Editor's Focus

Not everyone appreciates irony. Indeed, not everyone even agrees when something ironic has occurred. But a recent issue of Time magazine made some comparisons to 1948’s political conventions and those in 2000, as well as the reporting methods from a technological standpoint, and the irony seemed difficult to miss.

The author noted that the 1948 conventions marked the first occasion that Time offered coverage in coordination with a new medium in that era—television—while the 2000 conventions will mark the first foray into convention coverage for Time as an operating unit of Internet giant America Online (AOL).

Ironically enough, however, the 1948 Republican convention offered the prospect of a floor fight and several votes to determine who the chosen candidate would be, while both 2000 conventions seemed to offer few prospects for breaking, large-impact news stories.

In 1948, Americans interested in politics did not have the Internet (and many did not yet have television), but they had breaking news at the conventions that was worth following. In 2000, bountiful television and Internet coverage could (in theory) be devoted to the conventions—but in all likelihood there will be a paucity of news worth reporting.

Certainly, the Recycling Today Media Group does not have the news gathering resources of Time. But at www.RecyclingToday.com and www.FibreMarketNews.com, identical (and specialized) same-day coverage of breaking news can be found.

And, unlike the task of trying to squeeze news from carefully staged political conventions, news affecting the commodities markets in which recyclers are involved is occurring every day.

If the last three years are any indication, the recycling industry and the commodities markets have plenty to offer that is newsworthy. From merger and acquisition frenzies through rollercoaster commodity prices and industry bankruptcies to legislative and regulatory battles, news does not occur in 30-day increments.

Commodity prices, even when they are not on an outright rollercoaster ride, are seldom static. Secondary fiber prices are no exception, which is why FibreMarketNews.com went online in January of this year with free, current pricing for recycled paper grades.

One of the goals of Internet pioneers has been to open the floodgates for the free flow of information, and the Recycling Today Media Group was among the first in the recycling industry to bring about a type of pricing transparency in the form of constantly updated secondary fiber prices, offered free to registered users of the FibreMarketNews.com website.

The Recycling Today Media Group websites have been up and running since 1998, but much like the medium in which they reside, change is a constant. Starting in the final half of 2000, more changes will be coming to the websites, and some changes will also be coming to the Recycling Today print product that will urge readers to be more interactive with the websites.

Our goal remains to make sure that readers of Recycling Today always look forward to the monthly delivery of RT as a way of providing in-depth coverage of commodity and equipment trends, as well as a capsule summary of recent news.

But if you need a recycling industry news fix in between mailings, be sure to keep watching the Recycling Today Media Group websites for current news—and future improvements.

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August 2000
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