Right now the mass media lords still own the game - almost completely.  But the Internet is giving it a run for its money. 

Bloggers are getting more power ...  Smaller players can get a bigger reach for a lower cost ... 

But none of this is new, really.  It's been going on for a few years now.  How come mass media still owns the game?

Here's my theory:

1.  Direct Access to an Easy Medium

All you have to do is flip on the TV switch or pick up that magazine on your table.  It's right there.  It's easy.

2.  Less Choice

There are far fewer channels to choose from than websites to surf (understatement of the millennium).

3.  More Clout

Let's be real.  Millions of people know me online, but my fame still hasn't gotten me the respect of, say, a Donny Deustch.  This is why the average grass roots blogger is going to have a helluva time achieving the success of a Michelle Malkin.  Love her or hate her, she gets air time on Fox News all the time.  Same thing with authors - if you don't have the clout and reach a high profile at the New Yorker will give you, you're not going to be able to compete with a Malcolm Gladwell - no matter how good your book is.

4.  Better Talent

This doesn't mean that the creative minds on mass media are any better than the unknown creative minds slugging it out on the net.  It means that the marketers, production managers, and PR guys are plain better.  Not because they are smarter or because they have more talent, but because they have been doing it for longer and the medium isn't as volatile.

For a long time you're going to see this be the case.  There have been some interesting "web TV shows," but I still haven't seen anything even remotely as cool, slick, or well-thought-out as say The Sopranos or The Apprentice.

What if you come armed with an unusual world-changing truth?  Well, even if you have the truth on your side and mass media is selling a lie - they will outgun you, outmaneuver you, and out-think you just about every time.

But maybe that will change?

Here's a guy who is trying to give Hollywood a run for it's money.  Think "The Apprentice Meets the Internet Marketing World."

Joel Comm intends for this to be the first major internet-based reality TV show that significantly flips up the paradigm.

I really want for this to work.  Not just because I am the headlining featured expert who will give the candidates their first challenge, but because I'm all for anything that gives decentralization a nudge.

In a sense, decentralization is what American Democracy is supposed to be all about.  Don't give anyone too much power, so they don't screw things up too badly or favor one group over another.

Unfortunately, democracy doesn't really work that way (debatable point) - but decentralization of media power might just help to put things back in balance.