TELEVISION
NAACP Is Angered By 3 Networks After Presidents Fail
to Attend Hearings (WSJ)
Satellite TV Carriers To Get Local Solution (WP)
New Satellite Law Could Mean Local TV Channels for
Millions of Subscribers for the First Time (CU)
Technology's the Star on ZDTV (USA)
INTERNET
Computer Makers Look to Lower-Income Groups (WP)
Keeping the Net Tax-Free (CyberTimes)
Phone.com Sees Half of Cellphones on Net (SJM)
Computer Cursor Could Be Used To Spy (USA)
MERGERS
Radio Giant Grows Via Roads Less Traveled (ChiTrib)
Rewiring for a Price (ChiTrib)
INTERNATIONAL
Enron Is Piecing Together A Telecom Network in India (WSJ)
ANTITRUST
First Mediation Meeting Set (NYT)
Yes, Microsoft Did Hurt Consumers (WP)
TELEVISION
NAACP IS ANGERED BY TV NETWORKS AFTER PRESIDENTS FAIL TO ATTEND HEARING
Issue: Diversity
Despite the fact that the networks have said they need to do a better job
with diversity -- the hearings to improve relations between the NAACP and
the major broadcast networks did not go over so well in Los Angeles
yesterday. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume criticized ABC, NBC and Fox for not
sending the presidents of their respective networks to the hearing. Those
same three networks sent the heads of their standards and practices
departments in their place. In a response to those absences, the NAACP
rearranged its conference schedule and gave praise and more time to CBS
Television President and CEO Leslie Moonves, the only network chief who
attended. NBC West Coast President Scott Sassa and ABC TV Network President
Pat Fili-Krushel cited scheduling conflicts as the reason they couldn't
attend. Mfume said the NAACP would try to work with the networks on
increasing the number of minorities both in front of and behind the camera
but is also planning to hold a boycott for the January and February sweeps.
He has not said which networks they would boycott. The NAACP has also
requested information from the four major networks on their programming and
hiring practices to be turned in at the end of December.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (B15), AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB943922713332775561.htm)
See also:
NAACP, NETWORKS BOTH TAKE OFFENSE
Representatives from three of four networks walked out of a NAACP-sponsored
hearing on diversity in broadcasting yesterday. Vice presidents from Fox,
NBC and ABC arrived as Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association
of Colored People, regretted their absence to the audience. After a 2 1/2
hour wait, they walked out and held their own impromptu press conference.
Only CBS President Leslie Moonves addressed the audience. In a 20 minute
speech he cited the presence of minority characters in 17 CBS prime-time
series. The panel spent 40 minutes questioning Moonves, then heard from
minority actors about their experiences. It was at this point that the other
network executives left. The prepared statements of the executives are
reported to be similar in nature to Moonves, though the executives also
planned to speak on their own initiatives -- such as ABC's participation in
Prism, a fund that helps minorities acquire media properties. Mfume
confessed to being "befuddled" when he heard, belatedly, of the executives'
departure. The hearings are the latest development of minority criticism of
the networks' fall line-up. Declared a "virtual whitewash" earlier this
fall, the networks have worked under strained conditions with the NAACP and
other minority groups to address criticisms of minority representation in
front of and behind the camera. Mfume promised a "sustained, focused and
continuous consumer action" against the networks if improvements are not
seen.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, pg C1 AUTHOR: Sharon Waxman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/feed/a61341-1999nov30.htm)
SATELLITE TV CARRIERS TO GET LOCAL SOLUTION
Issue: Satellite TV
President Clinton signed the Satellite Home Viewer Act as part of the
end-of-session budget package. The legislation allows satellite owners to
receive local broadcasts from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox network affiliates.
DirecTV, the biggest company in the industry, opened local service in New
York and Los Angeles immediately and said it would roll out service in
Washington and four other cities
"shortly thereafter." Satellite TV currently reaches about 10 million
households, compared with about 70 million homes reached by cable. While the
law allows satellite companies to begin providing local service immediately,
the companies in fact have six months to negotiate with the broadcasters for
the full rights to rebroadcast those transmissions.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E4), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/30/121l-113099-idx.html)
NEW SATELLITE LAW COULD MEAN LOCAL TV CHANNELS FOR MILLIONS OF
SUBSCRIBERS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Issue: Satellite
From Press Release: President Clinton today signed the Satellite Home
Viewers Act, a bill approved by Congress to allow satellite TV companies to
offer local broadcast network channels. With a final stroke of the
presidential pen, millions of consumers will soon be able to get local TV
channels via satellite for the first time, if satellite companies follow
through on their promises. In the hours immediately following the
president's signature, the nation's major satellite TV companies DirecTV and
EchoStar are planning to start providing local channels to major
metropolitan markets across the country. Over the next year, satellite
providers say they expect to be able to offer local channels to up to 50
million homes, or about half of the nation's television households. This
development could signal a significant change for consumers who desire more
choice and lower prices for their TV-viewing needs. Cable television has
long dominated the TV provider market, but the new law could help satellite
TV compete. The law comes amid complaints among cable subscribers about
rates and service. For overall satisfaction, cable finished a clear second
to satellite in a national survey of 1,900 cable-TV and satellite-TV
subscribers conducted by Consumer Reports magazine and published in its
December issue. Gene Kimmelman, co-director of Consumers Union's Washington
D.C. office, says he hopes the new satellite law will improve competition
between cable and satellite, but he says much more needs to be done. "The
law will definitely help satellite companies offer local TV channels to dish
owners in the biggest cities, but it fails to ensure that these channels
will still be available to them six months from now. It also fails to create
real opportunities for a satellite company to offer the stations to a much
broader segment of the public. We hope that Congress will review the impact
of this law after six months to determine whether adequate competition to
cable companies is developing. Consumers who make a major investment in a
satellite dish should be able to count on getting their local broadcast
stations for as long as they want them."
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
(http://www.consumersunion.org/telecom/satedc1129.htm)
TECHNOLOGY'S THE STAR ON ZDTV
Issue: Internet/TV
As impressive as ZDTV's viewership is, it is too small to warrant a Nielsen
rating. Only about 400 cable systems carry the channel, with two satellite
services - DirecTV and Dish - accounting for about half of the 14 million
households that can access it. Figures from researcher Paul Kagan
Associates show ZDTV's subscriber growth rate - 332% from August 1998 to
August 1999 - makes it the fastest-growing cable network. ZDTV, launched
in May 1998, was jointly owner by Ziff-Davis and Vulcan Ventures,
controlled by billionaire Paul Allen. Recently, Vulcan bought out
Ziff-Davis. ZDTV, the only 24-hour national cable channel devoted
exclusively to computers and the Internet, targets average people who are
looking for help and information about computers and the Internet with
shows such as Call for Help, The Screen Savers, ZDTV News, Computer
Shopper, Fresh Gear, Internet Tonight, Silicon Spin and The Money Machine.
[SOURCE: USA Today (3D), AUTHOR: Dennis Hunt]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/tv/let018.htm)
INTERNET
COMPUTER MAKERS LOOK TO LOWER-INCOME GROUPS
Issue: Digital Divide
The purchase of Free-PC by eMachines and the expected announcement today by
Dell Computers of an Internet-mostly machine mark the era of the truly
low-priced computer. FreePC will end its free
computer promotion and switch to selling machines at around $550. Dell is
"trying to go down market to the lower-priced consumer," said Terry O'Brien,
analyst for Branch, Cabell, which hasn't done underwriting for Dell. Market
research from A.C. Nielsen shows 53% of American households having at least
one computer, though households with the lowest incomes are significantly
less likely to own a computer. Though the two companies are pursuing
slightly different markets and will use different retail strategies, the
trend in lower-priced computers is noteworthy. The trend is motivated by the
falling price of memory, a move toward Internet-based software applications,
and the saturation of higher-income markets. "I don't want to say they've
cherry-picked customers, but they've been selective in what markets they've
gone after," he said. "The segment of the market that eMachines and Free-PC
are pursuing is the least attractive segment of the market with the
least-credit-worthy, lowest-income customers."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Brick]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/30compute.html)
CAPITAL DISPATCH: KEEPING THE NET TAX-FREE
Issue: E-Commerce
An international coalition is encouraging the World Trade Organization to
adopt a proposal for keeping e-commerce barrier free. The group cites a new
report from the University of Chicago and the National Bureau of Economic
Research -- based on an analysis of 25,000 people with online access --
says taxes on the Net could cause a 24 percent drop in online sales. The
researcher, Austan Goolsbee of the University of Chicago's Graduate School
of Business, said he found that "local taxation plays an influential role
in online commerce."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/cyber/capital/30capital.html)
PHONE.COM SEES HALF OF CELLPHONES ON NET
Issue: Telephony
Malcolm Bird, a Managing Director and Vice President for Phone.com, a
U.S.-based software developer for wireless devices, expects more than half
the world's predicted one billion mobile phone subscribers in 2003 to be
connected to the Internet. Phone.com expects Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP) phones to start shipping in large volumes early next year. The WAP
cell phone experience should be simpler than surfing on a personal computer.
"We're hoping many users won't ever know they were on the Internet," said
Bird. Phone.com's customers currently total about 46 mobile operators, or
10%
of the world's operators, through which it claims to reach 40% of world
subscribers. Bird said Phone.com, which has been developing mobile phone
Internet access technology since 1995, aims to capitalize on its
"first-mover advantage" by having already experienced the technology
pitfalls that newcomers encounter. Cell phone leaders such as Nokia and
Ericsson have licensed Phone.com's browser for the U.S. market although he
said they are developing their own for Europe, where Phone.com competes with
them. Infrastructure manufacturers including Siemens, Alcatel, Sema and
Motorola are reselling Phone.com products, which should position the company
well for future network upgrades.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Sara Ledwith, European Technology
Correspondent]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/reuters/docs/1134205l.htm)
COMPUTER CURSOR COULD BE USED TO SPY
Issue: Privacy
A customizable computer cursor that would change from a simple pointer to a
Gore 2000 button anytime a user visited the Gore campaign site was pulled
from the site after activists raised concerns about users' privacy. The
software that made the cursor possible also tracks the online movements of
its users. Comet Systems Marketing Director Ben Austin says Web
site operators like the cursor because it gives their visitors something
fun to play with while sites can customize cursors to encourage users to
click on ads. In return, these Web sites can get statistics that measure
how many people download the software and which parts of the Web site they
visit with a unique ID number identifying new and return visitors. Comet
does not currently use this data to assemble dossiers on the users. In
response to the current controversy however, Comet designed a privacy
policy for its Web site pledging not to gather or sell personal information
gathered from users.
[SOURCE: USA Today (4A), AUTHOR: Will Rodger]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg764.htm)
MERGERS
RADIO GIANT GROWS VIA ROADS LESS TRAVELED
Issue: Mergers
In a $242 million deal, Milwaukee-based Cumulus Media will buy 35 radio
stations from Connoisseur Communications. If the deal is approved by
Government regulators, Cumulus will become the #2 radio station owner will
299 stations in 58 media markets. Unlike its peers that have been buying
stations in the top 50-75 markets, Cumulus concentrates on smaller media
markets (most of its stations are in markets smaller than Toledo, OH). The
35 stations include nine in Rockford and the Quad Cities, with the rest in
Canton and Youngstown, Ohio, and the adjacent western Pennsylvania markets;
Flint, Saginaw-Bay City and Muskegon, Mich.; Evansville, Ind., and
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.3), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99113002
59,FF.html)
REWIRING FOR PRICE
Issue: Mergers
A look at how big telecom mergers affect the industry. For the vendors who
supply the telecom giants, they expect bigger orders, but smaller profit
margins. "The merged company's purchasing guy may have a bigger contract in
his pocket, but he's also got a sharpened pencil in his hand," said Joseph
Charles, president and chief executive of Charles Industries Ltd. "He's
looking for deeper discounts because he's got to cut operating costs to help
finance the premium they paid to do the merger. And he's got the clout to
get his way, because there are fewer and fewer customers out there for
vendors to serve. We need his business." Charles continues, "Consolidation
means we'll pick up sales volume, but we'll drop margins to get it. We'll
put in more automation and expand our capacity to cut operating costs, and
we'll beat up on our suppliers a little bit to cut their margins."
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99113002
38,FF.html)
INTERNATIONAL
ENRON IS PIECING TOGETHER A TELECOM NETWORK IN INDIA
Issue: Broadband
Enron Chairman Sanjay Bhatnagar said the company has signed a memorandum
of understanding with FLAG Telecom, an undersea cable operator, and is in
negotiations for another venture to build a fiber-optic telecommunications
network in India. The first leg of that network will be a high-capacity
fiber-optic connection between India's capital, New Delhi, and the country's
financial center, Bombay. Enron hopes to build a national broadband network
in India to improve data communications, including the use of the Internet.
Enron aims to build a high-bandwidth backbone connecting seven large cities,
each housing a data center with servers to facilitate Internet applications,
such as hosting Web sites. It hopes to cut time and cost for Indian Internet
users. Bhatnagar said Enron is negotiating with several potential partners,
which he declined to name,
on other pieces of the Indian network. Enron is also speaking with
governmental bodies for gaining the right-of-way to lay fiber optic cable in
other areas of India. It is also likely to team up with private telephone
networks and Internet-service providers. [Enron is located in Houston, Texas
and works with natural gas, crude oil, generation and transmission of
electricity, development and operation of power plants, pipelines and other
energy related interests.]
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Jonathan Karp]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB943862942683345356.htm)
ANTITRUST
FIRST MEDIATION MEETING SET
Issue: Antitrust
Today Judge Richard Posner will convene representatives of Microsoft, 19
states and the Justice Department to determine the chances of
mediating an agreement in the company's landmark antitrust trial.
"Expectations should run low for this first meeting," said William Baer,
who until recently headed the Bureau of Competition. U.S. District Court
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson asked Posner to attempt to mediate a
settlement among the three parties. Because neither the states nor the
federal government have sought any fine or other financial settlement from
Microsoft, no one knows what the sides may agree on as a remedy. One
antitrust expert says that if there is a settlement, the citizens of states
which settle might be deprived of their right to sue. "The states can give
up potential claims for money damages and in the process they will also be
giving up the money damages claims of citizens within their states," said
the lawyer.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-microsoft.html)
See Also:
CLIMATE SHIFTS IN MICROSOFT CASE
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Rob Kaiser]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99113002
35,FF.html)
YES, MICROSOFT DID HURT CONSUMERS
Issue: Antitrust
[Op-ed] The Microsoft case was never about short-term harm. Rather it was
about the role of innovation in the computer field. "The theory behind the
lawsuit is that in the long run only innovation, guided by the free market
and consumer preferences, will produce products in consumers' best
interests." Consumers lose if innovation is squelched by monopoly power or
if innovation is inhibited or never brought to market because of
anticompetitive practices. The co-authors ask how you can estimate the value
to consumers of an alternative operating system that never came into being
because of Microsoft's multiple strategies of destruction. They find Judge
Jackson's ruling remarkable in that he identified the long-term harm to
innovation that is the essence of the case in addition to numerous examples
of short-term harm to consumers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A29), AUTHOR: Albert A Foer and Robert H. Lande,
Albert A. Foer is president of the American Antitrust Institute. Robert H.
Lande is a law professor at the University of Baltimore.]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/30/012l-113099-idx.html)
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