BROADCASTING
TV Gets Heat From DC (B&C)
Top of the News: Survey of TV News Directors (B&C)
TELEPHONY
A Regional Bell May Soon Offer Long Distance (NYT)
INTERNET
Deal Is Reached to Open Internet Registration (NYT)
Senate Data in the Microfilm Era (CyberTimes)
Newspaper Leader Calls For National Online Classified Effort (SJM)
TELEVISION
TV Notes: Networks Find Cause to Cheer (NYT)
As the 'Other World' Turns Brazilian TV Gets Pretty Odd (WSJ)
INFOTECH
Universities Adopt Computer Literacy Requirements (CyberTimes)
C.I.A. to Nurture Companies Dealing in High Technology (NYT)
BROADCASTING
TV GETS HEAT FROM DC
Issue: Television
A new study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a Washington-based
nonpartisan research organization, found that television viewers see a
violent scene every four minutes. The violence on TV shows, music videos and
movies
often carry no consequences, sending incorrect messages to children,
according to CMPA. The center also found that producers are not ranking
their programs
correctly, making it difficult for parents to properly regulate their
children's TV viewing. Of all the prime time television shows aired in 1998,
CBS'
Walker Texas Ranger was the most violent, with an average of 82 violent
scenes per
episode. On basic cable, the most violent show was TNT's LA Heat, with 46
violent scenes per episode. On premium cable, Oz was the most violent with
an average of 54 violent scenes. Additionally, five of the 10 most violent
shows aired during this period were in first-run syndication. The study
found more
violence in original network TV series than in original cable series,
although this was thought to stem from the fact that there are significantly
fewer
original series on cable. USA was rated the most violent cable network.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (p.20), AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
(http://www.broadcastingcable.com/)
TOP OF THE NEWS: SURVEY OF TV NEWS DIRECTORS
Issue: Television
A survey of TV news executives found that 95% of 150 directors polled
had taken no steps to reduce the level of violence in the news casts
broadcast after the Columbine High School shooting raised the issue of
sensationalism in news. This finding suggests that none of the executives
sees the "if it bleeds it leads" criticism as applying to their media
outlet, or they find nothing wrong with this approach to journalism.
"It's not the TV's job to under-report crime to keep from shocking or
offending viewers...But trolling the satellite feeds for violence, or
giving it more airtime because of its power to shock and attract,
provides viewers with a false sense of insecurity by putting so many
violent acts, no matter how remote from the individual viewer, in
every living room, everywhere." The difference between lower crime
statistics that are being reported and the perception of violence in
society is the immediacy television brings to an issue. The survey showed
NBC as the strongest news operation and best newscast, according to
its own affiliates about a third of its competitors. It is suspected that
NBC benefits from being able to work with two other cable networks,
namely CNBC and MSNBC. CNN was ranked second. CBS was ranked last
among major news outlets.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (p.102), AUTHOR: B&C Editorial Staff]
(http://www.broadcastingcable.com/)
TELEPHONY
A REGIONAL BELL MAY SOON OFFER LONG DISTANCE
Issue: Long Distance/Competition
Fifteen years after the breakup of AT&T, consumers may have once again have
a one-stop option for local and long distance phone service. Bell Atlantic,
the largest local telephone company, will soon ("We're on track for a filing
this week," said James Cullen, president and chief operating officer of Bell
Atlantic. ) ask the Federal Communications Commission for permission to
offer long distance service in New York State. Approval would make in the
first Baby Bell to enter the $80 billion long distance market. The FCC has
rejected five other attempts by Baby Bells to get into long distance. "I'd
put the chances above 50-50," said Michael Morrissey, vice president for
government affairs at AT&T, which stands to lose billions in revenue if the
Baby Bells broadly enter the long-distance market. "The other applications
had no real chance."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/092999bell-longdistance.html)
INTERNET
DEAL IS REACHED TO OPEN INTERNET REGISTRATION
Issue: Internet
Network Solutions and the US Dept of Commerce have agreed on a process to
open up the registration of Internet addresses to competition. Network
Solutions will be allowed to retain control of ".com", the crown jewel of
Internet domains and, in return, the company will provide ICANN with $1.25
million and will reduce the wholesale price it charges rivals for new
registrations. Network Solutions will also provide public access to the
database of Internet addresses while charging companies for bulk access to
the database. "It is a huge relief as well as a pleasure that we managed to
come to terms that everyone finds acceptable," said Esther Dyson, the
interim chairwoman of ICANN. "Everyone feels they gave a huge amount." Not
all at Network Solutions are happy: "The good news is that the deadlock has
been broken," said Richard Forman, president and chief executive of
Register.com, a New York company that was the first to compete with Network
Solutions. "Unfortunately, the current situation still promotes an unlevel
playing field. The Department of Commerce extended NSI's contract without
even considering any competing registrars to run the registry," he said. "In
addition, the registry will be charging registrars the still-inflated price
$12 per domain name and though NSI the registry and NSI the registrar are
technically two separate entities, the bottom line is that they both share
the same balance sheet."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/cyber/articles/29domain.html)
See Also:
COMMERCE OVERSIGHT EFFORTS LEAD TO DOMAIN NAME AGREEMENT
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/12b6a0781fa86e88852567e50
07558f4/0eb75f97c571b3b8852567fa0065d535?OpenDocument)
SENATE DATA IN THE MICROFILM ERA
Issue: Access to Info/Campaign Finance
President Clinton is expected to sign a bill into law this week
requiring political action committees and candidates for the House of
Representatives to file reports electronically with the Federal Election
Commission starting in 2002 so information can be posted online within
a few hours of filing. But the Senate does not have that same requirement.
Senators, who file their records with the Secretary of the Senate, have a
convoluted disclosure system in which details about contributions to Senate
candidates do not reach the online public until about six weeks after the
reports are filed. Since the secretary's office does not require Senate
candidates to file in an electronic format, there is a long process where
people have to enter thousands of pages of data by hand, which takes 30 to
60 days -- so it is unlikely to get to the public before election time.
"There are no plans, at the moment, to have an electronic filing system,"
said Pam Gavin, superintendent of the Senate Office of Public Records. "I
think sometimes we get a bad rep, because a lot of people are interested in
campaign finance," she said. "But it's less important than making sure the
Senate floor runs or seeing that people get paid." Sheila Krumholz, research
director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said the Senate's handling
of campaign finance records reflects its "closed culture." "It begs the
question: what's the difference between the House and the Senate?" she said.
"Why should the Senate be precluded from these rules? There's really no
logical explanation."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, (B10), AUTHOR: Rebecca Fairley Raney]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/cyber/articles/29senate.html)
NEWSPAPER LEADER CALLS FOR NATIONAL ONLINE CLASSIFIED EFFORT
Issue: Newspapers/Advertising
The chairman of the Newspaper Association of America issued a call to all
newspaper owners and publishers in a speech at the National Press Club on
Tuesday. "Let us put our classified advertising online and build a national
classified marketplace," said William S. Morris II, chairman of Morris
Communications Group. As more and more newspapers are taking advantage of
online technology, Morris says it's time that they join forces to create a
national classified advertising service on the Internet. Despite the growth
of journalism on the Internet, Morris says he doesn't envision newspapers
becoming extinct. "I see nothing in the new technology -- nothing coming
out of Silicon Valley that eliminates the need for newspapers and certainly
for trained, responsible, ethical and aggressive journalists."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/074977.htm)
TELEVISION
TV NOTES: NETWORKS FIND CAUSE TO CHEER
Issue: Television
Despite the continued drop in television viewership, network executives
have already declared the new television season a success. Viewing among
18-to-49-year-olds, to which most of the networks are so devoted, was down
by 6 percent from premiere week last year. For the major networks, who are
happy to see that the current decline is much less steep than it was last
year at this point, the numbers were cause for celebration. "You look at
those summer numbers," said Garth Ancier, the president of NBC
Entertainment, "and it's great to see people coming back."
[SOURCE: New York Times (B7), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/tv-notes.html)
AS THE 'OTHER WORLD' TURNS BRAZILIAN TV GETS PRETTY ODD
Issue: International/Television
TV Globo has been the reining monarch of Brazilian television for more than
three decades. But with inflation on hold and increased consumer
purchasing power, the loyalty of this larger and more diverse Brazilian TV
audience is waning. Globo's empire is under assault by bikini-clad fashion
models wrestling for soap. Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao (SBT), Globo's
main rival, is home to a popular new show in which models climb one by one
into a big bathtub and grapple with a male guest for bars of soap. This
program, along with other outrageous SBT attractions, has caused Globo's
overall share of the national TV audience to tumble just over half, down
20% from only four years ago. Even more daunting for Global is a bill in
congress that would for the first time allow foreigners to hold minority
stakes in Brazil's broadcast media. "Acquiring a foreign partner will
shorten the amount of time it takes us to become the No. 1 network," says
Jose Roberto Maluf, vice president of SBT.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1), AUTHOR: Matt Moffett]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB938557811802582025.htm)
INFOTECH
UNIVERSITIES ADOPT COMPUTER LITERACY REQUIREMENTS
Issue: Ed-Tech
This year, the University of Texas at Arlington has adopted a policy that
requires students to demonstrate computer literacy as a condition of
graduation. Increasingly, colleges and universities are adopting computer
literacy requirements in an effort to better prepare their students for the
modern workplace. Other schools with computer literacy skill requirements
include Florida State University and Old Dominion. At the UT-- Arlington,
students must master five computer-related skills including spreadsheet
programs, word processing, the school's online library research services,
e-mail, and Internet-based research. Several years ago the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools, the major regional accrediting
association for southern schools, decided to add the words "the basic use of
computers" to the list of skills that graduates of its approved institutions
must demonstrate. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges, The
regional accrediting group for California, Hawaii and other areas is
currently considering revising its standards to include an "information
literacy" mandate. Some education officials see these computer literacy
requirements as a temporary situation, since most student going to college
learn the basics in high school and elementary school.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/cyber/education/29education.html)
C.I.A. TO NURTURE COMPANIES DEALING IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY
Issue: InfoTech
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has established a venture capital firm
to help high-tech companies as well as the government. The new nonprofit
venture will be called "In-Q-It", in reference to Major Boothroyd, a.k.a.
"Q", the master technologist whose basement laboratory develops advanced
gadgets for the fictional British super-agent. In-Q-It is being financed
with $28 million appropriated last year by Congress as part of the CIA's
budget. How In-Q-It uses of the $28 million remains classified.
Unlike in the cold war era, when the most advanced technologies came from
a handful of supercomputer companies, today, the most powerful technologies
are increasingly being developed first by consumer electronics companies
that have vast markets to finance new developments of powerful
systems and applications. In-Q-It will have an office in Washington
with eight employees and will have a second office in
Silicon Valley. In-Q-It will supply venture capital, hire contractors or
partner with entrepreneurs in four areas: 1) integrating Internet technology
and applications into the CIA's work; 2) developing new security and privacy
technologies; 3) nurturing data mining technologies to take better advantage
of the agency's vast storehouses of records, and 4) modernizing the agency's
computer systems. John McMahon, former deputy director of the CIA and an
In-Q-It board member said, the agency "was always one step behind" and it
hopes this will "be an umbilical cord that [is] plugged in to the brightest
minds in the Valley."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/29cia.html)
See Also:
THE CIA AS VENTURE CAPITALIST
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David Ignatius]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-09/29/051l-092999-idx.html
)
--------------------------------------------------------------