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NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #13, March 30, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #13, March 30, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of  the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History
*****************

1. Jefferson Day Advocacy Wrap-up
2  Arthur Miller's Jefferson Lecture Stirs Controversy
3. NEH National Council Meets - Addresses Long Term Projects Issue
4. Tasini Case Arguments Heard by Supreme Court
5. News Bits and Bytes: Passing of Debra Bernhardt; Nixon Materials Release:
Advisory Council Issues Report; NCC Breakfast - 2nd Notice.

1. JEFFERSON DAY ADVOCACY WRAP-UP
On March 26-27, 2001, the National Humanities Alliance (NHA) conducted its
annual Jefferson Day humanities advocacy effort.  Some 140 congressional
offices representing 33 states were contacted by over 130 humanists, all of
whom came to Washington D.C. to voice support to their congressional
representatives for increased funding for the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH). According to John Hammer, Director of the NHA, "This year,
more people visited congressional offices than ever before.  Responses from
both the Republican and Democratic offices suggest that there is
considerable bipartisan support for increasing the appropriation for the NEH
above the President's recommended flat funding proposal of $120 million."

A reception was also held in honor of Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, the
2001 recipient of the Sidney Yates Award for Distinguished Service to the
Humanities. About 300 people attended the function. The Jefferson lecture
presentation followed.

2. ARTHUR MILLER'S JEFFERSON LECTURE STIRS CONTROVERSY
On Monday evening, March 26, 2001, 85-year old Arthur Miller, one of the
country's best-known and prolific playwrights, delivered the National
Endowment for the Humanities 30th Jefferson Lecture to a capacity crowd
assembled in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington D.C.  Miller used
the occasion to give what one press report called  "a stinging attack" on
George W. Bush, Al Gore, the Supreme Court, and the press.  Another press
report characterized the lecture as  "a wicked analysis of the presidential
election."  In attendance were numerous members of the House of
Representatives and Senate, representatives from the diplomatic community,
and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Miller's opening line was a dry statement, matter-of-factly delivered:
"Here are some observations about politicians as actors." The lecture, aptly
entitled, "On Politics and the Art of Acting," was a personal reflection of
politicians as performers and how their action (and inaction) affects the
body politic. His theme - "we are ruled more by the arts of performance, by
acting in other words, than anybody wants to think about for very long."

It was obvious though that Miller had thought long and hard about his topic.
For about an hour, he criticized how both presidential contenders George W.
Bush and Al Gore portrayed themselves (with the assistance of the press) to
voters last year - both men, he said  tried to pretend that they were mere
common-folk when, in fact, they are part of the American political elite.
Following the speech, a reception was held in the Kennedy Center's South
Gallery where the room was abuzz about the lecture.

The next day, the conservative press, weighed in and attacked Miller's
lecture. The National Review (NR) for example, stated:  "It wasn't an
outright partisan attack, such as the kind found on the New York Times
editorial page...[but] Miller played the part of an artiste above the fray,
when in reality he made a series of anti-Republican comments that really
have no place in a forum supposedly devoted to humane learning...The
Jefferson Lecture should be removed from the swamp of politics, not knee
deep in it."

Previously, in a column published the day that Miller was scheduled to
deliver the Jefferson Lecture, NR editors called on the Bush administration
to replace NEH Chairman William Ferris whom they described as a "Clintonite
holdover." Hill insiders report, however, that Ferris has the strong support
of Mississippi senators Trent Lott (the Senate Majority Leader) and Thad and
Cochran both of whom, in spite of Ferris being appointed by President Bill
Clinton, are urging President George W. Bush to have him continue in his
role as NEH Chair.

The more liberal New Republic (TNR) magazine, however, in its April 2, 2001
issue (also published prior to the delivery of the Jefferson Lecture)
reports that the White House may indeed be considering candidates other than
Ferris. "We are delighted to learn, that one of the leading candidates under
consideration [to become the new NEH Chair] is Peter Berkowitz, a TNR
contributing editor and one of the country's most distinguished authorities
on the traditions of liberal democracy." Berkowitz is author of the book
"Nietzsche: The Ethics of an Immoralist" and writes periodically for TNR.
According to its editorial pages, "the NEH could do with a restoration of
its intellectual left."

By agreement with Mr. Miller who holds the copyright to the Jefferson
Lecture, copies of his speech will not be available in hard copy format or
on-line until it is published in a NEH publication.  It is expected to be
posted on the NEH web page in a few weeks.

3. NEH NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETS - ADDRESSES LONG-TERM PROJECTS ISSUE
On the morning of March 27, 2001, the open session portion of the 134th
meeting of the National Endowment for the Humanities National Council on the
Humanities was held at the Old Post Office Building in Washington D.C.
After calling the meeting to order, NEH Chairman William Ferris, in his
report discussed a variety of NEH programs and activities currently
underway. He welcomed ten new members to the Council and a motion
unanimously passed thanking the retiring members for their past service. He
also recognized several long-time NEH staffers who will be retiring in the
coming months.

Ferris announced that the 35th anniversary of the NEH will be celebrated on
June 21 at a reception to be held at the Library of Congress. A
commemorative book, "Rediscovering America" (with a forward by Stephen
Ambrose) - a coffee-table book highlighting NEH programs and activities -
has been published. Ferris also noted that the first full cycle of the
"Extending the Reach" initiative has been recently concluded and the first
planning grants to 19 states for the "On-line Encyclopedia" project have
been awarded. The chairman also announced that the NEH has launched an
on-line giving "E-philanthropy program" on the NEH web page at:
<http://www.neh.gov>.

John Roberts, Deputy Director of the NEH and acting Director of the Office
of Governmental Affairs reported on recent political developments in
Congress that may impact the NEH budget for FY-2002.  He announced that in
the President's budget blueprint, the NEH is slotted for "level funding"
with the possibility of a small increase to cover anticipated increases in
personnel costs. Following a fascinating presentation by historian Gwendolyn
Midlo Hall on databases for the study of Afro-Louisiana history and
genealogy, the various committee chairs made their reports.

Peggy Prenshaw delivered the Research Programs report that focused on the
"Long-term projects" issue. She stated that the Committee considered a
"portfolio analysis" prepared by NEH staff that analyzed data relating to
some 58 scholarly edition projects. The analysis assessed average funding
per project and projected funding needs for the future. The results
surprised some: One finding is that about $3 million is earmarked for
scholarly editions projects each year and that the expenditures do not seem
to detrimentally impact funding for new projects. Another finding was that
about a quarter of the projects currently receiving NEH support are "new"
projects - having been funded since 1997.  Finally, some concern was raised
that the number of applicants is down. Some committee members speculated
that the controversy over the "long-term project" issue may have served as a
deterrent to institutions to take the time to submit and an application to
the NEH.  At the next National Council meeting scheduled for July 12-13, the
Committee will consider a revised report which will include guideline
principles for administering the scholarly edition projects program. Ira
Berlin, who sits on the Research Committee stated he felt things were
"moving in the right direction."

The Education, Preservation Access, Public Programs, and Federal/State
Partnership Committee chairs reported on a series of grants received by the
NEH to support a variety of programs. To mention a few highlights in their
reports - a Request-for-Proposals (RFP) has been issued by the Public
Programs division to develop a after-school program and "Extending the
Reach" workshops have been delivered in a number of cities.

Finally, Ira Berlin, Chair of the Jefferson Lecture Committee, reported that
over 100 candidates had been considered by the Committee for the 2002
Jefferson Lecturer and that the list of candidates had been culled down to
18.  He stated that the full National Council would consider the names of
yet a smaller list in closed Executive Session. Later that afternoon, a name
was recommended to the Chairman for his consideration. Berlin stated that he
hoped that the 2002 Jefferson Lecture would be equal to the "brilliant
insights" of the last several lecturers.

4. TASINI CASE ARGUMENTS HEARD BY SUPREME COURT
On March 28, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the appeal
by the New York Times Company and other publishers arising out of the 1993
cyber-piracy case, New York Times v. Tasini.  At issue is whether publishers
can reproduce, distribute, and sell complete issues of a collected work
(such as a newspaper) without infringing on the rights of freelance writers
who contributed individual articles.  The decision has little relevance for
freelance authors today as since the mid-1990s, publishers generally have
required freelancers to waive their copyright in any electronic
republication. If the publishers lose, however, they face the prospect of
financial liability for past copyright infringements.  Damages for
intentional copyright violators can be up to $30,000 per offense with
incidental violations costing publishers from between $250 to $10,000 per
violation.

Attorneys for the writers argued that under provisions of the Copyright Act
of 1976,  free-lance writers, authors, photographers, and illustrators who
have not specifically waived their copyright rights should be paid secondary
royalties because publishers have sold and profited from sale of copies of
their articles through computerized data bases such as Lexis/Nexis.
Historians and archivists are concerned as if the decision in favor of
Tasini is upheld, wholesale deletions of up to 100,000 articles from
existing historical databases and archives may be required.

Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, represented the publishers and
Washington lawyer Laurence Gold represented the writers who are led by
Jonathan Tasini, President of the National Writers Union.

Questions posed by the justices centered on trying to pinpoint the moment
when an infringement may have occurred: Does it occur when the publisher of
a newspaper sent the paper edition to a database company, when it was coded
into specific pieces, or when a subscriber bought an article? On this point,
both sides were subjected to intense questioning by the justices.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer said that he was disturbed by what he called the
"Chinese cultural revolution argument"-  that if the Court finds for the
writers, archives of 20th century history and literature might disappear
(Some analysts believe that publishers might purge their electronic
databases of freelance materials rather than go the bother and expense of
tracking down writers and attempt to negotiate individual contracts).
Historians, archivists, and librarians submitted Amicus briefs on behalf of
both the writers and publishers.  Ellen Schrecker of Yeshiva University and
Stanley Katz of Princeton University in their Amicus brief, for example,
argued that even if electronic databases were to disappear, archives of
original newspapers and magazines would still be available to scholars.
Justice Breyer seemed concerned that because electronic databases were the
wave of the future, that students of the future may not have easy access to
such paper archives.

Court observers note that the outcome of this case will depend on what the
justices have to say about when and what constitutes an actual infringement.
Justice Breyer suggested, that if the infringement occurred when the
ultimate user downloaded the article, such use might be protected under the
"fair use" section of the copyright law. The Court is expected to rule on
the case sometime before its current term ends in early summer.

5. NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 - PASSING OF DEBRA BERNHARDT: Debra E. Bernhardt, a labor historian
who headed the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New
York University died of cancer March 25. She was 47 years old. As a public
historian, Dr. Bernhardt devoted her career to "documenting the
undocumented" (unsung men and women who built New York) as she characterized
her work. In addition, largely because of her efforts, in September 1998,
Union Square Park was declared a National Historic Landmark by the National
Park Service. The Square is considered "the cradle of American labor
history," and is the site of what was later recognized as the first labor
day parade. Debra will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to know
her.

Item #2 - NIXON MATERIALS RELEASE: The National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) announced that it will release approximately 100,000
pages of materials from the Nixon Presidential Materials Project on April 5.
The majority of the records scheduled for release are National Security
Council materials. The release also contains a small amount of information
from the White House Central files.  Since 1986, NARA has opened over 7
million pages of Nixon textual material.  A finding aid may be obtained by
calling (301) 713-6950.

Item #3 - ADVISORY COUNCIL ISSUES REPORT: The Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation has issued its "Report to the President and Congress" for
fiscal years 1998-1999. The report chronicles the various approaches the
Council has taken to encourage the Federal government to factor historic
preservation into its decisions that affect historic properties. The report
includes a detailed discussion about the diverse activities of the Council
in setting and advocating national policy for the use of historic
properties, improving Federal preservation programs, and advancing and
educating the public about historic preservation.  For a copy call (202)
606-8503. Additional information about the Advisory Council may be obtained
by tapping into their web site: <http://www.achp.gov>.

Item #4 - NCC BREAKFAST - 2nd NOTICE: The National Coordination Committee
for the Promotion of History will hold its breakfast briefing during the
meeting of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) in Los Angeles,
California, on April 27 from 7:30 to 9:00 am. The NCC Board meeting will
follow. Readers with an interest in the work of the NCC are invited to
attend the breakfast portion. Please contact Bruce Craig (rbcraig3@juno.com)
for details.  In addition, the NCC will host one of the OAH's experimental
"chat-rooms" on Sunday April 29 from 9 to 11 am. The chat room will provide
attendees with an opportunity to learn about the political process, ask
questions about pending legislation, appropriations, and the work of the
NCC. Consult the OAH program for additional details.

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