Essay: Do you agree that media convergence makes it more important than before?

Meikel and Young (1991) states that media convergence refers to the coming together of things that were previously separated (p.2) Everyday use of digital media (p.3). There are some new ways of using media such as creating. Media convergence has become an important element for life for many individuals. In the making of technology such as mobile phones, televisions and the internet individuals have a larger choice in media as media technologies have made most things even simpler. On the other hand, there is one question that is needed to be asked. The question is whether media convergence offers great challenges and opportunities to the society and to the industry itself or not? This paper is going to be about the public service broadcasting and why media convergence makes it more vital than ever before. And also,how the two market models 1)public sphere model and the 2)commercial model and how they both function.
Scannell and Cardiff(1991)states that broadcasting offers interest and relaxation to many shelters where things and exclusive. Besides that, it offers information on thousands of topics to great amounts of people who will be able to gain more interests in upcoming events which mainly outside their ken. However, after a short period of time being in that particular position to actually make decisions on matters and issues whether to receive other people’s opinion or either ignore them. The Australian public service broadcasting (PSB) sector mainly accommodates the television, online services and radio of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and also the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The concept was originated in Britain the 1920s that is when BBC was founded. The first General of the BBC whom was John Reith created a philosophy for PSB which deeply impacted how broadcasting in the ‘dominions’ (Canada, Australia, South, Africa and New Zealand). According to Reith, broadcasting was importantly a ‘public service’ which mainly would act as the ‘educative, moral and cultural force for the advancement of taste, manners and knowledge’. (Scannell & Cardiff 1991, p.7). In addition, it had the political and social function of assimilating the nation and enlightened democracy. In 1924, the Skyes Committee had made a recommendation on how broadcasting should be all organised in Britain and also saw the ‘wavebands available in any other country’ as a ‘valuable form of public property’ which must be operated only to the ‘public interest’. The BBC was set up as an independent authority which was established by the Royal Charter and it is funded by a licence fee which was paid by every single household which owned receiving equipment. It was a license fee funded monopoly that broadcasting could function as a public service free of both political pressure and commercial. Debate about the function and the role of public service broadcasting has been mainly constant those early days. This concept has changed and evolved as the broadcasting landscape has transformed. The concept was also transplanted from Britain to every part of the world. Besides that, it also adapted to many various purposes into the new environment. For instance, in South Africa, the South African Broadcasting Corporation(SABC) was created after the BBC. By the end of 1940s it became a part of Apartheid which was wileded by the white power bloc whom serviced the reinforcing their ascendancy(Beer and Steyn 1993,pp 212-14). Rethian’s version of PSB mainly served a democratising purpose in two particular ways. First of all, it was to provide all access to the greatest aspects of culture for the whole population. It was just not for an elite who could actually afford them. Secondly,its all about ‘improving’ mission. It is a section of the whole community seen as actually needing special kids of education,cultural development and remediation. For instance, women and the regions and children whom were catered for programs especially when it is desgined to address them. In 1980, the Broadcasting Review Company in London created a series of ‘principles’ of the public service broadcasting. They are as follows 1)universality of availability 2)provision of minorities 3)university of appeal 4)a commitment to the education of the public 5)distance from vested interests 6)structured to encourage competition in programming standards not for audience, 7)freedom for the program maker and lastly 8)fostering a public sphere. These principles embedded all programmatically in ‘ABC’. On the other hand, the case for the SBS is a little bit different as it has mainly focused so much upon the second principle which is listed above. The question is to what extent SBS is in fact a PSB. The solution is: while SBS does not have the national public sphere mission of the ABC, it greatly enhances the public sphere in two ways. Firstly,providing recent current affairs perspectives and different news. In addition, this adds up to the views that are obviously available in the current process of public debate. Secondly,it must be seen as a great part of a governmental use for the creation of a multicultural society in Australia. Furthermore, it addresses Australians as citizens of a wonderful multicultural society and also aid them to tolerating and understanding the difference. There are two types of market models. The first model is the public sphere model. For people to act as citizens which requires: access to information,advice and personal rights. Besides that, they also need access to the broadest range of information,interpretation and debate on areas of public political choices. Other than that, they need to recognise themselves in representations to ensure that citizens are prepared for public life. Furthremore, the public sphere model is essential to a healthy democracy. The model argues that the needs of a society cannot be met through the market as it is based on consumer purchasing power. In this model,the government has a vital role in ensuring the media meets the demands of citizens. Besides that, it is funded by Government Tax funded. Moreover, the media is conceived as a source of information and storytelling. The concept of this market model is associated with Jurgen Habermas and the concept implies that the media allows spaces for public dialogue and that democracy relies on citizens participation. An example of a public sphere model is SBS and ABC. And most of all it is free. Scannell(1989:163-164) stated that PSB despite its ‘fundamentally democratic thrust’ it is made available to to everyone of public life and also the universe of discourse. The main purpose was to introduce social equality in order to access information. This model has been based on an unequal relations between broadcasters and also the audience. In this model of representative communicative democracy, ‘power is mainly accured to the representatives not to those that they represent’. Ytreberg(2002)mentions that there are four main types of self representation of PSB which are the bureaucrats,charamatics and the paternalist and the avant gardists. Neither one of these types assume anything than an institution apart from the audience to which seeks legitimation in terms of the content which is going to delivered to the audience. Scannell(p.27) commented that ‘the sense that BBC is part of the world of ‘them’ rather than ‘us’ ‘ a world that belongs to somewheher else when listeners and viewers have persisted until this day. The News Corporation’s move into the net and to other new media . It is the News Corporation’s legacy business that will determine whether the company will adapt to a new environment for the media industry. This is also wht Mr Murdoch need to focuse on making money from films,newspaper and televisions and also his new web communities.(The Economist,Jan.19th 2006). The SBS amendent bill was just introduced in the Parliament today. If passed,this law will see doubling of ads and commercials breaks on our SBS effectively turning it into Australia’s fourth fully commerical TV channel. Why is this bad? Because the SBS was never intended to be a fully commercial TV channel.Increased advertising will restrict the broadcaster will restrict the broadcaster from meeting its Charter obligiations and his Coalition Government established the SBS on the back of the Whitlam Labor Governments iniative to address a gap in services for an increasingly diverse community.Furthermore, commercialisation of our SBS will see the needs of the advertiser put beofre the needs of the community. While, ABC’s Mark Scott defends against’group think’ attacks.y the OZ 2011′ ABC not for profit but public good ‘ a form for debate . It must adapt to neoliberalism(technology/globalized content powered audiences) Media depends on adversiting vulnerable. Therefore, audiences require more up to the minute quality content on more platforms. ‘We need to be content driven and audience-centric across all our platforms’. Laerger more acessible audience for news needs platforms to graw an audience. However,the content is mainly elect
ronic now. ABC News are popular. These days, people are reading more in vast numbers and detail analysis of reporting.The other model is the commercial model. It addresses audiences as individual consumers, profit and it is a form of representation. It is used as a fundraising advertiser. An example of this could be Channel 7 and 10. This model fulfills charter of diversity and it is vulnerable to the government. The theory of neolibralism which are costs to public function,deregulation ‘ rules and policies around media have been changed which benefits large cooperation and also increasing in privitisation. Morever, the media convergence and the internet has been the main points of the need to actually rethink media regulation. Flew(2011)states that many series of drivers of some change in the media environment and new approaches to media policy which is associated with globalization. Other than that, media content can rise and it can be accessed acrossed multiple devices. For instance, smart phones,tablet PCs and also ‘smart television’s.All of these changes were seen as a shift from the mass communication in the 20th century towards a convergent social media paradigm. Doyle(2002) and Picard(2011) mentions that industry regulations and standards were transforming from the centrality of the broadcast(medium)to public communication and also the concerns about the risks to people from exposure to harmful media content. Flew(2008)states that convergence means ‘the interlinking of computing and ICTs,media content and communication networks that has occurred with popularisation and developement of the internet and the services,activities and convergent products have emerged in the digital media space’. Meikel and Young(2011) stated that convergence can be understood in four dimensions. Firstly,technologically ‘ the combination of communications,content and computing around networked digital platform(media). Secondly,industrial ‘ the great engagement of the established media companies in the digital media space and also the increase of digitally based companies such as Apple,Microsoft ,Google and others as important media content providers. Thirdly, social- the increase of social network media and also the Web 2.0 services such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook and also the growth of user created content. Lastly, textual ‘ the remixing and the reuse of media into who has been called ‘transmedia’ mode where media content and stories for instance, images,written texts and sounds are mainly dispersed across many media platforms. As Jakubowicz(1993)states that ‘we must not fall pray to the na??ve belief prevalent at one time in the democratization of communication discourse’. He states that people were poorly served by existing radio systems which includes trade unionsts,minorities, the blind and even women. Patridge(1982) states that ‘given half a chance,might also become broadcasters in their own right’ . It does not mean that everyone will become a professional. Stark(2006)pointed out that ‘the age of the superstar is set to decline’. When more individuals have more access to culture that interests them it is most likely that they will not get towards the same megastars’. In the past 50 years, culture in the western countries has been filtired by a few main corporate entities. ‘ The digital cultural revolution’ enables us to forgot all these filters and also seek out more of what we fancy or even enable us to actually discover what we enjoy but will never know about it’.Media has a central role in democracy for instance liberal and types of programming. Media in democratic socities are expected to serve the public interest and therefore promote diversity and avoid homogeneity, potray a diversity of experiences and ideas in a given society.
In conclusion,convergence is not what is actually was or what individuals though it was. Think instead,cross-media,multimedia,new media and transmedia. We call it whatever we want to call it. Media is not just a product. It is supposed to be usd by consumers but a resource for citizens for education,intergration and information and most of all to participate in public life. Media offers a window into history and experiences of others.
References:
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