With foreign journalists expelled and satellite links disabled in Yugoslavia, the Internet has become a major player in coverage of the Kosovar crisis. The U.S. Civil War had the telegraph and penny press. World War II had Edward R. Murrow's radio broadcasts from London. Traditional television and print media also post news on the Web. Through the Net, friends and families stay in touch.
Relief agencies coordinate efforts and marshal information from disparate sources.
Serious observers delve for background about the region's history and politics. I would hope that it would help people understand more fully the horrors of war. Last month, RealNetworks helped score an information coup out of Kosovo. As tensions rose, listeners eager to hear Belgrade's Radio B92 were overwhelming the independent news station's Web site. RealNetworks hosted B92's digital signal, from Belgrade to the Netherlands, on its own Internet server.