February 2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Desire To Close Digital Divide (NYT)
Does Everyone Need To Be Online? (SJM)

PRIVACY
FTC Chief Says E-Commerce Industry Should Reconsider Privacy-Rules
Stance (WSJ)
New Complaints on Tracking of Web Surfers (NYT)

WIRELESS
Cell-Phone Firms Testing "Caller Pays" (SJM)

SECURITY
Hackers, Security Pros Call Web Attacks Vandalism Consultants Ponder
Motive (USA)

INTERNATIONAL
NTT's Web Pricing Is Called Possibly Predatory As U.S.-Japanese
Telecom Trade Fight Deepens (WSJ)
Barriers Can Slow Net Industry In Asia (USA)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

DESIRE TO CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
A poll released Thursday indicates American workers are in favor of some
government intervention in minimizing the effects of the digital divide.
According to the poll conducted by Rutgers University and the University of
Connecticut, American workers want the federal government to support
computer literacy programs in high school. 80 percent of those polled said
they support computer literacy programs in high school. Entitled "Nothing
But Net: American Workers and the Information Economy," the study divided
computer users into several groups depending on how often they used a
computer. Daily users were termed "technophiles;" people with no access were
termed "exiles." Other findings: eight in ten respondents believed
information technology was good for the economy; sixty-eight percent of the
workers use a computer everyday; twenty-three percent learned to use a
computer at work, and more employees would like to be able to telecommute.
Researchers interviewed 1,005 working adults by telephone from Jan. 5 to
Jan. 19. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage
points.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/11divide-poll.ht
ml)
SEE ALSO:
'DIGITAL DIVIDE' PLAGUES WORKERS
[SOURCE: Dallas Morning News, AUTHOR: Diana Kunde]
(http://dallasnews.com/business/30033_DIGITAL.html)

DOES EVERYONE NEED TO BE ONLINE?
Issue: Digital Divide
[Op-Ed] More than anything else, the digital divide reflects the education
and income divide. Poor and poorly educated people are less likely to own
and use computers than the info-rich rich. Yet, President Clinton wants to
make everyone a Net-head. In his proposed budget, the President would
allocate about $50 million for hardware, software and access fees to wire
the poor. All this rests on the notion that expanding Internet access
requires government action. It assumes that the bridge to the 21st century
spans a "digital divide" between rich and poor, white and non-white, and
some people can't make it across on their own.
[SOURCE: SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS (2/10), AUTHOR: Joanne Jacobs]
(http://http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/viewpoints/docs/jj021000.ht
m)

PRIVACY

NEW COMPLAINTS ON TRACKING OF WEB SURFERS
Issue: Internet/ Privacy
Thursday saw much activity related to the issue of how much companies can
track Web surfers. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy
group, asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate online advertising
giant DoubleClick under traditional deceptive and unfair trade practice
laws. The group said the company is illegally tracking
Internet users and combining their surfing habits with detailed personal
profiles contained in the national marketing database of a company it
recently merged with, Abacus. And Senator Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey
Democrat, introduced a bill that would regulate such tracking technology,
known as "cookies." Additionally, the chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission, Robert Pitofsky, hinted for the second time in as many days that
his agency might rethink its stance on legislation regulating how Web sites
would collect and maintain information collected about users.
[Source: NY Times (Cyber Times) Author: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/cyber/articles/11cookies.htm)
See Also:
FTC CHIEF SAYS E-COMMERCE INDUSTRY SHOULD RECONSIDER PRIVACY-RULES STANCE
Issue: Privacy
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky warned that the e-commerce
industry's push for "self-regulation" of consumer privacy issues in leu of
federally mandated privacy standards may backfire. "Without comprehensive
federal legislation, it is possible that something of a vacuum will be
created and states may enter, not always with consistent proposals", said
Chairman Pitofsky in a recent speech. The e-commerce industry has come
under fire for its "self-regulation" stance amid reports of increasingly
sophisticated data-collection methods being employed on the Internet.
Activities by Congress members is evidence that the Internet privacy issue
has risen to the top of Washington's political agenda. Senate Minority
Leader Tom Daschle assembled a Senate Democratic Privacy Task Force, to be
headed by Senator Pat Leahy. GOP Senator Richard Shelby announced the
formation of a bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B3), AUTHOR: Glenn Simpson]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB950228755854557684.htm)

SECURITY

HACKERS, SECURITY PROS CALL WEB ATTACKS VANDALISM CONSULTANTS PONDER MOTIVE
Issue: Internet
While the motive for the latest attacks against popular commercial Web sites
remains unclear, security professionals and those who identify themselves as
hackers who were interviewed during the past few days argue that the
perpetrators are not hackers but criminals, acting out of greed, political
motives -- or just plain psychological problems. Hackers, according to
experts, tend to be white, middle-class boys who are socially awkward, quite
bright, mechanically proficient and curious --
but not malicious. "A hacker is nothing more than an engineer of software
looking for its limits, understanding the good, the bad and the ugly," says
Winn Schwartau, security consultant and author of Information Warfare and
other books about computer security. "What we're seeing today is nothing
more than common vandals." These may seem fine distinctions, but labeling
all hackers criminals could lead to excesses by law enforcement, experts
say. "It's like saying every locksmith is a criminal because he has the
ability, skill or talent," says another hacker who goes by the online name
Space Rogue.
[Source: USAToday (13A) Author: M.J. Zuckerman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000211/1929994s.htm)

HACKER ATTACKS ON THE INTERNET
Issue: Security
[Editorial] The recent hacker attacks, which have disrupted some of the
Web's most popular sites, have disrupted the stability of the newly emerging
cyberworld. Because the Internet is not owned or regulated by any government
or company, we have free expression, and commercial transactions and
political activity flourish. These very qualities of openness and freedom,
however, are what make the Internet vulnerable to attack. "The worst
response to these attacks," say the authors, "would be for government to
introduce requirements for the Internet that may destroy the freedom of
operation that makes it work so well." They suggest that it is premature to
consider regulations requiring users to identify themselves as they surf the
net. Instead, it is suggested that businesses operating on the Internet take
the lead over government in developing defenses against malicious hackers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A30), AUTHOR: New York Times]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/11web.html)

WIRELESS

CELL-PHONE FIRMS TESTING "CALLER PAYS"
Issue: Telephony
When you call someone's home or work number, the person receiving the call
doesn't have to pay anything. But place a call to a cellular phone, and the
person receiving the call is charged by the minute. Mobile-phone users with
Bell Atlantic Corp. may soon have the option of having the person making the
call foot the entire cost of those calls. Callers placing a call to a
cellular customer who are part of Bell Atlantic's "Call Me" plan are greeted
with an announcement that tells them they can hang up to avoid any charges.
If they remain on the line, they are told that their telephone bills will be
charged 25 cents a minute if Bell Atlantic is their local phone carrier, or
35 cents a minute if the charges should be billed to a credit card. This
past summer, the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow wireless
companies to introduce it as an option to consumers in the United States.
The federal regulatory agency is expected to release final rules on the
issue in a matter of weeks.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR:]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/collec021100.ht
m)

INTERNATIONAL

NTT'S WEB PRICING IS CALLED POSSIBLY PREDATORY AT U.S.-JAPANESE TELECOM
TRADE FIGHT DEEPENS
Issue: International/Competition
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation sharply cut its Internet service
prices in response to criticism that its prices had been impeding the
development of the Internet in Japan. And while the U.S. should consider
this a victory since they have long been pressuring NTT to reduce its
prices, saying that it would help consumers and give foreign companies a
better chance of cracking the market, a U.S. official said that NTT's cuts
may represent predatory pricing. "You shouldn't price in a predatory manner
if you're a dominant carrier." Instead, the U.S. would like to have seen NTT
reduce the interconnection fees it charges to rival carriers when those
carriers use parts of NTT's network of phone lines. That would encourage
NTT's rivals to offer a fixed-rate Internet service of their own; something
none of them currently do because they are paying too much of their revenues
to NTT in the form of interconnection fees. The debate on interconnections
fees is threatening to become a major U.S.-Japan trade conflict. The U.S.
is seeking a 41% reduction on the standard type of interconnection fee while
NTT says it can only afford a 22.5% cut over several years.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A10), AUTHOR: Peter Landers]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB950213952942344257.htm)

BARRIERS CAN SLOW NET INDUSTRY IN ASIA
Issue: Internet/International
Asia's Internet industry faces more, and often higher, barriers than the
industry in the USA, analysts say. These barriers include the fact that a
smaller percentage of people in Asia own personal computers and land-line
telephones. Additionally, credit card use, which is so important for
e-commerce, is much less common in Asian countries than it is in the US or
Europe. There are also problems with government reluctance to allow the
Internet to go about its business unchecked. For instance, China's recent
vow to crack down on Internet companies that publish "state secrets" has
raised a few eyebrows in the industry.
[Source: USAToday (2B) Author: Julie Schmit]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000211/1930036s.htm)

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

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

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

The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They
describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation - primarily
those covering long term trends and developments in communications,
technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone
doesnot represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled
by Kevin Taglang (kevint( at )benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org), Nancy Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org), and
Harry Chauss (harry( at )benton.org) - we welcome your comments.

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

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

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

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

ED TECH
Making the Most of the Internet's Potential for Education
(CyberTimes)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Center in Capital Called a Success in Spanning the Technology Gap
(NYT)

INTERNET
McCain Camp Enjoys a Big Net Advantage (WP)
Charity Watchdogs Warn Of Potential For Online Fraud (NYT)
Web Site Aims to Attract Latin American Teens (WSJ)

ECOMMERCE
Hackers Hit EBay, Buy.com Sites (WP)
Books, Records Would Escape Sales Tax in Stores, on Web in Proposal
to Panel (WSJ)

BROADCASTING
Ruling Stops IcraveTv Transmissions To USA Plaintiffs Say Web Site
Stole, Broadcast shows (USA)
Chris-Craft Unit Sues to Block Viacom From Proceeding With CBS
Acquisition (WSJ)

EMPLOYMENT
More Foreign High-Tech Workers Sought (NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CENTER IN CAPITAL CALLED A SUCCESS IN SPANNING THE TECHNOLOGY GAP
Issue: Digital Divide
Gateway, a community and job-training center in Washington, D.C. is
affecting lives. If not for Gateway, Patricia Fisher would still be earning
minimum wage, relying on rental assistance and anxious for a better life for
herself and her son. After a free three-month office technology program at
Gateway, Ms. Fisher earns more than twice her previous salary. "When I went
into this program, it supported me 100 percent. And that was what made me
move on with my life," said Ms. Fisher. Gateway's nonprofit parent,
Community Preservation and Development Corp, is wiring 800 housing units at
Edgewood Terrace, a low-income housing community in the northwest section of
Washington. The company plans to install computers in every apartment by
2002. "This is beyond access, this is control," said Leslie Steen, president
of CPDC. "Residents who have control of the technology will end up having
control of the community." CPDC's approach to lift people out of poverty has
drawn praise from federal officials. About 80 District of Columbia residents
take classes on any given day in the modern classrooms of the Gateway
center, which resemble a small conference center.
[SOURCE: Cybertimes, AUTHOR: Raju Chebium]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/cyber/articles/09divide.html)

EDTECH

MAKING THE MOST OF THE INTERNET'S POTENTIAL FOR EDUCATION
Issue: Ed Tech
The Congressional Web-Based Education Commission was set up by Congress in
1998 to study how the Internet can best be used for education. It will study
such issues as distance learning, how best to ensure that students across
the country can be assured equal access to technology, and how to persuade
industry to provide educational content. The 16 member commission, headed by
Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Nebraska), will share information with Congress as it
begins a re-examination of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, an
important law underpinning federal education initiatives at the grade school
and high school level. The law, which Congress must re-authorize every five
years, provides about $1.5 billion each year for technology-related
education programs. The commission will also set up a Web site which it
hopes will provide a major forum for debate and public discussion of the
issues raised by the commission as it holds about five more hearings across
the country this year. First and foremost on the commission's agenda,
however, is to complete a report on how the Web can be used for its highest
educational purpose. The report will be completed by November 16 and
presented at that time to Congress and the President.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/cyber/education/09education.html)

INTERNET

MCCAIN CAMP ENJOYS A BIG NET ADVANTAGE
Issue: Political Discourse
An hour after the announcement of Sen. John McCain's win in the New
Hampshire primary was posted to his Web site, $20,000 worth donations had
come in online. Since his victory in the nation's first primary, McCain has
raised $2.2 million over the Internet, recruited 26,000 new volunteers -
and, in the process, rewritten the rules for political campaigning. For
McCain, the Internet has helped translate the New Hampshire bounce into hard
cash, which is instantly eligible for federal matching funds. "McCain could
capitalize in a way that Gary Hart and Paul Tsongas could not" when they won
Democratic state presidential primaries in 1984 and 1992, said Michael
Cornfield, a George Washington University political scientist who studies
the role of new media in campaigns. Candidates began using the Web in the
1996 election, but at that time the sites included little more than
candidates' photos and biographies. Since then, thanks in part to
developments in technology and also to Jesse Ventura's effective use of the
Internet in his campaign to become governor of Minnesota, use of the Web has
expanded markedly. Overall, McCain's campaign has raised $3.7 million
online, almost one-fourth of its total $16 million raised. Moreover, McCain
is using the Internet to keep in touch with volunteers. Some 86,000 people
now get daily campaign updates and are asked to make telephone calls to
recruit others.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: John Mintz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27893-2000Feb8.html)

CHARITY WATCHDOGS WARN OF POTENTIAL FOR ONLINE FRAUD
Issue: Internet/Philanthropy
Last week's Alaska Airlines crash has prompted charity watchdog groups to
renew their warnings about the dangers of donating money over the Internet.
Alaska Airlines spokesman Jack Evans said that at least two suspect sites
that purportedly raised money for the victims' families shut down after the
airline threatened to sue. "In the online world, with a graphics program and
a Web authoring tool, you can make Web sites look pretty efficacious and
legitimate." Would-be donors should ask lots of questions about how
donations will be spent, said Bennett Weiner, a vice president at the
Council of Better Business Bureaus.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/09online-chariti
es.html)

WEB SITE AIMS TO ATTRACT LATIN AMERICAN TEENS
Issue: Internet
Loquesea.com, a Spanish language Web site, is part of a new wave of
specialty sites that is trying to cash in on the Internet's fast growth in
Latin America, where approximately 40% of Internet traffic is from the
under-30 crowd. Loquesea, which is Spanish for "whatever", is trying to
gain attention by offering bisexual chat rooms, electronic-music fan clubs,
and online greeting cards with messages such as "I hate you." The site's
challenge is to keep up this fear-and-loathing tone while appealing to
mainstream kids who will be the region's future consumers. "Coca-Cola is
interested in the 18-year-old. These brand managers are desperate to reach
their customers," said loquesea's CEO Carlos Lizarralde. "We'll be to young
kids in Latin America what Martha Stewart is to middle-class women in the
US."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Pamela Druckerman]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB950050238918299129.htm)

RULING STOPS ICRAVETV TRANSMISSIONS TO USA PLAINTIFFS SAY WEB SITE STOLE,
BROADCAST SHOWS
Issue: Internet/Broadcasting
On Tuesday, Canadian Web site iCraveTV was ordered by a Pittsburgh judge to
stop sending intercepted TV programming into the USA. U.S. District Court
Judge Donald Ziegler agreed with NFL, NBA and four networks who claimed that
iCraveTV was stealing programming and pumping it into U.S. markets in
violation of U.S. copyright law. The judge issued a preliminary injunction
that prevents iCraveTV from putting broadcasts on its site if U.S. viewers
can see them. In a statement, iCrave's founder Bill Craig, said he will try
to implement technology that would keep the broadcasts inside Canada.
Currently, there is no such technology that can stop the Internet at a
border.
[SOURCE: USAToday (1C), AUTHOR: Kevin Maney]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000209/1921069s.htm)

CHRIS-CRAFT UNIT SUES TO BLOCK VIACOM FROM PROCEEDING WITH CBS ACQUISITION
Issue: Ownership
BHC Communications Inc., a unit of Chris-Craft Industries, filed suit
yesterday in New York State Supreme Court claiming that the Viacom-CBS deal
violates a noncompete clause in the Viacom and Chris-Craft Industries
partnership agreement for the UPN television network. Under the noncompete
clause, Viacom may not "own any interest, financial or otherwise" in a
competing network. As a result of the CBS acquisition, Viacom would control
the CBS television network. Viacom has been seeking to dissolve the UPN
partnership by offering to buy BHC's 50% stake in UPN, or alternatively
offering to sell its UPN interest to BHC. Viacom and CBS said in a joint
statement that the noncompete clause in the UPN partnership agreement wasn't
applicable because of Viacom's offer to buy or sell its interest in UPN.
They went on to claim that this lawsuit was, "transparently without merit
and will have no impact on the timing of the closing" of the merger. Viacom
and CBS hope to complete their merger by late March or early April of this
year.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B12), AUTHOR: Martin Peers]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB950056268148631637.htm

ECOMMERCE

BOOKS, RECORDS WOULD ESCAPE SALES TAX IN STORES, ON WEB IN PROPOSAL TO PANEL
Issue: E-Commerce
The "business caucus" group of the federal Advisory Commission on Electronic
Commerce put forward a proposal yesterday that would keep the sales of
books, music, records and other information and entertainment products
exempt from taxation both on the Internet and in stores. To make up for the
loss in sales tax revenue on these items, state governments would gain new
authority to collect other sales taxes on the Internet and on mail-order
commerce across state lines. The proposal would call on Congress to enact
legislation prohibiting taxes on such products as recorded music and books;
to extend the moratorium on new Internet taxes for five years; and to ban
taxes on Internet access. The "business caucus" is a group of six companies
seen as the swing-vote bloc between protax and antitax factions on the
panel. Representatives from Charles Schwab, America Online, MCI Worldcom,
AT&T, Time Warner, and Gateway make up the "business caucus" group. The
Advisory Commission's final meeting will be next month in Dallas, Texas.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Glenn Simpson]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB950064857303314114.htm)

HACKERS HIT EBAY, BUY.COM SITES
Issue: E-commerce
Four popular Web sites were hit with "denial of service" attacks yesterday,
on the heels of a similar attack on Yahoo on Monday. A "denial of service"
attack involves flooding computers with so many fake requests for data that
legitimate users are effectively shut out. The attacks, on eBay, Amazon.com,
CNN.com and Buy.com began at around 1:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, when
monitors at Buy.com noted a sharp rise in Web traffic, even as the company's
stock rose with its initial public offering. "The IPO did great and then
somebody slammed my site," said Gregory J. Hawkins, Buy.com chief executive.
It took Buy.com about three hours to restore service. Around an hour after
Buy.com recovered, eBay was hit with a similar attack, bringing down its
site until late last night. Then, between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. CNN.com and
Amazon.com's sites were hit with their own attacks. So far, no one has
claimed responsibility for the strikes, which did not cause any damage to
the sites' internal systems, but which will likely cost the companies
revenue because of the downtime. Speculation about who is carrying out the
attacks was rampant on hacker chat rooms and e-mail discussion lists
yesterday. Stuart McClure, author of "Hacking Exposed" and a computer
security consultant in Southern California, said he believes the perpetrator
will pop up in the next few days - not because experts from the three
companies would be able to chase him or her down but because hackers like to
brag. "The point is to prove to . . . their buddies that they can do it," he
said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Ariana Eunjung Cha and John Schwartz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26923-2000Feb8.html)
See also:
HACKERS ATTACK MAJOR INTERNET SITES, CUTTING OFF AMAZON, BUY.COM, EBAY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Khanh Tran and Rhonda Rundle]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB950056284596574936.htm)

EMPLOYMENT

MORE FOREIGN HIGH-TECH WORKERS SOUGHT
Issue: Employment
High-tech companies, desperate for workers, are pushing Congress to expand
an immigration program that will allow them to hire more high-tech workers.
The number of high-tech jobs nationwide grew from about 4 million in 1990 to
more than 4.8 million in 1998, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Phil Gramm (R-TX) and Spencer Abraham (R-MI) plan
to introduce a bill to increase the number of H-1B visas -- six-year,
temporary visas granted to foreigners with college degrees -- to 200,000
visas a year. Unions oppose a raise in the visa limit. "We have an abundance
of well-educated college people," said Jack Golodner, president of the
AFL-CIO's Department of Professional Employees. "There are industries that
like to flood the market of our college graduates because they want to keep
the salaries from going up."
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/09visa.html)

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

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

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

The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They
describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation - primarily
those covering long term trends and developments in communications,
technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone
doesnot represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled
by Kevin Taglang (kevint( at )benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org), and Nancy Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org) - we
welcome your comments.

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

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Today's the Big Day for BET.com (WP)
Fledgling PeoplePC Lands Deal with Ford and Delta (WSJ)
Brazil Is Test Case for Free Web Access (WSJ)

PRIVACY
Report Rings Alarm Bells About Privacy On The Internet (NYT)
Critics Press Legal Assault On Tracking Of Web Users (NYT)

BROADBAND
Battle Lines Drawn Over Cable (WP)

BROADCASTING
Do Viewers Even Want To Interact With TV? (NYT)
FCC Denies Sinclair's Request to Modify Digital TV Standard (NYT)

INTERNATIONAL
In Finland, a Glimpse of a Futuristic Web on Wireless Phones (WSJ)
Videotron Holds Tie-Up Talks, Boosting Expectations of Canadian
Consolidation (WSJ)
International Development Plan/African Initiative (FCC)

PUBLISHING
Virtual Publishing: From Arthur Clarke To Psoriasis Tales (NYT)

THIS WEEK IN DC
Briefing on NTIA Budget Set for Feb. 7 (NTIA)
The Forum Connection (CRF)
House Committee on Commerce Hearing Schedule (House)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

TODAY'S THE BIG DAY FOR BET.COM
Issue: Digital Divide
Long-awaited and much-delayed, BET.com launches today. The free Web site
will feature nine "channels" on such topics as health, money and news
headlines. BET and investors Microsoft, USA Networks, Liberty Media, and
News Corp. are spending $35 million to launch the site. BET Holdings owns
51% of the venture. BET Chairman Robert L. Johnson says he intends to spin
off the site in an initial public offering within the year. A study by
Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. reports that about 3.9 million
African Americans are online. Johnson hopes to encourage more African
Americans to come online by offering relevant content. "We want to become
the one-stop source for African Americans," Johnson said. Aside from having
to compete with established sites such as NetNoir.com and BlackVoices.com,
some question whether African Americans will search out "Afrocentric"
information on the Internet. The site launches without E-commerce
capability. Focus groups steered the site content away from shopping to the
current themes of urban life, professionals, women and family. After
establishing an audience, Johnson said that people have approached him about
doing a national black newspaper. "Now one exists," he said. "It's going to
revolutionize the way African Americans think about politics or mutual
funds."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (B10), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a19193-2000feb7.htm)

FLEDGLING PEOPLEPC LANDS DEAL
Issue: Access
PeoplePC, a tiny San Francisco startup that opened in September and has
fewer than 50 employees, signed major deals to supply home PCs and Internet
access to employees of Ford Motor and Delta Air Lines - a group of as many
as 420,000 potential customers. Until last week, PeoplePC had focused solely
on serving the consumer market. Delta and Ford chose PeoplePC to help them
give employees access to corporate Internet "portals" that promote direct
communication with the company. Ford and Delta will subsidize the PeoplePC
service, which normally goes for $25 a month, for their employees. The
challenge for the company now is to deliver on the huge supply of orders and
the associated services. Historically, free or subsidized computers
companies have encountered difficulties. Free-PC Inc., which promised to
give away machines to customers willing to live with permanent ad banners on
their screens -- agreed in November to be acquired by PC maker eMachines
Inc., of Irvine, Calif. EMachines quickly terminated its free-PC program,
but allowed the 25,000 existing FreePC customers to keep their machines; and
Seattle-based Microworkz.com Computer Corp., which once offered low-priced
PCs coupled with free Internet service, apparently closed its doors late
last year amid a rash of customer complaints and several lawsuits.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: D. Hamilton and M.
Brannigan]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949875839274989346.htm)

BRAZIL IS TEST CASE FOR FREE WEB ACCESS
Issue: Internet Access
Brazil, Latin America's biggest Internet market, is becoming an important
testing ground for the commercial viability of offering free access to the
Web. Companies that offer no-cost connections figure they will compensate
for a lack of subscriber fees with ad revenues and/or transaction fees from
online sales. While less than 3% of Brazilians currently have Internet
access, new users are going online more quickly than in almost any other
country. Ever since a handful of Brazilian banks and Internet service
providers started offering no-cost Web connections to their customers,
Brazil's Internet-subscriber base has jumped by 50%. AOL, who began its
Brazilian service in November, is very interested in the outcome of the free
Web access question. "If the economics of free services become compelling
in any of the markets we are in, we could launch a free service using one of
our other brands at a fraction of the cost of everyone else," said Mike
Kelly, AOL's chief financial officer. AOL currently has no plans for
offering free Web access in Brazil.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A28), AUTHOR: Pamela Druckerman]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949868620300987360.htm)

PRIVACY

REPORT RINGS ALARM BELLS ABOUT PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET
Issue: Privacy
A report last week that most health-related Web sites were not honoring
their promises to keep personal information about visitors private caught
government officials and privacy enforcement groups off guard.
California HealthCare Foundation, determined that all but three of 19 sites
surveyed were violating their own stated practices. The foundation concluded
that most of the problems stemmed from new technology that enables some
banner advertisers to pick up any personal information a customer enters on
the page where an ad is displayed. Privacy advocates are pointing to the
results as proof of their longtime assertions that self-regulation of online
privacy promoted by the Clinton administration is ineffective. "At the
moment, with the Clinton administration saying self-regulation is the way we
are going to go, that basically says, 'Do whatever you want or do as little
as you want,"' said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters, a privacy
consulting group. "That's exactly the wrong message to send to companies
that have strong economic incentives to collect and use personal
information."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C10), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/07priv.htm)

CRITICS PRESS LEGAL ASSAULT ON TRACKING OF WEB USERS
Issue: Ecommerce/Privacy
The Electronic Privacy Information Center said last week that it was
preparing to file a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission about
DoubleClick, a company that tracks people's movements on the Internet. The
information it gathers enables the company to personalize the ads people see
when they visit a Web site of 1,500 companies that are part of DoubleClick's
advertiser network. Privacy concerns are increasing because DoubleClick's
new Abacus Alliance service has begun combining its online data with
information gleaned from consumers' offline purchases. "The question is, how
far can you take this?" Daniel MacKeigan, an analyst with the investment
firm Friedman Billings Ramsay. "Is this a new medium that has less of a
tolerance for tracking? A privacy cloud looms on the horizon, and
DoubleClick has to heed the warnings."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/07book.htm)

BROADBAND

BATTLE LINES DRAWN OVER CABLE
Issue: Broadband
Should cable television companies be forced to open up their high-speed
lines to all Internet service providers or should they be able to retain
exclusive control themselves? Many state legislatures are beginning to
grapple with this question. While cable companies say that opening their
lines to competition will hurt their ability to raise the money to lay the
cable to reach homes and businesses, open access advocates argue that it
will offer consumers more choices.
"Consumers benefit from an open marketplace and competition," said Maryland
delegate Cheryl C. Kaga, who is sponsoring legislation requiring that cable
systems provide access to all Internet providers. "Where we have a variety
of choices, there tends to be lower prices and better service." Laurence
Levitan, a representative of the Cable Telecommunications Association,
argued against the bill: "If open access is forced on [cable operators], it
basically slows down everything," said
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Daniel LeDuc and Craig Timberg]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A18477-2000Feb6.html)

BROADCASTING

DO VIEWERS EVEN WANT TO INTERACT WITH TV?
Issue: Television
At a large conference at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York last week,
where several hundred industry executives shared their optimism for the
future of interactive television, there were many questions about what the
public really wants. "I do not think people will want to stop and buy
something in the middle of that entertainment programming," said James M.
Moroney, an executive with Belo Corp., owner of 16 television stations
nationwide. Since the early 1950s, companies have experimented and failed.
John Carey, a consultant, argued that the past failures of interactive T.V.
have been failures of marketing and not technology. "When you read that
consumers have rejected interactive television, it's simply not true," he
told the audience.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C5), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/07act.html)

FCC DENIES SINCLAIR'S REQUEST TO MODIFY DIGITAL TV STANDARD
Issue: DTV
By a 5-0 vote, the Federal Communications Commission decided on Friday to
deny a petition from the Sinclair Broadcast Group asking the commission to
modify the nation's digital television standard. Sinclair, which owns or
operates more television stations than any other company, began complaining
last summer that the digital standard, which was adopted by the government
in 1997,included transmission technology that left digital television
receivers incapable of receiving a transmission unless the receiving antenna
was in the direct line of sight of the transmitting antenna. Sinclair,
joined by 250 other television stations, filed a petition in October asking
the FCC to revise the standard so that stations could choose to use a
transmission technology that had shown in tests by Sinclair that it worked
better in many circumstances. The commission denied Sinclair's request on
Friday. In a letter to Sinclair, the commission said numerous studies had
shown that the current transmission standard was adequate. The commission
also said that shortcomings found in the first-generation digital receivers
now being sold would probably be remedied in future products.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/07dtv.html)
See Also
FCC Denies Sinclair Petition for Rulemaking on COFDM Standard
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/2000/nret00
02.html)

INTERNATIONAL

IN FINLAND, A GLIMPSE OF A FUTURISTIC WEB ON WIRELESS PHONES
Issue: Wireless/International
With nearly three out of four people in Finland carrying a cellular phone,
Finland has gained the reputation of being the "Silicon Valley of the
wireless Web". Nokia, the cellular phone maker located in Finland, has come
out with a cellular phone model which uses WAP (Wireless Application
Protocol). WAP allows web content to beamed onto cellular phones. Finnish
startup companies are moving quickly to provide consumers with the ability
to participate in online auctions, bet on hockey games, or even buy sodas -
all through their cellular phone. And while the Finnish are excited about
being the having "first mover advantage" when it comes to wireless web
applications, they know that this will soon change. US based companies are
expected to swoop in and use their high-priced shares to buy up key Finnish
startups. "Phones are toys here in Finland. We are trying to make them
toys everywhere else, too."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Thomas Weber]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949874929989753644.htm)

VIDEOTRON HOLDS TIE-UP TALKS, BOOSTING EXPECTATIONS OF CANADIAN
CONSOLIDATION
Issue: Cable/International
Groupe Videotron, Quebec's dominant cable operator, announced their plan to
merge with a yet unnamed competitor thereby fueling expectations of
consolidation in Canada's cable industry. Canadian cable companies have a
substantial lead over US cable companies in providing high-speed cable
Internet services to their customers. About 462,000 Canadian homes have a
cable-Internet connection compared to the 1.35 million such homes in the US.
Yet, the US's population is about nine times that of Canada. "Canada is
further ahead primarily because the largest cable operators had much more
aggressively upgraded their cable networks", said Michael Harris of Kinetic
Strategies. Videotron is seeking to become a national
business-telecommunications operator. Any mergers between major Canadian
cable companies would have to be friendly since all are family controlled.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B20), AUTHOR: Mark Heinzl]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949875972589081433.htm)

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN/AFRICAN INITIATIVE
Issue: International
Last summer Chairman Kennard traveled to Africa and he has signed one-year
work plans with South Africa, Ghana and Uganda. A report released last week
details the history of the initiative, the actual work plans signed with
those three countries and the three major components of the Development
Initiative for Africa:
1) Regional outreach to the telecommunications regulators of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) and the Telecommunications Regulators
Association of Southern Africa (TRASA), as well as to regulatory officials
from countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA);
2) Bilateral work plans with Ghana, South Africa and Uganda, which provide
for technical assistance from the FCC as well as exchanges of information;
and 3) Future opportunities for cooperation and assistance to countries
seeking to establish independent regulatory bodies and open and competitive
markets. "Connecting the Globe: The Africa Initiative," as well
as other documents relating to the International Development Initiative, are
available online at the FCC's website, www.fcc.gov.
International Bureau contact: Patrick Boateng at (202) 418-2370
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/International/News_Releases/2000/nrin0004.html)

PUBLISHING/INTERNET

VIRTUAL PUBLISHING: FROM ARTHUR CLARKE TO PSORIASIS TALES
Issue: Publishing
An online computer bookstore turned digital publisher is at the vanguard of
a new electronic book market that entices writers with the editorial
equivalent of: Who Wants to Be an Author? The retailer, Fatbrain.com, has
sold 10,000 short (ideally less than 100 pages) electronic titles on its
Website since November including an essay by the noted science fiction
author, Arthur C. Clarke that sold for $2. Customers, though, are still
drawn to books about computers and business, with more than 50 percent of
sales in the professional category. The average price of the e-books sold is
about $3.47. Early on, the notion of virtual titles by virtually anybody
captured the imagination of venture capitalists even though some top
publishers scoffed. But lately there are signs emerging that the traditional
literary community is warming to the form; Time Warner Trade Publishing
wants to post chapters or excerpts from coming books on the Fatbrain site.
Some prominent authors, such as Clarke, are beginning to place short works
or out-of-print books on the site, which is already a literary refuge for
amateur writers yearning to share their oeuvres -- "Psoriasis: My
35-Year-Itch That Vanished" or "Did Russia Send Us AIDS?"
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Doreen Carvajal]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/07book.html

THIS WEEK IN DC

BRIEFING ON NTIA BUDGET SET FOR FEB. 7
Issue: NTIA
Gregory L. Rohde, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and
information and head of the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) will hold a briefing Mon., Feb. 7, on the agency's
budget request for FY 2001. The briefing will take place in Room 4896 in the
Commerce Dept. immediately following the news conference by Secretary
William Daley of the Commerce Dept. budget. Rohde will discuss the budget
requests that include NTIA's "Closing the Digital Divide" initiatives, funds
for public broadcasting equipment, critical infrastructure protection and
spectrum management.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/budgetma20400.htm)

THE FORUM CONNECTION
A publication that covers democratic participation and equity issues in
telecommunications, broadcast, and information policy. Most recent issue
published 2/1/2000. Stories include: Privacy and DTV; FCC Votes to Legalize
Low-Power Radio; Groups to Help Communities Establish Micro-Radio Stations;
FCC Announces New EEO Rules; Federal Agencies not Adhering to FOIA Laws,
Report Says
[SOURCE: Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy]
(http://www.civilrightsforum.org/connection000201.html)

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE HEARING SCHEDULE
Issue: Legislation
The Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection has
scheduled the following hearings. This schedule is subject to change
without notice.

Wednesday, February 9, 2000 at 2:00 pm in 2322 Rayburn House Office
Building. The title of the hearing will be "The White House, the Networks,
and TV Censorship." Witnesses will be by invitation only.

Wednesday, February 16, 2000 at 10:00 am in 2123 Rayburn House Office
Building. The title of the hearing will be "Video on the Internet:
iCraveTV.com and Other Recent Developments in Webcasting." Witnesses will
be by invitation only.

Thursday, February 17, 2000 at 10:00 am in 2322 Rayburn House Office
Building. The hearing will focus on the FCC's Low-power FM: A Review of
the FCC's Spectrum Management Responsibilities in addition to H.R. 3439, the
Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act." Witnesses will be by invitation only.

The audio of all Committee hearings are broadcast live via the Internet. You
will need the free Real Audio Player (real.com) in order to listen.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/schedule.htm)

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

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

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

The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights
of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They
describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation - primarily
those covering long term trends and developments in communications,
technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy.
While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone
doesnot represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled
by Kevin Taglang (kevint( at )benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org), and Nancy Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org) - we
welcome your comments.

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

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Clinton Enlists Help for Plan to Increase Computer Use (NYT)

INTERNET
No Party Line When Issue Is Web Taxation (WP)
Group Seeks To Set Rules For Health-Care Web Sites (WSJ)

ACCESS
A Way to Talk on a Cell Phone Without a Word Being Spoken (NYT)

POLITICAL DISCOURSE
McCain's Web Page Rakes In Donations Day After N.H. Win (SJM)

MERGERS
Vodafone Finally Succeeds in $160 Billion Bid for Mannesmann (NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CLINTON ENLISTS HELP FOR PLAN TO INCREASE COMPUTER USE
Issue: Digital Divide
Seeking to build support for his $2.3 billion digital divide budget
initiatives, President Clinton convened computer executives, including Steve
Case of America Online, at Ballou Senior High School in a struggling
neighborhood in Washington, D.C. "It will be tragic if this instrument, that
has done more to break down barriers between people than anything in all of
human history, built a new wall because not everybody had access to it," Mr.
Clinton said. With the declared goal of making Internet access as common as
telephone usage, the budget proposals focus on helping to train teachers;
the creation of 1000 community technology centers; the launch of a $50
million home computer project; and $10 million for a special program to help
American Indians prepare for careers in information technology. The
centerpiece of the proposal, would be $2 billion in tax incentives over the
next decade to encourage companies to donate computers, sponsor schools,
libraries and community centers, and support technology training for
workers. Congressional Republicans have shown support for Mr. Clinton's goal
of hooking up more Americans to the Internet. But the specifics of a federal
response are still being developed on Capitol Hill. "I'm a little nervous
about having the federal government dictate what gets done in school
districts," said Senator Robert F. Bennett, the Utah Republican heads the
Senate High Tech Task Force.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Marc
Lacey](http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/03digital.
html)
See Also
CLINTON TO PROPOSE $2 BILLION IN INCENTIVES FOR COMPUTERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal
Staff]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949499003542780466.htm)

INTERNET

NO PARTY LINE WHEN ISSUE IS WEB TAXATION
Issue: E Commerce/Internet Regulation
Two Republican Governors faced off on the issue of Internet taxation as they
testified before the Senate Budget Committee yesterday. Massachusetts
Governor Paul Cellucci came down hard on the tax-free side stating that "we
must not build a toll on the information superhighway." Governor John Engler
of Michigan, however, said that while he is not generally in favor of taxing
the Internet, he wanted states to be able to use current sales taxes to
collect revenue from online purchases. Cellucci said that imposing new taxes
"would choke off a burgeoning industry before we experience its full
economic benefit." Engler responded to that statement, quoted to him later,
saying, "I don't know, AOL is large enough to buy Time Warner-so they're
scraping by, at least." The debate over Internet taxation has heated up as
the three-year moratorium on any new taxes aimed directly at the Internet
nears expiration. Two of the most vocal opponents to new taxation are
Democrats, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Barbara Boxer of California.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a4072-2000feb3.htm)

GROUP SEEKS TO SET RULES FOR HEALTH-CARE WEB SITES
Issue: Health/Internet
In response to recent criticism of how some health Web sites handle visitor
information, participants of the "eHealth Ethics Summit" held this week in
Washington, D.C., took steps toward establishing ethical standards for the
operation of health-care Web sites. The group plans to formally publish a
proposed set of principles for public comment later this month.
Recommendations on focus on areas like protection of patient privacy and
informed consent, in an effort to increase public trust in health Web sites.
The recommendations also advise that the industry establish a mechanism to
give consumers the chance to access and correct information gathered from
them over the Web
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal
Staff]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949545763723696261.htm)

ACCESS

A WAY TO TALK ON A CELL PHONE WITHOUT A WORD BEING SPOKEN
Issue: Media and Society
Bell Laboratories, the research division of Lucent Technologies, and the
Bell Atlantic Mobile division of the Bell Atlantic Corporation have
announced a technology that will allow people with hearing and speech
impairments to make digital cellular calls using text-telephone, or
teletypewriter, devices. Bell Atlantic Mobile, said the company plans to
market phones that are compatible with such devices, known as TTY equipment,
in the second half of 2001. The company will work with several handset
manufacturers to incorporate the technology into new handset models. The
Federal Communications Commission mandated in 1996 that TTY users have
wireless access to 911 emergency services. Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for
the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association said: "The cellular
industry is very committed to putting wireless in the hands of all
consumers, including those with hearing loss, and this is a very important
step towards that goal." TTY devices have been used since the 1960's to
transmit and receive text messages over phone lines. They generally consist
of a keyboard, a screen, a telephone handset and an acoustic receiver and
transmitter that sends a series of high-pitched tones over the phone line.
One challenge in developing a wireless-compatible TTY was that wireless
phones could not decode a TTY's broad range of tones without a high margin
of error.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E4), AUTHOR: CATHERINE GREENMAN]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/circuits/articles/03deaf.html)

POLITICAL DISCOURSE

MCCAIN'S WEB PAGE RAKES IN DONATIONS DAY AFTER N.H. WIN
Issue: Political Discourse
Following a unexpectedly pronounced primary victory in New Hampshire, Sen.
John McCain's Web site collected a record-breaking $501,415 on Wednesday,
the largest one-day online campaign fundraising. From the time television
pundits proclaimed McCain a runaway winner on Tuesday evening, more than
17,000 donors visited McCain's Web site to contribute to his campaign. Only
500 people, in comparison, called to pledge donations over the telephone.
Harvard Professor David King, who has studied Internet campaigning, says
that politicians still have much to learn about taking advantage of the
Internet. "There are so many exciting and interesting things online that the
world of politics won't figure out until it's been done elsewhere first. If
you watch what Proctor & Gamble does to market its soap, that's what you'll
see politicians do three or four years down the road," he predicts. One
barrier to taking full advantage of the Internet for campaigns is that there
aren't yet enough voters who regularly go online for the Web sites to make a
significant impact, according to University of California-Berkeley Professor
Merrill Shanks. A recent Time/CNN poll found that only 17 percent of adults
said they use the Internet to gain access to politics.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Joshua L. Kwan]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/prez020300.htm)

MERGERS

VODAFONE FINALLY SUCCEEDS IN $160 BILLION BID FOR MANNESMANN
Issue: Mergers
Mannesmann has finally succumbed to Vodafone AirTouch's $160 billion hostile
take-over bid. The companies have negotiated a deal that will give Vodafone
51.5% control of the company, while leaving Mannesmann with 49.5% control.
The face-saving agreement will be called a "merger." Last week Mannesmann
had attempted to negotiate a merger with Vivendi, a French media and
utilities group, that would have given Mannesmann control of France's
second-largest wireless network as well as a major stake in Canal Plus,
Europe's biggest pay-television company. Mannesmann's efforts were derailed
when Vodafone succeeded in negotiating its own alliance with Vivendi.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin with Edmund L.
Andrews]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/03vodafone.html)

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

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

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

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

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