From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 20:12:59 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Update on "news rating," Internet Content Coal mtg, from Netly (fwd)
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.95.970829050235.17869K-100000@well.com>
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 05:02:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
To: fight-censorship-announce@vorlon.mit.edu
Subject: Update on "news rating," Internet Content Coal mtg, from Netly



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 18:48:22 +0000
From: Noah Robischon <noah@pathfinder.com>
To: declan@well.com
Subject: ICC UPDATE

The Netly News 
http://www.netlynews.com
Afternoonline 
August 28, 1997

ICC You Later

The Internet Content Coalition has rolled over,
but it's not dead yet. In today's
closed-to-the-press meeting, most of the two dozen
news organizations in attendance opposed the
rating of news sites on the Web -- whether from
third parties or from the Coalition itself. This
sharp turnabout followed criticism of the
Coalition's attempts to establish voluntary
ratings guidelines for the industry. "Everyone in
the room agreed to a general statement that as
news organizations we will not rate our content
and we oppose the efforts of others to rate our
content," said Dan Okrent, Time Inc. New Media's
Editor In Chief.

But self-labelling is not totally dead: today's
membership was divided between those who still
want to work with filtering software and browser
companies and hardliners such as Times-Mirror who
don't want to negotiate with Microsoft and
Netscape at all.

Such divisions lead to questions about the
structure of the ICC, which is still struggling to
define its membership, its mission and even its
ability to speak on behalf of the world's media
giants. Members of the press were barred from
today's meeting, a semmingly paradoxical move
given the nature of the discussion. Acting
president Mark Bailey told The Netly News that
reporters were barred from the proceeding so that
an open and broad-based debate could take place.
"We also have not invited ratings people and we
also have not invited a lot of browser people," he
said. "We really wanted this to be a news
publisher meeting."  -- By Noah Robischon