A long-running (167 issues since September 1983) newsletter that monitors the $8.5 billion annual report print industry worldwide says "electronic annuals" on the Internet are "across-the-board negative...or, at best, leave loads to be desired."

Sid Cato's Newsletter on Annual Reports looked at the reports online of some whose print versions Cato has assessed as among the world's best—from Chicago-based Ameritech to the Twin Cities' St. Paul Cos., and including Kingsport, Tenn.'s Eastman Chemical, Batesville, Ind.'s Hillenbrand Industries, and Pfizer, the drug company.

Observed Editor Cato, in the July issue of his newsletter: "If the big guns in the business can't do better with their electronic annuals, what hope is there for the also-rans, the nine of 10 whose print product itself is wanting?"

He assigned "a flunking grade" to the online annuals for both Eastman and St. Paul Cos., D- to Ameritech's, C- to the Pfizer report online. The best grade, C+, went to Hillenbrand. Previously, he hailed IBM's online annual as "the ultimate—as good as they get."