NDM News: MEST3 essay on blog
The development of new/digital media means the audiences is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.
Due to the developments of new and digital media, both of the audiences and the media institutions have had an increase in power that they hold in terms of consumption and production. The developments of the new and digital media has allowed both to take advantage of the developments as they are able to produce content and share it to so many people around the world which they do through social networking sites. This essentially gives new and digital media the effect of globalisation as it allows the users to produce content for people in many different countries. In this essay, I will argue for and against the view of how the audiences is more powerful in terms of consumption and production due to the development of new and digital media.
A perspective of a pluralist would agree with the viewpoint that the audiences are gaining power in terms of consumption and production in the modern world as they see the "society consisting of competing groups and interests" which "none of them predominant all of the time". Due to the development of new/digital media, it has allowed the audiences to become "pro-sumers" which leads to how the "individual innovation and entrepreneurialism" is increasing due to the advancements of new and digital media which has led to the rise of citizen journalism. Citizen journalism is essentially news reported by the public rather than the professionals. Evidently, with the case of Ian Thomlinson in 2009, who was brutally pushed by a police officer in the streets, it was investigated heavily as the victim later on died which was believed to be due to the push by the police officer. The police officer was accused but he declined the accusation of him pushing Ian Thomlinson. While the investigation was on, a video of the push was uploaded on the internet which gave a huge evidence as it was one of the members of the public who recorded that scene "live in the flesh". The fact that the video was uploaded, they were able to know the truth if the police officer did actually push the victim or not. Essentially, due to the developments of new and digital media, it has given the audiences more of a power in terms of consumption and production as they can become "prosumers" by essentially consuming a live event and recording it to publicise it on the internet. This is citizen journalism and it has given the audiences an increase in power as they are able to shape what the news institutions put out to the general public. Citizen journalism is essentially taking over traditional journalism and are doing the jobs of what professionals were supposed to do.
A view of a pluralist would be that the development of the new and digital media has essentially led to the increase in power for the audiences in terms of consumption and production as the media is "blossoming the culture of freedom" (Castells, 1996) which is empowering the audiences. Due to the development of the new and digital media, "the world is changing" (Rupert Mudorch, Newscorp) and has led to the decline of newspapers which now "have to adapt". As the consumption of NDM news has increased hugely, it has led to an extent where the institutions have to shape their actions determined by the audiences. An evidence would be that since The Washington Post's Pay wall was introduced, it has inevitably led to decrease in the number views of the pages leading to the downfall and the decrease of their revenue too. This shows how the "free content" on the media has essentially given the audiences more power and more freedom. The internet consists of many information's that the audiences can find in seconds and instead of paying a subscription fee for a article with information's, they would rather get access to free content. As "the internet has given readers much more power" (Rupert Mudorch, Newscorp), "rebellion is encapsulated in the internet" suggesting how the audiences are able to make their own choice to access whatever content they want to. However, the paywalls introduced by The Washington Post can be affective in the sense that some of the audiences will essentially pay a subscription fee just to view their article. These type of audiences will be valuable to the institutions as not a mass audience will be willing to pay for the subscription as they can access free content that is similar. Reverting back to the point of some audiences that are willing to pay for the subscription, this essentially shows how mass audiences won't always be powerful. Due to the new and digital media, the audiences have gained a huge amount of power against the institutions who aren't creating as much income but some of the audiences that pay for the pay wall will always challenge the mass audiences which is the reason why some of the organisations and industries are still functioning.
In conclusion, due to the development of new and digital media, the audiences have essentially gained a huge amount of power which has given them more access, freedom and a choice at their will. They are so powerful to an extent that they can force industries to fall down in terms of revenue. However, a view of a marxist would be that the audiences haven't gained much power in the sense that the industries are still able to be sustainable through loyal audiences. They are able to manipulate audiences into doing something that will benefit the industry.
Due to the developments of new and digital media, both of the audiences and the media institutions have had an increase in power that they hold in terms of consumption and production. The developments of the new and digital media has allowed both to take advantage of the developments as they are able to produce content and share it to so many people around the world which they do through social networking sites. This essentially gives new and digital media the effect of globalisation as it allows the users to produce content for people in many different countries. In this essay, I will argue for and against the view of how the audiences is more powerful in terms of consumption and production due to the development of new and digital media.
A perspective of a pluralist would agree with the viewpoint that the audiences are gaining power in terms of consumption and production in the modern world as they see the "society consisting of competing groups and interests" which "none of them predominant all of the time". Due to the development of new/digital media, it has allowed the audiences to become "pro-sumers" which leads to how the "individual innovation and entrepreneurialism" is increasing due to the advancements of new and digital media which has led to the rise of citizen journalism. Citizen journalism is essentially news reported by the public rather than the professionals. Evidently, with the case of Ian Thomlinson in 2009, who was brutally pushed by a police officer in the streets, it was investigated heavily as the victim later on died which was believed to be due to the push by the police officer. The police officer was accused but he declined the accusation of him pushing Ian Thomlinson. While the investigation was on, a video of the push was uploaded on the internet which gave a huge evidence as it was one of the members of the public who recorded that scene "live in the flesh". The fact that the video was uploaded, they were able to know the truth if the police officer did actually push the victim or not. Essentially, due to the developments of new and digital media, it has given the audiences more of a power in terms of consumption and production as they can become "prosumers" by essentially consuming a live event and recording it to publicise it on the internet. This is citizen journalism and it has given the audiences an increase in power as they are able to shape what the news institutions put out to the general public. Citizen journalism is essentially taking over traditional journalism and are doing the jobs of what professionals were supposed to do.
A view of a pluralist would be that the development of the new and digital media has essentially led to the increase in power for the audiences in terms of consumption and production as the media is "blossoming the culture of freedom" (Castells, 1996) which is empowering the audiences. Due to the development of the new and digital media, "the world is changing" (Rupert Mudorch, Newscorp) and has led to the decline of newspapers which now "have to adapt". As the consumption of NDM news has increased hugely, it has led to an extent where the institutions have to shape their actions determined by the audiences. An evidence would be that since The Washington Post's Pay wall was introduced, it has inevitably led to decrease in the number views of the pages leading to the downfall and the decrease of their revenue too. This shows how the "free content" on the media has essentially given the audiences more power and more freedom. The internet consists of many information's that the audiences can find in seconds and instead of paying a subscription fee for a article with information's, they would rather get access to free content. As "the internet has given readers much more power" (Rupert Mudorch, Newscorp), "rebellion is encapsulated in the internet" suggesting how the audiences are able to make their own choice to access whatever content they want to. However, the paywalls introduced by The Washington Post can be affective in the sense that some of the audiences will essentially pay a subscription fee just to view their article. These type of audiences will be valuable to the institutions as not a mass audience will be willing to pay for the subscription as they can access free content that is similar. Reverting back to the point of some audiences that are willing to pay for the subscription, this essentially shows how mass audiences won't always be powerful. Due to the new and digital media, the audiences have gained a huge amount of power against the institutions who aren't creating as much income but some of the audiences that pay for the pay wall will always challenge the mass audiences which is the reason why some of the organisations and industries are still functioning.
In conclusion, due to the development of new and digital media, the audiences have essentially gained a huge amount of power which has given them more access, freedom and a choice at their will. They are so powerful to an extent that they can force industries to fall down in terms of revenue. However, a view of a marxist would be that the audiences haven't gained much power in the sense that the industries are still able to be sustainable through loyal audiences. They are able to manipulate audiences into doing something that will benefit the industry.
Comments
Post a Comment