Doc tipped me off about checkbox news, Dave Winer’s dream of being able to fine-tune the news that gets delivered to him. Checkbox news lets you tailor the stories you are presented according to your likes, and perhaps more importantly, your dislikes.
I find it interesting that this isn’t already being done. Its the future of broadcasting, or to be more precise – its proof there is no future for broadcasting. The idea that everyone will be watching the same thing was mortally wounded with the invention of the Tivo and this idea may finish it off.
I see “checkbox news” taking shape as a Tivo-like set-top box collecting snippets of news. The typical network news show consists of multiple stories lasting around 60 to 90 seconds, with plenty of commercial padding. You’ll soon be able to pick which stories you want to follow, perhaps even mixing in another network’s coverage of a particular story if you like their angle better.
Overnight, the media is freed from the iron grip of so few companies. Networks no longer matter. Anchors no longer matter. News is broken up into the essential element:the story. A news session can be assembled any way the viewer wishes, with stories selected in the same way newspaper editors select wire stories to mix with their locally-produced news. The idea of a television “consumer,” one who takes only what is given, goes the way of black and white TV. Individual stories compete for viewers in an online marketplace: the free market at its best.
News would be judged on the basis of the stories alone. In the same manner that the World Wide Web acts as a great equalizer for anyone with something to say, checkbox news could provide the platform for anyone willing to provide a report. Offer more compelling reporting, and you as an independent journalist could speak to millions. Anyone with a story could have an equal shot of getting heard.
Sites like YouTube specialize in short video clips. Tools like bittorrent can distribute news clips. Konspire is like BitTorrent with a remote control – designed for customized IPTV channels that anyone can create. Its dormant now but still offers as much promise as when I wrote about it earlier. Maybe even more.
All one needs is to create the story marketplace – the economic engine for this whole scheme – and news will never be the same. Ah, to have access to a few million bucks right now…