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New Media: Status andImplicationsWendy CukierCommunication and CultureInformation Technology ManagementRyerson Universitywcukier@ryerson.ca

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Overview

n Basic Concepts

n Diffusion

n Impact on New Media and Policy Issues

n Transformation of Journalism

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BASIC CONCEPTS

n New media is multidisciplinaryn Arts: design and production of new media

products

n Technology: development of hardware andsoftware for design, production, and delivery ofnew media products

n Social Science: research on the production andconsumption of new media products

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Definition of New Media

n New forms of communication that emerge fromnew technologies

n New communication formats, genres and stylesresulting from social, economic and technologicalchange

n CONVERGENCE: linking of television(content), telecommunications and computers

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DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

CONTENTCOMPUTING

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

wireless

ATM

internet

cable

satellite

broadcasting

hardware

software

film/video

publishing

sound recording

animation

digital media

POLICY AND SOCIAL IMPACTS

APPLICATION AND USE

STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT

industry (eg. retail, hospitality, health)

function (eg. marketing, accounting, HR)

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Technology Drivers

n digitization: conversion of analogue (text, music,image, video) content to digital (0101001001)

n growth in bandwidth (capacity/transmission speed)

n new forms of transmission (eg. wireless)

n network intelligence

n standards (TCP/IP Protocol)

n price/performance

n new devices (eg. RIM)

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This technological development has come tobe linked to horizontal and verticalindustries in the communication andcultural industries – often also calledconvergence, especially when the mergersare driven by expected synergies oreconomies based on technologicalconvergence.

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Key Characteristics

n Alteration of time and space

- on demand services

- delivered anywhere

n Interactivity

n Broad access

n User driven structure

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Internet

n A new medium?

n An overlay for all media?

n New media add new layers, not displace oldmedia

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DIFFUSION OF NEW MEDIA

Diffusion is the process by which aninnovation is communicated throughcertain channels over time among themembers of a social system

-- Everett Rogers (1995), p. 5

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The S-Curve Model of DiffusionProcess

Takeoff

SaturationDecline

Introduction Growth Maturity DecayTime

Adoption

Innovators Earlier Adopters

Later Majority

LaggardsEarlier Majority

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Diffusion Curves of Selected U.S.Media

0102030405060708090

100

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100

TVVCRRadioCell PhonesComputersCable TVTelephones

Lievrouw (2000)

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Facilitators and Barriers ofDiffusion Process

Adoption ofan innovation

Personal traits

Perceived traits

Social influences

Technological traits

Communication

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Mediamorphosis

Mediamorphosis is “[T]he transformationof communication media, usually broughtabout by the complex interplay ofperceived needs, competitive and politicalpressures, and social and technologicalinnovations.”

-- Roger Fidler (1996), pp. 22-23

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Principles of Mediamorphosis

n Coevolution and coexistence (e.g., films)

n Metamorphosis (from videotex to www)

n Propagation (from mac to windows)

n Survival (magazines & radio)

n Opportunity and need (VHS vs. Betacom)

n Delayed adoption (cable & fax)

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Film: New Business Model

IndependentProducer

Marketing/

Ancillary

Theaters

Video sales/rental

Box OfficeSales

ConcessionSales

Cable/TVExports

Cash flow in U.S. movie industry

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Videotape: VHS Beats Betacom

n Beta is a higher quality videotape formatthan VHS, and has been used by pros

n Sony treated Beta as a proprietarytechnology, whereas JVC made VHS public

n Because every manufactory can make VHS,the price of VHS tapes kept dropping,which immediately promoted VHS VCRs.

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Fax

n Invented at the same time as telegraph

n Graphic potentials hindered by technology

n Exploded with development of standards(Group IV Fax)

n Value increased dramatically with theincreased number of users (person to personcommunications different than broadcast orother media)

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IMPACT OF NEW MEDIA

n DISPLACEMENT: for first time sinceadvent of TV, viewing has declined amongchildren (US data - 2001)

n BUT:

- hours using TV = 24.8

- hours on internet + 9.8

n For information = 91%

n For entertainment = 30%

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Access Issues

n internet: Canada – households with internetaccess (2001) = 47%

n about 25% have high speed internet access (about8% have broadband access)

n growing rapidly

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What do Canadians use broadbandfor?

n Sending digital photos (65%)

n Watching video clips (50%)

n Downloading music (44%)

n On-line gaming (43%)

n Streaming music (42%)n Date source: Industry Canada.

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Policy Issues

n Do these applications justify a $8 billioninvestment (hype versus the reality) OR

n “If we build it they will come”

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Other Policy Issues

n digital divide (information rich / poor)

n community vs. individual values

n corporate control / regulation

n surveillance / privacy

n mobilization / social movements

n concepts of citizenship

n electronic democracy

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Within Canada, internet use strongly correlatedwith household income

Income quartile % using internetBottom 32%2nd 523rd 70%top 87%

Urban households have greater access

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Effects of the New Media

n Knowledge Gap & Digital Divide

n Media Dependency & Internet Addiction

n Cultivation & Virtual Identity

n Third-person Effects & Internet Police

n Agenda-setting & Social Divergence

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TRANSFORMATION OFJOURNALISM

n 58% think most information on internet isreliable

n New newsgathering and distributiontechniques

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INTERACTIVEPASSIVE

UNLIMITEDLIMITED

INVOLVINGDISTANCED

CONTEXTUALIZEDEPISODIC

DYNAMICSTATIC

MULTIPLEMODALITIES

SINGLE MODALITY

INTERACTIVELINEAR

NEW MEDIA NEWSTRADITIONAL NEWS

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New Opportunities for Journalism

n LAYERING- For example, headline – brief summary – more

detailed report – source documentsn SATELLITE IMAGERYn CONSTRUCTED REPORTSn ON-LINE SERVICES

- Important in less developed countriesn IMMERSIVE MEDIAn EXPERIENTIAL (SENSATION) vs. AUTHENTICITY /

ACCURACYn LOSS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE

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Critical Issues: the Pubic Interest

n ATTRIBUTION / PROVENANCE

- News stories increasingly use manysources, often unattributed

n VERIFICATION

n DISINFORMATION / MANIPULATION

n MANY UNRELIABLE SERVICES

n WHAT CAN WE DO IF WE CANNOTTRUST OUR SENSES?

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Business Issuesn RELATIONSHIP OF CONTENT AND PLATFORMn SOURCES OF REVENUEn ADVERTISINGn SPONSORSHIP (INCLUDING GOVERNMENT)n SUBSCRIPTIONSn DIRECT SALESn DAYMAPPING (when, where, and by what means of

delivery do potential audiences want specific kinds ofcontent: time / location / device / content

n LIMITATIONS OF STREAMING: - Capital intensive - Lack economies of scale