TV Networks and Google

When the big three TV networks were in their heyday, they cared little for the outcry that radio was being destroyed by their presence.  After all, TV took all of radio's stars and its most popular programs.  Radio was forced to reinvent itself to survive.

Today those same big three TV networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) are crying foul.  This time they are the ones worrying about a future, and the new media giant is Google.  Google TV promises to provide a seemless and "watch TV shows at anytime" service to consumers.  The networks fear this direct access technology because it could siphon away viewers, undercut advertising and encourage people to discontinue cable TV usage.  These three factors could spell the death knell for network TV as we know it.

If video killed the radio star,then who killed the video star?
Stay tuned!

Media and Culture

Two distinct words form the basis for the most powerful influence on the lives of many people.  We live in a unique culture---free to develop opinions, open to new artforms and expressions---and, yet the pervasive reach of both mass and individual media encapsulate our culture and oftern redefine it.  Mass culture, especially the American kind, has thrived because mass media both promotes and restores it.  Media and culture.  They are difficult to separate in any 21st century conversation.

Look at language and try to associate any new phrase that you learned that did not spring from your observance of a media type.  Words echo from new generations or cultures and are mass communicated via movies, music or You Tube videos.  Try this experiment.  Create a new word or phrase and post on a blog, like this one, or via a Twitter or You Tube transmission.  The odds are that someone will see or hear this phrase and adopt it.  The phrase then becomes part of the new cool of the culture, for even our original slang use of the word cool was elevated by the media of music and radio.

The Future of Newspapers

As a Journalism and Mass Communication educator, I am often asked about the changing media technology landscape and its impact upon newspapers.  My answer is both direct and reserved.  Media are evolving into forms that appear to change everyday with myriad applications that even software designers did not foresee.  The user, more importantly, is the key to any debate about a medium and future importance.  Newspapers are no different than any other form---television, radio or movies.  The user, viewer, listener or reader has the final say in success.

The need for comprehensive coverage of local, regional, national or international events has been the driving force behind the historical success of newspapers.  The alternative or companion to other news media outlets has given the newspaper business both status and influence.  Will the next generation of media consumers require what a newspaper can provide?  The answer is yes.  That yes, however, must be framed within a future that includes innovative adaptability by all types of newspapers.  Innovation must meet the current, and long-term, demands of a shifting consumer.  Success will be seen by creativity and collaboration.

A Nation Of Filmmakers

Each moment is caught within a frame, both in view and in time.  With the rapid ascent of telecommunications' devices complete with video/audio capability, we have become a culture of mise en scene---the society of setting.  But are we, as amateur documentarians, capable of ascertaining the power and importance of the images we collect?  Maybe, we save the moment just to save the moment with no chance of reflection or remorse.

As a nation of filmmakers, we hurry to upload gold to YouTube, only to find that gold is merely a color on the vast palette of the electronic universe.

Can Music Build A New Social Order?

George Counts, noted 20th century educational philosopher, wrote that schooling could build a new social order.  In this order, we would become learned citizens who worked toward democratic and economic success.
But have Counts' schools been replaced with media as that paramount creator of social cement and happiness?  More importantly, the medium of music has a history of fulfilling that role. In the Depression Era, the folk music of Woody Guthrie was used by unions, President Roosevelt and the swelling masses of poor to evoke some hope in the American Dream.  "This Land Is Your Land" was more than just a song we learned in fifth grade music class; rather, it had a universal appeal as a plea to challenge yourself, and your country, to improve and fulfill.  This same notion was depicted in the Counterculture music of the Sixies.
One can argue that Hip Hop, Alternative and Country genres all possess these same qualities.  For in these difficult times, music can be our linkage to a new promise.

Music as Communication and Culture

Our taste in music defines us. It informs the way we dress, the way we talk and the way we view the world. Whether you like Kanye or Taylor, prefer Nirvana to Led Zeppelin or simply like all forms of music, you are not alone. Americans love their music and we will do anything to collect all versions of every song created by our beloved icons.
Just look at the new stereo and digital remix of the Beatles library and then add in the power of a videogame aimed at a video-proficient generation. This is not the Fab Four seen only on fading reels of the Ed Sullivan Show or the stark Black and White film of "A Hard Day's Night". No,it is the digital and dimensional world where aging Baby Boomers and youthful iPod-Google-DS experts converge and appreciate musical, cultural legends.
It is truly a new day in the life.

Two Paths For Newspapers

Robert Frost wrote about two roads that diverged in a yellow wood.  The end of each path was unknown, yet one road appeared to be preferred by more people.  Frost, the poet, chose the one less likely and it made all the difference in life.

Newspapers now face a similar decision.  Do they continue to produce content along a well-traveled path or do they choose a new course?  Certainly, the question evokes opinion on all sides.  Technology, or online presence, appears to be the obvious solution.  After all, aren't we all on the web?  But could the two paths really be a metaphor for the choice made by two different sized newspapers?

Recently, small local newspapers have looked to Congress for help as they debate a move toward non-profit Public Broadcasting-style status.  Larger city papers are exploring online "toll booths" for readers as a method of revenue generation. 

From my view, the two roads appear to be about non-profit and profit construction.  Which is the one less traveled?