The pages are poorly organized, the stories are badly translated and the overall appearance is sophomoric enough to undermine whatever influence the site might have on U.S. web surfers. The Serbian Information Ministry, on the other hand, lures in online visitors with a slick design that looks suspiciously like CNN's home page. In fact, surfers who don't look too carefully might believe they've stumbled upon an independent media site with a Serbian bias equivalent to the American bias offered by U.S. television networks. Other stories highlight critical statements by Russian officials, describe Albanians as terrorists and accuse NATO of engaging in genocide - a term American media outlets have attached to the Serbs themselves. For now, the influence such sites might exert is limited by the small number of people who actually go looking for them online.
Most people still get most of their news from television, radio or printed publications.
Then again, CNN's site includes links to both of the sites I've mentioned here, making it fairly easy for Web surfers to find them. And given the disdain many people feel for the mass media, it's not too far-fetched to imagine large numbers of people choosing to surf official sources themselves rather than relying on reporters' interpretations. As I'm writing this, U.S. media outlets are breaking news of NATO attacks on government buildings in downtown Belgrade. When the smoke clears, I'll be surprised if Serb sites don't have compelling pictures of the damage and stories of families torn apart by the incoming missiles. The pictures alone might be enough to influence public support for further bombings, or the introduction of ground troops.