1. Intro
   1. Numerous articles one can read which talk about computers, computer networks, `Cyberspace', the Internet, or the `Information Superhighway', portray the on-line world as a difficult, dangerous, pointless, and even wasteful enterprise.
   2. Outside the computer industry, many members of the print media are clearly biased against the Internet.
      • This is the thesis statement
2. Body
   1. Many print journals downplay the importance and usefulness of the Internet.
   2. They refer, of course, to the supposedly common availability of pornography, and the constant danger of pedophiles. Porn and pedo is rampant (2-3)
      1. Often, an article will single out one new feature or service, and go on about how it will make it easier for pornography or pedophilia to reach "into the living rooms of America."
      2. Rarely is it mentioned that "the path to prurience on the Net often ends with a `404 Not Found' or a `403 Forbidden,' as any seasoned sex surfer will tell you."
   3. Probably the most telling example of this journalistic bias to come along recently was the Time magazine cover story, "On a Screen Near You: Cyberporn".
      1. This study, by then-undergraduate Martin Rimm, claimed to have analyzed the availability and types of pornography available on the "Information Superhighway".
      2. To begin with, the study was held under a secrecy agreement between Rimm, Time, and the Georgetown Law Journal (which published Rimm's study).
      3. They often discuss the flawed methodology, unprovable assumptions, and unsupported conclusions that the study presents.
      4. I discuss this study in such length because it was the focus for a recent, highly controversial article in Time magazine.
         1. Not only does the story, in a major newsweekly, base itself solely on a flawed study, it furthers the inaccuracies by misrepresenting the results of the study.
         2. One might suggest that Time and Philip Elmer-DeWitt were unaware of the expert opinions surrounding this study, if not for Mike Godwin.
         3. DeWitt also seems to have intentionally obscured important facts about the study.
         4. The Time article has also been accused of being sensationalistic and of deceiving its readers.
         5. It increased the level of public concern about the supposed dangers of the Internet.
      5. Senator Grassley of Iowa used the Time article -- and further distorted facts by misquoting a piece of already misquoted data -- in speech he gave on the floor of the senate.
      6. Shortly after the release of the Time cover story, Philip Elmer-DeWitt wrote a second story, much shorter this time, in which he admitted to possible problems with the study and Time's coverage of it.
3. Conclusion
   1. This discussion has centered around the media and their portrayal of the Internet.
   2. From the examples discussed above, it is evident that a number of highly respected `news' sources angle their reporting in a very negative direction regarding the Internet.
   3. Outside of the computer industry, much of the print media remains biased against the Internet.
      • This is a restatement of the thesis