Contributed by Ben Berkowitz

The media in all of its various forms - over the air, on the page, through the world's various networks - has long been concerned with covering Y2K. It is without question one of the major news stories both of the year and of all time. If the numbers are to be believed, fixing this bug will end up costing as much as $858 billion worldwide. As time grows shorter and the world gets nearer to January 1, the media will pay even more attention to this issue. Many networks are planning round-the-clock coverage of the New Year, both for the celebration and the chance that something Y2K-related will happen.

But in all this one question remains unanswered: is the media itself ready for Y2K? Will the morning newspaper be on the porch? Will Brokaw et. al still be on the air? For the first time in recent memory, a possible catastrophe may affect the people who cover it as much as the people who are covered.

The international wire service Reuters provides for its members a 'Millennium Warranty' on many of its products and services, including wire news reports and market updates. It first rolled out a compliance program in November of 1997, and has since certified its products and services as Y2K compliant. The Associated Press (AP) wire service reports that as of the fourth quarter of this year, all of its satellite transmission equipment, and its other news broadcast hardware, are compliant for the new year. However, as a precaution, the AP has frozen new installations on its internal network and at customers sites from November 25 to January 5. At present, the AP has shifted gears to being preparing for staffing needs, both for news coverage and internal maintenance, for the new year. Agence France-Presse (AFP), a major French-based provider of international wire service news, also says that it is prepared for the new year. However, unlike the other two, AFP makes clear in its documentation that it will not be held responsible for any interruptions in service incurred as a result of failures in client-side technology (i.e. PCs, ISPs, etc.).

The major broadcast news networks, on the other hand, have made it extraordinarily difficult to find compliance information for their operations. Searches on the websites of ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News Channel, and CNN were unable to reveal any information about the Y2K compliance of those networks. The only apparent resource for finding any compliance information for these networks is to search the Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q quarterly filings by the parent companies. The parents of all these networks (Disney for ABC, General Electric for NBC, Westinghouse for CBS, News Corp. for Fox News Channel, and Time Warner for CNN) say their business operations are compliant in their 10-Q filings. The 10-Q forms can be searched and read online in the SEC's EDGAR database.

Though its statement is brief, National Public Radio says that it has inspected and remediated the appropriate systems and is ready for the new year. PBS, on the other hand, brags on its website about all of its technological advances, but provides no information on its own Y2K compliance.

A sampling of major metropolitan newspapers throughout the country indicates that while many newspapers have special coverage devoted to Y2K, they are not as forthcoming about their own compliance. One company with at least some information is Cox Communications, which owns among other papers the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Rocky Mountain Telegram. Cox says it has completed most all of its seven phases of testing and remediation for its operations. Times Mirror Corp., the parent of a number of papers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun, is fully prepared for Y2K. It has made provisions for electrical power in case of a power grid failure, and as a precaution, will print most newspaper pages before midnight on the 31st. The New York Times is also at a high state of readiness, claiming 99 percent compliance as of September.

Newspaper sites without readily available compliance information include the Boston Globe, the Houston Chronicle, the Tribune Company (parent of the Chicago Tribune and the Florida Sun-Sentinel), the Arizona Republic, the San Diego-Union Tribun, and the Washington Post Company (owner of the Washington Post, the Seattle Herald, and Newsweek).

Internet media outlets have different compliance issues; for them, the proper functioning of servers, ISPs, and the like are crucial to keeping their product online. A recent report by the Internet Association of Japan (IAJ) raises questions about whether or not the Internet will be functional on January 1. Specifically, IAJ has concerns about the functionality of Domain Name Servers (DNSs) and the compliance of software in routers. No clear evidence exists as yet that these concerns will manifest themselves as serious problems on the 1st.

The overriding theme among media concerns is that they will be ready as long as the national infrastructure is ready, particularly energy and telecommunications. The fact that so many outlets are planning round-the-clock coverage on December 31 and January 1 would seem to indicate that the industry is not afraid of being hampered by the bug. Instead, it is ready and preparing to report about those who are.

For more on the media and Y2K, see the links below.

National Association of Broadcasters Year 2000 information The NAB, a trade group, provides legal counsel for its members (mostly local stations) on the Y2K issue, and information from broadcasters on how to prepare broadcast stations for Y2K.

Journalism organizations from American Journalism Review AJR's website has a comprehensive list of journalism foundations, groups, and professional societies dedidcated to the media and media professionals.