Mark Glaser at the Online Journalism Review has a terrific interview with Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, founder of high-definition TV startup HDNet, and star of ABC's reality series "The Benefactor." Glaser quizes Cuban on how he uses his weblog to strike back at the media and anyone else who doesn't understand his TV show. Key highlights follow:
OJR: What was your motivation for starting a Weblog now? Did you feel like the media wasn't being fair to you in interviews?Cuban: Not that they weren't being fair. Fair isn't part of media's charter. Selling media is their charter. It was more that it wasn't unusual to find a two-hour visit abridged into a 500-word article. There is no way to convey two hours' worth of discussion in 500 words. As a result, more often than not, what was written wasn't what I thought was important.
The blog allows me to correct that and provide my perspective.
OJR: How has the dynamic changed between the media and high-tech execs when they can release their own news on blogs, such as the one Jonathan Schwartz runs at Sun?
Cuban: The media has always known that the power of the word can be immense. With one paragraph, execs and businesses can be impacted significantly. Blogs create a balance. Now if a blog is well read, or read by those in the media who are looking for any chance to swipe at their competitors, a smartly written blog can turn the tables.
I think this new checks-and-balances scenario will make media much stronger. Look at the controversy over whether Bush's records were forged or not. It's bloggers vs CBS. That's a great example of the power and value of blogging.
OJR: Do you think more executives will embrace blogs as a way of communicating with customers and the public? Why or why not?
Cuban: No. It takes a lot of time, and it requires honesty. Not that it's difficult for most execs to be honest; rather execs have so many vested interests and rules around them, whether it's customers, vendors or the SEC if they are public.
A blog is only valuable if you can be brutally honest. I think that's why tech execs have probably been the leaders so far. It's pretty safe to talk in-depth on technologies.
