MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Disney Out of Ownership Cap Fight=20
Powell at Center of FCC Storm
Spanish-Language Media Expand
E-GOVERNMENT
Government Portal Registers 129,000 Transactions
Day Laborers' Solution?=20
DIGITAL DIVIDE
E-Learning Trends Not All They Seem
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Disney Out of Ownership Cap Fight=20
The Walt Disney Company has decided to throw in the towel and stop =
lobbying
Congress to quash legislation that would roll back the 45 percent media
ownership cap to 35 percent. "Disney lobbyists have indicated that the
company is no longer playing hard on this issue," said a congressional
source. Until now, Disney and its ABC television network had stood with =
its
fellow networks -- NBC, CBS and FOX -- in the fight to ease US media
ownership rules. But with growing interest in Congress to block the =
FCC's
rollback of the rules, Disney has concluded that it is not worth the
political effort. Unlike the other networks, Disney's total cache of
stations is still well below 35 percent, giving them room to grow if
Congress successfully returns the cap to that level.=A0 "The whole =
emotional
issue of raising ownership levels from 35 percent to 45 percent has =
taken on
the proportions of a mountain when it's really a hill," Disney CEO =
Michael
Eisner tells Time magazine. "We support having the caps raised, but =
we're
not violently supportive of it."
SOURCE: Television Week; AUTHOR: Doug Halonen=20
http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/081103disney.html=20
See also:=20
10 Questions for Michael Eisner=20
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030818-474556,00.ht=
ml=20
POWELL AT CENTER OF FCC STORM
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has presided over a turbulent stretch in =
the
FCC's history, overseeing technological advances and market failures. =
As a
result, observers have speculated as to Powell's future on the =
Commission
and rumors of his resignation abound, particularly in the wake of =
public and
Congressional backlash over the media ownership deregulation vote in =
June.
"I'm not going anywhere," insists Powell, who also faced internal =
resistance
earlier this year from fellow Republican Commissioner Kevin Martin,
prompting initial murmurs about his future. The media rules are set to =
take
effect September 4th, though legislative rollbacks and court challenges =
may
overturn or delay their implementation. Powell insists that the rumors =
have
not been a distraction despite drawing criticism from former supporters =
such
as Republican Senator Trent Lott. "This is a professional agency," =
Powell
said. "We have a lot going on."
SOURCE: New York Newsday; AUTHOR: James Toedtman
http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzfcc3408871aug10,0,2907=
905.
story
(NOTE: The list at the bottom of the linked page contains statistics on =
the
major media companies' campaign and lobbying budgets as well as their
respective positions on the ownership issue -- the chart does not =
indicate
Disney's recent change of heart as reported above.)
SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA EXPAND
Not long ago, Spanish language media offerings were few and far =
between. In
recent years, however, economic and social factors have led to an =
increase
in such outlets - new Spanish newspapers are set to launch in major =
cities,
Spanish TV stations receive top ratings in some large markets and =
Spanish
radio companies are gobbling up space on the FM dial. The landscape is
expected to grow when the FCC approves a merger next month to create =
the
first Spanish media conglomerate - a deal between Hispanic Broadcasting
Company and Univisi=F3n that will combine radio and TV holdings. "We =
liken it
to when the baby boomer generation was coming out of World War II," =
said
McHenry T. Tichenor Jr., president of HBC. "It's a young population =
just
forming households in numbers similar to the baby boomers.... [They] =
are a
very desirable consumer for a lot of categories and a lot of =
advertisers."
To wit, the buying power of Hispanics rose rapidly in the 1990s, from =
$223
billion in 1990 to $580.5 billion last year, according to a University =
of
Georgia report. The growth is fueled not only by immigration but also =
by a
birth rate that far exceeds the death rate. The Univisi=F3n-HBC merger =
has
been a contentious proposition for market observers who fear that the =
deal
would create a monopoly over the Spanish-language media market despite
allowing the new company to better compete with its English-language
counterparts for advertising dollars.
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHORS: Frank Ahrens and Krissah Williams
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41905-2003Aug10.html
E-GOVERNMENT
Government Portal Registers 129,000 Transactions=20
This e-government success story hails from the island of Malta.=A0 =
Statistics
from Malta's IT Ministry show that the public is clearly willing to use
online services.=A0 The gov.mt portal reported no fewer than eight =
million
hits and a record129,000 transactions in the month of July. In =
addition,
transactions have more than doubled in two months.=A0 Forty-eight =
percent of
all transactions originated from overseas.=A0 (Transaction figures =
refer to
users who actually download a form or interact with the government, =
while
hits refer to the number of times a particular website is accessed.)=A0 =
The
Ministry for Social Policy's website was most popular, with 42 percent =
of
all transactions.=A0 A spokesman for the ministry said the most popular
downloads were tax documents, fringe benefits guidelines and children's
allowance forms.=A0 IT Minister Austin Gatt explained that online =
processing
saves time and money for both government and business.=A0 The =
government is
aiming to have 90 percent of its services available online within a few
months.
SOURCE: The Times of Malta; AUTHOR: Herman Grech=20
http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=3D132903=20
Day Laborers' Solution?=20
How to address the problem of day laborers gathering on the streets =
while
awaiting work is a controversial issue in Marin County.=A0 Plans to =
open a
work center have been unsuccessful, in part because of community and =
city
politics.=A0 Now Marin County is pursuing the idea of a virtual work =
center,
an Internet-based brokerage similar to Ebay that matches employers and
workers.=A0 The Marin County Board of Supervisors contributed $10,000 =
and
secured a matching grant from the Marin Community Foundation to study =
the
concept.=A0 "Here's a really concrete way to bridge the digital divide =
--
here's a way to use the Internet to help the working poor," said Kevin =
Rath,
executive director of a consortium of house cleaners and day =
laborers.=A0 Not
everyone shares his optimism, however.=A0 Tom Wilson of Canal Community
Alliance sees cultural barriers that could impede adoption of the =
idea.=A0
Other critics say that authorities should focus on enforcement.=A0 =
"This is
the establishment breaking the law but not saying they are breaking the =
law
to support illegals here when they should be enforcing the thing," said =
Rick
Oltman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
SOURCE: Marin Independent Journal; AUTHOR: Jennifer Upshaw=20
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~1564073,00.html=20
DIGITAL DIVIDE
E-LEARNING TRENDS NOT ALL THEY SEEM
A survey conducted last year at Charles Sturt University in New South =
Wales,
Australia, found that women,rural residents and older students go =
online
more than do men, city dwellers and the young, respectively.=A0 =
Researcher Les
Burr said this contradicts the myth that significant social hurdles are
keeping certain groups offline.=A0 The study found that women accounted =
for 58
percent of the university population, yet represented 61 percent of
participants in online forums.=A0 Students from Melbourne and Sydney =
composed
less of the online population than their representation in the general
survey population, by 3 percent and 9 percent respectively.=A0 Burr =
found that
online activity significant decreases after age 20, but rises again for
those aged 51 and older.=A0 Burr said, "This goes against the three =
things
that are said to be hurdles to studying online -- that it is =
male-dominated,
that it is only for the young and that those living in rural areas are
disadvantaged."=A0 He concludes, "This shows that if people see a real =
need to
be online they will find a way."
SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald; AUTHOR: Nathan Cochrane=20
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/04/1059849330019.html=20
=A0=20
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