TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Microsoft Hires Kinsley for On-Line Magazine: Michael Kinsley, former editor of the New Republic and co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire,” has been hired by Microsoft Corp. to launch the electronic magazine of commentary on politics, news and culture. The magazine will be distributed over the Internet’s World Wide Web and on Microsoft Network, an on-line service the software maker began in August, the New York Times and the Washington Post reported. “The idea is to create some serious journalism on the Web for people who are not Web fanatics,” Kinsley said. Kinsley, 44, will end his six-year stint on “Crossfire” at the end of this month. Russell Siegelman, a Microsoft vice president, said the magazine will be launched by early next year.