IP: newshour hotlink --

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

From: hfyfield () portweb com (H. Fyfield)


I am intrigued by the PBS Newshour's Background Briefing webpage for April
15, 1996, entitled Security and Defense. The page is a transcript of
Elizabeth Farnsworth's interview with Doi,Johnson and Nye.


What interests me is the hotlink in the first paragraph entitled
"US-Japanese relations", which is a link to the MOFA homepage. PBS,
knowingly or otherwise, thereby cedes the crucial role of defining the
'relationship' to MOFA. And strategic media advantage is subtly shifted as
a result.


By what process is a decision to create such a link like this made? By
design? By accident? By whom? Is there a larger issue here? Does it matter?




My own view is that it matters a great deal. Imagine NHK linking such a key
definitional site directly to USTR or Commerce...see what I mean?


Herb Fyfield
hfyfield () portweb com