Video Ga Ga

Anybody else get tweaked by the MSM news site tendency to post stories only in video? I can't tell you how many times I've seen what looks like an interesting story on CNN's home page and didn't click on it because I preferred to read about it, or because I didn't feel like muting my laptop speakers here in the office, plugging in a pair of headphones, etc.

A lot of advertisers want the web to turn into TV, and I don't know too many MSM publishers who have video assets that are in desperate need of 30-second spots to underwrite them. Nope. Pretty much anyone in the MSM who has compelling video has some sort of video sponsor running pre-rolls.

The more sponsored video the MSM puts out there, the more content will be steered toward video. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as expectations don't shift regarding the medium's active nature. The Web is not TV.