A Service of the Benton Foundation (http://www.benton.org)
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC's Powell Has No Plans to Leave -- Spokesman
Group Blasts FCC's Method that Determined New Rules
Commentary: Ownership Follies
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Adult Education Enrollment Dips
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Toronto Free-Net Survives Decade of Bridging Digital Divide
Bridge Divide Between Tech Haves, Have-Nots: Kofi Annan
INTERNET
Hot-Spot Deal Adds Fuel to Wi-Fi Debate
The Great Firewall of Burma
China's Web Surfers Keep Growing
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC'S POWELL HAS NO PLANS TO LEAVE -- SPOKESMAN
A spokesman for FCC Chairman Michael Powell denied media reports circulating
yesterday that Powell has any intentions of leaving his post later this
year. "The report is without foundation, the chairman has no plans to leave
the commission," said FCC spokesman David Fiske. "He's working on a full
agenda for the fall." Powell has received criticism from consumer groups and
members of Congress for pushing through new policies to loosen US media
ownership rules.
SOURCE: Forbes; AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters
http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2003/07/21/rtr1031237.html
GROUP BLASTS FCC'S METHOD THAT DETERMINED NEW RULES
The measurement index used by the FCC to apply new media ownership rules are
skewed to favor big media companies, two leading consumer groups said
yesterday. "This index is so nonsensical that it finds The New York Times to
be a less meaningful source of news about New York than the Multicultural
Radio Corp.," Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union. Mark Cooper of the Consumer
Federation of America added, "The FCC cooked the books to come up with the
result they wanted-and the books aren't even half baked." Consumer Union's
Kimmelman said that they would go to court and seek to overturn the rules.
According to a report published by the two groups, entitled "Abracadabra!
Hocus-Pocus! Making Media Market Power Disappear With the FCC's Diversity
Index," the index does not take into account the audience size in a given
market. "The FCC assumes, incorrectly, that each TV station has the same
strength and influence as every other TV station in the market," it says.
SOURCE: Boston Globe; AUTHOR: Bloomberg News
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/203/business/Group_blasts_FCC_s_method...
t_determined_new_rules+.shtml
See also:
CU/CFA press release:
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/000230.html
and
Abracadabra! Hocus-Pocus!
Making Media Market Power Disappear With the FCC's Diversity Index
http://www.consumersunion.org/abrafinal721.PDF
OWNERSHIP FOLLIES
[Commentary] The FCC and Congress are both wrong in their debate over media
ownership rules, says Washington communications lawyer Bruce Stein, who
contends that the limits should be abandoned outright in favor of antitrust
principles. "Never have so many Americans enjoyed so many information and
commentary choices," says Stein, suggesting that the FCC was moving in the
right direction. Congress makes a faulty assumption that an increased number
of voices will naturally lead to an increased number of viewpoints. "What
freedom of speech covets," he retorts, "is that everything worth saying
shall be said, not that everyone shall speak." In Stein's view, then, the
public benefits more from having resource-rich media outlets that have the
resources and the interest to investigate potential stories and challenge
the government. After all, he suggests, public officials "Fox, ABC and The
New York Times, not solo radio broadcasters." Stein also notes that no FCC
finding has supported the notion that increased voices leads to viewpoint
diversity.
SOURCE: The Washington Times; AUTHOR: Bruce Stein
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20030721-093404-4403r.htm
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
ADULT EDUCATION ENROLLMENT DIPS
The number of people enrolling in adult education programs has dropped by at
least 10 percent since the beginning of the current economic downturn. For
example, enrollment in English as a Second Language courses in Boston-area
learning centers has dropped by around 20 percent. The director of one adult
ed program attributes this to the increase of immigrant-unfriendly policies
since the September 11 attacks. Bucking the trend, though, are ESL courses
that are combined with workplace skills training, especially in the area of
technology. Chicago's Truman College has added a second technology-centered
ESL course because of the growing demand. "Before this course, I didn't know
how to use computers; I was afraid of them," explained Mexican immigrant
Arturo Luengas, who says he's "not afraid anymore." Another interesting
trend can be seen in Brevard County, Florida, where high school students are
flocking to adult ed classes to make up for the lack of summer school
courses cancelled due to state budget cuts. Summer enrollments jumped from
8,000 to 9,700 as student hope to make up courses flunked during the school
year.
SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor; AUTHOR: G. Jeffrey MacDonald
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0722/p14s01-lecl.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
TORONTO FREE-NET SURVIVES DECADE OF BRIDGING DIGITAL DIVIDE
Toronto Free-Net has undergone many changes since it was founded in 1993
with the goal of providing Internet access to everyone regardless of income
or disability. By 1995, demand had outstripped Free-Net's capacity: It had
only 75 phone lines for 32,000 members. The organization could not survive
on donations alone and raised some additional funds. But by 1998, it had
been forced to disconnect half of the 210 lines that were operating at their
peak. Other troubles included the rise of the graphical World Wide Web and
the loss of customers to broadband. In terms of graphics, Free-Net stuck
with its goal to ensure a basic connection for families in need and to
provide text-only Internet access, which is ideal for the blind. Graphics
were not available via Free-Net until three years ago. Ultimately,
Free-Net's business model had to change. As of May 2002, customers pay a low
monthly fee for a limited amount of access. There is still a
pay-what-you-can plan that provides 40 minutes of Internet access per day,
as well as free Web hosting for local nonprofits.
SOURCE: Toronto Star; AUTHOR: Rachel Ross
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/A...
le_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1058698926768
(URL may need to be pasted together if broken)
http://www.torfree.net
BRIDGE DIVIDE BETWEEN TECH HAVES, HAVE-NOTS: KOFI ANNAN
In a message to the third meeting of the Asia-Pacific Initiatives for
Information Society (AIIS) in Bangalore, India, UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan observed, "the divide between technology's haves and have-nots
threatens to exacerbate the gaps between the rich and the poor, within and
among countries.'' He emphasized that the World Summit on the Information
Society conference in December would offer a unique opportunity to shape the
"future of a truly global, inclusive, and human development oriented
information society while it is still emerging." Vinod Vaish, Union
Secretary for India's Department of Telecommunications, noted the challenge
of bridging the telephone connectivity gap between urban and rural areas in
India and elsewhere. He spoke of a successful pilot project called "Village
Postmen," which covered 8,000 Indian villages with the help of 2,000 postmen
equipped with telephone handsets. At the AIIS five-day meeting, more than 60
delegates from over 20 countries will consider the key issues concerning the
development of the Information Society in Asia-Pacific region and discuss an
action plan for bridging the digital divide.
SOURCE: The Hindu
http://hinduonnet.com/stories/2003072207000400.htm
INTERNET
HOT-SPOT DEAL ADDS FUEL TO WI-FI DEBATE
Sprint PCS and AT&T Wireless are discussing a partnership that would allow
each company's Wi-Fi subscribers to roam between their two networks. The
negotiations highlight the debate over the operation of wireless hotspots --
public areas that offer Wi-Fi-based wireless access to the Internet. While
AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS want their customers to roam freely, hotspot
operators Cometa and T-Mobile prefer to keep their locations closed to major
competitors. Jason Guesman of Sprint PCS said that closed networks would end
up stifling Wi-Fi market growth: "T-Mobile can't claim to be a huge
proponent of Wi-Fi but at same time propose a model that will kill Wi-Fi in
a public space." A representative from T-Mobile said the company is open to
Wi-Fi roaming but has yet to secure agreements that "make sense from a
business and technical perspective" and ensure "an optimal and reliable
customer experience." An agreement between AT&T and Sprint would allow AT&T
customers access to Sprint's 2,100 locations to be launched by the end of
the year.
SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Ben Charny
http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-5050738.html
THE GREAT FIREWALL OF BURMA
When the military junta in Burma, now officially known as Myanmar, opted to
open two Internet caf