The number and
variety of media technologies seem still to be growing exponentially as the
internet’s technical capabilities enable new technologies to take form.
Traditional media – television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and other
stalwart, pre-information-age methods of delivering news and entertainment
still exist, and though they are struggling to adapt to the online era, some
are finding ways to flourish. Innovative,
user-friendly technologies such as the weblog (“blog”) have redefined what it
means to be a professional writer, enabling anyone with a computer and internet
access to publish his writings in a forum accessible to billions. The brave new
media technologies of today are only in their infancy and likely will expand
and diversify even more in coming years.
Media
technologies important today include:
- Television.
Television is
still relevant as a means of conveying news and information, airing discussion
and debate, and presenting entertainment programming. Part of the appeal of
television is that the viewer is not in control of the timing of each broadcast,
giving the user a sense of occasion and reassurance as the network provides for
its viewers the way it always has, since back in the day of tiny, flickering
cathode ray tubes. In this age of large-screen, high-definition televisions,
the audio-visual power of the moving image onscreen, which so captivated the
viewer when the technology was new, still remains compelling.
Since broadcast
television (and even, to a lesser extent, cable and satellite) is the simplest
and most user-friendly of technologies, it is aimed at the broadest possible
audience. According to Marsh et al (2009, p. 145), “Television is the most
powerful and widely used of the advertising media.” It appeals not only to the
technologically savvy, but also to those whose age and generation or lack of
technical expertise lead them to feel more comfortable being led by the hand
into their programming, with others doing the planning, producing, and
scheduling, while the viewer merely checks the newspaper TV-guide (or, for
those truly advanced, the on-screen cable guide), and tunes in. Nonetheless,
television is adapting to the internet era via websites that stream their
programming to viewers who would rather tune in with their computers. I predict an age in the not-too-distant
future in which the networks will webcast their entire schedules online,
supplanting or even outright replacing traditional airwaves broadcasts.
Though
television does have room for detailed, scholarly discussion programs and for
longer entertainment works, most communication on TV is tailored to specific
time constraints, from a few seconds for an advertisement to a half hour- or
hour-long program. (ibid.) Messages and entertainment for television must be
vivid, punchy, and tailored to those who will seek nourishment in the
refrigerator if too many demands are made on their attention spans.
- The Internet Blogosphere.
A fast-growing
media technology (and the central topic of this class), the blogosphere
provides anyone with a computer and internet access with a means of
self-expression via brief, incisive discussions, reports, and other types of
communication as posts in a user-owned blog. Whether anyone else actually reads
one's blog is a function of the writer's ability to grab an audience quickly
using a style of writing that expresses the individual's unique voice in an
intriguing way. Blog posts tend to be on the short side, with the presumption
that the main audience for blogs - those who have surfed in on the internet,
through a search engine of a topic, for example - are most entertained and enlightened
by concise writing with a vivid voice, which they can digest quickly, and which
is provocative enough that the casual internet surfer stays, writes comments,
and eventually subscribes to or becomes a member of the blog. According to the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the scholarly
blog my soon replace the formal journal as the favored area for student
self-reflection. (Jensen, 2010)
Blogging has
also provided a career choice to many writers, who have found a way to attract
advertisers and other sources of revenue to their blogs. Such bloggers have
re-defined what it means to be a published, professional writer, since they are
the publishers, editors and masters of their own work. Now, some bloggers find themselves being paid
to write traditional books for major publishing houses; in the future, the blog
may have a tremendous impact on traditional op-ed column publication.
- The Book.
Imagine - the
book! If ever there were a media technology that would seem quite dead as a
doornail, it's the book. After all, the major bookstore chains such as Borders
are dying and/or going under. Surely that means that the internet has taken the
place of the book as a favorite form of written entertainment and enlightenment
for our time. But wait! The newly-introduced electronic readers such as Amazon's
Kindle have become one of the best-selling holiday gift items in recent years,
and downloads of books for Kindle have now outpaced the powerhouse internet
bookseller's hardcover book sales.(Miller, 2010)
Books tend to
appeal more to those hungry for detailed information, with long attention
spans. They require patience, as their treasures may take some time and energy
to unearth. Still, that new generations of book-lovers are busily downloading
not only modern works, but old, public-domain classics, the book will continue
to be an important media technology in our contemporary society.
- The Theatrical Film.
The film
industry may rest easy - they are still an extremely popular form of
entertainment around the world. Though documentary films, short films and other
forms of cinema are produced, major-studio, high-budget entertainment films
dominate the market, with independent films also making their mark. The
audience for films in general is broad; the film industry tends to cater to
niches, such as young, teenaged boys 14-18, for whom many action films and
other less cerebral fare are aimed.
Other subgenres
of film include the sentimental and romantic Chick Flick, the
kids-and-animals-dominated Family Films (also a major market for animation),
and the costume drama, which often contains many actors of British
background, and which tends to be aimed at Americans who consider themselves
among the intellectual and cultural elite. Films may serve a higher social
purpose and may educate and inform the audience, but the primary reason for
being in the movie industry, even for high-aiming films, tends to be to
generate the largest audience and revenue base possible.
All media
technologies, new and old, must find a way to function in this era of internet
dominance over every area of entertainment, documentary and news production. Television, books, and the film industry must
battle with new technologies such as the blogosphere and social networking for
the hearts, minds and time of the
consumer. The way in which television, print media, and other older
entertainment and information formats are adapting to online use will ensure
their survival in the future alongside the blogosphere, social networking, and
other new technologies on the scene.
Resources
Miller, C. (2010) "E-Books top
Hardcovers at Amazon," New York Times. July 19, 2010. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/technology/20kindle.html on January 19, 2012
Jensen, R. (2010) "Can Blogs
Replace Journals? Using New Media to Stimulate Pondering and Self-Reflection
among Undergraduate Students," AEJMC.org. June 29, 2010. Retrieved from
http://www.aejmc.org/topics/archives/1295 on January 19, 2012
Marsh, C. et al (2009) Strategic
Writing: Multimedia Writing for Public Relations, Advertising and More. New
York: Pearson Education.
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