The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 14, 1998, Page 3, Image 3
i The Associated Press Headlines such as “Sex and Lies” and “The XXX Files” screamed from newsstands Saturday, along with warnings to readers to expect more than their usual breakfast-table fare. The graphic sexual accounts from Kenneth Starr’s massive report on President Clinton were reprinted in newspapers nationwide, as concerns about offending readers were out weighed by die implications of accu sations that Clinton committed impeachable offenses. “We think this was an historic enough event in our country that peo ple would want to have as many facts before them as possible to reach their own conclusions,” said Raul Reyes, assistant managing editor at the San F-irnmnn XTnntn « Mwvuav un|/iV0triiVTT0« Papers big and small published special sections, added pages to their often thin Saturday editions and print ed extra copies. Whether they pub lished all or part of Starr’s report, most papers included warnings about the details of Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. In St Louis, where home-run king Mark McGwire dominated this past week’s pages, readers will have to wait until Monday to get their full ver sion of the report in print The St Louis Post-Dispatch pub lished the Starr report and rebuttal on its Web site Saturday. But it had no room in the paper Saturday or Sunday, when it was running a special com memorative for McGwire. I--:--— 66 To X-rate the section is equivalent to saying ‘Juicy Bits Here’and we thought that was a little condescending.’’ Joseph Leiyveld New York Times executive editor “The Starr report just pales in comparison in terms of what is going on about Mark McGwire,” said Dick Weil, managing editor. The Washington Post printed the report in a 25-page special section with a three-paragraph, large-type advisory about the lurid contents atop the section’s front page. The Arizona Republic also ran a special section with the complete report and a dis claimer. The New York Times printed the entire report as a special section and devoted five of its six front-page sto ries to Clinton, but did not print a muiuu^t “We felt that it was almost impos sible that an individual reader could pick up the report without knowing what was in it after everything that had been on television last night and everything they would read on our front page,” said Joseph Lelyveld, executive editor. ‘To X-rate the section is equiva lent to saying ‘Juicy Bits Here’ and we thought that was a little condescend ing,” Lelyveld said. Clinton’s hometown newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, published the entire report in a22-page special section and devoted three-quarters of its front page to the story under the banner headline: “Starr Report: Sex and Lies.” Tabloids, of course, got in their gibes. The New York Daily News headline called die report “THE XXX FILES,” and the New York Post pro claimed it Clinton’s “DAY OF SHAME.” The Philadelphia Daily News screamed “YUCK!” Ben Bagdikian, a former assistant managing editor and ombudsman for . nr_i. •_x_n_a _ _ • 3_ i i lit wa&uwgiuii r usl, miu tuauy i tau ers, especially parents, would likely view reprinting the sexual accounts as overkill given die report’s exposure on TV and the Internet Some readers will say, ‘We knew all of this all along; did they have to print all of these salacious details for my kids to see?”’ said Bagdikian, pro fessor emeritus and former dean of the University of Califomia-Berkeley graduate school of journalism. "1 Posting of Starr report slows Internet speeds NEW YORK ( AP) - For those seeking the Starr report on die Web, waiting was part of the search. But even those trying to conduct their routine Internet activity found jam-ups and long delays. As millions rushed Friday to download Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s report about President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, gov ernment computers and Web sites were swamped Some called it the Internet’s busiest day ever. “This is the first big test of the Internet to distribute a lot of data,” said Mark Simmer, a vice president at Web directory Lycos. “It wasn’t designed as a broadcast medium. It was designed as a communication medium. It’s like everyone lifting up the same phone to talk to their mother on Mo&er’s Day.” Possibly most telling in the Web’s acceptance as a toddling mass medium was Congress’ decision to use it to dis tribute the report Still, there woe fumbles. An hour after the report was released, the White House, Senate and House Web sites were hopelessly snarled, as were the four other government sites offering it All across the Internet, the slow down was felt. According to the Internet Traffic Report, a Web site that monitors and indexes the Net’s speed, North America and Europe were most affected, especially the areas around New York and Washington. Even call r11 »' ing unrelated Web sites was some times sluggish. •' The slowdown shows the Web is still primitive, said Abdelsalam Heddaya, vice president of Infolibria, a maker of computers that help move data around the Net As the wired population grows, the news sites will have trouble keeping up with the crowds. But they are trying. The news Web site http://msnbc.com reported 26 servers working at full capacity - and more were being installed to meet demand - but at times in die afternoon it was still inaccessible or slow to respond. Once the report was posted, CNN’s Web site was getting more than 4uu,uuu nits a minute, spokesman Kerrin Roberts said That was higher than the record 320,000 a minute Aug. 31 when the Dow Jones industrial average plunged. To ease the crush, http://cnn.com stripped out most pictures and graph ics to present a fast-loading version. Traffic on The Associated Press’ Web site peaked at about 20 times the normal load just prior to the release shortly before 2 p.m., said Ruth Gersh, editor of the AP’s multimedia services. Still, with the cyber-rush, frustra tion was inevitable. Even television anchors had problems getting the report quickly. “If somebody wants to step over to the fax machine and fax us, we’d appreciate it,” CBS’ Dan Rather said No crimes committed, Clinton says REBUTTAL from page 2 misconduct short of an offense against the state, is not redressable by impeachment,” they wrote. Ultimately, that will be up to Congress to decide - a point that Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, made tartly. “David Kendall is not the one who will decide what is impeach able and what isn’t,” said the chair man of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “It’s the House of Representatives. Former independent counsel Michael Zeldin said the White House appears to be trying to set its own guidelines for the public to decide how serious Clinton’s actions were. “It sounds like the White House is saying, ‘What are the rules?’ If tins is not a criminal lie, how is that a high crime and misdemeanor?” Zeldin said. The more successful die White House is in making that argument, the harder it might be to gain the public support needed for impeach ment, said Georgetown University law professor Paul Rothstein. “If something is not a crime, I think there will be an initial reluc tance to view it as very serious,” he said. Dogs love us ’cause 4 we’re crazy sniff able. www.unl.edu/DailyNeb Don't Fight for Parking Enter at 8th & S Streets, 1 block west of Memorial Stadium National Garages, Gold's Galleria, Suite 120 • 474-2274 tDaneing 1 Every l Thursday Lessons from 7 -8 Dance Music from 8 on _ - ---; j* [ I Patience. Persistence. Focus. Determination. If this describes you and you would like to tenaciously compete in the NCAA sport of smallbore rifle, please attend an informational meeting. Tryouts will be scheduled the following week. This presents a unique opportunity to compete for the Huskers in the NCAA Division I sport of precision rifle shooting. DATE: September 16 TIME: 7:30 p.m. LOCATION: NROTC Library on first floor of MAN Building (Nth and Vine) YOU NEED TO BE A FRESHMAN WOMAN WITH MOST AFTERNOONS FREE FOR PRACTICE AND BE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE AS AN NCAA ATHLETE. I TOM? BACK! Whan: Monday & Tuesday September 14 & 15 Wfearat ThePtezam front of the Union Time; 1:<XM:0G