The end of media as we know it? Maybe.

Calls for the end of the media as we know it are not new to anyone in the business. For years media clairvoyants have been peering into their crystal balls to find ever shrinking staffs at newspapers and radio and television stations across the country. However, the combination of the significant shifts in technology and the economic downturn may constitute a critical mass for changes in the media. Between bankruptcies of significant media companies and transformative technology rushing to market, 2009 may be the year that media finally has to change. Siva Vaidhyanthan, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, joins us for more on the issue.