DIGITAL DUO PREMIERES ON PUBLIC TELEVISION IN NOVEMBER
New TV Series Brings Cantankerous, Independent Look at Computers From
Popular New York Times and Wall Street Journal Columnists
Framingham, MA, Nov. 3 -- Digital Duo, a new series dedicated to
independent reviews of computer hardware, software, the Internet, and all
things digital, will debut on public television stations across the
country in November. Starring two of the nation's most influential
technology columnists, Stephen Manes, of The New York Times, and Walter
Mossberg, of The Wall Street Journal, the program has been dubbed "a kind
of Siskel and Ebert show of the high-tech world" by Newsweek magazine.
Digital Duo will offer dependable, insightful, and sometimes humorous
advice on the crucial but confusing world of personal technology. The
show is slated to air as a weekly half-hour series beginning in 1998, but
viewers can get a sneak peek in the coming weeks. Four premiere half-hour
specials will air in many public television markets on selected weekend
evenings in November, December and January. Public Television's flagship
station, WNET Thirteen in New York City, will air the show on Saturday
evenings at 6 pm starting Nov. 8. Others will follow schedules customized
for their local markets. Check listings for your area.
"If it's digital, the Duo will cover it," said executive producer Dennis
Allen. "And they'll do it with the fairness and flair their readers have
come to expect from their popular columns. I can't think of two other
journalists who would dare to test a computer by pouring water on it and
running it over with a car. Or show how $13 throwaway cameras can beat
$500 digital models. Digital Duo deals with technology as it really
exists, warts and all, not the gee-whiz way advertisers would like us to
see it."
Digital Duo is radically different from other technology TV shows. It
won't bore viewers with sales pitches by computer company officials, or
insider news items about the computer industry. Instead, it'll feature
only explanations and opinions from reviewers who are on the viewer's
side, and nobody else's.
Writers for the nation's two most influential newspapers, Manes and
Mossberg are outspoken, unbiased, independent veterans who come across as
friendly rivals with strong (and sometimes opposing) opinions that they
are never afraid to express. Their credibility and recognition has been
earned through their weekly columns in The New York Times and The Wall
Street Journal, their magazine columns, and syndication in newspapers
throughout the country, reaching a combined readership of over 13 million.
"Personal computers are just too hard to use, and it's not your fault,"
says Mossberg, "The computer industry talks to itself in jargon; we talk
to Digital Duo viewers in plain English." "This isn't a show for computer
geeks," Manes added. "It's more like 'Car Talk' for computers." In
Digital Duo, they explore a broad range of hardware, software and
services for the home and office--everything from bargain PCs to programs
that let you talk to your computer and see your words appear on the
screen. Manes and Mossberg demonstrate the benefits and pitfalls, share
tips and tricks, offer rants and raves, and wrap it all up with decisive
recommendations to "Save" or "Delete."
"Computers are no longer the domain of techies," said Allen. "Computing
has become truly mainstream. But consumers have trouble getting
dependable, independent advice to keep them up with the constantly
evolving marketplace. This is the first program that will help them do
it."
Digital Duo is produced by ZMedia of Framingham, MA and syndicated by
American Program Services of Boston. Stephen Manes and Walter Mossberg
are available for interviews. Please contact Dennis Allen at (508)
626-9900.
--Give me back my bullets, put 'em back where they belong. ...Lynard Skynard
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