From: Steve Gray
To: newspaper@netc.com
Subject: your e-paper
Date: Thursday, June 26, 1997 1:20 AM



Well, it's interesting and kinda fun, although more serious than 
humorous. There's a bit of tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing, which 
makes it more entertaining than it otherwise might be. (Although I 
would have enjoyed more outright satire....)
There's an amazing accumulation of stuff, too.

One reason it's interesting to me is because it's an early example of 
how "freedom of the press" may look as the barriers to entry drop low 
enough for citizens who can't afford printing presses to go ahead and 
have their say. You can put up a page on the Web for a whole lot less 
than the $2.5 million we've about to invest in a new printing plant.
When the barriers drop low, there may be a proliferation of comment -- 
as your site shows -- but it remains to be seen what it will mean to 
anyone (such as the City Council and members of the community). Will 
they notice? Will they care?

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, as online 
access becomes more widespread among the population.
In the meantime, congrats on being an early pioneer on the "citizen 
e-paper" frontier.


Regards,
Steve Gray
Editor, Monroe (MI) Evening News
site -- http://www.monroenews.com