DIFFERING POINTS OF VIEW?
Should we expect SILENT NO MORE
to be regular guests?


Greenstone launches all-women radio talk network
Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:00 PM ET

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Greenstone Media, a radio company whose founders include social activist Gloria Steinem and actress Jane Fonda, has launched an all-women, all-talk network across the United States.

Steinem said the network, which is run by women, aims to provide an alternative to current radio talk, which she describes as "very argumentative, quite hostile, and very much male-dominated."

This network "has a different spirit. It has more community. It's more about information, about humor, about respect for different points of view and not constant arguing," Steinem told Reuters in an interview.

But Greenstone also hopes to attract male listeners.

"We do have male voices on the network. It's much better to have a mixture of voices," said Susan Ness, chief executive officer of Greenstone, which got its name from a children's book by Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple".

The network's broadcasts have aired since July in selected stations, such as on WIIN in Jackson, Mississippi, WXCT in Hartford, Connecticut, a station in Flint, Michigan, and is launching a broadcast in Albany, New York. It is trying to partner with some satellite radio outfits.

"We expect that people will be able to also get us on mobile phones, cable radio, I-pods and every distribution vehicle," said Ness.

Steinem pointed out that the idea of an all-women network stemmed from a company survey showing an 18 percent decrease in female listeners over the past seven years.

"Women are really fleeing from AM talk radio and now FM music because people get their music in different ways. So there's an enormous window of opportunity, and we're diving in," she said.

Currently, the network does nine hours of programming daily, which should increase shortly to 12.

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Cervical Cancer Shot May Be Standard In 6th Grade

POSTED: 5:20 pm EDT September 12, 2006

A bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers wants all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against cervical cancer.

A Republican state senator who is the lead sponsor said it's the first legislation of its kind in the U.S.

The vaccine was approved by federal regulators this summer and hailed as a breakthrough in cancer prevention. The shots prevent infections from strains of a sexually transmitted virus -- human papilloma virus, or HPV -- that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

At the time, conservatives expressed concern that schools would require the vaccine for enrollment. They argue that such mandates infringe on parents' rights and send a message that underage sex is OK.

If approved, the measure would go into effect for the next school year.

The vaccine was approved for females between ages 9 and 26. In studies, it was credited with preventing disease from the two types of HPV that are responsible for approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancers, according to Detroit television station WDIV.

The legislator who proposed the requirement noted that, as with all other school-required vaccines, parents may opt out of this requirement for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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