Tuesday, February 25, 2020

TV journos? Tech IS coming for you

I've written occasionally about broadcast media, to a much lesser degree so far, suffering some of the same issues as print. Had one TV guy in an exchange with me a couple of years ago, seemingly whistling in the dark.

Well, a decade ago, besides the internet, newspaper people were claiming that computers couldn't write things like sports briefs off box scores or weekly real estate sales off courthouse filings. And we now know they're wrong.

So, with Reuters announcing a virtual reality bot that can act as a sports reader (and though not mentioned) as a news reader as well? You TV folks had better be less comfortable. Early morning sports anchor guy? Paid sports guy on a 5 p.m. news broadcast? You're probably gone in five years if this takes off. That's especially true since Reuters modeled the bot after one of its own sports guys.

Right now, it says it's just social media targeted. That said, let's go there. You know the Barstool Sports and Fansided people of the world are watching. A few bots could cut a few videos a day for hundreds of sites. That, in turn, puts downward pressure on teevee sports, even if TV companies don't independently eye this. That said, a VR Barstool bot would be barf-inducing.

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