New stars will emerge, new forms of entertainment will hit pay dirt. The amateurs, already in ascendancy, will bask in the spotlight. With the networks flogging what will surely be a hapless array of reality programming, the originality of user-generated comedy on the Web will seem more fresh and ingenious than ever.
We've become an entertainment-obsessed nation, often to a fault. And whatever shape the new entertainment takes, the media giants will find a way to get their share. Money will be made. That's because Hollywood history has always rewarded the cock-eyed optimist. Every great power broker, from Irving Thalberg to Rupert Murdoch, has been bullish about the future, eager for new worlds to conquer.
