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New Technology

NEW MEDIA

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INTRODUCTION

As we approach the last few topics of this A level course and before we look specifically at the 4 New Media CSP’s:

  1. The Voice,
  2. The Sims Freeplay,
  3. Horizon Forbidden West and
  4. Zendaya

we should briefly consider what we can understand about New Media in relation to Old (legacy) Media that we looked at in the previous half terms (ie TV, PSB, BBC, radio, Newspapers etc)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (A.I.)

So let’s start by listening to a conversation between a human and a robot.

To start off with I would like to prioritise the notion of CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION as a way of thinking about NEW MEDIA which can be linked to the key ideas of a media syllabus. For example,

  1. the transformation of social interaction (audiences);
  2. the transformation of individual identity (audiences and representation);
  3. the transformation of institutional structures (industry);
  4. the changes in textual content and structure (language).
  5. The transformation of audience consumption

In summary, this could be described as the changing nature of symbolic interaction and a lot of the work on this blog is essentially discussing this concept.

Dan Gillmor is a useful theorist to look at, you can read his book We Media by clicking on this link – provides an overview of how new media technologies have had an impact on relationship between citizens and government / institutional power.

For another example, look at the research paper by ResPublica: ‘Technopoly‘, which looks at the relationship between corporations, governments, individuals and BIG DATA. As the debate continues more information, debate and discussion will start to appear as we all become much more aware of what NEW MEDIA involves.

As such, looking at New Media allows for a re-thinking of the relationship between the private and the public (or as Habermas would put it ‘The Transformation of the Public Sphere‘ – as new technology is allowing the public world of organisations, commerce, government and business to infiltrate the private worlds of personal ideas, friendship and informal exchange, read this article from Open Mind: The New Media’s role in Politics.

Similarly, disclosure and analysis around Cambridge Analytica, the Trump election and the Brexit Campaign have brought these debates sharply into focus and any of these areas could be used as useful case studies to explore the impact of New Media on society and the individual.

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New Technology, Newspapers

The Voice

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PAPER 2 (LONG ANSWER) Online, social and participatory – news website, produced by and targeting a minority group.

Social, political, economic and cultural contexts

The Voice as an institution has historical and cultural significance in its origins (1982) as the UK’s first (and only) newspaper aimed specifically at a Black British audience, dealing with relevant political and social issues. The website continues this function but is perhaps considered more mainstream and less political than in the past. The economic context can be explored through a consideration of the nature of the production and distribution and move to online content to reach a wider audience and attract advertisers.

The Voice is a commercial media product but could also be seen as fulfilling a public service through its targeting of an ethnic minority audience. The website also demonstrates the way that news institutions have had to respond to new technology through The Voice’s bi-media presence
and use of convergence.

  • The Voice provides a case study for the specialised nature of media production, distribution and circulation within a regional and national context
  • The use of digital platforms to expand the output and reach of the products demonstrates how institutions have responded to the impact of new technology.

REPRESENTATION

These include the representation of the target audience – Black Britons – but also the selection and construction of news stories and their subjects. The analysis of representation can be used to explore target audiences and ideological readings.

The Voice CSP provides an example of a clearly targeted, primary audience through demographics of ethnicity, race and age, which should encourage the study of issues of identity.

AUDIENCE

Related to this would be a discussion of the changing relationship between producers and audiences – is there a need for media aimed at specialised audiences in the context of audience as producer? (Clay Shirky ‘end of audience’ theories)

  • Definitions of mass and minority or specialised audiences
  • Debates around the idea of targeting specialised audiences (by race, age, lifestyle, etc) and how successful that targeting is in reality
  • Differing interpretations by different groups – those belonging to and outside the primary audience (Stuart Hall – reception theory)
  • Opportunities for audience interactivity and creativity
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