July 2003

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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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Commentary: New Rules, Old Rhetoric
UMass Radio Station Could Lose Public Affairs Programming to
Newspaper Cross-Ownership

E-GOVERNMENT
For Spending-Slashing States, Less Paper and More Internet
Voting Machine Study Divides Officials, Experts

21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Experts Urge Strong Education Rather Than Big Tariffs

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Bow Wow Supports Computers For Youth Drive

TELEPHONY
Telcos Scowl at 'Bill of Rights'

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MEDIA OWNERSHIP

NEW RULES, OLD RHETORIC
[Commentary] Amidst the growing public debate over the FCC's media ownership
vote, FCC Chairman Michael Powell defends the new rules while seeking to
bridge the "distressing lack of consensus and ... basic misunderstandings"
about what exactly is at stake. If diversity is of concern, Powell writes
that the US has "the most diverse media marketplace in the world," whereas
those worried about concentration should consider that the top five
broadcast companies only own 25 percent of the 300+ available channels,
regardless of the fact that their popular programming brings in 80 percent
of the viewership. Still others claim that "ownership limits are necessary
because TV has too much sex or too much violence, is too bland or too
provocative," claims that Powell sees as contradictory. The chairman figures
the real source of the opposition is a desire to affect content, not
ownership itself, "having government promote or suppress particular
viewpoints." Returning the broadcast ownership cap to 35 percent will do
little to influence either problem, according to Powell. In fact, local
affiliate groups have been able to live well beneath the cap while
controlling more stations than the networks and do so remotely. The cap
"does not prevent a company with headquarters in Atlanta from owning
stations in Muncie, Indiana, no matter what numerical limit is drawn."
Lastly, the public discourse has ignored the crucial but "disturbing" trend
of high-quality programming ending up on cable stations, a phenomenon the
FCC hoped to remedy by increasing the broadcast cap. Powell closed by
inviting an open public debate on the issue, so long as that debate is well
informed and in focus.
SOURCE: The New York Times; AUTHOR: Michael Powell
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/28/opinion/28POWE.html

UMASS RADIO STATION COULD LOSE PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMING
TO NEWSPAPER CROSS-OWNERSHIP
The University of Massachusetts/Lowell signed a contract with the Lowell Sun
newspaper that gave the paper "exclusive broadcast rights" to 25 hours of
prime radio time on WJUL, from 5am-10am weekdays. The deal was made without
the knowledge or the input of students or the community at large and will
displace two hours of Cambodian programming, one hour of Spanish Language
programming and two hours of public affairs programming. WJUL is a
non-commercial station that has been an important voice to Lowell's
immigrant and minority communities, offering 29 hours of ethnic programming
each week to the area's Cambodian, Armenian, Indian, Portuguese and Latin
American residents. Commercial radio largely ignores the needs of these
communities, according to area activists. A public meeting will be held this
Wednesday, July 30 at 6pm in the UMass Lowell Media Center in the basement
of the north campus Lydon Library to discuss the issue. For more
information, contact Ms. Vacarr at dvacarr( at )onelowell.net.
SOURCE: ONE Lowell; AUTHOR: Danielle Simone Vacarr

E-GOVERNMENT

FOR SPENDING-SLASHING STATES, LESS PAPER AND MORE INTERNET
The Central Missouri Area Agency on Aging is down to its last 20 copies of
"Missouri Guide for Seniors," a catalog of available financial aid and
health services. Because of state budget cuts, Missouri will no longer
produce paper versions of this annual catalog. Instead, senior citizens will
have to access the Internet -- despite the fact that they are one of the
least wired populations in the US. "I'll have to hold onto that book," said
Guila Wells, 84, who keeps a copy at home. Otherwise, "it's less available
to me, because I'm not into computers -- I don't have one." Many states are
choosing to save money by publishing documents only via the Internet. But
this decision is coming at a cost to the millions of Americans on the wrong
side of the digital divide. "More and more government information is being
put online, and yet there is still a sizable portion of the US population
that lacks access to the Internet or the skills to use it," says Andy Carvin
of the Benton Foundation. "Government's supposed to be for everybody, not
only those people who have computers," adds Mike MacLaren of the Michigan
Press Association. "People's access to government is supposed to be as
unfettered as possible."
SOURCE: Miami Herald; AUTHOR: David A. Lieb, Associated Press
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/6397854.htm

VOTING MACHINE STUDY DIVIDES OFFICIALS, EXPERTS
Last week's report from Johns Hopkins University about the potential
security shortfalls of Maryland's new electronic voting terminals has set up
a showdown between the Maryland State House and the terminals' skeptics.
"The study should be setting off alarm bells," said Delegate William A.
Bronrott of Montgomery County. "We need to be 100 percent sure that there is
no chance that our machines can be tampered with." Hopkins' Information
Security Institute released their analysis of a Diebold Election Systems
Inc. software code on Thursday, concluding that the system could allow
multiple voting, that "Smart Cards" could easily be copied and that an
insider could reprogram the machine to register votes incorrectly. Diebold
representatives claim that Hopkins researchers were only able to produce
such results by manipulating the code via PC and that such activities would
not be possible using a voting terminal. The state appears likely to stick
with its target date of March 2004 for outfitting all voting precincts with
the terminals, despite the stir created by the report. "I don't think you're
going to see the governor's office request additional studies," spokesman
Henry Fawell said. "We believe that this system has gone through a very
tough certification process and was very successful in the most recent
election."
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Brigid Schulte
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48092-2003Jul25.html

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

EXPERTS URGE STRONG EDUCATION RATHER THAN BIG TARIFFS
Some economic analysts say that protection of American products and jobs
from imports and outsourcing would facilitate a stronger economic recovery.
But to some economists, imports and job loss are a necessary part of
economic restructuring, which in the long-term will allow the United States
to exploit its "comparative advantage" in high-tech and high-value goods and
services. Professor of Economics Robert Feenstra said the nation should work
to improve the quality of the unemployed labor force. Government-sponsored
retraining programs such as trade adjustment assistance have been criticized
for being ineffective. J. David Richardson, professor of economics and
international relations, explained that most successful training takes place
on the job, so giving workers an incentive to find a job is essential. A
pilot program under the Trade Act of 2002, for example, offers to pay half
the wage differential for eligible workers who lose their job and take a
lower-paying job. Richardson noted that the biggest differences in job
mobility are between high school dropouts and workers with high school
diplomas and some college education. "There's a clear message there, which
is we've really got to help our workers in all kinds of adjustment by just
strengthening basic high school education," he said.
SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: Daniel Altman
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/28/technology/28NECO.html

DIGITAL DIVIDE

BOW WOW SUPPORTS COMPUTERS FOR YOUTH DRIVE
Multi-platinum hip-hop recording artist Bow Wow performed a free concert in
New York City to raise awareness for Computers For Youth (CFY). CFY is a
nonprofit that provides computers to all of the students and teachers of
selected public middle schools in New York City. The program also provides
training, Internet access, email accounts, ongoing technical support and
tailored Web content. To date, CFY has deployed more than 3,000 home
computers to disadvantaged children and their teachers, and trained more
than 6,000 students, parents and teachers. An evaluation of the program
found that 76 percent of CFY students said they put more effort into their
education, and 74 percent said that having a home computer helps them do
better in school. "Every young person deserves to have a computer in his or
her home," said Bow Wow, a teenager and self-proclaimed "computer addict."
SOURCE: Teen Music.com
http://www.teenmusic.com/d.asp?r=42589&pg=2
http://www.cfy.org

TELEPHONY

TELCOS SCOWL AT 'BILL OF RIGHTS'
California's Public Utilities Commissioner Carl Wood said his team has
drafted the final version of the Telecommunications Consumer Bill of Rights,
which could become state law as early as September. The proposed law would
apply to all phone companies, including wireless, local and long distance.
Provisions include upfront disclosure about key rates, contract terms and
conditions; allowing customers 45 days to cancel their contracts without
penalty; and providing the utmost in customer care, including 24-hour,
seven-days-a-week access to live operators. Companies would not be allowed
to charge late fees on bills in dispute and would be required to offer basic
phone service even if the customer does not pay their bills in full. The
commission drafted the bill in response to volumes of complaints, many
related to billing disputes. Tom Wheeler, president of an industry trade
group, suggested that the commission wait for an industry-led initiative to
protect consumers. "No matter how many times you propose state regulations,
it always comes at a cost to consumers," he said. But Wood responds that the
industry has had at least three years to introduce and test a consumer code.
SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Elisa Batista
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59789,00.html

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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Analysis: FCC Chief Puts Law Above Politics and Gets Rebuked
Bush Fights Congress on TV Cap Rollback
Commentary: A Slap at the Media

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Summit Seeks Content Experts for Awards Panel
Baghdad Calling! Mobile Phones Spring to Life

CABLE
NCTA: Quality Programming Justifies Cable Rate Hikes

EDTECH
Penn State: Simulations Boost Online Student Performance

INTERNET
Do-Not-Spam List Favored, Study Finds
War on Spam Draws in Innocents
Genealogists Launch Database of Jewish Cemeteries
Poetry Website Goes from Bad to Verse

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MEDIA OWNERSHIP

FCC CHIEF PUTS LAW ABOVE POLITICS AND GETS REBUKED
[Analysis] Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, finds himself in a political hot seat in the wake of yesterday's
400-21 House vote seeking to rollback the FCC's recent media ownership
decision. "This is a real dangerous spot for Powell," said Andrew
Schwartzman of the Media Access Project. "He is facing a kind of
congressional repudiation of a rare kind." Powell has defended his efforts
by stating that a federal court last February ruled that the current media
ownership rules were "arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law." Powell,
an anti-trust lawyer by profession, crusaded against the previous rules
"with subtle legalistic arguments that fail to stick in the public mind,"
the Times writes. The paper adds, "What Mr. Powell failed to understand is
that given a choice between big government and big media, the public often
sides with the government."
SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: Jennifer Lee
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/24/business/media/24POWE.html

BUSH FIGHTS CONGRESS ON TV CAP ROLLBACK
Despite the growing opposition to the June FCC media ownership decision, the
White House today said that it would encourage Congress to strip out
legislative language that would effectively overrule the FCC. White House
spokesman Scott McClellan said that the administration would work with
legislators when the House and Senate meet to negotiate the final version of
a spending measure that includes the media ownership amendment. The White
House hopes both houses of Congress will choose to remove the amendment. "We
are going to work with the Congress to try to fix that in conference," he
said.
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=3152570

A SLAP AT THE MEDIA
[Commentary] Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz focuses his column on
press coverage of the media ownership debate. Quoting editorials and news
reports from a variety of newspapers and online magazines, Kurtz examines
how the issue, once ignored by major news outlets, is becoming a major
story. "Nobody much likes Big Media these days," he writes. "But who woulda
thunk that it would become a hot political issue? Not me." Kurtz goes on to
say, "The rare move by the Republican-controlled House to buck the
administration on a regulatory issue -- especially given the clout of the
broadcast industry, which hands out plenty of campaign cash -- suggests that
this issue has struck some kind of nerve."
SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39295-2003Jul24.html

DIGITAL DIVIDE

SUMMIT SEEKS CONTENT EXPERTS FOR AWARDS PANEL
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the Austrian
government, among others, will sponsor the World Summit Award, honoring
excellence in digital content creation from around the world. Awards will be
given country-by-country for content in eight categories: e-government,
e-health, e-learning, e-science, e-culture, e-entertainment, e-business and
e-inclusion. These categories will cover content created on the Internet, as
well as DVD and CD-ROM. Awards organizers are currently seeking experts from
around the world to represent their countries as official nominators for the
competition. Each expert would make the selection for best content from his
or her country. Nominations for experts must be submitted by August 10.
SOURCE: World Summit on the Information Society
Call for Experts:
http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/documents/world%20summit%20award%20shortd...
iption_engl..pdf (English)
http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/documents/world%20summit%20award%20shortd...
iption_fr..pdf (French)
http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/documents/world%20summit%20award%20shortd...
iption_span..pdf (Spanish)
Nominate an Expert:
http://www.europrix.org/wsis-award/content/register.htm

BAGHDAD CALLING! MOBILE PHONES SPRING TO LIFE
Mobile phone service, which was banned under Saddam Hussein's regime in
Iraq, is widely available for the first time in Baghdad this week. The US
Provisional Authority isn't quite sure how it happened, however -- it
planned to issue a Request for Proposals for three cellular licenses next
week and was unaware of the availability of cellular service. Citizens with
foreign-registered GSM phones were able to roam in Baghdad via networks
based in Bahrain and Kuwait. Batelco, the Bahraini firm, has already asked
the US-led authority for a license and proposes building a $50 million GSM
network in Iraq. An important undecided issue in this debate is whether Iraq
will adopt the GSM standard, which is used in Europe and the Middle East, or
the US-backed CDMA standard, which most US firms would likely build out in
Iraq. GSM would allow Iraqis greater flexibility to travel outside the
country without changing phones.
SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: Reuters
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-07-22-baghdad-cell_x.htm

CABLE

NCTA: QUALITY PROGRAMMING JUSTIFIES CABLE RATE HIKES
Cable rate increases are indeed outpacing inflation, but prices reflect the
rapidly rising cost of programming, says the National Cable and
Telecommunications Association. Consumer groups reacted harshly to an FCC
report earlier this month indicating that cable rates rose over eight
percent in the 12-month period ending in July 2002 - more than five times
the rate of inflation. NCTA was quick to point out that cable systems have
invested heavily in infrastructure upgrades and have had to keep pace with
the increasing license fees for programs, particularly sporting events. The
group says that programming costs increased by $1.1 billion in 2002 and have
doubled since 1998.
SOURCE: Yahoo! News; AUTHOR: Megan Larson, MediaWeek.com
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/mediaweek/20030718/ad_bpi...
ctaqualityprogrammingjustifiescableratehikes
(URL may need to be pasted together if broken)

EDTECH

PENN STATE: SIMULATIONS BOOST ONLINE STUDENT PERFORMANCE
According to Penn State researcher Brian Cameron, using high-quality
simulation software improves student achievement, motivation and graduation
rates compared to other online methods. Cameron's findings were based on a
study of two sections of a web-based introductory networking and
telecommunications course he taught. The students who used a commercial
network simulation package scored higher and retained more information than
students who used a popular network-diagramming software tool that depends
on instructor evaluation for feedback. The simulation software allowed
students to build and test different networking components and
configurations and receive immediate feedback. Students who used the static
software package didn't experiment with different configurations because
they had no way to verify their designs worked other than submitting them to
Cameron. Based on his findings, Cameron suggests that educators seek
programs that closely mimic real-world experiences. The need for effective
online teaching tools is underscored by a new report from the US Department
of Education, which finds that enrollment in distance education courses has
nearly doubled since 1995 to 3.1 million enrollments.
SOURCE: eSchool News; AUTHOR: Cara Branigan
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=4518
See also:
US Department of Education report on distance learning programs in higher
ed:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003017

INTERNET

DO-NOT-SPAM LIST FAVORED, STUDY FINDS
A survey of some 1,200 Internet users found that three out of four Americans
favor a "do-not-spam" registry, along the lines of the Federal Trade
Commission's "do-not-call" registry. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) hopes to
include a do-not-spam proposal in an anti-spam bill that could come up for
vote in the Senate before it adjourns for summer recess next week. Critics
say that the list would be widely ignored by spammers and would divert
resources better spent tracking down peddlers of dubious get-rich-quick
scams. In the House of Representatives, the Energy and Commerce Committee
has delayed a vote on the issue until September as they debate two competing
bills.
SOURCE: MSNBC News; AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan
http://www.msnbc.com/news/943214.asp?0cv=TB10

WAR ON SPAM DRAWS IN INNOCENTS
In the war on spam, it is not clear who's winning. Whether the lost time and
productivity is due to spam or the need to get legitimate information around
spam filters, industry experts say the fight against unwanted email costs
about $8.9 billion a year. One weapon is Spam Arrest, software that works
"like an annoying personal assistant," asking unrecognized senders of email
to verify themselves by clicking on a link to a special website and typing
in a word shown on a picture. This approach trashes messages from spam
robots, which can't read a picture. America Online, where spam accounts for
almost one out of every two emails processed daily, has been blocking what
it considers suspicious emails sent by tens of thousands of customers of
broadband Internet providers. Sometimes innocent users get caught in the
spam squeeze, however. "Filters are blunt instruments," said Paula Bruening
of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "They are far from a perfect
solution." She added that spam is challenging the growth of the Internet
because the sheer task of dealing with it is making email less reliable as a
communications tool.
SOURCE: Middle East North Africa Financial Network; AUTHOR: Mike Wendland
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CpX4iqeicq1bulufoveLtuefn

GENEALOGISTS LAUNCH DATABASE OF JEWISH CEMETERIES
At the 23rd International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Washington DC
this week, the genealogy website JewishGen.org launched the JewishGen Online
Worldwide Burial Registry. The online database is a compilation of data
collected from 643 cemeteries in 25 countries, including 314,778 burial
records and 11,461 tombstone photographs. "Jewish cemeteries throughout the
world are threatened with vandalism and even extinction," said Susan E.
King, Managing Director of JewishGen. "It is vitally important to preserve
information on existing Jewish cemeteries so future generations will have
the benefit of this aspect of cultural heritage." Founded in 1987, JewishGen
became one of the first genealogy organizations in the mid 1990s to grasp
the potential of the Internet as a tool for tracing family histories. The
website has received family historical data from thousands of amateur
genealogists from around the world, allowing users to search family names
and towns from dozens of countries. Over the coming year, JewishGen plans to
add information for an additional 242 cemeteries, 150,461 burial records and
22,400 tombstone images from 36 cemeteries across Eastern Europe.
SOURCE: JewishGen.org
For more information, contact Susan E. King (susan.king( at )jewishgen.org)
Search the database:
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/jowbr

POETRY WEBSITE GOES FROM BAD TO VERSE
David Rea, a programmer from Greenwich, Connecticut, has developed a website
to see if poetry can "evolve" from a random collection of words. Rea started
his "Darwinian Poetry" site by generating 1,000 poems, each containing four
lines of randomly selected words chosen from a pool of 30,000 possibilities.
When users visit the site, they are presented with two poems and are asked
to vote for the better one. The chosen poem "survives" and continues to
evolve with words added or subtracted, while the losing poem is "killed
off." The newly evolved poems are then put up for a vote, and the cycle
repeats itself. With thousands of users visiting the site, Rea says that the
random collections of words are beginning to evolve into actual poetic
structures, but the eloquence of the current generation of poems remains
debatable. For example, a test of the website this morning generated the
following: "Distill jumbled little sifting millstones /
Shield to the further fueling / Old but of interfere unfinished in the."
SOURCE: New Scientist; AUTHOR: Duncan Graham-Rowe
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993971
Darwinian Poetry:
http://www.codeasart.com/poetry/darwin.html

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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