For the most part, everyone knows the story about David and Goliath. Even if you don’t, let me break it down for you: So, Goliath was this big dude who was totally destroying everyone who challenged him and this guy Saul says “I’ll pay someone to show him who’s boss.” I’ve never seen pictures of this guy or anything, but I would imagine he would look something like Andre the Giant. Anyways, this other dude named David shows up and hears about Big G terrorizing his buddies and decides to take him on in a fight. Saul wasn’t too sure about the whole situation, but says “Hey Dave, why don’t you take my armor? This guy is pretty intense.” David says “Naw, man, I’m all set. I’ve got my slingshot and some rocks.” Against Saul’s warnings, David waltzes up to Big G and says “Bro. Lets fight.” Goliath thought this was pretty funny and agrees, ready to lay the smacketh down on Itty Bitty David. Within seconds, David shoots Big G in the head with a rock and Goliath falls face-down on the ground. David proceeds to hack Goliath’s head off and hold it up, saying “Don’t mess with this.” The end.
Okay, maybe that was a pretty watered-down version of the story, but you get the point. Overall, it’s a pretty useful allegory and a true ode to The Underdog. The more I work in media, the more I begin to realize how much the epic battle between “New Media” versus “Old Media” is like David and Goliath. “New Media” (aka the younger generation of “Hyperactive, interactive, Twittering, Youtubing, Smartphoning Bloggers-Who-Hate-Ads”) and “Old Media” (aka “Traditional, newspaper-reading, local-news-loving, linear-single-formatted-media-makers”) are at odds. Old Media is a huge entity that has weathered the onset of new technology but tries to take on any competitors, usually destroying them in the process. But New Media stepped into the ring a few years back with some pathetic self-made weapon called “Social Media.” Old Media laughed in New Media’s face: “You really think you can take me down with that puny thing?” New Media shot Social Media at Old Media’s head, sending it reeling. Today, Old Media is wobbling, about to fall over like some losing player in Mortal Kombat. Finish him.
Here we stand today, watching Old Media about to topple from a hit that nobody expected from the Little Guy. To loosely quote a long-time producer at CNN, “Forests need forest fires. There comes a time when the old trees grow dry and brittle, then lightning strikes and burns the forest down. This lets the seedlings on the forest floor to receive sunlight and fertilizer from the ashes; It helps them grow. Media isn’t dying right now, it’s just burning down to let the seedlings grow.” So to those who tell me that my career choice is dying out, I have this to say: “I have a slingshot, and I know how to use it.”
