Prof. Andy Smith
17 November 2014
Television made it much easier and less expensive to get new information. In the past, to get a news a person had to buy a newspaper, that is to spend time getting to the newspaper stand and pay some money for a newspaper. Television provides people with an ability to get news instantly, without getting up from the couch, and for free. Of course, there is a certain sum one should pay monthly for using a TV cable, antenna, or a satellite dish, but this fee is relatively small in comparison with the money to pay for all the newspapers one should buy to obtain the same amount of information as from the TV.
Also, television provided everyone with an ability to become familiarized with multifarious cultural places and events whether in other city or other country. For instance, if it was previously impossible for to visit some museum or any other place of interest in a foreign country, the TV may deliver a large amount of the information a person would acquire by visiting this place. Or, somebody who cannot be present on a concert because of lack of free time may watch the same concert in record afterwards. It will not be completely the same, since the quality of image and sound cannot compete with the original, but it will be enough if a person is not to aesthetic.
However, the television caused as well some negative impact on human life. Since watching a TV is so attractive, people read less books or even do not read them at all, spend less time on fresh air, and communicate with other people in person rarely. But neither television can fully substitute normal bidirectional communication nor it can replace book reading, and for sure it cannot anyhow replace spending time outdoors. So, the television may negatively influence mental, social, and physical health of a nation.
In terms of broadcasting, all-channel legislation was passed in 1962, which required that all sets imported into or manufactured in the United States would be equipped with both VHF and UHF receivers. Today, networks link affiliates for the purpose of delivering and selling viewers to advertisers. Networks now receive reverse compensation, a fee paid by the local station for the right to be that network’s affiliate. It is usually based on the amount of money the local cable operation pays to the station to carry its signal, called retransmission fees. Networks also control what appears on the vast majority of local TV stations, but they also control hat appears on non-network television, also called off-network programs.
Premium cable, VCR, DVD’s, and DVR are all modern innovations, which revolutionized the television industry. Video on the Internet is also becoming more and more commonplace, with companies such as Netflix and YouTube making lucrative profits. Video on demand, allows for services such as one-click shopping, information on demand, and interactive program guides. Bundling allows for cable to become a one-stop communications provider, providing services such as VOD, audio, high-speed internet access, long distance phone service, and fax. Notably, smartphones and tablets have made television watching an anywhere, anytime activity. It should be understood that such mobile viewing activity promises to alter the TV/viewer relationship in ways other than mobility, as time with mobile devices is slowly replacing time with the television set.
This movie is similar to that of the Economics of the Media article, and their explanation of conglomeration and we see the real world media conglomeration and vertical and horizontal integration within the news outlets. In the movie we precisely see how an existing news provider changes their methods of production, and their control of power within the organization. A change of relationship between the news outlets and their employees shows us how the changing pattern of ownership is exactly same to what is described in Economics of the Media. Howard Beale emphasizes the relationship between TV and news as “bullshit’, and how there's a “voice” explaining the human truth, and the self preservation which should be presented on TV.
This story is about Howard Beale who was the network news anchorman on UBS-TV. In his time, Howard Beale had been a mandarin of television, the grand old man of news, with a HUT rating of 16 and a 28 audience share. In 1969, however, his fortunes began to decline. He fell to a 22 share. The following year, his wife died, and he was left a childless widower with an 8 rating and a 12 share. He became morose and isolated, began to drink heavily, and on September 22, 1975, he was fired, effective in two weeks. The news was broken to him by Max Schumacher who was president of the News Division at UBS. He reacts to this by sensationally announcing on live television his intention to commit suicide on air. The network brass, incensed, pulls him off effective immediately, but Howard, stating he was drunk at the time over the news of his firing, pleads for one final telecast so that he can exit from news broadcasting with dignity. In doing so, Beale becomes a major TV icon and one of the most valuable assets to the Communications Corporation of America (CCA), the company that is gradually taking control of UBS. He appears live on television every weekday evening to tell the real truth to the people of America. The impact of TV towards social movement is strong, during this time, TV ratings were everything, and the population is a god. With the impact of stocks and ratings, the TV provided the population with everything they want, they controlled the social movements. I think this movie is accurate, especially with todays media. With today's media we can see the media conglomeration and the powerhouses that show us what they want. Advertising and profit margins are both directly and indirectly affected by conglomeration and integration.
South Park is an icon of modern satire and humor in America. This sitcom is a source of thousands of winged phrases culprit billion settlement on all sorts of topics covered in it. It ridicules many celebrities, religion, individual nations and a lot of things that are part of our lives. It is one of the most remarkable shows on television. Not only is it one of the most successful, with the most fan generated web sites of practically any television show, 2 over half a billion dollars in merchandising sales, 3 and twelve continuous seasons of one of the highest rated shows on television, and in over a dozen countries at that but it consistently delivers important social and moral messages in practically every episode. South Park has a vision of the world, what it should look like, how people should behave and treat one another, and how we can all function together harmoniously. While most major political parties have attempted to associate South Park with their own agendas, the creators of South Park have repeatedly eschewed any political labels insisting that they hate both the left and the right and want to stand between the two sides, laughing at both of them. In the end, though, South Park, as an animated television show aimed at adults, is able to outshine each of these other media.
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