EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS

FROM TRADITIONAL MEDIA TO NEW MEDIA

This historical perspective cautions us from labeling something “traditional” and another “new,” especially now that exponential growth in computing power can easily make a new technology suddenly obsolete. For example, the reliable post mail suddenly got called “snail mail” when emails and instant messaging apps took over as our primary means of sending messages over long distances. The “one-hour photo developing” of pictures in the late 90s was considered fast before smartphones and Instagram were born. It is not exaggeration to say that most of what we consider cutting-edge communication technology or “new media” will soon be outmoded. But for purposes of analyzing the changing forms of media and how it impacts, we shall use the terms traditional media and new media.

In distinguishing between traditional and new media, we can initially compare the technology that they use to spread information. New media is digital and Internet media is a big part of this (websites, blogs, wikis, online newspapers, and social media). It also includes information delivered through digital services like video games, augmented reality, and virtual reality, DVDs and CD-ROMs. Traditional media are those that transmit information without the use of the Internet or any digital platform (i.e. analog technology like airwaves). Traditional media are what used to be collectively known as mass media for their ability to simultaneously disseminate information to a very large group of people (TV, radio, film, and print media).

Examples of Traditional Media

By definition, new media can also be considered as a form of mass media. At the same time, traditional media companies have since adopted digital technology to spread content. Is there any difference, then, between traditional media and new media when their contents converge? What is the difference between reading an article from a newspaper and reading the exact same story from that newspaper’s website? Think about the differences in your experience when watching your favorite program on TV and when accessing it through a computer.

The most essential difference is that new media are on-demand and interactive. For centuries, the greatest innovation in communication focused on improving how quickly a message can be sent, how far it can be sent, the number of people it can be sent to, and how accurate the message can be conveyed. Traditional media seem to have adequately solved those problems and yet the technology simply did not allow for a true multi-directional flow of information. Always, the information goes from sender to the receiver. Sure, traditional media have incorporated some means of feedback to create a semblance of a conversation, but it is new media that truly allows for a conversation.

History of New Media

Traditional media also control when information can be accessed with their program grids and schedules. Twenty-four-hour news channels and daily newspapers never really felt very limiting until new media allowed people to access information when they want, where they want. And when new media-specifically social media- allowed us to instantly react, comment, and share with the click of a button on devices we can bring practically anywhere, we have transformed from mere consumers or receivers of information to producers of information. Information no longer just flows in one direction; it is now like a web that goes to multiple directions, and we, too, can send our information to our own friends/followers on social media. Before, we were just studying media and how they affect us. Now, there is an added layer that pushes us to examine ourselves in order to become responsible deliverers of information.

Because of the on-demand and interactive qualities of new media, some suggest that the more apt the term for new media is “open media.” This openness makes the exchange of information extremely fast. But does speed come at the expense of accuracy? There is also the essential question of the value of truthful and insightful journalism in this age where information travels so quickly. Another issue is regulation. Unlike traditional media companies which operate within clear geo-political borders, the Internet is a worldwide web. Regulators grapple with how and who should regulate its various activities, while some argue that with its global reach, it is far better and safer that it remains outside the control of the government.

In democratic societies where freedom of speech and of the press are valued and protected, traditional media function within the concept of self-regulation rather than direct government control. Now that we’ve learned that new media has transformed us into media content producers, how do you think we can apply the principle of self-regulation in the new media.