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
> >
> >    ------------------------------------------
> >
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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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