MERGERS
MCI WorldCom to Buy Sprint In Record $115 Billion Takeover (WSJ)
The Leader in U.S. Radio to Buy No. 2 (NYT)
TV Guide Sold for $9.2 Billion in Stock Deal (NYT)
Electronic Rival To Buy TV Guide (WP)
Travelocity To Merge With Top Online Rival (WP)
INTERNET
Internet Age Threatens To End Free Speech (USA)
Capital Dispatch: House and Senate Hammer Out (NTY)
Filtering Proposals (CyberTimes)
Drug Buying on the Web? Be Careful, Study Says (NYT)
Capital Dispatch: Pharmacists Set Up Own Standards (CyberTimes)
Companies With Virtual Environments Find Success in
Retaining Workers (WSJ)
BROADBAND
Portland Ups The Ante (B&C)
Big Landlords Join Telecom Fray (WSJ)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
The Message is the Medium (ChiTrib)
MERGERS
MCI WORLDCOM TO BUY SPRINT IN RECORD $115 BILLION TAKEOVER
Issue: Merger
MCI Worldcom reached an agreement to acquire Sprint for a record $115
billion in stock, the largest takeover in history. The pact was reached
after the upstart MCI Worldcom sweetened its bid following an attempt by
BellSouth to get in on the action. BellSouth tried to improve its offer for
Sprint yesterday, but MCI WorldCom's willingness to step up to the
plate with a huge bid won over. The deal will bring together the
nation's second and third largest long-distance carriers with an estimated
combined revenue of about $50 billion. The two companies will have 30% of
the consumer long-distance market, with more than 30 million long-distance
customers. The combination will create a company with a stock-market value
of $200 billion or more, making it the biggest telecommunications company in
the world when its wireless assets are included. Until now, MCI Worldcom did
not feel the need to own a wireless network -- but the use of cell phones is
to the point now where users outnumber cable subscribers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1), AUTHOR: Steven Lipin, Nicole Harris and
Rebecca Blumenstein]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB939080169972260362.htm)
See Also:
MCI TO BUY SPRINT IN SWAP OF STOCK FOR $108 BILLION
Issue: Mergers
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/100599sprint-merger.html)
THE LEADER IN U.S. RADIO TO BUY NO. 2
Issue: Mergers
The recently announced deal between radio giants AMFM Inc. and Clear
Channel underscores the movement toward consolidation in the media
industry, especially radio. While current federal regulations do not set a
national limit on how many of the country's 10,000 radio stations one
company can own, the Federal Communications Commission does have rules on
how many stations a company can own in a given city. Even though federal
regulations will force Clear Channel to divest about 125 stations, the two
companies would still own almost 1,000 stations, about 10 percent of the
nation's total. "They'll have a powerful national platform and they'll be
all but a must buy for national advertisers. This is the first time a radio
company was truly national outside of syndication companies, " says Jessica
Reif-Cohen, a media analyst with Merrill Lynch.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/radio-merger.html)
See Also:
MEDIA COLOSSUS: RADIO GIANTS UNITE
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99100502
40,FF.html)
TV GUIDE SOLD FOR $9.2 BILLION IN STOCK DEAL
Issue: Merger
Gemstar International Group, a developer of Interactive video program
guides, announced Monday that it was buying TV Guide, the nation's
best-selling magazine with a weekly circulation of about 12 million.
The deal, which combines TV Guide's access to programming information with
Gemstar's technical ability to create interactive program guides, may
ultimately contribute to a change in the way that Americans choose their
television programs, watch advertising campaigns and even purchase
products. It also offers the potential for electronic commerce through the
television set. Subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the merger will help TV Guide and Gemstar develop programs with
interactive and e-commerce capabilities that would allow viewers in the
future to purchase products showcased on television programs. "The
interactive guide then becomes the pivotal point for a consumer who sits
down in front of their television," said Peter Boylan, the president of TV
Guide. "We think it is a win-win deal enabling us to get on with what we
think is a great opportunity."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Alex Kuczynski]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tvguide-gemstar.html)
See Also:
ELECTRONIC RIVAL TO BUY TV GUIDE
Issue: Merger
Gemstar International Group Ltd., a producer of electronic guides for
television, and TV Guide Incorporated have agreed to a $9.2 billion merger.
The two emerging industry leaders will unite at a time when new broadband
digital technologies are entering households and are expected to spur
two-way communication over TV sets. Program guides offer daily schedules,
commercials, and highlights of specials or pay-per-view movies on cable and
satellite TV. The program guides would serve as a tool through which
customers can navigate numerous channels, commercials and electronic
commerce sites in this future world of digital TV, similar to an Internet
user perusing a Web "portal" site. TV Guide operates the TV Guide channel
on cable systems which reach 50 million U.S. households. Gemstar's program
guide is used by satellite and cable TV systems, and its VCR Plus
programming tool gives TV watchers the ability to tape shows using viewer
codes that are published in more than 1,800 newspapers and program guides
around the world. The deal, which will create TV Guide International
Incorporated, has the support of each company's principal stockholders,
including cable company Liberty Media Group and media baron Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp., which each own 44 percent of TV Guide. TV Guide
International acquires the strong brand name of TV Guide and its
magazine.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: Bob Tourtellotte]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a18087-1999oct5.htm)
TRAVELOCITY TO MERGE WITH TOP ONLINE RIVAL
Issue: Merger
Sabre Holdings Corporation announced it plans to buy Preview Travel
Incorporated and subsequently merge the travel service entity with
its own service, Travelocity.com. The new company will be called
Travelocity.com and have more than $1 billion in annual sales along with
about 17 million registered users. Preview Travel is valued at about $243
million. The newly merged Travelocity will be the dominant player in
the fast-growing online travel business. Travel-related e-commerce is
expected to grow from $7.8 billion in 1999 to $32.1 billion by 2004,
according to Forrester Research Incorporated. AMR Corporation, parent of
American Airlines, owns about 82 percent of Sabre, which operates a
profitable computerized reservation service used by travel agents worldwide
as well as by individual users of its Travelocity site. In two separate
announcements American Online Incorporated and Yahoo incorporated
indicated that they plan to use Travelocity extensively on their sites.
Travelocity will pay AOL $200 million over five years to be the exclusive
travel agent on all AOL sites. Yahoo has extended an existing contract
and will make a minority investment in Travelocity.com. Travelocity is
currently the Web's top travel site, followed by Preview and then
Microsoft's Expedia, according to NetRatings. None of the sites makes money.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a18094-1999oct5.htm)
See Also:
TRAVELOCITY MAKES A DEAL TO DOMINATE WEB MARKET
[SOURCE: New York Times (C7), AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
INTERNET
INTERNET AGE THREATENS TO END FREE SPEECH
[Op-Ed] Philip Meyer cites public opinion polls showing growing distrust of
the
press and a long list of judicial decisions going against the media. This
year, a survey sponsored by the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at
Vanderbilt University found that 53% of adults agreed the press has too
much freedom - up from 38% two years earlier. Not too far off in the new
century, Meyer predicts we will have to decide whether the First Amendment
guarantee of a free press, which now includes an unregulated Internet, is
worth keeping. The current sentiment expressed in the polls' findings would
lead us toward a "no" response. While technology helped develop the concept of
free speech it we know it today, it is now threatening its existence. Prior
to the advent of the Internet, the entry costs required to obtain a
printing press or broadcast transmitter limited the maximum number of
information providers. Thanks to the Internet there is no theoretical limit
to the number of potential message senders or their audience size. Closely
held power is becoming widely diffused and out of control. The resulting
noisy confusion has created at least three social forces that are putting
pressure on freedom of speech: 1.) the low priority that owners of mass
media give to public service since breaking the attention barrier now is
their first concern, 2.) journalism's fading identity as a distinct
profession as it slowly merges with advertising, public relations and
entertainment. 3.) the loss of the First Amendment's philosophical
underpinning, the belief that there is such a thing as objective truth to
report. "First amendment defenders will make themselves convincing only if
they go after the abusers of First Amendment power. If they don't, the
people, speaking through judges, juries and eventually their elected
officeholders, will do it for them."
[SOURCE: USA Today (17A), AUTHOR: Philip Meyer, holder of the Knight Chair
in Journalism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is a
consultant for USA TODAY]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/ncguest.htm)
CAPITAL DISPATCH: HOUSE AND SENATE HAMMER OUT FILTERING PROPOSALS
Issue: Internet/Content
Both Houses of Congress have once again added Internet filtering proposals
to their juvenile justice bills. The House bill would require all schools
and libraries receiving money from the federal E-rate program to use
filtering and blocking software. The Senate version of the bill does not
include a school and library filtering mandate, but would require all
Internet service providers with 50,000 or more subscribers to give
residential customers access to filtering software either free or at cost.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/10/cyber/capital/05capital.html)
DRUG BUYING ON THE WEB? BE CAREFUL, STUDY SAYS
Issue: Health/Internet
A report by University of Pennsylvania Medical School researchers who
examined 46 online pharmacy sites found that buying prescriptions via the
Internet might be expensive and dangerous. Most of the sites in the study
required prescriptions, either from the patient's doctor or from the Web
site's online doctors, but nine sites, all overseas, required no
prescription at all. The report concluded that the greatest risk posed by
the sites was the online "doctors," often of unknown credentials, who
might prescribe a drug that would harm the patient. "Who are you really
talking to?" asked lead researcher, Dr. Bernard S. Bloom. "Is it truly a
physician? We don't know. None of the sites would tell you the name of the
physicians, where they were, their training or qualifications or anything
about the individual with whom the patient was corresponding electronically."
[SOURCE: New York Times (D7), AUTHOR: Denise Grady]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/health/100599hth-drugs-inte
rnet.html)
CAPITAL DISPATCH: PHARMACISTS SET UP OWN STANDARDS
Issue: Health/ Internet
As the online pharmacy business comes under increased scrutiny by
regulators and Congress, one of the industry's governing body's has
developed a comprehensive program, called the Verified Internet Pharmacy
Practice Sites, for certifying online druggists that comply with state
licensing standards. "As more consumers turn to the Internet marketplace as
a convenient shopping alternative, the risk for exposure to deception and
dangerous scams increases," said Kevin E. Kinkade, the association's
executive committee chairman. "VIPPS will be of tremendous benefit to
consumers who need to be certain that the prescription medicines they
receive are from legitimate online pharmacies." Although there are more
than 400 Web sites currently dispensing drugs online, only three have so
far been given the VIPPS seal.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/10/cyber/capital/05capital.html)
COMPANIES WITH VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FIND SUCCESS IN RETAINING WORKERS
Issue: Jobs
According to research by Ceridian Employer Services, companies having
problems retaining workers might take a look at where they are
technologically. Ceridian's survey found that 50% of employees it polled at
small and large companies said the ability to work in virtual teams or to
telecommute was a very attractive incentive to join a company. About 66%
said that having these work methods at their disposal was an "excellent"
reason to stay with a company. But small companies seem to be lagging as
only two of five small companies surveyed allow telecommuting and less than
a third have virtual teams for workers. On the other hand, 90% of large
companies (with more than 5,000 employees) allow telecommuting and 52% use
virtual teams. "Potential employees today, particularly younger ones, are so
sophisticated in the use of PCs and the Internet, they can question the
commitment to the future of an employer that ignores the use of these tools
to increase productivity," says Brian Regan, a Ceridian vice president.
Regan says small companies need to create "boundaryless" work arrangements
that allow employees to work outside the conventional and traditional
boundaries of place and hierarchy. The hesitation for small businesses, not
surprisingly, is scarce financial resources.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Eleena De Lisser]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB939073955192972185.htm)
BROADBAND
PORTLAND UPS THE ANTE
Issue: Broadband
Portland officials have extended an invitation to would-be competitors of
AT&T. The Request For Qualifications (RFQ) "seeks a provider willing to
build a broadband network in Portland to offer high-speed access as well as
video, voice and other data services." Portland and AT&T Broadband &
Internet Services have been butting heads for a while now over whether
Portland's franchising authority can order AT&T to lease part of its cable
network to competing Internet service providers. So far, the city has
convinced the US District Court of Portland, although an appeal is pending.
RFQ is partially a response to AT&T's decision not to offer its ( at )Home
Internet Service in Portland in light of the local government's desire to
promote competition, according to city officials. AT&T has indicated it
will not offer high-speed access in any city that imposes a cable access
requirement.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable, AUTHOR: Price Colman]
(http://www.broadcastingcable.com)
BIG LANDLORDS JOIN TELECOM FRAY
Issue: Broadband/Competition
Eight of the nation's biggest office landlords and venture-capital firm
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are making an unusual leap into the crowded
telecommunications arena as they are expected to announce today that they
have formed a new company, Broadband Office. Broadband Office will offer
tenants both local and long-distance phone service as well as high-speed
data lines. Broadband Office's owners control 2,000 buildings, representing
about 10% of the nation's offices. According to International Data Corp.,
businesses spend about $125 billion annually on telephone service -- and
these landlords would like to take some of that business away from the Baby
Bells, long-distance and start-up companies. Investors in Broadband Office
say they will appeal to tenants on simplicity, convenience and cost. The
company will offer a single contact for local phone service, long-distance,
and data connections. Broadband Office expects to raise $50 million to $100
million in equity to install high-speed equipment and wire
buildings during the next year. The backers say they won't force tenants to
use Broadband Office and will give other telecommunications companies access
to their buildings -- they will only refer them to the new service. The
company has recruited executives from MCI WorldCom, BellSouth and Level 3
Communications.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (B1), AUTHOR: Scott Thurm and Barbara
Martinez]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB939079662533053287.htm)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM
Issue: Media & Society
What does it mean to say that we live in the information culture? Less a
statement about technology, it is an acknowledgement that everything is
information: music, stories, feelings, ideas, silences, quirky news
summaries. We have to remember that the real information lives beneath the
0s and 1s that make up digital messages. Keller uses the movie "The Matrix"
as a backdrop for this examination as well as the lyrics of Bruce
Springsteen and the writing of Wayne Johnson.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 5, p.3), AUTHOR: Julia Keller]
(http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/tempo/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-991
0050151,FF.html)
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