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AN A-LIST OF INDEPENDENT NEWS PUBLISHERS SURPASS MEDIA GIANTS IN ETHICS AND COVERAGE By Judith Haney USNEWSLINK/September 23, 2001 On September 11, 2001, around 9 a.m. EST, I was working on my computer updating USNEWSLINK. My television was turned on with the sound muted. The TV set was inside my peripheral vision, positioned to my right, and viewable with a slight turn of my head. Out of the corner of my eye, the smoke and flames coming from the World Trade Center caught my attention. I turned the volume up to catch what was happening. As I suddenly comprehended what I was seeing, I began to write about it and post it on USNEWSLINK. Since those eventful minutes, Internet subscribers throughout the world have come to rely upon independent Internet news web sites as a valuable, often singular, source of comprehensive coverage of America's war on terrorism. The daunting responsibility of Internet news providers is to get it fast and get it right. In contrast to international media giants coverage of the war, USNEWSLINK's goal and philosophy is to respect and enhance the lives of readers of all ages while delivering fast breaking, often horrifying news. A core sense of ethics, values, taste, and purpose is reflected in the site's content and presentation of complex information. Having been designated a Study Web for grades 6-12, USNEWSLINK has set a policy wherein it will not publish pictures of corpses, carnage, offensive graphics, or other content that may potentially harm the minds and memories of the hundreds of students who visit the site each day. In contrast to USNEWSLINK's personal touch in delivering information, Robert W. McChesney writes, "In recent years, the massive media corporations that have gobbled up our news media have shown a willingness to put direct commercial pressure on journalists to generate more profits (Condit, anyone?) and a willingness to intervene to shape the nature of news coverage. " (Read: "Media too influenced by their corporate owners") "On Election Day 2000, Republican Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel called George Bush the winner of Florida in the middle of the night, despite the lack of statistical support for such a claim. There are reports that moments later, General Electric CEO Jack Welch, an ardent Republican, was in the NBC newsroom (GE owns NBC) demanding that NBC follow suit and declare Bush the new president, " according to McChesney. An example of tasteless, irresponsible, web news coverage is the Drudge Report, owned by a self-promoter named Matt Drudge. Currently, at the time of this writing, the site is spreading an unsubstantiated rumor about Oracle providing national ID's to Americans. The misleading headline featured prominently in red on the site takes the reader to an Internet chat room where it becomes immediately apparent that the information about Oracle is second and third person gossip, not factually based. And, in addition to media giants and the web aberrations, i.e., the Drudge Report, political web sites, such as BuzzFlash.com on the left, and TooGoodReports.com, on the right, serve the public in unique, valuable ways. They are well connected to Washington, DC, insiders and they incite legitimate debate, focusing on specific public issues. These web sites frequently delve beneath the surface of TV sound bite coverage to provide comprehensive coverage of the days events. A stand-out among the mix of prominent political sites is the well laid out, irreverent, CapitolHillBlue.com, who bravely touts it's core philosophy, "Because nobody's life, liberty or property is safe while Congress is in session." Most, if not all, independent Internet news sites are funded from the hip pockets of their publishers. These sites are not profitable endeavors, they are labors of love. And they deserve to be profitable in order to continue serving their readership. In order to achieve profitability and longevity, we predict that one day, in the not too distant future, some of the more successful independently owned news sites will merge and begin to dominate web based news and information altogether. Mass media giants will give up their unprofitable Internet turf in exchange for global cable markets leaving a void for independent publishers to fill. Within the past four years, through sheer determination and will, USNEWSLINK has outlasted it's competition and critics. And in viewing the future, USNEWSLINK, established in 1997, is certain to play a prominent role in setting the tone and raising the bar for ethics and content for all legitimate independent Internet news providers. This goal is very important and we intend to hold fast to it. In the final analysis, independent Internet news publishers who seize the moment to bring the war on terrorism into the homes of a world-wide audience will reap substantial rewards and recognition through the years as early pioneers of web based news and information for a global audience. |
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