New Form Of Electronic Media Volokh example essay topic

Democratization of Mass Media Volokh argues in his article "Cheap Speech and What It Will Do", that new information technology will lead to a large-scale democratization of communication. This will result in a much larger number of people participation, not just acting audience members. He cites examples from developing technology in music, books, magazines, newspapers and video or television to prove his argument. He argues that in today's society there is a bias of favoring the speech of the rich, and that much of mass media today is bland.

This reflects a bias towards money, and the message that are produced by the advertising, which go hand in hand with the source of that money. Volokh argues that new information technology will decrease the disparity between the rich and the poor, allow for a broader range of choices for the public, and allow a much more democratized media. Volokh begins his argument with a look into the popular music industry and existing system of music distribution. He states that the changes in the music industry will most likely have the least political effect of the different forms of media, however it is most likely to change the quickest (190).

He explains the changes that he feels will take place and the advantages and disadvantages that go with them. A large portion of his time spent dealing with the music industry is in relation to the rise of the use of personal computers and the effect it will have upon the music industry as well as all other forms of mass media. He claims that a new system will be put in use through which you will use your personal computer to download music directly from an electronic music database (190). This new system will have many advantages.

One advantage according to Volokh is that it will cost a fraction of what a CD would cost now, for the same quality of music. One reason for the cost decrease is the lower cost of promoting and packaging music, which will be virtually eliminated. Another reason is the lower up front cost to the artist. This is because artists will be able to upload their music directly to the database, skipping the intermediaries, the record companies. This will save the artists, especially unknown artists the up-front money, which will in turn benefit the consumer. This will help make available unknown artists to the general public, such as rap artists and salsa artists.

They were genres that had little funding behind them and were sold mostly at small, specialized, specialized record stores. However, with new electronic databases, music such as rap and salsa will become widely available to the public, without the public having to leave their homes. This increased availability will put much more power in the hands of the listener and less in that of the established record company. Today major record labels pick and choose which music will be released to the public. With the new system an artist will no longer have to persuade a production company that his work is worth the investment (Volokh 191).

This idea also demonstrates the second advantage of the new music system, the wide range of choices previously unavailable to most of the public. Modern music stores only have a limited shelf space, and therefore are only going to carry music by well-known artists that are guaranteed to sell. Electronic databases will have an almost limitless storage capacity, and therefore will be able to hold not what the database executives, or the record label executives choose, but whoever wants to upload their music to the database. The third advantage to this new music system is its convenience. In order to buy music today, a consumer must physically go to the store and buy the album.

With the new system of electronic music and downloading, people will be able to purchase music from their own home. Software will be developed which will allow people all the conveniences of a record store, pre-listening, reviews, human help, but all from the comfort of their own home. This small convenience of not having to leave their own homes, will most likely, according Volokh, increase the volume of music sales, along with the lower cost of the purchase and the increased number of choices (191). With music being the first form of media that Volokh discusses, books, magazines and newspapers are the second.

He begins his discussion of text media with its ease of being sent through the computer. Text requires much less space that music files and therefore may be sent in much less time over the computer. Volokh also mentions that text files are sent through computers through slow connections, 1993 (193). This is obviously outdated in 2002, however it still holds true, as music files take a substantial amount of time to transfer, while text files an be sent extremely quickly.

The problem with sending text files, such as books, magazines, or newspapers over the computer or the Internet though, is that text is much easier to read printed than on a computer screen (193). He offers a solution for this problem later. The first forms of text he tackles are short opinion articles. His response to this form of text is that they are short, and easily printable on laser printers. At the time, which the article was written, laser printers were still relatively expensive. Today they are much more affordable to the general public.

These types of texts and articles could be accessed through a subscription program on the reader's computer. They would be able to go online and choose which columns they wanted and when they wanted them to be printed. This system has many advantages. It would allow more readers access to a larger number of articles, along with producing a much large and more diverse number of groups. This would aid writers and organizations who were not as well known, because they would be able to be found by readers searching for articles on certain topics or issues that previously have not been available to them. This would ensure not only reader participation, but also speaker willingness, which is essential if a system such as this were to survive.

Volokh claims that this system will thrive alongside newspapers, but not replace it (194). People still like to but newspapers for news, and their own familiar columnists. Many new columnists will still prefer to be published by a newspaper as well, as that is guaranteed exposure, rather than trying to gain a following through electronic means. Second forms of text media that Volokh discusses are books, newspapers and Cbooks. Volokh argues that once smaller, more readable forms of computer monitors are developed, books, magazines and newspapers will be delivered electronically.

The smaller, more user-friendly screens he refers to, Cbooks, would have a "display the size of a small book and would fold open like a book, along with having the resolution of a book" (157). He states that the technology doesn't exist at the time, 1993, however we can clearly see the technology beginning to evolve in 2002, with the advent of modern laptop with their high resolution, and high definition monitors. Volokh claims the development of the Book will allow for easier and timelier distribution of text media, while offering all the standard features of the media as we know it today, in addition to new features dependent on new technology. He claims that Cbooks will allow readers to perform such current functions as book marking and highlighting, as well as new features such as searching for key words, ease of updating and foreign language dictionaries (158). Another added advantage of this new form of media is the ability for people to gain access to newspapers and magazines that they would not normally be able to receive. In Steven Wildman's article "One Way Flows and the Economics of Audience making", Wildman discusses the model of a one-way flow of media.

An example he gives is that of the newspaper, which originates in the major city, is distributed there, and then trickles down through the suburbs of that city. Then he shows the local newspaper made by one of the suburbs itself, which does not ever reach outside of the city in which it was produced (176). The new form of electronic media distribution presented by Volokh would not completely eliminate this, however it would allow for a much wider audience to view all different newspapers. The paper produced in the big city, with its large advertising revenue, would still hold more of an influence, and be more likely to be read outside of the area. However with electronic distribution, the smaller paper would at least have the ability to be seen outside of its original location. The new form of electronic media Volokh discusses would change what text media is available.

Today, high distribution costs pre-determine which texts will be available, and to how large of an audience. The large magazines, and the large newspapers from the large cities have much more advertising revenue, and therefore more power and an inherently larger audience. The new technology will allow the smaller papers, as said before, to not necessarily reach a significantly larger audience immediately, but the possibility for them to be viewed by people outside of their normal audience will become much, much higher. The new form of media will also allow consumers to choose which texts they want, and which articles. Custom tailored magazines will be able to become available for the reader to pick and choose which news they want for their personalized paper. This will allow them to receive specific types of news from specific sources or areas.

Graham and Marvin would argue these new communication technologies provide means to customized newt orks in "complex urban situations (270). These new technologies are targeted towards financially affluent, low-risk segments of the population and contribute to "splintering urbanism" (271). Graham and Marvin believe the ICT technologies' customized data environment creates a "personal bubble" which distances those who can afford if from those who can't afford it. This separation is what promotes the urban splintering process and supported by these forms of democratized media.

Volokh does not see this urban splintering as a problem. In contrast, Graham and Marvin would argue these new technologies, which promote urban splintering, are only beneficial to the affluent socioeconomic groups (270). In turn leaving the less privileged global population with no access to internet, and developing technologies which promote the urban divide and the unbundling of infrastructure into "se cessionary networked spaces for the rich. The third type of media Volokh describes is video, TV and movies. Volokh starts by saying the problem with video is not quality, but the difficulty in obtaining or viewing the quality programming which the viewer desires (158) In this case Volokh believes technology is the main barrier to video on demand. Ideally, people will be able to choose to view whatever they wish, at whatever time they want.

The availability of an array of TV programming will result in production increase then decline of diverse, high-cost production (159). This developing video on demand is prevalent on broadband and satellite systems. It is a media channel which major corporations are able to cross promote their products through targeted advertising. Schiller's article "Brought to you by... ". , discusses the efforts Microsoft, a powerful multimedia corporation, has given in order to develop the technology of interactive television (179) Platforms that would link televisions to computers are still developing and are strongly funded by Microsoft. Schiller believes the barrier to video on demand service is the deregulation of cable, due to the "ascendance of neoliberal communications policy" (177). Deregulation promotes a greater corporate influence and allows for strong targeted, cross-promotional ad driven market.

Schiller believes access to this new medium would be limited, being based socio-economic factors. His concern is for those who will not benefit from this new medium. Volokh would argue access to video on demand would be widely available for the minority who could afford with no concern for the section of society, which could not benefit from this new technology. These new forms of technology will act to drastically democratize media and communication. It will remove a portion of the power held by the wealthy, who have the necessary finances to promote and advertise their product through various channels of media. New forms of technology will provide a more level playing field and reduce barriers to entry.

They will take power from the intermediaries. I believe power will shift to the audience. The audiences' power of choice can be exercised in a deregulated and democratized multi media market, which responds to what consumer's demand, not what is supplied. The development of new media technology will have a profound impact on democratizing media and communication. Volokh clearly displays this in his article. Music, text, and video media industries clearly show future changes.

All three forms of media will be changed in a manner to provide increased power and influence to consumers and subtract power from intermediaries, such as record labels, newspapers and TV networks. The previous influence of these intermediaries will diminish in with these new technologies. These new technologies will allow consumers to customize their media according to their personal preferences. A democratized media will supply the niche market demands of the modern day consumer.