How the iPhone changed Hothlanta’s snow days

So we’re coming through another of Atlanta’s version of the Ice Capades. As it happens on these rare occasions, talk of ice and snow began several days out with the TV weather people predicting doom.

And sure enough, after a false start, they were right. The snow arrived Sunday night and the city shut down.

Monday, the first day of “Hothlanta,” all the kids were thrilled about having some fun outside and the parents relished a day away from the office, unless their work involved a computer and email.

You know the drill. By Thursday, the thrill had evaporated and the city was ready to get back to normal.

One aspect of this storm was different. Once and for all, my college professor’s definition of “mass media” fell by the wayside. Back in the pre-web days of the mid 1970s, Marcus Bartlett told us the key aspect of mass media was limited feedback from the audience.

In these past few days here in Atlanta, that all ended for good. The mass media was dominated by individuals’ feedback.

People emailed photos of their icy backyards to TV stations. Colleges used email to notify students that classes had been cancelled, bypassing the media altogether. Facebook allowed people to keep up with their neighborhood grocery store’s dwindling stock:

Publix during "Hothlanta" 2011

But to me, the development that put the nail in the coffin of traditional mass media was the iPhone.

For the first time, TV reporters and viewers alike fed video to TV stations, some of it edited with iMovie. Producers, hungry for new content at a time when their audiences are never larger, gladly put it on. No live truck or professional camera guys needed.

Next ice storm, we’ll likely see these people on TV live using Skype or FaceTime.

Professor Bartlett would be amazed.