MERGER
Frays, Both Small and Big, Emerge After AOL, Time Warner Merger
(WSJ)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Foundation To Tackle 'Digital Divide' in Va. (WP)
Internet Tax Full Committee Hearing (Senate)
CABLE
Cable Companies Proving Immune to Economic Downturn (NYT)
MOVIES
Can Hollywood See the Tiger? (NYT)
MERGER
FRAYS, BOTH SMALL AND BIG, EMERGE AFTER AOL, TIME WARNER MERGER
Issue: Merger
AOL and Time Warner are undergoing some pains as executives hash out exactly
what it means to be a "new media" company now that their merger has been
completed. Adding to the difficulties, employees are worrying about the new
behemoth's stock price, its earnings targets and the layoffs that were
announced earlier this year. In the Time Inc. division, which is the largest
magazine outfit in the U.S., employees are increasingly wary that the
magazine business could be threatened by AOL's lack of journalistic savvy
and the huge pressure to meet AOL Time Warner's extremely aggressive
financial goals, amid an ever-deteriorating advertising climate. "There is a
lot of pressure to think of ways to expand the business," says a Time Inc.
executive. "The question is will it be done in a smart, thoughtful way or
will people act out of panic?" says a Time Inc. executive.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Julia Angwin And Matthew Rose]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB984095115797502668.htm)
INTERNET
FOUNDATION TO TACKLE 'DIGITAL DIVIDE' IN VA.
Issue: Digital Divide
The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) yesterday unveiled an effort
to raise $10 million to create a charitable foundation that will seek to
bridge the state's "digital divide." NVTC Foundation plans to expand the
reach of education and workforce training programs and develop new tech
initiatives for communities. The programs to be expanded include an NVTC
computer education center, a robotics tournament for area high school
students, and a scholarship program for students at George Mason
University's School of Information Technology and Engineering. The
foundation will encourage philanthropists to take a hands-on approach,
lending management expertise to not-for-profit initiatives and demanding
measurable results, officials said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E05), AUTHOR: Felicia Morton]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44256-2001Mar8.html)
INTERNET TAX FULL COMMITTEE HEARING
Issue: Internet
Senator McCain will preside over a full a Commerce Committee hearing on
whether Congress should allow states to require all remote sellers to
collect and remit sales taxes on deliveries into that state, provided that
states and localities dramatically simplify their sales and use tax systems.
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14, at 9:30 a.m. in room 253
of the Russell Senate Office Building.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/107-18.html)
CABLE
CABLE COMPANIES PROVING IMMUNE TO ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
Issue: Cable
Amid the year-long bloodletting in technology stocks that took root last
spring, cable companies have thrived above the fray. Dismissed as a
backwater collection of yesteryear companies during the height of the
high-tech rush, seven of the largest U.S. cable firms have outperformed the
Nasdaq composite index since the gauge's 57 percent plunge from its all-time
high last March. Stocks in four of those market leaders are up more than 17
percent from a year ago. "The cable sector as a whole and in the past has
been fairly recession resistant, and we continue to believe we'll continue
to do well," said Mary Jo Moehle, Charter Communications director of
investor relations. "Cable is very predictable, it's 40 bucks times three
months, times X number of subs," said Tom Eagan, an analyst at UBS Warburg,
referring to the cable subscribers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-cable-dc.html)
(requires subscription)
MOVIES
CAN HOLLYWOOD SEE THE TIGER?
Issue: Movies
Salman Rushdie thinks that the Hollywood studios should be a little more
concerned about the impending strikes by actors and writers. With the
crossover success of movies like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Rushdie
suggests that the industry "may be making a big mistake if they think they
can ride out the strike without losing their stranglehold on the market."
He takes "Crouching Tiger" as proof that Americans can accept subtitled
foreign films into the giant cineplexes where the big money is made. "When
the world's finest filmmakers are coming after your audience, it may not be
such a smart idea to shut your industry down," Rushdie concludes.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A21), AUTHOR: Salman Rushdie (the author of "The
Satanic Verses" and "The Ground Beneath Her Feet."]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/09/opinion/09RUSH.html)
(requires registration)
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