We’ve made the media more democratic, but at what cost to our democracy?
While the mainstream media were having lunch, members of the audience made other plans. They scattered and are still on the move, part of a massive migration. The dynamic driving it? It’s all about you. Me. And all the various forms of the First Person Singular.
Americans have decided the most important person in their lives is … them, and our culture is now built upon that idea. It’s the User-Generated Generation.
For those times when the 900 digital options awaiting us in our set-top cable box can seem limiting and claustrophobic, there’s the Web. Once inside, the doors swing open to a treasure trove of video: adults juggling kittens, ill-fated dance moves at wedding receptions, political rants delivered to camera with venom and volume. All of it exists to fill a perceived need. Media executives- some still not sure what it is – know only that they want it. And they’re willing to pay for it.
