U.S. News goes online - U.S. News & World Report - News

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov 15, 1993

After losing out to rival Time in a bid to hook up with America Online, U.S. News & World Report will enter the interactive age on CompuServe. The Washington, D.C.-based newsweekly expects to be available by the end of the year to CompuServe's approximately 1.4 million members in 120 countries. (America Online boasts 350,000 members.) The newsweekly's editors will be available to chat with readers, and four senior editors will act as system operators to ensure the forums proceed smoothly.

Unlike Time, U.S. News will not place all of its copy online. All columns, the "News You Can Use" section, the "Outlook" section, the cover story, graphics, selected other articles, as well as government documents and basic source material will be available the weekend before the issue reaches subscribers. In a dig at the competition, director of editorial administration Kathryn Bushkin says U.S. News won't be putting articles online that didn't make the magazine. "This is not a place for seconds; it's an extension," says Bushkin. The newsweekly is also developing other multimedia products, including a CD-ROM version of its college guide. Meanwhile, sister publication The Atlantic Monthly is joining America Online.