The future of TV and radio isn't looking so bright. While the general consensus may hold that TV remains the dominant media, an Edison Media Research/Arbitron report found that TV's lead is actually tenuous:

Consumers age 12 and older were asked to choose the “most essential” medium in their life; 33 percent chose the Internet, just behind television (36 percent), but above radio (17 percent) and newspapers (10 percent); in 2002, the Internet trailed TV on this perception by a significant margin (20 percent vs. 39 percent), and also trailed radio’s 26 percent.

This is hardly surprising to anyone who follows technology news. We've seen smaller studies like this for a while, but when companies like Arbitron start releasing these numbers, it's time for everyone to take notice.

TV is still effective, but if campaigns want to get more bang for the buck, add the web into the mix. According to a Google presentation that I saw today, marketing campaigns are only spending 1 percent of budgets on new media. When web campaigns are linked with earned media, the results surpass TV advertising for a lot less money.

It looks like those of use who work in web-related fields have some job security since the Internet is projected to grow in the near future:

"It is not a stretch to say that the Internet has become just as important as television as an important source of information and entertainment in the lives of Americans,” said Larry Rosin, President, Edison Media Research. “It is entirely possible that the Internet will lead in all positive categories five years from now."