Internet
Online Debate Includes Doubts About Getting
Everyone Online (CyberTimes)
New Plan for Junk E-Mail Is Dividing Internet Camps (NYT)
Measures to Rid Cyberspace of 'Spam' Run Into Snags (WSJ)
Alternative doorways to the Internet are popping up
in the spirit of free-flowing information (NYT)
IBM Is Close to Deal On Phone Service Over the Internet (NYT)
Digital Media Content for Children and Teens (NTIA)
Antitrust/Microsoft
Antitrust Talks Founder On Microsoft's 'Desktop' (NYT)
Microsoft Faces Historic Antitrust Suits (WSJ)
Failure of Talks Opens A Window on Microsoft (WP)
Microsoft Is in talks to Buy 20% Stake In RoadRunner for About
$400 Million (WSJ)
Mergers
SBC-Ameritech Merger Needs Three States' Approval (TelecomAM)
Simon & Schuster In Sale To British (NYT)
Telephony
Satellite Launch Globally Links Wireless Phones (WP)
Minorities
Times Mirror Weighs a By-the-Numbers Approach to
Expanding Coverage of Minorities (NYT)
When Revenues Don't Match Ratings (NYT)
EEOnly Sparingly Invoked (B&C)
As Personal Income Grows, So Does Listening (B&C)
Cable
Tauzin Wants to Boost Cable Choices (B&C)
Anti-Regulation Report (B&C)
ZDTV Logs On (B&C)
Journalism
Seeking Dramatic Footage No Matter What the Cost (NYT)
Magazines Bowing to Demands for Star Treatment (NYT)
Arts
Arts Education, for a Week (NYT)
** Internet **
Title: Online Debate Includes Doubts About Getting Everyone Online
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/cyber/articles/18email.html
Author: Rebecca Fairly Raney
Issue: Universal Service/Internet
Description: The Markle Foundation's online conference on the possibilities
of universal email sparked lively discussion about a concept that "has
inspired gushing idealism from people who work with computers and sharp
criticism from people who work with the poor." The profile of the conference
was raised by the participation of Vice President Al Gore (among others).
"One of the most important goals that President Clinton and I have set for
this country," Vice President Gore wrote, "is to give every child in America
access to high quality educational technology by the dawn of the new century
and to make sure that every person in America -- regardless of race, income
or where they live -- will be able to participate in and benefit from the
Information Revolution we are currently experiencing." See the E-Mail for
All project at http://www.iaginteractive.com/emfa/ [See VP Gore's essay
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/EMFAVEEP.htm. See contribution
by NTIA's Larry Irving http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/EMFA_t2e.htm]
Title: New Plan for Junk E-Mail Is Dividing Internet Camps
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Internet
Description: An amendment to the "slamming" bill that passed in the Senate
last week addresses the issue of bulk email -- a practice called spamming --
on the Internet. The provision requires that all unsolicited commercial
E-mail contain the actual name, postal address, E-mail address and phone
number of the sender. Bulk E-mailers would also have to honor requests to be
removed from mailing lists. The Federal Trade Commission would be given
authority to enforce the law and impose civil fines. The language was a
compromise between Sens Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) and Frank Murkowski
(R-Alaska); they are now working with Rep Billy Tauzin (R-LA) on a similar
bill pending in the House.
Title: Measures to Rid Cyberspace of 'Spam' Run Into Snags
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: Email/Spam
Description: Lawmakers across the U.S. are trying to put a lid on "spam."
but it looks unlikely that any law will be able to stop this annoying type
of Internet junk mail. Even if recent attempts by the Senate and House to
control spam are put into law, bans on unsolicited email could get stuck in
First Amendment issues. U.S. laws can't regulate a global medium, spammers
can always relocate offshore, and the sophisticated technology that "drives
the spamming" makes enforcement even more difficult.
Title: Alternative doorways to the Internet are popping up
in the spirit of free-flowing information
Source: New York Times (C5)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Tom Watson
Issue: Internet
Description: The Web's most popular sites are the ones that help you find
what you are looking for -- i.e. Yahoo, Lycos, Excite and InfoSeek. But
these sites have shifted their plans and are now trying to keep visitors at
their sites by offering new services. So new search searches are rising.
Alexa is software that shows an additional bar below you Web browser that
points you to sites similar to the one you are viewing. Nerve
http://www.nervemag.com, Disinformation http://www.disinfo.com, and John
Skilton's Baseball Links http://www.baseball-links.com are sites that
provide directories of similar sites. The phenomenon of the Internet, Mr.
Watson writes, is that it is "a medium of creators as much as it is a medium
of consumers."
Title: IBM Is Close to Deal On Phone Service Over the Internet
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/18phones.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Internet/Telephony
Description: IBM and the IDT Corporation have entered an agreement that will
promote the use of the Internet to make phone calls. IBM will include IDT's
Net2Phone software with IBM's basic Internet access kit. The software allows
users to place long distance calls to normal phones using their computers
equipped with a microphone.
Title: Digital Media Content for Children and Teens
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/contsum.htm
Issue: Children
Description: A conference on Digital Media Content for Children and Teens
will be held June 11-12 in Los Angeles. The conference is hosted by the
Clinton Administration and the EC2 at the University of Southern California
Annenberg Center for Communication. This is the third conference in a series
sponsored by the Clinton Administration: the first was held in
December of 1997 and focused on safety issues for children on the Internet,
the second was held in February and focused on access to the Internet for
all Americans.
** Antitrust/Microsoft **
Title: Antitrust Talks Founder On Microsoft's 'Desktop'
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/18microsoft.html
Author: Steve Lohr & Joel Brinkley
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Talks between software giant Microsoft on one side and the
Department of Justice a number of states' Attorneys General on the other
broke down over the weekend. The DoJ and the Attorneys General are expected
to file a suit today against Microsoft accusing the company of trying to
extend its monopoly of desktop software to include its Internet browser and
Internet commerce. Windows98 is expected to be available in stores by June 25.
Title: Microsoft Faces Historic Antitrust Suits
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John R. Wilke & David Bank
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The Justice Dept. and 20 states will file historic anti-trust
suits against Microsoft Corp. today as they seek to give personal-computer
operators "broad new latitude" in adapting the company's Windows software.
The two lawsuits will accuse the software company of illegally protecting a
monopoly in computer operating systems. The Justice Dept. blames the
breakdown in settlement talks this weekend on Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates'
decision to withdraw key concessions affecting Microsoft's contracts with PC
makers.
Title: Failure of Talks Opens A Window on Microsoft
Source: Washington Post (A1,A10)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/18/072l-051898-idx.html
Author: Elizabeth Corcoran & Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Settlement talks between the Justice Dept. and Microsoft Corp.
dissolved over the weekend, leading to a courtroom battle that will focus on
what people will see when the turn on their computers. The Justice Dept.
believes that by providing more choices for what users see on the initial
screen of Microsoft's Windows software is the best way to loosen what
regulators consider to be the computer giant's "stranglehold" on personal
computers. On the other hand, Microsoft contends that such a demand amounts
to the federal government dictating what the company's products should or
shouldn't look like. "What the government is asking would significantly
hamper us from competing through innovation and would put everything we've
worked for and built for the last 23 years at risk," said Microsoft Chairman
Bill Gates in a statement. The negotiations and the way they "foundered" may
be the "clearest guide" to what we can expect in the future, as the Justice
Dept. and the state attorneys general work to write what amounts to new
antitrust regulations for the digital age.
Title: Microsoft Is in talks to Buy 20% Stake In RoadRunner for About
$400 Million
Source: Wall Street Journal (B12)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Leslie Cauley
Issue: Partnership
Description: Microsoft Corp. will possibly invest about $400 million for a
20 percent stake in RoadRunner, Time Warner Inc.'s high-speed Internet
service. RoadRunner, which is in the process of merging with MediaOne
Express, U.S. West Media Group's high-speed Internet service, had been close
to striking a similar deal with Oracle Corp and Intel Corp last week. This
possible move apparently "rattled" Microsoft enough that it came forward
with a significantly higher last-minute bid than the one offered by Oracle
and Intel. Spokespeople for all parties involved declined comment. Talks
like these are pushed forward and gain urgency as cable-TV companies
continue to upgrade their networks for digital services.
** Mergers **
Title: SBC-Ameritech Merger Needs Three States' Approval
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: The proposed merger of SBC and Ameritech will need regulatory
approval at the federal level as well as by the state commissions of
Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. "Ameritech won't have a walk in the park in any
of the states" that must approve the merger, predicted Illinois Commerce
Commission Chairman Dan Miller.
Title: Simon & Schuster In Sale To British
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/simonschuster-sale.html
Author: Geraldine Fabrikant & Allen Myerson
Issue: Publishing
Description: Britain's largest publisher, Pearson PLC, has agreed to
purchase Simon & Schuster from Viacom for $4.6 billion. Pearson already owns
Penguin and is adding S&S's education division for $3.6 billion. Hicks,
Muse, Tata & Furst, a Dallas investment firm, will purchase the reference,
business and professional divisions of S&S for $1 billion.
** Telephony **
Title: Satellite Launch Globally Links Wireless Phones
Source: Washington Post (A1,A8)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/18/068l-051898-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Wireless
Description: The final members of the 66-satellite "constellation" now
orbiting 421 miles above earth were launched in Calif. yesterday. The
completion of the launches makes it now possible for people to send and
receive electronic messages or telephone calls from any point on the earth's
surface using pocket-sized pagers and hand-held phones.
** Minorities **
Title: Times Mirror Weighs a By-the-Numbers Approach to
Expanding Coverage of Minorities
Source: New York Times (C6)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/latimes-media.html
Author: Felicity Barringer
Issue: Minorities/Newspapers
Description: A recent exercise at The Los Angeles Times found that coverage
of women and minorities does not reflect "to the degree that it should and
must, the diversity of the community that we're both reporting on and want
to be read by," said the chief executive at the Times Mirror and the
publisher of the LA Times, Mark Willes. To improve coverage of women and
minorities, Mr. Willes is suggesting that the company use quantitative
models to see if the paper's coverage reflects community demographics.
Title: When Revenues Don't Match Ratings
Source: New York Times (C7)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Terry Pristin
Issue: Minorities/Radio
Description: Highly-rated radio stations that have primarily black and
Hispanic audiences do not bring in the ad dollars that other stations do.
The disparity is blamed on a bias by advertisers. "Your listeners don't buy
our cars," a luxury-car maker told a Chicago radio executive. "They steal
them." Rev Al Sharpton is threatening to boycott companies that appear
biased against stations with these audiences.
Title: EEOnly Sparingly Invoked
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p18/Washington Watch)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell & Paige Albiniak
Issue: Minorities
Description: The Minority Media Telecommunications Council released a study
last week that maintains regulators have only "sparingly" applied equal
employment opportunity rules. "Since the EEO rule was adopted in 1969, there
have been approximately 75,000 broadcast license renewals and at least
3,000,000 hiring decisions -- yet there has not yet been one 'reverse
discrimination' complaint," the council's study says. The study focused on
EEO enforcement between 1994 and 1997. Last month a court struck down most
of the EEO rules as unconstitutional. The FCC is expected to challenge last
month's decision, although it has not yet committed to do so.
Title: As Personal Income Grows, So Does Listening
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p42)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: John Meril
Issue: Radio
Description: A new study from Interep has found that a higher percentage of
affluent Americans, those earning $100,000 or more, than the overall
population listen to the radio. This group, which makes up approximately 9
percent of the adult population, listens to radio in an average week 6
percent above the norm for all adults. Conversely, this group of affluent
consumers are not heavy users of television.
** Cable **
Title: Tauzin Wants to Boost Cable Choices
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p19)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albinaik
Issue: Cable Regulation
Description: Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), chairman of the House
Telecommunications Subcommittee, is planning to unveil a bill in June that
would increase cable competition, lower cable rates and increase programming
choices in areas where cable is the only multichannel video service that
offers local signals. "Our plan is to make sure that where cable is the sole
provider of service, consumers still have choices," said Rep. Tauzin. "The
biggest complaint we hear about cable is literally that [consumers] are
forced to buy programming they don't want in order to get programming they
do want. And when cable is the only provider, that is simply unacceptable."
Title: Anti-Regulation Report
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p18/Washington Watch)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell & Paige Albiniak
Issue: Cable Regulation
Description: In a policy-related report issued last week, the Hudson
Institute maintains that less cable regulation is good for the industry's
consumers. The study written by Hudson fellow Thomas Duesterberg and
telecommunications lawyer Peter Pitsch, says that rate regulations provide
little or no benefit to the consumer "and in fact harmed consumers by
inducing lower quality of service." The authors also assert that periods of
deregulation have led to better service and greater choice. The study claims
that DBS and over-the air TV "provide substantial and growing competition
for cable television."
Title: ZDTV Logs On
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p52)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Donna Petrozzello
Issue: Cable/WebTV
Description: ZDTV, Ziff Davis Inc. launched its computer-oriented cable
network, ZDTV, and its companion Website www.zdtv.com last week. ZDTV
President, Larry Wangberg, is trying to be flexible by launching the channel
to operators for either analog or digital distribution. Ziff Davis and
Wangberg are seeking to sell the channel as a "true interactive service that
integrates cable programming with a real-time online component."
** Journalism **
Title: Seeking Dramatic Footage No Matter What the Cost
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/reckless-media.html
Author: Felicity Barringer
Issue: Journalism/Television
Description: Competition in the video news footage market are making it
increasingly tempting crews to ignore ethical distinctions. News crews are
also risking their lives as they try to get footage from "unstable hot
spots." As news organizations try to cut back on the number of services they
use, the three leading video news agencies are vying for market dominance.
Title: Magazines Bowing to Demands for Star Treatment
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/celebs-control.html
Author: Robin Pogrebin
Issue: Magazines/Journalism
Description: Celebrities are gaining more and more control over how
magazines present them. The increasingly competitive magazine market is
increasing pressure to have star power on the cover, but some editors think
it is getting out of control. "The balance of power has shifted from a time
when movie stars needed magazines to vice versa. There are certain unwritten
things that were absolutely verboten -- and those keep seeming to be chipped
away at," said the editor of Details.
** Arts **
Title: Arts Education, for a Week
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/18mon3.html
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Arts
Description: Arts Education Week starts today in the New York City public
schools. Students have been invited to the New York Philharmonic, the Dance
Theater of Harlem and to display their own work at a gallery. "It is
heartening that some of the city's most talented adults are sharing their
craft and enthusiasm with New York's 1.1 million public school students.
Now, if only the arts could return to the schools for a lasting engagement."
*********