In Chapter 4 we examine Ink on Paper. You’ll notice that there are three PowerPoints for this chapter rather than the one I prepared for you to review in earlier chapters. Well, there’s a reason for that.
Once, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, our beloved “Media of Mass Communication” text had three chapters devoted to Dead Tree Media. Alas, much has changed since I started teaching this class four short, short years ago. For starters, when the 10th edition was released the author condensed books, newspapers and magazines down to a single chapter. This may be an acknowledgment of reality, but it remains a little troubling for a guy like me who spent a lot of years with ink-stained fingers trying to produce timely, meaningful — dare I say relevant — newspapers. I miss my morning newspaper, but I can’t say I dislike the thing that has replaced it, namely a handheld computer better known as an iPhone. If we didn’t receive free copies of the "Missoulian" and "Daily Inter Lake" at work I would probably read 99 percent of my news on either this device or my home computer. As it stands I’m still getting more than 80 percent of my “print” news electronically.
I’m not really complaining. The news on my iPhone is updated 24/7. If I watch FC Barcelona pummel some hapless Spanish football club on TV, within minutes of its conclusion I can usually read a short, 500-word game story on my iPhone. And I can do this without even having to haul my lazy butt off the couch. That’s of course a major shift from the way sports information used to be distributed. Most of you are probably not old enough to remember this, but back in 1990 there was a short-lived venture called “The National,” which was an attempt at creating a national all-sports daily newspaper. All-sports dailies are common in Europe where national boundaries are smaller and tend not to stretch across four time zones. "The National" was well written and had a top-notch editor in “Sports Illustrated” writer Frank Deford (he can still be heard Wednesday mornings offering sports commentary on NPR) and it of course failed miserably in less than a year and a half. They even tried to get "The National" online before it folded using an early Internet service provider called Compuserve (that’s also probably before your time).
It seems kind of quaint now, a national sports newspaper, but that’s the way we used to roll. Today we’re wondering if there’s even a place in the future for things like books and newspapers. We shall see.
The "Books" Powerpoint is short. There are a number of names included. Make sure to take time to note the significance of each. I’ll give you a preview of "Newspapers" and "Magazines" later this week or next. There will also be some supplemental readings with prompts for blog posts from all of you. This is a two-week section so there will not be a quiz this week. Take this opportunity to start plugging away on your Long Tail paper which is due in a little more than a month.
And if you’re behind on Quizzes 1 through 3, you’ve got another 48 hours to get caught up. Do it!
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This electronic revolution that we are experiencing is indeed interesting. This somewhat reflects back to the blog post about amazon's eBooks. I believe in the near future, print newspapers will be extinct. Nearly everybody I know, including myself, get daily news via the internet. It makes me wonder what will happen when newspaper and magazine subscriptions become a thing of the past. Either advertising cost will have to rise, or a pay wall system will be put in place on the newspaper/magazines website. Somehow if I am not mistaken, the revenue lost from subscriptions will have to be made up somehow. Nevertheless this new technology is very interesting and useful.
ReplyDeleteYou reference the Long Tail paper. Is there a specific prompt (with stylistic requirements) we should use?
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that came to mind after reading the powerpoints was the book The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. He mainly discusses the globalization of the world at this point, and how the "global playing field" is leveling out and flattening. We can now do any thing with anyone, any where, mobily. The book doesn't necessarily touch on current media, but moreso the effect of the current communication tactics/sources of information and the effect of that.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that came to my mind was a YouTube video titled "Did You Know."
It really is crazy realizing the difference between current times and just 20 years ago. In no way do I see us going backwards, yet the process the media currently partakes in (as far as flattening the world is concerned) is quite large. And the process of the world flattening is bringing us to a whole new level globally.
One thing to keep in mind about newspapers is that subscriptions and daily sales don't compare to advertising as a revenue source. The bulk of newspaper money comes from ads, both large display ads which I think will return as the economy picks up, and classified ads which have left print for online distribution — permanently. If you wand to buy or sell something you go to Craig's List, not the Daily Inter Lake.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Long Tail paper goes, there was a detailed blog post at the start of the class. Go back and scan that to get an idea of what Im looking for.
Actually, I hadn't reposted that Long Tail stuff. I'll do that shortly.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the future we will see note only the death of newspapers, but also the death of print books. They will become a novelty, something that gets printed a few thousand times a year for collectors items or for gifts and things like that. There just isn't a place for traditional means. I mean imagine having all of your texts books on a tablet that weighs less than a pound. It's happening right now. That is a drastic improvement on the culture of our society. Books are great (I know, I'm a writer) and there is nothing we can do to erase them, but there's no need. They will continue to be replaced. It's hard for all the people that make a living with ink on paper, but those days are gone.
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