A kōan (公案) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet nonetheless may be accessible to intuition.
This is a kōan on the changing shape of the media business, with an emphasis on "business" (as in a content or entertainment oriented industry that exists to profitability build and monetize an audience).
Boxee, Justin.tv, KRON (San Francisco's Channel 4 TV station) and the San Francisco Chronicle are the players in today's show.
The curtain rises...
Narrator: Rumor has it that old media just kicked Boxee in the jimmy.
Protagonist: Right back at ya in two parts!
Part one: I was watching KRON on Sunday night when something strange happened. In place of the normal "Sports Final" segment that usually appears on Sundays, was this pre-fab, pre-taped piece of generic sports crap ridiculously plugged in where the local sports segment used to be.
No explanation was provided by the anchors on "what is this" and "why now," but then again, none was necessary, for the economics pretty much irrevocably changed once Channel 4 ceased being an NBC affiliate.
The outcome (unfortunately) was long a foregone conclusion. This was simply the exclamation point.
(Actually, the real exclamation point came a day or so later when Young Broadcasting, the station's owner, filed bankruptcy).
Part two: Meanwhile, with pretty much no advanced hints of what was coming, word came out this week that the Hearst Corporation, owners of the San Francisco Chronicle, are sending out an advanced obituary that barring a turnaround/buyer, they are reserving their right to shut down the Chronicle, the lone, venerable daily of this major city.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mr. The New York Times!
I am sickened by a generation that neither reads nor watches the news. But not so sickened to prevent me from watching the Lakers game on Justin.tv.
The players take their bows, and the curtain is lowered...
The Kōan: If you can follow the bouncing ball from Boxee to KRON to SF Chronicle to Justin.tv and see them collectively as "The Questions," then what is "The Answer?"
Related Posts:
- What it Means to be a "Social" Media Center: Boxee, Apple TV and Square Connect
- Pattern Recognition: Winning Blue Prints, Moneyball (NBA-style) and Justin.tv
- Carve out an hour to watch the PBS FRONTLINE documentary, “Inside the Meltdown” (it’s online HERE)
