(Editor's Note: Unfortunately, this trailblazing journal did not survive. Web Review died a much-publicized death in 1996 and was eventually relaunched as a technical journal aimed at Web developers.)

To begin with an obvious example, the magazine's inaugural issue uses real-time audio to distribute a roundtable discussion on the theme of political effectiveness in cyberspace (two Democrats and two Republicans take part). The discussion—which lasts nearly 30 minutes—is moderated by Stephen Pizzo, Web Review's National Affairs Editor, and is fascinating in and of itself. But this RealAudio Roundtable is actually intended as an aural sidebar to Pizzo's feature story "Virtual New Hampshire" in the same issue, which it serves to amplify with unusual verisimilitude and immediacy. It's an intelligent use of the technology.

The political coverage does not end there. Contributing Editor David Hipschman's "Who Speaks for Cyberspace?" feature examines the preponderance of Republican Web sites, and the alarmingly right-wing rhetoric on display at an August conference held by the Progress and Freedom Foundation in Aspen. In his "Editor's Note," Hipschman calmly and persuasively rebuts the Republicans' ideological claims on the Net, along with the notion—remember the Gingrich proposal to hand out laptops?—that cyberspace can somehow remedy the nation's social ills. Web Review—which will invite the Presidential candidates to participate in future roundtables—probably deserves a five-star rating for this coverage alone.

There is a great deal more to the magazine than politics, however. Web Review is strong across the board but its Web-specific criticism is especially fine. Longer, thematic reviews are devoted to accounts of several sites while shorter reviews are memorably capsulized with star ratings (ranging from one to five), an estimate of the "quality time" one can expect to spend on the site (60 minutes is tops), and the amusingly named—but deadly accurate—"Dreck-o-meter." Solid and practical pieces on Internet commerce, design and technology round out the issue.

Web Review's decision to include graphical ad links within the actual text at the beginning of articles is somewhat controversial. But even here the magazine's execution seems flawless. The links are small and tastefully rendered, and in fact are less obtrusive than many print ads. If they pay the bills and keep the content coming, they're well worth it. For anyone who cares about society, the Internet and how they interact, Web Review is must reading.

(Reviewed September 25, 1995)