I am going to drag out my soapbox for a new discovery of mine, something I would not only go out of my way to watch, but would actually motivate me to watch that stuff called “streaming video” that made the founders of YouTube a fortune when they sold it to Google.

I make a disclaimer up front that I am VERY cautious about playing favorites with the media in any form. Just as a parent never admits to having a favorite child, as a publicist I feel compelled to profess an equal love for all media. The truth is, while I haven’t watched a regular sitcom since Seinfeld, I have a new favorite program that is so good I find myself becoming an outspoken fan. That is something called “viral marketing” by the way, and we work to establish it for books every day.

The New York Times recently started showing up on my commutes to Manhattan via JetBlue from Austin. As I settle in for the almost-four hour ride, I find myself from tempted by the direct television staring at me from the seat in front. That particular perk didn’t make me a JetBlue customer, but I will tell you that I am now deeply addicted to an offering on that television-in-the sky — “Times on Air”. A joint venture of the airline and the newspaper sponsored by JetBlue’s American Express card, it’s a video magazine featuring stories from the paper. It launched in August 2007 and was described in the press as a “branding extension” for both companies.

The first episode I watched featured reporter Harry Hurt III, who pens the “Executive Pursuits” column for the Times Sunday business section, attempting to master enough dance to partner a New York City ballerina. Wearing his trademark polo shirt and, in a nod to the ballet studio, a pair of tights and slippers on his lower half, the slightly portly Mr. Hurt could not have been more earnest in his efforts at the barre. His stories are reportage of participation and he has pitch-perfect ability to make his own efforts illustrate his stories rather than take center stage. Subtle, skillful, and dead-on compelling.

This week, I made a round trip to Manhattan from Austin in a single day and I watched the following segment twice — once in each direction. It featured Times reporter Julie Salamon in a side-splitting interview with Daniel Handler, the author known as Lemony Snicket who wrote the popular children’s book series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” While Salamon reported that her 11 year old son had pleaded with her to get an autograph, which she dislikes doing, she decided to relent. When the signed book arrived on her desk, she opened it expecting to see an inscription along the lines of “To Eli, I enjoyed meeting your mother,” instead she found one that read, “To Eli, here’s hoping you will be an orphan one day.” Asked to explain, the author replied that he saw nothing outrageous in the suggestion that her child would indeed, outlive her. Handler is a treasure who should be lauded not just for the 13 books that brought him fame, but for his offbeat, slightly sinister, and deeply amusing interviews. The segment ended with Handler lustily singing a song about “Lemony Snicket” while accompanying himself on the accordion. Priceless.

The media isn’t dead, it is reinventing itself. When the great gray lady is making television THIS good, it’s clear to me that while the lines between print and online, broadcast and cable may be blurry, they are also creating an environment where the bets are off, the rules are broken, and great ideas are born.

Commercial over. I’m going back to work to figure out how to get my authors featured on this great new offering.