Essay Sample on Old vs New: How Broadcasting is Impacting Electronic Media

Introduction

The article dubbed Old against new, or coming of age? Broadcasting in an era of electronic media is written by Stuart Geiger and Airi Laminen both of whom are graduate scholars and contributors as guest-editors in the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (JOBEM). The article begins with an abstract that captures the core argument of the discussion that ensues. To this end, it is apparent, that the authors are arguing that old and new media are terms that are increasingly being utilized in conversations to express obsolescence of certain media terms, platforms and frameworks. Nonetheless, such terms do not do justice to the terms since media remains a complex aspect or concept that is manifest in the interconnectedness and interdependence of old and new media. By quoting from articles in the early development of JOBEM back in the 1950s, the authors make the point that generational epochs of what would be termed old mediums such as radio in comparison to new media such as television increasingly became problematic because of the interdependencies between the two especially as they developed based on growth influences on each other. The authors argue further that nuanced perspectives of old and new media are often the preserve of historians who do not appreciate contemporary media experts' perspectives on the unique attribute of various media forms. Instead of bundling media into categories of old and new in complete ignorance of the evolution that has historically taken place with implications for the development and improvement that cannot isolate various forms are old and others as new.

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According to the authors, intersections of what is considered old and new media are critical points where ideologies, infrastructures, practices, technologies, institutions, and policies have evolved to become what we know today to be media. To drive this point home, the authors present various articles that are published in the JOBEM with the intention of bringing out the points of media intersections that are discussed in the sources. For example, an article by Benjamin Burroughs and Adam Rugg is mentioned to blend broadcasting concept with the culture of streaming in digital platforms. As such, the authors make the point that through such improvements, internet users can also appreciate technologies that can bypass geofences or barriers to application. As such the technologies can be applied to more people in the digital age. Hence making the point that broadcasting can equally be digitized. Therefore, there is no ultimate dividing factor or point in time where broadcasting can be termed as outdated and replaced by modern forms of media. In essence, the interdependence of earlier forms with emerging forms of media does not have a point of origin or an end. In fact, the interdependence of all forms of media shows that media is a collectively evolving unit that continues to expand in the form of gains that it accrues from the collaboration that comes from the development of its components. To this end, all forms of media whether earlier or recently emergent contribute to the development of media technologies and capabilities towards the future.

Similar sentiments from authors Jaclyn Cameron and Nick Geidner although this time touch on the ubiquitous nature of social media platforms, the authors denote how social media is increasingly becoming of importance in the discussions regarding the modern applications of media in agenda-setting and interaction with the members of the public. Consequently, the authors make the observation that such advances are merely but improvements of the already familiar attributes of broadcast media, which have served to enhance efficacy through a greater level of engagement of audiences as content developers as well as distributors. To this end, the interconnectedness of various forms of media considered old or new, therefore, function to enhance not just the communication and information sharing process but also develop novel and improved platforms that serve to build on the existing infrastructure and platform to further enhance the efficacy of the processes. To this end, the authors note that the hybrid state of current forms of media negates the description of media as either old or new since the hybridization process is a continuous one, which does not stop as it advances in the form of building blocks of the old forms of media to develop the emerging ones. In essence, the authors argue for the point that forms of media must evolve from what currently is existing. However, such evolution cannot take place in isolation. Hence, categorizing one form as old and another as new would be to negate the gains that one form has drawn or borrowed from the other.

In another article that the authors have presented a having been written by Weiai Wayne Xu and Miao Feng, the authors acknowledge the ongoing conversation about social media networked gatekeeping which was borrowed from broadcast media. Whereas the former, social media platforms, such as Twitter can be a liberated space where people can talk to one another freely and share their experiences as well as become a community-based gatekeeping responsible unit. The latter, which concerns broadcast media, has traditionally not shared the duty of gatekeeping which was always left to media owners who decided what to censor. However, gatekeeping as a borrowed concept is practiced liberally in social medial through networked gatekeeping. Through such examples, the authors have consistently demonstrated throughout the article that old and new media platforms are blended with forms of earlier media attributes that have been combined to establish media possibilities and traits. Such attributes have served to enhance the capabilities of media by establishing novel approaches that are adequately effective in applying modern technologies towards enhancing the experiences of media consumers as well as content developers. To this end, the article's authors are categorical that it is through the interdependencies that are created in media that platforms that modern media forms have been created or developed. Therefore, more collaboration through the development of interdependencies proves critical to the further enhancement of media capabilities, applications, technologies, and usability.

The next section that the authors tackle, which also is the final section of their report, was concerned with evaluating what the authors had captured in the earlier parts of the report. In this regard, the content of this section recaps what was already discussed earlier with implications for the development of ideas pertaining to novelty and oldness of media platforms. The authors restate how various articles that they captured have either talked about how various forms of media have combined to produce results that manifest in liberalizing media, giving freedoms, recognition, and sharing responsibilities between content producers, developers, and consumers. The authors emphasize their tag established at the commencement of the article where they wrote that the media has "come of age" rather than being bundled into either group of old and new media. The implications, the authors note, are such that the evolution of media often leads to complex relationships that are as a result of interlinkages that advance media forms to greater heights. In this regard, the authors reiterate that it is imperative to appreciate that whether old or new, all forms of media have a little bit contributed by another form making media forms quite complex in themselves as improved or advanced states of their earlier forms. Essentially, it does not do justice to brand media as old or new because media forms are not self-generative rather are evolutions that serve to bring various attributes of other media forms together forming novel media that are still linked and characterized by their old forms.

The content of this article presents significance for students in communication with the intention of pursuing a career in communications in the future. To this end, one of the most notable qualities of the article is that it focuses on pertinent themes associated with the development of media. From a historical perspective that builds on to the establishment and sustainability of various forms of media, the article has discussed pertinent themes associated with the growth and evolution of media forms. Secondly, other than giving a historical perspective on the evolution of the media, the article has presented themes linked to how the debate surrounding media forms has presented challenging attributes on the importance and relevance of various media forms in tackling social issues such as access to media coverage and control over media censorship among other issues. All these issues discussed in the form of themes from the article can equip the communication student in pursuit of a career to focus his or her energy on emerging pertinent issues associated with the communication arena. To this end, the students can advance themselves towards attaining career objectives having fully understood what the practice entails as pertains to the media themes developed.

Further, the article proves useful to a communication student intent on developing a career in communication and journalism as it tackles information associated with the difficulty of separating media into either old or new categories. By understanding that media is evolving, the communication student is able to appreciate the dynamic nature of media in developing novel and objective forms that are not merely interrelated but also respond to the unique challenges and needs of the masses who comprise the audiences of various media forms. To this end, the aspiring student to engage in a communications career will be in a position to prepare herself or himself adequately in developing tools and skills that will facilitate the process of media evolution as a practicing communications expert. In general, the paper has presented a concise and elaborate summary paraphrase of the article by Geiger and Lampinen (2014) whose core message is that categorizing media into either box of old or new media does not do justice to the complex relationships that various media forms share. To this end, media is instead described as having come of age rather than either old or new. In addition, the value of the article to a communications student pursuing a career in communications and media studies has as well been thoroughly explored.

References

Geiger, S., & Lampinen, A. (2014). Old against new, or a coming of age? Broadcasting in an era of electronic media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(3), 333-341. doi:10.1080/08838151.2014.935855