Fun_People Archive
15 Oct
Excerpted: Communications-related Headlines for 10/15/99

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 99 11:38:12 -0700
To: Fun_People
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Subject: Excerpted: Communications-related Headlines for 10/15/99

X-Lib-of-Cong-ISSN: 1098-7649  -=[ Fun_People ]=-
X-http://www.langston.com/psl-bin/Fun_People.cgi

[This is a little scary.  I guess if you're rich enough you really can be
 above the law... -psl]

Forwarded-by: Nev Dull <nev@bostic.com>
Forwarded-by: "Le Blanc, Jamal" <jamal@BENTON.ORG>

MICROSOFT TARGETS FUNDING FOR ANTITRUST OFFICE
Issue: Antitrust

The Microsoft Corporation has decided to go after the source of much of its
recent legal problem--the Justice Department's antitrust division. The
software giant and its allies are lobbying Congress to reduce next year's
proposed funding for the division by about $9 million. The Clinton
administration is seeking $114.3 million to cover the salaries of 360
attorneys now in the antitrust division and to fund the hiring of about 18
more legal staff members. That would be an increase of about 16 percent over
the previous budget. While Senate appropriators have proposed a budget of
$112.3 million, the House figure is only $105.2 million. Nonprofit
organizations that receive financial support from the company have also
urged key congressional appropriators to limit spending for the division.
The nonprofit groups addressed Congress via a letter last month after an
all-expenses-paid trip to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., where
they were entertained and briefed on issues facing the company. Company
officials said they want to send a strong message to the antitrust division.
"It's no secret we really have some serious concerns about some of the
Department of Justice's conduct during the course of this litigation," said
Jack Krumholtz, director of federal government affairs for Microsoft.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Dan Morgan and Juliet Eilperin]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm)


--------------------------------------------------------------
(c)Benton Foundation, 1999. Redistribution of this email publication -- both
internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.
The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice (CPP)
(www.benton.org/cpphome.html) Communications-related Headline
Service is posted 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. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang (kevint@benton.org), Rachel Anderson (rachel@benton.org),
Jamal Le Blanc <jamal@benton.org>, Veronica Breckheimer
(veronica@benton.org) and Stephanie Ingersoll <stephanie@benton.org> -- we
welcome your comments.

The Benton Foundation works to realize the social benefits made possible
by the public interest use of communications. Bridging the worlds of
philanthropy, public policy, and community action, Benton seeks to shape
the emerging communications environment and to demonstrate the value of
communications for solving social problems. Through demonstration
projects, media production and publishing, research, conferences, and
grantmaking, Benton probes relationships between the public, corporate,
and nonprofit sectors to address the critical questions for democracy in
the information age. Other projects at Benton include:
Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org)
Open Studio: The Arts Online (www.openstudio.org/)
Destination Democracy (www.destinationdemocracy.org/)
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org/)
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