Title: AT&T Seeks Broad Marketing, Technology Alliance With AOL
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Mergers
Description: AT&T has contacted America Online Inc. about entering into a "broad-based" marketing and technology alliance, according to people close to the situation. The giant telecommunications company has also considered making an offer to buy AOL, but no formal offer has been made. AOL sent an email to all employees yesterday stating that the company plans to stay independent. AOL Chairman Steve Cast and Chief Executive Bob Pittman noted that AOL is "eager to establish alliances with a wide range of telecommunications, media and technology companies."

Title: America Online Announces It Will Remain Independent
Source: New York Times
Author: Laura Holson & Seth Schiesel
Issue: Mergers
Description: America Online has announced that it will remain independent -- cooling merger talks with the largest long distance company, AT&T. "We are committed to remaining an independent company, as that is the best course for our customers, shareholders and employees," Stephen Case, the company's chairman,and Robert Pittman, its president, said in an e-mail message to employees. "We continue to be eager to establish alliances with a wide range of telecommunications, media and technology companies." For AT&T, the talks show how the company wants to make a big impact in the Internet. AOL's market value is ~$20.3 billion.

Title: AOL Shares Soar on Report
Source: Washington Post (E1,E5)
Author: Mike Mills & Mark Leibovich
Issue: Mergers
Description: Following a report that America Online Inc. rejected a buyout bid by AT&T Corp., shares of AOL gained 5 percent. Shares of other Internet-related companies also rose on the speculation that they too may be facing possible takeover bids. Neither AOL or AT&T would comment on the report. But AOL Chief Executive Steve Case and President Bob Pittman addressed the report in a memo addressed to employees yesterday. "Ever since AOL went public six years ago, we have been the target of various takeover rumors, the memo said. "Our strategy has also been consistent; we are committed to remaining an independent company."

Title: AT&T-America Online Merger Rumor Pushes AOL Stock Up 5 Percent
Source: Telecom AM
Issue: Mergers
Description: The Financial Times reported that AT&T Chairman and CEO Michael Armstrong approached America Online several weeks ago with a takeover offer. AOL CEO Steve Case and COO Robert Pittman rejected the offer several days ago, according to the Financial Times. In heavy trading, AOL's stock rose nearly $5 to $93.31; AT&T's stock rose 62.5 cents to $62.56.

Title: House Committee Endorses Internet Tax Moratorium
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: The House Judiciary Committee endorsed legislation yesterday that would place a moratorium on new taxes that specifically target the Internet. Their decision moves the Internet Tax Freedom Act toward a full House vote. Negotiations continue however over whether or not Congress should outlaw current state Internet taxes.

Title: House Judiciary Committee Ready to Pass Internet Tax Freedom Act
Source: Telecom AM
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: The House Judiciary Committee appears ready to pass legislation (HR-3529 and HR-3849) that will put a three year moratorium on some Internet taxes. One version of the legislation was introduced to the Committee by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) and the other is a Commerce Committee version. The Judiciary Committee seemed poised to pass both; the two bills would then be combined and put before the entire House. TelecomAM reports, "Hill aides said they hope to have the bill before the full House next week on a suspension calendar, which is generally reserved for popular bills to be debated with no amendments."

Title: The Web Reflects A Wider World
Source: New York Times (D1)
Author: Michel Marriott
Issue: Internet Demographics
Description: More and more non-English speakers are getting on the World Wide Web [hence the name] and adding content in their native tongues. Non-English speakers are the fastest-growing group of new Internet users. By the end of this year, the number of users outside the US should start to outnumber the users inside the US. Currently there are ~107 million people online [OK, not this very moment]. "The increase in the number of people preferring to use languages other than English on line could have profound implications for how the Internet is used and developed, some analysts say. If the Internet in the next century becomes more of a global mass medium, the way commerce, news, research and entertainment are presented on the Internet will have to be rethought."

Title: Study Pokes Holes in Theory Of How Women Use the Net
Source: New York Times (D3)
Author: Katie Hafner
Issue: Internet Demographics
Description: There are several widespread beliefs about women and online services: "women go on the Net seeking relationships; women are uncomfortable with technology; women love to shop and are drawn to the Web by cosmetics and clothing, and women don't use on-line financial services or products." [Hey, I don't write this stuff, I just report it] A new study, "Conventional Wisdoms about Women and Internet Use: Refuting Traditional Perceptions," from Vanderbilt's Project 2000 finds little data to support these stereotypes. "Although there has been some corroborating research that indicates that women are interested in relationship aspects of the on-line experience," the authors wrote, "there is little in existing studies to suggest that relationships are as important as popular belief holds." The biggest draw for women to the Net may be the 24-hour convenience.

Title: In Sex-Role Tangle, a Woman's Search
Source: New York Times (Circuits-D11)
Author: Michelle Slatalla
Issue: Gender/Internet
Description: LookSmart, a Web search site, has attracted a higher percentage of women than the other top search sites during the first five months of 1998. These statistics were compiled by Craig Ruskin, a research analyst with Relevant Knowledge, which measures Web traffic. The site was designed by Evan Thornley and Tracey Ellery three years ago, who say they were not trying to specifically target women. "We started out to target progessional families, busy people, a highly educated group of folks," said Ellery. "Our vision was to reach a mainstream audience on the Web. It turned out that a large proportion of that audience is women." Thornly believes that one of the reasons LookSmart appeals more to women than other search engines is because women investigate in a more browsing context where men tend to search for a specific item. "It's important not to overstate the generalizations," Thornley cautioned. "But what we appear to see is that on average, women are more disposed toward a category approach to searches." LookSmart offers more of this approach while most search engines rely on software to sort sites automatically. You can access LookSmart's site at: http://www.looksmart.com

Title: A Web Site to Fight Censorship
Source: New York Times (Circuits-D13)
Author: Michael Pollak
Issue: Censorship
Description: Banned Books Online offers links to the texts of 30 different books and plays that have been -- or are currently -- banned in the United States. The site was created by John Mark Ockerbloom, who recently received a doctorate in computer science at Carnegie Mellon Univ.in Pittsburgh. The Banned Books site also is linked to a variety of other anti-censorship resources. Censorship endangers democracy, said Dr. Ockerbloom. "It really narrows the range of discussion in the interest of whoever's in power," he said. In regards to his own work, he said, "what I'm hoping the effect will be is a lot more kids will go out and read 'Huckleberry Finn.'" You can access Banned Books Online at: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/spok/banned-books.html

Title: At Heart of a Cyberstudy, the Human Essence
Source: New York Times (Circuits-D9)
Author: Katie Hafner
Issue: Identity
Description: Sherry Turkle, a professor of the sociology of science at MIT and a licensed clinical psychologist, has been studying the interaction of humans with computers since the late 1970's. Dr. Turkle is particularly known for her specialty of interviewing people about their experiences with computers and the Internet. Her first book, "The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit," was published in 1984. Her second book on the topic, "Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet," was published by Simon & Schuster in 1995. It was the product of years of interviews with people who spend a great deal of time on the Internet. Dr. Turkle was an early proponent of the idea that "identity of the Internet is fluid."

Title: Personal Polls Help the Nosy Sate Curiosity
Source: New York Times (D8)
Author: Pamela LiCalzi O'Connell
Issue: Internet Content
Description: Survey Central allows users to create online polls on any subject they like.The site handles coding and tabulation and breaks down answers by sex and age group. "People are tired of being part of a mass-media audience, mere fish in the Nielsen and Arbitron oceans, of seeing public opinion represented in national polls in which they're never asked to participate," said James Beniger, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California and past president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. "With the technological capabilities inherent in the Internet to monitor, store, tabulate and calculate, the idea of every man as his own pollster could hardly come as a surprise. There's an empowerment aspect." See also Open Debate and Internet Voice.

Title: Virtual-Classes Trend Alarms Professors
Source: New York Times (D8)
Author: Tina Kelley
Issue: Ed Tech
Description: 850 professors at the University of Washington have signed an open letter to Gov Gary Locke expressing their fear about his enthusiasm for instruction via CD-ROM's and the Internet. The professors are responding to findings from a roundtable of university presidents and professors brought together by a financial services company last July: "instructional software could easily substitute for campus-based instruction or at least be a substantial part of the delivery system" and the creation of only 25 online courses could serve about 80 percent of the undergraduate enrollment in core courses. A Gov Locke policy advisor recently said about adults returning to school: "Technology is likely to be the much more common method of delivering the learning they need, at home or in the workplace for them, simply because they're place-bound." Earlier this year, Gov Locke created the 2020 Commission "to rethink and re-invent higher education from the ground up." The recommendations are due in September.

Title: Qwest Is Seeking to Support Bells in Two Lawsuits
Source: Wall Street Journal (B2)
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Long-Distance
Description: Qwest Communications International has filed motions to intervene in two lawsuits that are seeking to block marketing agreements it forged with Baby Bell telephone companies. The lawsuits filed by AT&T, MCI and others, argue that US West and Ameritech Corp. "violated telecommunications law by attempting to market Qwest's long-distance services." Qwest has not been named in either lawsuit.

Title: Advertising: Reshaping Perceptions of Advertising
Source: New York Times (C6)
Author: Stuart Elliott
Issue: Advertising
Description: The American Advertising Federation will announce a multi-year push to promote and demonstrate the importance of advertising to consumers and marketers. "Advertising: A Brand New Business" will have three phases: "a survey assessing attitudes about advertising, a campaign aimed at corporate executives and even a speakers' bureau to place advertising topics on the agendas of business conferences," the NYT reports. The effort comes at a time when ad agencies are fending off management consulting companies for brand and marketing strategy services.

Title: FCC Says Many Wireless Bidders, Short of Cash, to Return Licenses
Source: Wall Street Journal (B12)
Author: Scott Ritter
Issue: Auctions/Spectrum
Description: A large portion of the wireless-communications licenses awarded in a government auction will remain unused at least until 1999 because "cash-strapped" bidders have returned hundreds of permits to the Federal Communications Commission.

Title: FCC Radio Licensing Authority
Source: FCC
Issue: Spectrum/Radio
Description: "The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California yesterday issued a permanent injunction against unlicensed broadcaster Stephen Dunifer ("Free Radio Berkeley"). The 18-page decision reaffirms the FCC's authority to require a license before any person can broadcast on the public airwaves....The Court's opinion also upheld the constitutionality of the FCC's broadcast licensing procedures. It said, 'The Court finds that the regulatory scheme here withstands constitutional scrutiny because it specifies procedures which the FCC must follow and it provides for judicial review of any improper FCC ruling. Thus, Mr. Dunifer's claims that the regulations are unconstitutional in every conceivable application and that they are overbroad must fail.'"

Title: Omnizone Tries to Map the Unmappable
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
Author: Matthew Mirapaul
Issue: Art
Description: Omnizone is a collection of essays and digital art from two dozen or so contributors whose mission is to map the terrain of cyberspace. But instead of approaching this task from a hierarchial or linear structure, the site is concerned with delinearing the contours of digital culture. "What this process reveals is the impossibility of mapping digital culture," says Stephen Pusey, an artist and writer who is organizing this project with Yu Yeon Kim, an independent curator. Pusey asserts that as the project evolves it will yield its own type of creative outcome: "a profile of the organic composition of cyberspace by artists, critics, programmers and scientists." He explained: "The Internet is very much the fractal edge of human consciousness, an area which is never defined and never structured. To me, [the Internet] represents the ultimate portrait of humanity and the hopes of man. We're trying to convey a sense of the dynamics of digital culture -- and by not setting a very direct course through it." You can access Omnizone at: http://www.plexus.org/omnizone/

The CPP News-Clipping Service is posted to the Benton e-mail lists Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation -- primarily those covering long term trends and developments in communications, technology, journalism, public service media, regulation and philanthropy. While the summaries are factually accurate, their often informal tone does not represent the tone of the original articles.

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