Defying critics to publish the Unabomber ‘Manifesto’
It may not have been courageous necessarily, but the joint decision by the Washington Post and New York Times 20 years ago to publish the Unabomber “Manifesto” certainly cut against the … Continue reading
20 years on: Remembering the senator who quit in disgrace
After a three-year ethics investigation into his unwanted sexual advances on women, many of whom were dependent on him for their jobs, Bob Packwood of Oregon abruptly announced the resignation … Continue reading
Contrived ballyhoo: Recalling Microsoft’s rollout of Windows 95
No prominent event of 1995 — a watershed year in ways serious and significant — was more hyped or contrived than Microsoft’s official release of the Windows 95 computer operating … Continue reading
Dilemma on the Merc’s front page: Lead with Netscape? Jerry Garcia death?
As a postscript to the recent coverage revisiting Netscape’s eye-popping IPO of August 1995, it’s worth recalling how the leading newspaper of Silicon Valley carried the news — and what … Continue reading
The ‘Netscape Moment,’ 20 years on
We’re in the runup to the 20th anniversary of the “Netscape Moment” of 1995, the day when a California startup’s eye-popping market debut illuminated the World Wide Web for millions … Continue reading
Late summer 1995, and the spate of media mergers
Twenty years ago this week, Disney Company revealed it was buying the parent corporation of ABC for $19 billion in what then was the second most-lucrative corporate merger ever in … Continue reading
What ‘Clueless’ at 20 can tell us about exploring the recent past
Clueless, surely the most memorable teen movie of 1995, turned 20 over the weekend, an occasion marked by more than a few retrospectives that considered how life differed back then. … Continue reading
The 1995 massacre at Srebrenica and its effects on U.S. policy
Twenty years ago this week, Bosnia Serb forces seized control of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia and soon after began rounding up, and killing, the Muslim men … Continue reading
1995 as tipping point: Recalling Smith Corona’s bankruptcy
Even as 1995 unfolded, it became clear that the year would be regarded as a hinge moment, as an important transitory time near the end of the millennium. As I … Continue reading
‘Cyberporn’ scare of 1995 demonstrates the early Web’s corrective power
The demotion last month of Brian Williams, the former NBC News lead anchor, was testimony, at least in part, to the power of social media to expose and debunk. The … Continue reading
The 1995 Blog 