Superhighway Summit: Difference between revisions

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'''The Superhighway Summit''' was held at the [[UCLAUniversity of California, Los Angeles]]'s ''Royce Hall'' on [[11 January]], [[1994]]. It was the "first public conference bringing together all of the major industry, government and academic leaders in the field. [and] alsoIt began the national dialogue about the ''[[Informationinformation Superhighwaysuperhighway]]'' and its implications." <ref name="digitalcenter.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalcenter.org/webreport94/apph.htm<|archive-url=https:/ref/web.archive.org/web/20121028124642/http://www.digitalcenter.org/webreport94/apph.htm|url-status=dead|title=UCLA Center for Communication Policy<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=October 28, 2012}}</ref> The conference was organized by Richard Frank of the [[Academy of Television Arts and& Sciences]], and Jeffrey Cole and Geoffrey Cowan, the former co-directors of UCLA's ''Center for Communication Policy.'' <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalcenter.org/pages/person_details.asp?intTypeId=3|title=USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> It was introduced by former UCLA Chancellor, Andrea L. Rich. The keynote speaker was Vice President [[Al Gore]].

==Background==

Thirty leaders in the area of communications presided over the event, which had an attendance of over 1800 people. It "was broadcast live on [[C-SPAN]], [[E!]] Entertainment, and on the [[UCLA]] campus."<ref>http://www. name="digitalcenter.org"/webreport94/apph.htm</ref>

==Partial list of participants==

*[[Barry Diller]] - chairman and CEO of QVC

*[[Michael Eisner]] - then chairman and CEO of the ''Walt Disney Co.''

*''Ernestine'', the telephone operator (a fictional character created by the actress [[Lily Tomlin]] for ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'') <ref> [http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/EOP/OVP/images/tomlin.gif Ernestine and Gore]</ref>

*[[Al Gore]] - then Vice President of the United States<ref>{{cite news | first=Al| last=Gore| url=http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/EOP/OVP/other/superhig.html| title=Remarks as Delivered by Vice President Al Gore to The Superhighway Summit, Royce Hall, UCLA| date=1994-01-11| accessdate=2008-10-26}}</ref>

*[[Al Gore]] - then Vice-President of the United States

*[[Reed Hundt]] - FCC Chairman

*[[Robert Iger]] -president of the ABC Television Group

*[[Jeffrey Katzenberg]] - then chairman of ''Walt Disney Studios''

*[[John C. Malone]] - president of Telecommunications, Inc.

*[[Rupert Murdoch]] - NewsCorp

*[[Raymond W. Smith]] - CEO, Bell Atlantic <ref> Lee, Cynthia and Linda Steiner Lee. ''"Gore Details Telecommunications Ideas.''" UCLA TODAY: 4 </ref>

==Highlights==

The conference was given extensive coverage by Cynthia Lee and Linda Steiner Lee over two issues of ''UCLA TODAY'' (January 13 and 27, 1994). In the article, ''"Gore Details Telecommunications Ideas,''" Lee and Lee gave an overview of the opening speech given by Vice President Gore. <ref>[http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/EOP/OVP/other/superhig.html Remarks at Superhighway Summit<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> They commented that "Vice President [[Al Gore]] outlined the [[Clinton Administration]]'s proposals to reform the communications marketplace and challenged his audience to provide links from the so-called ''[[information superhighway]]'' to every classroom, library, hospital, and clinic in the country by the year [[2000]] [...] 'We have a dream for...an [[information superhighway]] that can save lives, create jobs and give every American, young and old, the chance for the best education available to anyone, anywhere,' Gore said." <ref> name="ReferenceA">Lee, Cynthia and Linda Steiner Lee. ''"Gore Details Telecommunications Ideas.''" UCLA TODAY: 1 </ref> During his talk, "Ernestine" (the fictional telephone operator created by [[Lily Tomlin]] for ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'') made a surprise appearance. She complained "about the confusing and rapid transformation of communications technology. The viceVice president laughingly assured Ernestine that the new technology would be simple to understand and available to all Americans." <ref> Lee, Cynthia and Linda Steiner Lee. ''Gore Details Telecommunications Ideas.'' UCLA TODAY: 1 <name="ReferenceA"/ref>

In the follow-up article, ''CEO's"CEOs Ponder Direction of Information Superhighway''", Cynthia Lee stated that leaders at the conference noted that the future of the ''Informationinformation Superhighway''superhighway was still uncertain. " 'Here we are, all ready to go cruising off down this new information superhighway,' said [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]], Chairman of ''The [[Walt Disney]] Studios'', during one of the panel discussions, 'and we really don't know where we are going. It's the first time we will be moving in a certain direction when we don't even know our final destination.' " <ref name="ReferenceB"> Lee, Cynthia. ''CEO's"CEOs Ponder Direction of Information Superhighway.''" UCLA TODAY: 4 </ref> Geoffrey Cowan, the former co-director of UCLA's ''Center for Communication Policy,'' indicated that the key concept of the ''Information Superhighway'' was ''[[Interactivityinteractivity]]'', or "the ability for the consumer to control it, to decide what they want to receive, and the ability of the technology to respond to highly sophisticated consumer demands." <ref> Lee, Cynthia. ''CEO's Ponder Direction of Information Superhighway.'' UCLA TODAY: 4 <name="ReferenceB"/ref>

The participants underscored the point that the major challenge of the ''Informationinformation Highway''superhighway would lie in [[access]], or the "gap between those who will have access to it because they can afford to equip themselves with the latest electronic devices and those who can't." <ref> Lee, Cynthia. ''CEO's Ponder Direction of Information Superhighway.'' UCLA TODAY: 4 <name="ReferenceB"/ref>

==References==

*Lee, Cynthia and Linda Steiner Lee. ''Gore Details Telecommunications Ideas.'' UCLA TODAY, Vol. 14, #9, January 13, 1994:1, 4. <ref>http://www.today.ucla.edu/1994/archive940113.html</ref>

*Lee, Cynthia. ''CEO's Ponder Direction of Information Superhighway.'' UCLA TODAY, Vol. 14, #19, January 27, 1994: 4. <ref>http://www.today.ucla.edu/1994/archive940127.html</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|1990s}}

For more information about the early days of the internet, see:

* [[Al Gore and information technology]]

*[[History of the Internet]]

*''[[Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet]]''

==References==

*[[Information Superhighway]]

*Lee, Cynthia and Linda Steiner Lee. ''"Gore Details Telecommunications Ideas." '' UCLA TODAY'', Vol. 14, #9, January 13, 1994:1, 4. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.today.ucla.edu/1994portal/archive940113ut/index-01-13-94.htmlaspx|title=UCLA Today<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

* ''[[Scientific American Special Issue on Communications, Computers, and Networks]]''

*Lee, Cynthia. ''CEO's"CEOs Ponder Direction of Information Superhighway." '' UCLA TODAY'', Vol. 14, #19, January 27, 1994: 4. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.today.ucla.edu/1994portal/archive940127ut/index-01-27-94.htmlaspx|title=UCLA Today<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

*''[[Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog]]''

==Footnotes==

{{reflist}}

<div class="references-small">

<references/>

</div>

==External links==

*[http://www.emmys.org/atemmys/history.php History of the Television Academy]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121028124642/http://www.digitalcenter.org/webreport94/apph.htm UCLA Center for Communication Policy]

*[http://listserv.uh.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9401c&L=pacs-l&T=0&P=2054 Vice President Proposes National Telecommunications Reform] - [[University of Houston]] Computer Science listserv

*[http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/EOP/OVP/other/superhig.html Remarks as Delivered by Vice President Al Gore to the Superhighway Summit]

*[http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/011194-remarks-by-the-vp-on-television.htm Remarks by Vice President Al Gore]

{{Al Gore}}

[[Category:Internet history]]

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