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Recently, the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, hired a computer expert to pose as a teenager in an Internet chat-room. His target was Spokane mayor Jim West, who was rumored to be offering favors to sex partners he met online. The sting has since met with sharp criticism from editors around the country. Spokesman-Review editor Steve Smith explains the story's genesis to Bob, and defends its execution.
We've heard plenty about the so-called digital divide in this country between haves and have-nots. But what about the digital divide between this country and the rest of the world? In the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs Magazine, Thomas Bleha argues that when it comes to developing the broadband infrastructure, the U.S. has fallen far behind Japan and other Asian nations. He makes his case for Brooke.
Nine years ago, Brewster Kahle embarked on a project of massive proportion - archiving the Internet. When Bob checked in on how the project is going, he learned that it has grown even more massive. Kahle doesn't want to archive just the Internet, he wants universal access to all information. And he says it can be done.
This week, the USDA unveiled a brand new food pyramid. Or rather, twelve new pyramids - the new icon is actually a stand-in for a web-based system that customizes dietary recommendations as per a person's age, weight, and fitness. Without Internet access, the pyramid doesn't communicate much at all. Except, as NYU nutrition professor Marion Nestle tells Brooke, a long history of food industry influence.
Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt have officially announced the summer launch of their new cable and satellite network. The creators of “current.tv” envision it as a news and information outlet specifically for young people and by young people. Programming chief David Neuman explains to Brooke how the network will embody the ideals of citizen journalism.
If all goes according to plan, the summer of 2006 will see Philadelphia become the largest wireless internet zone in the world. The citywide initiative will allow Philadelphians to affordably access internet as easily as they can any other public utility. Internet service providers have nearly sidetracked the project with legal challenges, but the city's chief information officer Dianah Neff explains to Brooke why the digital city's time has come. ARTIST: Weezer TRACK: Only in Dreams ALBUM: Weezer LABEL: Geffen BREAK II: ARTIST: Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel TRACK: Riding the Nuclear Tiger ALBUM: Riding the Nuclear Tiger LABEL: Palmetto Jazz
Normally, we hear about companies trying to maximize their exposure on Google. But not everybody wants in. Recently, the world's most popular search engine was slapped with a copyright lawsuit by the world's oldest news organization, Agence France-Presse. Essentially, AFP is charging Google with stealing its news content. As University of Virginia law professor Timothy Wu tells Brooke, it could signal the coming Balkanization of the Internet.
This month, the Associated Press advised its 17-hundred member news organizations that it will now offer two versions of many of its big news stories. The second version will be much the same as the original, except for its lead, which will be filled with imagery, narrative devices, and creative turns of phrase. The reason: Newspaper editors have expressed concern that readers increasingly see the wire stories they run in their papers a day earlier - on the Internet.
