COMPETITION
Telecom's Future: More Competition, Cheaper Prices (USA)
Local Phone Service is Hot (SJM)
TELEVISION
PBS Names Turner Broadcasting Executive as Its New President (NYT)
Does TV Cause Teens to Drink? (USA)
Antismoking Ads Aimed at Teens Hit TV (WSJ)
INTERNET
Do Sponsors Sway Health Web Sites? (WSJ)
Little Net Firm Rocks TV Giants Sending Channels On Web Awaits Court
Ruling Today (USA)
Commerce Department Seeks Funds To Improve Tracking of E-Commerce
(WSJ)
WIRELESS
Japanese Going Online but Leaving PCs Behind (WP)
AOL Europe Tests System to Allow Wireless Access to Online Services
(WSJ)
MERGERS
Rogers Communications to Issue Stock Valued at $3.4 Billion for
Videotron (WSJ)
COMPETITION
TELECOM'S FUTURE: MORE COMPETITION, CHEAPER PRICES
Issue: Competition
(FCC Chairman William Kennard discussed with USA TODAY's editorial board the
impact of the 1996 Telecommunications Act on telephone service, cable, video
and broadcast services.) While Chairman Kennard credited the 1996 Act with
lowering costs and increasing choices for telecommunications' consumers, he
said that the cable television industry and the local phone market are two
sectors still lacking in competition. When it comes to local telephone
service, "Most of the competition is coming to the high-end business user,"
said Kennard. The Chairman says that when television goes digital, people
will be able to interact with their televisions much like they interact with
their computers - in what he calls Interactive Personal TV. Chairman Kennard
also predicted that satellite-based telephone service could become an
important broadband capacity to rural and remote areas around the world. "We
forget sometimes that 50% of the people on this planet have never made a
phone call," he noted. Someone, he said, will provide phones to these
people. "It's not just a question of creating investment opportunities for
companies in the developing world, but more of a moral obligation."
[SOURCE: USAToday (A17), AUTHOR: USAToday Editorial Staff]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000208/1917456s.htm)
LOCAL PHONE SERVICE IS HOT
Issue: Telephony/Competition
Consumers in markets such as New York, Dallas, and Northern California are
now able to choose their local phone company for the first time since the
earliest days of telephone history. While competition in the local loop is
bringing benefits in the form of lower prices and a host of new services;
consumers are also confused by the wide array of calling plans and they're
annoyed by the technical and billing glitches that come as companies roll
out their local service. Telephone companies are spending billions of
dollars to gain an edge in this new era. They're experimenting with a
variety of ways to deliver local service, including putting phone calls on
cable lines and using new kinds of wireless and fiber-optic networks. This
effort has led to a marketing war between companies seeking a payoff by
adding new customers. This has added to the number of telemarketing calls
and advertisements consumers receive for calling plans that may not
initially seem like an improvement over existing services. "We're still in
the middle of the noisy, awkward transition," said Jeff Kagan, a
telecommunications analyst. "Nobody said it was going to be neat and tidy."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O'Brien]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/compet020800.htm)
TELEVISION
PBS NAMES TURNER BROADCASTING EXECUTIVE AS ITS NEW PRESIDENT
Issue: Public Broadcasting
The Public Broadcasting Service yesterday announced the appointment of Pat
Mitchell, a longtime news producer and executive for Turner Broadcasting, as
its president. Mitchell says that one of her main challenges will be to lead
an organization that has a longstanding conflict between its central
programming arm and its member stations, almost 350 of them, many of which
believe they should control their own program schedules. Ms. Mitchell said
she hoped to turn that situation into an advantage by finding ways to make
use of attractive local programming on a national level. Besides being the
first woman to lead PBS, she will be the first former full-time television
producer to head the organization. "I know how the process works," she said.
"I think I can help in making the process of getting shows on the air work
even better."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/pbs-president.html)
DOES TV CAUSE TEENS TO DRINK?
Issue: Television
A study released Monday suggests that alcohol-glamorizing TV shows and
commercials promote drinking in some teens. TV watching is linked to teen
drinking "for those who think alcohol will make them happy and popular" says
Washington State University media researcher, Erica Weintraub Austin, the
study's author. These youngsters were one-third more likely than others to
be drinkers and even bingers. They tended to find the tube an accurate
reflection of reality, possibly because they see drinking at home, Austin
says. Parental attitudes toward television programs seemed also to play a
role in whether or not teens drink. Youngsters who said their parents often
criticize TV programming saw less benefit in alcohol and were less likely to
drink; those who said their parents praised shows, characters or commercials
tended to think alcohol was cool, and to drink it.
[SOURCE: USAToday (8D), AUTHOR: Clay Chandler]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000208/1917202s.htm)
ANTISMOKING ADS AIMED AT TEENS HIT TV
Issue: Advertising TV
The largest antismoking campaign, being financed by $1.5 Billion from the
1998 legal settlement between tobacco companies and all 50 states, debuted
on television last night. The campaign is orchestrated by the nonprofit
organization called the American Legacy Foundation, who is planning on
distributing the campaign across TV, radio, magazines, and the Internet.
The centerpiece of the campaign is the building of the brand called "Truth"
which will compete with cigarette makers Marlboro, Camel and Lucky Strike
brands. "We want to create a brand that, over the long haul, kids can
relate to," says Pete Favat from Arnold Communications, the lead advertising
agency for the American Legacy Foundation. This strategy is based on the
concept of "counterbranding", first used in a Florida state antismoking
campaign which is credited with creating a 10% reduction in smoking among
teenagers in the state. Charles Wolfe, the creator of the Florida campaign,
is American Legacy's chief operating officer. The campaign is so large that
is will dwarf AIDS education and outspend the government's high profile
antidrug campaign.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: Gordon Fairclough]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949959160992358216.htm)
INTERNET
DO SPONSORS SWAY HEALTH WEB SITES?
Issue: Internet/Health
Drug companies are spending aggressively to build a dominant marketing
presence on the Internet, sometimes by providing educational grants to
health web sites that also showcase their products. The FDA's stand has been
that sponsors shouldn't dictate content and they, along with the Federal
Trade Commission, have been monitoring grant funded web sites to see if they
will run content that is adverse to a sponsors interest. "If you don't do
what the sponsor wants, how much more business do you think you're going to
get?" asked a former FDA official. The breast cancer site from HealthTalk
Interactive features a lengthy section on the drug Herdeptin, made by the
site's sponsor Genentech, Inc. HealthTalk's Hepatitis C site includes a
testimonial by a patient that controls her infection with a product made by
Amgen, Inc., the funder of that site. A member of HealthTalk says, "We
cover breakthroughs, and those happen to include the products of the
sponsor." Jeffery Gibbs, the Washington DC based attorney for HealthTalk,
says, "Balanced and fair doesn't necessarily mean neutral."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B7), AUTHOR: Marilyn Chase]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949971114152758310.htm)
LITTLE NET FIRM ROCKS TV GIANTS SENDING CHANNELS ON WEB AWAITS COURT RULING
TODAY
Issue: Internet
CBS, Fox, Walt Disney, the NFL and at least 10 other entertainment industry
superpowers have carpet-bombed lawsuits on iCraveTV, a Canadian company that
put live network TV on the Internet for the first time. "Broadcasters have
told me that if they lose this case, it's the end of the world," says Blair
Levin, a consultant and former official at the Federal Communications
Commission. "It's one of the largest and most brazen thefts of intellectual
property ever committed in the United States," says Jack Valenti of the
Motion Picture Association of America. While U.S. law strictly prohibits
picking up TV signals and retransmitting them, Canadian law allows any
entity to retransmit a TV broadcast as long as it is not altered and is
retransmitted only within Canada. The TV industry suit, however, claims that
the vast majority of iCraveTV users were Americans. Today, a federal judge
in Pittsburgh will decide whether to order iCraveTV to shut down, and Rep.
Billy Tauzin, (R-LA), has called for a congressional hearing on the
company's ordeal.
[SOURCE: USAToday(B1), AUTHOR: Kevin Maney]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000208/1917792s.htm)
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT SEEKS FUNDS TO IMPROVE TRACKING ON E-COMMERCE
Issue: Commerce
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, which compiles
government indicators such as the gross domestic product, is seeking $3.5
million under President Clinton's fiscal 2001 budget plan, specifically to
track e-commerce. The request represents a major step in the government's
effort to improve its ability to determine how online commerce is reshaping
the nation's economy. "This is about trying to capture e-commerce's impact
on GDP and across the economy's sectors," Steven Landfeld, director of the
Bureau of Economic Analysis, said. "We try to do that now, but the question
is how well we do it."
The Commerce program will be detailed at a briefing this afternoon.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: WSJ Staff Reporter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949972036183298809.htm)
WIRELESS
JAPANESE GOING ONLINE BUT LEAVING PCs BEHIND
Issue: Internet/Wireless
In Japan, where Internet usage remains at a low 14 percent, many of those
who access the net do so without using a PC. Companies have spent billions
to develop technologies that provide Japanese subscribers with online access
via mobile phone. One of these services, "i-mode," run by NTT Mobile
Communications Network Inc(better known as DoCoMo), provides Japanese
consumers with continuous, low-cost wireless access to the Web. They can use
the service to send and receive e-mail messages, check their bank balances,
find a restaurant, make flight reservations, check the weather or read their
horoscopes. Since its inception last February, the service has skyrocketed,
signing up about 450,000 new subscribers every month. It now boasts nearly 4
million subscribers. U.S. companies such as Microsoft, which formed a joint
venture to develop mobile software with DoCoMo in October, are watching
carefully. Said Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, "The U.S. is the most far-behind
wireless market in the world. We'll be doing a lot of the pioneering work
here. Eventually, I hope that'll migrate back to the United States."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Clay Chandler]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A22028-2000Feb7.html)
AOL EUROPE TESTS SYSTEM TO ALLOW WIRELESS ACCESS TO ONLINE SERVICES
Issue: Internet/Wireless
AOL Europe, a 50-50 venture between America Online and Germany's
Bertelsmann, has started testing technology that allows people to download
news, check e-mail and book airplane tickets from mobile phones. It hopes to
launch a portal in a few months to offer the services to any mobile phone
user, even if they aren't customers of its online service. Eventually AOL
Europe hopes to enable mobile phones to use the AOL instant-messaging
service that has been a hit with computer users. Internet use via mobile
phones is expected to explode in Europe in the next few years and possibly
eclipse the personal computer as the main device for accessing the Web. Last
year in Europe, about 275 million mobile phones were sold, compared with
about 100 million PCs. For mobile-phone users, AOL Europe's portal will be a
phone number that connects them to a menu of services, such as news, stock
quotes, travel and shopping. Although users will pay nothing in trials
beginning in the next few weeks, AOL Europe may end up charging a monthly
fee for the mobile access.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A21), AUTHOR: Neal Boudette]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949958877436790105.htm)
MERGERS
ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS TO ISSUE STOCK VALUED AT $3.4 BILLION FOR VIDEOTRON
Issue: Mergers/Cable
After Groupe Videotron announced yesterday that they were considering a
merger with an unnamed competitor, Rogers Communications announced today
that they agreed to acquire Groupe Videotron for stock valued at $3.4
Billion. The acquisition will not only create Canada's largest cable
operator but also a rival to Canada's biggest telecommunications provider,
Bell Canada. Rogers and Videotron officials said that the convergence of
cable, Interent and telephone communications was the driving force behind
the acquisition of Videotron. Videotron has been developing a new Internet
protocol technology that would allow residential telephone communications on
its cable network. The technology will help Rogers become a, "one-stop shop
of communications services".
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B12), AUTHOR: Mark Heinzl]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949943047261333929.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/)