MLTRUE.RVW   990314

"This is True", Randy Cassingham, 1999, ,
%A   Randy Cassingham arcie@thisistrue.com
%C   PO Box 17326, Boulder CO 80308-0326 
%D   1999
%I   Freelance Communications
%O   TrueInfo@thisistrue.com http://www.thisistrue.com
%P   ~5 stories weekly
%T   "This is True"

As with "News of the Weird" (cf. MLNOTW.RVW) and "Maddog News" (cf.
MLMADDOG.RVW), "This is True" relies on real news stories that touch
on the bizarre.  Like NOTW, True is syndicated, and available for use
as a column by newspapers.

The free version of True runs weekly, and is a slightly reduced
version of the full weekly column available by email as a paid
subscription mailing list.  The free version carries references to
stories in the other edition.

The free edition of True carries one ad per issue, and it must get
pretty good coverage.  At the top of every column is listed a rough
count of the subscriber base, and an exact count of the number of
countries.  As of February, 1999, that was 150,000 subscribers in 164
countries.

Another of Cassingham's trademarks is a one line editorial comment on
the story, generally facetious.  Each item is about a paragraph long,
and contains a reference to the source.  These items generally come
from wire services.

A lengthy report on Cassingham's life and doings, as well as responses
to reader mail, accompanies each issue.  These are well written and
amusing, and it is almost possible to forget that they are basically
ads for the "premium" version of the mailing list, and the various
books Cassingham has written.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999   MLTRUE.RVW   990314