Download media-morphosis

The Impact of the Internet
on Mass Media (the press)
Atvejo studija: interneto įtaka
tradicinės spaudos kaitai
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Trends observed …
Media-morphosis (Roger Fidler)
Media convergence (Nicholas Negroponte, 1980)
Broadcasting
Computers and telecommunications
The Press
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According to Colin Sparks, University of Westminster
(Sparks, 2002):
The Internet means change for
the media (the press) in …
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1.
A common delivery technology (… because of
technological convergence)
2.
Reduced distribution costs
3.
Altered patterns of consumption
4.
Erosion of advantages of place
5.
Removal of advantages of time
6.
Competition for revenue streams
7.
Separation of editorial and advertising
8.
Direct relations between advertisers and consumers
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1: A common delivery technology
Offline media have clear and distinct delivery technologies:
In material (e.g. broadcast or printed: two most common formats
for the online media)
In time (e.g. daily newspaper v. monthly magazine)
In function (e.g. radio while driving v. TV while relaxing)
In place (e.g. newspaper at work, television at homes: morningevening hours)
Online technology all comes through one delivery mechanism, at
any time, and potentially to any place (infra-red access
technology?)
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2: Reduced distribution costs
The symbolic material of the offline media is expensive to
distribute:
Newspapers and magazines must be printed and shipped
TV and radio must pay for spectrum and build and run
transmitter networks
Online media have no need for these mechanisms:
The company needs to rent server space
But the audience buys the PC and pays the telecom’s costs
(which are becoming less and less expensive).
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3: Shifts in news consumption patterns
Existing patterns of consumption are embedded in patterns
of life:
TV is a primary leisure activity, often in a family setting
(the most typical mass medium)
Radio is more a background to other activities
The periodicity of publications fits rhythms of life
(morning-evening newspapers)
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Online media have as yet no well-established
consumption patterns:
Usually consumed alone !!! (that’s why television
looks different on the Internet)
Available at any time of the day or night (if
archived)
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4: Erosion of the importance of place
Offline media are tied to particular places:
Newspapers bounded by the distribution area (bringing the
community together)
Broadcasters depend on the configuration of the transmitter
mechanism (restrictions in transmission)
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Online media operate on a global scale:
Consumption is not determined by distance or by
geopolitics (www.lrytas.lt as a ‘virtual meeting place’
or a new channel for participation)
Media are no longer sheltered by location (new
models of tele-working, distance working, e-learning)
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5: Erosion of temporal advantages
Offline media are produced and distributed at definite times:
Morning and evening newspapers have different agendas
(In Lithuania: mostly morning newspapers, no Sunday press)
The time of major TV and radio programmes is carefully
calculated (who will watch these? Prime-time television
programs: soap-operas, reality TV shows)
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Online media are available all the time:
News can be updated regularly (www.vz.lt, www.delfi.lt,
www.omni.lt)
All material can be accessed at any time (www.delfi.lt),
although there may be restrictions: www.lrytas.lt (5
days, since 11:00a.m.)
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6: Competition for revenue streams
Offline media traditionally have three main sources of
revenue:
Subsidy (e.g. licence fee for broadcasters ??? (an ongoing
discussion for/against “subscription-fee”); exempt from
taxation in press)
Subscription (particularly for the printed material)
Advertising (the most dominant form): display advertising
and classifieds
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Online media challenge some of these:
Subscription (some claim that it is not yet feasible as there is no
relevant content on the Internet; while others see this as the only
valuable model for the ‘quality-Web’: www.cnn.com)
Subsidy (or sponsorship): www.omni.lt (‘Omni Laikas’), or all
conventional newspapers
Advertising (classifieds are well suited to the online world, banners,
pop-up windows, background advertizing, intermercials):
www.lrytas.lt (however, this may end in “cannibalization”)
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7: The disaggregating of editorial and advertising
Most offline media package a range of both advertising and
editorial content together:
Advertising between television programmes, display advertising
next to editorial material in printed media, etc.
The two depend upon each other (the media messages are sold both
to audiences and advertizers).
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The searchable nature of the online world allows the two to
be separated:
Audiences can bypass advertising material??? www.delfi.lt ?
(less and less , because online media employs new more ‘aggressive
advertising strategies’: www.vg.no)
Intermercials – interactive commercials (5s of commercial broadcast)
Audiences can seek those kinds of advertising they are interested in at
a particular moment
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8: Direct relations between providers and consumers
Offline, the media are necessary:
The only way that the audience can access editorial content is
through the media package: news, classifieds, display ads,
editorial content.
The only way the advertiser can access consumers is through the
media package
… thus, newspapers operate in two markets – for audiences and
advertizers
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With Online, there are other routes:
The audience can go directly to news sources (as in verticals)
Advertisers can go directly to consumers (employ different
marketing strategies: ask questions, collect information from what
countries and at what times per day users access the Web)
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Summary of the effect of online media
Taken together, these developments pose major
challenges to the offline media (provoke the mediamorphosis):
They challenge their self-identities
They challenge their market niches
They challenge their revenues
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… but the online media face major challenges, too:
They lack independent credibility
They have no record of delivery in commercial
terms …
… as a consequence, they find it hard to make
money (www.delfi.lt, www.aftonbladet.se, 2mln.)
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