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Legislation
TelecomAM: Senate Commerce to mark Up Internet Legislation Thursday

Television
NYT: The Cleansing Power of Free TV
NYT: Belgrade TV Makes Serbs Furious at Albanians
NYT: Advertising: PBS' 'Arthur' Again Cavorts With Commerce

Education
WP: For Computer Have-Nots, A Web of School Problems

Telephony
NYT: It's a Control Thing: Vermont Vs. Cell Phone Towers
WSJ: ICG Joins Telephone Price Wars, Plans 5.9 Cents a Minute for Long
Distance

Microsoft
NYT: Justice Department Names 'Point Man' on Microsoft Case
WSJ: Microsoft, in a Swipe at Sun, Introduces New Tools to Use Java Only
on Windows

Corporate
WP: Smaller Rivals Question MCI-WorldCom Merger Plan
NYT: 2 Corporate Cultures Meet in MCI-Worldcom Merger
NYT: Magazine to Police Media Hires a Watchdog for Itself
WP: 9 News Partners Disband
WSJ: Cisco Sets Pact for Puchase of NetSpeed

Journalism/Internet
WSJ: Drudge Match: A Web of Intrigue: The Internet's Bad Boy Has His Day
in Court

** Legislation **

Title: Senate Commerce to mark Up Internet Legislation Thursday
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Legislation
Description: Two pieces on Internet legislation are on the agenda of
Thursday's markup session of the Senate Commerce Committee. S-1482,
introduced by Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) would ban material "harmful to minors"
from being posted on the Internet [sure, there goes Headlines]. S-1619,
introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and
Ranking Member Ernest Hollings (D-SC), would require schools and libraries
receiving universal service support funds to use Internet filtering
software. The Committee will also act on S-1618, also introduced by Sen.
McCain, that cracks down on slamming. The markup session is scheduled for
9:30am in Russell Building Room 253.

** Television **

Title: The Cleansing Power of Free TV
Source: New York Times (A30)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/11wed1.html
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform/Free Time for Candidates
Description: It is expected that the Senate Appropriations Committee will
approve legislation that would prevent the Federal Communications Committee
from spending any money to develop or enforce new rules that would require
television stations to provide free air time for political candidates. The
measure would be added as a rider to a supplemental appropriations bill
"that includes funding for peacekeeping in Bosnia." "Like the broadcasters,
Congressional opponents pretend that this is purely a jurisdictional issue,
and that a free-time rule would exceed the FCC's powers. Yet, as the
Congressional Research Service concluded last year, the agency has broad
authority to insure that broadcast licensees use the public airwaves to
serve the public interest. If the 1996 fund-raising scandals taught us
anything, it is that a system under which candidates mortgage themselves to
wealthy interests in order to buy TV time does not serve the best interests
of the Republic. A free-time rule would not by itself break the insidious
link between politics and big money, but it could weaken that link while
giving underfunded challengers a chance to be heard."

Title: Belgrade TV Makes Serbs Furious at Albanians
Source: New York Times (A10)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/yugo-belgrade.html
Author: Jane Perlez
Issue: International
Description: Serbian President Solbodan Milosevic is using specific
televised images to drum up Serbian nationalist sentiment. The most recent
image being used in this mounting television campaign is the four widows of
Serbian policemen "weeping unconsolably at the funerals of their husbands
killed in an ambush set by ethnic Albanian guerrillas." To date, the
state-run television has failed to broadcast any images of the more than 70
Albanians killed in Kosovo over the past 10 days.

Title: Advertising: PBS' 'Arthur' Again Cavorts With Commerce
Source: New York Times (D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/aardvark-ad-column.html
Author: Stuart Elliott
Issue: Television
Description: A recent promotion sponsored by Juicy Juice and TV Guide
concerns critics, "who are worried about the blurring of lines between
commercial and non-commercial enterprises -- particularly those aimed at
children." Their primary concern stems from the contest that the promotion
is centered around. The contest is open to children, ages 5-8, to suggest
ideas for an episode of "Arthur," a popular cartoon character whose series
of children's books has expanded into a hit PBS program. This aspect of the
promotion brings to light a primary topic among critics: "the continuing
expansion of profit-making ventures into formerly non-profit realms." PBS
executives assert that public broadcasting "has been embracing elements of
commercialization because it must match the increasingly sophisticated
thrusts of its commercial competitors."

** Education **

Title: For Computer Have-Nots, A Web of School Problems
Source: Washington Post (A1,A11)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/11/089l-031198-idx.html
Author: David Nakamura
Issue: Education
Description: Educators say that students who do not have access to a
computer in their home are at a huge disadvantage. Even though the falling
cost of computers have made the machines more affordable for some families,
many are still unable to afford such a purchase for their children. A
Washington, DC area survey conducted by Scarborough Report Corp., a market
research company, last August found that "71 percent of area households with
children ages 12 to 17 had a computer, and only 45 percent had a computer
with a modem." And according to a report by Computer Intelligence, another
market research firm, "nationwide, 60 percent of households with children
have a computer." Teachers and school administrators say that the
differences they are seeing between students who have a computer and those
who don't is not only in the have-nots being forced to turn in work that is
less polished. These students are also falling behind in the development of
computer skills that they will need in college and the job market, and they
are less likely to be exposed to as many facts and ideas as their classmates
who are more skilled in navigating the Internet. Some schools have tried to
solve the problem by keeping computer labs open both before and after
school. But many schools say that they can't afford to pay their staff
overtime and have difficulty in finding teachers that are willing to
volunteer their time to keep the labs open.

** Telephony **

Title: It's a Control Thing: Vermont Vs. Cell Phone Towers
Source: New York Times (A12)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/vt-cellphones.html
Author: Carey Goldberg
Issue: Wireless Communication
Description: Vermont is quickly becoming a national focal point as it
mounts a campaign against towers being put up for cellular phone traffic.
The tower issue has become so heated in Vermont that the state's senator,
Patrick Leahy, and two congressional colleagues, Sen. James Jeffords and
Rep. Bernard Sanders, held a special town meeting to discuss plans to put a
150 foot tower on top of Buffalo Mountain. The special guest at the meeting
was William Kennard, chairman of the FCC, who traveled to the site to
specifically hear Vermonters' concerns. "I don't want Vermont turned into a
giant pincushion with 200-foot towers sticking out of every mountain and
valley," declared Leahy. "We're not asking that Vermont be left out of the
telecommunications age. But we Vermonters want to be able to determine where
the towers are located."

Title: ICG Joins Telephone Price Wars, Plans 5.9 Cents a Minute for Long
Distance
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (B8)
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Long-Distance
Description: The rate undermines the dime-a-minute pricing widely
available, and Qwest Communications' 7.5 cent-a-minute price for Internet
phone calls. New carriers are able to offer lower prices in part because
their calls bypass the tolls that traditional long-distance carriers must
pay to local phone companies. IGC is able to offer LD service nationwide
because of its recent acquisition of Internet service provider Netcom.

** Microsoft **

Title: Justice Department Names 'Point Man' on Microsoft Case
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/microsoft-suit.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Antitrust
Description: In a sign that the Justice Department's confrontation with the
Microsoft Corp. may be escalating, the department hired Jeffrey Blattner, a
former chief counsel of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, as special counsel
for information technology. A Justice Department official said yesterday
that Blattner, whose appointment is expected to be announced today, will
serve as the "point man inside Justice on the Microsoft case."

Title: Microsoft, in a Swipe at Sun, Introduces New Tools to Use Java Only
on Windows
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (B8)
Author: Nick Wingfield
Issue: Computer Technology
Description: Microsoft is introducing new tools to encourage programmers to use
Sun's Java language to write software that runs only on Microsoft Windows
systems.
Microsoft's new Windows Foundation Classes make it easier to create Java
programs
that look just like other Windows programs, undercutting the primary
selling point of Java that it can write applications running unmodified on
virtually any computer, regardless of the underlying software or hardware.
This new technology of Microsoft's only escalates the dispute between the two
companies that is already in court.

** Corporate **

Title: Smaller Rivals Question MCI-WorldCom Merger Plan
Source: Washington Post (C11)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/11/052l-031198-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Merger
Description: As shareholders of MCI and Worldcom prepare to vote today on
the companies proposed merger, federal regulators continue to investigate
into whether the newly-formed company "would control too much of the
Internet. Critics contend it would carry more than 60 percent of data
traffic on major Internet routes, an amount the companies deny." Whatever
the regulators conclude, most analysts agree that the merger will not be
delayed on antitrust grounds. Regulators may however impose tough guidelines
that would require the companies to give competitors access to the network
or even sell off some Internet operations.

Title: 2 Corporate Cultures Meet in MCI-Worldcom Merger
Source: New York Times (D1,D20)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/biztech/articles/11phone.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Merger
Description: One of the possible hurdles in the pending MCI-Worldcom merger
is the stark differences between the two company's boards. "The MCI board is
much older, more corporate almost; it has two women and an
African-American," said one person who was present at a dinner held last
night at MCI's headquarters. "It's like you'd think a [traditional] board
would look like." "The Worldcom board is all entrepreneurial-type guys that
came with the acquisitions," the person said. "The difference is almost
funny." Analysts said Tuesday that they don't think hurdles like these will
block the merger. But they could provide a few bumps in a deal that would
create one of the world's most powerful communications companies.

Title: Magazine to Police Media Hires a Watchdog for Itself
Source: New York Times (B8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/media-watchdog.html
Author: Robin Pogrebin
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Steven Brill's new magazine, Content, will work as an
aggressive mass market watchdog for the media industry. The magazine, whose
first issue is due out in June, will cover everything from Web sites to
major newspapers to 24-hour cable. Yet as Brill described Content to people,
he kept encountering the question, "But who will be watching you?" So he
took the question to heart and hired Bill Kovach, the curator of the Nieman
Foundation for journalism at Harvard University. Brill and Kovach have a
two-year contract under which Kovach will "monitor the magazine as an
outside ombudsman." Brill said of Kovach's role that "it's basic quality
control."

Title: 9 News Partners Disband
Source: Washington Post (C12)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/11/058l-031198-idx.html
Author: Eric Quinones
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: New Century Network, a three-year partnership of nine leading
newspaper companies that formed to boost newspapers' presence on the
Internet, has shut down because members could not decide on a common
business strategy. "Not enough members felt strongly enough to keep it
going," said NCN board member Harry Chandler, director of new business
development at the Los Angeles Times. The board decided on Monday to shut
down NCN immediately, a move that has left 40 employees out of work.
Chandler said that NCN's members may still band together to seek
advertisers, but there are currently no plans to continue their mission.

Title: Cisco Sets Pact for Puchase of NetSpeed
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (B8)
Author: Lee Gomes
Issue: Merger
Description: Cisco Systems, Inc. has signed an agreement to buy NetSpeed
Inc, a maker of high-speed Internet technology called digital subscriber
line (DSL) which uses existing telephone lines to provide high-speed links
to the Internet. Initially Cisco plans on selling the DSl equipment to
local phone companies, then eventually to consumers. DSL modems currently
cost around $200.

** Journalism/Internet **

Title: Drudge Match: A Web of Intrigue: The Internet's Bad Boy Has His Day
in Court
Source: Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/) (A1)
Author: Edward Felsenthal
Issue: Journalism/Internet
Description: In yet another case of the media talking about itself, the WSJ
spends many inches on scandal and personal enmity before getting to
anything approaching the critical issues behind this story: How does one
decide what amounts to "reckless" speech on a free-wheeling, unbridled
medium like the Web? How much reporting and fact-checking should diligent
Internet publishers do? Is a retraction meaningful in cyberspace? WSJ
spends some time on the fact that few "real" reporters like or respect
Drudge's journalistic practices and now find themselves either lending
support to a style of journalism they detest or risk putting their own
freedoms at risk in the future. (hmmmmmmmmmmmm...)
*********

Television
B&C: Gore group considers two hours of free airtime
B&C: FCC looks beyond free airtime
B&C: Ready *and* not, here comes DTV
B&C: Under fire from both sides
B&C: Big bucks planned for anti-tobacco ads
WSJ: Tribune Co. to Keep Two Florida Outlets Pending FCC Review
NYT: Another Setback in Quest To Marry TV and Phones

Telephony
TelecomAM: Rural States Say FCC Universal Service Plan Will Raise Rates
WSJ: Proposals Offer Baby Bells Quick Entry In Long Distance if They Are
Split Up
WSJ: Cellular Carriers Bypass Dealers, Creating Static
WP: Undersea Cables Carry Growing Rivers of Data
NYT: MCI and Worldcom Set For Telefonica Alliance

Education
WP: A Corporate Seat in Public Classrooms

Encryption
WSJ: Sun Holding Off On Plans to Market Encryption System

** Television **

Title: Gore group considers two hours of free airtime
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.50)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Michael Stroud
Issue: Digital TV/Free Time for Candidates
Description: At its meeting in Los Angeles last week, the Gore commission
heard testimony from Tracy Westen, president of the Center for Governmental
Studies who proposed that national political parties be granted two hours
per TV station in free political airtime for 60 days before an election.
"The only way many candidates can now compete is by raising extraordinary
amounts of money," Mr. Westin said. "At least [this approach] allows
everybody to get in the door." [For a summary of the meeting see
http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/meeting4.html]

Title: FCC looks beyond free airtime
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.12)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Digital TV
Description: A draft of next month's proposed rulemaking at the Federal
Communications Commission includes political airtime, children's educational
programming, local informational programming, and programming for
"underservered" populations. The rulemaking will probably be released at the
Commission's April 2 public meeting. Some of the proposed public interest
obligations may apply to analog licenses as well. [For more on digital TV
see http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/]

Title: Ready *and* not, here comes DTV
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.29)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Steve McClellan
Issue: Digital TV
Description: This week's B&C cover story examines the status of the
transition to digital television. Although the FCC gave its final OK last
month on the new channel assignments, broadcasters "don't yet have their
digital acts together." The Big Four networks are expected to announce their
plans at the next National Association of Broadcasters meeting April 4-9.
ABC, NBC, and CBS are expected to do some mix of HDTV in primetime and SDTV
during daytime hours. Fox appears interested in doing SDTV at all times. But
the networks have not decided on format yet. Extensive stories cover
must-carry rules, cable compatibility, and television set availability.

Title: Under fire from both sides
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.24)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: FCC
Description: FCC Chairman Bill Kennard has been under heavy scrutiny from
Republicans since Congress reconvened -- now he's under fire from Democrats
as well. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) launched an attack on Chairman Kennard
last week -- he's unhappy with the Commission's implementation of the
Telecom Act of 1996 and the Chairman's willingness to consider mandates for
free time for political candidates. Insiders say the new Chairman has not
given enough attention to congressional allies and critics.

Title: Big bucks planned for anti-tobacco ads
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.26)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Television/Advertising
Description: The Clinton administration pledged $7 million last month for
radio and multimedia ads to educate the public about a new law forbidding
sales of tobacco products to anyone under 18 years old. The Administration
plans to spend ~$300 million this year on anti-drug and census education --
"bringing the grand total of administration spending on television and radio
ads to about half a billion dollars. National Association of Broadcasters
President Eddie Fritts has warned broadcasters that making the government
pay for these ads may be fodder for demanding additional public interest
obligations. "The fact that broadcasters are not ready and willing to
provide a significant amount of time for discussion of issues like this is
quite revelatory. The fact is that it shouldn't be necessary to buy the
time," said Andy Schwartzman of the Media Access Project
http://www.mediaaccess.org/.

Title: Tribune Co. to Keep Two Florida Outlets Pending FCC Review
Source: Wall Street Journal (B5)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Ownership
Description: The FCC extended a temporary waiver that had allowed the
Tribune Co. to own both the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale and WDZL-TV in
Miami. The
waiver was set to expire March 22, at which time Tribune would have been
forced to sell one of the properties. FCC rules generally bar common
ownership of a TV station and a daily newspaper that serve the same market.
However, the agency is expected to soon review whether the rules should be
scrapped.

Title: Another Setback in Quest To Marry TV and Phones
Source: New York Times (D7)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/09phone.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Television
Description: The much anticipated convergence of television and telephone
took another step back last week when Stephen Weiswasser announced that he
would step down from his position of running Americast, a joint television
venture established by Ameritech, BellSouth, GTE, SBC Communications and the
Walt Disney Co. Americast, based in Los Angeles, was developed in 1995 as a
vehicle for delivering television programs over telephone lines. Weiswasser
said, "the reason I'm leaving, candidly, is not because I think it's dying.
It's that the things that brought me to Americast are not now the things
that Americast is doing. The original concept was that we at Americast were
going to develop a lot of new content." Last summer, Americast decided to
give up its marketing and programming divisions in favor increased emphasis
on technology development. This move seems to be a developing trend in
corporate strategies, as "a focus on core businesses has come back into
vogue among high-technology companies."

** Telephony **

Title: Rural States Say FCC Universal Service Plan Will Raise Rates
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The FCC's plan to reform universal service would cause major
rate distortions within high-cost areas, representatives of rural states
said. Maine PUC Chairman Thomas Welch and Bell Atlantic Senior VP Thomas
Tauke said the federal gov't. should give more support to states with a
disproportionate number of high-cost customers. North Dakota PSC
Commissioner Bruce Hagen said his state would need to impose a 42% surcharge
under the FCC's plan, whereas absorbing costs nationally would require only
an 8% charge.

Title: Proposals Offer Baby Bells Quick Entry In Long Distance if They Are
Split Up
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Long Distance
Description: In an unexpected move, Republican Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio and
Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin began circulating a draft version of
a bill that would let the Bells offer long distance phone services in their
home markets if they completely divest themselves of their local network
facilities. LCI International filed a similar petition with the FCC, calling
for the Bells to create separate wholesale and retail businesses if the
Bells want to quickly enter the long-distance market. Not surprisingly, none
of the five Baby Bells are embracing the idea, which some proponents have
dubbed "Divestiture II" in reference to the 1984 breakup of the old American
Telephone & Telepgraph Co. "It doesn't make sense," said Randy L. New, VP of
legislative implementation for BellSouth, the Atlanta-based Bell. "Breaking
up the Bell operating companies is a very radical thing to do."

Title: Cellular Carriers Bypass Dealers, Creating Static
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Competition/Wireless
Description: Local dealers who helped build the cell-phone market are saying
that the wireless-phone carriers are trying to squeeze them out of business.
Strategis Group, a Washington research firm, estimated that at least 50
lawsuits have been filed by dealers against carriers. Most of the suits
allege unfair trade practices, which the carriers deny. There's no question
that the carriers, faced with more competition from upstarts, are getting
more aggressive. Not only are they invading dealers' turfs with their own
stores and kiosks, but they are also offering special prices and
telemarketing to reach potential customers in their own homes.

Title: Undersea Cables Carry Growing Rivers of Data
Source: Washington Post (A1,A10)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/09/041l-030998-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Undersea fiber-optic cables have become one of the most
important components of today's communication- and information-based world.
The majority of the world's telephone and Internet traffic travels through
these hair-thin tubes laying along the floors of the world's seas. Last year
the AT&T Corp. purchased a worldwide fleet of ships made by Tyco
International Ltd. "that has installed more transoceanic fiber than any
other company." Rob Jones, captain of one of these ships, the C.S. Global
Link, said, "most people really do not have a grasp of the amount of
telephone cables that are undersea, and that their calls actually go through
them." According to the KMI Corp., of Newport RI, there are 228,958 miles of
fiber-optic cable currently lining the ocean floor - that is enough to
encircle the earth about 10 times. KMI estimates that by the end of 1999
another 177,717 miles of cable will be installed.

Title: MCI and Worldcom Set For Telefonica Alliance
Source: New York Times (D3)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/mci-telefonica-deal.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Merger
Description: Telefonica, the largest communications provider in Latin America
and Spain's dominant telephone company, plans to announce today an alliance
with Worldcom Inc. and MCI Communications Corp. The announcement would come
11 months after Telefonica dropped its original U.S. partner, the AT&T
Corp., for a deal with the international group called Concert, led by
British Telecommunications PLC. When Telefonica made its decision last
April, MCI was part of Concert. So while BT is still in charge of Concert,
Telefonica's latest move appears to demonstrate that the company is
primarily interested in dealing with MCI. BT also announced last month, that
it was no longer interested in maintaining a link with the Spanish company
now that MCI wasn't part of Concert.

** Education **

Title: A Corporate Seat in Public Classrooms
Source: Washington Post (A1,A6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/09/056l-030998-idx.html
Author: Rene Sanchez
Issue: Education/Advertising
Description: In reaction to all of the advertising placement by private
companies in schools, state lawmaker Marlin Schneider (WI) proposed
a total ban on it. But his idea is receiving strong opposition, much of it
from educators. In response to this opposition, Schneider, a former teacher,
said, "Schools need the money and they have nowhere else to turn. So they're
letting these companies come in and saturate kids with advertising. Ads are
everywhere in schools now." While corporate advertising isn't new to the
nation's school systems, companies are becoming more sophisticated and
relentless in their efforts to lure students to their products. "The issue
is igniting complex debates: Some school boards say that selling advertising
space on their sites or using corporate material in class can be a creative,
harmless way to raise money without burdening taxpayers. Others denounce the
pacts as schemes that turn schools into instruments of corporate propaganda
and pollute young minds in a captive setting that should be held more
sacred." (Is the message on the billboard or the blackboard?)

** Encryption **

Title: Sun Holding Off On Plans to Market Encryption System
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Don Clark
Issue: Encryption
Description: A controversial plan by Sun to market Russian-made encryption
software is stalled, as the computer maker awaits findings of a U.S.
government inquiry that has dragged on for nine months. The Palo Alto,
Calif., company announced a plan to market data-security software developed
by Elvis+Co., a company formed by scientists from the former Soviet space
program. Sun, which holds a 10% stake in Elvis+, planned to ship the
software to foreign customers from distributors outside the U.S. Sun's move
attracted wide attention because it seemed to fall outside the jurisdiction
of U.S. regulatory agencies, which control the export of powerful encryption
products on grounds that terrorists and others could use them to foil
wiretaps. Nevertheless, the U.S. Commerce Dept. began a review of Sun's
plans, examining the contention that Elvis+ received no technical assistance
from Sun that would make the encryption software subject to U.S. export
controls.
*********

See the Circuits in New York Times -- section E of the paper of on the web
at http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/circuits/index.html

Television
NTIA: President's Advisory Panel -- Digital Television
Current: FCC minimizes 'second-move' DTV headaches
Current: On-air PBS 'bug' aims to catch surfers, but catches flak
Current: Public TV's new Forum: its fifth center of power

Arts
NYT: Exhibit of Physical Objects Transcends Physical World

Internet
WSJ: Your Cyber Career: Using The Internet to Find a Job
NYT: Gore Letter Seems to Soften Stance On Encryption
NYT: 14 Are Charged With Taking Sports Bets Over the Internet
WP: 14 Charged in Internet Betting
WP: FTC Sues Online Marketer Over Alleged Spam Scam

Competition
FCC: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 --
Moving Toward Competition Under Section 271

Microsoft
WSJ: Washington Face-Off Dims Microsoft's Day
WSJ: Microsoft Weighs Killing 'Channels' On Web Browser
WP: Justice Dept. May Broaden Case Against Microsoft
NYT: Microsoft, Accused of Trademark Violations, Is Sued in Europe

Merger
WSJ: EU Commission Launches Probe Into WorldCom's MCI Purchase

Securities
NYT: Study Finds Rise in Computer Crime
WP: Hacker Hits NASA, Other PCs

** Television **

Title: President's Advisory Panel -- Digital Television
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/new.html
Issue: Digital TV
Description: A transcript of the March 2, 1998 meeting of the Advisory
Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television
Broadcasters http://www.ntia.doc.gov/pubintadvcom/pubint.htm has been
posted. One can view the morning session transcript
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/pubintadvcom/marchmtg/transcript-am.htm or the
afternoon session transcript
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/pubintadvcom/marchmtg/transcript-pm.htm. [Or see a
summary of the meeting at http://www.benton.org/Policy/TV/meeting4.html.

Title: FCC minimizes 'second-move' DTV headaches
Source: Current (pg.1)
Issue: Digital TV
Description: In its third and probably final set of channel assignments for
digital TV, the FCC relieved a number of expected problems by adding five
channels -- 2 through 6 -- to the "core" bandwidth that will be devoted to
TV in the future. This, along with rules that permit stations to boost power
and use UHF beam-tilting antennas, is good news for public broadcasters,
said Marilyn
Mohrman-Gillis. The assignments will reduce from 55 to 38 the
number of public TV stations whose DTV channels will be outside the "core"
and would have to move their digital operations to another channel -- the
expensive and much detested "second move."

Title: On-air PBS 'bug' aims to catch surfers, but catches flak
Source: Current (p. 3)
Issue: Public Broadcasting
Description: PBS postponed plans to introduce a new on-air "bug" that
promotes the network's brand with history programs after station programmers
objected that they had not been consulted about the icons. During the annual
PBS programmers' conference last month, the issue came up in an open-mike
general session with PBS executives, demonstrating again stations'
sensitivities on the question of whose identity -- PBS's or the local
stations' -- should be imprinted most strongly in viewers' minds. While not
unanimous, sentiment against the icons seemed to be heightened by concerns
that PBS hadn't offered stations enough opportunities to weigh in on the new
"History's Best on PBS" bugs, which were to begin appearing periodically in
the lower right corner of the screen during last week's debut of "Reagan."

Title: Public TV's new Forum: its fifth center of power
Source: Current (pg. 17)
Issue: Public Television
Description: The Nat'l Forum for Public Television Executives convenes for
the first time March 25 in Washington, D.C. In creating the Forum, licensees
have
carefully crafted a decision-making process and structure that they can
trust to represent their own collective best interests. The Forum has the
opportunity to develop definitive positions on important issues and become a
powerful voice among those who control public TV's destiny. There is a
danger, however, that station execs, struggling to balance competing demands
on their time and attention, will fail to commit adequate attention and
resources to make the Forum work.

** Arts **

Title: Exhibit of Physical Objects Transcends Physical World
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/cyber/artsatlarge/05artsatlarg...
Author: Matthew Mirapaul
Issue: Arts
Description: On Wednesday, the Smithsonian Institution's Without Walls
program launched its prototype site for Revealing Things, "an online
exhibition that examines the cultural significance of everyday objects
through onscreen text, audio remembrances and music clips of the period."
"It's actually the best thing I've seen any museum working on for a while,"
said David Green, executive director of the National Initiative for a
Networked Cultural Heritage, a coalition based in Washington, DC. The
exhibit, created specifically for the Web, contains 54 common but
distinctive household items. "Very few of these things are on exhibit,"
Judith Gradwohl, director of the Smithsonian Without Walls program,
explained. "Most are from the backs of drawers. We actually went around and
asked curators, 'What do you have in your collection that's really terrific
but you haven't been able to show?'" The curators worked to develop
something that could not be translated into a physical exhibition space.
Gradwohl asserted, "If we can do it better in our halls, we shouldn't be
attempting it on the Web." Revealing Things is a prototype for a larger
exhibit to be placed online in 1999. To access the Revealing Things site,
click on: http://www.si.edu/revealingthings/

** Internet **

Title: Your Cyber Career: Using The Internet to Find a Job
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: Employment
Description: With a few keystrokes, you can beam your talents and background
to hundreds of potential employers. Job postings from around the globe are
available at your fingertips, and search engines will let you quickly scan
through thousands of postings to find those that match your skills. But once
you transmit your resume' into the digital realm, you quickly lose control
over which and how many people see that information. (www.monster.com;
www.careermosaic.com; www.collegegrad.com; www.hrsjob.com;
www.nationaladsearch.com)

Title: Gore Letter Seems to Soften Stance On Encryption
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/cyber/articles/05encrypt.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Encryption
Description: According to a letter sent by Vice President Al Gore to Senate
Democratic Leader Tom Dachle on Wednesday, the White House is backing off
from its push for national controls on computer encryption technology.
Instead of legislation, Gore said the administration wants to open
"intensive discussion that will apply the unparalleled expertise of U.S.
industry leaders in developing innovative solutions that support our
national goals." He added, "These and other discussions with industry can
also enable the administration to take additional steps to relax export
controls on encryption products." But Gore emphasized that the
administration "continues to believe in a balanced approach -- promoting the
growth of secure electronic commerce, protecting the public safety and
national security, ensuring privacy, and enabling continued technology
leadership by U.S. industry."

Title: 14 Are Charged With Taking Sports Bets Over the Internet
Source: New York Times (A1,A29)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/05gambling.html
Author: Benjamin Weiser
Issue: Content
Description: Authorities in Manhattan charged 14 owners and managers of
offshore companies yesterday with illegal use of interstate phone lines to
take online bets for Americans who placed wagers with the click of a mouse.
In the first federal prosecution case of sports gambling over the Internet,
the government said it would not charge any bettors who were using the sites
but that the prosecution should be viewed as a warning that such activity is
illegal. The case comes when the industry is seeing a tremendous amount of
growth. The government said that online sports betting had collected $600
million in gross revenues last year, up from approximately $60 million in
1996. "You're never going to see a shutdown," said Anthony Cabot, a gambling
law expert in Las Vegas. "What you're going to see is a number of people
being dissuaded from entering the industry and those who are in the industry
are going to take much greater precaution in hiding their ownership if they
are U.S. citizens."

Title: 14 Charged in Internet Betting
Source: Washington Post (E4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/05/176l-030598-idx.html
Author: Sharon Walsh
Issue: Content
Description: In New York yesterday, the owners and managers of six Internet
sports betting companies that operated offshore were charged in federal
court with illegally using the telephone and wires to transmit bets.
Although there have been a few state prosecutions, this is the first federal
case against businesses that allow illegal betting using the Internet, said
U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White. "The Internet is not an electronic sanctuary
for illegal betting," said U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno. "It's a
federal crime to use the Internet to conduct betting operations...You can't
hid online and you can't hide offshore," Reno said.

Title: FTC Sues Online Marketer Over Alleged Spam Scam
Source: Washington Post (E2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/05/170l-030598-idx.html
Author: David Segal
Issue: Online Services
Description: The Federal Trade Commission sued an online marketing company,
Internet Business Broadcasting, based in Calif., yesterday for allegedly
defrauding customers in an advertising scam through unsolicited mass email.
The FTC's move marks the first time in history that agency officials have
targeted a producer of spam. "Right now the agency is in a wait-and-see mode
to see what the people in the industry and in privacy advocacy groups have
to say about it," said Eileen Harrington, the FTC's associate director of
marketing practices. "It's a hugely effective way to reach a lot of people
and it's not, per se, a bad thing." Executives of Internet Business
Broadcasting could not be reached yesterday for comment.

** Competition **

Title: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 --
Moving Toward Competition Under Section 271
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek811.html
Author: Chairman William Kennard
Issue: Long Distance/Competition
Description: Chairman Kennard's 3/4/98 Statement "The Telecommunications Act
of 1996

Electronic Commerce
NYT: For Popular Categories, Online Sales Rise Sharply
NYT: Proposal Aims to Level Internet Playing Field
WSJ: Open Market Inc. Says It Will Receive Patents for
Internet-Commerce Software

Long-Distance
WSJ: Inside AT&T, A Crackdown On 'Slamming'

Antitrust
NYT: Microsoft Chairman Visits Senators on Eve of Testimony
WP: Gates Fears Curb on Innovation
WP: Microsoft In Senate's Focus
WSJ: Gates Answers To Criticism Of Microsoft
WSJ: Beware High-Tech Monopolies

Arts
NYT: Leading Art Site Suspended

Merger
NYT: Sale Weighed As Takeover Fight Goes On
NYT: Olivetti Sells Computer Services Unit to Wang

** Electronic Commerce **

Title: For Popular Categories, Online Sales Rise Sharply
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/cyber/articles/03survey.html
Author: Lisa Napoli
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: The market research group ( at )plan,based in Stamford, CT, release
a report yesterday that shows 24 percent of active Internet users shop
online. The buying trends are up considerably from July 1997, when ( at )plan
released its first report. The five Categories that show the most
significant growth were: airline ticket reservations, up 301 percent; stocks
and mutual funds, up 291 percent; computer hardware, up 111 percent; car
rentals, up 105 percent; and books, up 94 percent. "People are getting
increasingly comfortable with shopping on the Internet," said Mark Wright,
chairman and chief executive of ( at )plan. "Industries are springing up
overnight. Consumer fraud fears on the Web are diminishing. Online consumers
are increasingly willing to conduct sizable dollar transactions on the Web."

Title: Proposal Aims to Level Internet Playing Field
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes/Eurobytes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/cyber/eurobytes/03euro.html
Author: Bruno Giussani
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: Although the information available through the Internet may be
vast, the user's "mind space" remains limited and quite unyielding. "Surveys
suggest that users routinely tend to enter the Internet through the same
portals and list no more than three or four dozen different Web sites on
their bookmarks files." Given this information, recent rumors and deals in
both the U.S. and Europe confirm a trend towards consolidating the Internet
market and the emergence of a short list of dominant players. Among the ones
at the top of the list are those that entered the field of electronic
commerce early in the game, like Amazon.com bookstore, and thus have already
established their cyber-brand name on the user's mental cyberspace map. The
list also includes large companies with brand recognition and enough
financial backing to push aside smaller would-be competitors. A recent study
on electronic trading, published by Demos, a liberal British think tank,
said that based on current trends, we are heading for "an inefficient online
marketplace where the big players will progressively maximize their
advantage." The study advocates the creation of "guaranteed electronic
markets" (GEMs), a new design for electronic commerce systems in which
"central computers guarantee each transaction by verifying that buyers and
sellers can trust each other." Wingham Rowan, the report's author, says that
without such a system, electronic markets "promise little not already
offered on the advertising cards displayed in corner-shop windows." Rowan
writes that such guaranteed markets "encourage both dependable sellers and
cooperative buyers, while penalizing the unreliable" and compensating the
victim.

Title: Open Market Inc. Says It Will Receive Patents for Internet-Commerce
Software
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jon G. Auerbach
Issue: Internet Commerce
Description: Software maker Open Market plans to announce today it has won
three patents covering widely used technologies for Internet commerce and
marketing and it will seek licensing fees from companies using them, company
officials say. The most significant patent covers current Internet
technologies that let people pay for goods on-line and receive instant
credit-card verification. A Patent Office spokesman said the office doesn't
comment on possible patents, but confirmed its new patent announcements are
made on Tuesdays.

** Long-Distance **

Title: Inside AT&T, A Crackdown On 'Slamming'
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John J. Keller
Issue: Long-Distance
Description: Stung by complaints that long-distance customers are routinely
"slammed" -- their accounts switched to a new provider without their
permission -- AT&T is taking action. It is cracking down on outside sales
agents that sell its long-distance service and will propose sweeping changes
to regulators for policing the industry. Slamming is rising at an alarming
rate, and it is bound to get worse as new markets such as local phone
service open to competition. The FCC, which is planning its own crackdown,
recorded over 44,000 slamming complaints against companies that sell
long-distance service in 1997. Concerned about blunting charges that AT&T is
a slammer itself, C. Michael Armstrong put two of AT&T's outside sales
agents under review for possible dismissal.

** Antitrust **

Title: Microsoft Chairman Visits Senators on Eve of Testimony
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/cyber/articles/03microsoft.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, was in the nation's capitol
Monday denying that his company's decision to allow Internet service
providers to promote Internet browser software made by other companies was
prompted by the mood in Washington. Gates also said that the release of
Windows 98 would not be delayed by Justice Department investigators. In
comments made to reporters at the Capitol, Gates said: "There's really only
one principle at stake here, which is our ability to innovate in our
products. We've been in this business a long time, and that freedom to
innovate is very important to us. And so we are quite confident that that
principle, which has always been supported, that that principle will
prevail." Gates will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for
their hearing on "Market Power and Structural Change in the Software Industry."

Title: Gates Fears Curb on Innovation
Source: Washington Post (A1,A10)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/03/047l-030398-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Bill Gates, chairman of the Microsoft Corp., said yesterday
that if the Justice Department prevails in its efforts to block Microsoft's
ability to add new features to its windows software, the company "will be
replaced" as a leader in the field of technology industry. In an interview
with Washington Post editors and reporters, Gates said: "It's hard to say
that you're going to compromise on your ability to innovate in Windows. If I
can't put Internet support in Windows, then Windows will fail. If I can't
put speech recognition into Windows, Windows will fail. You know, our path
is to make Windows better. If we can't innovate our products, then you know
we will be replaced."

Title: Microsoft In Senate's Focus
Source: Washington Post (C1,C6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-03/03/109l-030398-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Although the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee
today is titled "Market Power and Structural Change in the Software
Industry," it is really about one company, the Microsoft Corp. The hearing,
called by committee chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), is part of a longer-term
effort by Hatch to examine current antitrust laws, initially written in the
age of railroads and petroleum monopolies, to determine whether they are
still suited to today's fast-changing economic world. Experts say that "by
voicing public skepticism of Microsoft, Hatch can urge the department to
pursue a vigorous antitrust investigation." At the same time, by holding
public hearings, "Hatch and other senators can indicate to the department
that there is political support for what would be a highly controversial
case." William E. Kovacic, a law professor at George Mason Univ. and a
former Federal Trade Commission attorney, said that the hearing "has both
possibilities." Kovacic said,"No antitrust agency can afford to outrun a
political consensus, and to the extent that this kind of hearing signals the
willingness of Congress to accept further inquiry into the software
industry, that's an important signal for the Justice Department."

Title: Gates Answers To Criticism Of Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John R. Wilke & David Bank
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Bill Gates plans to tell Congress that "it is not, nor has it
ever been, the intention of my company to turn the information superhighway
into a toll road." In response to the government's antitrust challenge and
criticism of Microsoft's tactics, Mr. Gates says in draft testimony that "it
is preposterous to think that any one company could ever control access to
the Internet." Microsoft also offered a key concession to its critics over
the weekend, changing contract terms with Internet service providers
world-wide that favor Microsoft's Internet software over that of rival
Netscape Comm. While Microsoft said the change would have little impact,
Internet companies say the contract terms have prompted a sharp drop in
their distribution of Netscape software.

Title: Beware High-Tech Monopolies
Source: Wall Street Journal (Op-eds, A18)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Orrin G. Hatch
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The future development of the Internet and the digital economy
will be shaped by structural changes in today's marketplace. With respect to
such technological paradigm shifts, healthy competition and effective
antitrust policy are particularly important. Many economists believe that a
positive "feedback cycle" in high-tech markets often allows individual
firms, such as Microsoft, Intel or Oracle, to garner unusually large market
shares. Such dominance reduces competition, typically leading to higher
prices, less innovation and fewer consumer choices.

** Arts **

Title: Leading Art Site Suspended
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/cyber/articles/03adaweb.html
Author: Matthew Mirapaul
Issue: Arts
Description: The Web site which is one of the most premier destinations for
original Web-based art, ada'web, is being suspended. Co-founder, Benjamin
Weil, said the reason was that ada'web's publisher, Digital City Inc., had
canceled the Web site's financing. Skeptics had anticipate its closing since
the selling of ada'web's founding company, WP Studio, to Digital City, owned
primarily by America Online and the Tribune Company, 13 months ago. They
were unable to "reconcile the site's high-minded mission with the
mass-market orientation of other sites, and given the often- challenging
nature of the material, commercial sponsorship was not a likely option. Weil
agreed, saying: "For one year, it's been very difficult. We've been trying
to find ways for our corporate parent to understand that there was value in
this for them. It seemed like the message didn't really get through. And
then we tried to go non-profit to remain online, but we realized there was
very little funding available." Weil is now seeking a permanent home for
ada'web's archives so pre-published artwork can remain accessible.

** Merger **

Title: Sale Weighed As Takeover Fight Goes On
Source: New York Times (D1,D8)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/biztech/articles/03merger.html
Author: Saul Hansell
Issue: Merger
Description: In further efforts to fend off a takeover by Computer
Associates International Inc., Computer Sciences Corp. said yesterday that
it would go as far as to sell itself to another company. In a filing with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, Computer Sciences said it expected
"to engage in discussions and may engage in negotiations with other parties
regarding strategic alternatives, including a possible merger of the company."

Title: Olivetti Sells Computer Services Unit to Wang
Source: New York Times (D4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/03wang.html
Author: John Tagliabue
Issue: Merger/International
Description: At a joint news conference Monday, Olivetti SpA, the Italian
electronics company that has been selling its assets to focus on
telecommunications, announced that it will sell its computer services
subsidiary to Wang Laboratories Inc. for cash and securities totaling more
than $395 million. The subsidiary, Olsy SpA, designs and installs computer
systems for banks and public institutions across Europe.
*********