September
20, 2000 - Judge
Clears U.S. in Waco Case -
WACO, Texas (AP) _ A federal judge
cleared the government of any
wrongdoing in the deaths of 80 Branch
Davidians during the 1993 standoff
with federal agents at the cult's
compound. U.S. District Judge Walter
Smith's ruling, issued late Wednesday,
mirrors the conclusions an advisory
jury and Special Counsel John Danforth
reached in July. Both have said Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
agents and others were not responsible
for the deaths on the final day of a
51-day standoff. In his ruling
Wednesday, Smith said ATF agents acted
within the limits of the law and,
under the circumstances of the
standoff, could not be held liable...
September
21 2000 - Using
the Net to resuscitate education - In 1994 I gave a
talk to a bunch of journalists from magazines like Time,
Newsweek, Parenting, and Child about what the future would
hold for education and technology. I showed them snippets of
content from just-released CD-ROM education titles like
Reader Rabbit and Math Blaster. The audience oohed and ahhed,
and when I held up a bright, shiny CD and dramatically
pronounced that this was the future of education, I had them
entranced. In hindsight, my insight into the future was
about as shortsighted as Mr. Magoo's...
September
07 2000 - U.S. Postal, FedEx Discuss Alliance
- One day that Federal Express package may
arrive with your mail carrier. The Postal Service and FedEx are discussing ways they can work
together to save time and money for both. ``We're optimistic that we can reach an agreement, some sort of
strategic alliance,'' Postmaster General William Henderson said
Thursday...
Publishing Industry: towards the void?
- The publishing world is headed for
the what could be called the ‘second
wave’ of Desktop Publishing. During
the first wave, which started with the
arrival of the Macintosh, desktop page
layout tools and Postscript, most
publishing companies converted their
print production to computer -based
tools. Operations with complex
workflow problems, such as newspapers,
moved to or continued to use high-end
editorial systems - but this currently
concerns only a fraction of the
overall number of companies involved
in publishing...
INTERNET
SAPPING BROADCAST NEWS AUDIENCE
- Traditional news outlets are feeling
the impact of two distinct and
powerful trends. Internet news has not
only arrived, it is attracting key
segments of the national audience. At
the same time, growing numbers of
Americans are losing the news habit.
Fewer people say they enjoy following
the news, and fully half pay attention
to national news only when something
important is happening. And more
Americans than ever say they watch the
news with a remote control in hand,
ready to dispatch uninteresting
stories. To some extent, these trends
are affecting all traditional media,
but broadcast news outlets -- both
national and local -- have been the
most adversely affected...
Reports
by the Pew Research Center - "For
The People& the press" - They
are an independent opinion research
group, sponsored by The Pew Charitable
Trusts, that studies public attitudes
toward the press, politics and public
policy issues. The Center's main
purpose is to serve as a forum for
ideas on the media and public policy
through its research...
The
Changing Media Landscape -
The revolution in communications
technology is clearly changing the
way Americans live, and it has
created a highly competitive
environment for those who provide
news and information to the public.
Nearly seven-in-ten Americans (68%)
now use a computer on at least an
occasional basis, up from 61% in
1998 and 58% in 1996. Almost as many
have a computer in their home --
59%, up from 43% in 1998 and 36% in
1995...
Internet
News: More Log On, Tune Out - The same
demographic groups which are moving away from the
nightly network news in the greatest numbers are some of
the very same groups which are moving toward online news
use at the highest rates - more affluent, more
well-educated Americans...
Financial
News: Traders Turn to the Internet
- While the crowded landscape has
fragmented audiences, it has given
the most sophisticated and
technology-savvy news consumers an
array of options that would have
been inconceivable just a few years
ago. Americans who are active stock
traders and investors are perfectly
positioned to take advantage of
these choices...
Attitudes
Toward the News - The
decline in the number of Americans
who say they enjoy the news is a
continuation of a long-term trend.
In 1995, a majority (54%) said they
enjoyed keeping up with the news a
lot. That number fell to 50% in 1998
and 45% this year...
Media
Credibility - While
television news viewership has
fallen off in recent years,
credibility ratings for the major TV
news outlets have remained
relatively stable. As was the case
in 1998 and 1996, CNN is rated the
most believable TV news source.
Roughly four-in-ten Americans who
are able to rate it (39%) say they
can believe all or most of what they
see and hear on CNN...
ABOUT
THE SURVEYS - Results for the main survey on
Media Consumption are based on telephone interviews
conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey
Research Associates among a nationwide sample of 3,142
adults, 18 years of age or older, during the period
April 20-May 13, 2000. For results based on the total
sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is
plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. For results based
on either Form A (N=1,593) or Form B (N=1,549), the
sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points...
The
failure of new media The media
business has invested a lot of money
and hope in the Internet over the past
three years. So far, it has been a
disappointment. LAST year, NBC’s
Internet strategy was the envy of the
media world. The American broadcasting
network had started investing early
and amassed a portfolio of assets
while Internet share prices rocketed.
In November, it rolled them together
and floated them as NBC Internet...
What
the Internet cannot do - “IT
IS impossible that old prejudices and
hostilities should longer exist, while
such an instrument has been created
for the exchange of thought between
all the nations of the earth.” Thus
Victorian enthusiasts, acclaiming the
arrival in 1858 of the first
transatlantic telegraph cable. People
say that sort of thing about new
technologies, even today.
Biotechnology is said to be the cure
for world hunger. The sequencing of
the human genome will supposedly
eradicate cancer and other diseases.
The wildest optimism, though, has
greeted the Internet. A whole industry
of cybergurus has enthralled audiences
(and made a fine living) with
exuberant claims that the Internet
will prevent wars, reduce pollution,
and combat various forms of
inequality. However, although the
Internet is still young enough to
inspire idealism, it has also been
around long enough to test whether the
prophets can be right...
