Let Me Cogitate On That

The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz writes:

The reason these two [satellite radio] companies have 13 million subscribers willing to cough up $12.95 a month for something we all grew up thinking should be free is that commercial radio has self-destructed. . . . Really, can you think of an industry (okay, maybe American automakers) that has frittered away such huge advantages and sent its customers scrambling for alternatives?

Give me a second…it’ll come to me…oh yeah, that industry!

Update: Hugh Hewitt agrees: “Howard is writing about radio but his critique is really applicable to all old media companies”.

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin and Tony Snow each note that new media formats have some inherent pitfalls as well.