Internet to dominate as information source

Thursday, June 29, 2000 | 9:35 a.m.

The Internet is on the verge of taking over as the source of information and entertainment, veteran TV journalist Hugh Downs told broadcasters gathered at the Tropicana hotel-casino.

"We'll still watch television. ... but we'll also be able to call up any TV show, new or old" and show it on a screen, perhaps the size of a living-room wall, Downs said during a speech Tuesday at the World Television Journalism Conference.

It might not have been a message the broadcasters wanted to hear, but Downs is well-versed in going with the flow of the broadcast industry. The former co-anchor of ABC's "20/20" said he resented television when it first came along, because he was working in radio at the time. Downs said he later embraced it when it was obvious it could not be held back.

After 50 years in mainstream broadcasting, Downs retired last year to join iNexTV, an Internet video network. He now develops online television shows for the network's Executive Branch TV. The shows cover executive agency activities, including White House events, via the Internet.

Downs, 79, predicted the Internet eventually will be regulated.

"The Internet is raw and young, like railroading was in the middle of the 19th century," he said. "It's going to call for some regulating and I hope it won't be over-regulated."

The two-day conference, sponsored by UNLV and the Television News Center of Rockville, Md., offered panel discussions, speakers and seminars on television journalism.