Strategy Room: More Reasons Big Media Should Fear the Little Screen

Today I had the opportunity to be a guest on my favorite show, on the little screen, Strategy Room on FoxNews.com. Eric Bolling did a fantastic job of leading his panel on the "ADD Hour" (as he likes to call it) on exploring Somalian Pirates and more on today's program. The group of panelists were diverse, the discussion was lively, and Bolling maintained that perfect balance of letting it "rock and roll" without losing control

One could easily retort about my claim that the show is a small screen phenomenon by saying, "maybe, but only because it is on the small screen." In reality, with the exception of those who play with the carrot with the smiley face that is something of a show mascot, this program is very similar and better than those that enjoy a big screen presence. It is the fact that it is on the small screen that it is a threat to other traditional media.

The number of quality channels that people have to choose from are virtually without limit. We have comedies, dramas, documentaries, current events, reality etc., etc. etc to choose from. It is true, we have similar "limitless" programming online, but few have the quality of Strategy Room when it comes to competing with the big boys. Very few indeed. There are Strategy Room from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, there is the new FoxBusiness.com Live, and the CBS News' Washington Unplugged (which is a high video quality, but terrible in its editorial bent). Other than that, most programming is amateurish or not unique to the Internet (shows that have appeared elsewhere on TV, but archived online).

I believe Strategy Room has a further edge over the other few uniquely Internet based programs -- the number of hours it is on. With the program running 8 hours a day, people have all the reasons to stay with it throughout the day. It dominates the Internet. Increasingly, people may channel surf on their TVs , but won't think about touching that web channel, since they are getting big screen quality on the Internet, for what often feels like "non-stop."

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am), AOL Radio, and CBS Radio. Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.

The Wealth Gap

One of my sons sent me an interesting article from MSN about the wealth gap in the world. The article title cannot help but grab your attention: "Got $2,200? You're Rich on a Global Scale."

The artcle points out that the world's three richest people are worth more than the 48 poorest countries combined. That is a very serious gap, we are informed. Further, the article points out that the top 2% of the population makes more than half of the world's household wealth.

I believe that these articles are truthful in content, but often have an agenda beyond being informative. Often we come to moral conclusions about right and wrong when it comes to information such as this, without understanding the larger economic issues.

The question articles like this might want to address is, why are some countries wealthy and others are not?

Why is the United States the richest country in the world?

Why is Japan among the world's most affluent, yet it has virtually no natural resources of its own ("natural resources" is one of the excuses used by some to describe why some countries are affluent and others are not)

Why is Singapore, which is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, prosperous when Somalia (which has a density that is similar to the US) is one of the poorest countries in the world? We have been told that people cause poverty, but it isn't working in this and many other scenarios.

The answers to these questions are far more useful than the issuess offered in the article and the answers point to the power of free enterprise. The countries that are affluent and enjoy far more wealth, also have stronger committments to private property, lower government cost for doing business (fewer regulations, licensing laws, or taxes), and generally smaller (or at least more efficient) governments. Conversations on how the world's poorest countries could pursue such an agenda of their own, would make those countries far richer and would make for more interesting content.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.