Last week, I sat on a panel put together by the very forward-thinking Idaho Press Club that looked at the Internet’s impact on local TV. I was joined by Mark Danielson, GM of KIFI and Vickie Holbrook of the Idaho Press Tribune. Danielson talked about his station’s WiNG efforts (which we previously profiled), and Holbrook talked about her paper’s rapid diversification.
The Idaho Press-Tribune is this state’s third largest paper, but is easily the most innovative. They produce more content than the much larger Idaho Statesman with a much smaller staff.
I told the audience that newspapers are almost dead (which elicited a knowing smile from the panel’s moderator – who also happens to be the editorial writer for a newspaper). But I warned that TV as a medium could be next. I write extensively here about the challenges facing newspapers, because our part of the industry could – and is already starting to – take a similar path. Hulu, P2P file sharing and centralized DVR technology could make it increasingly difficult for TV stations in the future. The entire panel talked about how the playing field has leveled out in ways no one thought just a decade ago. In many markets, the traditional newspaper and TV powers are battling on each other’s turf.
