Terry Heaton's "The On-Demand Trap"

Terry's got a new essay up in his "TV News in a Postmodern World" series.

Highlights:

"Clearly, it's smart strategy to offer content in an unbundled fashion. There's money to be made and multiple platforms to explore. But it is foolish strategy to assume that such a position is all that's required for local stations (local media in general) to survive online in the long term. There are three profoundly important reasons for this.

Energized by discontent with institutional media, very low barriers to entry, the simple joy of creating media, a profound sense of community, a deep weariness with hyperbole, and many other forces, people are taking matters into their own hands and having a ball doing it.

Involving yourself with real people in a real online community setting takes a skillset and values that most broadcasters don't seem to possess.

One of Umiar Haque's most important concepts is that of "the edge" — the place at the end of one's "reach" where new media meets end user. If the greatest value is at the point of use, then distancing oneself from that point by becoming only a content provider reduces one's value.

The tools available to everyday people that are turning the media world on its head are also available to professional organizations."