Mass communications: Media convergence
Introduction
Media convergence is the process by which mass communications outlets amalgamated that is, the publishing worlds of print media involved with provision of content is interlocked with the computing and information technology companies and the telecommunication industry. The content providing world of media includes newspapers, magazines, among others. The convergence of media amalgamates the content, communication and computing industries.
There are two main ways through which media convergence is visible. First is in current technologies and next is the media industry itself. In the current technologies, broadband and wireless communication mediums have been adopted to convey innovative content that has easily been transformed into conventional digital form for display on computer or computer like devices like the pda or personal digital assistants, iPods, cellular mobiles, to digital video recorders that are attached to televisions. As of the growth in the industry, there has been formation of mergers among companies involved in media, telecommunications and technology companies for the purpose of developing new forms of businesses that gain from the increased demand from consumers.
In the present, the convergence is seen the nightfall of the tradition media in broadcasting and print and is a hallmark to the emergent of the new media where publishing has been made digital where publishing can be one on one or one to many of many to many. This has been made possible by the reason that different technologies have moved to performing identical tasks; data, video and voice have moved to performing similar tasks. Media convergence is with digitalization. The purpose of this paper is to discuss media convergence, the relationship between media convergence and television, recording and film industries, research on media convergence and its effects of the live of the society.
Media convergence: Television
The era of media convergence here in the United States and all over the world has seen tremendous growth from the traditional earlier form to the typical positioning to the higher current position it is today (Newman 2011). Originally, for the longest time, cable and satellite TV has been in use in America Canada and the Europeans countries. In the era of convergence in media, this has spread all over the world and most countries have adopted it. Japan has had the use of direct broadcasting satellite or DBS which has also been embraced by most countries in the world today. In the era before 1990, the cable system and private satellite TV has been in used but after the convergence and globalization of media, US cable channels have moved into the market and some channels became world wide such as the CNN, and MTV.
Looking back at the broadcasting in television and modern forms of media convergence is evident in the merge of interactivity, access to internet, and broadcast in any one appliance. In convergence, it is important that one media fits into to the other which means that in convergence, it is easy for one media to cross the boundaries of the other media (Newman 2011). With the era of convergence, it is important to highlight the adaptation of media programs to convergence and the changes achieved by media in the convergence era (Newman 2011).
One thing is apparent in today’s form of TV programs; most storytelling realities are still using the traditional way of linearity in content as this is in conformation with the desires of the audience. In such a case, the audience has no say and all they do is watch and wait till the next moment when they can watch. In the present, the mode of collaborative TV has come to being with the likes You Tube where the audience is involved. One can watch something over the internet via you tube at any time they wish to provided they have a constant access to the internet. One can download or upload songs, video clips and so on in the internet for others to watch. With this form of media, the audience and the public in general can contribute.
In addition, today’s TV shows have inclined to the participatory form of broadcasting where the public is asked questions to participate in decision making by either calling into the TV station or sending emails and polls to the question are given at the end of the news broadcast (Pato 2010). In addition, some talk show receives calls from viewers who are in need of answers to questions related to a given field. From the current development in TV, it is clear that the collaborative form of TV is not the end of development in TV, in fact, this form of TV presentation is just not passive which is what current research is concentrating on. This is because; the form of media still in use is the analogue system while what will be involved in the passive media is the digital form of TV content.
As a result of media content re-use and it is clear that the media is a business solution involving media conglomerates which are huge companies especially in the united states that own a great number of most other smaller media companies like the Walt Disney, Viacom, NBC among others in the category of the Eight leading conglomerates in the united states (Newman 2011).
The establishment of digital TV has been in existence since the year 2009 in the United States where maximum power TV station has been broadcasting nation wide only in the digital format. Such TV has been the focus of most nations as with such, it will be easier to transmit audio and video signals digitally. Those with analog TVs are required to purchase analog to digital converters to help them acquire the digital signals where different formats of pictures are easily transferable. There have also been some notable changes in the organization of the news room with high density TV screens all over the place displaying different parts of the news like sports business among other news. In addition, the increased competition in the media industry is as a result of the embrace of convergence in the media.
Till present, the television set has taken the form of a film screen; evolving from the large in shape TV set to the present form where the set has is high definition. This is a major milestone in the TV development where the evolution is from the Cathode lay tube or the CRT to the Liquid Crystal Display or LCD, LED or the Plasma TV. The latest form of TV set present is the flat-panel television set which together with the digitals and the High Definition TV are brighter, more colorful and with high resolution pictures, room dominance and wider shape but lighter in weight. This is a major show of how technology has contributed to the advancement in the TV industry. Such are now common in airport waiting rooms, in fitting rooms, most homes, and in most bars and restaurants. At this point, the convergence of content and computing companies in the form of technology has resulted to the HDTV cinematic qualities in images and pictures that are recently associated with TV. There is also a recent evolvement and use of three dimensional TV which obsoletes the common two dimensional TV.
Media convergence: Internet
One quality of the internet is its ability to quickly adapt to the changing demands in technology and particularly in the promotion of media. In his book Dwyer (2009) argues that the internet has a role in the reduction of congestion in media. This is because; the internet reduces the number of audiences in relevant contexts while increasing the number of autonomous media outlets with effective access by numerous groups of people. Take for instance the radio, it is possible for one to long into a radio station from online and listen to it from anywhere around the world (Flew 2011). In addition, for the newspaper readers, it is possible for one to subscribe for a copy of a newspaper from online sites that manufacture newspapers and so are the magazines. The convergence of media can therefore be seen as a stepping stone to the acquisition of information as the internet serves the purpose without any delays (Dwyer 2009).
The most fundamental convergence in media is the merge between the internet and telecommunications companies. This merge is a major contribution in the transformation from voice to data infrastructure (Dwyer 2009). In this light, the telecommunication industry has been re-engineered to an internet protocol business in which voice is part and parcel of the data being transferred. This has contributed to the ability to deliver content using diverse platforms like telecommunications, cable, internet and digital terrestrial broadcast. In addition, such content can be for a particular platform like TV or 3g mobile.
Another contribution of internet in communication is in the social networking world and in the social networking software. With social networks it has become possible for people to interact without contact even with great distance separating them (Dwyer 2009). This has allowed multitasking interactions as one can send instant messages, audiovisual conferencing, online games, music download, or even television program download concurrently.
On the other hand, the mobile phone is no longer just a communication gadget. In the recent past, the mobile phone has experienced changes like listening to the radio, watching video clips, listening to music store in the phone memory or in a memory card (Dwyer 2009). Recently, some smart phone allow one to watch TV station in their countries, or even video conference or even, send and receive mail as well as perform algebraic calculations (Flew 2011). This is not just the case for all phones but for those with dynamic platforms that have access to 3G mobile, WiFi or WiMAX.
Another major role of internet on communication is in advertisement and business search. The convergence of digital distribution platforms has played major role in the shift from the audio visual content in the media where companies had to pay to TV stations to advertise their commodities (Dwyer 2009). Though this is still the case, the internet has added other ways of advertising a commodity. It is now possible for a company to own a website and develop and advertisement page for its products and services. This is more advantageous as the client has access to sufficient information about a given product both from the website and from blogs and internet forums and discussion where one can learn more from concerned customers who have either benefited from the same product or experienced difficulties and this will contribute in the decision making (Dwyer 2009). The most common media for advertising is Google where companies sell short text to advertise to highly targeted people. Currently, Google competes with television advertising although it ranks top by far.
Its is also evident that advertising has taken a new turn where companies has established new ways to amuse clients to build and maintain profitable cultures among them.
Media convergence: Newspapers
Originally, the newspaper had concentrated on the hand copy form where one had to buy a copy in order to access information in it. This is a tedious way as one has to remain accompanied by the newspaper wherever they went in order to get access to information. In addition, one had to buy what they new nothing about (Weare, Levi and Raphael 2001). Currently, the collaboration between broadcasting TV stations and newspaper companies has resulted to the advertisement of the content of any newspaper and this makes those attracted to such information to obtain a copy of the same. Furthermore, newspaper companies have adopted the new way of using online newspaper copies accompanied with images and pictures of all manner and kind. In addition, video clips of information are also made available to the buyer of the newspaper all thanks to the evolvement in the internet (Weare, Levi and Raphael 2001).
With the internet, one can easily use a mobile phone with access to the internet or use a computer with internet connection to access the necessary information in any given newspaper from online. This is a hallmark in the development of the newspaper. In addition, it is also evident that there has been a change in the way newspaper editorials are presented, ranging from politics, to family matters, to sports to business and more importantly, books and children together with some entertainment and advice (Weare, Levi and Raphael 2001). Magazines have also taken a new turn of events by focusing on situations that affect the society and for such they provide relevant information.
Research on the effects of convergence on daily lives
To begin with, the convergence of media has come around with so much implication for the society. For instance, it is now possible for one to take a course for electronic classrooms and even participate in classroom discussions with the lecturers via video conferencing (Katz 1960). One can also access books and other learning resources from online without actually using the hand copy. Apart from its contribution in education, convergence in media has also played a major role in health as one can acquire information about reputable health organizations and their locations. It is also possible for one to acquire important nutritional information from online websites and other credible sources.
In informing the public about general ongoing in the world, mass convergence has made it more effective as content media companies compete to deliver the highest quality of information and with the most important details contained. It has also been the aim of these companies to attract the best journalist and this has also resulted to a tremendous growth in journalism education (Kartz 1960). For the young tucks, one can make proper use of the social media to interact and create networks with helpful people as well as make new friends. The internet has made it possible for one to load important information or content on the web like video clips, images and pictures.
The phone and telecommunication on the other hand have led to the simplification in communication because provided one has a mobile phone; it is easy to communicate with them no matter where they are. Telecommunications has also contributed to the evolvement from voice form of data transfer to the data form of transfer. In the recent past and present, the evolvement from analog to digital signal transmission is taking place and this will be a milestone in the delivery of better quality information.
Such effects are mainly positive to the society because time and money are saved especially in communication using mobile phones and the response in some cases like instant messaging can be real-time. On the other hand, great addiction to the over use of internet can promote laziness, and irresponsibility especially among the young people who even forfeit education. It is also possible for one to acquire fake friends from social networks who end up misusing them. Generally, to the society, the positive outweigh the negatives as the negatives can be prevented by necessary action. For convergence to remain positive to the society, it is important therefore that licensing is done for all forms of media to regulate it.
References
Dwyer, T., (2009). Media convergence. Open University Press. Berkshire: England.
Flew, T., (2011). Media convergence. Retrieved from http://www.ask.com/bar?q=media+convergence&page=1&qsrc=2446&dm=all&ab=4&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2FEBchecked%2Ftopic%2F1425043%2Fmedia-convergence&sg=gGYddZU2zWPZMBcGloeM4xauUyHBjh7Nj0HqNAs9ziw%3D%0D%0A&tsp=1305351370585. last updated: 2011
Kartz, E., (1960). Communication research and image to the society. The American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 45, iss. 5.
Newman, M., (2011). The Television Image. University on Wisconsin. United States of America: USA.
Weare, C., Levi, T., and Raphael, J., (2001). Media convergence. International Journal of Press and Politics. Vol. 6, iss. 3 p 47-70.
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