INTERNET
Deep Linking Takes Another Blow
Women Look to Shape the Future
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Italy's President Enters Fray Over Media Curbs
A 12-Step Program for Media Democracy
CABLE
Consumer Group Says Deregulation Of Cable Industry Hasn't Cut Rates
INTERNET
DEEP LINKING TAKES ANOTHER BLOW
Judges in Munich's Upper Court recently ruled that using a search engine to
locate stories on newspapers' sites is in violation of European Union law.
Although more legal hearings are in store, legal experts are concerned that
the ruling might be upheld, become legal precedent across the EU, and
drastically limit the information that many European search engines are
allowed to provide users. Previous deep linking cases centered on a specific
country's law, while in this case the defendant, NewsClub, is charged with
violating the EU's 1996 Database Directive. The directive was adopted to
protect electronic databases, but was expanded to include all "collections
of works, data or other independent materials arranged in a systematic way."
The directive allows a database owner to control or prohibit any sort of
temporary reproduction, including linking, of all or substantial amounts of
a database. Budapest-based attorney Attila Darvas said that "presumably one
or two links would most likely be OK, but accessing an entire database, as a
search engine probably would, could be a problem."
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Michelle Delio]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,54083,00.html)
WOMEN LOOK TO SHAPE THE FUTURE
While the number of women who use computers is increasing, less and less are
studying computer science at university. Women, says author Emma Smith, seem
to be shying away from the very careers that would give them their best shot
at influencing the 21st century. Smith says that many women still believe
that high-tech careers involve the geeky, anti-social jobs that mean sitting
alone at a desk endlessly writing code. In fact, the author argues, "shaping
technology means thinking creatively, understanding people's needs and
inventing new ways of communicating and working together." Even when it was
nearly impossible for women to work in information technology, they stood
their ground so that the next generation of women have the chance to shape
technology. The biggest obstacle lies in making women understand technology
careers.
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: Emma Smith]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2132168.stm)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
ITALY'S PRESIDENT ENTERS FRAY OVER MEDIA CURBS
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi has demanded a new law to guarantee
impartial news media coverage, a challenge to Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi. The issue of media content and control has hung ominously over
Italian politics since Mr. Berlusconi, who owns Italy's largest media
empire, won the general election last year. Opponents accuse his government
of seeking to mold the state broadcaster RAI in its own image. The
center-right government recently overhauled the board at RAI, and last month
the shows of two television personalities who were highly critical of Mr.
Berlusconi's were dropped. "There is no democracy without pluralism and
impartiality of news coverage," Mr. Ciampi wrote on Tuesday. "I am confident
that Parliament's actions will see this principle fully realized."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/25/international/europe/25ITAL.html)
(requires registration)
A 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR MEDIA DEMOCRACY
[Commentary] Jeffery Chester and Gary O. Larson propose "a twelve-step plan
on behalf of a more democratic media system." Their plan includes efforts to
preserve and expand media venues for independent voices in the face of
increasing industry consolidation. They claim that the "reigning
laissez-faire spirit in Washington, spearheaded by FCC Chairman Michael
Powell, does not augur well for the preservation" of ownership safeguards
established to protect the public interest. Thus, they contend, advocacy
efforts are urgently needed to protect the public interest in the following
areas: concentration and control, content and culture; and access and
aiversity.
[SOURCE: Nation, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Chester and Gary O. Larson]
(http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=olson20020722)
CABLE
CONSUMER GROUP SAYS DEREGULATION OF CABLE INDUSTRY HASN'T CUT RATES
According to Consumers Union, rates have risen 45 percent since the 1996
Telecommunications Act ordered the deregulation of the cable industry.
Industry officials dispute these numbers, saying that deregulation didn't
take effect until 1999. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association
says cable rates have increased only 17 percent since 1999. Regardless of
when one starts the deregulation clock, the numbers dwarf the rates of
inflation during that period. From December 1995 to June of 2002, the
inflation rate has never hit two digits. Consumers Union has called on
Congress to shift oversight of cable companies to local regulators, much
like telephone companies. The cable industry, meanwhile, denies that there
has been pricing abuse, saying that infrastructure, programming and other
costs have forced all providers to raise rates. Consumer Union rejects the
industry claims, citing revenues from other sources such as increases in
advertising, digital cable and broadband Internet service as more than
enough to cover costs.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB102754428794293080,00.html?mod=technolog
y_main_whats_news)
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