Introduction Lecture Notes

Monday, September 10, 2012 8:37 AM

Digital Media Convergence

Alcohol Companies Australian brands are legally responsible for the comments posted on their social media pages. They can be held accountable for false claims about their company, such as "drinking Smirnoff alcohol can increase your ability to detect beauty". Absolut avoids false claims by advertising the unique-ness of their bottles; it is nearly impossible to market vodka because it is "without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or colour". - Introduced new limited edition bottles, hoping that people will collect them - selling exclusivity Selling social connections because alcohol is one way we connect with friends. Alcohol brands have some of the highest digital IQ's, especially luxury brands.
Types of Brand Promotion Event sponsorship Celebrity endorsement Social loyalty campaigns PSAs (public service announcements) Magazine ads Television spots Drink recipe apps (mobility) Social properties (owned earned and controlled) Product placement in films and music videos

3 C'S of Media Convergence Communication Networks Having platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. Digital Content Available for sharing on platforms Connective Have a public that has connective devices, such as laptops, smartphone, wifi connection
Digitization and the Evolution of Content the evolution of content production, how it is distributed, and how we are consuming it. Content is constantly flowing through the social media ecosystem across multiple platforms, which leads to content disaggregation: disruption of production, distribution, and consumption. Platforms such as Netflix, Facebook, Google, amazon.com, Pinterest, YouTube, and iTunes allow us to obtain discrete media assets from many different publishers and producers at the same time These companies become the distributers of the content rather than the brands that actually produce the content. We can gather media in smaller pieces - Photos vs albums Can be purchased - Singles vs albums individually rather - Tv episodes (netflix) vs entire seasons than collectively (can skip all the advertisements) Has a demassification effect

Long Tail and the Discoverability Dilemma Tracking allows us to see that older content can be more popular than new content because it is more easily
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 Tracking allows us to see that older content can be more popular than new content because it is more easily discovered (iTunes encourages people to read classic novels by posting them for free - people are willing to give things a try if it doesn't financially inhibit them. Choices that you discover when you see what your friends are buying It is difficult to find content unless it is being pushed up on recommendation lists Dumb Pipes Dumb pipes are not content creators; they are digital-only content aggregators. It makes media available in disaggregated forms. They don't have to invest in creating any content Make money through advertisements/selling consumers memberships [ex] - Google - Spotify - Netflix - Yahoo - Amazon - iTunes - YouTube - The Huffington Post
Dumb pipe channels can supply media to become a content producer. - They have the opportunity to supply exclusive content that you may not be able to otherwise view. - There is content that can't always be posted on primetime TV [ex] Specialty channels on YouTube or Huffington Post entertainment talk show To be successful, you have to be a brand with the best content integrated across multiple platforms (not just the ones they are controlling) and engaging advertisers Concentration/Consolidation of Ownership in Media Industries Mergers, takeovers, and acquisitions occur by companies like CBC, Shaw Media, Quebecor Media, Astral, BELLmedia, and Rogers. People are worried that some companies have too much power and that there's not enough diversity of representation and opinion Resulting in higher prices for consumers. Vertical Integration: When a company with the same owner handles different aspects of a business in the same industry [ex] Apple creates computer hardware and software Phone manufacturing companies that also offer phone service Canadian media sector (telecommunications) exceeds the vertical integration level in any other G8 country - Most of the television industry is controlled by a few companies that are also in the content production business. (81% in Canada vs. 23% in the USA) Telecoms have a lot at stake in the content - When content is disaggregated, it hurts the big companies - This is why Bell wants to collect Astral, which has great content across multiple television and radio channels. - BCE needs to compete with foreign content companies like Netflix, Apple, Google, and Amazon - Critics thinking BCE's collection of Astral will turn them into a media elephant, forcing consumers to pay for channels that they don't actually want. Consumers have become Platform Agnostic We want high quality, free, fast content that is available across multiple digital devices/screens. We don't care where it comes from.

Unbundling media: democratizing effect We want to be able to pick and choose which pieces of media we consume Good news for consumers, not media companies
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 Good news for consumers, not media companies

Modes of Engagement
Appointment consumption - must be consumed at a certain time or place Can be considered a cultural unifier because it is social bonding over event programming: reality television, the news, sports television, etc
We are in the time of control revolution - an on demand revolution where we can consume content anywhere (on any device) at anytime. Consumers are connected and we have new expectations for media companies. Event programming that attracts people to watch in real time: Stanley Cup playoffs The Olympics Award shows Media on Demand - Personal media mix High income, Educated individuals are more likely to be on early technology adopters spectrum - more media on demand to share with friends and family, who follow your lead. Can be indicative of an individuals personality. Your exposure to media depends on understanding how gadgets work, access to it, and ability to spread the news Multiscreen and Concurrent Media Use Half of the general population will rarely/never use multiple screens at once (compared to 25% of FILM240 who are)

Telecom companies were initially worried about us neglecting their news papers, televisions shows, etc when it's available online, but simultaneous usage of multiple screens (with the steady trend of increased TV viewership) argues differently. (Nielsen company, Three Screen Report)

43% of people will watch event programming even if they already know the outcome (NBC). 7/10 people say that we are more apt to tune in once we find out what the outcome is.
Heavy internet users are heavy TV watchers (Television Bureau of Canada) Heavy internet users (24+ hours/week) consume 10% more music, read 10% more books, and watch 10% more movies (StatsCan) Media use begets media use; It's not about displacement, but rather complementarity. Media converges - more media all the time Big mac theory: if you consume empty cultural calories you lose your ability to appreciate the finer things in life, art, culture
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culture Empty Cultural Calories dismisses most popular media cultural as empty, worthlelss diversions Too much Simpsons = less interest in symphony
Skyscraper model of culture: ranks media culture based on quality High culture (penthouse) targets a refined audience and sold to wealthy and educated audiences. For our intellectual pleasure. Low culture: entertainment for the masses sexuality, joy, laughter, angry birds, loud, silly, hiphop Everything Bad is Good For You "The best pop culture productions provide a cognitive workout" - steve johnson The best of popular culture makes us use our minds. Think deeply to avoid passive engagement 1) Multiple narrative threads: Interwoven story lines that are complicated, many occurring at once. We must work to keep up with the story. - Polysemy: multiple access points - open to interpretation. Can signify different things to different people. 2) Few narrative signposts: doesn't tell you what to think/feel throughout program. (no laugh tracks). There are no cues telling you how to react. 3) Complex social networks: a plot arrangement that is full of characters who each have drama, shifting allegiences, complex relationships (glee relationship map). Helps you develop your EQ - emotional intelligence You can develop your ability to deal with social situations in real life because you are exposed to it already through media programming (ie. Office politics)

Tools for Studying Media

Ubiquity of commercial messages results in ad-blindness. We ignore commercials because we're used to doing so. See differently and make media messages strange again if we want to take it serious. People don't usually "click through" on advertisements such as those on your Facebook sidebar. Deconstruction Identify the compositional elements of advertisements and media. Every detail is thought through. What message is really being sent? Deep dive: delve into the details to create deep critiques. Notice the commercials/advertisements/content around you Analysis becomes more rich, precise, and accurate Zoom out: look at the bigger picture. Consider context and larger trends. Macroanalysis

Representational Pattern Recognition Representation and social norms: magazines promote the "norms" through their featured models on the front cover. [ex] Cosmo and men's health can potentially define "sexy" Media narratives have cumulative affects our imaginations Agenda setting doesn't tell you what to think, but what you should be thinking about Our agenda of things we should consider if we want to be like the people in the advertisements. Levi's go forth advertisement

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Introduction Readings
Friday, September 14, 2012 11:29 AM

Media Convergence in the Digital Era

Pg. 9-11 Media Convergence A term used by media critics and analysts to describe the changes currently occurring in media content and within media companies. The technological merging of media across various platforms Content offered across multiple media channels Magazine articles, radio programs, songs, TV shows, and movies are now available on the Internet through laptops, iPads, and smartphones. Historically this is not a new concept. Old and new forms of media would merge to survive competition. [ex] Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company and introduced the radio that also played recorded music. Contemporary media convergence allows for the era of communication to be reinvented. - Email and social media replace verbal conversation - Print communication has evolved from newspapers to articles available online. - Amazon.com combines the book (the world's oldest mass medium) and the internet (the world's newest mass medium) to create profit A business model that consolidates various media holdings under one corporate umbrella. Also called a cross platform involving the consolidation of various media holdings, such as cable connection, phone service, television transmission, and Internet access under one corporate umbrella. Not necessarily to offer consumers more product, but to better manage resources and maximize profit. Allows media corporations to broadcast the same story across multiple media channels. This is convenient because it uses less employees to generate multiple versions of the same story. MEDIA DISTRIBUTION Channels like Google organize and aggregate new and old media content and present it to online consumers. It does not produce any original content, but is rather a "middle man" in content exposure. Consumers are not charged for their searches, nor are they forced to compensate content providers. This adheres to customer preference to consume media in multiple places for free. Google earns revenue through selling ads that accompany search results. Their earnings from this are enough to fund their other services; the information query, Google Earth, Google Maps, online storage for Gmail and Google Docs, and YouTube Aids older news media make the transition to modern technology Google relies on news organizations to provide quality information and journalism

Evolution of a New Mass Medium

Pg. 11-12 Dependent on: Diligence of inventors Social, cultural, political, and economic circumstances [ex] the telegraph and radio were responsive to the military's need to control communication more rapidly the internet responds to new concerns, adapting the sharing of information to suit an increasingly mobile and interconnected global population.
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increasingly mobile and interconnected global population. 3 STAGES OF MEDIA DEVELOPMENT 1) Novelty/development stage: Inventors and technicians try to solve a particular problem 2) Entrepreneurial stage: Inventors and investors determine a practical use for the new device. 3) Mass medium stage: Businesses figure out how to market the new device or medium as aconsumer project.

Linear Model of Mass Communication

Pg. 12 Senders
Authors, producers, organizations transmit Messages through a Programs, texts, images, sounds, ads

Mass Media Channel

Newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, the Internet

Receivers to large Readers, viewers, groups of consumers Can return messages to sender or gatekeepers
Letters to the editor, phone calls, email, web posting, talkshows

Gatekeepers function as message filters. They make decisions about what messages actually get produced for particular receivers.
News editors, executive producers and other media managers

Cultural Model For Understanding Mass Communication

Pg. 12-13 Recognizes that individuals bring diverse meaning to messages, given factors and differences such as gender, age, education level, ethnicity, and occupation. Audiences actively affirm, interpret, refashion, or reject messages and stories that flow through the various media channels. Represents the lack of control that senders have over the interpretation of their message Selective exposure Consumers seek media messages and produce meanings that correspond with their own cultural beliefs, values, and interests.

Stories: the Foundation of Media

Pg. 13 Stories that circulate in the media can shape a society's perceptions and attitudes. News media stories can stimulate public awareness and encourage people to form an opinion about global issues. Media stories put international events in context, helping us to better understand our own daily lives and the larger world. Narratives are the main cultural currency; they are the tools used to deliver both entertainment and information.

Cultural Landscape
Certain aspects of culture are considered elite in one place and popular in another. Though categories may change over time from one society to another, two metaphors offer contrasting views about the way culture operates in our daily lives CULTURE AS A SKYSCRAPER Pg. 18-21 Critics and audiences have ranked culture as a hierarchy, with superior products that are typically considered high culture (identified with "good taste", higher education, and support by wealthy patrons and corporate donors. It is associated with "fine art, which is available primarily in libraries, theaters, and museums) at the top, and inferior low culture ("questionable" tastes
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in libraries, theaters, and museums) at the top, and inferior low culture ("questionable" tastes of the masses, who enjoy the commercial "junk" that is circulated by the mass media) ones at the bottom.

Critics have developed five areas of concern about low culture media: 1) An Inability to Appreciate Fine Art: Popular culture is made for profit, and it distracts students from serious literature and philosophy. They cannot recognize or experience valuable art. 2) A Tendency to Exploit High Culture: Popular culture can transform intellectual high culture values through simplistic alterations to the original [ex] Mary Shelly's Frankenstein lost its powerful messages about abusing science and judging people on the basis of appearances when it was remade into more popular comedies and simplistic horror stories. 3) A Throw-Away Ethic: Many elements of popular culture have a short life span. Although endurance does not necessarily denote quality, many critics argue that higher forms of culture have more staying power. Lower forms of culture are unstable and fleeting; they follow rather than lead public taste. 4) A Diminished Audience for High Culture: Popular culture has overwhelmed the cultural environment, driving out higher forms of culture and cheapening public life. The prevalence of so many popular media products prevents the public from experiencing genuine art. The changes of finding refined culture forms of art among the majority are small. 5) Dulling Our Cultural Taste Buds: Sometimes called the "Big Mac" theory, this view suggests that people are so addicted to mass-produced media menus that they lose their discriminating taste for finer fare and their ability to see and challenge social inequities.

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CULTURE AS A MAP Pg. 21-23 Culture is an ongoing and complicated process that allows us to better account for our diverse and individual tastes. It allows us to experience a range of cultural experiences and can be a representation of tendencies or elements related to why a person may be attracted to different cultural products.

The map model does not rank culture as high or low, but rather shows culture as spreading out in several directions across a variety of dimensions. Innovation and the Attraction of "What's New": Culture provides an impulse to explore new places, strike out in new directions, and search for something different that may contribute to growth and change. - We seek out the aspects of culture that demonstrate originality and complexity. A Wide Range of Messages: people have complex cultural tastes, needs, and interests based on different backgrounds and dispositions. Cultural products convey a large variety of different messages which are spread out in different directions Challenging the Nostalgia for a Better Past: Critics suggest that society was better off before the latest developments in mass media. Critics resist new cultural phenomena, viewing it as threatening to the "good old days".

The Sleeper Curve

Pg. 24-25 1973 movie the Sleeper depicted a character who is awoken from being chronically frozen 200 years in the future, and realizes that foods that were once considered unhealthy (steak, cream pies, fudge) are actually nutritious Steven Johnson (2005) relates to this film in his "Sleeper Curve" argument, applying the plot of the movie to media and culture. "Today's popular culture is making us smarter" Culture is getting more cognitively demanding To keep up with modern entertainment narratives (complex television programs like 24), you have to pay attention, make inferences, and track shifting social relationships. Neil Postman (1985) contradicts Johnson's value in popular culture. Image is central; display is superior to print. - Short, simple messages are preferable to long and complex ones; drama is preferred over exposition; being sold solutions is better than being confronted with questions about problems.
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problems. - Popular culture is simplified.

Critiquing Media and Culture

Pg. 29 Considering the diversity of mass media, to paint them all with the same broad brush would be inaccurate and unfair. It is more useful to replace a cynical perception of the media with an attitude of genuine criticism. MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Pg. 30-31, 33 Attaining knowledge and understanding of mass media The critical process follows the steps of description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement. In order to develop a meaningful critique of a cultural phenomena, it is essential to understand the contemporary context in which it is produced. We must assume a critical stance that enables us to get outside our own preferences. THE PROCESS 1) DESCRIPTION: Paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study. Describe the articles or programs, accounting for their reporting strategies and noting those featured as interview subjects. We might further identify central characters, conflicts, topics, and themes. Compare findings to other stories on similar topics Note what might be missing from 2) ANALYSIS: Discovering and focusing on significant patterns that call for closer attention which emerge from the description stage. Decide how to focus the critique 3) INTERPRETATION: Asking and answering "What does that mean?" and "So what?" questions about one's findings. Determine the meanings of the patterns we have analyzed 4) EVALUATION: Arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one's personal taste to the critical assessment resulting from the first three stages. Making an informed judgment beyond the critic's frame of reference 5) ENGAGEMENT: Taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment.

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Mass Media Communications Podcast

Wednesday, October 03, 2012 9:23 PM

Digitizing is causing massive upheavals and disruptions across the creative industries in media entertainment, telecommunications, and broadcasting New media platforms are ushering in new modes of communication, connectivity, culture, and commerce. As each new media form is introduced, it undergoes an evolution. As explained in the textbook a typical evolution of a media product involves at least three stages: 1) Novelty stage/early development stage - the inventors work with technicians to solve a problem, like a gap in the market place, a service that they think that people need that isn't yet mainstream and available 2) Entrepreneurial Stage - investors come on board and put money on the table so that the idea can be transformed from the prototype to something that can one day be widely available to the public. 3) Mass Medium Stage - businesses try to figure out how they're going to market their new products/service, and how they're going to communicate to clients, consumers, and users its unique selling position

Technology Adoption Life Cycle

- as described by the Diffusion of Innovations text Explains how technology spread through culture from early adopters to late majority Younger and more educated community leaders are early adopters of media products. Word of mouth causes more and more friends to become curious about the product/service/gizmo/gadget. More conservative but curious users get on board As the usefulness of the product is popularized, we see what is descibed to as "the late majority", and then even the "laggers" get on board These Processes shows the product progressing from a "gleam" in an inventors eye, to a main stream adoption, even by conservative users - Can take years, or move very rapidly In the digital space, we are seeing companies appear, become the next best thing, attract amazing amounts of venture capital, win lots of earned media attention, attract early adopters and mainstream curious users, and then be acquired by a bigger player, or fizzle out as the next shiny object takes its place in our limited field of attention.

The Importance of Narrative to Mass Communications

We know that whether a not a technological innovation will take flight or become mainstream has everything to do with whether or not people perceive a need for it. Mass media coverage of the technological innovation can make or break it. It's the stories that circulate in the mass media that shape a culture's perceptions or attitudes. Narrative is key in television, music, or social networks, narrative is key. The broadcast, media, entertainment, and telecommunications industries are very much in the story telling business Explaining to citizens and consumers why we need to use the communication channel to enrich our lives, to participate in culture, and to form our identities, is the job of advertisers, marketers, public relations, journalists, politicians, educators, parents, community leaders and the culture industries. Every day people turn to mass media to understand the world in which we live, and the analyses, myths, and stories that we find there help us to comprehend the importance of unfolding events
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myths, and stories that we find there help us to comprehend the importance of unfolding events around us and in other countries on the other side of the world. Mass media companies compete for our limiting attention to tell their stories about the world Media gate keepers hold a lot of power in determining what stories get told, and which ones we never hear about. We dont accept mass media stories uncritically; citizens, audiences, and users might pushback or resist the mainstream media message. This might be because we see the world a different way, or perhaps because we think the stories are lacking depth. Maybe because the stories seem to over analytical. Understanding the function of mass media through the cultural model encourages us to appreciate the polyscenic nature of mass media communications Multiple interpretations are always possible in newspaper stories, or narrative unfolding on television or in a music video. The polyscenic nature of a media message means that each individual will interpret it with their own originality Differences in age, region, education, gender, income, ethnicity, and occupation can all be factors on how a media message is received and understood For this reason, the linear model of mass communication is often criticized for being overly simplistic. Mass media conglomerates have a lot of power, but one thing they do not control is our interpretation of the messages that they transmit to us.

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Introduction Quiz
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 5:09 PM

1) The senders of messages often have little control over how their messages will be received True 2) Concerns about how young people might be negatively influenced by messages in popular or low cultural forms _______. have been around at least since the time of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates 3) What is one concern identified in the textbook about the future of news content available through Internet news search sites like Google? Who will pay for the cost of producing quality news content 4) According to the textbook, the mass media are industries that produce and distribute cultural products to large numbers of people. True 5) According to your textbook, which of the following is a consequence of the quick development of new technologies in the digital era? A. Cyberbullying and phishing B. Traditional leaders in communication have lost some control over information. C. We no longer use older technologies like the radio. D. None of the options is correct. E. Traditional leaders in communication have even more control over information. 6) Most forms of culture demonstrate multiple tendencies; for example, a film could be both conventional and innovative. True 7) Elvis Presley was filmed only from the waist up in his third appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show because _______. some critics considered his hip movements lascivious 8) According to the textbook, although mass media may aggravate social problems, there is little research to show that they directly cause those problems. True 9) Which of the following statements best describes media convergence? A. It makes older forms of mass communication obsolete and leads to their disuse. B. It only applies to the reinvention of the printed word. C. It allows older forms of mass communication to find new life with new technology. D. It only happened because of the Internet. E. It creates new forms of media unlike anything we've seen before 10) Which statement best describes mass media? A. Television programs by their very nature are culturally inferior. B. Books by their very nature are culturally superior to other forms of mass media. C. Any media form can provide content that is worthy or that panders to the worst in human nature. D. Mass media evolve thanks to clever inventors, not to cultural, political, or economic circumstances. E. Billboards and broadcast satellites aren't part of the mass media. 11) A high-low hierarchy is a more multidimensional way of looking at culture than viewing culture as a map
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a map False 12) Which of the following statements about Google is false? A. Google is an example of a successful digital age media company. B. Google has expanded far beyond being a search engine by offering e-mail, mapping, and numerous other services. C. Google makes most of its money by selling advertising. D. Google is used to locate both new and old media content. E. Google makes most of its money by generating original content. 13) Which of the following is one definition given in the textbook for the term media convergence? A. The appropriation of American products by foreign advertisers B. None of the options is correct. C. A concentrated and organized stream of Internet traffic to one site for the purpose of crashing it D. The consolidation of different mass media holdings under one corporate umbrella E. The gathering of multiple press figures at a media event, i.e., a press conference 14) An example of what the textbook means by narrative is _________. A. a movie about an alien invasion B. a children's book about three small swine C. Michael Jackson's Thriller video D. All of the options are correct. E. a news story about a mass protest 15) In the linear model of mass communication, gatekeepers are the authors, producers, agencies, and organizations that create the message. False 16) The meaning of a message can be affected by a recipient's gender, age, education level, ethnicity, and occupation. True

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