With ledes like this, from veteran wordslinger Jon Van, of the Chi Trib technology beat, writing about what’s to come in Internet speed, newspapers may yet beat the dullness-irrelevance-end-of-line rap:

Like Wild West gunslingers, cable TV operators and telephone companies are squaring off for a contest over who’s the fastest.

The story, interesting in itself and written professionally as befits the lede, is about raising the ante in a telcom (telephone company) vs. cable operators duel in the sun that could lead (not “lede,” note, because does not refer to first paragraph of a news story) to TV on demand on your computer screen.

More to the point right now, the story has this ‘net surfer rethinking his reliance on a telcom connection — SBC’s DSL — and considering an escape to the already faster cable access — Comcast.

More later, I’m sure, on this tech front.