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MEDIA MERGENCE:Radio, TV mergence, Economic reasons

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Introduction to Mass Communication ­ MCM 101
VU
LESSON 42
MEDIA MERGENCE
Every time a new technology is introduced in the sphere of mass media and a new media organ is
created, there appears a situation where new form of mass communication gets its source material from the
media organs already in vogue.
The mediated communication which is always based on certain technology also needs contents which must
be made the main area of mass communication. Hardly there has been a situation when a new technology
has also brought altogether new topics to be talked about with the help of new science. Here we will see
how the advent of various technologies has led to media combination.
From Print to Electronic Amalgamation
Print media had been enjoying a unique distinction in the society for almost four hundred years
when in the first quarter of the 20th century radio was introduced on the basis of electromagnetic waves
technology. It was first time that the people experienced a wireless communication at massive scale.
Radio brought with it listening pleasure ­ music, talks and news etc. But the nature of contents in news, talk
shows, discussions, educational programmes and comments was not new. More or less it was dealing with
the same content people had been familiar with over the years because of print media. The only change was
the new technology. Contents were the same. So one can say that radio was a mergence of print and
electronic media as far content were concerned.
Radio, TV mergence
Although TV was also based on radio wave technology, the carrying of images through
electromagnetic waves gave it a unique distinction and in the eyes of common people TV has been a
different entity.
But on the content side, TV picked many ideas from radio formats like group discussions, musical
programmes, and commentary on sporting events, and presentation of news. The changes were only due to
presence of images.
TV and computer getting one - IPT (Internet protocol TV)
In the third quarter of the 20th century scientists were successful in using the digital technology for
carrying contents which were earlier carried only through analog techniques. This led to a marriage between
the analog and digital technologies and it is here that the subject of mergence of media has emerged.
This new combination is exclusive in the sense that it not only brings the contents of sound and images
together and all the formats of programme remain intact, it at the same time brings the two technologies at
one point.
In coming years you would be able to use your computer as TV and if you desire, TV set could also be used
as computer because most TV sets manufactured after 2006, or so, would carry a chip which would enable
decoding of messages transmitted through digital technology.
So, when we say that the media will converge, we mean that current television shows will merge into a
hybrid with World Wide Web style content. Television shows will have other types of media like text
merged into them, and World Wide Web pages will begin to be temporal entities that tell a story. Another
way of looking at this is that both your television and your computer will be running a similar super browser
which will allow the same content to be viewed on both devices. Also, to say that the two converge it is not
enough to say that you will be able to watch television on your computer-- that merely means that television
content is a sub-set of computer content and is already possible today. For the two to truly converge the
content that can be received by both devices should be the same.
When we say that the media will not converge, we mean that television shows and world wide web content
will remain distinct media forms, and that you will use your television for watching television shows, and
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Introduction to Mass Communication ­ MCM 101
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your computer to view and browse web content. While both media types may have evolved, they will
remain different from one another.
People will cease distinguishing between computers and televisions:
The second topic for the debate will be that the computers and televisions as devices will merge. In
this case the argument is that sometime in the future there won't be "televisions" and "computers", but
some new device that encapsulates the behavior of both. This "viewer" will come in different sizes and
shapes, but will be thought of as one item, just like little TVs and big TVs in people's minds are considered
one type of device. While you may be more inclined to use the "viewer" on your desk to browse the web,
and the "viewer" in the home theater to watch movies, you would be willing to do either task on either
device. In other words, if you were at your desk working on a "viewer" and a friend called up telling you to
check out a show, you would just switch the "viewer" to that show, rather than going into another room to
find a "TV viewer".
Non-convergence in this case is the argument that, while TVs may take on some computer-like functionality
and vice versa, fundamentally the two will be thought of as different devices. Doing research and browsing
the web will be done on a computer, and watching shows and movies will be done on a television.
Finally, it is important to make one final point on the debate framework. There are always extreme points
in the adoption of technology. Since there is no technical reason why a television can't have the same
functionality as a computer, or vice versa, it is quite likely that both computer powered TVs and computers
that can display television will be around in the future.
Nature of program remains a question
On account of this, the debate will center on what functionality the majority of televisions and
computers will have, and what types of media will be broadcast for a majority of broadcast hours. The
main question we consider is whether televisions and computers will come to be more similar on average as
time goes on, or whether they will evolve along mostly independent paths.
Economic reasons
Media convergence is an economic strategy in which communications companies seek financial
benefit by making the various media properties they own work together. The strategy is a product of three
elements: 1) corporate concentration, whereby fewer large companies own more and more media
properties; 2) digitization, whereby media content produced in a universal computer language can be easily
adapted for use in any medium; and 3) government deregulation, which has increasingly allowed media
conglomerates to own different kinds of media (e.g., television and radio stations and newspapers) in the
same markets, and which has permitted content carriage companies (e.g., cable TV suppliers) to own
content producers (e.g., specialty TV channels). The strategy allows companies to reduce labour,
administrative and material costs, to use the same media content across several media outlets, to attract
increased advertising by providing advertisers with package deals and one-stop shopping for a number of
media platforms, and to increase brand recognition and brand loyalty among audiences through cross-
promotion and cross-selling. At the same time, it raises significantly the barriers to newcomers seeking to
enter media markets, thus limiting competition for converged companies.
DI
Digital Cinemas
CINEMA
People have become increasingly interested in studying new aesthetic forms that have emerged in response
to the potentials of digital media. One such area of interest is digital cinema. Digital cinema can refer to
many different things, ranging from the use of digital cameras in film production or digital projection in film
exhibition to the use of the web as a delivery system for films. The Digital Cinema conference explored
many different aspects of this topic.
SDTV
Standard digital television
HDTV
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High definition television
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Table of Contents:
  1. MASS COMMUNICATION – AN OVERVIEW:Relationships, Power
  2. EARLY MASS COMMUNICATION AND PRINTING TECHNOLOGY
  3. SEVEN CENTURIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION – FROM PRINTING TO COMPUTER
  4. ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION AND EARLY COMMUNICATION MODELS
  5. COMMUNICATION MODELS – GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF COMPLEX ISSUES
  6. TYPES AND FORMS OF COMMUNICATION:Inter personal, Combination
  7. MESSAGE – ROOT OF COMMUNICATION I:VERBAL MESSAGE, Static Evaluation
  8. MESSAGE – ROOT OF COMMUNICATION II:Conflicts, Brevity of Message
  9. EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION:Helping Out Others, Relaxation
  10. COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE:Enculturation, Acculturation
  11. LANGUAGE IN COMMUNICATION:Polarization, Labeling, Static meanings
  12. STEREOTYPING – A TYPICAL HURDLE IN MASS COMMUNICATION:Stereotype Groups
  13. MASS MEDIA – HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:Early analysis on manuscripts
  14. EMERGENCE OF PRINT MEDIA AROUND THE WORLD:Colonial journalism
  15. TELEGRAPH DOES MIRACLE IN DISTANCE COMMUNICATION TELEX AND TELEPHONE ENTHRALL PRINT COMMUNICATION
  16. TYPES OF PRINT MEDIA:Newspapers, Magazines, Books
  17. PRESS FREEDOM, LAWS AND ETHICS – NEW DEBATE RAGING STILL HARD
  18. INDUSTRIALIZATION OF PRINT PROCESSES:Lithography, Offset printing
  19. EFFECTS OF PRINT MEDIA ON SOCIETY:Economic ideas, Politics
  20. ADVERTISING – HAND IN HAND WITH MEDIA:Historical background
  21. RENAISSANCE AND SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: ROLE OF PRINT MEDIA:Science
  22. RECAP:Elements of communication, Books, Printing, Verbal Message
  23. MEDIA MANAGEMENT:Division, Business section, Press
  24. IMAGES IN MASS COMMUNICATION – INVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY:Portrait photography
  25. MOTION PICTURES – A NEW WAY IN MASS COMMUNICATION-I:Definition
  26. MOTION PICTURES – A NEW WAY IN MASS COMMUNICATION (Cont...):Post-Studio Era
  27. FILM MEDIA IN SUBCONTINENT AND PAKISTAN-I:Accusations of plagiarism
  28. FILM MEDIA IN SUBCONTINENT AND PAKISTAN (II) & ITS EFFECTS:First Color film
  29. PROPAGANDA:Types in another manner, Propaganda in revolutions
  30. RADIO – A BREAKTHROUGH IN MASS COMMUNICATION:What to broadcast
  31. EFFECTS OF RADIO ON SOCIETY:Entertainment, Information, Jobs
  32. TELEVISION – A NEW DIMENSION IN MASS COMMUNICATION:Early Discoveries
  33. TV IN PAKISTAN:Enthusiasm, Live Broadcast, PTV goes colored
  34. EFFECTS OF TELEVISION ON SOCIETY:Seeing is believing, Fashion
  35. PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION - I:History, Case Study
  36. PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION - II:Audience targeting
  37. ADVERTISING BEYOND PRINT MEDIA:Covert advertising
  38. IMPACT OF ADVERTISING:Trial, Continuity, Brand Switching, Market Share
  39. MEDIA THEORIES:Libertarian Theory, Social Responsibility Theory
  40. NEW MEDIA IN MASS COMMUNICATION:Technology forcing changes
  41. GLOBALIZATION OF MEDIA:Media and consumerism, Media centralization
  42. MEDIA MERGENCE:Radio, TV mergence, Economic reasons
  43. MASS MEDIA IN PRESENT AGE:Magazine, Radio, TV
  44. CRITICISM ON MEDIA:Sensationalize, Biasness, Private life, obscenity
  45. RECAP:Legends of South Asian Film Industry, Radio, Television, PTV goes colored