Communications-Related Headlines for December 10, 2002
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Transforming Rural Alaska Through Wireless
Radio 'Key To Science Communication In Africa'
INTERNET
Ruling in Australia May Have Big Impact on Web News Sites
OWNERSHIP
Hughes Ends Merger Deal With Echostar
DIGITAL DIVIDE
TRANSFORMING RURAL ALASKA THROUGH WIRELESS
Public schools are often the center of the community in remote Alaskan
villages. In addition to severing as town meeting halls, recreation centers,
and libraries, schools have also recently assumed the role of technology
center. The "E-Rate," a federal program that provided discounts on
telecommunications equipment and services for rural and disadvantaged
schools, has helped bring high-speed Internet access to the most remote
villages. For most Americans, the Internet provides quicker and easier
access to information they have always enjoyed through television, daily
newspapers, and the telephone. But for remote Alaskans the Internet
functions as their window to the outside world and provides a wealth of
information previously unavailable to them.
[SOURCE: Community Technology Review, AUTHOR: Martin Cary]
(http://www.comtechreview.org/article_body_fw02.asp?article_ID=128)
RADIO 'KEY TO SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IN AFRICA'
Radio should be used more effectively to communicate about science and
technology in Africa, according to South African Minister of Arts, Culture,
Science and Technology, Ben Ngubane. Speaking at the opening of the Seventh
International Conference on Public Communication of Science and Technology
in Cape Town, South Africa, Ngubane said that "we need to develop new tools
[to increase] the impact of science communication." The minister stressed
the importance of setting a rural development agenda in which radio, as the
main source of communication in the continent, would play a vital role.
"Science and technology developments affect rural population and its
activities," he said, so it was important to look for new approaches and to
"educate through entertainment."
[SOURCE: SciDev.Net, AUTHOR: Lisbeth Fog]
(http://www.scidev.net/articles2.asp?id=0612200215590311&t=N&c=1&r=1&hl=Radi
o%20%27key%20to%20science%20communication%20in%20Africa%27)
INTERNET
RULING IN AUSTRALIA MAY HAVE BIG IMPACT ON WEB NEWS SITES
Josesph Gutnik, a mining magnate who lives in Melbourne, Australia, has
filed a landmark defamation suit against Dow Jones & Company, arguing that
an Internet story published by Barron's magazine in the United States is
subject to Australian law because it could be downloaded in Australia. That
country's highest court ruled on Tuesday that the case could be heard in
Australia - prompting concerns about how information published on the
Internet could be effected by other countries' laws. The ruling could
potentially exert an enormous influence on other media firms and publishers,
as it is believed to be the first time a country's court has recognized the
importance of where Internet material is published in a libel case. Several
US media companies, including AP and AOL Time Warner, are filing briefs in
support of Dow Jones.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-media-australia-
internet.html)
OWNERSHIP
HUGHES ENDS MERGER DEAL WITH ECHOSTAR
After nearly a year-long battle regulators, EchoStar Communication Corp. and
Hughes Electronics Corp. have called off their proposed merger. The
companies said in a joint statement that their decision was based on their
inability to complete the deal within the timeframe they agreed to, citing
the regulatory obstacles they faced, including actions by the US Department
of Justice and the FCC. As a settlement, EchoStar has paid $600 million to
Hughes.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34414-2002Dec10.html)
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