The Situation Room, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer showcase, (or as Rafat puts it “where internet, TV, RSS and shouting come together) is getting all kinds of positive attention for its sometimes dazzling, sometimes distracting high-paced blend of technology and breaking news. What some people may not realize is CNN has been there, done that — not with all the current bells and whistles but with every interactive element possible a decade ago in a show called TalkBack Live. To paraphrase CNN founder Ted Turner, who says he was cable before cable was cool, TBL was online before online was cool.
From a story I did for the Chicago Tribune circa August 1998: “On any given day, participants can join a live audience, enter an on-line chat room, send e-mail, phone in or fax in. By late August, “TalkBack Live’s” newest access point — video conferencing — should be out of testing and ready to go. And computer users with a fairly fast connection, a decent video card and the right software don’t have to turn on a TV to watch the show via Webcast.” (You can catch a ride in the time machine here).
What TSR has that TBL didn’t: a breaking-news mission, producers with much more experience in multi-platform programming and, most important, widespread broadband access. Video calls are far less painful to make and watch (really), email is more of the norm than the exception, and more people have access while the show is on.
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