Link: http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2006/10/31/harper_basen.html

This article provides an interesting insight into the tactics adopted by the new Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, when dealing with the media in Canada.
What the article makes clear is that Harper is engaging in a series of actions designed to roll back the influence of the media, particularly the Ottowa-based press and journalists. Like the Bush administration, he sees the press mostly as an obstacle to communicating his message, so, instead of expending effort on trying to work with them, he has been going around them and relying on selected interviews with media outlets perceived as more friendly (including bloggers and podcasters) and on direct communication to the public via websites and personal podcasts.
What we are witnessing here (albeit in a more subtle way than the brusquely dismissive and high-handed approach adopted by the Bush administration) is the dis-intermediation of information communication. Remember how many businesses flocked to the Web in the 1997-99 timeframe because they determined that they could cut out intermediaries such as agents and keep all of the value of their sold goods instead of paying those intermediaries commissions? Well, now politicians are engaged in dis-intermediation.
This is one of the biggest challenges for the media. Instead of relying on interviews with politicians, and repeating press releases verbatim (which adds no value whatsoever), the national media need to start adding value. The value proposition of the media in future is not going to be provided by the transmission of raw data (news and information). It will be provided by what value (in terms of explanation, insight, commentary and debate) they can add to the basic information.
However, when I look around me, I see very limited progress being made by large media outlets in these areas. They continue to operate with the same tired formula of highly-paid "talking heads" providing superficial, trivialising commentary wrapped around visual and audio soundbites from a mixture of politicians and in-the-field reporters, coupled with a quota of "personalities" ranging from the comedic to the bigotted and malevolent.
The almost complete absence of added value and genuine debate in the televised media is the main reason that I do not watch the major networks except for the occasional sports event. There is no value there for me, since the Web-based informal news and information dissemination community is already doing a better job (via blogs, podcasts and other interactive mechanisms) of communicating information, concepts and discussions.
Memo to large media: Wake Up! Structural changes are taking away your lunch, and you haven't worked out how to replace it yet, even though the solution is right under your nose on the Web.