IP: L.A. Times column, 5/3/01 -- Public Space

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Mon, 07 May 2001 11:43:37 -0700
> To: dave () farber net
> From: "Suzanne M. Johnson" <sjohnson () pobox com>
> Subject: Fwd: L.A. Times column, 5/3/01 -- Public Space
>
> > Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 11:09:22 -0500
> > To: chapman () lists cc utexas edu
> > From: Gary Chapman <gary.chapman () mail utexas edu>
>
> > Friends,
> >
> > Below is my Los Angeles Times column for last week, last Thursday,
> > May 3, 2001. As always, feel free to pass this on but please retain
> > the copyright information.
> >
> > I've just returned from Los Angeles, where I spent a quick three
> > days, two of them as part of the group assembled by Peter Neumann and
> > Lauren Weinstein for their weekend discussion on the "future of the
> > Internet." It was an amazing group of people; quite a few Internet
> > veterans and a rather imposing concentration of intellectual
> > candlepower. I hope to be writing about some parts of our discussion
> > soon.
> >
> > One thing that's painfully clear: the "voice" of the scientific and
> > technical community as an independent source of information and
> > vision about the future of society is increasingly faint, nearly to
> > the point of muteness. The recent announcement of the Bush White
> > House committing the country to ballistic missile defense -- without
> > any details about cost, means, scope, timetable, etc. -- was followed
> > by an almost deafening silence from scientific and technical experts.
> > We still don't have a White House Science Advisor, and whoever is
> > chosen now will be saddled with a rather striking array of decisions
> > already made without scientific advice. That cannot be a position
> > people are clamoring to fill. The current situation is worse than
> > I've seen in a long time -- as I suggested at the meeting this
> > weekend, in a phrase stolen from my friend Howard Rheingold, we're
> > turning off the headlights and stepping on the gas at the same time.
> >
> > Anyway, turning off rant mode now. We've still got nice spring
> > weather here in Austin, with real rainstorms this season, and last
> > week was my last week of class, so, modulo the situation lamented
> > above, life is good. Hope everyone is doing well too.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > -- Gary
> >
> > gary.chapman () mail utexas edu
> >
> >    ------------------------------------------
> >
> > If you have received this from me, Gary Chapman
> > (gary.chapman () mail utexas edu), you are subscribed to the listserv
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> >    ------------------------------------------
> >
> > DIGITAL NATION
> >
> > Thursday, May 3, 2001
> >
> > Paying for Net Foils "Public Space" Idea
> >
> > By Gary Chapman
> >
> > Copyright 2001, The Los Angeles Times, All Rights Reserved
> >
> > There has been talk about preserving "public space" on the Internet
> > since consumers began to discover the Web and e-mail six to seven
> > years ago. But new developments in online business are creating a
> > heightened sense of urgency because many Web-based companies are
> > starting to explore "pay-per-view" or subscription-based fees to
> > maximize the value of their intellectual property.
> >
> > Plus, the deployment of more high-speed broadband networks is
> > accompanied by trends in online content that would replace the
> > diverse, expansive and largely free Web with fee-based services and
> > programming that will look more like commercial TV.
> >
> > So there is a campaign underway to keep some online information free
> > and accessible, to ensure what Jeff Chester calls "a digital commons."
> >
> > Next week he will launch an organization called the Center for
> > Digital Democracy in Washington, D.C., that will fight for open
> > access on telecommunications networks, especially digital cable and
> > digital television broadcast.
> >
> > A number of national leaders are increasingly concerned that public
> > interest, educational, cultural and civic content on the Internet
> > might be shoved aside, or overwhelmed, by the digital and interactive
> > equivalent of "Survivor II" or the Home Shopping Network.
> >
> > The challenge is not only how to keep networks open to diverse and
> > free information but also how to fund interactive digital information
> > that serves noncommercial purposes.
> >
> > One of the most ambitious and novel ideas has come from two
> > television and public policy veterans, Lawrence K. Grossman and
> > Newton H. Minow. Grossman was the president of both NBC and the
> > Public Broadcasting Service, and Minow is a former chairman of PBS,
> > the Federal Communications Commission and the Rand Corp. On April 5,
> > they announced a proposal for a new Digital Opportunity Investment
> > Trust, a public agency modeled on the National Science Foundation and
> > funded with $10 billion from the anticipated public auctions of
> > telecommunications frequency spectrum to digital wireless companies.
> > (More information is available at http://www.digitalpromise.org.)
> > This fund would support the development of digital information and
> > services for educational, cultural, artistic and civic activities,
> > Grossman said. Online material is increasingly expensive to create
> > and will get even more expensive as we move to broadband networks
> > that can support video and high-quality audio as well as
> > interactivity.
> >
> > "The federal government has invested billions in wiring schools
> > through its E-rate program," Grossman said. "We think it's time to
> > turn our attention to content, which is equally important."
> >
> > A similar rationale was behind a dramatic decision by officials at
> > the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who announced last month
> > that the university will offer nearly all its Web-based courses for
> > free. This decision threw other universities--many of which were
> > looking to distance education as a new source of revenue--into an
> > entirely different position.
> >
> > Scientists concerned about the availability of scientific research,
> > especially to researchers in poor countries such as Russia and India,
> > recently announced a campaign to boycott any online scientific
> > journals that charge a fee for accessing published research more than
> > 6 months old. The campaign launched by the Public Library of Science
> > (http://www.publiclibraryofscience.org) has started a heated debate
> > in the scientific community over who should pay for research
> > publications.
> >
> > There's a question, however, about whether the Bush administration
> > will hear these ideas and act. The chairman of the Federal
> > Communications Commission, Michael K. Powell, has publicly admitted
> > that he doesn't understand the concept of the "public interest" when
> > it's applied to telecommunications. That's a bad sign. Bush's
> > advisors seem likely to let the market dictate how the Internet will
> > evolve, and too many people in the high-tech industry have tunnel
> > vision focused on future fortunes in digital services. We'll need
> > more public activism and understanding about the importance of a
> > "digital commons." The quality of our cultural legacy is at stake.
> >
> > Gary Chapman is director of the 21st Century Project at the
> > University of Texas at Austin. He can be reached at
> > > > gary.chapman () mail utexas edu.
> >
> >    ------------------------------------------
> >
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