LETTERS

THE NEWS WARS

"It is not the number of news providers that matters, it is the content they carry. What is truth and what is fiction?" TOM CHILDS Columbus, Ohio

I've been an avid TIME reader for almost 20 years (I'm 31), and I look forward to reading your magazine for many years to come. I could have answered the question on the cover [BUSINESS, Oct. 21], "Is more news good news?," in one word: No. I am exhausted by the inundation of news and information from newspapers and cable-television news programs, sifting through ads and information that are worthless to me. By the time I come across something worthwhile, it has only half my attention. By the time an item on television has my whole attention, it's half over. Is it my fault or theirs? ROBERT WILSON Kansas City, Kansas

Your story on the news wars reflects the pervasive mistrust and cynicism in our society. Media, including TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, are facing the same obstacles as politicians. Both are victims of their own undoing. If you want to know why dwindling attention is being paid to traditional news sources, look to the money, power and special interests that control them and the political apparatus. In my community, the two main newspapers are part of the same conglomerate. Can we really expect unbiased news? When we can't be sure, we turn to other news sources. TOM BURNSIDE Cincinnati, Ohio Via E-mail

As an ex-news junkie, I can testify that my mental health soared when I just said no to four hours of radio news, two papers and other assorted information fixes. You don't need to know everything about everybody. JAMIS H. MACNIVEN Woodside, California

Attention, Tom, Dan and Peter: I want news, real news, not features. I don't want In Depth, In Their Own Words, Person of the Week, Health News or Fixing America. The practice of stringing a lot of pseudo news items together has made me leave the television networks. So long, guys. LYNNE MORGAN Nashville, Tennessee

It is disappointing and alarming that you dwelled so heavily on the money to be made in reporting the news. National news broadcasting has become a popularity contest and is no longer a race to be first on the air with the story. If the impetus behind reporting the news has moved from datelines to the bottom line, it is up to the American public to cry out for objectivity. When I feel a need to be truly and forthrightly updated on the happenings of the world and my area, I tune in to National Public Radio. CONN SCHRADER Queensbury, New York

THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPERS

Though your article "Read All About It" was compelling, it missed the mark badly with regard to the health of the newspaper industry [BUSINESS, Oct. 21]. Newspapers provide news and information with detail, depth and a connection to readers' local communities that are unmatched by any other news medium. Daily readership today, at 64.2%, is comparable to what it was in 1985, and Sunday readership has actually grown consistently over the past 20 years to its current level of 72.6%. Although 1995 saw the closing of several papers, that was largely the result of the high cost of newsprint, the single largest expense, and not of circulation declines. Newspapers are not a victim of the information glut. In fact, they offer readers a way to cut through to the most important news of the day. Newspapers will continue to play an essential role in the lives of Americans well into the next century. JOHN F. STURM, President and CEO Newspaper Association of America Reston, Virginia

I believe statistics on newspaper readership are far worse than you stated. Only 10% to 15% of the people I know read the local newspaper, and I'm continually amazed at how unaware most of these people are of any news, particularly important local news. Time and again I hear, "I didn't know about that," when the matter has been covered in the local paper for weeks. It's frightening that so many people depend on word of mouth to keep informed. Now and then I hear people say that if something important happens, someone will tell them about it. Unfortunately, word of mouth is not dependable or accurate. These people get information that is often wrong. DON GWOREK Orlando, Florida

You stated that at the Philadelphia Inquirer, there are fears about lowering the "wall between 'church' and 'state'--the editorial side and the business side"--and as evidence cited the presence of circulation managers at news meetings. What a shock! Circulation staff have been meeting with newsroom personnel since the 1980s, when the editor of the paper was in charge of the circulation department as well as the newsroom. If the wall got lowered, it happened then. You also reported that budget trimming at the Inquirer denied reporters access to telephone directory assistance, long-distance calls and funds to travel to New York City to cover stories. Those things never happened. They were dark rumors during budget cutting a year ago, but none of them were ever put into effect. You picked up the rumors but failed to check the facts. MAXWELL E.P. KING, Editor The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia

Your reference to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was misleading, and the assertion that our paper "bans front-page stories that jump to another page, which means major news events must be covered in a paltry 150 words or so," is untrue. The Oct. 17 morning edition, for example, carried a 500-word summary of the previous night's Clinton-Dole debate on the front page, but it also carried nine columns of coverage inside. We do not send our readers scrambling to find the "continued" portions of stories inside the paper. Rather, we use our front page as a cover to spotlight and summarize the important news and high-interest material that can be found inside--just as TIME does. RON MARTIN, Editor The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta

TALK-RADIO JUSTICE

Probably the most perverse aspect of the beating death in prison of child killer Donald McDougall is the disparity between his prison sentence and that of his alleged killer, Arba Earl Barr [NATION, Oct. 21]. While Barr was serving a 114-year sentence for assault and robbery, McDougall, the scum-of-the-earth murderer, was serving a sentence of only 34 years. That's absurd. SHANNON CREAM Chino Hills, California

AN INDEPENDENT PROJECT

Your article on the problems women encounter after divorce [SOCIETY, Oct. 7] included a brief reference to a study I did showing that the standard of living of women declines 27% after divorce (not 30%, as you reported), while that of men rises 10%. You incorrectly described the source as "1996 data from the Social Science Research Council." Although I was employed by the council at the time of publication, my study was an independent research project based on a reanalysis of data originally collected by Lenore Weitzman in Los Angeles in 1977-78. It did not include 1996 data. RICHARD R. PETERSON, Professor Division of Social Studies Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

EAST TIMOR IN THE LIMELIGHT

It is a shame that you turned the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to two East Timorese [WORLD, Oct. 21] into an opportunity to repeat the propaganda of an occupying force. Relentlessly harping on an inaccurate image of Jose Ramos-Horta as a revolutionary guerrilla rather than a diplomat, journalist and academic, your article reflects the cold war perspective that has allowed the world to ignore the genocide that has taken place in East Timor over the past 20 years.

Is it any wonder that Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Ramos-Horta must play their cards differently? While Ramos-Horta can speak freely from exile in Australia, Belo, who resides in East Timor, must be more cautious. But both insist that the only way to stop the violence in East Timor is to address the underlying cause: the fact that there has never been a valid referendum. East Timor's unfulfilled right to self-determination, as well as the illegality of Indonesia's occupation, has been repeatedly affirmed by the United Nations. Both Belo and Ramos-Horta have proposed a period of autonomy as an intermediate step, since the first concern is to get the military out of the territory. Most observers feel that a fair referendum would reject integration with Indonesia. If Indonesia believes otherwise, why does it use so many bullets and public relations dollars to make sure the referendum never happens? CHARLES SCHEINER, National Coordinator East Timor Action Network, U.S. White Plains, New York

DON'T BLAME OUR TEACHERS

Once again the misguided policies of school boards, parent groups and administrators have been blamed on teachers [NOTEBOOK, Oct. 21]. In her Washington Diary, Margaret Carlson engaged in the Doleish, popular practice of scapegoating teachers. Expulsions, whether of prepubescent kissers or Midol dealers, have nothing to do with teachers. Grounds for expulsions are determined by school boards and meted out by school administrators. Teachers may have to comply with such silliness, but they don't determine the policies or even like them. Carlson asks, "Have the nation's teachers lost their minds?" No, only their reputations and the public esteem they deserve. ERIC GROW and ELAINE SERRANO Los Angeles

MICHAEL BAYBAK

In its May 6, 1991, article about the Church of Scientology, TIME included a separate box describing the activities of Michael Baybak on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. TIME's report on Mr. Baybak, a member of the Church, was not intended to suggest that Mr. Baybak was a "front" for the Church of Scientology or that his actions were in violation of any law or regulation. The publication of this statement resolves the defamation lawsuit commenced by Mr. Baybak against TIME.