Media Technologies

            The advanced state of technology in the world has been an undeniable boon to the production, transmission, and consumption of media across the world. Long gone are the days where access to media was extremely limited to paper copies of newspapers, voice-only radio broadcasts, or a sparse number of television stations. Nowadays media is produced for every media type, tailored to be viewed on certain formats, and able to be consumed on paper or in countless electronic devices. This paper will look at how news media websites utilize media technology, how mobile phones and entertainment systems have changed how we consume media, and how social media involves the world in the media itself.

News Media Websites

 

 

         

              News media is available on everything from search engine websites (think Yahoo or Google), to traditional sources of media such as the online presence of the Chicago Tribune, or a TV news network such as CNN. CNN has a robust online presence that makes full usage of the gamut of media technology available today. Their website features traditional print news stories that are often enhanced with captioned pictures as applicable. This is traditional news reporting and it has the ability to be updated as needed throughout the day should more information become available. In many cases their stories will feature video reports and summaries for those who prefer it. This can be everything from snippets that were broadcast on the television network, to raw footage that coincides to the story’s subject matter.

Live video is offered for breaking news items of importance and coverage of large events and certain live events. Through its partnerships with local affiliates, CNN’s website offers far more live feeds than can be showcased on their TV stations at once, which allows a viewer access to much larger coverage of the goings on in the world. It is important to note that all of this content is free: only certain parts are blocked off, accessible to those who already have access to CNN’s TV networks. Should a reader be a cable TV subscriber, they have access to an even larger amount of video content from the TV networks, such as archived shows and live broadcasts of the stations on their computers or mobile phones.

Social Media

 

           

             Social media has become prevalent in society today. Websites like Facebook and Twitter allow for people to communicate with each other instantaneously from almost anywhere in the world. It can be used for a great many purposes to updating friends about one’s life, to creating blogs on any number of topics, to sharing media that the user has created or that they find interesting. One of the most interesting applications of social media has been its integration into news reporting.

            Peruse virtually any website and at the bottom there will likely be a place where users can leave comments. In some cases they can be left anonymously. In many other cases an account of some sort is needed, or the website can link with a user’s Facebook or Google account instead. This encourages users to leave immediate feedback to the exact piece of media that they’ve just viewed, whether it be a piece of artwork, a home video, or a hard news story. The types of responses that are left can vary wildly, but it has the potential to give relevant feedback to the producer of the media, letting them know what their intended audience thought of it.

            Newspapers, television news shows, and even simple entertainment shows have jumped onto this new tool as a way to connect with their audiences on a new level. Growing up in the 1990s I remember when a nighttime news channel would offer you a way to all a phone number to participate in a poll on a news item. This number would normally carry a small fee with it, and at the end of the broadcast the results would be shared. Now users can respond to news in real-time by visiting the network’s website or maybe by sending them a Twitter message with a specific hash-tag. During the broadcast the news anchors can give updates on what their viewers are thinking, either with polls or sometimes even showing or reading messages verbatim.

            Beyond simply commenting on media and sharing opinions on it, social media also provides another incredibly useful purpose: it allows people to share media with each other. This is valuable not only from a marketing standpoint, but also in being able to spread instant awareness of events or situations as they develop. On Facebook or Twitter someone can share the picture that they just took, a link to an article they just read, or the link to a video they just watched. It will be shown to their entire network of friends. Social media can also be used to share information about world events such as natural disasters or even terrorist attacks, spreading news to people who might not view a news website. In some cases social media provides information and news in areas where traditional news reporters are unable to go, becoming the new source of eyewitness reporting. In short, social media has become a wild card in both how media is created and how it is spread.

 Cell Phones

            Speaking of how media is created and spread, it would be impossible to talk about media technology without talking about mobile phones. Where once mobile phones were these huge, blocky devices that provided you a way to talk to someone on the go (provided you could understand each other through the static-filled connection), now mobile phones allow you to have crystal clear conversations with anyone almost anywhere. And if you don’t just want to have a voice conversation, go ahead and use video. Cellular phones have become mobile hubs of communication and media consumption.

On a modern phone a user has the ability to make phone calls and possibly video calls, play games, peruse websites, watch videos, text message, control their televisions and program their DVRs, amongst other things. They are capable of producing high definition video and still images, making them a viable, if unconventional choice for media production. While it might not be the ideal choice, the accessibility and affordability of these devices does open up new avenues for amateur media productions and allows for things to be captured that might otherwise be missed.

            The technology behind cell phones has become so advanced and the devices themselves are so prevalent that popular websites have invested in mobile versions of their sites. These pared down versions often feature less graphics so that they load faster for mobile browsing. In the case of video files they may be in a different format to make them more compatible with mobile systems (for a long time Apple devices were not able to process the Flash format, for example). The fact that companies have invested in making their product flexible to be viewed on more formats speaks to the level of importance they are treating the technology with. They realize that they need to make their content available in the way that the consumer wants them and cannot be rigid in only having certain forms available.

Media Centers

 

            Making media available in multiple forms is a true culmination to the changing landscape of new media technology. This evolution is clear from looking at things like “smart” televisions, networked Blu-ray players and even Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game system. In days past video game systems exclusively played their developers own content: one could not play a Sony Playstation game on an Xbox, nor a Nintendo Wii. While one still cannot play a different company’s game on their system, companies are now partnering more than ever to make their media cross-compatible.

            Today on an internet-able Xbox 360, modules or applications can be downloaded that allow their owners to access services like Netflix and Hulu. Microsoft does not own those services, however there is a clear benefit for each company: Netflix users are able to enjoy their content on the video game system that is already connected to their televisions and network so they do not need another device. Microsoft benefits because their system is being used as a central hub of not just playing games, but as a central hub allowing users to access all manner of media, making the device more valuable and desirable.

            Multi-function media center devices are likely to continue to gain in popularity and prominence in the coming years as consumers grow more accustomed to being able to view the media they want in the manner that they want. People will come to expect the ability to start watching a show or reading an article on their computers, then continue it on their way to work through their phones, and then be able to pick up where they left off on yet another device. And media producers if they are smart are going to continue to maximize their exposure by having their content be widely available.