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Universal Service: E-Rate
Lawmakers from Both Sides Criticize FCC E-Rate Cut
(TelecomAM)
Debate on Wiring School for the Internet Ignores a Larger, Sillier
Phone Subsidy (WP)

Internet
Privacy Issues Related to Electronic Commerce (NTIA)
Times Guide to Entertainment Opens on the Internet Today (NYT)

Mergers -- Get 'Em While They're Hot
Leahy to Introduce Bill Restricting Bell Company Mergers
(TelecomAM)
Nortel to Buy Bay Networks for $9 Billion (TelecomAM)
Phone Giant To Acquire Bay Networks (NYT)
Northern Telecom To Buy Bay Networks (WP)
Nortel Agrees to Acquire Bay Networks (WSJ)
Teleglobe and Excel Create 4th-Largest Long Distance Carrier
(TelecomAM)
MCI Likely to Sell Rest of Internet Business for Merger Approval
(TelecomAM)

Cable
Microsoft and Compaq to Buy 10% Stakes in Road Runner (NYT)
Microsoft, Compaq Make Net-Access Bet (WSJ)
Advertising: Ziff-Davis Pushes ZDTV (NYT)

** Universal Service: E-Rate **

Title: Lawmakers from Both Sides Criticize FCC E-Rate Cut
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The FCC's June 12 decision to cut $1 billion from the e-rate
program does not have many supporters in Congress. Rep. Dingell (D-Mich.),
senior Commerce Committee Democrat, said he supports the e-rate, but said "I
am not sure that making a smaller illegal program out of a large illegal
program serves that purpose." The Chairmen of the House and Senate Commerce
Committees spoke out against the move on Friday. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said: "It is disappointing that the FCC cut back this
important program because of pressure from the companies." However it is
important to remember that "we are still moving forward -- more slowly, but
steadily." AT&T and MCI announced that they will reduce charges on
consumers' bills to reflect the cut. They said they will review the new
funding plan before deciding how they will reduce surcharges.

Title: Debate on Wiring School for the Internet Ignores a Larger, Sillier
Phone Subsidy
Source: Washington Post (C3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/16/034l-061698-idx.html
Author: Allan Sloan
Issue: E-Rate
Description: Allan Sloan, Newsweek's Wall Street editor, begins his piece
with a rather-humorous view of the "on-coming political battle" revolving
around the e-rate program. Next he offers a brief history of the program and
then moves into the arrival of "earthquake city" on May 26, when AT&T Corp.
announced to the FCC that it would start to charge its customers an
additional 5 percent for interstate long-distance calls -- and to "break it
out as a surcharge on millions of phone bills." Joel Lubin, an AT&T vice
president, said about the announcement: "We want only to recover the costs
we're incurring for universal service." (Note: "Universal service includes
costs for not only schools-and-libraries assessment but also the rural and
high-cost subsidies that AT&T and other carriers had absorbed for years.")
Sloan sees the problem not in whether phone companies want to collect more
than their additional schools-and-libraries costs but in the fact that phone
service is incredibly complicated. "If you insist on phone bills showing all
the subsidies, your monthly bill will be the size of the Manhattan phone
book," says former FCC chairman Reed E. Hundt. "Untangling all of this is
like trying to straighten out an elephant's intestines." A delightful prospect.

** Internet **

Title: Privacy Issues Related to Electronic Commerce
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/privacy/index.html
Issue: Electronic Commerce/Privacy
Description: "The Department of Commerce, along with the Office of
Management and Budget has been asked to report to the President on industry
efforts to establish self-regulatory regimes to ensure privacy online and to
develop technological solutions to protect privacy. The President also
directed the Commerce Department and the Office of Management and Budget to
ensure that means are developed to protect children's privacy online. The
Department of Commerce requests comments on various aspects of Internet
Privacy including the effectiveness of self regulation for privacy.
Specifically, the Department of Commerce seeks comment on the staff
discussion paper "Elements of Effective Self Regulation for Protection of
Privacy." It also asks for responses to specific questions concerning online
privacy protection. In addition, the Department seeks input on the specific
instances in which government action may be necessary to protect privacy on
the Internet."

Title: Times Guide to Entertainment Opens on the Internet Today
Source: New York Times (C10)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16nytoday.html
Author: Saul Hansell
Issue: Internet Content
Description: New York Today www.nytoday.com will be available starting
today. The New York Times' Internet service will offer information about
entertainment, restaurants, and shopping in New York City. The service will
compete with Microsoft's New York Sidewalk, America Online's Digital Cities
New York, and Citysearch's Citysearch New York. "Local advertising is the
biggest and most profitable market for advertising," said Brian C. Oakes, an
analyst with Lehman Brothers who follows newspapers and Internet companies.
"It is critically important for newspapers to win the local market, both in
print and on line."

** Mergers -- Get 'Em While They're Hot **

Title: Leahy to Introduce Bill Restricting Bell Company Mergers
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: Sen. Patrick Leahy's (D-VT), the ranking Democrat on the Senate
Judiciary Committee, is expected to introduce legislation today that "would
bar local phone
companies with more than 5 percent of the nation's phone lines from merging
unless: 1) The Justice Department finds that the deal will promote
competition for exchange and access services -- 2) The FCC finds that the
companies involved in the deal have implemented the interconnection and
unbundling requirements in Sections 251 and 252 of the Telecom Act." The
Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today on merger policy. [See the
Senate Judiciary Committee homepage http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/
and/or Sen Leahy's page http://www.senate.gov/~leahy/]

Title: Nortel to Buy Bay Networks for $9 Billion
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Title: Phone Giant To Acquire Bay Networks
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16nortel.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Title: Northern Telecom To Buy Bay Networks
Source: Washington Post (C1,C4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/16/038l-061698-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Mergers
Description: Nortel will purchase Bay Networks for $9.1 billion in stock --
the largest ever telecom equipment makers merger. Nortel said the deal
creates a "new category" of telecom manufacturers that use Internet Protocol
networks, allowing the companies to "redefine the center of the information
industry -- the unoccupied space where data and voice networks,
driven by the Internet, are expected to converge." The deal will create a
$17.7-billion company with 80,000 employees.

Title: Nortel Agrees to Acquire Bay Networks
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3,A6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta & Lee Gomes
Issue: Mergers
Description: Northern Telecom Ltd. agreed to purchase Bay Networks Inc.,
which makes equipment that helps corporations manage data traffic, for $7.68
billion in stock valued at $32.40 a share. Nortel's takeover could further
accelerate the consolidation already taking place in the industry as
companies seek to offer customers a more complete menu of systems to handle
growing streams of voice, video and data traffic. By acquiring Bay, Nortel
will have a "stronger foothold" with corporate customers while possibly
increasing the line of products it offers to telephone and Internet-access
companies.

Title: Teleglobe and Excel Create 4th-Largest Long Distance Carrier
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: Canadian phone company Teleglobe will buy Excel Communications
for $3.1
billion in stock. The deal will create the fourth-largest long distance
company in North
America. Excel resells long distance service using names such as "Dial and
Save" through a network of 400,000 mostly part-time independent sales
representatives. Teleglobe will own 51.5 percent of the new company with
Excel controlling the remainder.

Title: MCI Likely to Sell Rest of Internet Business for Merger Approval
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Title: More of MCI Internet Unit Said to Be for Sale
Source: New York Times (C2)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16mci.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Mergers
Description: In order to win approval of the proposed $37 billion merger
with WorldCom, MCI is likely to sell the rest of its Internet business.
WorldCom would retain all of its Internet business. Merrill Lynch has said
that speculation about approval of the deal is "drastically overblown" and
more sales or action "would not materially alter" the deal.

** Cable **

Title: Microsoft and Compaq to Buy 10% Stakes in Road Runner
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/16roadrunner....
Author: Lawrence Fisher
Title: Microsoft, Compaq Make Net-Access Bet
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3,A8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Cable
Description: Microsoft and Compaq will each invest $212.5 million in Road
Runner, the joint Time Warner-Mediaone Group venture in high-speed cable
modems. The software and computer giants are seen to have an interest in
fostering the growth of high-speed Internet connections in homes. Without
greater bandwidth, consumers may se little reason to upgrade their computers.

Title: Advertising: Ziff-Davis Pushes ZDTV
Source: New York Times (C10)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/16tv-ziff-davis.
html
Author: Jane Levere
Issue: Advertising/Cable/InfoTech
Description: Ziff-Davis is counting on a $10 million ad campaign to
introduce a new, 24-hour cable channel devoted to computing and the
Internet. Ziff-Davis, a high-tech media and marketing company, will invest
$100 million in ZDTV over the next two years. The ad campaign will have
three audiences: cable system operators, potential viewers, and potential
advertisers.
*********

Universal Service -- E-Rate
Keep Internet Funding for Schools (NYT)
FCC Clarifies What Services Are Eligible For
E-Rate Discounts (TelecomAM)
Tauzin Gathers Support for Using Excise Tax to
Fund E-Rate (TelecomAM)

Long Distance
FCC Sets Procedure to Review Long Distance Marketing
Alliances (TelecomAM)
FCC Releases Report on Long Distance Market (TelecomAM)

Internet
Web Lovers Love TV, Often Watch Both (WSJ)
Investigating Grand Juries on the Web (CyberTimes)
Instant Messaging; A New Source of Spam, but Not as
Widespread(CyberTimes)

Mergers
Cable & Wireless Sues to Force MCI Internet Sale (TelecomAM)
MCI May Be Selling More Assets; Cable & Wireless Sues (WP)
MCI Offers to Sell Assets to Speed Deal (WSJ)

Television
Murdoch, Malone to Put TV Guide on Cable (WSJ)
Murdoch Sells TV Guide to an Affiliate of TCI (WP)
Murdoch Sets TV Guide Sale For $2 Billion (NYT)
Consumers Can Buy Cable Boxes in Stores In 2000,
FCC Decides (WSJ)
"Navigation Devices" Rules Create Consumer Market
for Set Top Boxes (FCC)

Spectrum
Spectrum Auctions Conference (FCC)

Privacy
Sailor Victorious in Gay Case on On-Line Privacy (NYT)

Journalism
Magazine Inquiry on a Writer Finds Fabricated Work (NYT)

** Universal Service -- E-Rate **

Title: Keep Internet Funding for Schools
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/12fri3.html
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Universal Service
Description: At a time when the Internet is becoming increasing important
for commerce and education, the government should be redoubling efforts to
connect disadvantaged communities. Instead, some in Congress would rather
kill the e-rate program. More than 30,000 schools nd libraries have applied
for $2.02 billion in telecommunications discounts; only $625 million has
been collected to support th program. "The e-rate program is a public
obligation that the carriers agreed to and are required to finance under the
1996 law because they stand to reap enormous financial benefits from
deregulation. Access charges that long-distance companies pay to local phone
companies have been cut significantly as a direct result of the 1996 act.
Should the F.C.C. decide to trim the program, it will be capitulating to
company greed at the expense of communities all over the country."

Title: FCC Clarifies What Services Are Eligible For E-Rate Discounts
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: As opponents claim that e-rate funds may be used for unintended
purposes, the FCC has clarified what services are eligible for support.
Schools and libraries may receive discounts on telecom services, Internet
access or internal connections. Personal
computers, fax machines and modems, for example, are not eligible for
discounts. The Commission also "emphasize[d] that no universal service
support will be provided for asbestos removal, teacher training, telephone
handsets, the costs of tearing down walls to install wiring, repairing
carpets, or repainting." Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth asked "If there
were not widespread questions and confusion on the part of Congressional
leaders, school applicants and the public, then why would such a
clarification or reiteration be necessary?" He asked that the program be put
on temporary hold. Congressional support has come from Senate Democratic
Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), 34 Democratic senators who co-signed a letter
from Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Bob Kerrey (D-NE), the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus, and others.

Title: Tauzin Gathers Support for Using Excise Tax to Fund E-Rate
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) is
asking fellow Members of Congress to support a bill that would cut the $4.5
billion phone excise tax in half and use the funds to support the e-rate
program. Rep Tauzin had co-sponsored a bill (HR-3848) that would have
eliminated the tax entirely.

** Long Distance **

Title: FCC Sets Procedure to Review Long Distance Marketing Alliances
FCC Releases Report on Long Distance Market
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: US West and Ameritech have entered long distance marketing
agreements with Qwest Communications. Other long distance carriers and new
local phone entrants argue that the arrangements violate the Telecom Act's
restrictions on the Bell companies entry into the long distance market. The
FCC announced how it will handle a review of the matter June 10. After
opponents file complaints with the FCC, US West and Ameritech will have 10
days to respond. Opponents then will have three days to rebut. Also, a new
report from the FCC says that AT&T's share of long distance revenues dropped
to 44 percent last year from 47.9 percent in 1996 and 90 percent in 1984.
MCI has a 19% share, Sprint 10%, and WorldCom 7%. TelecomAM writes, "The FCC
did not break out the percentages for other carriers, but the next largest
long distance companies based on revenue were Excel, Frontier, LCI and Cable
& Wireless, all with revenues exceeding $1 billion."

** Internet **

Title: Web Lovers Love TV, Often Watch Both
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Eben Shapiro
Issue: Old vs New Media
Description: As television executives fret over the whether the Internet
will steal away a generation of young viewers, internal research conducted
at ABC over the past several months suggests that the networks' concern
should not necessarily rest with the World Wide Web. It seems that viewers
are turning into "headbobbers," glancing back and forth between their
computers and TV sets. "Our first reaction was, 'Wait -- this can't be
right,'" says Steve Burke, who recently resigned as president of ABC
Broadcasting to take a job at Comcast, one of the nation's largest cable
companies. "At this point, the Internet is not, in fact, cannibalizing
network viewership," he says. Cable networks remain the main culprits in
declining network viewership." It appears that cable companies are reaching
similar conclusions. A study conducted by Viacom's MTV Networks of 25,000
viewers found that young people are spending more time on PCs but no less
time watching television.

Title: Investigating Grand Juries on the Web
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/cyberlaw/12law.html
Author: Carl S. Kaplan
Issue: Internet Content
Description: At a time when grand juries have been increasingly in the news,
a new site on the Web called Federal Grand Jury has been created to help the
general public better understand what grand juries are and what they do. The
site was put up last October by Susan W. Brenner, a professor at the Univ.
of Dayton School of Law and an expert on grand juries and criminal
procedure, and Gregory G. Lockhart, a federal prosecutor who teaches part
time at the law school. To learn more, you can access the site at:
http://www.udayton.edu/~grandjur/

Title: Instant Messaging; A New Source of Spam, but Not as Widespread
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/articles/12spam.html
Author: Matt Richtel
Issue: Online Communication
Description: A new form of online communication, called instant messaging is
beginning to rapidly spread. Instant messaging is more immediate than email,
using technology that allows users to send messages to someone else online
that pop up immediately on the recipient's screen. As it gains in
popularity, it is bound to increase the amount of unsolicited messages, or
spam, received by subscribers to this type of online communication.

** Mergers **

Title: Cable & Wireless Sues to Force MCI Internet Sale
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: In a surprising action, Cable & Wireless has filed a suit "to
require MCI to
comply with its agreement to sell its Internet backbone service" to the
British company. MCI agreed to sell its Internet backbone services to Cable
& Wireless for $625 million in a
move intended to ease antitrust approval for its merger with WorldCom. Cable
& Wireless spokesman Tom Smellie said the suit is not intended to force MCI
to sell its Internet business regardless of whether the merger is completed.

Title: MCI May Be Selling More Assets; Cable & Wireless Sues
Source: Washington Post (F3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/12/081l-061298-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Mergers
Description: In late May, MCI Communications agreed to sell its Internet
"backbone" facilities to Cable & Wireless. Now, in response to statements
made by European Commission officials and other critics, MCI is considering
selling its Internet service business, including a huge list of customers,
to a company besides London-based Cable & Wireless. If MCI does so, it could
upset its deal with Cable and Wireless, as the company had been counting on
MCI customers leasing the Internet facilities that it would be buying. On
Wednesday Cable & Wireless filed suit in federal court in Washington DC,
contending that MCI is violating a "no shopping" clause in their deal by
"seeking other buyers for those Internet assets and other parts of MCI's
Internet business." If MCI does sell its Internet facilities and customers
to a new buyer, it would have to pay Cable & Wireless a $25 million breakup fee.

Title: MCI Offers to Sell Assets to Speed Deal
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3,A4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jared Sandberg & John R. Wilke
Issue: Mergers
Description: MCI Communications met with Joel Klein, Justice Dept. antitrust
chief, and offered to sell additional MCI Internet assets in a continued
effort to accelerate U.S. approval of Worldcom's $37 billion purchase of
MCI. According to lawyers close to the talks, senior Justice Dept. officials
told MCI Chairman, Bert C. Roberts, that they would probably approve the
merger if both companies agreed to sell either WorldCom's or MCI's entire
Internet businesses.

** Television **

Title: Murdoch, Malone to Put TV Guide on Cable
Source: Washington Post (F2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/12/090l-061298-idx.html
Author: Steven Ginsberg
Issue: Television/Media
Description: Television executives John C. Malone and Rupert Murdoch "joined
forces" yesterday to offer TV Guide magazine to viewers on-screen and
on-line. Malone's Prevue Channel will be "rebranded" as a TV Guide channel
and will offer extensive scrolling listings for programs on broadcast, cable
and satellite systems, and large amounts of advertising. Murdoch's News
Corp., the current owner, will sell the magazine to United Video Satellite
Group, owned by Malone's Tele-Communications Inc. for $2 billion, 40 percent
of United Video and half the votes on its board. "What we're really doing,"
said Peter Boylan, president of United Video, "is trying to create a new
media company that marries the TV Guide print expertise with United Video's
interactive expertise. It will create a ubiquitous product to help TV
viewers navigate an increasingly cluttered screen...The theory is to create
a new media company that has never been seen before. We'll have the ability
to sell an ad around the world to different cultures and in different
languages." Once the deal is complete, TV Guide will be "splashed across"
five different entities -- TV Guide magazine, TV Guide channel, TV Guide
International, TV Guide online, and TV Guide interactive.

Title: Murdoch Sells TV Guide to an Affiliate of TCI
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1,B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Eben Shapiro & John Lippman
Issue: Television/Media
Description: United Video Satellite Group Inc., owner of the Prevue Channel
and controlled by John Malone's Tele-Communications Inc., agreed to purchase
TV Guide from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for $2 billion in cash and stock.
The new owner plans to make TV Guide's program information available to
consumers via the television and the Internet. "This marks the point that TV
Guide is no longer just a magazine but a multiplatform juggernaut," said
Anthea Disney, chief executive of News America Publishing Group, a News
Corp. unit. The deal "underscores the complex relationship between three
chief executives at the top of the converging world's of media and
technology. Mr. Murdoch, TCI's John Malone and Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates.
Mr. Gates has also identified electronic listings as a crucial service to
provide consumers in the converging age of television and computers."

Title: Murdoch Sets TV Guide Sale For $2 Billion
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/united-tv-guide.html
Author: Geraldine Fabrikant
Issue: Television/Publishing
Description: News Corp will sell TV Guide to United Video Satellite Group
for $2 billion in cash and stock. The deal will end News Corp's ten-year
control of TV Guide. Many had thought that Rupert Murdoch had paid too much
for TV Guide and other magazines in a buying frenzy ten years ago -- he
acknowledged as much years later. Mr. Murdoch's American magazine empire has
now dwindled to The Weekly Standard, a conservative opinion publication with
a circulation of 55,000. At one time, News Corp controlled New York
magazine, European Travel & Life, Mirabella, and a half stake in Elle.
United Video Satellite Group is owned by two companies that are controlled
by TCI, the nation's largest cable operation.

Title: Consumers Can Buy Cable Boxes in Stores In 2000, FCC Decides
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: The Associated Press
Issue: Cable
Description: The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules yesterday
that will make it possible for consumers to purchase cable-TV boxes that
will work on any cable system beginning in July 2000. Cable customers will
still be able to rent boxes from cable TV systems under the new rules.

Title: "Navigation Devices" Rules Create Consumer Market for Set Top Boxes
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/1998/nrcb8013.html
Issue: Cable/Set-top Boxes
Description: The FCC adopted rules providing for the commercial availability
of set top boxes and other consumer equipment used to receive video signals
and other services. In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress directed
the FCC to create rules that would allow consumers to obtain "navigation
devices" -- meaning the set top boxes, remote control units and other
equipment -- from commercial sources other than the service provider. This
order will benefit consumers and further the Commission's goal of providing
competition in the telecommunications marketplace by creating a major market
for consumers to own equipment used to access video programming and other
services in their homes.

** Spectrum **

Title: Spectrum Auctions Conference
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/1998/pnmc8035.html
Issue: Spectrum/Auctions
Description: The FCC's Office of Communications Business Opportunities
(OCBO), and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) will host a free
conference titled "Auctions '98" on Wednesday, June 24, 1998, from 8:30 a.m.
until 5:30 p.m., at the International Trade Center in the new Ronald Reagan
Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington DC. This one-day
conference is designed to inform potential participants and investors about
services proposed for auction by the FCC in the coming year. Topics to be
discussed include 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (lower 80 and general
category channels), 220 MHz, Paging, 39 GHz, Location Monitoring Services,
Public Coast Stations, broadcast opportunities, and the reauction of
FCC-held licenses from prior auctions. There will also be panels on
financing and contracting.

** Privacy **

Title: Sailor Victorious in Gay Case on On-Line Privacy
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/cyber/articles/12navy.html
Author: Philip Shenon
Issue: Privacy
Description: Master Chief Petty Officer Timothy McVeigh (no, not the OK
bomber) will retire from the Navy with full benefits with damages paid by
America Online. AOL had cooperated with Navy investigators to identify "Tim"
with the email address "Boysrch" as Mr. McVeigh. The Navy will also pay Mr.
McVeigh's legal fees. In an online post, Mr. McVeigh has identified his
marital status as "gay." AOL also announced new privacy policies. [Gay case?
Who writes this stuff?]

** Journalism **

Title: Magazine Inquiry on a Writer Finds Fabricated Work
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/magazine-fabrication.html
Author: Robin Pogren
Issue: Journalism
Description: An internal investigation at The New Republic has found that
writer Stephen Glass made up part or all of more than half of the 41
articles wrote for the magazine. Details of the falsifications will be
available in an editor's note due on newstands today. [See also NYT (A18),
"Magazines Split on Need for Fact-Checkers on Articles" by Doreen Carvajal
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/magazine-checkers.html]
*********
...and we are outta here. We'll be back with a full week of Headlines on Monday.

Universal Service
Gore and Administration Officials Rally Around
E-Rate Program (TelecomAM)
Schools Internet subsidy putting FCC in a crossfire
(ChiTrib)
Should We Wire Schools? (WP)
FCC to Hold Open Commission Meeting Thursday,
June 11, 1998 (FCC)

Libraries
Bits-per-Gallon: Bookmobiles Now Offer Internet Access
(CyberTimes)

Mergers
California Lawmakers Want Close Review of SBC-Ameritech Merger
(TelecomAM)
Antitrust Review May Scuttle MCI Deal (WSJ)

Old vs New Media
NBC Stakes Out An Entry Point Onto the Web (WSJ)
NBC Buying A Portal To the Internet (NYT)

Encryption
U.S. and Industry Discuss Data Encryption (NYT)

** Universal Service **

Title: Gore and Administration Officials Rally Around E-Rate Program
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: After hearing Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) say he would end the
program within two weeks, Vice President Gore and other Clinton
Administration officials are being to pressure the Federal Communications
Commission to protect the "e-rate" program. The Vice President said in a
statement that ending the e-rate would "close the door to our children's
future. This is something America cannot afford to do." In a letter to the
FCC, Education
Secretary Richard Riley, Commerce Secretary William Daley, Agriculture
Secretary
Daniel Glickman and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala wrote
that the e-rate's
benefits are "profound. For the very first time, a child in the most
isolated inner city or rural town can have access to the same universe of
knowledge as a child in the most affluent suburb... To claim that America
cannot afford to make this investment is absurd." They added that its costs
have been "more than offset" by other reductions. Letters being circulated
by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), Sen. Pat Murray (D-WA), and Sen. Ted Kennedy
(D-MA) are urging the President to come out in support of the e-rate and for
the FCC to protect the program. The Senate Communications Subcommittee will
hold a hearing on the e-rate June 10 at 9:30am.

Title: Schools Internet subsidy putting FCC in a crossfire
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1 p. 14)
http://chicago.tribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,1051,SAV-9806100234,0
0.html
Author: Matt Berger
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The FCC is being pulled in opposite directions as Members of
Congress on one hand and the Clinton Administration on the other battle over
the future of the e-rate program. Members of Congress are saying the program
should be scrapped; the Administration is trying to protect the new program
that has not dispersed any funds yet. Lynne Bradley of the American Library
Association said the telecommunication industry is pitting consumers against
their own children: "Kids shouldn't be held hostage and this program
shouldn't be held hostage. This is a price consumers are willing to pay."
FCC officials have to the end of the week to decide the fate of the program.

Title: Should We Wire Schools?
Source: Washington Post (A24)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/10/031l-061098-idx.html
Author: WP Editorial Staff
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The "e-rate" program to provide telecommunications discounts to
schools and libraries is coming under a great deal of pressure. Telephone
companies are adding information on customers' bills showing how much
consumers contribute to universal service fund. Although the fees consumers
pay goes mostly to keeping rural rates low (an old and popular program),
because it is new, the schools and libraries program is the one taking the
heat. "...spelling out a long-hidden subsidy also exposes it to political
debate. Such debate need not doom the e-rate, which pulls considerable
support in opinion polls, any more than it is likely to doom the popular
rural subsidies. Nor should it. Squelching it would be the real "stealth" move."

Title: FCC to Hold Open Commission Meeting Thursday, June 11, 1998
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/Agenda/1998/ag98061
1.html
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/Agenda/1998/agb8061
1.html
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting
on Thursday, June 11, 1998, which is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. in
Room 856, at 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Added to the agenda, the
Commission will consider action concerning proposals to ensure the accuracy
and completeness of billing disclosures made by telecommunications carriers.
The Commission will consider action concerning the collection levels for the
schools and libraries and rural health care universal service support
mechanisms for the third and fourth quarters of 1998. Finally, the
Commission will consider
action concerning issues related to local exchange carrier recovery of
universal service contribution obligations. The audio portion of the meeting
will be available at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/.

** Libraries **

Title: Bits-per-Gallon: Bookmobiles Now Offer Internet Access
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/articles/10bookmobile.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: Libraries
Description: A small but growing number of bookmobiles, those
libraries-on-wheels, are starting to offer Internet access. "Essentially the
same sort of services provided in the library, bookmobiles are trying to
provide on the road," said Bernard F. Vavrek, a professor of library science
at Clarion University in Clarion, Pa., and director of the Center for the
Study of Rural Librarianship
http://vaxa.clarion.edu/~grads/csrl/csrlhom.htm. Approximately 900 library
systems around the country use bookmobiles to reach patrons; probably less
than 100 of them offer mobile Internet access. Providing the service
connects remote patrons with the catalog of the library and exposes them to
the global computer network.

** Mergers **

Title: California Lawmakers Want Close Review of SBC-Ameritech Merger
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: In a letter from California state legislators to the Department
of Justice and the FCC, the lawmakers asked for a close review of the
proposed SBC-Ameritech merger because of "major increase in customer
complaints" since the SBC-PacTel merger and the state's Office of Ratepayer
Advocate "has reported aggressive efforts to charge consumers more for
services." "These reports raise concerns about the effects further mergers
may have on competition and on customer service."

Title: Antitrust Review May Scuttle MCI Deal
Source: Wall Street Journal, B10
http://wsj.com
Author: John J. Keller & Julie Wolf
Issue: Mergers
Description: The hard-line antitrust review of WorldCom Inc's $37 billion
purchase of MCI Communications Corp could scuttle the deal if WorldCom must
sell its Internet business, UUNet Technologies, to close the deal. A
European Union antitrust commission is concerned that the merged company
would have too strong a position in operating the Internet backbone (run by
UUNet). Apparently MCI's promise to sell its own Internet backbone service
may not be enough to assuage concerns. But WorldCom has no interest in
selling UUNet. "The deal's off in that case," according to an executive
close to both companies.

** Old vs New Media **

Title: NBC Stakes Out An Entry Point Onto the Web
Source: Wall Street Journal, B1, B8
http://wsj.com
Author: Kyle Pope & Kara Swisher
Issue: Old vs New Media
Description: Seeking a toe-hold in the battle to dominate the Web, NBC (a
unit of General Electric) is buying a stake in the online news company
CNET, Inc, intending to take control of its Snap! directory service in a
bid to compete with such sites as Yahoo! This marks the first time a
broadcast network has made a bet in the feverish race to create an
entry-point to the Web. NBC execs see this investment as the beginning of
what could be a massive Internet commitment for the network. "Over time,
the Internet and the computer and the television are going to come
together," said NBC executive VP Tom Rogers. NBC and CNet executives insist
that this deal is completely separate from NBC's relationship with the
NBC/Microsoft MSNBC cable news channel.

Title: NBC Buying A Portal To the Internet
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/10cnet.html
Author: Saul Hansell
Issue: Old vs New Media
Description: NBC announced it will buy a 5% controlling stake in Snap, a
Internet search and directory service. Portals like Snap are emerging as
profitable online services as they charge large fees to WWW sites that want
to be listed in the directories. The deal could be worth as much as $39
million and represents a broadcast network's first foray into this new commerce.

** Encryption **

Title: U.S. and Industry Discuss Data Encryption
Source: New York Times (C5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/10encrypt.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Encryption
Description: Leading computer executives -- including Bill Gates -- met with
Attorney General Janet Reno and the director of the FBI to discuss
disagreements about export restrictions on encryption technology. "The
presence of industry leaders encourages us now to redouble our efforts with
industry," said a White House official who spoke on the condition of
anonymity. "Without a solution, we risk losing our lead in this important
technology." Any agreement "must include further real relaxation in export
controls," the official said, adding: "We are still discussing exactly what
those relaxations should be. That's the $64,000 question."

*********

[Today's CRH is a "Headlines Lite." We did not cover the Wall Street Journal
or the Chicago Tribune today. KT]

Universal Service
MCI Announces 5.9 Percent Surcharge for Universal Service
(TelecomAM)

Internet Regulation & Privacy
F.T.C. to Propose Laws to Protect Children on Line (NYT)
Apologies for Mix-Up That Listed E-Mail Codes (NYT)
Digital Media Content for Children and Teens (NTIA)

** Universal Service **

Title: MCI Announces 5.9 Percent Surcharge for Universal Service
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: In a tariff filing at the FCC, MCI has announced it will charge
5.9 percent fee on interstate and international calls to fund traditional
universal service and the new "e-rate" program. "Federal Universal Service
Fee" is a new line item that will appear on customers' bills starting in
July. MCI spokeswoman Claire Hassett said the company added the charges to
residential bills after estimating that it will take a "voluntary loss of
$107 million" in the first half of 1998 because it did not assess the fee.

** Internet Regulation & Privacy **

Title: F.T.C. to Propose Laws to Protect Children on Line
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/04privacy.html
Author: Amy Harmon
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said, "This is a historic
benchmark that changes forever the discussion of the protections which
children need in a cyberera." A new report from the Federal Trade Commission
is expected to censure the Internet industry for doing nearly nothing to
protect online privacy. "Children are told by parents not to talk to
strangers whom they meet on the street, but they are given a contrary
message by Web sites that encourage them to interact with strangers in their
homes via the Web," the report says.

Title: Apologies for Mix-Up That Listed E-Mail Codes
Source: New York Times (C6)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/cyber/articles/04globe.html
Author: Lisa Napoli
Issue: Privacy
Description: 35,000 subscribers to Advertising Age magazine got email
inviting them to join an online community -- at TheGlobe.com. The email
contained a preselected name and password -- but the password seemed very
familiar since it is the same one subscribers were using to log on to the Ad
Age site. The email did not note the connection between Ad Age and TheGlobe.
"The Ad Age people merged their database with ours so people wouldn't get a
second password, to create a seamless introduction to the community," said
Esther Loewy, a spokeswoman for TheGlobe.com. "That's pretty standard in
terms of business alliances."

Title: Digital Media Content for Children and Teens
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/contentd.htm
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: Further details on the June 11-12 conference on Digital Media
Content for Children and Teens have been released. Participants in the
conference will work together over the two days to identify concrete action
by private companies, non-profit organizations, educators, government and
young people that will enrich online learning for America's children and teens.
*********