Bite-sized media sales and subscription services are two common fee structures. The first strategy lets consumers buy a single film viewing ("on demand" cable TV) or a single song download (iTunes). The second strategy charges a monthly fee for access to hundreds of TV channels (cable or satellite) or a vast catalog of films and TV programs delivered to the subscriber's home (Netflix).
- In your view, does the digital model offer audiences more diverse content than the broadcast model? More diverse perspectives? A freer flow of information?
- Please cite specific examples to support your position.
- Compared with the broadcast media model, does the digital model have any disadvantages?
The digital model does a superb job of creating diverse content for niche audiences with a freer flow of information, although I don't think it offers more diverse perspectives for society. Usually people pick out what they like to see and hear in a digital world as opposed to a broadcast model, because they are not forced to hear and watch content that may not be first on their list.
ReplyDeleteFor example, instead of watching a show at a certain time just because it's available, people can go on Hulu or DVR to watch their favorite shows without having to wait for it to come on TV. Therefore, they can choose what content will be viewable for them even if it may not provide different perspectives.
This ties into how the digital model has some disadvantages because people have the choice to view whichever information they want to see. It can limit their perspective on local issues and strain them from cultural richness. In addition, large conglomerate companies have an easier time choosing whichever product/service will be deemed best for their audience, based on their profitability rate or return on investment.
-Sarah Hasnain
I agree with Sarah in the fact that now a days people have the flexibility to be able to pick and choose what they expose themselves to. In past times, people listened to and watched whatever they could because options were limited. Technological advances such as DVR allow you to record a show and then fast forward through commercials when playing it back later (which is what my mother does). Another way that we tailor the media to our likings is by using tools such as Pandora and Spotify, which we have mentioned previously in class. Though I have not used Spotify before, I can say that I am an avid Pandora user. This is a way in which we can choose what we are exposed to instead of having big wig conglomerates and CEOs picking and choosing what material is released, as if they are the gatekeepers. Another downside to the digital model is that is focuses on a large spectrum of less-specialized programming, which does not have a specific target audience. Overall, I think the transfer to the current tactics is most beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThe digital model offers more content simply because of the way it is structure. Whereas before it took a large logistical effort and a lot of front money to provide content in the broadcast model, now anyone can put out a fairly good quality product at little to no cost. It takes an extraordinary amount of money to produce a TV show now, but anyone with a camera phone and a little editing software can put something up on the internet. Ease of access disintegrates barriers, and so with the digital model you naturally have more providers. More providers dovetails easily into more diverse content.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the digital model, because of its ease of access, is often not tied to a financial bottom line. When you're trying to make money, you're less likely to take risks that will push away consumers, such as broadcasting radical ideas. In this way the digital model helps promote the spread of ideas. The digital model also encourages this in the way it makes information easy to share. It's easier to email your friend an article or post it to your Facebook/blog than getting your friend to sit down and watch a TV show or radio broadcast.
However, since there are so many voices in the digital model and not always a clear way to navigate through, interesting, thoughtful, or otherwise informative things might slip through the cracks and not be noticed. Also, many providers can mean more specialized content that doesn't apply to many people, which in turn can mean having to sift through a lot of material before finding something relevant to you. So while I can read a really well written and interesting article about aesthetics, only a few people are probably going to read it. While diverse, the digital model is not always particularly efficient.
Marisa
The digital world is definitely a great and open world of media. It offers many choices for you to look up whatever you want and look it up and view/listen to it on your own time. Websites like iTunes, Hulu, and Netflix are all part of the digital world. They have endless libraries of media. Some you may know of, but some might be completely new to you. The digital world definitely has open ended advantages.
ReplyDeleteWhen asking if the digital world has more diverse content I would definitely agree that it does. However I disagree in the fact that the diverse content is not easy to get to. Many would ask why and my answer is because of target advertising.
I learned lots about target advertising in SMAD 470 with Professor Holman last year. It's a tool used to sell people more stuff based off of the same stuff they either just bought, listened to, or viewed. Therefore if you listened to a song the digital world will offer you a similar song to listen to that you might like based off your last preference. Many would say this option is diverse. That you are going to listen to new stuff based on old stuff you already liked and that therefore is new and different. Well I disagree. Yes you might listen to a new song due to target advertising, but it will not be more diverse. It will be a very stereotypical song based on your last song preference. It won't be different or diverse at all. Sure you might like the new song, but it hasn't opened you up to a new genre or more diverse media. It's offering you the exact same type of media you already like.
With broadcast media sure it might have it's very static time frames for shows or music. You can't just go searching through it to listen to whatever you want on your own time. Sometimes you must wait for your favorite show or song to come on. But through that waiting maybe you started listening to a new song or watched the end of a new show you never knew about. you wouldn't have looked up this new media entertainment on your own, and the digital world could not have done it for you based on your previous preferences. However you might have just found something completely new that you liked that is in a completely diverse genre from your norm. This is where broadcast media takes the advantage in diversity.
I'm not trying to hate on digital. I still love digital media. But you have to be very aware when trying to look for new media within it or else you'll get stuck in your same media that you always revert back to. You just have to be conscious of the choices you make in digital media to make it more diverse and you can do this by clearing out your browsing history from time to time.
Katherine Harper
In my opinion, the digital model does offer more diverse content than the broadcast model. We are exposed to such a schmorgesborg of entertainment and media outlets. I absolutely think that there are more diverse perspectives. For example, rather than only tuning into national broadcast news, we have the ability to hone in, very easily, on specific locations.
ReplyDeleteThe flow of information is freer, but it does produce the potential to have a lot of sub par information culminated.
I think that disadvantages of the digital model could be the niche ability itself. For example, If your niche group is a bad one, trying to gather information to do bad things, it is much easier to access a plethora of information that will ultimately lead to further regression into one way of thinking/viewing/receiving media. Its all about what people choose to expose themselves to and absorb. Just because there are more options, doesn’t necessarily mean people will take advantage of that for positive, personal growth reasons. It could mean that they just spin around in a circle of information that makes them worse.
-Madelyn Wigle
I do think the transformation of the media landscape from a broadcast system to a digital model system has generated a variety of diverse products and content that both media producers and advertisers use to target specific niche audiences.
ReplyDeleteFor example, if someone pays a Netflix subscription, that person has access to an outstanding variety of programming from independent films, to foreign films to documentaries all the way to Sponge Bob Squarepants. I do value the diversity of products that is available in the media market, however I think that--from the public interest perspective-- a consumer might get stuck in an "echo chamber" of content in which such consumer might only watch, read or listen to the media products that line up with his/her values, culture, and political perspectives, which is detrimental to the intellectual construction of a well rounded and well informed citizen.
- Jose Morales
The digital model definitely opens the field to a much wider array of content. Because there isn’t a for-profit company whose sole purpose is to create an entertainment lineup that attracts a vast amount of people, the entertainment offered by the digital model can be anything and everything all at once. Content isn’t required to appeal to more than a niche audience, if that. This allows these companies that follow the digital model to give their customers access to things that they weren’t able to before, such as: foreign films, low-budget or student films, foreign music, poorly-distributed music, etc. It absolutely provides the consumer with a more diverse perspective, given that they now have the option of seeing or hearing something that could have possibly never received their attention otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIn my personal experience, I’ve noticed that Comcast offers an “on demand” section devoted to foreign films, and one devoted to lesser-known films as well—both of which they advertise frequently on their interactive menu. I’ve gotten to watch movies that I had never heard of before Comcast made them available to me this way. The foreign films are always culturally educational, and a refreshing point-of-view when compared to the typical “American-gets-lost-in-some-strange-land-and-chaos-ensues” that we see so often in our Hollywood movies.
One disadvantage of the digital model is the additional cost of these subscription services and individual media sales.
-Kaitlin Hall
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell to be honest on this topic, I feel people like to romanticize. The broadcast model had its advantages. The programming on these channels were diverse and innovative for their time because the technology was new for its time. The problem with the broadcast model which people now are starting to see is that someone owns the stations where the shows you like are on. You may like a few of the shows that are on, but you barely like all of the shows that are on. I like Parks and REC and the Office on NBC, but I hate a lot of their other programming, such as Parenthood and Up All Night. Back when the technology was newer broadcasters could play any sort of show and people would watch the show because simply, it was new.
DeleteToday the digital model holds all of the advantages. I have grown up with the media my entire life, so by now I know what shows I like. With a subscription, like netflix, I can watch the show I like, like the office and I can get a recommendation of another show I might like, versus searching every channel on television. Yes, because I am not forced watch the same channel until I randomly stumble on the new shot I may miss some diversity, but the digital model has the advantage over the broadcast model because it gives people more options to choose from. Being able to choose is innovation.
__Ethan Hughes
I think that the digital model offers audiences more diverse content than the broadcast model. We are able to pick and choose what we want to listen to or watch from a variety of options rather than a limited amount. Like Chapter two of our book states, the broadcast model offers a “limited number of media products supported entirely by advertisers targeted to a mass mainstream audience.” Media like iTunes and OnDemand don’t target to a mainstream audience as much. However, when you click to OnDemand, there are those little clips that tell you “what’s hot now” and the iTunes store has the list of Top Singles on their home page, which is mainly pop music. So they still do target a more mainstream audience in some ways. That said, I still think that they do a good job with diversifying their content.
ReplyDeleteThe digital model doesn’t always have a free flow of information though. For example, Hulu doesn’t allow the “hit” shows to be viewed right after they air. Users have to wait a week before they can watch shows like New Girl or Glee free, unless they have Hulu Plus.
The digital model does have disadvantages. While people can get the music or movies they want more easily, they aren’t becoming more cultured. They might have the option now to branch out, but that doesn’t mean that they do. In this sense, I agree with Sarah when she says that having these choices can limit peoples perspective on local issues and restrain them from culture.
I found what Katherine said about target advertising to be true as well. Specifically when she says target advertising is “a tool used to sell people more stuff based off of the same stuff they either just bought, listened to, or viewed.” I’ve bought an album on iTunes and it recommended two other albums that I might be interested in. I actually had one of the other albums it recommended, proving Katherine’s point. Furthermore, even ads on websites are targeting what we like. If I shop online at a store, even if I don’t buy anything, ads for that store will start popping up in the sidebar.
The broadcast model kind of forces you to pay attention to media you wouldn’t normally care about, and you might find yourself liking something you originally wouldn’t have thought you would. However, I prefer the digital model because I get what I want faster. Our generation in our society is all about making things faster. The digital model offers media we like quickly.
--Kelsey Fisher
In my opinion, the digital model definitely offers audiences more diverse content. Services like iTunes and Netflix offer a wide variety of content that allows users to find and select material that best suits their tastes. Now one might say that this does not serve the public by exposing them to diverse viewpoints and new material because users will only watch what they already like, but because these content providers offer such a wide variety of content, users have the option of trying something new if they are feeling adventurous. I will use an example of a friend I met in New York who loves Netflix. With Netflix we had access to material that was necessarily main stream and we would often watch obscure movies and television shows for fun. Some of these shows we ended up liking, thus broadening our horizons when it comes to our tastes in television and movies.
ReplyDeleteI can’t think of any disadvantages to the digital model, unless people only watch the things that they are comfortable viewing and never expand beyond their comfort zone to explore vast amounts of content services like Netflix and iTunes provide.
(Khyre Dean)
There is no question in my mind that the digital model provides more diverse media than the broadcast model. The entire system is based on the premise that people have diverse interests. People have diverse interests that require diverse media. The Digital model provides a way to achieve this.
ReplyDeleteI think that the digital model provides a much freer flow of ideas. It also helps people find a more precise definition of what they like, by exposing them to a diverse selection. When people are exposed to a large amount of choices, it can have an effect on their tastes. I’m thinking specifically about the “Netflix effect,” where you say that you like one type of movie, and then based off of that Netflix suggests another. You might end up liking that one, so it suggests another. This can go on for what seems like forever. Simply by having so many choices, and having such easy access, I find myself watching things that I would have not otherwise sought out. In the days of analogue media it would have taken forever to find the kinds of things that I currently enjoy watching and reading. The digital model provides both easy access and greater selection. In combination, those things allow for freer flow of ideas. It also means that media can focus on something other than the lowest common denominator.
The disadvantage to the digital model is that it is no longer easy to reach everyone with the same message. There are times, like in crisis, where it is necessary to reach as many people as possible. If everyone is distracted with their own preferred media, they might miss the message. It could also be argued that in the future, diversity of media might pull people apart. Having a few media that reaches everyone, like in the broadcast model, insures that everyone understands at least some references. In the past, if the media was pushing an issue to the surface it became instantly discussed. Now it seems that everyone is interested in his or her own issue of choice. I don’t know if this is entirely true, but I wonder if it looks like this:
Broad media = narrow set of issues being discussed
Narrow cast media = large variety of issues being discussed, with less impact.
Is it possible that because everyone’s voice has become equal, that no one is listening anymore?
John Huffman
I think that the broadcast model was good for its time, especially since at that time we didn’t know anything other than that model. The broadcast model should still be appreciated for what it gave us with cartoons of the 90s like “Hey Arnold” and “Rugrats” and then shows like “Saved by the Bell.” However, I am glad for the digital model because now I can watch all of those shows on iTunes and get shows from other locations.
ReplyDeleteA specific example of how my roommates and me use the digital model is by watching Chinese dramas. Our Chinese roommate teaches us Mandarin by putting the subtitles on and going through the various symbols. Once we have watched it one time through, she goes back through it to see if we remember as well as to teach us the vocalics of the language. Another way that I use the digital model is to watch British soccer games online. They normally never come on mainstream television unless you have the special television station. However, with the digital model I can now watch them all the time and watch the Spanish league soccer games.
I think that the digital model does present some disadvantages. I think the biggest disadvantage one day will be that so many people watch television online that networks will move their programs from television to online and saturate the Internet. Another disadvantage could be that soon we may have to start paying to watch online; for example, I watch the soccer games free but if too many people start doing that they could see that there is a market and have you subscribe to watch them. My thing is that I hope we don’t forget that we needed the broadcast model and all the programming that it had to offer minus the reality television to get us to where we are now.