The New News Medium

As I (along with most of the world I suspect) sit transfixed on events unfolding in the Middle East and the probable certainity that Israel will enter Lebanon again, a new trend in news and current affairs journalism is becoming very apparent. Time and again during news and feature bulletins, news networks are emphasising "for the latest log on to our website at.....". I typically watch BBC and CNN the most and both constantly refer viewers to their website for further and updated information. Indeed the Internet is fast becoming the "New News Medium". By this I mean the recognition by major news organisations, such as BBC and CNN, that to deliver content, the Internet is now perhaps (increasingly) the more appropriate and shall I say "more flexible" medium. With broadband availability and uptake on the increase, bandwidth to deliver such content to the user is less of an issue. Recently I had a look at CNN's Pipeline feature which provides up to 4 live video streams and I must say its quite impressive. It is not free though (currently USD 2.95/month and not available in all countries yet), but it does come "commercial free" and subscribing also gives access to CNN.com video archives. The thought I had whilst looking at all this was that offerings such as these are really much like an extension (or expansion) of good old RSS - except that you get live video feeds of events as they unfold (I sound like an advertisement for a major news network) ;-) .....truly this is continued proof of the evolution of the Internet!