Old vs new media

To kick start week three, our topic of the week covered convergence in the media, specifically old and new media, as well as examples for each. We discussed just how far media has evolved in the last decade which has altered how we used media and for what purpose. The content was easy to understand, so hopefully I can interpret, for those reading to learn or have ones of those "ah yeah" moments.

Old media includes platforms such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television whilst new media, is pretty much anything else. A decrease in the old media paradigm whilst an increase in new media, as a result of technological advances, is known as convergence culture. An example of convergence culture is where we receive our news from. Back in the day, you would buy news papers or listen to  it on the television or radio, however that media paradigm is dying and being replaced with online links, Facebook and Twitter. I definitely consume more new media, then old media as outlined in the graph below. Not only is their convergence in the media, but also Technology. Channel 7's Sunrise, present almost half of their news on a lounge chair. This invites the audience in, allowing them to feel a part of the conversation/discussion taking place. The main notion we used to evaluate the impact of convergence on the news, are known as web iterations.

Figure 1: My Consumption and Production of New and Old Media

The first web 1.0, is known as the information web. Online news web pages, print, or television are saturated with advertisements, all of these are examples of web 1.0. The second web, known as the social web involves any online social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Wikipedia. Web 2.0 is most commonly associated iterations with journalists as it allows them to remain up-to-date with the most common ongoing public discussions. Finally, the third and final web 3.0 iterations is any meaningful, localised news which for me is the Bowen Independent.

My family does not buy the Bowen Independent, I mean why would we if we can look it up online, I mean it's cheap and available. However if I am expected to pay for something I believe I am meant to get for free, chances are I am not going to buy it, even if they online web page is ad free. Subscribing to a newspaper is something my family really should consider. Each Sunday morning my mother will by 'The Australian', 'The Courier Mail', 'The Sunday Mail' and 'The Townsville Bulletin'. It would be much more economical and practical to get a subscription then to pay for fuel.