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THE DAY THAT TV DIED

Posted on 10/26/2003 3:39 PM PST

by I'll be your Huckleberry

In every evolutionary wave there is an event called the "tipping point". A place in time and space where "what once was" becomes "that which will fade", and "that which will be" arises and never looks back.

On this day, a sleepy fall Sunday, events have placed us in the epicenter of such a tipping event. So let's call it as it is and mark this spot. Our cognizance of the flow has no effect on the eventual outcome, but awareness is never a bad thing.

You could see it coming. State of the art threads on the Shuttle crash, blog's from wartime Iraq, Mother Abigail's riveting threads on Sars, etc..., you could see it coming.

But today seems different. While the old media carried the most inane bits of rehashed garbage over and over - California burned.
Anxious families turned to the only news happening in real time.

The internet. Pseudonymed posters transposed scanner traffic to text, others followed law enforcement and fire fighter traffic to post the mind-numbing explosions of fires and evacuations.

While real people fled for their lives (8 dead at this writing) the old media played reruns. As the number of homes burning rose the frustration and anger at lack of coverage grew. Eyewitness were giving reports from their porches, digital pictures were being shot and posted.

Both the scope and the tragedy of the fire was becoming apparent. Not filtered, not edited nor syndicated - just live, real and dramatic.

And in the struggle to help ourselves understand the events - things changed.

Anonymous posters became neighbors. Offering prayers and pickup trucks to any in harms way.
Brave Doctors offered aid if needed, and while California burned Nascar, figure skating and celebrity marriages continued.

It cannot be undone. It will never be the same. Digital technology, tragedy and anger all formed a confluence one sleepy Sunday - never look back.

.........

I found this poster right on target...

My tipping point was in December 2000 watching trench-coated reporterettes standing on the steps of the Supreme Court with the decision on Bush v. Gore in their hands. My husband and I stood in front of the TV for anguished minutes waiting for the 'rettes to get to the punch line. I headed for the 'puter, waited through a slow dial-up, and lurked on FR for about 10 seconds. I had my answer and I had the transcript to read for myself. Back to the living room, the fumbling "journalists" were still looking for ways Gore might have gotten a win.

Thanks for FR as the best source of truth, available 24/7.