[backhoe]

The mainstream media has much to fear, and it's not just declining market share- their power, influence, and control are slipping, too.

In 1999, our "personal economy" took a turn for the worse and to economize, we let all our subscriptions drop. My wife's Mom, good soul that she is, dutifully saved her papers and gave them to us once a week- and you know what?
We found ourselves reading them less & less, to the point that now we thank her, take them, and they go straight into the trash when we get home.

They all read the same- same talking points, same "hot button 'issues,'" same old stuff. All the wire services repeat the same old stories, and they are terribly out-of-date compared to the 'net.

Even if the news agencies could get up to 'net speed, they lack the other vital characteristic of forums- interactivity. Free Republic is "a paper I can talk back to..."

[nopardons]

We used to get 6 papers ... some daily , some weekly. We decided to stop taking most of them, and I don't miss them at all . I don't know why most people bother with them anymore, especially if the have a computer.

I stopped watching the nightly news, on CBSABCNBC long, long,long ago. I just watch FOX CABLE now. : - )