Communication Theory Media, Technology and Society

For convergence theorists, technologies, media and policies have

each become more interdependent across both broadcast and network

architectures of communication:

No medium today, and certainly no single media event, seems to do its cul-

tural work in isolation from other media, any more than it works in isolation

from other social and economic forces. What is new about new media

comes from the particular ways they refashion older media and the ways in

which older media refashion themselves to answer the challenges of new

media. (Bolter and Grusin, 1999: 15)

66 COMMUNICATION THEORY

Technology

Medium-channels

Policy

Broadcast (wireless

and wired)

Digital TV, radio on-line,

news text on-line, DVDs

Electromagnetic waves,

satellite, microwave,

copper and optical fibre

cable

Broadcasters pressure

governments to relax

policies, because

‘ever yone’ can be a

broadcaster

Network (wireless

and wired)

Older network technology:

‘digital-enabled’ ISDN,

mobile telephony, from

analogue to digital

Altogether newly ‘born

digital’ technologies: the

Internet, mobile text, mobile

fax, mobile data, mobile

video text, networked PDAs

(Personal Digital

Assistants). Providing new

ser vices: home shopping,

banking, gambling,

searchable databases

Satellite, microwave,

copper and optical fibre

cable

Networking makes

possible the provision of

more information and

entertainment that is

other wise commodified by

broadcasters and telcos

(telecommunications

corporations) and now

provided for free. MP3,

movies, news – dilutes

the user-pays dimension

of media

Advertising not as power ful,

but its promise has caused

losses for broadcasters

Table 3.1 Digitalization as the basis of convergence, wider

bandwidth and multi-media (the ability to combine image, sound

and text)

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