Discuss the relationship between ‘Media’ and ‘Information Technology’
The term ‘Media’ could today be defined as a collective term for television, radio, cinema and the press. The media are nowadays often discussed as a single entity, because of their combined importance as providers of entertainment and information, their presumed power to mould public opinion and set standards and the growth of cross-ownership among the various sectors. The word was however, originally derived from (i.e. is the plural of) the word ‘medium’, which suggested a medium for the transfer of information. Media are channels through which information is transmitted or through which communication takes place.
In a similar way, ‘Information Technology’ could be described as a term commonly used to cover the range of technologies relevant to the transfer of information, in particular to computers, digital electronics and telecommunications.
So, in relation the brief descriptions outlined above, it’s possible to say that there is already a certain connection between the two terms in that they are both involved in the transfer of information to some extent. However, this is a very broad description and so, for the purpose of this discussion, specified aspects of Media and Information Technology will be examined in order to discover any less tenuous relationships and any pros and cons discussed.
The past 18 months has seen an explosion of innovation relating the internet to the more traditional media. Technology such as the E-Book, Internet Television, Internet Radio coupled with the fact that so many printed magazines, newspapers and journals now also have a presence on-line has shown that the trend seems to be for convergence. Media and Information Technology have entered an era where technological changes are removing many of the distinctions between telecommunications, broadcasting and IT. Consumers can watch television programmes on their computers, send emails from their television sets and access the internet from their mobile phones.
E-books for example, have received a lot of press coverage of late and when Stephen King successfully published and sold two of his new stories on the internet, the publishing world began to take notice. King’s Riding the Bullet, which sold more than 400,000 copies in the first day1 showed the potential for books to be released in a digitised f...
... middle of paper ...
...monthly. This is evidence of the trend that media companies are utilising Information Technology to reach a wider audience.
Finally then, it must be said that this trend for convergence – bringing Media and Information Technology together – is one that seems to be here to stay, at least for the immediate future. Soon, it might be possible to access all forms of media from one appliance or all forms of media may in fact become one – reached from a number of appliances. Just like the success of the internet, it’s hard to predict what might happen.
References
1. Stone, Andrew. Great E-xpectations, The Times, 2nd October 2000
2. Ibid
3. Breitzer, Frith. Judging E-books by their covers. Macworld.com, July 2000
4. O’Leary, Mick. Bartleby.com Reworks free E-book Model, Information Today, October 2000
5. Keegan, Victor. Online: Second Sight, The Guardian, 3rd August 2000
6. Wakefield, Jane. King of Interactive TV? It’s Britain. ZDNet(UK), October 2000
7. Trefgarne, George. TV and Internet will converge, The Daily Telegraph, 26th August 2000
8. Grimes, Christopher and Hargreaves, Deborah. AOL and TW face set-top box demands, Financial Times, 11th September 2000
Word Count: 2256
Newspaper, radio, film, television. These are only a few of the various forms media can take. From the moment we open our eyes to the instant we shut them, we are surrounded by media and absorb the information it hurls at us in an osmosis-like manner. The news ranges from the latest terror attack and political scandals to supposed UFO sightings and scandals involving sandals. We as an audience tend to focus more on the message the media relays rather than on the medium in which it is presented to us.
Media: are the main sources of news, entertainment and promotional messages. For example: television, newspapers magazines and radio.
The media can come in many forms. From social media, magazines to Television. Although there are fundamental differences the core purpose of all media is communication. Whether it be to inform, entertain or advertise.
Currently, our society is changing again with the onslaught of electric media, namely computers and the Internet. We must continue to analyze this technology with the realization that the medium is the message, or else we will never fully understand our culture or the effect of technology on it and on our lives.
The "pervasive, invasive information infrastructure...is as much a part of our lives as religion was for medieval surfs" (Tetzeli 1994, p. 60). But is it too much? We've all seen the mind-numbing statistics about the exponential growth of information and of technological means of distributing and accessing it. However, some people question whether the problem really is one of overload. One source of the problem is actually the multiplicity of communication channels. Unlike earlier eras, such as when printing presses replaced manuscript copying, new technologies are not replacing older ones but are adding to the host of media choices (Davidson 1996). With these multiple channels the information flow is now simultaneous and multidirectional. However, most traditional information management practices are too linear and specific: they were pipes developed for a stream, not an ocean (Alesandrini 1992). The sheer quantity of information and the speed with which it can be acquired give an illusion of accomplishment (Uline 1996).
Everyday we encounter the media in some form. It could be waking up to the sound of the radio, or passing billboards in the streets or simply just watching television. They are a lot of different forms of media, for example, verbal or written media, visual media and aural media. Examples of media would include newspapers, magazines, film, radio, television, billboard advertisements as well as the internet. Media studies came about because of the developments in mass communication and it provokes the generation of exigent questions about what we think we know as well how we came about knowing it. There are always changes in the media and the term “media” refers to the many ways of physically forming meanings as well and carrying them. The term “media studies” on the other hand, means different courses priorities different media; different theories and different learning outcomes (Bazalgette, 2000).
Internet as a medium has been a thoroughly discussed topic, especially in recent years with the rise of the World Wide Web. Analysis of relevant literature in the topic shows that the internet is not a new medium. This argument can be shown by looking more in depth into what defines a medium and what defines the internet. From that analysis by looking from a historical point of view the internet can be seen as an old medium which uses re-mediation to deliver content to users. The connection between internet and its users has helped the internet influence the way media is viewed today. Although the internet is not a new medium the content it presents is new. The advances in technology have helped the use of the internet reach new heights in terms of interest and it's capabilities are now being utilised by the masses. This rise in popularity has given the implication that the internet is new. These points can be analysed in more depth which has led me to take the stance that the internet is not a new medium.
Joseph STRAUBHAAR and Robert LaROSE (2002). Media Now. Communications Media in the Information Age. 3rd Edition. Belmont, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
During the past few years, the publishing and reading world has been facing a veritable digital book onslaught. E-books have been outselling print books on Amazon since 2011 (Polanka, 7). While digital book sales skyrocketed, print book sales, especially those of mass marked paperbacks, diminished. Even the fact that e-books are not much cheaper than print books does not seem to interfere with the former’s popularity. It would seem that the age of print books is about to end, and quite soon.
In fact, most media content are no longer merely artistic and informational – they are meant to engage the masses thus to exert profound influence not only on individual development but also on social advancement. No one can deny that in the contemporary world, media, composed of dynamic and various platforms, is widely perceived to be the predominant means of communication. Noticeably, the term media is first used with the advent of newspaper and magazines; yet with the passage of time, the term is broadened by the inventions of radio, television, video and internet, which are all adapted as forms of media that bring the world closer to us. Indeed, media depends on its wild audience coverage, active public engagement and open, two-way communication to create a highly interactive platform through which “humanity, fully connected, collaboratively build and share a global world”(McLuhan 160).Without doubt, media presents a strong impact upon individual and society in the proc...
What is Media? Did you ever wonder how we can find out information we need, or just want to know what is going on around the world? We use it in all different types of ways to retain the knowledge and communication that we use on a day to day basis. Media is one of the many ways of communication that is used to receive and deliver information to influence people across the world. The use of media is communication being advertised through televisions, radios, internet, magazines and newspapers. These are by far the main resources of how we use media to reach our audiences. Media can be classified as a forum of information that is ready to be released into the world. How we do it is entirely up to the person who withholds that information.
The evolution of media has transformed the way we interpret the world around us. It gives us a new perspective by allowing us to interact with one another through the Internet. Media has become much more personal and diverse as user-generated content becomes more prominent in our lives. We are exposed to assorted types of viewpoints that shape our understanding and knowledge of the social world. Moreover, change in technology has brought advancement to transportation methods, which makes it very easy and fast to go long distances than before. It has also brought change in communication, with the development of the mobile phones, where the communication is now more efficient. Technology has also brought changes in education where students can do online courses, take exams, quizzes, do assignments and even discuss with the classmates the related topic of each week as if you were in the actual classroom. The changes of technology play a big part in the media and how it is used. The technological changes made throughout these time periods have made communication and the media widely spread.
The influence of the electronic devices, multimedia and computers are the things that dealt with our daily life. Especially the internet that is now giving more importance to each and every one, by giving the newest outstanding media that surely will give the outmost future ahead of us. (Temmel)
The evolution of mass communications has gone through major developments; from etching the beginnings of an alphabet into a rock the size of a standard dinner table to letting a computer recognize words spoken into a speaker as it types away what it hears. Dating back to around 1700 B.C. when the first alphabet was said to come into existence, society has come far in different fields of communications. Nothing made as large of an impact in the world of communications as the revolution of the Internet. Although the impact has been large, the Internet was certainly not the first to revolutionize communications. When many cities started to arise and become industrial-based, there became a need for more technological advancements. When there was one change in the way of living, a domino effect occurred and many more advancements and developments took place. The mass communications of writing, printing, mass media and entertainment have all influenced how we use the Internet and new technology developments today.
Finally, observing the traditional organizations and how they used to associate themselves to the physical forms by which they distributed their products – television broadcasting company, radio broadcasting company, newspaper, book or magazine publisher. Recently, these media firms had to restructure their business in order to be successful in this digital world. Hence, they had to widen their delivery medium rather than limiting it, and be exploiters of content wherever content is available to be exploited.