Internet Press Guild Formed
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Contact: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Chairman
7214 Sunrise Drive
Lanham, MD 20706
sj...@access.digex.net
IPG World Wide Web Site: http://www.netpress.org/ipg/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Internet Press Guild Formed to Promote Accurate Internet Reporting
(Lanham, MD) 5 April 1996 -- Writers, editors, and analysts from
around the world are uniting to take a stand against shoddy,
inaccurate reporting about the Internet. The Internet Press Guild
(IPG)--consisting of net experts from such prestigious publications as
Byte, I-Way, Internet Life, Internet World, NetGuide, and The
Washington Post--is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting
accuracy and excellence in reporting on and about the Internet.
"Freedom of the press is threatened now not only by government, but by
misinformation about the newfangled printing press that we call the
Internet," says Mr. Vaughan-Nichols, IPG chairman. "As members of the
IPG, we strive to promote the highest standards of honest, fair
reporting about the online world."
The IPG will serve as an information clearinghouse for all the hapless
reporters out there who are being told to write about the net, but
have no idea where to begin. Other services to be provided by the IPG
are a basic history of the development of the net, a style guide of
net terminology, and links to various topics of interest to net
journalists. The Guild will post examples of both laudable and
laughable examples of net journalism as a means of educating and
supporting its peers.
The Guild also provides its members the opportunity to interact via an
electronic mailing list, where writers, editors, and analysts can
discuss issues related to net journalism, and take action where
appropriate. For instance, the IPG recently joined the Center for
Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org/) lawsuit to combat the
Communications Decency Act (CDA), which inhibits the ability of
journalists at online publications to do their jobs and is thus a
violation of the Constitutional right to a free press.
Current Guild members include expert writers and editors from Internet
publications in print and online, as well as top-notch net analysts.
Writers and editors for net-related publications, net analysts, and
journalists in the mainstream press who write frequently about the
Internet are encouraged to apply for membership. Eventually, the IPG
will begin presenting an annual award for excellence in net reporting
to honor a member of the press whose output is consistently accurate,
informative, and useful to an increasingly wired citizenry.
Membership requirements are listed at the IPG's World Wide Web site at
http://www.netpress.org/ipg/. Chairman Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols can
be reached via e-mail at sj...@access.digex.net.
[END PRESS RELEASE TEXT]
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols sj...@access.digex.net
Contributing Editor - I-Way
QOTD: "The truth is out there--just don't have any high hopes of
finding it on Usenet."--sjvn