eBuzz - How Stupid is This?

How Stupid is This?

Our October client newsletter includes information about a study whose results affirmed what many of us already knew: four-fifths of Americans surveyed view the Internet as more important in their lives than television. Television, in fact, came in a distant third, after computers/Internet and cell phones.

And then, hard on the heels of that study, came last Thursday's headline in the Wall Street Journal: "Web's Growing TV Allure."

The Internet, claims the WSJ, is the "next media phenomenon," noting that the television network ABC will now be airing its shows on AOL. Primetime dramas and comedies such as Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty will now be offered free of charge on the Internet.

Excuse me? How incredibly stupid is this?

Are we the only ones to discern that having television on the computer is a step backward, not forward? The Internet is not the "next media phenomenon," as the WSJ would have it: it is the only real medium for millions of people, who already access the news, entertainment, and enrichment they want — when they want it. It's fast and direct, and it's hard to see how a dying medium — as television inevitably is — can even be compared to the Net, much less boast of passing on some sort of baton.

And that's our take on the news today!

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