Current State of Affairs

POSITIVE

• People have easier and improved access to information
• People have more choices
• People can influence and interact with the media
• More choice and exposure can lessen the influence of dominant program sources and therefore lead to more of a heterogeneous culture and a greater acceptance of people with different ideas and sensibilities
• More access to information breaks down barriers to formal learning and promotes personal growth at every age and stage
  

NEGATIVE

• Government regulation of standards is decreasing , e.g., unable to control internet sites, satellite usage
• Media driven by commercial economy creates consumers at an early age – forming beliefs concerning politics, social structure --- consumers versus citizens (passive spectatorship instead of active social participation)
• Parents and families are losing influence on child development, whereas mass media acts as a socializing force
• Parents raised on television are less prepared to be parents themselves
• National and ethnic affiliations and allegiances can be blurred in a mediated environment that is filled with multi-national and multi-ethnic programming --- Global export of American culture (cultural colonialism, global Disneyfication)\
• It is difficult to know how credible and true the information is from every source
• There is a greater need for media literacy

INTERESTING

• More newspapers than ever before
• More magazines than ever before
• More choices of television channels
• More radio station choices
• More access to the Internet which has become more sophisticated --- Billions of websites to ‘google’
• The Internet has created a “global neighbourhood”
• There is a demand on the education system to teach/ promote media literacy
• New Technology: TiVo (Personal Video Recorders
• Books and Magazine published online

Blasts from the Past

• Up to approximately a century ago, before the introduction of radio and electronic media, information was shared only through the print media and orally
  
• Only the literate few could access print media, since most people didn’t finish elementary school
  
• There has been a move from a dominated print media to radio to television and finally the Internet
  
• At each point it has been predicted that the one media would suffer as the next one became more popular; this prediction has largely not occurred

Future World

These historical trends are important because, as Marshall McLuhan stated in the 1960’s and 1970’s, “We can see the future through a rearview mirror.”

In recent years, mass media and communication have become more accessible, diversified and sophisticated.

Do you think that this above trend will continue or, contradictory to this trend, will there be drastic changes and possible reduction of media sources?
http://www.cios.org/encyclopedia/mcluhan

Or does media conglomeration limit the diversity of cultural and social voices?
http://www.mediacarta.org
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/conglomeration/
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18849
http://www.indymedia.org
http://www.adbusters.org
http://mediatransparency.org

The trend seems to be more choices, more interactivity (weblogs and blogospheres, web forums, TiVo) more international communication and increasingly less ability for the government to enforce regulations and standards.

Overview

• What is the purpose of mass media?
• What are the trends of technology and types of media?
• What are the effects of the media market diversifications and target audiences?
• How does media conglomeration affect the diversity of messages we receive? What are the possible ramifications of this trend?
• How will media choices continue to grow?
  

1. Start by reading about the past, present and future by following the above links to Blasts from the Past, Current State of Affairs, and Future World.
   
   
2. You can then explore
   External Links for Media & Communications
   
   http://www.mediacarta.org
   http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/conglomeration/
   http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18849
   http://www.indymedia.org
   http://www.adbusters.org
   http://mediatransparency.org
   
   
3. Finally, Participate in Pre-NEXUS Discussions.

Refine your ideas and clarify your perceptions via discussions with your peers. You can access and participate in discussions via the NEXUS.eBoard.com conference site (student password = nexus).

* At NEXUS, you and your peers will further refine and publish your ideas.