Writing for the media involves editing your own stories and the work of others. This exercise provides practice in basic copy editing and identifying common mistakes in grammar and style.
Instructions
Read the following story and make corrections. Sentences may have several errors or no errors at all. Rewrite sentences and/or phrases if necessary.
Exercise
Phone Costs Place Toll on Lower Ranks: Bell’s deposit fee greater for lower income people
FORT KNOX, KY—Post administrators are concerned that the telphone may become an unaffordable luxury for some Knox Fort residents, following reports of people paying as much as $230 for telephone service
But post officials aren’t the only ones who have expressedconcern over the matter. Eaarly last year, a Congressional subcommittee launched a stuudy on the break-up of the Amarican Telegraph and Telephone Company (AT&T) and it’s projected impact on low-income families. In his spe ech to Congress, Rep. Timothy Wirth, chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications the of House Energy and CommerceCommittee, said that allowing high phone costs to restrict usage could create an “information aristo cracy” and an “information underclass” by the end of the century
Currently at issue for Fort Knox is a deposit charge im posed by South Central Bell phone services is connnected. Company officials admitted that officers and higher enlisted personnel are exempted from charge this, providing their credit check is positive. however, people of lower rank and income, with no previous credit record, are required to pay a minimum deposit fee of $110. South central bell officials base this fee, which has remained the same since 1981, on the aver age of long distance phone costs in the louisville/fort knox area.
But according to Ellen downs, manager of collections for South Central Bell, decisions on deposit fees are made in accordance with an individuals ability to pay his or her bill Downs said that South Central Bell originally did not charge the deposit fee to fort knox residents until “problems” arose with people not paying their bills. she added that the civilian community is treated the same way.
George Hesson, U.S. army communications command operations officer at Fort Knox, said that rank dis crimination for charging the deposit fees is “unacceptable.” He said if Problems arose in collecting the money, the bill could be payed by going through the soldier’s chain of command for action.
“As long as thatperson is in the Army,” said Hesson, “that money is collectible”
Downs said that current efforts to use the Chain of Command have not been totally successful.
“In some cases we’re collecting the money,” Downs said “But we’re still coming up with lossses.”
Most of South Central Bells collection problems are linked to people in pay grades E-3 through E-5, said Down. In looking at the losses, she noted that “half are still here (at Fort Knox), and half have moved away.
One problem noted by Fort Knox Public Affairs Officer, Lt. Col. phillip Yacovelli, is the time period South Central Bell allows to collect it’s money before declaring a loss. Currently the company allows sixty days.
Yacovelli said that a soldier is who assigned overseas sometimes leaves before the last bill arrives. By the time the soldier receives the bill and it it sent back through the mail, chances are it has already been de clared a loss. With this in mind, he feels south central bell should allow at least 90 days.
“Its done in this amount of time throughout the South Central Bell System, ” said Downs “The cost factor to develop a computer program just for Fort Knox would be too great.”
Currently, negatiations are underway to set up a liaison system between Fort Knox and South Central Bell. However, at this time no dicision has been made to drop the deposit charges
Aside from Deposit Charges and hook-up fees, residents will find that monthly telephone bills are now higher since the breakup of at&t went into effect Jan. 1. The dissolution was the result of an agreement between the Federal government and AT&T that ended an eight-year-old antitrust lawsuit against AT&T
When the breakup occ urred, local companies like South Central Bell became separate firms from AT&T. Now, AT&T only provides long distance and computer information services. however, companies local no longer receive the long distance profits formerly used to keep rates local down.
As a result, Residents will be required to pay an “access fee” to cover the costs for connections to long-distance networks. According to the Federal communications commission (FCC), the access charge will compensate for the loss of subsidies to local phone service from long-distance Revenues.
In december of 1982, the FCC also ruled that long-distance companies must pay into a special fund to help local com panies pay for service in their areas, rather than making a substantial increase in the Customer’s bill.
Early last year, South Central Bell offered a plan to help curb cost hardships for phone customers. The plaan was called “measured service,” which allowed a certain calling alllowance and a 25 percent discount in price. However, Downs said the plan was discoontinued by the Kentucky Public Service Commission until it could be studied more closely
According to an article in the march 20, edition of Chicago Tribune, telephone use in america has catapulted from 31 percent in the 1930s, to 62 percent in 1950, 79 percent in 1960 and finally to 96 percent today.
Fort knox residents and their families requesting phone service from South central bell can now expect to pay a hook-up charge of at least $39, and possibly the $110 deposit fee. Otherexpe enses will be for the buying of leasing of a telephone from the company of the soldier’s choice
