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Thinking Across Media
To understand
the true complexity of contemporary media we must improve
our understanding of the interrelationships among many different
technologies and media environments. Contemporary trends,
including the digital revolution, horizontal integration,
technological convergence, cultural convergence, and globalization,
mandate a comparative approach to media systems.
The Digital
Revolution -- From how we bank to how we date, new media
are reshaping contemporary experience and the ways we think
about work, home, education, politics, public policy, and
community.
Horizontal
Integration -- Contemporary media companies hold interest
across many sectors of the entertainment and news industries,
raising questions about intellectual property, competition,
and monopolies.
Technological
Convergence -- Industry mergers and dramatic technological
developments are creating an environment in which all primary
media -- from television to the telephone -- will be accessed
via a single device, creating new forms of interaction across
and among media.
Cultural Convergence
-- We are increasingly adept as consumers and citizens at
using one medium in relation to another, choosing which
technology is best to receive or transmit a particular form
of information, and transforming media content to better
express our own ideas.
Globalization
-- Advanced telecommunications and the worldwide expansion
of media markets create an urgent need to understand our
emerging "global media culture," the cross-pollination of
national and international cultural traditions, and the
new styles and genres developing in this context.
A Comparative
Approach -- When studying media we need to consider
the relationships across media forms. Using a comparative
approach we can begin to see:
- How one medium
displaces another. Consider the move from hand-written
manuscripts to printed books).
- How one medium
borrows from the traditions and conventions of another.
Think about the complex links among film, theater, literature,
painting, and music.
- How intellectual
property migrates across various media over time. Consider
the adaptation of Shakespeare by each emerging medium,
as well as the cross-media exploitation of Star Trek
by media conglomerates.
- How the interactions
among multiple media technologies shape the flow of information
in a culture. On any given day, note the way contemporary
news is communicated via newspapers, magazines, radio
and television networks, and the Internet.
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