Many executives in traditional media do understand new media these days. While they may not be able to change or move their organizations, they do get how technology and the Internet are empowering consumers, fundamentally changing their expectations, and that content providers have to adapt.

Some don't, whether it's the music industry or in this case TV. ABC President of Advertising Sales mike Shaw spoke with Media Daily News. He said "I would love it if the MSOs, during the deployment of the new DVRs they're putting out there, would disable the fast-forward." Sure, Mike wants to protect his ad sales. I respect that.

Then he adds "I'm not so sure that the whole issue really is one of commercial avoidance. It really is a matter of convenience--so you don't miss your favorite show. And quite frankly, we're just training a new generation of viewers to skip commercials because they can. I'm not sure that the driving reason to get a DVR in the first place is just to skip commercials. I don't fundamentally believe that."

That's where the train jumps the track. It's one thing to advocate a business strategy. It's another to be ignorant. Mike, if you're not sure, maybe you should get the facts. That shouldn't be hard since you're a key executive at a billion dollar company talking to the press.

The media world today is not about what you believe. Or want to cotrol. It's about what consumers expect ... and in many cases are already getting with millions of people already using Tivo and other DVRs. The world no longer revolves around TV and the fixed TV program format, any more than it revolves around the record industry's album packaging.