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New Media: Status and Implications

New Media: Status and Implications. Wendy Cukier Communication and Culture Information Technology Management Ryerson University wcukier@ryerson.ca. Overview. Basic Concepts Diffusion Impact on New Media and Policy Issues Transformation of Journalism. BASIC CONCEPTS.

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New Media: Status and Implications

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  1. New Media: Status and Implications Wendy Cukier Communication and Culture Information Technology Management Ryerson University wcukier@ryerson.ca

  2. Overview • Basic Concepts • Diffusion • Impact on New Media and Policy Issues • Transformation of Journalism

  3. BASIC CONCEPTS • New media is multidisciplinary • Arts: design and production of new media products • Technology: development of hardware and software for design, production, and delivery of new media products • Social Science: research on the production and consumption of new media products

  4. Definition of New Media • New forms of communication that emerge from new technologies • New communication formats, genres and styles resulting from social, economic and technological change • CONVERGENCE: linking of television (content), telecommunications and computers

  5. Technology Drivers • digitization: conversion of analogue (text, music, image, video) content to digital (0101001001) • growth in bandwidth (capacity/transmission speed) • new forms of transmission (eg. wireless) • network intelligence • standards (TCP/IP Protocol) • price/performance • new devices (eg. RIM)

  6. This technological development has come to be linked to horizontal and vertical industries in the communication and cultural industries – often also called convergence, especially when the mergers are driven by expected synergies or economies based on technological convergence.

  7. Key Characteristics • Alteration of time and space - on demand services - delivered anywhere • Interactivity • Broad access • User driven structure

  8. Internet • A new medium? • An overlay for all media? • New media add new layers, not displace old media

  9. DIFFUSION OF NEW MEDIA Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system -- Everett Rogers (1995), p. 5

  10. The S-Curve Model of Diffusion Process Decline Adoption Saturation Later Majority Earlier Majority Laggards Takeoff Earlier Adopters Innovators Time Introduction Growth Maturity Decay

  11. Diffusion Curves of Selected U.S. Media Lievrouw (2000)

  12. Adoption of an innovation Facilitators and Barriers of Diffusion Process Personal traits Social influences Technological traits Perceived traits Communication

  13. Mediamorphosis Mediamorphosis is “[T]he transformation of communication media, usually brought about by the complex interplay of perceived needs, competitive and political pressures, and social and technological innovations.” -- Roger Fidler (1996), pp. 22-23

  14. Principles of Mediamorphosis • Coevolution and coexistence (e.g., films) • Metamorphosis (from videotex to www) • Propagation (from mac to windows) • Survival (magazines & radio) • Opportunity and need (VHS vs. Betacom) • Delayed adoption (cable & fax)

  15. Studio Film: New Business Model Cash flow in U.S. movie industry Box Office Sales Theaters Concession Sales Independent Producer Video sales /rental Marketing/ Ancillary Exports Cable/TV

  16. Videotape: VHS Beats Betacom • Beta is a higher quality videotape format than VHS, and has been used by pros • Sony treated Beta as a proprietary technology, whereas JVC made VHS public • Because every manufactory can make VHS, the price of VHS tapes kept dropping, which immediately promoted VHS VCRs.

  17. Fax • Invented at the same time as telegraph • Graphic potentials hindered by technology • Exploded with development of standards (Group IV Fax) • Value increased dramatically with the increased number of users (person to person communications different than broadcast or other media)

  18. IMPACT OF NEW MEDIA • DISPLACEMENT: for first time since advent of TV, viewing has declined among children (US data - 2001) • BUT: - hours using TV = 24.8 - hours on internet + 9.8 • For information = 91% • For entertainment = 30%

  19. Access Issues • internet: Canada – households with internet access (2001) = 47% • about 25% have high speed internet access (about 8% have broadband access) • growing rapidly

  20. What do Canadians use broadband for? • Sending digital photos (65%) • Watching video clips (50%) • Downloading music (44%) • On-line gaming (43%) • Streaming music (42%) • Date source: Industry Canada.

  21. Policy Issues • Do these applications justify a $8 billion investment (hype versus the reality) OR • “If we build it they will come”

  22. Other Policy Issues • digital divide (information rich / poor) • community vs. individual values • corporate control / regulation • surveillance / privacy • mobilization / social movements • concepts of citizenship • electronic democracy

  23. Within Canada, internet use strongly correlated with household income Income quartile % using internet Bottom 32% 2nd 52 3rd 70% top 87% Urban households have greater access

  24. Effects of the New Media • Knowledge Gap & Digital Divide • Media Dependency & Internet Addiction • Cultivation & Virtual Identity • Third-person Effects & Internet Police • Agenda-setting & Social Divergence

  25. TRANSFORMATION OF JOURNALISM • 58% think most information on internet is reliable • New newsgathering and distribution techniques

  26. TRADITIONAL NEWS NEW MEDIA NEWS LINEAR INTERACTIVE SINGLE MODALITY MULTIPLE MODALITIES STATIC DYNAMIC EPISODIC CONTEXTUALIZED DISTANCED INVOLVING LIMITED UNLIMITED PASSIVE INTERACTIVE

  27. New Opportunities for Journalism • LAYERING - For example, headline – brief summary – more detailed report – source documents • SATELLITE IMAGERY • CONSTRUCTED REPORTS • ON-LINE SERVICES - Important in less developed countries • IMMERSIVE MEDIA • EXPERIENTIAL (SENSATION) vs. AUTHENTICITY / ACCURACY • LOSS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE

  28. Critical Issues: the Pubic Interest • ATTRIBUTION / PROVENANCE - News stories increasingly use many sources, often unattributed • VERIFICATION • DISINFORMATION / MANIPULATION • MANY UNRELIABLE SERVICES • WHAT CAN WE DO IF WE CANNOT TRUST OUR SENSES?

  29. Business Issues • RELATIONSHIP OF CONTENT AND PLATFORM • SOURCES OF REVENUE • ADVERTISING • SPONSORSHIP (INCLUDING GOVERNMENT) • SUBSCRIPTIONS • DIRECT SALES • DAYMAPPING (when, where, and by what means of delivery do potential audiences want specific kinds of content: time / location / device / content • LIMITATIONS OF STREAMING: - Capital intensive - Lack economies of scale

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