PressEthic

The JetBlue flight that was forced to make an emergency landing at LAX yesterday was fascinating as an example of the advent of "real-time" news coverage, for lack of a better phrase.

"Many of the 140 passengers watched live coverage of their plight on television monitors embedded in the backs of seats," the Times article said.

Wow. That's a stark crystallization of the character and power of television media today - watching the news on tv as it happens to you.

It's a case study of how the 24-hour television news cycle has made broadcast reporting a kind of stream of consciousness event, with little or no division between the event and it's delivery to the public.

Which is probably a good thing, though it begs the question of how traditional newsprint sources can remain relevant. If we keep moving closer and closer to the idea of real-time news coverage, or if we're already there, will newspapers start to be viewed as unnecessary "filters"?

There will always be newspapers, but their character and their relevance to news consumers could change. The coverage of the JetBlue flight is a great example of what is fueling that possible shift.