Who We Are
We are variously known as "CNN of STF," "The Starfleet News Network," and simply "SNN."
We write the news as it happens in STF (with an acceptable amount of spin, of course) and distribute the fruits of our labor to the general membership, wanted or not.
We serve as the primary chroniclers of STF's history.
And yes, we are a bunch of nutcases. SNN is the news "network" that distributes and serves as a banner for many independent news-reporting devices, some of them with good intentions, which serve to educate, inform, and entertain STF's populace.
SNN is best-known for its widest-circulation newsletter, WeBBsights, although the SNN family encompasses other publications as well.
The Network is led by an Executive Editor, Admiral Mike Ballway, and a Deputy Editor, Commodore Larry Garfield. In addition, it has two Associate Editors, Mark Wilson and Seamus Hughes. WeBBsights correspondents have included such STF luminaries as Seamus Hughes, Randy McCullick, Mike Bourdaa, and Deanne Morgan; past freelance writers have included Mike Bourdaa, Franco Torres, and Jeff Field; our first Editor-in-Chief was Genesun Han, and our current Editor-in-Chief (who no longer wields any power, because he is AWOL) is Mike Cathcart.
WeBBsights
In the summer of 1997 STF expanded beyond its Prodigy roots when it commissioned the star-fleet.com Web Bulletin Board (abbreviated "WeBB"). As more and more members joined the new Third Fleet, Executive Editor Mike Ballway realized that a new publication designed especially for the web would need to inform this public, and together with then-Lieutenant Laurence Garfield, established WeBBsights, a newsletter devoted to the WeBB. WeBBsights calls itself "Your #1 Source for WeBB Misinformation" and has been published somewhat biweekly since 10 October 1997, excepting the infamous SNN hiatuses.
SNN Headline News
In 1997 Mark Wilson joined STF, and by the end of that year he had expressed his desire to write for SNN. His first piece was an opinion column about President Greg Hertzsch's administration, but by early 1998 Mark was writing full-blown newsletters similar to SNN UPDATE. SNNHN later expanded to the Internet also, publishing two columns under the same name (to differentiate, the WeBB Edition was referred to as "Volume II"; the original "Volume I," on Prodigy, has been discontinued).
SNN UPDATE
Mike Ballway, on 9 September 1994, wrote STF's first wide-circulation newsletter under the working title "SNN News/Announcements Service." The second issue, bearing the now-familiar name SNN UPDATE, was written the next month and Mike soon established a biweekly schedule (never mind the fact that this schedule was almost never adhered to, and the Editor went on frequent long hiatuses). In mid-1998, when Mike Ballway resigned from STF*Prodigy, SNN UPDATE ceased publication forever. From September 1994 to August 1998, more than three years, SNN UPDATE endeavored to bring news and entertainment to Prodigy STFers (though not necessarily in that order). The newsletter was posted on every ship in STF*Prodigy and took as its motto "Quick, Informative, Totally Biased Reporting of STF Events."
- Read with nostalgia the final SNN UPDATE!
- SNN Headline News inaccuracy got you down? For the best in historical fact-fudging, review old SNN UPDATEs!
Other SNN Publications
Genesun Han and Mike Cathcart were the first two Editors-in-Chief of SNN (in fact, since Mike Cathcart never formally resigned from STF, he still is; Admiral Ballway fashions himself "Executive Editor" to this day). Both Genesun (known by his RPG name, Larimda ME) and Cathcart wrote many articles for the Network, most of which unfortunately have been lost to the unforgiving vast expanses of time. However, a we have rescued a few and have compiled a collection of SNN articles by Cathcart, Han, Mike Bourdaa and some early work by Mike Ballway and Mark Wilson, and some latter-day SNN antics from Mike Bourdaa, Jeff Field, and more.
STF Histories Archived by SNN
In a club with a history as long as STF's, keeping an eye on the past is never easy. Fortunately, some STFers have taken the time to publish memoirs, and SNN has gladly archived whatever it finds in this respect (as part of our duty as chroniclers of STF history):
- Jim Midyette, one of the founding members of STF, wrote "No Regrets" as a history of STF that traced his life in the club. Covering STF's early history from 1991 through 1994, No Regrets spanned 14 screens on Prodigy Bulletin Boards and is required reading for any STFer who wants to know how the club got started.
- In 1997, in response to SNN's republication of "No Regrets," Mike Bourdaa -- also a founding member of the club -- published what came to be known as "The Bourdaa Papers," a clarification of a few "No Regrets'" passages.
- In early 1998, STF President Greg Hertzsch published a first-hand account, "The STF WeBB History," documenting STF's expansion onto the Internet, including the failed Web Colony and the immensely-successful Web Bulletin Board (WeBB).
- An SNN work-in-progress, the "Engineering Department History" first appeared on the ED homepage and has been saved here, where it will periodically be updated.
- Spanning his 6 years of service in STF, Mike Ballway's memoirs, "In This Reporter's Opinion," have been published for the first time here on SNN Center on the Web.
- Former President and current Command handyman Randy E. McCullick is currently in the process of writing his "REMoirs," which will undoubtably include sections on early STF history, the STC Defection of 1992, and Randy's sudden and active reappearances in STF life in 1995-96 and on the WeBB.
- Former FComm-2 (among other things) and later WeBB AFComm-2 Mike Barclay is also writing an STF history . . . supposedly.
History of SNN
SNN started out its life a very long time ago (sometime around late 1991 or early 1992) under the leadership of Genesun Han, who would write a comedic column under the name "CNN of STF." Later that tradition was taken up by Mike Cathcart, who by 1994 was writing brilliant pieces about STF's social and political aspects.
In mid-1994, then-Captain Mike Ballway, impressed with Cathcart's wide exposure, decided he would write a news show for STF and would base it at Cathcart's "network." The new show, dubbed "SNN UPDATE," would eventually succeed Cathcart's column when he left STF.
In 1996, SNN's new Executive Editor -- Commodore Mike Ballway -- tried his hand at publishing a satiric/humorous column called "Kent's Corner." The column lasted for three issues but never quite achieved the same success as Mike Cathcart's work had. In October 1997, SNN expanded in recognition of STF's Web Bulletin Board with a new newsletter called "WeBBsights," while continuing to publish SNN UPDATE as its flagship program, and expanding -- in 1998 -- to a second Prodigy newsletter, Mark Wilson's SNN Headline News.
As the WeBB expanded and STF*Prodigy was phased out, Mark Wilson's Headline News -- with its "Volume II" WeBB edition -- made him the premier irrelevant humorist in STF, while on a sadder note, SNN UPDATE ended its streak as STF's longest-running publication and STF*Prodigy's best source for news. The Starfleet News Network, undaunted, looks toward the new millennium with better layout and humorous content in WeBBsights, the continued success of SNN Headline News on the WeBB, and the promise of more SNN journalism in areas not yet explored.
So You Wanna Write For SNN, Eh?
Well -- you're in luck! SNN welcomes any and all would-be writers to send their stories and columns to Executive Editor Mike Ballway, who (if he likes it) will post it on this site or in a column in WeBBsights and publicize it in SNN publications. SNN asks that prospective writers stay short and concise wherever possible, double-check any facts, and only write on topics impacting STF or Star Trek in general (e.g., please no "here's why Bill Clinton stinks" diatribes or dissertations about the Internet in general). Also, current or former STF members only, please.
Those wishing to contribute to WeBBsights as a regular news correspondent should contact either Mike or Deputy Editor Larry Garfield. This "next level" of SNN participation comes with the additional duty of meeting deadlines, so make sure that you're up to the task before signing on.
Related Pages
The Starfleet News Network
- WeBBsights -- The undisputed #1 newsletter of the WeBB
- SNN Headline News -- Mark Wilson's WeBB and Prodigy columns from 1998 to present
- SNN UPDATE -- Archives from STF*Prodigy's "quasi-official" newsletter, 1994-1998
- More from SNN -- Freelance columns from some of STF's best-known writers
Other STF Pages of Interest
Page Created on 19 July 1997 -- Last Updated on 25 May 2000
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