Download New media and the news

New media and choice
LI/LO: to evaluate how new media has influenced the way in which the media
affects society.
Prepare notes to answer a 33 mark question.
‘The new media have taken control of media
content away from the owners and editors and
placed it in the hands of the users.’
To what extent do sociological arguments and
evidence support this view?
What is the definition of the New
Media?
• In your groups list as many forms of new
media as you can.
• What characterises this as different from
other media? How does this compare to ‘old
media’?
Characteristics of the new media.
The term new media generally refers to two trends that have occurred over the past 30 years.
The evolution of existing media delivery systems. The way media content is delivered has
dramatically changed over the last 30 years. As recently as 2000 most people received television
pictures through aerials and there were five terrestrial television channels that could be
accessed. Digital, high definition, flat-screen televisions and subscriptions to hundreds of
digitalised satellite and cable television channels are now the norm.
The emergence of new delivery technologies – cheap personal computers and mobile-phone
technology, and especially texting, are relatively novel forms of communication. However, the
most innovative technology that has appeared in the last 20 years is probably the Internet or
worldwide web.
There are several characteristics of new media.
Lister et al distinguished new media through five main concepts:
1.
Digitality
2.
Interactivity
3.
Hypertextuality
4.
Disperal
5.
Virtuality
In what ways has the new media
‘empowered’ the consumer?
• In your groups give as many examples as you can
think of where the new media has given
consumers more control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOf78oMngtU
• What does the speaker identify as a positive
impact of the new media?
• How is this changing the way media consumers
interact with the news?
• What is the impact of new media and citizen
journalism on society?
How are editors and new organisations
responding to new media
Read this article.
• How has the rise of social media affected the
way consumers interact with the BBC?
• Who is directing the news to whom?
• What are some of the draw backs that the
writer highlights?
Does technology really empower
people?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU
• What is the speaker’s major criticism of the role
of technology in spreading democracy?
• In what ways does technology help build
legitimacy?
• What is the reality of the majority of internet
usage?
• What is the difference between a digital
renegade and a digital captive?
How has the new media affected
society?
Curran and Seaton (2003)
• The neophiliac perspective. (positive)
• The cultural pessimist perspective. (negative)
Neophiliac perspective
•
Increased consumer choice – there are now hundreds of choices available to
people in the form of media outlets and delivery systems. It is argued that
competition between media institutions results in more quality media output.
•
More media user participation – a great deal of retail commerce is conducted on
the Internet. Most major commercial companies now have their own websites.
•
Revitalising democracy – new media technologies may offer opportunities for
people to acquire the education and information required to play an active role in
democratic societies and to make politicians more accountable to the people.
Some media sociologists have suggested that the Internet can revitalise democracy
because it gives a voice to those who would otherwise go unheard. It allows likeminded people to join together and take action which may lead to social change.
Some neophiliacs who are part of the anti-global capitalism movement have used
the Internet to challenge the power of international capitalism.
•
McLuchan (1962) – argues that the new media creates a global village promoting
cultural diversity and a greater understanding across communities.
The cultural pessimist perspective
Cultural pessimists believe that the revolution in new media technology has been
exaggerated by neophiliacs.
•
•
•
Cornford and Robins (1999) argue that new media are not so new and that
the media today is an accommodation between old and new because to use a
game console, a television is required, while to connect to the Internet, a
telephone line is still needed. They suggest, further, that interactivity is not
something new because people have written to newspapers and phoned in to
radio and television for many years. The only thing that is new about new
media is its speed – information, news and entertainment can be accessed in
‘real time’.
Cultural pessimists criticise the idea that new media are increasing the
potential for ordinary people to participate more fully in the democratic
process and cultural life. The Internet is actually dominated by a small number
of media corporations. Over three-quarters of the 31 most visited news and
entertainment websites are affiliated with the largest media corporations,
according to Curran (2003).
Hill and Hughes (1997) challenge the view that cyberspace is more likely to
contain web content that supports alternative minority political issues or
views – 78% of political opinions expressed on the American websites were
mainstream.
Does the new media empower all?
Some sociologists have suggested that there now exists a generational divide in terms
of how people use new media. According to Ofcom, the 16–24-year-old age group
spent more time online compared with the 25+ age-group. Up to 70% of this age
group use sites such as MySpace and Bebo. It also sent more text messages and
watches less television. However, 40% of adults use networking sites such as
Facebook, whilst the average age of the on-line gamer is 33 years.
The poor are excluded from the super-information highway because they lack the
material resources to plug into this new media revolution, i.e. there is a digital divide
who cannot afford to keep up with the middle class technological elite. Some 80% of
the richest households in Britain have Internet access, against only 11% of the poorest.
Li and Kirkup (2007) found that men were more likely than women to use e-mail or
chat rooms. Men played more computer games than women. Men were more selfconfident about their computer skills than women and were more likely to express the
opinion that using computers was a male activity and skill.
Postmodernists and the new media
•
Postmodernists argue that the new media, and the popular culture that it
generates, shape our identities and lifestyles today much more than traditional
influences such as family, community, social class, gender, nation or ethnicity.
•
Post-modernists also argue that the media has also changed and shaped our
consumption patterns by making us more aware of the diversity of choices that
exist in the post-modern world, e.g. many people now feel that they no longer
belong to real communities.
•
Strinati (1995) emphasises the importance and power of the mass media in
shaping consumer choices. The new media has given us so much choice that our
sense of reality is now defined by the media.
•
Criticism - This view assumes we have no prior experiences to reject this
postmodern world. Have postmodernists over exaggerated the impact of the
media on our lives?
Marxism and the New Media
Marxists argue that globalisation restricts choice because transnational media companies and their owners
have too much power. Marxists are particularly concerned that local media and cultures may be replaced by a
western culture in a process known as cultural imperialism.
Fenton (1999) highlights the big role of the new media in promoting western values across the globe. American
companies dominate the media sphere.
Kellner (1999) suggests that this global media culture is about sameness and that it erases individuality,
specificity and difference.
Criticism - Cohen and Kennedy (2000) suggest that cultural pessimists under-estimate the strength of local
cultures – they note that people do not generally abandon their cultural traditions, family duties, religious
beliefs and national identities because they listen to Madonna or watch a Disney film. Rather, they appropriate
elements of global culture, and mix and match with elements of local culture, in much the same way as the
citizens of the USA and Britain.
Pluralists and the new media
• Pluralists suggest there is no dominant ruling
class, but many competing groups with
different interests. What appears in the media
is driven by the wish of consumers.
Essay
‘The new media have taken control of media content away from the
owners and editors and placed it in the hands of the users.’
To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this
view?
Success criteria
1. Use PEEE
2. Address concept of new media
3. In what ways is it empowering users?
4. Who is making this argument?
5. Who disagrees? What is their argument?
6. Conclusion – assessing the extent of the validity of the statement.