The greatest implications of this trend within the industry could be summarized in two areas: new content, and useful data. In a 2004 article for WIRED magazine, editor-in-chief Chris Anderson first expressed the idea of “The Long Tail,”6 a principle which suggests that there is a profitable market for content that isn’t ‘mainstream’ if the content can be connected with the right audience. “For too long we’ve been suffering the tyranny of lowest-common denominator fare,” he suggested. “Hit-driven economics is a creation of an age without enough to room to carry everything for everybody… now, with online distribution and retail, we are entering a world of abundance.” What Anderson aimed to point out was that given the advances in distribution …show more content…
TV is no longer a mass medium. But what does that mean? Let’s start with the good: TV programming is no longer created solely based on a broken expectation of the desires of the ‘majority.’ While there is still a long way to go in terms of inclusion, it’s clear to see that targeted programming allows for more voices to be heard than what was available in previous eras as networks sought to create majority-oriented and largely inoffensive content. In writing for “The Conversation,” Amanda Lotz notes that “audience fragmentation encourages television networks to target more particularly defined audiences, either by demographics or attitudes. Ultimately, it allows for more diverse programming that would have been rare—or altogether absent—when television was a mass medium.”11 She writes this after acknowledging the milestone of ABC bringing an Asian-American family to the forefront in their comedy Fresh Off The Boat. This idea rings true even for some of the more critically acclaimed yet lesser viewed shows (Girls comes to mind), and this still entirely neglects the swaths of online-only-cult-following content hidden in the depths of Hulu, Amazon, and …show more content…
While HBO refuses to make creative decisions using data, data on our own preferences has already influenced Netflix’s acquisitions and original productions. We have to imagine this trend will continue. It used to be that what was on broadcast television had the power to affect the way that we think. But in a “post-network” era of audience, programming, and cultural fragmentation, it’s worth considering whether or not these trends will cause us not to think differently, but instead to seek out the media that best fits our personal niches and beliefs. The effects of this could be devastating. Ultimately, the cultural implications of niche programming are widespread and with a nature of duality; more diverse programming is a big win, but if the big win is complemented with increased polarization, what really have we gained? Of course, that’s outlook could be considered bleak. It’s equally plausible to believe that the diversity of niche programming will facilitate new, smaller communities that have the opportunity to share and create perspectives. But with either way of thinking, it’s tough to argue that the changes in the landscape of television programming have profoundly impacted and morphed with our current
Over the centuries, the media has played a significant role in the shaping of societies across the globe. This is especially true of developed nations where media access is readily available to the average citizen. The media has contributed to the creation of ideologies and ideals within a society. The media has such an effect on social life, that a simple as a news story has the power to shake a nation. Because of this, governments around the world have made it their duty to be active in the regulation and control of media access in their countries. The media however, has quickly become dominated by major mega companies who own numerous television, radio and movie companies both nationally and internationally. The aim of these companies is to generate revenue and in order to do this they create and air shows that cater to popular demand. In doing so, they sometimes compromise on the quality of their content. This is where public broadcasters come into perspective.
The first excuse is economics. The business of TV is ruled by a simple declaration: Get the audience the advertisers want. The consequence is that major networks forgo the mass ...
Canadian television viewers were formerly very passive consumers (Miller, 2010), whom, without government intervention and regulations, would see that Canadian television programming would move to a United States based market. "There has been over half a century of battling what is perceived as “an ideological misrecognition whereby Canadians mistake American television for what they really like while simultaneously neglecting the Canadian television that they ought to like” (Miller, 2010, p.39). Miller’s media studies II (2010) sees audiences gain more power and awareness, but it wasn’t until that audiences’ recent shift towards aligning with Miller’s media studies III category, that set a landscape that is ready to see Canadian television truly flourish. This can be seen through recent polling, done by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA),, the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), and the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) (2008), “that not only is it important to Canadians to have access to Canadian programming that distinguishes itself from foreign programs, (but) they also want to be able to choose programming that reflects national
“A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory” argues that the application of film and literary genre theory do not fully translate when analyzing television, because of “the specific industry and audience practices unique to television, or for the mixture of fictional and nonfictional programming that constitutes the lineup on nearly every TV channel. 2” The goal of media genre studies, Mittell asserts, is to understand how media is arranged within the contexts of production and reception, and how media work to create our vision of the world.
Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is
One of the greatest exports of American culture is American media. American media is one of the most widely distributed and consumed cultural forms from the United States. This means that not only do Americans consume large quantities of their own media, but many other countries in the world consume American media, too. People in other countries will not interpret or understand the media in precisely the same ways that Americans will and do, nonetheless, many aspects of American culture and American reality are communicated to numerous viewers as part of the content in the media. The media is an important tool in the discussion of race, class, and gender in America. It takes a savvy viewer to discriminate between and understand what media accurately represents reality, what media does not, or which aspects of experience are fictionalized, and which elements ...
The cast members of each of the shows were put into situations that were constantly enforcing racial stereotypes, done on purpose by the producers. In the essay, the author argues that media makes the viewers have a struggle in what they choose to believe. She also states that society participates
The differences between the broadcast and cable television network shows illustrate one of the massive complications for content regulation. Shows such as Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, The Sopranos and Weeds, can thrive because it is not bound to the same standards and practices of broadcast networks. Professor Robert Thompson, the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, said “If you look at the overall landscape and go to the best stuff out there, and let’s take the last five years or so, just what FX, AMC, HBO and Showtime have been doing […] these shows are so much better than anythi...
The Mass Media is a unique feature of modern society; its development has accompanied an increase in the magnitude and complexity of societal actions and engagements, rapid social change, technological innovation, rising personal income and standard of living and the decline of some traditional forms of control and authority.
We live in a digital and technology age filled with information junkies, where there are media sources and outlets everywhere. Compared to fifty years ago, media has greatly evolved past television and now includes sources such as movies, radio, music, internet, social media, print media, and local/national news. Fortunately, media today has become more open to gender and race. Sadly, our media revolves around the sensationalism and discrimination of information, race, gender, and social class. We have moved past the happy nuclear family on television and are instead constantly bombarded with advertisements, product placements, sensationalized news, and voyeurism into the lifestyles of the wealthy.
Nightingale, V & Dwyer, T 2006 ‘The audience politics of ‘enhanced’ television formats’, International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, vol. 2, no.1, pp. 25-42
The russian novel, “Crime and punishment”, depicts the mental turmoil and internal conflicts experienced after the crime committed by a bright man named Raskolnikov. , Raskolnikov conceptions about the ordinary man versus the ubermensch are often blurred and indistinct in his own mind. His mental state and belief in the übermensch ultimately permit him and lead him to commit the murder. [Raskolnikov:] "I […] hinted that an 'extraordinary' man has the right […] an inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep... certain obstacles, and only in case it is essential for the practical fulfillment of his idea (sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of humanity)."
Becker L.B and Schoenbach K (1989) Audience Responses to Media Diversification, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Today's society is very selective; each receiver reacts differently through his or her own experience and orientation according to mass media. Therefore, mass media exists in many different forms such as magazines, television, newspapers, internet, motion pictures, and even plays. Some examples of these forms of mass media are cosmopolitan magazine for young modern women and TSN television network for sports fans. With such extreme varieties of mass media existing in today's societies there are three major constraints that seem to have an impressionable impact. These constraints can keep mass media very restricted.
Clancy, Kevin J., and David W. Lloyd. Uncover the Hidden Power of Television Programming: --and Get the Most from Your Advertising Budget. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999