WELCOME November 30, 1998 Issue

To Our Readers

Russ Gerber

Someone once compared the news media to riding a horse. Lead it in the direction you want it to go, and it will serve you; otherwise, it takes you where it wants to go in order to serve itself. News viewers, readers, listeners, and many media professionals say the time has come to exercise greater control and to bring about a shift in the direction and use of journalism today.

But that's a big horse. Merely complaining about too much cynicism and spectacle hasn't altered the direction of the media establishment noticeably, if at all. Neither has indifference. So, what needs to happen?

Perhaps precisely what is happening right before our eyes. People are, in some respects, taking the reins. They're practicing more self-government. Some news users are exercising greater control by seeking out alternatives to the usual fare of the mainstream press. Thanks to the Interest and some online services, for example, it's now possible to customize a news menu for yourself. If you want to receive only business news (or entertainment stories, or sports headlines, or weather updates) via your online service, you can with just the click of a mouse. Or, if you'd like to have a news summary first thing in the morning via e-mail, that's not a problem. (In fact, The Christian Science Monitor offers an electronic news-in-brief service, which supports the long-standing purpose of the newspaper "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.")

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