Editorials
Wednesday, October 20, 1999Free information
is norm on InternetINFORMATION has become so plentiful with the growth of the Internet that people expect it to be free, and their expectations are being met. The contents of hundreds of newspapers, including the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, have been accessible without charge for years. Even Encyclopaedia Britannica has succumbed to the concept of free information.The issue: Encyclopaedia Britannica has chosen to make its contents accessible on the Internet at no charge.
Many online publications charge a fee for certain features, such as crossword puzzles or archive searches, but for the most part they allow free access to all the stories appearing in their paper versions. The companies sponsoring the sites rely on advertising to defray costs, but few publications make much money from their Internet sites.
The ease of not only obtaining timely news but conducting meaningful research on the Internet was detrimental to Encyclopaedia Britannica, which has continued to charge $1,250 for a set of 32 bound volumes. It became the first encyclopedia on the Internet five years ago, but the $85-a-year subscription rate turned people away. Its CD-ROM version did not compete well against a more graphic product of Microsoft in collaboration with Funk & Wagnalls.
Taking a lesson from Amazon and Yahoo as well as newspapers and magazines, Encyclopaedia Britannica has decided to solicit advertisers to pay for its online presence. In addition, it offers information from newspapers, news agencies and 70 magazines, plus weather forecasts, financial market reports and e-mail services. The web site is www.britannica.com.
"Purchasing the Encyclopaedia Britannica was once a major milestone in a family's life, but today we are fulfilling our promise to make it more accessible to more people worldwide," said Don Yannias, chief executive officer of a new company that split off from the publishing company to house its digital properties.
It would be a shame if Encyclopaedia Britannica someday were to be found only on the Internet. That is not likely to happen as long as readers relish not only the meaning of the printed word but the feel of it, and are willing to pay the price.
Isolating Russia
would be a mistakeTHE Clinton administration has acknowledged erring in failing to push for legislation to block the kind of money laundering that recently has scandalized Russia, but that is no reason for Congress to cut off aid to the fledgling democracy. The billions of dollars that gangsters allegedly laundered through the Bank of New York are not known to have anything to do with U.S. aid. Even if they did, cutting off assistance would be an inappropriate response.
House International Relations Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman, R-N.Y., maintained in a hearing that "a sincere and thorough accounting" might implicate Kremlin officials in the money laundering. The allegation of Kremlin corruption, possibly including President Boris Yeltsin's family, is under investigation. If true, and if the laundered money included U.S. aid, that would justify legislation assuring responsible handling of future assistance, but not isolating Russia during its time of need for continued economic support.
Corruption existed in Russia during the Soviet period, and some say it has declined since the collapse of communism. The laundered money is believed to have come not from Western aid but from the proceeds from sales of Russian resources that occurred as part of Russia's privatization effort.
"Crime and corruption are part of the grim legacy of the Soviet Communist experience," Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott told Gilman's committee. "The rampancy of that problem has impeded Russia's own progress and impeded our ability to help Russia move forward."
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin opened a multinational conference this week with a pledge to "tightly seal all sources of dirty money" and to prevent dirty money from again being laundered in foreign banks. Putin deserves Western support in carrying through with that pledge.
Meanwhile, Russia has stayed on track in becoming a free society. As long as that continues, the United States should continue helping Russia in coping with the difficulties of achieving a viable market economy, which include dealing with organized crime and corruption.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
