Image: The New York Times
The Impact of ICT on the Media
Author: Stephen Denham Lecturer: Dr. Frank Bannister Prepared for: ST4500 Strategic Information Systems Submitted: 5th February 2012
Current and Future
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Abstract
A dramatic consequence of the ICT advances in the last decade is the replacement
of news media, as it was once known. In many ways, journalism today is
unrecognisable from its former self and the concept of media has been inverted.
This work discusses societal implications of these changes and considers what the
future holds. It concludes that the standards of old media may be needed more now
than ever.
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Background
The Concept of the Media
Discussing how ICT has impacted the general media is problematic. In many ways
the media, as creators and distributors of mass communication, is difficult to
distinguish or even a subsidiary topic of ICT, which encompasses all communication
technologies, micro and macro. With that said, this essay focuses on how the role of
the press has been impacted by the rapid adoption of several ICTs. The term
‘media’, as discussed in this essay, specifically refers to the collective noun for the
press and news organisations. Traditionally it communicated by television, radio and
print. It is an established industry with developed ethical values. Reporters and
agencies are judged on the thoroughness of their research and their trustworthiness.
Breaking that trust has consequences, not only for individuals but for all associated
with them as well.
Beyond the mere reporting of events as they happen, there is the proactive research
of investigative journalism, which has exposed scandals of companies, governments
and criminals. These include the Nixon Watergate affair, resulting in the first US
President to resign from office, and the uncovering of Irish gangs by reported
Veronica Guerin, leading to her murder. The spread of information is fundamental to
a healthy democracy (Fenton, 2010) and so, the media has been regarded by many
as a public good, just as a fire department or central bank. It is seen as an
independent neutral source of information, aimed at bringing the deserved truth to
the people. Another perception of the media exists, which views it as a profit seeking
group whose interests are skewed by the pursuit of revenue via (i) what people are
entertained by reading and (ii) what advertisers may want them to censor, and so
media has never been far from criticism.
ICT’s Intrinsic Connection to the Media
Information Communications Technology (ICT) refers to the range of technologies
and which enable communication. It encapsulates all hardware and software
infrastructure including the use of telephones, mobile, radio, television, video and the
web. In the context of this topic, the most relevant technologies are social networks,
PDAs with audio-visual recording and quality Internet access, online video platforms
and information search/filtering technologies.
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As vehicles for communication, ICT and the media are inextricably linked and
overlapping in their fundamental functions. This overlap has meant ICT advances
have impacted the media in several ways. To an extent, these advances have
reshaped, replaced and redefined the media and the concept of ‘new media’ gives
birth to a wealth of healthy discussion.
The Current Impact of ICT on the Media
Undermining the Old Media Business Model
The old media industry is based on the premise that information is of value to people.
The growing easy of creating and sharing information with ICT has meant average
people create more information and so its value is reduced – simple supply and
demand. When Google launched in 1998, it declared its goal “to organise the world's
information and make it universally accessible and useful” (free). This proposition
challenged the business model of the traditional press. The uptake of ICT has meant
the press has lost its position as the primary narrative on daily events as anyone can
broadcast with basic ICT infrastructure. The last few years has seen the rapid decline
of the print media, particularly the media. Institutions that once seemed like the
foundations of culture have gone out of business or have hugely reduced staff, such
as the Rocky Mountain News (Carlson, 2012).
Traditional print media was largely supported by classifieds as its cash cow,
generating 40% to 45% of revenue (Carr and Kennedy, 2010). Websites such as
Craigslist, eBay and OKCupid have removed small classifieds from newspapers.
Large ad campaigns have also moved online. These sites are often free, enable a
wider reach or are simply faster to use. Advertisers once said ‘half the money I
spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half’. This is no
longer the case with targeted advertising provided by the likes of Google, Facebook
and LinkedIn. Mass marketing has gone out of fashion as marketers aim to segment,
target and position brands around specific target markets (Kotler et al., 2009). As
these companies increase monopolisitc power, they can more easily relax their
privacy policies.
Finally, if the loss of revenue from classifieds, mainstream advertising and readers to
the Internet was not enough, the global recession could not have come at a worse
time for the industry.
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In numerous ways, ICT has replaced the traditional media as a source and filtering
information and news. Twitter delivers messages within seconds of their inception
and via ‘trending’ topics and ‘hashtags’, these are instantly categorized and
prioritised in a accessible manor. Many now see Twitter as a centralised newsfeed of
all things relevant to them.
Citizen Journalism
On Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, the world held its breath. The 44th President of the
United States of America was being inaugurated. Every major news agency and
television network was present as well as the world’s top photographers.
Malia Obama sat in the second row, and with a Kodak M893 digital camera she
photographed her father’s speech taking her own photos. At an event documented
by the world’s best media, Malia still wanted to create and share her own content.
This preference is held by many and has manifested itself in what have become
known as ‘citizen journalism’ – possibly the most profound impact of ICT on the
media (Robinson and DeShano, 2011). ICT has allowed consumers of information to
become part of the media itself. First of all, there is the ‘crowd-sourcing’ element
where ICT has enabled people to publicise events themselves. For example the
plane crashing in the Hudson River was first published by laypeople on Twitter and
an technology consultant Sobhaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual) unknowingly tweeted the
raid of Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan as it happened.
The sharing of war images has been the most poignant element of citizen journalism,
where traditional media often obscured the reality of war due to censoring policy.
PDAs with video cameras and Internet access are becoming more widespread and
so actual events are vividly reported moments after happening. In some ways the
amateur nature of footage gives it a more authentic feel which viewers are less
desensitised to. It may be a welcomed addition, particularly as wars have become
less salient in peoples’ minds due to their geographical distance and robot soldiers.
The reality of warfare now is available to those who seek it and this holds military
more accountable for their actions. Secondly, there is also the opinion and analysis
added by citizens online. It is inherent in everything from blogs to simply reposting an
article to friends. Unprofessionals are involved in the validation of news.
Unsurprisingly, many traditional journalists have been on the offensive, attacking
citizen journalists in a number of ways. They have often claimed it lacks the
standards of journalistic ethics such as neutrality and fair unbiased reporting.
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Ironically, their very argument is clearly biased, as they cannot objectively analyse
the change. They are acting in the interests of their profession. Traditional journalists
claim these citizen journalists do not have the capital to invest in advanced news
stories. Few people have the time or money to fly to Fallujah. Old media carried a
level of brand reputation, increasing their likelihood of securing interviews and press
passes. Inherent trust has also had its critics, coming to the fore after Judith Miller’s
New York Times reports of Weapons of Mass Destruction were falsified. Such trust
can be damaging, however it is the result of long held values of quality. It is also said
that citizen journalism lacks any form of integrity as online bloggers can maintain
anonymity. They lack a code and serious repercussions of their actions.
Traditionalists also argue this has meant the lowering of journalistic standards. The
2011 film ‘Contagion’ based on a the a global flu pandemic, depicted a freelance
blogger/journalist hedging stocks of pharmaceutical companies whilst manipulating
their sales using his online influence to mislead people about the effectiveness of
treatment drugs.
In 2005 the White House issued a blogger with a press pass and today, many
jurisdictions have issued the status of ‘qualified blogger’. Robinson and DeShano
(2011) conducted research that was encouragingly optimistic for new media. They
found, albeit in a small ecosystem, that an ‘interpretive community’ was forming, a
which like real journalism, is a self-organising group, building values and integrity.
The effects of ICT have not all been negative. Some media organisations have now
begun to flourish as they, like other industries, are benefiting from better richness
and reach with their customers. The largest brands of news organisations such as
the Financial Times and the New York Times are now experiencing substantial
benefits from online migration with subscription content (Carr and Kennedy, 2010).
While some say journalism is dying, the availability of news has increased
exponentially and this raises the question of whether this art is still needed.
Information Filtering and the Polarisation of the News
Although the Internet was hailed as the opening up of the world, it has begun to
disappoint on this promise. Instead of being a unified global space, advances in
filtering technology and the loosening of privacy have made it an increasingly
segregated place. There are two types of online browsing. The first is where one
knows what they are searching for. The second is the serendipitous browsing of
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information online. Nearly all large website now engage in some form of collaborative
tailored filtering. Google searches are unique to users previous interests, Facebook
feeds prioritise those who we tend to interact with most and Netflix suggests films to
watch based on previous ratings. Google’s latest privacy policy unifies all data gain
through account emails, map searches, Chrome settings, normal searches and ad
clicks. Even news organisations engage in this tailoring in what has been called
‘social news’ (Gartrell et al., 2011).
Tailoring Internet results means people are put in ‘filter bubbles’. They only see a
narrow spectrum of news and opinions. For example, a liberal minded person will
see more liberal search results. The full effect of this is unknown, however it has
disastrous potential. The consequences are that people only view opinions that
reaffirm their own and they do not see counter arguments. Furthermore, tailored
filtering is conducted silently, which creates the illusion of an impartial voice. Given
the need for mutual understanding in conflict resolution, these technologies could
have far-reaching consequences into shaping culture and result in stronger conflict.
It is argued that the algorithms of the Internet should be coded with ethic
reasonability, allowing users to control filtering. To deliver a web of “balanced diet…
some information vegetables and some information desert” (Pariser, 2011).
Future Concerns for New Media
At the Peril of Monopolies
ICT is largely based on the need for standards – a common language for systems to
interact upon. As it is in many ways a chaotic industry due to the high rate of change,
standards are often emplaced by the biggest players, and so, companies gain large
economies of scale, leading to monopolies such as Google, Facebook and Apple,
which all exert control on widely used application platforms. Old media were
relatively late movers, and so as they attempt to embrace ICT advances, they suffer
from having little bargaining control.
For example, Apple used its operating system to ensure people pay for music
through iTunes. Some say this saved the music industry and now through the
creating of the iPad, together with Kindle products, the newspaper industry may be
saved through controlled pricing models. However, apple does not have a history of
generosity to affiliates. Many have criticised it for using its control to drain the profit
margins of music and apps. Unless the media come up with a major game changing
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product themselves, which seems unlikely, their ability to embrace ICT advances will
be hindered. The servitude that must be paid is yet another reason why old media is
unlikely to reach its former greatness.
Some media brands have done well with apps and in becoming relevant hubs, and
their reputations have given their authority online as neural broadcasters, however
the ability for this to sustain is unknown. It may be simply the fading remains of their
former success. The BBC has expressed concerns that the younger generation are
not as interested in its online presence for as a news source. The success of media
brands online may only last the lifetime of those who knew them as the titan
institutions they once were.
Internet Regulation
The entertainment industry has recently made progress with its fight back against the
Internet through the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). It proposes to target the illegal
provision of intellectual property through targeting search engines, advertisers and
Internet service providers who assist such sites. It has yet to be seen if SOPA will
take full effect but appears to have gained rapid headway internationally and the
coming years are likely to see some degree of Internet regulation. SOPA may help
the general media industry as it leads to less free information and coping of articles
to other sites.
However, if the legacy media is so vastly replaced, regulation of the Internet is a
concerning development, restricting free speech. For example, the Egyptian
government blocked Twitter because it was used to organise protestors. The
Bahraini government took this a step further as it not only blocked undesired content,
but also used the Internet as a propaganda tool.
New Media Industry Models
Storyful is an online news agency purely drawing sources from those ‘at the heart of
the action’ and it aims to ‘separate the news from the noise’. It enables citizen
journalism and prioritises the large amount of information generated. The problem,
as with many online products, is adoption. A critical mass of adoption is required and
so it is unlikely that people will prefer it above the likes of Twitter, despite its large
amount of cat photos.
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Undoubtedly the most controversial of the new forms of organisations is that of
Wikileaks. Through it, thousands of secret documents have been realised into the
public domain. Founder Julian Assange sees it as a journalistic organisation,
however he sees journalism as merely a tool for seeking justice, which is his
fundamental goal (Rossi, 2011). In the past such documents were sent to the media,
however the subterranean nature of Wikileaks allows it to avoid legal repercussions.
It raises the question of the legitimacy of secrecy, however the efforts made by
companies and governments to stop Wikileaks has proven they fear it.
Another new model that has emerged from media turmoil is that of ProPublica – a
philanthropically funded agent of investigative journalism. It partners with different
new organisations in print, television, radio and online, to deliver its stories which it
researches. If journalism is truly a public good, then such a model should be
sustainable, however one fear is that this may simply be a fashion trend (Carr and
Kennedy, 2010), leaving the size of media to fluctuate, just it previously did with
advertising revenue.
It is also possible that the position of media could hold a relationship of
independence to government like that of a central bank. If the Internet becomes a
regulated body, there is certainly an argument for this to be done independently,
which would is similar to the role of old media.
The most straightforward of the new models of media is that of having free content to
a point, followed by subscription – freemium. This has been reasonably successful,
however users would only feel the need to subscribe if they are particularly loyal to a
certain brand, otherwise they can easily switch between sites. What remains to be
seen, is if such models sustain after the old media is long gone.
Finally, it is worth noting that the media is not the only information based industry
being re-evaluated due to the information commoditization of the Internet. An
interesting study would be to draw parallels from this topic with academia in how they
have reacted to the free sharing of information.
Conclusion
ICT advances have blurred the lines of media. Consumers are also creators; the
news is not only the messages but the messages themselves have become news;
reporters are becoming bloggers and bloggers are becoming reporters; the Internet
was making the world more open but by attempting to filter the vast amount of
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information appears to make the world more polarised; it has allowed the leaking of
vast amounts of information from those with power but now those same powers may
be in a stronger position than ever to censor open discourse.
Filter bubbles, the fall of old media and the threat of Internet regulation are
concerning development for healthy democracy. The new media has been a great
advantage, but what is required above all is the retention of old values.
The Impact of ICT on the Media – Current and Future Denham S.
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