Any form of media is essentially just a communication and before technology really expanded media was limited to radio, television, newspapers, books and magazines. Now you can’t make it five minutes without encountering some form of media. Families used to crowd around a table and catch their nightly news on a radio, there are now four local and two national news stations on cable. The expansion of media is diluting the importance of some of these family bonding experiences. The family’s role in today’s society is becoming less prominent due to these new sources of media.
| The internet is the new leader in the media market. Any source of media can be found on the internet; you can read a book, watch a television show or movie, listen to music, and read or watch the news. The best part about the internet is that most of this media costs nothing but the connection to the internet. There is more than just the typical media on the internet; you can find whatever you are looking for. Although I don’t advise it you can look up how to make a bomb or find dates through a social network site. The internet enables people to view the sources of media that they want to view. |
The progression of the cell phone including the emergence of Iphones and Blackberrys are new sources of media. These new phones have full internet capability allowing you to access any media at any location. It is almost a bad thing, all you see nowadays are people walking around all day on their Iphones.
The television world has also undergone a revolution due to technology. People used to plan their days around watching their favorite TV shows, now that nearly every household has a DVR or digital video recorder you can watch what you want whenever you want. Companies relied on the media for commercials to get the message out to consumers, with the emergence of DVR’s people are watching less and less commercials forcing companies to find new innovative ways to utilize media such as product placement in shows. The HBO show Entourage is filled with examples of product placement; the agent “Ari Gold” always had the newest Blackberry cell phone, Hummer and Aston Martin placed their cars in the show, and a marijuana pipe company had their product in the show.
