4 ms·

TV is so dying, they don't even know it. In one way, I'm worried about the quality of news reporting now when traditional media is slowly withering away, but s

by kpil 8y ago

TV is so dying, they don't even know it. In one way, I'm worried about the quality of news reporting now when traditional media is slowly withering away, but since they are focusing on haircuts, I don't think it really matter. The quality journalism is already mostly gone, and what's left can be found in a small number of online and print publications, read by a small number of people.

lclarkmichalek 8y ago
This seems kinda tangential to the article, which does not even begin to touch on why of those issues.
erikpukinskis 8y ago
It's not that TV is dying, it's that monocultures are contracting. They will grow again, but won't reach the same heights. The haircuts need to be one way, because the anchors are trying to reach as large an audience as possible. If they were speaking only to, say, soccer fans, they would have other choices. Same is true for many other audiences. But if you want to go for a "universal" audience, you have to go to the lowest common denominator. The internet has turned that on its head. You actually can sustainably run a news show for soccer fans only, and be financially successful. Whereas before the distribution costs were too high to allow anything other than mass market news brands. However, we shant over-extrapolate here. It turns out that many people actually identify more with the "big middle" than with any little subcultures. They enjoy standard, "basic" stuff. They want no fuss, and they like universal appeal. They don't like balkanization. Perhaps they were part of a tight knit tribe, and they don't want to go back to that. For this reason, I would call this moment a "contract" of mass media, not a death of it. I think these generic brands will contract, but in doing so will find their core audience. People who are not alienated by the "anchor bob" but comforted by it.

by kpil 8y ago

lclarkmichalek 8y ago

This seems kinda tangential to the article, which does not even begin to touch on why of those issues.

erikpukinskis 8y ago

It's not that TV is dying, it's that monocultures are contracting. They will grow again, but won't reach the same heights. The haircuts need to be one way, because the anchors are trying to reach as large an audience as possible. If they were speaking only to, say, soccer fans, they would have other choices. Same is true for many other audiences. But if you want to go for a "universal" audience, you have to go to the lowest common denominator. The internet has turned that on its head. You actually can sustainably run a news show for soccer fans only, and be financially successful. Whereas before the distribution costs were too high to allow anything other than mass market news brands. However, we shant over-extrapolate here. It turns out that many people actually identify more with the "big middle" than with any little subcultures. They enjoy standard, "basic" stuff. They want no fuss, and they like universal appeal. They don't like balkanization. Perhaps they were part of a tight knit tribe, and they don't want to go back to that. For this reason, I would call this moment a "contract" of mass media, not a death of it. I think these generic brands will contract, but in doing so will find their core audience. People who are not alienated by the "anchor bob" but comforted by it.