So Jon Stewart goes on CNN and rips the hosts. OK. But that's not the big story. The New York Times tells how the incident became instant fodder for the blogosphere. The point is that CNN missed an opportunity to promote themselves by giving away free downloads of the video from the program.
"What's fascinating about the Jon Stewart takedown of 'Crossfire' is not just what he said, but how his message got distributed," Jarvis wrote. "The really stupid thing is that CNN didn't do this themselves: 'Hey, we had a red-hot segment...you should watch; here, please, look at this free download because it will promote our (hosts) and our brand and our show and give us a little of that Stewart hip heat.' That's what CNN should have done. Instead, they'll charge you to deliver a videotape (what's that?) the next day."
CNN media representatives said they were not surprised by the massive response, based on "Crossfire's" ratings and Stewart's own visibility. They had no comment on the company's policy of distributing its programming via mail, as opposed to online. The CNN.com site does offer short clips of some of its programs.
The new media community filled the void. The article continues...
In addition, Jarvis pointed out that the Internet serves as a sort of unofficial index of other media outlets, giving people the ability to access almost any report transmitted on television, radio or in print news.
"Welcome to the future of TV!," Jarvis wrote. "In old TV, a moment like this came, and if you missed it, you missed it. Tough luck. In new TV, you don't need to worry about watching it live--live is so yesterday--because thousands of peers will be keeping an eye out for you to let you know what you should watch, and they'll record it and distribute it."
That's the power of a network, and I'm not talking about CNN.
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