INTERNET
Wireless Firms, Dot-Coms Plot the Next Big Thing (WSJ)
Confronting the Reality of a Health Care Vision (NYT)
Internet Putting Car Buyers in Driver's Seat (WP)
Net Draining Talent from Print Media (NYT)
Man Chews Over the Fate Of Ubiquitous Web Cookies (WSJ)
TELEVISION
The Sound of One Foot Dragging, Again (NYT)
TELEPHONY
Truth in Telephone Billing (House)
MERGERS
Yahoo and Murdoch Said to Be in Talks (NYT)
AOL, Time Warner CEOs To Appear Before Senators (WSJ)
SBC's Request for Interpretation, Waiver, or Modification of
Ameritech Merger Conditions (FCC)
Merger Review Process (FCC)
INTERNET
WIRELESS FIRMS, DOT-COMS PLOT THE NEXT BIG THING
Issue: Wireless/Internet
This year, the wireless industry's biggest trade show, which starts Monday,
is embracing a popular theme: the Web without wires. AT&T and International
Business Machines have announced alliances aimed at providing corporate
employees with wireless access to their companies' intranets and other data.
Many analysts expect corporations to be the first customers to adopt
wireless Internet services. As prices come down, cellular-phone consumers
are expected to follow suit. In the meantime, the Internet players and
wireless companies are eager pair-ups. "It's like Saturday night at the
prom," says Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications
Industry Association. "Everybody is getting dates, thinking that if I don't
have a partner, I might die a spinster."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Nicole Harris]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB951690924658617354.htm
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB951690924658617354.htm )
CONFRONTING THE REALITY OF A HEALTH CARE VISION
Issue: Health Online
After more than 80 deals in 18 months, "we now have the assets in place to
execute," said 30-year-old Jeffrey T. Arnold, chief executive of
Healtheon/WebMD. "We will put everything we've got into making this work."
Wall Street is pressuring the company to prove that it actually has a
product after investors have pumped up its stock. Healtheon's vision is to
link patients, doctors and insurers online with just about every player in
the vast industry, promoting self-help for patients while saving untold time
and money by eliminating paperwork and insurance company phone centers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Milt Freudenheim]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28heal.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28heal.html )
INTERNET PUTTING CAR BUYERS IN DRIVER'S SEAT
Issue: E-Commerce
While you can buy almost anything imaginable online, it may still be a while
before most people are buying new cars at the click of a mouse. Car dealers
have successfully lobbied state legislatures nationwide to strengthen laws
effectively prevent automakers from selling directly to consumers online.
Because of state laws that require new vehicles to be sold exclusively by
franchised new-car dealers, the online auto companies still must buy their
cars from free-standing dealerships, artificially preserving the dealer
system. The pressure for fundamental change in how new cars are sold,
however, continues to mount. Analysts say that a growing number of consumers
will soon turn to the Web when buying a car, as they "realize the Internet
can turn a Byzantine buying process into something as simple as click and
point," says Brown.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1) AUTHOR: Warren Brown]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41545-2000Feb27.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41545-2000Feb27.html )
NET DRAINING TALENT FROM PRINT MEDIA
Issue: Online Journalism
Traditional print media outlets are loosing much of their talent to
Internet-based publications. Internet news sites and online magazines are
luring writers and editors away with higher pay and the promise of valuable
stock options. Writers are drawn away by the excitement of participating in
something new. Peter Gumble, former Los Angeles bureau chief of the Dow
Jones newspaper, went to Business.com, a
business information site after thinking about the implications of the
Internet revolution. "I had this image of my daughter saying to me in 20
years' time, 'What did you do in the Internet revolution, Daddy?'" The exact
number of Internet journalism jobs is impossible to pin down. But Marsha
Stoltman, who is vice president and general manager of conferences for
Editor & Publisher and ran a recent session on interactive newspapers, said
the migration from old media to new media "has yet to peak." Still, some
old-school journalists like David Yarnold of the San Jose Mercury News are
reluctant to characterize the trend as anything Earth-shattering. "The total
loss last year was 11 people," Yarnold said about his staff, "and 11 people
out of 400 or more does not constitute a crisis or a brain drain." He added
that the news staff was expanding by 26 people this year-including 16
technology reporters.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer and Alex Kuczynski]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28medi.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28medi.html )
SEE ALSO:
Old-Fashioned Reporting, New Medium
[SOURCE: New York Times (C 13), Author Christian Berthelsen]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28gun.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28gun.html )
MAN CHEWS OVER THE FATE OF UBIQUITOUS WEB COOKIES
Issue: Privacy
Lou Montulli created what has become one of the Web's most pervasive
technologies: the cookie. These tiny computer files are used to track Web
visitors. In 1994, Mr. Montulli, then a programmer for Netscape, developed a
technology that allowed users to mark items as they browsed for later
purchase. Mr. Montulli designed cookies to be flexible and to help Netscape
commercialize the medium. "Netscape was about building the infrastructure
for the Web," he says. "We tried to build things that would be useful for
the entire community." Sites soon began to use cookies to count "hits." From
there, it wasn't much of a leap to use cookies to track visitors' Internet
habits. Now Doubleclikck wants to go a step further, matching up cookie data
with information in traditional direct-marketing databases. Mr. Montulli,
says DoubleClick and dozens of other Web marketers are using cookies in
ways he never intended.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Online), AUTHOR: Tom Weber]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB951688814201746600.htm
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB951688814201746600.htm )
TELEVISION
THE SOUND OF ONE FOOT DRAGGING, AGAIN
Issue: DTV
Digital TVs sold today are not cable-compatible. Since more than two-thirds
of US TV viewers are cable subscribers, this could be a big deal for the
adoption of digital television. Its such a big deal, actually, that FCC
Chairman Bill Kennard asked the cable television and consumer electronics
industry to work together on creating a digital connector. On Wednesday,
after two years of arguing, the two industries announced an agreement. But
analysts say the agreement is hallow because it does not include a copyright
protection standard with Hollywood. Hollywood will not release digital
copies of current movies for use on cable unless they are protected against
the making of multiple copies. Though current analog programming has long
been available for copying on videocassettes, such copies degrade over time.
The studios fear releasing digital versions of films into general
circulation because those can be copied endlessly without degradation. Susan
Ness, an FCC commissioner, said, "We can't declare victory when the game's
only at halftime." And the National Association of Broadcasters, which has
been agitating about this issue for years because its member stations want
their programs to be available to cable subscribers, said: "The agreement is
a sham."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C9), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28cabl.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28cabl.html )
TELEPHONY
TRUTH IN TELEPHONE BILLING
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Thursday, March 9, 2000 10:00 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing
on H.R. 3011, the Truth in Telephone Billing Act of 1999 and H.R. 3022, the
Rest of the Truth in Telephone Billing Act of 1999
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/releases.htm
http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/releases.htm )
See Also:
TELEPHONE BILL CHARGES FACT SHEET
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Factsheets/telephone_bills_facts.
html
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Factsheets/telephone_bills_facts.
html )
MERGERS
YAHOO AND MURDOCH SAID TO BE IN TALKS
Issue: Mergers
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and Yahoo are talking about an alliance
that could involve stock investments in each other's operations, according
to News Corp. executives. The companies are interested in joining forces to
counter rival AOL's merger with Time Warner, but sources say that any deal
is weeks away. Any deal would likely provide Yahoo with access to the
content of Fox News Channel and such News Corp.- owned papers as the Times
of London and the New York Post. The Yahoo name would, in turn, provide News
Corp.'s planned satellite Internet service with needed credibility. Sources
at Yahoo were unavailable, but a News Corp executive urged caution. "There
is no agreement near with anybody," the executive said. "Nothing has been
nailed down." Industry analysts also remain calm. Said one investment
banker: "Everyone has been talking to everyone since AOL-Time Warner."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A15), AUTHOR: Barnaby J. Feder]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28yaho.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28yaho.html
SEE ALSO: Phone Deal in Hong Kong Said to Get a New Player
[SOURCE: New York Times (), AUTHOR: Mark Landler and Andrew Ross Sorkin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28tele.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/28tele.html )
AOL, TIME WARNER CEOS TO APPEAR BEFORE SENATORS
Issue: Merger
Executives from America Online Inc. and Time Warner are expected to appear
before Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday and the Commerce Committee on
Thursday to discuss their proposed merger. The hearings are expected to
focus on issues of "open access" to broadband data networks and the
consequences of the merger for innovation in Internet technology and
services. Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has urged
caution about the transaction. Mr. Hatch said at the time that the
converging Internet and media industries needed to avoid the pitfalls of a
much earlier era of industrial consolidation, "one which was dominated by
oil barons and railroads, and ultimately resulted in heavy-handed
regulation."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Online), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal Staff
Reporter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB951692083166122356.htm
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB951692083166122356.htm )
SBC's REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION, WAIVER, OR MODIFICATION OF
AMERITECH MERGER CONDITIONS
Issue: Mergers
On October 6, 1999, the Commission approved, subject to conditions, the
transfer of control of certain licenses and authorizations from Ameritech
Corporation to SBC Communications ("SBC").(1) Pursuant to the Merger
Conditions, SBC must establish one or more separate affiliates to provide
advanced services, including Digital Subscriber Line ("DSL") advanced
services.(2) SBC's Advanced Services Affiliate must, among other things, own
(or lease) and operate all new advanced services equipment used to provide
advanced services.
On February 15, 2000, SBC filed a letter with the Chief of the Common
Carrier Bureau ("Bureau") seeking the Bureau's interpretation regarding an
ownership arrangement of certain advanced services equipment. Specifically,
SBC seeks the Bureau's concurrence that its proposed ownership arrangement
is consistent with the Merger Conditions. In the event the Bureau finds
SBC's proposed ownership arrangement inconsistent with the Merger
Conditions, SBC seeks a waiver of the applicable requirements or a
modification of the conditions to allow the proposed operating environment.
Comments are due March 3, 2000. Responses to these comments or oppositions
may be filed not later than March 10, 2000.
For further information contact Anthony Dale, Accounting Safeguards
Division, Common Carrier Bureau at (202) 418-2260.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/2000/da000335.html
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/2000/da000335.html
)
MERGER REVIEW PROCESS
Issue: Mergers
The FCC released the agenda for its March 1 public forum on FCC review of
applications relating to mergers and similar transactions, together with a
list of suggested topics for discussion. The forum will be held from 10:00
AM to noon at the FCC headquarters, 445 12th St., SW, Washington, DC, in the
Commission Meeting Room on the 12th St. level. It is open to the public on a
first-come, first-served basis. At the public forum, the Transactions Team
and the Office of General Counsel will present proposals for streamlining
the processes, including a proposed timeline and Transactions Team website.
Following that, there will be an opportunity for public questions and
comments on these proposals. There will also be an opportunity following the
forum for filing written comments.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OGC/News_Releases/2000/nrgc0003.html
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OGC/News_Releases/2000/nrgc0003.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 http://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 mailto:kevint( at )benton.org ), Rachel
Anderson (rachel( at )benton.org mailto:rachel( at )benton.org ),
Jamal Le Blanc (jamal( at )benton.org mailto:jamal( at )benton.org ), and Nancy
Gillis (nancy( at )benton.org mailto: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 http://www.connectforkids.org )
Open Studio: The Arts Online (www.openstudio.org/
http://www.openstudio.org/ )
Destination Democracy (www.destinationdemocracy.org/
http://www.destinationdemocracy.org/ )
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org/
http://www.soundpartners.org/ )