U.S. News, College Edge vie for supremacy in the education space This column appeared April 13, 1999, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. One of the fascinating battles shaping up in cyberspace pits an old media stalwart, U.S. News, against a new media upstart, College Edge. And as befits the topsy-turvy nature of the Web, they’ve formed a partnership with each other even as they’ve begun to duke it out for supremacy in the higher education space. Their weapons of choice? Web tools.

The Online News Association is just what journalism needs — if it opens its doors to rank-and-file journalists This news analysis appeared Dec. 16, 1998, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. The formation of an Online News Association, devoted to tackling thorny issues of ethics, credibility and credentials faced by Web journalists, fills a vast gap in the online news landscape. What remains to be seen is whether they can translate that praiseworthy goal into a broad-based grassroots effort that includes not just senior executives but rank-and-file online journalists. Some two dozen senior managers from major Web news sites met in Chicago last week and agreed to organize a nonprofit group “open to people

The Internet Content Coalition drafts a set of guidelines to separate advertising from content This column appeared Dec. 16, 1998, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. Pick up a print magazine or newspaper and the rules are pretty simple: Ads over here, editorial over here. Sometimes the lines blur, but most often not. On the Web, it gets murkier. Ads can appear anywhere on a Web page — sometimes smack in the middle of editorial content. Links? Well, there are links, and there are paid links. Buttons may transport you to a related story, or to a merchant. Advertising dollars may skew search engine results. Ads can be targeted to a specific story page,