Essay

The development of new and digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

Whether new and digital media has made audiences more powerful in the terms of consumption and production, is dependant on different factors and the opinions of society. I believe that it has and will be discussing as to why I believe this using relative examples.

One reason as to why I believe audiences have more power over consumption and production is because we now have Citizen Journalism, which is a very popular method of generating news in recent years and couldn't have been done in the earlier years as technology had not improved or developed. The introduction of smart phones for example with a video recording feature allows one to film things, such as fights or murders that one witnesses. An example of this is of Rodney King who managed to record four white LA police officers brutally attacking a black man that was controversial in the media as this was the first ever piece of citizen journalism. Another example is the Woolwich beheading in which a soldier was beheaded by an Islamic extremist in broad daylight, in the middle of a street. Which therefore allows one to get the whole story without institutions such as BBC recording it and putting it up having been edited & therefore creating a bias view. The use of Citizen journalism therefore means more of the truth being shown, less people believe what is on the news & one watching what has been recorded by someone as it isn't bias and shows the complete story. 

Similar to Citizen Journalism, with the use of blogs, forums and social networking sites, and other pieces of User Generated Content, the audience already begin to be more powerful as they are able to publicise anything they find out with a simple click of a button. Such as spreading the piece of news that has been found via citizen journalism.  This also gives the audience a chance to voice their opinion about certain news topics & by using different techniques such a 'retweet' spread the word. A critic which supports my argument is Rupert Murdoch as he argues that 'the Internet has given readers much more power, the world is changing and newspapers have to adapt'. This means that Internet is becoming more and more powerful, and Murdoch may be referring to social networking sites when stating that the Internet has given more power to readers as they are given more freedom in order to express themselves.

One factor however, about on-line posting is that it can be monitored and without a doubt goes through regulation. This means that it can be taken down or edited whenever. Making the audience feel as though they have power and then taking it back from them. This relates to censorship as major media conglomerates such as Google, in particular Blogger and Gmail in which Google goes through ones messages and emails in order to assimilate the information and use it to their advantage by using advertisements related to ones preferences. By doing this, they are attempting to increase their profit margin.

Another point that backs up my argument is the pluralist view that states no one is elite and the way in which audiences are able to get what they want is by the media itself constructing what they show in such a way to make sure they meet their needs as the consumer. An example of this is Citizen Khan. The BBC are aware that everyone loves a bit of comedy and it is something spoken about by the audience regardless of age or gender. This shows the way in which the BBC prioritises the audiences preferences and therefore shows the audience have more power.

Marxists have an oppositional view and believe in a capitalised dominated society involving class. They state that those with money are above all others and hold the most power over what is shown to audiences. This links to Parettos law as he says that a minority of media producers always serve a minority of consumers which shows that a minimal of amount of producers are likely to show what audiences want unless they are trusted. Which links to what has been stated, that the BBC would show the consumers what they want as they are a trusted institution. And the fact that all audiences pay for the license fee as well as the fact that the BBC is a public service broadcaster which is known to pay back the audiences with high quality content. 

Furthermore the constant decline in the newspaper industry is another reason as to why audiences are getting more power. Being able to access the news anywhere and anytime on a device shows one being able to do what they please therefore meeting the needs of the consumer. An example of this could be the use of the times online. Which results in less people reading from newspapers and more turning to their devices. Having a huge impact on the newspaper industry as one is able to access news anywere sometimes before it's even published and without having to pay for it. Giving audiences more of a choice as to which newspaper they wish to read & therefore getting more power. 

In conclusion I believe that with the developments of new and digital media the audience has managed to gain more and more and more power over the years which could eventually lead to fully citizen journalised news articles, no newspapers, more and more opinions being spread & a potential payment required for the use of online newspapers! 

New and Digital Media Stories

Royal Mail says Amazon Delivery service will hit its UK parcels business

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/19/royal-mail-amazon-delivery-service-uk-parcels-profits

This article desribes the way in which the new way in which Amazons new delivery service is going to have a huge impact on Royal Mails delivery service. The reason being because of the lower charge, additionally the option to get delivery on the same day for free; Prime Customers.

- The drop knocked more than £360m off Royal Mail’s market value and left the shares languishing below the 445p they soared to on their first day of trading after being floated at 360p. 

- Operating profits before transformation costs dropped 21% to £279m in the six months to the end of September.

This article is quite interesting as it shows the different ways in which institutions are changing and are becoming more and more competitive. ie. the introduction of the prime customers benefit of same day free delivery.

'Revenge Porn' Facebook post leads to jail sentence
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30307657

This article is about a man putting up a video of a female having sex with his friend. The reason behind doing this has been said was because of wanting revenge, his punishment was being arrested.

- "This sort of industry-wide approach is what we should all expect from a mature, multinational sector of our economy," she said.

- "We should not expect the burdens of removing illegal images from commercial websites to be solely the responsibility of the police.

- "And if websites are hosted in more obscure countries then splash pages should be used to block illegal pornography images from being viewed in the UK in exactly the same way as they have been used to block child abuse images."

I believe that this article is interesting and it should encourage other legislations to consider the same rule, of being punished for actions similar. As the offence has an effect on ones private life and could lead to severe problems, mentally and physically. 

Google plans launch of child friendly products

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30328078 

This article is about the way in which Google aims to create a search engine which is suitable for those of younger ages (up to the age of 12). The main difference between the original Google and the one they plan on releasing is the fact that, this one will be more safe and secure, keeping children away from the wrong things, ie porn and similar. Another feature will allow parents to see what their child is doing and allows one to block specific websites that they don't want their child using, ie games while studying. 

- These novel versions of its products will be likely to go further than the "safe search" tools found on browsers and search sites available from Google and many others.

Google's initiative follows other projects it has run that are aimed at children. These include its virtual Maker Camp, a Doodle 4 Google competition for young people and its Made with Code initiative.

- The company's plans could be limited by the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa), which specifies how much data can be collected about children and how it can be used. Heavy fines have been levied on firms that flout Coppa.

I find this quite interesting as I have a younger sister and other younger nieces and nephews and this will allow me to make sure that when they are with me that they are secure and wont access anything they aren't meant to.

Tesco joins retail stampede to social media in bid to create brand chatter

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/04/tesco-retail-stampede-social-media-create-brand-chatter

This article is about the way in which Tescos have realised that people spend more money when they find something through social media. They are therefore more engaged and will want to get it. For this reason Tesco are now trying to reach out to their audience through Twitter and Facebook. 

- In the first half of this year UK spending on social media advertising rose by 73% to £396m, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). 

- The clip helped lift visits to Mulberry’s website by 30%, according to chairman Godfrey Davis. “We thought we could have a bit of fun and we seem to have hit on demand,” he said.

- Waitrose has seen its number of fans and followers rise 31% on Facebook and 36% on Twitter since last year, when social engagement doubled over Christmas.

I find this quite interesting as I make use of social networking sites quite alot and sometimes what I do see on twitter or facebook, if I like, I will purchase, ie updates of new trainers or clothes.

No makeup selfie: Cancer Research's lesson on benefits of quick thinking

http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/dec/03/no-makeup-selfie-cancer-research-fundraising-benefit-quick-thinking

This article is about the way in which the no makeup selfie for cancer research was turned into a major fundraiser through social networking sites, and wasnt made official until it was put all over twitter, facebook, instagram, etc. 

- Within 24 hours, Cancer Research UK had received £1m in donations. Their next No-makeup selfie tweet reported this achievement and became the charity’s most retweeted tweet ever, with over 14,200 retweets. Following this tweet, the number of text donations hit their peak at more than 700,000.

- By the end of the week, Cancer Research UK had raised £8m. As a final thank you, they announced the money would be spent on ten important clinical trials that they previously couldn't fund.

This article is quite interesting as it shows how social networking sites play a major role in getting anything accross to millions of people & that social networking sites are only for communicating, but can also be used to spread the word to everyone, everywhere across the world. 

Sun+ signs up 225,000 paying subscribers 

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/24/sun-plus-paying-subscibers-news-uk

This article is about the way in which the Sun has managed to get 225,000 subscribers to its digital service for £2 extra.

- The publisher said that the figure has been stripped of any subscribers on a free trial, with the vast majority paying £7.99 a month.

- About 2%, or 5,000 subscribers, have a quarterly or annual package.

- The company has spent tens of millions of pounds buying internet and mobile highlights rights to prime sports events, its deal with the Premier League alone is thought to have cost at least £30m over three years.

-In October, the Sun fell below 2m sales for the first time since 1971, with 1978324 average daily sales.

- When the Sun first went behind a paywall, analysts guessed that it may take 250,000 to 300,000 paying subscribers to break even, but that was before the considerable amount News UK committed to its extensive sports rights portfolio.

- Duncan argued that the best metric of success is to look at a combined print and digital paid for sale, which puts the Monday to Saturday Sun at 2.2m and 1.84m for the Sun on Sunday.

- In February, News UK said the Times and Sunday Times, which went behind a pay wall in 2010, have digital subscriber bases of about 120,000 and 113,000 respectively.

This article is interesting as it shows how the sun have created a feature on-line which is considerably cheap and gives access to the readers to on-line news. The downside is the fact that it will not encourage anyone to read newspapers. Declining the newspapers even more.

Mail online revenues grow 41% to £62m in 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/26/mail-online-revenues-grow

This article is based on the way in which the revenue of Daily Mails online website has grown by 41%. It has stated the way in which wowcher got together with it, and gained revenue from it, by creating deals and showing them to the readers. 

- The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday reported a 5% decline in total revenue to £536m. Print advertising revenues fell 5% while circulation revenues dropped 4%.

- Total ad revenues across the Mail businesses hit £252m, a 4% year-on-year increase (£9m). Within this, Mail Online grew ad revenues by 46%.

- The company said the Mail Online’s revenue growth of £19m year-on-year outstripped the £10m decline in print advertising revenues.

- The growth in Mail Online, which just exceeded a management target of £60m in revenues for the financial year, stabilised total revenues across the Mail businesses to just a 1% fall at £598m. Overall operating profit at the Mail businesses grew 13% to £71m. Daily commuter freesheet Metro’s revenues fell 3% to £75m.

- Profits for Metro are combined with daily deals business Wowcher, which saw revenues grow 73% to £24m, which fuelled a 92% surge to £14m.

- The newspaper operations are part of DMG Media, which also includes operations and income such as DMGT’s stake in regional newspaper business Local World. Overall profits for the division rose 19% to £95m year-on-year.

This article is interesting as it shows the way in which Daily Mail have created more revenue and the way in which institutions work by combining themselves with another online website and advertising for them. Making it not only easily accessible to find out deals online, but also meaning more money for the business. 

Twitter unveils new systmen for reporting abuse

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/02/twitter-new-system-reporting-abuse

This article is about the way in which users of Twitter will be able to report abuse in easier and quicker steps. New features will allow one to block people and not allow them to see anothers page. The director of product management and user safety stated that this had to be done in order to improve the way in which one was able to report abuse.

-Twitter’s reported 23% year-on-year user growth in the third quarter, though analysis showed that people are engaging with the site less. Throughout November, the company’s top executives sold off millions of stock holdings with the company.

In my opinion I believe this is a good article as it makes sure that twitter users are aware of the features that are going to be available, and will mean that one is able to use it when need be. Allowing victims to report their abuse and do something about it, rather than dealing with the same thing again and again. 

Build the wall

The first section is regarding how and for what reason as the audience one should pay for journalism, whether traditional or high quality.

The second section shows the way in which newspaper giants should do something in order to change the landscape where the high quality news is reported by those whom are professionals.

The third section is about the way in which the newspaper industry are ignoring the threat of the increase in people using internet, from being something so small, and not so popular. 

The fourth section Simons discusses the three scenarios, the first one being about the pay wall and the way in which it is successful as the audience are all willing to pay for it. The second where they state that newspapers are becoming more local to their regions and the on-line pay walls go up. The last scenario, being the way in which only the essential newspapers have survived, and the small havent. 

In this article, David Simmons has discussed his view about the way in which the news industry has developed and changed over the years. He starts off by discussing what the newspapers that are considered to be on the top have and why audiences are so willing to pay for them and also the fact that it is the professional journalism that is being paid for. He also mentions the way as to how there is a threat of new and digital media, but was not established earlier, and therefore has created damage and has only been realized after the damage has been done, making it into more of a threat. To sum it up he then discusses three different scenario, one that is beneficial to all, one where the the industry itself only survives through unique institutions and one where there is a complete balance.
My personal opinion about this article as a whole is that newspapers have always been the foundation and the original source of news that people first used to turn to as news. However the fact that there are now on-line sources and apps that can be used that show the news in shorter forms, means that more people turn to on-line sources and easier forms. Including social networking sites, ie Twitter, Facebook and Bebo were everything is discussed, also known as User Generated Content. In my personal opinion, I believe that the pay wall should go up as the world is dumbing down and more audiences are turning to shorter forms of the news and this is causing people to dumb down, most importantly this will allow readers to read more of a high quality journalism.