The following is now circulating on several ListServs. I couldn't find anything about it CSPAN's site, but that's not unusual in my experience.

"Next week, the cable channel C-SPAN will broadcast a week-long series on Y2K readiness in different sectors (health, education, utilities, etc.) The series begins Sunday morning, August 29 with a broadcast focusing on government.

Beginning at approximately 8:30 a.m. EST, John Koskinen of the President's Council on Y2K will talk about the federal government's status, and the work the President's Council has done over the last two years. PTI President Costis Toregas will follow at approximately 9:15 a.m. to talk about state and local government efforts in dealing with Y2K. The show will be re-broadcast later that day."

Publicity=0

Sheesh. If the White House chooses to hire large, low-profile Perception Management companies with CIA connections to manage Y2K information, I at least wish they would hire competent ones.

-- Lewis (aslanshow@yahoo.com), August 27, 1999

Answers

Snip:

"Beginning at approximately 8:30 a.m. EST, John Koskinen of the President's Council on Y2K will talk about the federal government's status, and the work the President's Council has done over the last two years. "

Wonder if this has been concocted by the SPINMEISTER and his associates, sure appears that way. He continues to execute a carefully crafted plan to the DETRIMENT of many million Americans.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 27, 1999.

Will viewer be allowed to call in with questions??

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), August 27, 1999.

Thanks for the heads up. So far on the schedule all I see is at 8pm Sat. a show on The Year 1000...What Life Was Like At The Turn Of the First Millennium. Is that to set the tone?

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), August 27, 1999.

Start with CSPAN in early September, which hits policy wonks and other hard-core politico-junkies. Combine that with more extensive communications to the educational community (cf. Newspapers in Education campaign) as school starts. In other words, communicate to even more "opinion leaders". Get "The Word" out and manage the message.

This is how significant change is managed, folks, and a good communications plan is essential to success. And no, I do not think it's some sort of coup. I think we're seeing a by-the-book approach to dealing with any massive change, and Y2K problems are likely to be just exactly that.

The plan seems to be to minimize bad news of any kind, keep everyone calm, and basically "bet the house" that all the really serious problems will get fixed within a week or two. If they're right, we all get to breathe a sigh of relief sometime in 1Q2000. If not, we get to see whether our preps were adequate.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), August 27, 1999.

Gawd, now I'm supposed to get up at 8:30 on a SUNDAY morning and peel my eyes open to stare at CSPAN and watch Kosky eyes shift and blink more times than OJ's???

Come on CSPAN, if you really want to be useful, air these things at a time when I can actually see.

Thank you very much :-)

-- mar (derigueur2@aol.com), August 29, 1999.