It's about time that some television media outlets started reporting on the good points of the Internet, such as Project Gutenberg or NASA's Web site. I'm sure his theories on why broadcasters continue to do this are accurate, but it's important to remember that TV news reporters think intuitively. They see every telephone as a potential access point to the Internet. Compare the number of telephones with the number of adult bookstores in your town and you begin to understand how they think.
Online activity is still a novelty for most people.
These days, news has to be novel to be worthy of air time, and an Internet reference spices up stories that would be prosaic and familiar without it. I share Machrone's frustration at TV's dark depiction of the Internet. Many TV-reliant parents are afraid to let their kids have Internet access. Maybe someone should tell them that their kids can also use the Internet to learn more about the universe, see some of the world's greatest art, and even browse the complete works of William Shakespeare. To suggest that CNN and other stations broadcast bad news about the Internet in order to generate interest is ludicrous.