DATE: Friday, September 5, 1997             TAG: 9709050661

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   54 lines

COVERAGE OF DIANA FINDS EAGER AUDIENCE

Try logging onto a Princess Diana Web site or finding this week's Time magazine with Di on the cover. Try turning on TV and not seeing a show about Di, and you'll know this:

The public that lashed out at tabloid photographers for their role in the princess' death has been consuming everything Di-related that the media pumps out.

Suburban News Stand at Norfolk's Wards Corner quickly sold out of this week's Time and Newsweek magazines with Princess Diana gracing the cover, said owner Charlotte Monson. She placed an order for more.

``People have been going on a list to get anything with Di on the cover,'' Monson said. ``Little ladies are coming in and buying two or three out-of-town newspapers to read about her.''

People magazine's Diana issue - which won't have Diana on the cover due to its deadline - is scheduled to arrive today. Monson knows she won't get enough copies. ``We'll be ordering more,'' she said.

The princess' untimely death has sent people swarming for information from traditional and new media. Frank Byrum, vice president of network engineering at Internet company InfiNet, said he has not seen a significant jump in InfiNet's traffic, but he has heard that European Web sites are tough to reach.

``I personally have been trying to get to the BBC Web site and haven't been able to get there,'' Byrum said. Interested - and persistent - people can leave a condolence message on that site (www.bbc.co.uk).

Pilot Online (www.pilotonline.com), The Virginian-Pilot's interactive partner, saw visitors to its national area - where Diana stories were featured - increase fivefold on Sunday, said Chris Kouba, content development manager.

Digital City Hampton Roads, an Internet site run in conjunction with the Newport News Daily Press newspaper, created America Online chatrooms last weekend that quickly filled up. Digby Solomon, who manages that operation, said Princess Diana has generated more local interest than any news story since the service's inception. (On AOL, keyword: Hampton Roads).

Readers have also been snapping up newspapers. The Virginian-Pilot's single-copy sales - papers sold in boxes and convenience stores - jumped by 5,000 on Sunday and by 4,000 on Monday and Tuesday, circulation director Dee Carpenter said.

``That's as strong a reaction as I've seen, other than the Gulf War,'' he said, ``especially given that it's gone on for several days now.''

While the paparazzi's action may have been scorned, the Web site of German tabloid Bild (www.bild.de) has drawn attention because it features a photo of rescuers at the crash scene in the Paris tunnel.

``Worldwide discussion over a Bild photograph. See for yourself. Decide for yourself,'' the site reads.

That, though, is difficult. Traffic to the site is apparently heavy, and getting to the photo in question takes numerous attempts. KEYWORDS: PRINCESS DIANA

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