November 20, 2000 New Thinking:
The networks
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November 20, 2000
The networks
By Gerry McGovern
The Networks are a powerful thing. Through their vast arteries flow oxygen-rich information that feeds the body politic and the information society. The networks control the flow of information. That's their power.
When Al Gore ceded the most powerful job in the world because of information he received from the American TV networks, that illustrated just how powerful the networks are. One would have assumed that the Vice President of the United States would have his own information networks, and I'm sure he had, but when the big TV networks said Bush was the winner, Gore bowed.
Of course, the networks were wrong. Hungry to be first with the news, then fearful of being last when another station took the initiative, the networks failed in their primary function. The networks are supposed to give us the right information in a timely manner, but what they did was give us the wrong information at breakneck speed.
We all realize the value of correct information. How many of us
recognize the cost of inaccurate information? Have you considered lately the accuracy of the information on your website or hard disk? Inaccurate information leads to bad decisions. If organizations truly recognized the cost of inaccurate information, there would be a lot more attention paid to what's found on websites.
The TV networks got it fundamentally wrong with regard to the US elections. Their robust publishing standards wilted under the heat of speed. But at least they had publishing standards. Much of what gets on the Internet has undergone relatively little editorial control. The information on your website may never decide who the next president of the United States will be, but it might just decide who your next customer will or will not be.
Don't believe the hype about the Internet. It's not a lame duck by any stretch of the imagination. The Internet really matured as a network during the US presidential elections. As Forbes magazine put it, "Some 20 years down the road, media pundits will look back on the 2000 presidential election as a groundbreaking event. It will be viewed as the event that put the Web on the map as a legitimate news and information source and clearly demarcated it as separate from the broadcast media."
While TV and radio gave a sense of the developing story, the Internet came into its own as a means by which the reader could 'drill-down' into a piece of information. You could track in great detail what happened in a particular state. You could get the background to a story, find out about the events that moulded that story.
The Networks control the Internet when it comes to news. The
biggies--CNN, MSNBC, ABC, New York Times, USA Today--dominate, just like they dominate the airwaves. The Internet and the television are working hand-in-hand. Far from the Internet becoming the voice of 'new media,' it is in fact a means by which 'old media' is exerting an even greater lock on its audience.
The networks are exerting an increasing control on all our lives. As we depend more and more on information, we will depend more and more on the networks to supply that information. It better be right.
Gerry McGovern
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Far from the Internet becoming the voice of 'new media,' it is in fact a means by which 'old media' is exerting an even greater lock on its audience.
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