MESSAGE FOR THE MEDIUM

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Message for the Medium
Source:washington Post
                  By Bill McAllister

                  Thursday, March 11, 1999; Page A29 

                  It's a well-established Washington maxim that when you're
being attacked
                  by both conservatives and liberals, you're doing something
right. That,
                  however, is not the attitude of the folks at Channel One
Network.

                  The New York-based television programming service beams
educational
                  and daily news programming by satellite to about 12,000
schools across the
                  country. But its 10-minute news shows, served up with two
minutes of
                  commercials, are being savaged by groups that range from
Phyllis Schlafly's
                  Eagle Forum to Ralph Nader and the Traditional Values
Coalition.

                  "It's a remarkable coalition. From right to left, everyone
agrees that Channel
                  One is bad for children and taxpayers," says Gary Ruskin,
director of
                  Commercial Alert, a Washington-group that is leading the
opposition.

                  Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) wants the Labor and
Education Committee
                  to hold hearings on Channel One, which offers free
satellite hookups to
                  schools willing to let their students watch its shows.
"Senator Shelby feels
                  there are better ways to bring technology into the
classroom without the
                  commercialism of Channel One," says spokeswoman Andrea
Andrews.

                  Channel One has turned to Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas
Meeds for help.
                  The law firm has assigned some of its top conservatives to
the case,
                  including former representative David Funderburk (R-N.C.)
and William
                  Jarrell, former deputy chief of staff to House Majority
Whip Tom DeLay
                  (R-Tex.).

                  "We're not sophisticated Washington lobbyists. We're used
to dealing with
                  teachers," says Channel One spokesman Jeffrey H. Ballabon.
"We just want
                  people who understand how Washington works to help us tell
our message."

                  Actually Channel One does understand some things in
Washington. It claims
                  to have snagged Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) for his
first TV interview

                  after his election as House speaker. Schlafly complained
to the Republican
                  National Committee that the interview was "as offensive to
conservative,
                  pro-family people as if you bragged that Denny Hastert
gave his first
                  interview to the Playboy Channel."

                  Speaking of Channels

                  Everybody may be talking about the weather in Washington
this week, but
                  C. Randall Nuckolls, a partner at Long Aldridge & Norman,
is trying to do
                  something about it. The former aide to former senator Sam
Nunn (D-Ga.) is
                  pushing for full funding of the National Weather Service's
appropriation. His
                  client: the Atlanta-based Weather Channel.

                  Says Nuckolls: "We're very high on the value of the
National Weather
                  Service and the job they do."

                  Myanmar Candle Snuffed

                  Jefferson Waterman International has ended its
controversial advocacy for
                  Myanmar Resource Development Ltd., a privately owned
company that
                  some U.S. officials have said is closely allied with
Burma's military rulers.

                  Ken Yates, a senior vice president at Jefferson Waterman,
said a Web site
                  and the Myanmar Monitor, a Jefferson publication, "went
dark" recently
                  because the company had encountered financial difficulties
as a result of
                  Burma's economic problems. "They can't pay for the
candle," said Yates.

                  The Clinton administration imposed trade sanctions on
Burma in 1997.
                  Jefferson Waterman, whose chief operating officer is
former assistant
                  secretary of state Ann Wrobleski, was paid nearly $500,000
that year to
                  begin its push of the company's "positions and interests"
in Washington.

                  Nerves of Steelman

                  Once again health care lobbyist Deborah Steelman is under
fire over her
                  clients. Yesterday, Public Citizen, founded by Ralph
Nader, accused the
                  former Reagan aide of having "a major conflict of
interest" because she sits
                  on the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of
Medicare.

                  "As a member of the Medicare commission she will vote on
issues that have
                  great financial consequence for her largest clients, HMOs
and
                  pharmaceutical companies," said Frank Clemente, director
of Congress
                  Watch, the lobbying arm of Public Citizen. Steelman Health
Strategies, as
                  her firm was recently renamed, was paid about $2.9 million
in lobbying fees
                  in 1997 and the first half of 1998 by health care clients,
Public Citizen said.
                  Among her clients, the group said, were Pfizer Inc., Aetna
Life & Casualty,
                  Humana Inc. and Phoenix Healthcare Corp.

                  Steelman, who was named to the commission by Senate
Majority Leader

                  Trent Lott (R-Miss.), was hit with similar charges during
the Bush
                  administration when she chaired the Social Security
Council, which
                  examined the nation's health care industry.

                  The lobbyist said she has informed clients she will not
represent their views
                  on the commission. But she said she cares greatly about
the issues "and $3
                  million would not change my opinion."

                  "This is old, old, old," she said. "When you can't beat
someone's ideas, you
                  trash their character."

                  Piemonte to Powell TatePowell Tate, the public affairs
communications arm
                  of the Cassidy Cos. empire, has hired Philip Piemonte as
group director of
                  telecommunications issues. Since 1997, he was managing
editor of
                  Newsbytes News Network, which is owned by Post-Newsweek
Business
                  Information Inc., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Co.