Post 1 - Media Technology

Media Technology

By Jack R. Eaton

February 29, 2016

Media Technology

          There are all different types of media technologies that we use in the world today.  They are important because it is how we receive information.  Even though some of these are not as prevalent as they once were, all of them are incredibly valuable sources of information in the right circumstance, and it is important that we, the information seeking public, understand that.  In recent years old media has given way to new media.  The term old media refers to traditional one-to-many forms of mediated communication such as print, radio, and television, and the label new media is used to describe digital information and technology systems, including networked computing and mobile telecommunication (Trenholm, 2011).  There are basically four ways in which everyone in the world is capable of receiving mass information.  They are print, radio, television, and the internet. 

Print

          Johannes Guttenberg invented the printing press over 550 years ago.  Ever since then details from news events could be mass produced and distributed in a timely fashion.  The spread of universal education, the rise of living standards, fast improvements in transport and communications and widespread consumerism provided an environment for the growth of large and very profitable businesses that produced and distributed news and other information such as advertisements on paper, i.e. newspapers (Biddle, 2014).  There are a lot of people who believe that print media is dying.  They have reason to think it.  I will be thirty years old in three months.  I can remember having the newspaper delivered to my house every day when I was a kid, but I doubt my parents have spent any money on newspapers in over a decade.  I know there are plenty of people who still like to read the paper with their morning coffee, but in today’s information-crazed world, there are simply easier ways to get information.  Even the small town newspaper where I live is viewable online.  It is not the industry itself that is dying.  The newspaper industry is having to adapt to new technologies that actually make it easier and cheaper to distribute such as utilizing the internet.

Radio

            The radio has been a great source news and entertainment for over 100 years.  It used to be the best source of information and entertainment.  Most families had a radio like most everyone has a TV today.  It brought families together.  At one time, radio was the only source of regularly scheduled programming with serials and soaps, musical entertainment, breaking news and even presidential speeches.  Radio use has changed greatly over the years.  It is no longer the king of family entertainment nor is it the primary source for news information. Music does entertain listeners and talk radio does inform listeners, but television is more likely to be your source of family oriented entertainment. The internet is more likely to be your source for breaking news.  The appeal of radio for me and, I believe, most people is that you can listen while doing other things like driving and doing homework. While your vision is focused on other things, your ears can be focused on the radio.

Television

           There is perhaps no greater mass communication tool in America than the television.  Despite early predictions that the Internet would rapidly surpass television in popularity, TV is still the medium of choice for most Americans (Trenholm, 2011).  Even though I am someone who tends to lean towards the Internet for my entertainment and information needs, television is a tremendous source.  There are 24-hour news channels that break new stories and keep viewers up to date on current events.  There is great programming that provide viewers with endless entertainment with comedies, dramas, and reality shows.  There really is something for everybody.  Television is what people watch and listen to when they want to escape their own lives, even if for only one hour at a time.  If people just want to relax and be somewhere else for a while, TV is what they watch.

Internet

          The Internet has become the most valuable source of mass communication in the world.  In the early days, most people just used the Internet to search for information.  Today’s Internet is a constantly evolving tool that not only contains an amazing variety of information but that also provides new ways of accessing, interacting, and connecting with people and content (gcflearnfree.org).  Not everyone uses the internet to its fullest extent, but through the internet, you can read newspaper content, listen to the radio, watch your favorite TV shows, and get up to the minute news updates.  It really would replace everything if people let it.  The possibilities are limitless.

Conclusion

          Print, radio, television, and the Internet are not the only information resources in the mass media technology world, but they are the most prevalent.  There have been so many advances in technology that, today, you can find all of the resources in one place.  If you had told me 15 years ago that I could have a source for an unlimited supply of newspaper content, a radio, a phone, and the internet and have it be able to fit in my pocket, I would have called you crazy.  Smart phones are a game changer.  With social media, online streaming, and newspaper and radio applications available in the palm of your hand and at the touch of a button, you are doing yourself a disservice by not utilizing today’s technology to the fullest.  Media technology will continue to evolve, and it is up to us to evolve with it.

References

Biddle, I. (2014). The Print Media Industry:  The Model Under Change.  BusiDate. May2014, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p2-4. 3p.

Internet 101: What is the Internet? (2016).  Retrieved from http://www.gcflearnfree.org/internet101/1.2

Trenholm, S. (2011). Thinking Through Communication: An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication, 6^th ed.  Pearson Education.