Week 2 assignment: Media technologies

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Modern media technologies have revolutionized how people communicate and receive information in the 21st century. Technologies like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet have become integrated communication platforms for global audiences to share facts, experiences, and other business concepts in broad and innovative ways that have impact how people relate to one another and discuss personal and organizational issues. Lastly, these media technologies, along with other transformational innovations, continue to evolve as technology and communications bring people together from across the globe.

According to Barndt (2011), “Our social, political and management systems are becoming more sophisticated and dependent upon effective communication.” Media technologies have adapted to how people prefer to communicate with one another through different mediums like telephones, text messages, e-mail, and video conferencing. Organizations rely upon a wider variety of supports and relationships, and larger organizations enter into collaborative relationships requiring extensive communication through new mediums.

Traditional and modern media technologies have blended in several areas since the telecommunications revolution in the 1990s (Barndt). Media outlets were evolving because information was being shared through global networks at an exponential rate through the Internet. Web pages were initially very crude and didn’t include vibrant graphics or charts to assist people who are visual learners. Personal computers helped people access information in new ways, which made the television, radio, newspaper, and magazine industries adapt to stay relevant to mainstream users.

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According to Stephens, there were about 1,600 daily newspapers in the United States in 1990, which is about 14 percent less than how many newspapers were available in 1940 before Americans started putting television sets into family households. Newspapers have made several evolutionary jumps over the last century after television, Internet, and advancements in wireless communications technologies made daily news and information easier to access. Instead of several localized newspapers, many publishing companies created regional papers to cover news across counties and even states. Newspapers reached many types of audiences from educated scholars to elementary school students. Each section of a newspaper caters to different people with specific interests like sports, comics, or the local lifestyle section. They began to focus specifically on features versus straight news articles because people heard about breaking local news on television and radio outlets (Stephens).

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Radio first appeared on ships in 1891 so they could communicate with land units, and reduce the feeling of isolation by crew members. The introduction of mobile radios was used to broadcast business communication between maritime, aviation, and land-based entities. In fact, companies like Marconi and Bell laboratories were creating car telephone systems from mobile radios in the 1920s. This technology eventually led to today’s cell phones and radio telephones used by the military in both World Wars. Radio’s main audiences vary based on the type of music or information they share on the air waves.

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Television was initially invented in 1927 by Philo Fansworth, and wealthy people who could afford it made the transition from radio to TVs (Curtis, 2011).  The U.S. government established the Federal Communications Commission in 1946 to regulate public television broadcasting in the United States. It didn’t take long for cable and network television to make waves in other areas like the motion picture industry. In fact, movie makers fought back by creating multi-screen theaters to entice people to come back and watch movies on larger screens away from their homes.

Early television audiences included family households who watched the evening news and other “prime time” programming. As television evolved, so did their target audiences. Cable television separated audiences by their respective interests to give them access to general programming, sports, movies, and even “reality” television. The Internet also emerged as a viable solution for cable television in the 1990s, and sites like the Internet Movie Database, or IMDb, helped people learn about cast members from their favorite television and cable series as well as motion pictures (Curtiss, 2011).

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One lesser media technology that appealed to audiences with specific interests were magazines. Magazines were different from newspapers and newsletters because they went more in-depth on specific topics that focused on content for niche audiences. One of the first magazines in existence was created in 1704 in London, England. The first U.S. magazine was the Saturday Evening Post, and it wasn’t published until 1821. While the Saturday Evening Post focused on creating on general interest topics, Life Magazine’s claim to fame was its staff of top photographers who won many awards for their imagery. Magazines make their money from advertising, subscriptions, and single-copy sales. Many magazines have been forced to reduce production costs, and move their product online. This reduced circulation, postage, and publishing costs significantly. However, the magazine industry is still having issues making a profit online because web users are used to free content, instead of paying monthly subscriptions.

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The Internet has opened up a variety of educational resources to help people share and collaborate on different concepts and ideas to increase their knowledge of different subjects. Capeless (2014) stated the Internet even helps children develop their knowledge base in constructive learning environment to help them grow as individuals. The Internet has also opened up other business opportunities for professionals to engage with one another in secure forums. Capeless (2014) suggests online users be courteous, kind, and respectful to people they communicate with on the Internet because people come from different regions and cultural backgrounds. Sharing information is encouraged, but Capeless (2014) suggests that people stay away from peer-to-peer networks where illegal audio and video content is being shared daily.

In conclusion, modern media technologies revolutionized how people communicate and receive information in the 21st century. Technologies like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet have become integrated communication platforms for global audiences to share facts, experiences, and other business concepts in broad and innovative ways that have impact how people relate to one another and discuss personal and organizational issues. Lastly, these media technologies, along with other transformational innovations, continue to evolve as technology and communications bring people together from across the globe.

References

Capeless, D. (2014). Internet Safety & Appropriate Use of Communication Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.mass.gov/berkshireda/crime-awareness-and-prevention/internet-safety-and-appropriate-use-of-communication-technologies/internet-safety.html

Curtis, A. (2011). A Brief History of Movies, TV and the Web. Retrieved from http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/Movies&Television.html

Barndt, M. (n.d.). The Telecommunications Revolution. Retrieved from https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/mbarndt/www/revolut.htm

Mass Media Course: Magazines, the Early History. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/mag1.htm

Stephens, M. (n.d.). History of Newspapers. Retrieved from http://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Collier's%20page.htm