Recent postings on communication issues from Benton.org

October 6, 2003
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
TV EXECUTIVE SAYS, 'NO, THANKS' TO MORE: TV executive Jim Goodmon continues to lobby in Washington against media consolidation. Goodmon is the CEO of Capitol Broadcasting, which owns a radio station and five North Carolina television stations. He argued before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation that easing the media ownership limits would shift the balance of power between the networks and the local affiliates even further in the networks' favor. He pointed out that, as a Fox network affiliate, Capitol's WRAZ chose not to air several reality programs -- "Temptation Island," Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire" and "Married by America" -- because they "demeaned marriage and family." "Managers at s tations owned by the Fox network could not have made those decisions," Goodmon stated in his testimony. "I am not saying we made a right or wrong decision -- I am simply saying we made a local decision reflecting our view of local community standards in Raleigh-Durham." SOURCE: News & Observer; AUTHOR: David Ranii http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/2920159p-2683807c.html
INTERNET
STUDENTS FILL GRADE BOOK ON TEACHERS AT WEBSITE: Teachers have been giving the grades for years; now students are grading their teachers on the two-year-old website, ratemyteacher.com. The site lets middle and high school students post comments and rank teachers from 1 to 5 for easiness, helpfulness and clarity. More than 400,000 teachers at more than 23,000 schools have received ratings. The adults who established the site say that good teaching is key to student achievement and should be recognized. Great teaching is about the ability to make connections with students, says Michael Hussey, a public relations consultant and co-founder of the site. He says ratemyteachers.com gives students a voice in their own education. Critics, including teachers and principals, say the site's ratings are unscientific, not to mention hurtful. As a result, many school have blocked access to ratemyteachers.com from school computers. They fear that instead of helping teaching, the rating could push already stressed teachers out of the profession. The site gets more positive comments than the negative, says Hussey. He also says that 1,600 students volunteers screen postings for potentially libelous, sexually explicit, profane, or non-relevant comments. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49058-2003Oct5.html
VERISIGN AGREES TO SHUT DOWN SEARCH SERVICE: VeriSign Inc., the firm that oversees Internet addresses ending in ".com" and ".net", finally agreed to suspend its new service that steers surfers to its online search directory when they mistype the name of a website destination into their browser. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) demanded that VeriSign suspend Site Finder because they feared it interferes with Internet stability. VeriSign initially rejected ICANN's request to suspend the site, but changed its position because if the site was in fact harming Internet stability, ICANN could impose fines up to $100,000 or strip the company of its authority over the addressing system. "There is no data to indicate the core operation of the Domain Name System or the stability of the Internet has been adversely affected," says Tom Galvin, VeriSign's spokesman. "ICANN is using anecdotal and isolated issues in an attempt to assert a dubious right to regulate non-registry services." Because 1.5 million users per day were sent to SiteFinder, advertisement alone would have easily generated $100 million in annual revenue. This new VeriSign site has sparked debates over who controls the Internet on national and international levels. SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: David McGuire http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42107-2003Oct3.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
USDA AWARDS $53.7M FOR RURAL TECH-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced 128 awards totaling $53.7 million for rural tech-based economic development initiatives. The 84 Distance Learning and Telemedicine grants, which total $32.4 million, are aimed to provide greater educational opportunities and medical service to rural citizens in 41 states. The education projects will help 556 schools provide students with better educational tools, and rural residents will have access to better, faster and more modern health care through 190 medical service facilities. In addition, 34 broadband community grants were awarded in 20 states, totaling $11.3 million. Communities selected do not have access to broadband connectivity for the essential services of police and fire protection, hospitals, libraries and schools. Ten million dollars was awarded for the establishment of agricultural innovation centers in 10 states. "Information technology is critical to rural Americans. It significantly improves the quality of their health care and their ability to receive access to educational programs that prepare them for a competitive future," said Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr. SOURCE: USDA; CONTACT: Alisa Harrison http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/09/0333.htm
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY NEEDS FERTILE GROUND: [Commentary] Although the North has been assigned responsibility to help bridge the digital divide in the South, equally as important, individuals need to be able to fully exploit the potential of information technologies. As delegates prepare for the forthcoming World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), some will become aware of the tenuous link between development potential and the reality of implementation. Some economists question whether heavy capital investment in IT has greater value than building new classrooms or hospitals. The WSIS challenge will be to convince politicians that investment in both is necessary. Additionally, the international community needs to develop a regulatory framework and devise new strategies for producing information and communication technologies (ICTs) tailored to specific development needs. New technical fixes as well as comparable social experimentation and research is needed to explore the most effective ways of linking ICTs to human ingenuity. With structure, access, and training, individuals will be able take hold of this global information revolution and learn to benefit from it, argues SciDevNet's David Dickson. He writes that an international commitment to significantly increase research on ICTs for the poor would be a significant outcome of the WSIS. SOURCE: Science and Development Network; AUTHOR: David Dickson http://www.scidev.net/Editorials/index.cfm?fuseaction=readEditorials&itemid= 90&language=1
October 3, 2003
DIGITAL DIVIDE
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC HITS THE ROAD TO HEAR ABOUT LOCAL RADIO, TV: The FCC will soon hit the road to take the nation's pulse on how radio and television stations are doing on presenting local issues to the public. The first hearing could be held as early as this month. Hearings will take place around the country and will likely coincide with the broadcast license renewal process for television and radio stations, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said. Stations must renew their licenses every eight years, and this often can lead to debate over the programs they run. SOURCE: Reuters http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=governmentFilingsNews&story ID=3542088
REPORT: HOW BIG RADIO TOOK OVER MIDDLE AMERICA: A new study by the Center for Public Integrity finds that the greatest concentration of radio ownership is in smaller and medium-sized markets, not in large cities. Of the 25 markets most heavily controlled by a single owner, Clear Channel is the top owner in 20 of them, while Cumulus Media controls five. According to the study, a single company owns nine or more stations in 34 different metropolitan areas. The limit for even the largest markets in the nation, including New York and Los Angeles, is eight stations. The Center also found that in 43 different metropolitan areas across the nation, a single company owns at least a third of all stations. Clear Channel and other competitors often focus on mid-size and smaller markets in their acquisition strategy because these markets are less competitive, derive a significant portion of their revenue from local advertisers and offer substantial opportunities for consolidation. Such consolidation may result in a net loss of local news reporting and programming. SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity; AUTHOR: John Dunbar and Aron Pilhofer http://www.openairwaves.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid=63
INTERNET
WEB SEARCHES: THE FIX IS IN: Some search engines, such as MSN and Lycos, accept money from corporations each time a paid-inclusion Web link is clicked. These links, which are essentially advertisements, are virtually indistinguishable from unpaid links. "Paid inclusion dilutes the accuracy and relevance of a search engine," says James Taylor, CEO of a search-marketing company. But companies using paid inclusion, including Yahoo, insist that search results are displayed in order of relevance. Anecdotal evidence, however, contradicts the claim that paid ads get no preferential treatment. In one example, the Lamps Plus e-commerce site turned up prominently on Google but was nearly out of sight on MSN. After paying to have the site included with LookSmart, which feeds search results to MSN and shares revenues with it, Lamps Plus pages soared to near the top of MSN's search results. An implication of paid inclusion is that smaller companies that can't afford to pay per click fees will be at a disadvantage. In addition, search engines may lose credibility if customers begin to see them as simply leading to a pile of ads. SOURCE: Business Week; AUTHOR: Ben Elgin http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_40/b3852098_mz063.htm
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
HOT AIR AT DIGITAL DIVIDE SUMMIT? [Commentary] The PrepCom-II meeting held last month should have finalized the agenda for this December's World Summit On Information Society (WSIS), but discord between rich and poor countries could derail the event, writes Bill Thompson. The meeting focused on the summit's Declaration of Principles and the Action Plan, but no agreement could be achieved. An emergency meeting will be held in early November to attempt to compromise on disputes. The summit will be the end product of 18 months of detailed planning, including almost a dozen preparatory meetings. Thompson says that this summit has not been well publicized until recently. "I think that the real reason why I did not know about the summit is simply that it is not going to have any impact, and so nobody in my extended circle of contacts, and none of the reporters who I read regularly, thought it was worth talking about." He hopes that the summit proves him wrong and takes a step toward making the information society a more fair and equitable place to live. Source: BBC News; AUTHOR: Bill Thompson http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3161568.stm
October 2, 2003
COPYRIGHT
DUELING RAPPERS DEBATE DOWNLOADING MUSIC: At a Senate Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Rapper LL Cool J joined entertainment executives in defending the music industry's lawsuits against Internet users who illegally distribute music online. "If a contractor builds a building, should people be allowed to move into the building for free?" he asked. Taking the other side, rapper Chuck D, founder of Public Enemy, testified that people ought to be able to distribute the songs they want to hear on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. "P2P to me means power to the people," explained Chuck D. "I trust the consumer more than I trust the people at the helm of these (record) companies." The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has settled 52 of the 261 lawsuits it has brought against people who illegally distribute copyrighted music. "File sharing networks like Kazaa deliberately induce people to break the law," says RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol. Alan Morris, executive vice president of the company that owns Kazaa disagrees. "The issue here does not seem to be about copyright," Morris said. "It's about control of the Internet." SOURCE: Yahoo! News; AUTHOR: Frederic J. Frommer, AP http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030930/ap_on_go_co/downloading_music_11
JOURNALISM
THE ROLE OF THE DELETE KEY IN BLOG: A recent policy change at the Sacramento Bee newspaper requiring journalists' Web logs (blogs) to be reviewed by an editor has sparked debate about the nature and purposes of both blogs and journalism. The Bee has sought to make clear that the policy was not a result of political pressure, but a response to complaints from Bee news staff members who wanted blogs to be treated the same as print stories. Of late, a number of newspapers have jumped on the blogging bandwagon, but not all of them edit their reporters' online journals. Dallas Morning News editor Keven Ann Willey said the paper does not edit posts "because we believe the best blog entries are fresh, spontaneous and instant and that we are able to be fresh, spontaneous and instant without jeopardizing this newspaper's standards or this department's goals." Professor Paul Grabowicz, who taught a class on weblogs last fall, said that many of the traditional aspects of journalism and the new publishing medium are not incompatible. "I think you can do a blog and retain journalistic standards without bleeding the life out of it and without sacrificing what is important about journalism," he said. SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: Michael Falcone http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/29/technology/29blog.html
INTERNET
ICANN SEEKS VIEWS ON VERISIGN'S SITE FINDER: ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee has scheduled a meeting for Oct. 7 in Washington DC to discuss VeriSign's Site Finder, which redirects Internet users who try to access a mistaken .com and .net URLs to their company's search engine -- and in the process causes ISP's anti-spam filters to falter. The meeting will result in a committee report on its effects. ICANN called on VeriSign to suspend Site Finder, but the company refused. "VeriSign introduced its wild card service, and although I am told there was some kind of advance notice, it came upon the world as a surprise and after some hours it became clear that it is a pretty big deal," said Steve Crocker, ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee chair. After Site Finder's release, an uproar among network administrators spawned when anti-spam filters failed. "Now you have a warring set of changes and it becomes a rickety system," Crocker continued. "That makes us engineers nervous. Generally we like to make changes slowly, carefully and with a great deal of consultation." In terms of commercial interests, two competing Internet companies have already sued VeriSign, charging unfair competition. SOURCE: IDG News Service; AUTHOR: Joris Evers http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/1001icannseeks.html
NOT THE PUBLIC'S DOMAIN [Commentary] Critics are already calling VeriSign's Site Finder system "the Great Internet Hijacking of 2003."
"Used to be, you probably got an error page if the address you typed in didn't belong to someone else," writes Washington post .gov columnist Jonathan Krim. "Now, you might get sent to sitefinder.verisign.com, a Web page full of links to vendors who have paid to be placed there to attract your attention and your business." VeriSign's action is a rude reminder that the Internet is no longer a public enterprise. Fewer players increasingly control more Internet functions. A handful of large companies control high-speed connections and standards for security are largely corporate battlegrounds. Major companies cannot even muster support in advocating limited regulatory principles to guide the Internet's development. The most significant of these is a push by large corporations to get the federal Communications Commission to guarantee the notion of "network neutrality." These companies fear that Internet carriers, like cable and phone companies, could choose what content moves over their systems. "The Net is evolving in the image of its largely free heritage, something that many cheer," Krim concludes. "For those who see the need for something closer to a public utility, more ground is falling away beneath you every day." SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31115-2003Oct1.html
TECH USE GIVES YOUNG PEOPLE SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT: A new study suggests that children and young adults use cell phones and the Internet not just to fit in, but because it gives them a sense of accomplishment. The telephone survey involved interviews with 500 children ages eight to 17, along with one parent in each household. Contrary to the image of the young Internet loner, 58 percent of those polled said they made new friends online. Fourteen percent said they had their own websites and online journals. Fifty-four percent of this group said that their Web pages allow them to relay personal information they wouldn't feel comfortable sharing in person. Of those who created their own Web pages, 88 percent said they were proud of their abilities, and 82 percent believed they could easily learn how to use new technologies. "Rather than being a negative influence, [technology] can be positive in terms of children's development," says Stephanie Azzarone, president of the research group that conducted the survey. "It makes kids feel good about themselves." SOURCE: USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-09-29-kids-study_x.htm
EVENTS
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE TO BE DISCUSSED AT COMMONWEALTH SUMMIT: Representatives of Commonwealth governments, business leaders, civil society groups, donor agencies and academics will gather in London for the Commonwealth Network Society Summit. The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), which is hosting the event, says 150 delegates from more than 20 Commonwealth counties will gather on October 6 and 7 to discuss the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs). "An important subtext of this meeting will be the digital divide, a phrase which adequately describes one of the main challenges facing the world today, as we strive to create a more technologically inclusive and socially responsible global society," says Brian Naughton, CBC's Director of Strategic Partnerships. Following the summit, a findings report will be given to the Commonwealth heads of government at their meeting scheduled this December in Abuja, Nigeria.
"ICTs help fulfill the aspirations of the people by enabling access, and play a crucial role in development. The Commonwealth Network Society Summit is a timely step before Heads of Government meet in Abuja," says B. J. R. Rao of the Commonwealth Secretariat. SOURCE: AllAfrica.com http://allafrica.com/stories/200310010764.html

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Communications-Related Headlines are compiled, summarized and edited by Rachel Anderson (rachel@benton.org), Andy Carvin (andy@benton.org) and Charles Meisch (charlie@benton.org) of the Benton Foundation -- we welcome your feedback. Based in Washington DC, the Benton Foundation's mission is to
articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems. Other projects at Benton include:
Digital Divide Network (www.digitaldividenetwork.org)
Digital Opportunity Channel (www.digitalopportunity.org)
OneWorld US (www.oneworld.net/us)
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org)