Cenk Uygur is the founder and host of The Young Turks, the largest online news show in the world, and chief executive of TYTnetwork.

In the past, newscasts existed in a pool where they competed against one another in a zero sum game. Now, they exist in an ocean of content with nearly unlimited options. That’s a whole new world with new challenges and opportunities.

Being serious was once rewarded. Now, it’s a sign of dishonesty – you’ve been covering the news for years and have no opinion on it?

On the upside, there are many more reasons for cooperation. In the digital world the more people watch Vice, the more likely they are to watch The Young Turks. And the more they watch The Young Turks, the more likely they are to watch Vice. We promote one another, we link to each other and we share in social media. The more people watch news online the more they become accustomed to watching both of us.We don’t have to kneecap each other for every viewer now. The new model rewards organizations that play well with others. That’s how you grow your audience. Cooperation leads to synergies that turn islands into continents in the ocean.

But with so many more options you can’t afford to do things the same old way. Network news has been so bland for so long that people assume that’s the only way you can deliver news. That’s not remotely true. You can present the news passionately, engaging the audience much more effectively.

In a neutral, placid pool the network anchor with the better smile wins. In an ocean, your smile ain’t worth a thing. You have to show that you actually care about the news. In the old days, being serious and dispassionate was rewarded. Now, it’s seen as a sign of implicit dishonesty – you’ve been covering the news your whole life and you

don’t have a single opinion on it?

In the new media world, passionate will beat dispassionate every time. Authenticity is the most important trait for success. Neutral news anchors reading from a prompter reek of inauthenticity.

Can network news adjust to this new paradigm and figure out a way to swim in the ocean? Honestly, the answer is no. They find it sacrilegious to show emotion, to show the audience that they care about the news, to show that they have opinions on it and that they want to do something about what’s happening in the news. All of these are sacred cows to the old media establishment. They will not adjust. They will go under.

I know it really bothers people when I say that, but what will bother them a lot more is when the networks hit that iceberg.



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