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"NEWS ON DEMAND"

SERIES PRODUCERS:  NINA ZACUTO and ALAN KAUL                                                    NEWS IS GOING TO BE DELIVERED IN THE
THIS SEGMENT:      NINA ZACUTO
EDITOR:            STEPHANIE LONGMIRE
                                        ANCHOR: BRIAN WILLIAMS

                                   TONIGHT, THE THIRD REPORT IN OUR
                                   WEEK-LONG SERIES "ALMOST 2001."  MOST
                                   PEOPLE FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE
                                   WORLD WHEN THE EVENING NEWS IS
                                   BROADCAST.. OR WHEN THE NEWSPAPER IS
                                   DELIVERED.  BUT INTERACTIVE TELEVISION
                                   AND ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING ARE PART OF
                                   THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY WE'VE BEEN
                                   HEARING A LOT ABOUT.. AND ARE EVEN NOW
                                   GIVING SOME PEOPLE NEWS ON DEMAND.
                                   NBC'S GEORGE LEWIS REPORTS.

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                                        NARRATION: GEORGE LEWIS

     PRESS RUN SAN JOSE MERCURY    (NATSOT--presses rolling for a few
                                   seconds, and then under)

                                   (NARR)  AT THE SAN JOSE MERCURY-NEWS,
                                   THEY'RE STILL PUTTING OUT THE PAPER THE
                                   OLD-FASHIONED WAY, 345-THOUSAND OF THEM
                                   ON WEEKDAYS.

MERCURY CENTER ON COMPUTER SCREEN  BUT THEY'RE ALSO TRYING OUT SOMETHING
                                   COMPTLELY NEW HERE, CALLED "MERCURY
                                   CENTER."  NEWS, DELIVERED TO COMPUTER
                                   USERS VIA PHONE LINES THAT PEOPLE CAN
                                   DIAL IN TO.  ANY OF THE 500-THOUSAND
                                   PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE AMERICA ON-LINE
                                   COMPUTER SERVICE CAN READ IT.

     BOB INGLE--EXECUTIVE EDITOR   (SOT)  "One of the tremendous
                                   advantages that a computer-based system
                                   has over physical product is that it's
                                   basically limitless.  It's the
                                   never-ending newspaper, if you will."

     WOMAN AT TERMINAL             (NARR) SUBSCRIBERS TO THE ELECTRONIC
       NEWSPAPER WITH "READ MORE"  EDITION CAN LOOK UP FULL TEXTS OF
       INPUT CODE ON SCREEN        SPEECHES AND ARTICLES THAT GET CROWDED
                                   OUT THE REGULAR PAPER.  READERS CAN
                                   ALSO SEND ELECTRONIC MAIL TO EDITORS
                                   AND REPORTERS.

     GAY CRAWFORD AT HOME          GAY CRAWFORD, A VOLUNTEER WITH THE
                                   LOCAL BRANCH OF THE CANCER SOCIETY,
                                   SAYS SHE HAS SEVERAL ELECTRONIC PEN
                                   PALS ON THE NEWSPAPER STAFF.

     GAY SPEAKS                    (SOT)  "It's so immediate and it's so
                                   easy to use.  You don't have to be a
                                   very formal letter writer, you don't

                                   have to address this person, you don't
                                   have to fill out an envelope and do the
                                   stamp, you just do your casual little
                                   `hello' and `this is what I think,' and
                                   sign your name and it's done."

      MITCH KAPOR--                It actually creates a kind of leveling
      ELECTRONIC FRONTIER          between the reporters and the editors
        FOUNDATION                 and the audience because it becomes more
                                   of a two-way conversation."

     LEWIS ON-CAMERA BRIDGE        (SOT)  "At last count, about 100
     WITH U.S. NEWS PRINTING OUT   newspapers and magazines have started
     ON COMPUTER SCREEN            publishing electronic editions,
                                   available via computer.  More are
                                   joining every day.  One thing they're
                                   finding is that young readers, who have
                                   been turned off by traditional media,
                                   are plugging in.

     PHILLIP ELMER-DEWITT--        (SOT)  "There's a generation of kids
     TIME MAGAZINE                 growing up who just don't have the news
                                   reading habit and certainly don't have
                                   the newsmagazine reading habit.  But
                                   they are computer literate...

     KIDS LOOKING UP               (V.O.)   "A lot of them are very
      STUFF ON COMPUTERS           comfortable with the computer networks.

     MONTAGE OF MAGAZINES AND      And in their own way, they've become
     NEWSPAPERS ON-SCREEN          sort-of information junkies."

                                   (NARR)  WHILE TIME AND U.S. NEWS ARE
                                   DELIVERED THROUGH PHONE LINES BEFORE
                                   THE REGULAR EDITION HIT THE STREETS,
                                   NEWSWEEK PUBLISHES AN ELECTRONIC
                                   EDITION QUARTERLY ON COMPACT DISCS,
                                   CALLED "CD-ROMS."

     "NEWSWEEK INTERACTIVE" DEMO   NEWSWEEK INTERACTIVE, LETS READERS
                                   MANIPULATE TEXT, PICTURES, SOUNDS AND
                                   EVEN SHORT VIDEO CLIPS PLAYED ON THEIR
                                   COMPUTER SCREENS.

                                   (NATSOT---a few seconds of "Newsweek
                                   Interactive" playing on computer
                                   screen.)

     HEWLETT-PACKARD DEMO          (NARR)  A NUMBER OF HIGH-TECH
                                   COMPANIES...LIKE HEWLETT-PACKARD...ARE
                                   WORKING ON MAKING TV MORE INTERACTIVE.
                                   HUGE STORAGE DEVICES WILL SPEW OUT
                                   VIDEO ON DEMAND.

     ONSCREEN MENU OF STORIES      VIEWERS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THEY
                                   WANT TO SEE...WHEN THEY WANT TO SEE
                                   IT...ANY HOUR OF THE DAY OR NIGHT.

     JIM OLSON--                   (SOT)  "By the turn of the century, by
         HEWLETT-PACKARD           the year 2000, more than half of U.S.
                                   consumers will be using these types of
                                   products and services."

     MERCURY PRESSES RUNNING       (NARR)  NO ONE IS PREDICTING THE
                                   IMMINENT DEMISE OF NEWSPAPERS, OR
                                   MAGAZINES OR TV NETWORKS OR YOUR LOCAL
                                   STATION. BUT IT'S CLEAR THAT THE SYSTEM
                                   FOR DELIVERING NEWS TO MILLIONS OF
                                   AMERICANS IS IN FOR SOME REVOLUTIONARY
                                   CHANGES. GEORGE LEWIS, NBC NEWS, SAN
                                   JOSE, CALIFORNIA.
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                                        ANCHOR: BRIAN WILLIAMS

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                                   THE INTERNET.. WE INVITE YOUR COMMENTS.
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                                   YOU.