TOP INDEPTH MEDIA REPORTING SLACKING

The War at Home
By David Harrison IPA Media

Three months after Sept. 11, many analysts are examining the domestic consequences of the "war on terrorism." In interviews conducted by the Institute for Public Accuracy, critics focused on the FBI's increased surveillance powers and the administration's boost to big business through a proposed "stimulus package."

Attorney General John Ashcroft "would like us to trust the FBI with sweeping new powers," said Nkechi Taicha, director of the Equal Justice Program at the Howard University School of Law. "This is the FBI that tried to disrupt and destroy numerous nonviolent organizations ranging from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador to Students for a Democratic Society. ... Although the claimed purpose of the Bureau's COINTELPRO [Counterintelligence Program] action -- which Ashcroft seems to want to revive and expand -- was to 'prevent violence,' many of the FBI's tactics were clearly intended to foster violence, and many others could reasonably have been expected to cause violence."

Fordham University associate professor of law Brian Glick, author of "War at Home: Covert Action Against U.S. Activists," points out that "Ashcroft is not just proposing to drop the limits for spying on violent organizations -- he wants to drop the limits, period. The FBI has a history of violating the legal limits; there is no telling what they might do without such limits. The document that launched the COINTELPRO operations against the black social movements directed FBI agents to 'disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise neutralize' dissident movements."

Chip Berlet, a senior analyst at Political Research Associates, warns that the enhanced surveillance measures could lead the FBI to more repressive measures. "Surveillance of dissidents across the political spectrum is now conducted through a loose network of government agencies, corporate security and private right-wing researchers," he said. "By re-establishing a dynamic where any dissident group can be secretly accused of being linked to terrorism, and subject to disruption, the government opens the door to domestic covert operations that in the past led to orchestrated confrontations and killings."

Meanwhile, Jim Redden, author of "Snitch Culture: How Citizens Are Turned Into the Eyes and Ears of the State," recalls that "there's a long and sordid history of government operatives committing the very crimes they are supposed to prevent and setting up dissidents with phony charges."

Micah Sifry, a senior analyst with Public Campaign addressed the $100 billion "stimulus package" proposed by President Bush. "At a time when the country is experiencing a renewal of solidarity and a sense of shared sacrifice, we're confronting the twin challenges of war and a declining economy. It's obscene that some of corporate America thinks this is the moment to cash in on all their access and influence in Congress with unwarranted tax rebates and unnecessary bailouts. By a margin of 56 to 32 percent, the public chooses increased government spending over new tax cuts, according to a Gallup Poll. But Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill says not to worry. The $100 billion House bill will provide 300,000 new jobs, he told the Sunday TV talk shows. That works out to $333,333 in corporate welfare for every new job. Rather than using the word stimulus, the bill should be called the Campaign Contributors War Profiteering Act of 2001."

Joan Claybrook, president of the advocacy organization Public Citizen, said: "While virtually everyone in the country saw Sept. 11 as an immense tragedy, many special interests saw it as a rich opportunity. They promptly sent hoards of lobbyists to swarm Capitol Hill to line up for all kinds of goodies. The airline industry was the first in line and got a $15 billion bailout package with no strings attached. It didn't even have to share the money with its workers. Other industries have followed suit. The insurance industry is pressing for the government to bail it out in future attacks, and other big businesses are seeking huge tax breaks in the pending stimulus package. Even the administration has jumped on the bandwagon by dramatically cutting civil liberties and trying to push fast track trade authority through Congress -- all under the guise of wartime necessity."

At the University of California at Santa Cruz, economics professor David Kaun brings up the question of war profiteering by military industries. "It wasn't that long ago -- the late 1800s and forward -- that the term 'war profiteering' impacted with a visible smudge upon those so labeled," he said. "After World War Two, 'arms merchants' became highly sophisticated, ceding the promotional role to our major universities and defense 'intellectuals.' Today, having been hit with the double-whammy of terrorism and recession, the old pejorative seems alive and well. It's full speed ahead with Star Wars ... accompanied with equally misguided tax breaks for the wealthy and permanent reductions in corporate taxes. Under the guise of security and stimulus, the Bush administration and House Republicans have taken the concept of 'profiteering' to broader and more obscene levels than ever before.

David Harrison is a writer with IPA Media, a project of the Institute for Public Accuracy (www.accuracy.org).


In The News…

The New Single Copy magazine, reports the most current retail class of trade breakout indicates that the three largest categories of sales outlets - Supermarkets, Discount Stores, and Bookstores - all increased their market share of magazine sales during last year. Total 2000 sales - $4,431,574,634

According to a MediaPost story The new relaunched TEEN magazine and website will focus on Shopping, Style and Celebrity, a dramatic departure from the traditional editorial formula most publishers are using to reach teen girls. In response to a year-long dialogue about what teen girls find most appealing in magazines, the editors have integrated an "Eye It, Buy It" mentality throughout the book and website.

News Services Offer Media Alternatives
The complaint is often heard that the conventional media offers nothing but a diet of gloom, doom and dysfunction. Many people do not know that local and national newspapers are largely dependent on international news services such as United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) for their stories. Now new media services based in Italy and the UK are now offering alternative stories to the conventional press. The Good News Agency based in Italy carries positive and constructive news from all over the world with stories related voluntary work, the United Nations and others. Positive News out of England features items about non-governmental organizations, and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life - news that doesn't "burn out" in the space of a day.

Other positive news sites worthy to check out for updates are:
Global Ideas Bank and:

The Hoot is a portal for media-related inquiry in the South Asian region. Devoted to "media practice, right to information, and issues of media ethics."

The World Social Forum - for the creation and exchange of social and economic projects that promote human rights, social justice and sustainable development. The event will take place every year in Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the same period as the World Economic Forum, which happens in Davos, Switzerland, at the end of January. In English, Portuguese, French & Spanish.
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PLANET WIRE provides information on international family planning, population, reproductive health and the environment. Offers media analyses on news coverage on these issues, daily headlines, and feature stories on how these issues relate to current events.


FCC RELEASES POLICY STATEMENT PROVIDING GUIDANCE TO BROADCASTERS REGARDING INDECENCY STATUTE Link will take you directly to the bureau's website posting. The policy Statement was issued Friday pursuant to a settlement agreement in a federal district court case.

Broadcasters that expect cable to carry multiple digital-TV signals need a new law, because Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell says he can't help them out. Even though the TV-station lobby has applied enormous pressure in pushing their view that "multicast" signals should receive cable carriage, the FCC has that the law guarantees carriage of just one broadcast signal.

Intellectual Property & Freelancers
by Janet Roberts, Associate Editor of List-Universe.com

A landmark intellectual-property case now before the United States Supreme Court pits six freelance writers against the Times, Newsday and Time magazine, the Lexis/Nexis database and University Microfilms. The case has the potential to redefine the relationship between freelance writers and the organizations which buy their work. How it will change depends on whether the Supremes come down for the writers or the buyers.

Media Trials & Trivial Relegation. eMediaNews duelink
There were only 11 trials against news outlets on libel, privacy and related claims in 2000, and media defendants won five of them, up from one-third of the trials in 1999, according to the New York-based Libel Defense Resource Center. Read more in our eMediaNews Journalism Section.

Despite Ratings Fall, CNN Won't Falter Chicago Tribune
That's the word from TV veteran Jamie Kellner, who last week was put in charge of running the sprawling television operations at AOL Time Warner Inc., new parent of CNN.

Coin Toss Decides Supreme Court Lawyer for Freelancers' Case Inside.com
In the legal battle against the New York Times and other publishers, the plaintiffs couldn't agree on who would argue their side. Barely two weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing arguments that will determine whether freelancers will receive royalties when publishers sell their articles to electronic databases, the plaintiffs finally chose a lawyer to argue their case -- by a coin toss. The winner of the legal sweepstakes in Tasini et al v. the New York Times Company et al is Laurence Gold of Washington, D.C.

Ex-President Clinton takes a swipe at the American media while attending a gala thrown by German journalists who last year awarded him a prize for his achievements as a statesman. The former President is currently touring Europe. SFgate.com

U.S. Election 2000 Florida Recount Cover-Up Exposed!
It was just yesterday's back page news in the American press however, investigative reporting about voting rights violations in the US have been page one news---in Britain. Journalist Gregory Palast who writes for the Observer and reports for the BBC is fighting mad about the disinterest shown by U.S. outlets in stories that are making waves worldwide. In advising and writing for MediaChannel.org Palast's story pulls no punches and he does name names. Palast tells us what happened to his reporting in the latest "free press whistleblower" grabber. A new series eMediaNews is uncovering. Send us your story! Click Here Please forward to colleagues.

Study projects worldwide set top box market to grow at 24% this year
Digital set-top box manufacturers and component suppliers should prepare for slower sales growth this year, according to the latest forecasts from industry consultants, Strategy Analytics. New digital TV set-top box installations in 2000 reached 27.5 million units worldwide, a growth rate of 51%. This year's volume is predicted to reach 34.2 million units, equivalent to 24% growth. The slowdown is blamed partly on the "Sky" effect: the digital transition of BSkyB's UK operation is nearly complete, and fewer set-top boxes will be needed during the coming year. Click Here

Interactive digital TV will reach 625 million viewers by 2005, according to Strategy Analytics research
Source: Strategy Analytics. Television will never be the same again. According to the latest research from industry consultants, Strategy Analytics, 625 million people around the world will have access to online services on their TV sets by 2005, including online shopping, banking, games, information and interactive entertainment services. Click Here

TV losing audience to the Internet
Two new studies confirm that every television executive’s modern nightmare is coming true: the Internet is affecting TV viewing time.

The first study, a report from Arbitron and Edison Media Research, found that one third of people in the US with home Internet access would sacrifice their television before their Internet connection.

Even more of those aged between 12 and 24 would give up television before the Internet—47 percent said they would choose the Internet above television.

The other report, from Statistical Research, found that, of those who watch television and use the Internet during primetime, 80 percent say that using the Web is their primary activity. Outside primetime, two-thirds say their attention is more on the PC than the TV.

That study also found that 10 percent of those surveyed had used the Internet and watched television at the same time on the day before they were polled.


The Web is fast becoming the main source of information for journalists, according to a new study.

In a survey conducted for PR firm Burson-Marstelle, over one-third of reporters said the Internet is their first point of reference when researching a story. Only a quarter said they would first turn to their company's archives or library for information.

Reporters now spend a substantial amount of their working week online—40 percent of respondents to the survey said they spent an average of 4 to 10 hours per week using the Internet for research and fact-checking. Another 40 percent said that they use the Net for 11 hours or more per week.

Overall, journalists trust the information they find on the Web, with 57 percent believing that the Internet is as reliable as other references. Over 60 percent of respondents said they trust information provided by the online versions of traditional media publications, while 60 percent believe the information on corporate websites is reliable.

The survey showed that journalists use the Internet as more than just a research tool. Almost half (46 percent) have conducted entire interviews via email, while 31 percent have participated in online press conferences.

Although journalists are relying more on the Internet as a source of information, PR firms have yet to capitalize on using the Net as a way to get their press releases in the public domain. Roughly a quarter of the reporters polled said they received 10 or more press releases by email every week. Of those reporters, only 53 percent said they open most PR emails, and 23 percent said they read very few.

ZDnet article on Internet and Broadcast Radio Growing partnership. Internet Week



Knowledge@Wharton Special to CNET News.com
What's holding up media convergence?
Convergence--a buzzword much employed in certain circles--is a lot like the weather: Everybody's talking about it, no one can control it, and how you prepare for it depends on where you are.




Ted Turner Wants Assurance Journalistic Freedom From Putin on Deal for NTV American media tycoon Ted Turner and a group of investors have agreed to a $300 million deal that would keep Russia's sole independent television network out of government hands, but only if President Vladimir Putin personally promises Turner he will not shut the network down, company officials said today. MORE

Under Reported News
Green power in the red. Salon Feature Story
How the Electricity deregulation crises is bankrupting California's fledgling eco-friendly energy industry. MORE

The Florida-recount story on-going proved the public has a taste for substance. But will the media follow through?... Boston Globe

Full Text of George W. Bush's inaugural address CLICK HERE eMediaNews U.S. Government Section

MSNBC Report on Clinton's Legacy CLICK CLINTON

- - - - - - - - - - - - CNET reports
STREAMING TECHNOLOGY EFFORTS MISSING PARTICIPATION OF MAJORS Apple Computer and a raft of high-tech heavyweights have joined forces to promote open standards in the bitterly divided world of streaming media, but market leaders RealNetworks and Microsoft aren't playing ball yet. more info http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4157183.html

Older Stories Repeat

Q MAGAZINE ACQUIRES NEW EDITOR by Jessica Hodgson Smash Hits editor John McKie has been appointed as the new editor of Q magazine, ending months of uncertainty following the departure this summer of Andy Pemberton.more info http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,411885,00.html

HOW TO IMPROVE ON THE FEATS OF NETWORK NEWS

By Norman Solomon



One of the great paradoxes of modern journalism is that unusual and extraordinary events seem to be the most newsworthy -- but in the long run, key realities of our lives are shaped by what's usual and ordinary.

The news coverage filling our screens is routinely the product of haste, with little exploration beyond the surface. Generally, the sizzle of the moment prevails -- which is understandable, since novelties tend to be more captivating than chronic situations. But over time, barraged with accounts of the atypical, our society can easily lose sight of what matters most.

"When a dog bites a man, that's not news, because it happens so often," journalist John Bogart commented many decades ago. "But if a man bites a dog, that is news." This assumption is apt to sound like common sense. It's certainly common -- but is it really sensible? After all, we have much more reason to be concerned about dogs biting people than the other way around.

If something happens all the time, it's unlikely to be "news" -- but it ultimately may be far more significant than the latest sensation. In recent weeks, American television has shown what it can do when the stakes are obviously high and the story is complex. For more than a month now, the intensity of post-election coverage has been remarkable -- especially on the nation's cable news channels. From West Palm Beach, Miami and Tallahassee to Austin and Washington, the biggest TV outlets have used state-of-the-art technologies to bring us vivid accounts of dramatic history in the making. Now, let's imagine what could happen if the great powers of the networks concentrated on cumulatively momentous day-to-day events that usually get scant media attention. Next year, the reportage might sound something like this:

* "Welcome to our continuing coverage of 'Malnutrition 2001.' As widespread hunger in America wears on, news analysts wonder if the country is beginning to run out of patience. How long can the public accept delays in resolving this crisis while millions of children keep going to bed hungry? With the latest developments..."

* "Joining us now on another special broadcast of 'National Health Crisis' are investigators who've been examining why upwards of 42 million Americans -- 15 percent of the population -- still don't have health insurance. We'll also hear some harrowing examples of what this has meant during the last few hours, in human terms, at clinics and hospitals across the country..."

* "Welcome to 'Poverty 2001: America's Children Held Hostage.' Tonight, a series of reports from the frontlines where kids are the first casualties. Among those most affected by grievous inequities are black youngsters. Nearly 50 percent of them are living below the official poverty line..."

* "Cruel and usual punishment continued today in the nation's jails and prisons, where some 2 million people remain behind bars. Meanwhile, experts say the evidence of institutionalized racism is clear. As one defense attorney put it, 'African Americans constitute 14 percent of drug users nationally but represent 35 percent of drug arrests, 55 percent of drug convictions and 75 percent of prison admissions.' One out of every 35 black people in the United States is now incarcerated. For the latest on this phenomenal story, we go to our team of correspondents, starting with..."

* "Clinics and emergency rooms are filled again tonight as a perennial epidemic of domestic violence continues to afflict American households. All kinds of people are suffering as a result, but the overwhelming preponderance of the victims are women and children. Stay tuned for this special report, 'The War At Home: Counting the Casualties'..."

* "Thousands of Americans were injured on the job again today, and some of the mishaps turned out to be deadly. We have on-the-spot reports from correspondents at hospitals across the nation..."

And so it could go, with networks defining big news to include what affects large numbers of people on a daily basis. But we're accustomed to a very different approach: Stories about singular events keep preoccupying media outlets and commanding our attention.

_________________________________________________

Norman Solomon is a syndicated columnist. His latest book is "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media."

Net Election: The Web Is In, TV Is Out

THE STANDARD's Cover Story By Ronna Abramson. The Supreme Court will post to its Web site all legal briefings in the Florida election case. And audiotapes will be given to the media on an 'expedited basis.' But TV cameras are barred. more info

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December CYBERALERT catches media in the political fray. more info


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- AT&T Corp. has agreed to sell The Salt Lake Tribune to MediaNews Group Inc., but managers of Utah's largest newspaper sued to block the deal.more info

- Denmark's largest media group, Berlingske, is being purchased by Orkla ASA, a Norwegian food, chemical and media conglomerate.

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A DIRE SHORTAGE OF PRE-INAUGURAL SCHLOCK



By Norman Solomon

Many pundits are worried about the delay in finding out who will become the next occupant of the Oval Office. "That's probably the most crippling blow I've ever seen to a new president," David Gergen lamented on national television. Whoever the next chief executive turns out to be, he has "been denied or robbed of the romance that we have that we associate with the selection of a new president, the crowning of a new president."

For decades, Gergen has spun through the revolving door between government and media elites, working as an image-crafter for presidents and as a commentator for major news organizations. He understands vital dynamics of propaganda. So, it's no surprise that Gergen sounded distraught the other night when he declared: "There's always been an anointment process as we lift that figure up and put him up on a pedestal. There's no pedestal with this election."

Appearing with Gergen on CNN, a reporter for Time was quick to add: "I think David's absolutely right that, you know, at the magazine and other news outlets we're so used to this being a honeymoon period, roll out the red carpet, get into the biography, let's look at who's this next great president."

Indeed. It's a hoary media ritual -- so deeply ingrained that journalists don't seem the least bit embarrassed when they use fawning terms like "romance," "put him up on a pedestal" and "roll out the red carpet" to describe their usual approach. As a matter of time-honored routine, from early November to Jan. 20, the president-elect basks in the mythic lights of intense media glory.

A dozen years ago, a dazzling blaze of deification accompanied George Bush the elder as he moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. On inauguration day, few eyebrows were raised when the New York Times strained to set the proper tone on its front page. "George Bush embodies the patrician ideal of responsibility begotten by privilege," reporter R.W. Apple Jr. wrote, an "American tradition reaching back through the many presidents more at home in mansions than log cabins, from Washington of Mount Vernon to Jefferson of Monticello to Roosevelt of Hyde Park."

Days later, in the nation's largest-circulation news magazine, Time's Michael Kramer was slinging the sanitized manure with the best as he narrated the inaugural moments for posterity: "Kind words. Gentle words. Nothing flashy or particularly memorable. Just good, plain talk from the heart." And, as if to reassure Americans that no imposter had reached the throne, Kramer explained: "Perhaps it was only the trappings, but George Bush finally looked presidential."

Ordinarily, the transition involves a media process by which Americans are encouraged to believe that the dubious fellow becoming president has swiftly ascended to historic heavens. The rocketing rhetoric often overheats.

When voters elected a new president in 1992, numerous media outlets seized on fabulous prophesy in footage of 16-year-old Bill shaking hands with President John Kennedy on a sun-drenched White House lawn. Newsweek made ecstatic noises about "JFK reaching across the years to a boy he did not know -- and to whom the torch of leadership now passes in an emphatic statement of America's desire for change."

After 10 weeks of obsequious blather in mainstream news outlets, the president-elect has usually been able to count on a profuse overflow of media adulation saturating his inauguration. But this time around, frustration is growing among journalists who yearn to tell fanciful tales and put out political versions of Hallmark cards. Post-election events continue to preempt the standard unctuous reporting.

In the next couple of months, the amount of syrupy media swill about the incoming president's greatness is apt to be significantly curtailed. Schlockmeisters are wringing their hands -- but the rest of us ought to applaud.



"Our presidents at their inaugurals...make us the dupes of our hopes," the incisive journalist I.F. Stone wrote in early 1969. Today, as in previous decades, countless reporters and commentators are eager to assist in the duping. But right now the task looks difficult.

_________________________________________________ Norman Solomon is a syndicated columnist. His latest book is "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media."

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WORLD NEWS LEADS



1. Puppet Theatre to explore Voter Awareness - Tanzania - Small World Theatre (SWT) collaborated with Tanzanian performers to find out what prevents people, particularly women in poor communities, from participating in the election. They used participatory theatre as a research tool and introduced life size puppets of women, enabling people living in poor communities around Dar es Salaam to create stories which reflected their lives. These became part of performances which actors replayed to larger audiences in those communities. Audiences joined in, argued with the characters and each other and explored the nature of democracy. http://smallworld.org.uk Contact Ann Shrosbee smallworld@enterprise.net

2. Internet Chat with Young People on Polio - Africa - an Internet Chat (June 2000) of young polio eradication volunteers in Angola, The Gambia, Niger, and Nigeria. Participants reported that poverty and insecurity are affecting peoples' reactions to the vaccination efforts. Also noted that eradication effort benefits from creative use of media, including public "shouters", popular singers, messages at sports events, etc. Contact Sophie Helle-Neyreneuf shelleneyreneuf@unicef.org

3. "Tuned in to Gender Equity" - Central America - 20 producers of community radio, audio production centres and collectives met in Costa Rica to share experiences and design strategies and actions towards the inclusion of a gender perspective in their work. From Oct 8-12, colleagues from Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua assessed the status of gender equity in radio in the region. Live clips from the workshop were broadcast for the local audience on FIRE?s program "Esta Legal" in Radio America, and internationally on FIRE?s Web Radio. Contact firecr@sol.racsa.co.cr

4. Youth Assembly - Bihar - a 3 day assembly concluded in Patna with the release of the Patna Youth Charter. Over 100 youth leaders and activists from 37 districts participated. They identified and deliberated on 10 issues that confront Bihar today. The Charter urges the Government and people of Bihar to treat every working child as a "priority attention citizen". It demands a society that is human rights centered, with amendments to the rules and regulations of the state in accordance with CRC and CEDAW, all-out efforts in achieving health goals, speeding up of Panchayat elections, and implementation of "education guarantee schemes". Contact Augustine Veliath aveliath@unicef.org

5. World Comics Organisation - Global - a network for people to promote the use of comics as a means for social change and as a way to gain new insights into other cultures. World Comics has begun cooperation with groups and individuals in Tanzania, Kenya, India, Mozambique and the Republic of Mari El (Russian Federation). Activities include: training workshops for artists and activists to produce campaign comics; producing exhibitions of comics from different cultures; publishing a bulletin; promoting cooperation between groups and individuals active with campaign comics. Leif Packalen lpackalen@lpack.pp.fi

6. Communication Strategy - HIV/AIDS - Ghana - During a seminar coordinated by UNAIDS in Accra on Aug. 30, UN agencies, bilaterals, NGOs, University staff and government officials involved in communication for behavior and social change agreed that the Ghana National Oversight Committee on AIDS should outline the process for developing and implementing a communication strategy. Implementation of a consultation on this component of the national strategic plan will be supported by the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa. Contact Cynthia Eledu eledu@ighmail.com

7. Information Systems for the Gobi Regional Economic Growth Initiative - Mongolia - activities include: Gobi Business News Magasine - free, bilingual and published every 8 wks; Gobi Wave Information Center - an independent NGO reporting, producing and broadcasting over 100 mins of programming a week via longwave radio; Gobi Business News Radio - 15 min local programmes target herders eager to improve their business activities; and Business & Economic Information Training & Production. Contact Layton Croft layton@gobi.initiative.org.mn

8. World TB Day 2001 - Global - 'DOTS: TB cure for All' calls for equitable access to TB services for all who have TB, free from discrimination. Main objectives: 1) To mobilize political leaders and decision-makers about the situation of TB sufferers, the implications of TB for human development, and the fact that there is no excuse for inaction in the face of an available, cost-effective cure; 2) To raise awareness that a cure is available and that accessing and completing TB treatment is an important step in realizing one's right to the highest attainable standard of health and well-being. Contact Ian Smith smithi@who.ch

9. Teen Town Meetings - S. Africa - Bush Radio is hosting a series of teen town meetings to create a safe environment for youth to speak out and to each other about sexuality, safe sex, informed choices, HIV & AIDS. These are a lead up to their World AIDS Day, 1 Dec. 2000, HIV-HOP education and awareness concert sponsored by Voice of America (VOA). The next (and last) meeting, 24 Nov., will focus on people living with HIV/AIDS, treatments available and next steps. All meetings are broadcast live on Bush Radio 89.5 fm. Contact Michelle Cho michelle@bushradio.co.za

10. Call to Action Project of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation - Global - a programme to prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV by implementing interventions in the developing world. Funds provide for community mobilization/education, training of health care workers, HIV counseling and testing, antiretrovirals to prevent MTCT, diagnosis of HIV in children, and infant-feeding education. They support 18 sites in S. Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon and Thailand. APPLICATIONS are being accepted to support new initiatives. See http://www.pedaids.org Contact Chuck Hoblitzelle chuck@pedaids.org

11. "Saving Lives: Skilled Attendance at Childbirth" - Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, Bangladesh, Nepal, Botswana, Malaysia, Tunisia & Sri Lanka - Senior government officials and representatives from the UN and NGOs met 13-15 Nov. at a conference where national strategies were to be devised to reduce the number of deaths in pregnancy and childbirth. Sponsored by the Tunisian Ministry of Health and convened by the Safe Motherhood Inter-Agency Group (IAG). http://www.safemotherhood.org Contact smi@familycareintl.org

12. Canal 6 de Julio - Mexico - an independent video association producing documentaries. Issues include: human rights in Mexico, ethnic minorities, local and federal elections, neoliberalism in Mexico, the Chiapas state issue, guerrilla groups, civil rights movements, and historical essays. http://www.laneta.apc.org/canal6/ Contact canal6@laneta.apc.org.

ELECTION REPORTS

The TV news networks deserved their trip to the pillory for botching the Florida presidential call, with scores of newspapers ridiculing them for their Dewey Defeats Truman-sized error. But I'm not so sure about the sequel beatings. Rep. William Thomas, R-Calif., has announced plans to hold congressional hearings on the networks' debacle before the end of the year. Look for him to interrogate the subpoenaed network chiefs as if they're tobacco CEOs. Louisiana demagogue Billy Tauzin, who works a day job as a Republican member of the House, wants hearings of his own next year, but I doubt there will be much in the way of flailable meat for him to whack by the time Thomas is through. Or after the Annenberg, Pew, and Shorenstein fellows pick the network and VNS bones clean. -- -- Go to SlateReport

BRILLS CONTENT FIVE PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR TV NETWORK ELECTION COVERAGE BRILLS

OTHER REPORTS

Worldlingo The Language of Business has just completed a survey on over 200 of the world's top corporates in relation to their ability to answer foreign language email messages. The results were amazing, with only 9% of the companies surveyed able to respond. I have compiled a document that summarizes the results. I can send that to you if you are interested in writing an article on it. The survey can also be accessed atWORLDLINGO Links to the press releases are also provided. Please email Alastair for more information or reprint rights to story.

www.worldlingo.com alastair@worldlingo.com

RESEARCH REPORTS

Nielsen Media Research is announced the availability of the definitive guide to television viewing-- the 2000 Report on Television. The 2000 Report on Television evaluates trends in national and local viewing, including broadcast and cable viewership, syndication and viewing by demographics. Audience trends among children, teens and adults also are included, as well as program trends dating back to 1950. Our 2000 Report on Television is packed with easy-to-read charts and simple, clear explanations and summaries. More than 70 pages, it is the authoritative resource book about television viewing, from the authoritative source of television viewing measurement-- Go to NielsenMedia.com

TV Viewing in Internet Households The rapid growth of home Internet access in the U.S. and the continued capability of television to reach mass audiences is naturally giving rise to efforts by key media players to better understand how these two powerful media affect one another and how they can be used in concert as communications and advertising vehicles. In this free report available to the public, Manish Bhatia (Vice President - Interactive Services) examines this subject with the help of data comparisons from the 5,000 household Nielsen National People Meter Panel. He also draws from other research done by Nielsen Media Research to better understand cross-media consumption and its implications for sellers and buyers of advertising on TV and the Internet

NEWS ROUND-UP
Despite complaints about the poor sound quality associated with online radio, more Americans are tuning in. According to a new study released Friday by Arbitron and Edison Media Research, 20 percent of Americans ages 12 and older – or 45 million people – say they have listened to a radio station online. Two years ago, only 6 percent of the population said they had tuned in to an Internet broadcast.

The study's results are based on telephone and Web surveys of 17,708 Americans conducted in July and August.

Not only are traditional radio stations attracting audiences online, Internet-only broadcasters are gaining popularity. Thirty million Net surfers say they have listened to pure-play broadcasts. Almost half of them said they had tuned in to one during the past month.

Advertisers get more ear from a Net radio listener than they do from someone tuning in to a station on the radio. While radio listeners are notorious for being everywhere except in the room with the radio, surfers who listen to Internet radio are more likely to be at the computer and pay attention during a broadcast.

According to Arbitron, almost 25 percent of online radio listeners surf the broadcaster's Web site while tuning in. An additional 30 percent work at the computer while listening. And 27 percent surf other sites while the broadcast streams in the background.

Not only are online radio listeners close to the audio streams, they are more likely to act on them, the study found. Forty-six percent of Net radio listeners say they pay attention to streaming advertisements. Half of them give banner ads attention, and 44 percent say they have clicked on one in the past month. By comparison, only 30 percent of non-streaming users say they pay attention to banner ads.

Six in 10 streaming users have made an online purchase, and 27 percent of them did so during the past month, according to the study. Only 33 percent of non-streamers say they make purchases over the Net.

Streaming-media users made purchases from an average of seven Web sites during the past 12 months, spending an average of $768. Internet users who don't use streaming media bought from only four online retailers, spending an average of $600.

Half of Web broadcast listeners say they do most of their online shopping in the evenings and at home, which is when most streaming users listen to online audio broadcasts.

There is a potential to convert listeners to buyers on the spot, but the majority of streaming-media users don't currently see Net radio as a local advertising medium. Although most Net radio listeners tune in to broadcast stations that originate in their local area, they say newspapers and offline radio still provides them with the most local advertisements.


Web magazines begin to embrace traditional print roots NEW YORK, (Reuters) - A year ago traditional media companies were rushing to create an online presence, but in recent months several online publications have decided to go the opposite route and get some print exposure.
Wink, which bills itself as a multicultural fashion magazine, launched online about four months ago and recently came out with its first print publication.

Similarly, Space.com, run by former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, recently published a print bi-monthly magazine, Space Illustrated, and bought another print publication Space Business International.

"We are looking in the consumer and business fields and got our eye on two to three companies and publications," Space.com Editor-in-Chief Fred Abatemarco said, adding that the company plans to be aggressive with acquisitions in the print field.

Closely-held Powerful Media's Inside.com, an online news site focused on the media industry, also recently said it planned to introduce a print publication. On Monday, it named the new magazine's senior editorial team, which will be led by current Inside.com business editor Richard Siklos.

"The online world is realizing that there is a lot of power in the old brick and mortar stuff that we had thought had become of minimal significance," said Robert Hertzberger, analyst at Jupiter Communications. "Print has permanence and authority that online does not have."

The print world also offers tried and true business models that may be attractive to online media publications - many of which have struggled to find a model that will help them obtain profitability before investors lose fate in them, industry analysts said.

Several online publications, including TheStreet.com Inc. and Slate, published by Microsoft Corp., have tinkered with a subscription-based model and then decided to go back with a mostly free model with revenues coming primarily from advertising.

Some industry watchers, however, are not convinced the move is necessarily a smart one.

"I don't believe this is a trend. I think they are putting themselves into a very high-cost competitive marketplace where it will be much more difficult to differentiate themselves and build their brand," said Jack Myers of the Myers Report, adding that creating the same product on two different mediums is not necessarily going to work.

Executives at most of the online publications that have recently added a print version have said that a print version was always part of their strategies.

"The intention at Space.com all along had been to be a multimedia platform company so Space.com illustrated was very early on the drawing boards," Abatemarco said.

He added that the site and the print publication take completely different editorial approaches and complement each other, directing viewers who want to see visuals for the content they read on the site to the print publication and those who want more background on the visuals to the site.

"The magazine is a much more traditional feature writing and photo-driven product. The hallmark of it is visual vibrancy," Abatemarco said.

Wink magazine's founder and President Ralph Clermont echoed the same sentiment toward the magazine's print publication and said while it was more economical to launch the magazine online, a print version was always on the drawing board.

"Our idea with the Internet version was to create a community with similar values and with the print version we were able to celebrate the beauty of it. You just can't get the beauty (online) that you can get in print," Clermont said, adding that the magazine generates revenue primarily from advertising. "I think you need both versions."

NEWS ROUND-UP FREED JOURNALISTS SPEAK OF 'MENTAL TERROR' IN LIBERIAN JAIL LONDON (CNN) -- Three members of the four-member television crew accused of spying in Liberia arrived in Britain on Saturday and spoke of their terror after being arrested by Liberian authorities. more info

CLINTON PRAISES 'NEW NIGERIA' President Clinton has begun a four-day African tour with a visit to Nigeria to rebuild ties that were severed during years of what he called "military misrule and corruption". more info

JUDGE SAY CONJOINED TWIN SHOULD DIE TO SAVE SISTER LONDON (Reuters) -- A British High Court judge has ruled that a baby girl should die so that her conjoined twin sister can survive and probably live a healthy life. more info

BUSH CLAIMS U.S. SHOULD PAY LATIN AMERICA GREATER HEED DALLAS, Aug. 25 -- Charging that the Clinton administration had neglected Latin America, Gov. George W. Bush pledged today to put those countries at the center of his foreign policy agenda and outlined a way of thinking about the region that placed it on a par with American interests in Europe and Asia. more

Media Magic of the British Labour Party Campaign Slate Coverage

PANEL OUTLINES NEW VISION FOR UN PEACEKEEPING DEPARTMENT NYT UPDATE, 10:50 A.M. An international panel of experts called for an overhaul of the United Nations peacekeeping department if it is to confront effectively a new age of multiple civil wars and failed governments. more info

DEBBY DOWNGRADED TO TROPICAL STORM Hurricane Debby weakened today and was downgraded to a tropical storm, but forecasters say they expect it power up again later in the week as it nears the United States. Authorities in the Florida Keys ordered all non-residents to evacuate. more info

TYPHOON KILLS 11 IN TAIWAN, HITS CHINA TAIPEI (Reuters) - Typhoon Bilis ripped through Taiwan on Wednesday leaving at least 11 people dead including eight orchard workers buried by a mudslide in a central area still recovering from a devastating earthquake. more info

PUTIN ADMITS 'GUILT' FOR SUB DISASTER Russian President Vladmir Putin has said on state television that he feels responsible and guilty for the Kursk submarine disaster in which 118 sailors lost their lives. more info

MITSUBISHI ADMITS TO A BROAD COVER-UP OF DEFECTIVE AUTOS Mitsubishi Motors, Japan's No. 4 automaker, admitted that it had systematically concealed customer complaints about tens of thousands of defective automobiles since 1977. more info

WILDFIRES MAY CAUSE MORE MONTANA LAND CLOSURES (CNN) -- In response to Montana's increasing wildfire threat, the governor will decide today whether to close more state grasslands and forests to the public. more info