaign last week in 250 cinemas across Britain. "We
want to dispel the lingering myth that vegetarians don't enjoy themselves,"
says Chris Dessent, spokesman for the society. The ad, titled "Hot Dinner,"
conveys its message that vegetarians have better sex lives so vividly that
it has been slapped with an "over-15" rating. The film board says while the
ad is "clearly comical," the board opted for caution because younger viewers
might be embarrassed by the resemblance the vegetables and other foods have
to male and female genitalia. "The ad is a jolly good idea, but it isn't
just about the innocence of vegetables," argues Mike Bor, the board's
principal examiner. In the ad, "the camera zooms in on an asparagus tip
languidly dripping melted butter, then bread being kneaded vigorously, a pea
being fondled in its pod and a female hand firmly holding a bunch of raw
spaghetti. With sensual, classical-sounding music playing in the background,
the advertisement closes with the tagline: 'Become a real food lover.'" This
time, the Meat and Livestock Commission said they won't be dragged into a
debate over which group has better love lives. "They do their thing, and we
do ours," quips meat spokesman Jon Bullock. "We try to be more subtle."
*********

Universal Service
Kennard Attacks Arguments Against E-Rate (TelecomAM)

Broadcasting
Kid-Tested Quality Programming: The News on the
New Programs (FCC)
Personal Attack and Political Editorial Rules (FCC)

Internet
Corporations urge privacy policy to protect
children using Internet (ChiTrib)
Filter Used by Courts Blocks Innocuous Sites (CyberTimes)

Online Services
Justices agree AOL isn't liable for messages posted on service
(ChiTrib)
AOL Held Not Liable For False Posting (WP)

Telecommunications Legislation
Curry Seeking to Tax Telecommunications (WP)

Mergers
EU Says MCI-Worldcom Deal Likely (NYT)

** Universal Service **

Title: Kennard Attacks Arguments Against E-Rate
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: In a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Reno, FCC
Chairman William Kennard defended the e-rate program. Chairman Kennard said
1) phone rates will continue to fall, 2) the corporation that administers
the e-rate is legal and becoming more efficient, 3) administrative salaries
have been capped, and 4) use of the program's funds to network individual
classrooms is allowed explicitly by the Telecom Act. The Chairman's remarks
come at a time when Congressional opponents plan to try to cut all funding
from the program during separate Senate and House appropriations mark-ups
this week.

** Broadcasting **

Title: Kid-Tested Quality Programming: The News on the New Programs
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Ness/spsn813.html
Author: Commissioner Susan Ness
Issue: Children's Programming
Description: A preliminary assessment and a look at the challenges ahead for
children's television programming. Commissioner Ness said "I believe that
the vast majority of commercial broadcasters have accepted the need to
provide at least three hours of educational programming and are making a
good-faith effort to comply with the letter and spirit of the rules."

Title: Personal Attack and Political Editorial Rules
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Public_Notices/fcc98126.html
Issue: Broadcast Regulation
Description: "Pursuant to a May 22, 1998 order of the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Case Number 97-1528, by
recorded vote on June 18, 1998, the Commission voted two to two, with
Chairman Kennard not participating, on whether to grant or deny the Joint
Petition for Expedited Rulemaking Action and for Clarification, filed August
25, 1987 in Gen. Docket No. 83-484 by the Radio Television News Directors
Association, the National Association of Broadcasters, et al., seeking
repeal of the personal attack and political editorial rules. Commissioners
Ness and Tristani voted to deny the petition and Commissioners Powell and
Furchtgott-Roth voted to grant it." Joint Statement of Commissioner Susan
Ness and Commissioner Gloria Tristani
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Tristani/Statements/stgt816.wp. Joint Separate
Statement of Commissioners Powell and Furchtgott-Roth
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Powell/Statements/stmkp817.wp.

** Internet **

Title: Corporations urge privacy policy to protect children using Internet
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.4)
http://chicago.tribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,1051,ART-10874,00....
Author: Frank James
Issue: Privacy
Description: With the threat of regulation looming, a group of major
corporations announced they will get parental permission before soliciting
personal information online from children under 13. The Online Privacy
Alliance http://www.privacyalliance.org/ -- which includes Microsoft, IBM,
and America Online -- said this is but one measure that members will be
asked to obey. But the Clinton Administration expressed disappointment
because the group did not detail how it would enforce its policies. "When
you are a company that is targeting children under 13, you may not, must
not, engage in the collection of data from kids without their parents' prior
consent," said Christine Varney, an adviser to the corporate alliance and a
former commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. "That's a big step
forward from what had been the emerging practice in some quarters of the
Net." [See also "Companies Form Internet Trade Group"
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/f/AP-Internet-Privacy.html]

Title: Filter Used by Courts Blocks Innocuous Sites
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/articles/23filter.html
Author: Matt Richtel
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: WebSENSE software is a computer program used by some of
country's top court systems to block access to questionable material on the
Internet. In addition to denying access to pornographic sites, the software
program also denies access to many other less graphic sites, like a home
page for a New Jersey grocer and the Liza Minnelli Web site. In a study to
be released today by the Censorware Project, an Internet watchdog
organization, it claims that the software makers also mislabeled as sexually
explicit several advocacy and free speech sites. One Censorware Project
official said that the study looks closely at the limitations of filtering
software. "Judges and court employees don't need to be protected against
themselves or their baser instincts with public money," said Jonathan
Wallace, a New York attorney who helped compile the study. The makers of
WebSENSE said that the filter only mislabels sites in a small percentage of
cases.

** Online Services **

Title: Justices agree AOL isn't liable for messages posted on service
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.3)
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/article/0,1051,SAV-9806230
322,00.html
Author: Reuters News Service
Issue: Online Services
Description: The Supreme Court has let stand a ruling by federal appeals
court that a section of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 "gives
on-line firms immunity from liability for information that originates with
third parties," Reuters reports. The ruling is a victory for America Online
which could have been held liable for defamatory material posted on its system.

Title: AOL Held Not Liable For False Posting
Source: Washington Post (C3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/23/053l-062398-idx.html
Author: Reuters
Issue: Online Regulation
Description: Yesterday the Supreme Court handed America Online Inc. a
victory by allowing a ruling to stand that computer service providers may
not be held liable for defamatory material posted on their systems. The high
court denied an appeal by Kenneth Zeran, who had sued AOL for defamation.

** Telecommunications Legislation **

Title: Curry Seeking to Tax Telecommunications
Source: Washington Post (D3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/23/082l-062398-idx.html
Author: Emily Bazelon
Issue: Legislation
Description: Prince George, MD's County Council will meet today to discuss
whether to charge companies to build transmission towers and lay down
fiber-optic cable. "Under the proposed legislation, the county would collect
5 percent of gross revenue generated by companies that dig cables under
roads or string wire across public airspace. In lieu of the annual rental
fee, companies could negotiate to provide in-kind services such as Internet
and high-speed phone lines to government offices and schools."

** Mergers **

Title: EU Says MCI-Worldcom Deal Likely
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/f/AP-MCI-Worldcom.html
Author: AP
Issue: Mergers
Description: The European Union seems prepared to approve the MCI-WorldCom
merger. "We're still talking, but as it stands now, we probably have a
deal," said Stefan Rating, spokesman for EU Competition Commissioner Karel
Van Miert. "I can confirm that substantial progress has been made on this
case." The EU has set July 15 as the deadline for a decision on the merger;
it will probably consider it on July 8.
*********