Earlier this year, I went over-the-top. No, not in the way I write fill-in columns and blog posts (I topped out in that process long ago). I went over-the-top as a TV viewing household, meaning, I began streaming conventional TV programming via an intermediary device. Okay, so that's not so surprising, right? I mean, millions of Americans are doing that (more on that in a moment)? The reason I'm telling you about my transition is that it was purely unintentional. You see, despite covering the front lines of media innovation, I don't consider myself an early adopter of media technology, …

For a while now, some media pundits have questioned the future of the TV station industry. But at least for the present, television stations, apparently are among the most progressive segments of the media industry when it comes to using, well, new media. In fact, television stations are the most tweet-friendly sector of the industry, according to NetProspex.

While visiting Cape Cod last week, I stopped by the book sale at the Brewster Ladies Library, and since I knew I'd have to make the long ride back home to Connecticut, I picked up an audio book copy of Walter Cronkite's autobiography, "A Reporter's Life," to listen to in my car. Listening to Cronkite narrate the highlights of his career in broadcast journalism was like a crash course in modern American history. It also made me nostalgic and a bit sad, because it made me realize how much things have changed in the collective consciousness of modern media - …

Filling in for Dave Goetzl while he's on a much-deserved vacation this week, so let me tell you what's on my TV mind today. Firstly, I began the day with a pitch from KSL Media offering Jon Dobbin as an expert on what the 2012 Presidential election "will mean for broadcast, cable, online and other media." In addition to being KSL's resident political media guru, Dobbin is senior vice president-managing director, client services at the independent media services shop, and apparently, he's got some strong viewpoints on the implications the election will have on the battle among Fox News, CNN …

It was just perfect that on an HBO preview special for the final season of "Entourage," Kevin Dillon asks his co-stars whether they thought the show would succeed. They agree no one really did -- except Dillon. "I believed in it from the get-go," he said proudly. Seem familiar? It was exactly how Dillon's character, "Johnny Drama," would have acted on the show, proudly claiming he knew the doubters would be wrong. Drama is a mix of insecurity and supreme confidence. He's one of the layered and profound characters that make "Entourage" so special. The show begins its final season …

Netflix made a huge mistake with its massive price increase. Going with a 60% jump all at once instead of gradually? Just crazy. Nope, that's not where it bumbled. It was in the timing, not the amount.

Once again, the TV paradox is in fine form. Outside the nadir of a recession every 10 years, multiple trends may suggest ad dollars will decline and the reverse is reliably the case.

With some apparent consumer sensitivity and business acumen, as well as an unassuming manner, the CEO of Time Warner Cable is the Most Interesting Man in Cable.

Time for this month's Insights and Inanity: Network executives may already have found one way Twitter can complement Nielsen, while Warren Buffett and Comcast once turned down stakes in ESPN.

MSNBC turns 15 today. No could have envisioned its journey when it launched as President Clinton sought reelection in the heat of '96. The concept of an editorial page on TV was not in the business plan. Now, it is the business plan. Network President Phil Griffin thinks MSNBC can author the most popular polemics in cable. "I've been saying for a while, we're going after Fox News," he said in an NBC Universal-produced video, where he rattled off various time-period wins by the network.