When we began, we might have been the equivalent of, say, NBC with only a news department. Now we're NBC with news, sports, entertainment, weather, games, finance. But our basic mission hasn't really changed at all. In many respects, the comparison to the big TV networks makes sense. As major portals like Lycos offer more on-line content and services, such as banking, and as wireless Web technology develops, they may indeed eclipse the networks.
Viewers become participants.
That's not to say Davis expects new media to replace more traditional media. I've never viewed it that way. The Web is an extension of publishing and all forms of media. It's another vehicle to access information. The difference with the Web is that it is essentially interactive.