Ttransformation of British Media in the Digital Age
James Curran and Jean Seaton said: “There now exists a widespread belief that new communication technology is transforming British media.”
In a world where you can “email friends through an advanced television set, watch a video on a mobile phone or view a television programme on a computer” (Curran and Seaton, p235) it is important to explore the question of whether or not technological advances, specifically those in communication technology, have affected British media. This essay will argue that improvements in communication technology have changed British media by dramatically increasing the amount of user-generated content (UGC), adding pressure on news organizations with around the clock demands and competition and by transcending physical barriers to news reception.
For the purposes of this essay ‘communication technology’ will apply primarily to devices such as mobile phones, laptops, video cameras and the internet, while ‘media’ will refer to news and news organizations. ‘Consumer’ will be used to describe the people who are taking in the news from one form of media or another.
The digital movement has made recording equipment smaller, lighter and cheaper than ever making production costs significantly lower and has opened the door to the general public who did not have this level of accessibility prior to the digital age. No longer are agencies reliant on a team of reporters with camera and sound technicians using cumbersome equipment that few knew how to use properly. A single reporter, professional or otherwise, on the street can be equipped with nothing more than a smart phone with good reception. Editing the content is as easy as downloading an application and pressing a few buttons before hitting SEND. Gone are the days where editing required multiple tape decks and television monitors.
News organisations are using more and more photos and videos from the average person on the street that may be able to get to places the journalists
In a world where you can “email friends through an advanced television set, watch a video on a mobile phone or view a television programme on a computer” (Curran and Seaton, p235) it is important to explore the question of whether or not technological advances, specifically those in communication technology, have affected British media. This essay will argue that improvements in communication technology have changed British media by dramatically increasing the amount of user-generated content (UGC), adding pressure on news organizations with around the clock demands and competition and by transcending physical barriers to news reception.
For the purposes of this essay ‘communication technology’ will apply primarily to devices such as mobile phones, laptops, video cameras and the internet, while ‘media’ will refer to news and news organizations. ‘Consumer’ will be used to describe the people who are taking in the news from one form of media or another.
The digital movement has made recording equipment smaller, lighter and cheaper than ever making production costs significantly lower and has opened the door to the general public who did not have this level of accessibility prior to the digital age. No longer are agencies reliant on a team of reporters with camera and sound technicians using cumbersome equipment that few knew how to use properly. A single reporter, professional or otherwise, on the street can be equipped with nothing more than a smart phone with good reception. Editing the content is as easy as downloading an application and pressing a few buttons before hitting SEND. Gone are the days where editing required multiple tape decks and television monitors.
News organisations are using more and more photos and videos from the average person on the street that may be able to get to places the journalists
Cited: Bardoel, Jo, 1996. Beyond Journalism: A profession between information society and civil society. In Howard Tumbar, ed. 1999 News: A reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch. 39 Curran, James and Seaton, Jean, 2010 Hachten, William, A, 2005. The Troubles of Journalism: A Critical Look at What’s Right and Wrong with the Press. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Hermida, Alfred, and Thurman, Neil, 2008 McNair, Brian, 1998. News from a small country: the media in Scotland. In Bob Franklin, ed. Local Journalism and Local Media: Making the Local News. Abingdon: Routledge. Ch. 4.