The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 30, 2003, Image 1
TODAY: Scattered "H PCfl Q T7 July 30.2003 * Vol. 97, No. 8
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^i# AMECOGK
INSIDE
VIEWPOINTS
What left-wing
media control?
Conservatives are the
real media rulers PAGE 5
THE MIX
BIV comes in to
town August 1
Drummer Evan Bivins
takes the center stage,
lending vocals and guitar
to BIV. PAGE 7
SPORTS
Typical summer
for USC athletes
Summer proves to be
more than just laying out
in the sun. PAGE 10
INDEX
Comics and Crossword 9
Classifieds 12
Horoscopes _9
Letters to the Editor 6
Online Poll 6
Quote of the Day 7
Hotels protest USC inn
PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK
At Clarion Townhouse, representatives of Columbia hotels have met to discuss USC’s planned inn.
The hotel owners are concerned that a university-affiliated inn would take away business.
BRIAN RAY
THE GAMECOCK
Hotel owners convened
Thursday at the Clarion hotel to
contest USC’s plan for a universi
ty-affiliated inn across from the
National Advocacy Center on
Pendleton Street. They said the
inn would take away a third of
their business.
The owners said USC President
Andrew Sorensen told them that
if the hotel owners lose business,
they should improve their hotels.
“He believed that USC’s hotel
wouldn’t hurt us, but if it did, it
was their market, their land, their
school. They would do what they
wanted,” said the spokesman for
the Greater Columbia Hotel and
Motel Association, Robert
Wislinski.
Wislinski also said that last
♦ PROTEST, SEE PAGE 4
Columbia reacts to FCC changes
Radio listeners switch to satellite radio for more choice
BY GABRIELLE SINCLAIR
THE GAMECOCK
Carlos Smith originally
switched to satellite radio because
he worked at Circuit City and it
was free. He kept it and continued
to pay the monthly fee because he
said it beats local radio.
“I like rock and there’s 10 rock
stations instead of one,” said
Smith, a fourth-year Spanish ma
jor. “If I don’t like a song I can
change it to one of the other nine
rock stations.”
The Federal Communications
Commission changed local radio
in 1996 when it loosened ownership
restrictions, allowing companies
to own up to four FM and four AM
stations. Columbia stations are
dominated by three firms: Clear
Channel, Inner City Broadcasting
and Citadel, which will become a
public corporation Friday. In vir
tually every local market, four or
fewer firms control 70 percent of
market share or greater, according
to a recent Music Coalition survey.
Smith isn’t alone by switching
to satellite radio. The Federal
Aviation Administration ruled
Tuesday that satellite radio can be
used in airplanes, adding to the
market that car manufacturers
such as Chrysler, BMW, Ford and
Infinity provide by including satel
lite radio in their vehicles.
Subscriptions recently reached
100,000 for Sirius, said Jim Collins,
vice president of corporate commu
nications. Sirius recently completed
its first year. XM, its only competi
tor, has about 700,000 subscribers.
“What you get in the first year
are the ‘early adopters,’” said
Collins. “These are people who fol
low technology very ciosely, and
are looking for the next big thing.”
This is beginning to change as
the concept becomes well known,
said Circuit City manager Ron King.
Companies have begun to include
♦ FCC, SEE PAGE 2
Cheney raises
$300,000 in
local private
fund-raiser
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Vice
President Dick Cheney spent
about 30 minutes in Columbia
Monday, raising about $300,000
for President Bush’s 2004 re-elec
tion campaign.
Some 150 guests paid $2,000 a
person at a fund-raising lunch at
the home of Gayle Averyt, former
chief executive officer of Colonial
Life Insurance Co.
The fund-raiser was closed to
the public and the media.
♦ CHENEY, SEE PAGE 3