The text points out (p. 252) that “numbers in the rating books are the basis for spending vast amounts of money, it is important that they be as accurate and reliable as possible.”
Much of it is determined on the amount of spending by advertisers, thus, the need for ratings. Since TV's introduction to the mass market in the early 1950s, the technology has evolved. Watching TV has historically been a "lean-back," shared experience. That is, we sit six to 10 feet away from the set, and often watch it with others. TV has evolved from color TV and remotes in the 1960s; the expansion of cable and VCRs and videogames in the '80s. Then a major shift to digital satellite TV in the mid '90s; DVD players and digital cable in the late '90s; HDTV, DVRs, and VOD in the early '00s. Television is a place where individuals go to clear their minds and be passive; though they may flip channels to avoid commercials, studies have shown that people would rather put the remote down. However, the increase of channels and the options of watching DVDs and other media have raised the bar; now, there is really no reason to sit and watch programming you would otherwise not. VOD isn’t widely used as the text points out, but that could change as the industry makes the use less cumbersome and less expensive.
VOD will change the TV industry in many ways. Viewers can program and view at their convenience. There won’t be a need to be home at a certain time to watch their favorite programming. There is the luxury of family members programming their favorite show, and watching it together or separate. (There is a downside to this in that the potential of fewer families sitting down together to watch TV.) With the ability to skip through advertising, marketers are having to come up with new ideas on how to reach targeted audiences, and determine where (and on which market) to spend their revenue. They will have to learn how to integrate their marketing in a new way. Without the aspect of “forced” ad viewing, marketers will have to adapt to the change. They will also have to accept the fact the audiences are more fragmented than ever before, as viewers are more in control. This could be in the form of sponsoring shows ad-free. I think that if VOD can deliver rich content with excellent service levels and absolute reliability whenever the customer wants it, the consumer will become increasingly reliant on VOD. It does depend on the offerings of the provider. This will require (on the provider’s part) the ability to ensure video quality and access to vast libraries of programming.
As the text points out, the downfall to VOD is the lack of tracking mechanisms in place to monitor consumer viewing. Nielsen ratings do not include VOD consumers to date. At this point, Nielsen is working on technology to capture what is viewed on the screen even if it is time-shifted and place-shifted viewing. As VOD becomes more widely accepted, and corporations, marketers, and advertisers become increasingly aware of changing TV trends and viewing, I believe will begin to see TV in a whole new box. Pun intended! I like the idea of being able to view TV as I wish. With or without ads, being able to pause and coming back to it later. Very innovative.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
The future of public radio
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/01/26/07
Here is a story from National Public Radio's On the Media. The story is an exploration of the declining role that music is playing on public radio stations across the country. For many public stations, especially NPR affiliates, the audience demand is growing, not for jazz or classical music but for the news and information programs.
Now, public radio has, as part of its mission to "serve the underserved." There aren't many commercial jazz or classical stations, and that has been much of what public radio has presented to its listeners, along with Morning Edition, All Things Considered, etc, so that they would musically be, "serving the underserved."
The story interviews many of the people in the jazz community in Chicago upset at the disappearance of jazz programming from the WBEZ schedule, and, despite their outcry;
I don't listen to the radio much. Why would you even bother if you had an enormous CD collection or record collection, like I'm sure you do and most of us do?
-Lauren Deutsch, executive director of the Jazz Institute.
No, I don't listen to jazz on WBEZ. I mean, sometimes I will in the car, actually. Primarily listen to talk radio or CDs. I have a CD player and I have a six-CD changer, and I bring stuff to and from the office.
-Downbeat editor Jason Koransky.
Now, I gave up on BEZ before we moved, four years ago, to the South. And the reason I gave up is because I thought their programming was horrible.
-Former Jazz Institute president, Penny Tyler.
So, like many of us, even Jazz enthusiasts who are upset about the absence of Jazz on the radio, don’t actually listen to it when it’s there.
The reporter even interviewed his kid and some friends who said much the same thing.
I find this exciting because I love radio and want it to live up to its potential. I want more for it and more from it than just music. With an ipod full of music, one wouldn’t ever need to tune in to the radio for music, but instead for programming only available from the radio.
There is a vast underserved audience in America for intelligent, high-quality, civil, civically responsible news and information programming. I guess every station has to ask itself what constitutes a more valued and valuable public service, providing a listener something he or she cannot get anywhere else or something he or she can get somewhere else?
Here is a story from National Public Radio's On the Media. The story is an exploration of the declining role that music is playing on public radio stations across the country. For many public stations, especially NPR affiliates, the audience demand is growing, not for jazz or classical music but for the news and information programs.
Now, public radio has, as part of its mission to "serve the underserved." There aren't many commercial jazz or classical stations, and that has been much of what public radio has presented to its listeners, along with Morning Edition, All Things Considered, etc, so that they would musically be, "serving the underserved."
The story interviews many of the people in the jazz community in Chicago upset at the disappearance of jazz programming from the WBEZ schedule, and, despite their outcry;
I don't listen to the radio much. Why would you even bother if you had an enormous CD collection or record collection, like I'm sure you do and most of us do?
-Lauren Deutsch, executive director of the Jazz Institute.
No, I don't listen to jazz on WBEZ. I mean, sometimes I will in the car, actually. Primarily listen to talk radio or CDs. I have a CD player and I have a six-CD changer, and I bring stuff to and from the office.
-Downbeat editor Jason Koransky.
Now, I gave up on BEZ before we moved, four years ago, to the South. And the reason I gave up is because I thought their programming was horrible.
-Former Jazz Institute president, Penny Tyler.
So, like many of us, even Jazz enthusiasts who are upset about the absence of Jazz on the radio, don’t actually listen to it when it’s there.
The reporter even interviewed his kid and some friends who said much the same thing.
I find this exciting because I love radio and want it to live up to its potential. I want more for it and more from it than just music. With an ipod full of music, one wouldn’t ever need to tune in to the radio for music, but instead for programming only available from the radio.
There is a vast underserved audience in America for intelligent, high-quality, civil, civically responsible news and information programming. I guess every station has to ask itself what constitutes a more valued and valuable public service, providing a listener something he or she cannot get anywhere else or something he or she can get somewhere else?
Sunday, January 28, 2007
DJ arrested for releasing mixtapes...illegal or unethical?
I really dislike the way our course book addresses the ethical issue of illegal downloading. It’s felt it was one sided. On the other hand, I can’t disagree that it captures the excuses typically given by people who illegally down load. The battle of the record industry versus the consumer on making illegal copies is not new. As pointed out by some of my class mates there is little difference from taping a song off the radio (which is what was done before technology advanced to downloading) and the same with borrowing CD’s from the library to rip into MP3’s. Now comes another turn on the ethical question of the use of music illegally.
A few days ago I was listening to NPR on the way to work and overheard an interview with writer Kelefa Sanneeh of The New York Times discussing the arrest of a popular mixtape producer named DJ Drama (Mixtapes are remixes that feature unreleased remixes, previews from forth coming CD’s, causal freestyle rhymes, and goofs, according to Sanneeh). These tapes, actually CD’s, are created and released without permission of the record companies. There release violates copy right laws and piracy laws. Hip Hop artist according to Sanneeh will frequently use the mixtapes to promote their music. In some cases the production of a mixtape is funded and distributed legally by the record companies.
What peeked my interest about this story was that DJ Drama’s mixes were still available on iTunes, Amazon.com and other online sources after his arrest. I could understand shutting down the source that produces the music, but why didn’t the record companies go after iTunes or Amazon.com? Instead they are choosing to target DJ’s and the local record stores that sell these CD’s. For Promotion Only CD’s, which these are labeled, have been sold for years and obviously the record companies are to understaffed to chase down every record store that sells these CD’s.
I am really beginning believe this is not about artist rights, legality or ethics. It’s about squeezing money out of the consumer and making them feel guilty for how they chose to access music based on a moral standard set but an industry that has little respect for artist in the first place.
Other questions that arose for me from reading this article:
Are DJ’s allowed to be artist? Why does their art have to be legal? Who benefits? Why can’t the money be worked out?
Interview on NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6939435
Article on NY Times (unfortunately no longer free…that’s another story) so I am attaching the full length article below published New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)).
Copyright New York Times Company Jan 18, 2007
In the world of hip-hop few music executives have more influence than DJ Drama. His ''Gangsta Grillz'' compilations have helped define this decade's Southern rap explosion. He has been instrumental in the careers of rappers like Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne. He appears on the cover of the March issue of the hip-hop magazine XXL, alongside his friend and business partner T.I., the top-selling rapper of 2006. And later this year DJ Drama is scheduled to make his Atlantic Records debut with ''Gangsta Grillz: The Album.''
Now DJ Drama is yet another symbol of the music industry's turmoil and confusion.
On Tuesday night he was arrested with Don Cannon, a protege. The police, working with the Recording Industry Association of America, raided his office, at
DJ Drama (whose real name is Tyree Simmons) and Mr. Cannon were each charged with a felony violation of Georgia's Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization law(known as RICO) and held on $100,000 bond.
The compilations produced by DJ Drama and his proteges are known as mixtapes, though they appear on CDs, not cassettes. Mixtapes have become a vital part of the hip-hop world. They are often the only way for listeners to keep up with a genre that moves too quickly to be captured on albums. On a mixtape you can hear unreleased remixes, sneak previews from coming CDs, casual freestyle rhymes, never-to-be-released goofs.
Mixtapes are, by definition, unregulated: DJs don't get permission from record companies, and record companies have traditionally ignored and sometimes bankrolled mixtapes, reasoning that they serve as valuable promotional tools. And rappers have grown increasingly canny at using mixtapes to promote themselves. The career of 50 Cent has a lot to do with his mastery of the mixtape form, and now no serious rapper can afford to be absent from this market for too long.
As mixtapes evolved from a street-corner phenomenon to a cornerstone of the hip-hop industry, record companies tried to figure out ways to cash in. Mixtape D.J.'s like DJ Clue, DJ Kay Slay and others have released major-label compilations full of tracks that abide by copyright rules. But it's not easy to turn a mixtape into something you can legally sell: part of the fun is hearing rappers remake one another's songs and respond to one another's taunts; a great mixtape captures the controlled chaos that hip-hop thrives on.
DJ Drama's mixtapes are often great. He has turned ''Gangsta Grillz'' into a prestige brand: each is a carefully compiled disc, full of exclusive tracks, devoted to a single rapper who is also the host. Rappers often seem proud to be considered good enough for a ''Gangsta Grillz'' mixtape. On ''Dedication,'' the first of his two excellent ''Gangsta Grillz'' mixtapes, Lil Wayne announces, ''I hooked up with dude, now we 'bout to make history.'' The compilation showed off Lil Wayne more effectively than his albums ever had, and ''Dedication'' helped revive his career. When some unreleased tracks by T.I. leaked to the Internet, T.I. teamed up with DJ Drama for a pre-emptive strike: together, they created a mixtape called ''The Leak.''
As mixtapes have grown more popular, they have also grown easier to purchase, despite that official-sounding declaration -- ''For Promotional Use Only'' -- printed on every one. Sites like mixunit.com specialize in selling them, and big record shops and online stores have followed suit. As of yesterday DJ Drama was sitting in jail, but dozens of his unlicensed compilations were still available at the iTunes shop.
Brad A. Buckles, executive vice president for anti-piracy at the Recording Industry Association of America, said, ''A sound recording is either copyrighted or it's not.'' And he said the DJ Drama case, like most piracy cases, began with illegal product, which was then traced back to the distributor. Chief Baker said that before the raid, DJ Drama and Mr. Cannon were sent cease-and-desist letters from a local lawyer.
There have been mixtape busts before: in 2005, five employees of Mondo Kim's, in the
It also seems clear that mixtapes can actually bolster an artist's sales. The most recent Lil Wayne solo album, ''Tha Carter II'' (Cash Money/Universal), sold more than a million copies, though none of its singles climbed any higher than No. 32 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. That's an impressive feat, and it's hard to imagine how he would have done it without help from a friendly pirate.
Politics and Blogging
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Technology/story?id=2800458&page=1
The world of blogging has made its way into our judicial system! What’s interesting is 1) Dick Cheney is the first sitting member to testify in a criminal case, and 2) the presence of bloggers in a trial. According to the article, bloggers are “credentialed media for the district court case.” It’s an opportunity for everyday folk (who don’t work for big media) to take part in observing and relaying details of a case that would otherwise not be afforded to them (or the public).
I find a few things interesting about this: we now have ordinary citizens that potentially will relay information without too much bias. I say this only because they are people that have not been in the industry, don’t know the ropes, are not swayed by editors, and are not influenced by politicians. In other words, they are individuals with nothing to lose – they have no “credibility”. Of course, this goes without saying, you also have the aspect of information that is not confirmed or denied, thus, the potential of reporting false information. But, that aspect alone doesn’t necessarily mean anything if you’re an individual that gets your news from People magazine or the like!
I find this new medium to be in its infancy, and can or cannot have a powerful impact on our daily lives. I guess it will depend on accuracy. If bloggers can find a way to report information in a way that can be substantiated, and have the potential of making contact with those in the story, I think we will begin to see a new way of receiving important information that would otherwise not be available to us without watching KIRO, KOMO, CNN, etc.
The world of blogging has made its way into our judicial system! What’s interesting is 1) Dick Cheney is the first sitting member to testify in a criminal case, and 2) the presence of bloggers in a trial. According to the article, bloggers are “credentialed media for the district court case.” It’s an opportunity for everyday folk (who don’t work for big media) to take part in observing and relaying details of a case that would otherwise not be afforded to them (or the public).
I find a few things interesting about this: we now have ordinary citizens that potentially will relay information without too much bias. I say this only because they are people that have not been in the industry, don’t know the ropes, are not swayed by editors, and are not influenced by politicians. In other words, they are individuals with nothing to lose – they have no “credibility”. Of course, this goes without saying, you also have the aspect of information that is not confirmed or denied, thus, the potential of reporting false information. But, that aspect alone doesn’t necessarily mean anything if you’re an individual that gets your news from People magazine or the like!
I find this new medium to be in its infancy, and can or cannot have a powerful impact on our daily lives. I guess it will depend on accuracy. If bloggers can find a way to report information in a way that can be substantiated, and have the potential of making contact with those in the story, I think we will begin to see a new way of receiving important information that would otherwise not be available to us without watching KIRO, KOMO, CNN, etc.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Hello
Hi everybody! another new bloger, and I am a bit nervous and excited at the same time. I hope it is going to be less confusing and more fun as the time goes by. at the moment i am checking in for attendance.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Media Reform
Bill Moyers’ speech at the National Conference for Media Reform
Text version
http://freepress.net/news/print/20357
Audio version
http://www.freepress.net/conference/audio07/NCMR07_moyers.mp3
A little background on the author: Bill Moyer is a journalist who has had programs aired on PBS, NBC, and MSNBC. Moyer speaks from the left and has been criticized for his liberal biases. He has been off the past couple of years, but is returning to PBS in April, 2007 (wikipedia).
I heard this piece aired Sunday morning on KEXP’s Public Affairs program. I was surprised how it overlapped with our reading and the discussions on blackboard. I was even more surprised when I understood some of the references Bill Moyers made in his speech. What drew me to look further in to his speech was the insight about media from the perspective of a journalist versus my own opinions as a consumer. He is passionate about the state of the media; Moyers refers to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as a “monstrous assault on democracy, with malignant consequences for journalism…a welfare giveaway to the largest, richest and most powerful media conglomerations.”
According to Moyers, the three basic pillars of American society are shared economic prosperity, a public sector capable of serving the common good, and an independent press. I agree and think these are what society should strive for. The independent journalists bring important information to the public that other media and government may not disclose. It seems that the independent press is struggling to hold its place in the media, being bullied by the major conglomerates and government regulations. However, by uniting these small groups of independent journalist they will be a powerful force to wreckin with.
I found the statistics regarding 9/11 particularly disturbing. According to the watchdog group FAIR only 3% of US sources on the major networks expressed dissenting views of the impending war despite 25%(at the time) of the US population being against the war. This discrepancy between the people and the represented media is frightening, without the dissenting voice we are left vulnerable to “group think” where each person or article confirms the beliefs or statement of the previous one, often erroneously.
Moyers expressed concern about the digital age, “what happened to radio, happened to television, and then it happened to cable; and if we are not diligent, it will happen to the internet.” I see this trend happening very quickly on the internet and hope this “window to the world” does not turn into another advertising mogul.
My last thought, I was happy to see Moyer designated a few lines in his speech to the reoccurring theme in our discussions about helping people who cannot afford computers/internet service connect to the digital revolution.
Text version
http://freepress.net/news/print/20357
Audio version
http://www.freepress.net/conference/audio07/NCMR07_moyers.mp3
A little background on the author: Bill Moyer is a journalist who has had programs aired on PBS, NBC, and MSNBC. Moyer speaks from the left and has been criticized for his liberal biases. He has been off the past couple of years, but is returning to PBS in April, 2007 (wikipedia).
I heard this piece aired Sunday morning on KEXP’s Public Affairs program. I was surprised how it overlapped with our reading and the discussions on blackboard. I was even more surprised when I understood some of the references Bill Moyers made in his speech. What drew me to look further in to his speech was the insight about media from the perspective of a journalist versus my own opinions as a consumer. He is passionate about the state of the media; Moyers refers to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as a “monstrous assault on democracy, with malignant consequences for journalism…a welfare giveaway to the largest, richest and most powerful media conglomerations.”
According to Moyers, the three basic pillars of American society are shared economic prosperity, a public sector capable of serving the common good, and an independent press. I agree and think these are what society should strive for. The independent journalists bring important information to the public that other media and government may not disclose. It seems that the independent press is struggling to hold its place in the media, being bullied by the major conglomerates and government regulations. However, by uniting these small groups of independent journalist they will be a powerful force to wreckin with.
I found the statistics regarding 9/11 particularly disturbing. According to the watchdog group FAIR only 3% of US sources on the major networks expressed dissenting views of the impending war despite 25%(at the time) of the US population being against the war. This discrepancy between the people and the represented media is frightening, without the dissenting voice we are left vulnerable to “group think” where each person or article confirms the beliefs or statement of the previous one, often erroneously.
Moyers expressed concern about the digital age, “what happened to radio, happened to television, and then it happened to cable; and if we are not diligent, it will happen to the internet.” I see this trend happening very quickly on the internet and hope this “window to the world” does not turn into another advertising mogul.
My last thought, I was happy to see Moyer designated a few lines in his speech to the reoccurring theme in our discussions about helping people who cannot afford computers/internet service connect to the digital revolution.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
In a way, this looks a bit like the myspace comments field...remind anyone else of that? Other than that I think I am a first time blogger. Or wait, do I just not usually call them blogs? I am on a pregnancy website where we all post stuff to eachother that everyone in the community can see....huh, maybe I am just new to the term!
Hey!
So I've noticed my handle is on the roster twice. Anybody know how to rectify that? And by the way, what are we suppose to do here, tell jokes? Just kidding...
Hi
Like the majority of the class I am also a new person to blogging. I am looking forward to the experience and it sounds like a lot of fun.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Hello!
Alright. I'm a little confused here, but I'm just checking in and posting my first blog... I'm a little excited because I have never done this before but I've heard a lot about it.... It doesn't look anything like the usual facebook or myspace that I'm used to though!
...Which might actually be a good thing..... :)
...Which might actually be a good thing..... :)
HELLO
Hello, I am also a first time blogger, so I am figuring things out! I just wanted to check in!
Hello
Hey fellow bloggers! I'm excited to try blogging... this is my first experience with it and my first post! Anyone else out there a first time blogger? Good luck everyone!
Blogging
Hello everyone, I'm a little bit nervous, since this is my first time blogging. I hope everything gets less confusing as the quarter goes on. I'm curious about what we are going to be blogging. Any ideas?
Hello all
well i am really having a chance to increasingly interact with the world through this computer. and i can't decide how i feel about it yet. i must say that the whole "being able to touch the world" idea is pretty cool. did anyone hear the article on NPR last night about congressional imperialism? there was a part of the report that addressed net neutrality. very interesting if you can catch it http://www.kuow.org/programs/kuow_presents.asp it currently isn't on the archival list but maybe by the end of the week?
I'm here
I've managed to post on a blog for the first time. At least I hope this makes it to the main page...
Christine
Christine
Monday, January 22, 2007
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