MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Senate to Vote on Media Ownership Rules
Focus of Media Debate Turns to Congress; A Profile of Michael Copps
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Study: Internet Use Can Lift Poor Kids
INTERNET
US Shrugs Off World's Address Shortage
EVENTS
Senate Commerce Committee Mark-Up of NTIA, TOP Reauthorization
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
SENATE TO VOTE ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
A Senate measure that would effectively overturn the FCC's new media
ownership rules has garnered enough support to move to a floor vote as early
as September. The resolution of disapproval, a rarely-used tactic by the
Senate also known as a "congressional veto," was introduced by Senator Byron
Dorgan and has 20 co-sponsors in total. "This galloping concentration in
broadcast ownership is unhealthy," Dorgan said at a joint news conference
with Sen. Trent Lott. "We feel very strongly we have to send a message from
the Congress to the FCC to do it over and do it right." The measure would
require a majority vote in both houses and either the President's signature
or enough votes for a veto override. FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who has
come under heavy fire of late, need not consider stepping down as a result
as far as Lott is concerned. "This is not just about Powell. I am not
advocating he resign," Lott said. Meanwhile, the National Association of
Broadcasters claims that the new rules don't go far enough, saying on
Tuesday that it plans to sue the FCC to change how radio markets are defined
and overturn rules that still prevent TV station mergers in some smaller
markets.
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: David Ho
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63244-2003Jul29.html
FOCUS OF MEDIA DEBATE TURNS TO CONGRESS; A PROFILE OF MICHAEL COPPS
When the media ownership debate was one largely excluded from media coverage
(except here in Headlines, of course), FCC Commissioner Michael Copps seemed
to be the lone public voice in opposition to the deregulatory movement.
Striking out on his own, Copps appealed to universities around the country
to give him a forum in which to hold town hall-style meetings, including one
co-hosted by the Benton Foundation, to debate the possible rule changes and
the ramifications of media consolidation. Slowly, the message began to
resonate among liberal- and conservative-minded groups, forging an unlikely
but politically powerful coalition opposed to the rule changes. While this
group was not enough to prevent the FCC from adopting the rules, it garnered
more exposure for the issue, eliciting an emotional response that allowed
interested parties to come to Capitol Hill with the backing of an angry
public. Last week's House vote to scale back the broadcast ownership rule
suggests that Copps' hard work has begun to pay dividends. "I think the
sentiment was there all along in Congress and across the country," Copps
said. "People just weren't paying much attention to it."
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times; AUTHOR: Jube Shiver, Jr.
http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-mediavote28jul28,0,27320.story
See Also:
Media Debate Buoys FCC Official: Copps Against Rule Changes
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33%257E1540762,00.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
STUDY: INTERNET USE CAN LIFT POOR KIDS
A 16-month study by Michigan State University shows that low-income children
who spent more than 30 minutes a day on the Internet saw improvements in
their grade point average and their scores in standardized reading tests.
Researchers also found that the Internet did not detrimentally influence
kids' psychological well-being nor the amount of time they spent with
families and friends. These findings contradict a controversial 1998 study
by Carnegie Mellon University which concluded that spending lots of time on
the Internet led to increases in loneliness and a decline in overall
psychological well-being for children and others. The study, funded by the
National Science Foundation, provided computers, Internet access and
technical support to 90 low-income families in the Lansing, Michigan area.
Researchers tracked their Internet usage and conducted periodic surveys and
home visits. While kids apparently spent some time looking at p0rnography,
playing online games and downloading music, their biggest uses of the
Internet were for researching school projects or hobbies and interests.
According to Michigan State psychology professor Linda Jackson, the Internet
forces all early-readers to read more, regardless of how much money they
have.
SOURCE: The Arizona Republic; AUTHOR: Cox News Service
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0728netkids-ON.html
View the research study's homepage:
http://www.HomeNetToo.org
INTERNET
U.S. SHRUGS OFF WORLD'S ADDRESS SHORTAGE
With worldwide momentum growing for a conversion to the new Web address
standard, IPv6, the US' timeframe for adoption is not quite clear. Under the
current IPv4 system, nations in Asia and Europe face a severe address
shortage of IP addresses over the next five years. North American countries
don't face this quandary, since they received many more addresses in the
IPv4 allotment. This could mean that the US could stand idly by rather than
go through the costly upgrade. However, the Department of Defense has
revealed plans to upgrade all of its networks to the new address by 2008,
suggesting that the switch may not be too far off. And while the issue of a
shortage may not be compelling for US companies, the added security features
of IPv6 might. The demand for addresses globally has stemmed from a
combination of factors, such as the growth in online users in populous
countries such as India and China, the heavy use of broadband in Korea and
the proliferation of Internet-enabled phones in Europe. The new standard
quadruples the size of current IP addresses, allowing for every person on
the planet to have 1,000 addresses for Internet-enabled devices. SOURCE: The
New York Times; AUTHOR: Ben Charny, CNET News
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1033_3-5055803.html
EVENTS
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE MARK-UP OF NTIA, TOP REAUTHORIZATION
The US Senate Commerce Committee announced plans to meet on Thursday, July
31 to mark-up legislation to reauthorize the Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). NTIA, according to
the Commerce Department website, "is the Executive Branch's principal voice
on domestic and international telecommunications and information technology
issues. NTIA works to spur innovation, encourage competition, help create
jobs and provide consumers with more choices and better quality
telecommunications products and services at lower prices." The Senate
committee has considered several agency reauthorizations already. The NTIA
reauthorization bill includes an authorization for the Technology
Opportunities Program (TOP). The Bush Administration requested no funding
for TOP in the 2004 budget request.
SOURCE: Senate Commerce Committee
http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=888
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