Hi! Welcome to this blog. I’m Lauren Cochran and each week I’ll be sharing my thoughts and perspectives based on my graduate course work in communication studies. I’ll loop you in on the topics we’re covering and expand on how the overall media concepts affect us on the ground level. We’ll discuss national communication trends and what they mean for us from day to day.
I invite you to join me on this journey as I strive to gain a better understanding of strategic communication and emerging media. You can find your way back here by bookmarking the link to this page: https://lcochranstrategiccomm.wordpress.com/. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well so feel free to share your ideas and perspective in the comments section below each post.
My educational background is in journalism. I’ve always been fascinated by how people communicate. I strongly feel that when we study communication, we figure out a little bit more about ourselves as people. As I have gotten older, I am increasingly interested in a couple of facets of communication. One of those being how we communicate in groups and the different types of communication that exists in communities. The other is how our methods are changing with technology. The latter is where we’ll spend most of our time this week.
The prompt that guided our studies this week was: Are traditional media dying? There is no doubt that the landscape of the journalism field is changing, but in a sense, it always has been. The driving force of that change has always been technology. Over time, innovative communication tools have forced successful journalists and media organizations to be adaptable in an ever-changing environment. It’s become a “survival of the fittest” industry. How can we make what we have work not just this year, but five, ten, even twenty years down the road?
While it seems we are experiencing the “end of an era” in terms of changing media, it’s not a new concept for the industry. It’s one that will solidify strongholds for industry leaders and cause closings for businesses unable to adapt. Also, space will be available for new innovators to enter the playing field.
The infographic below provides a timeline for how the communication industry has evolved.
While there is constant talk of the transition of traditional media, a brief look into our past will reveal a common thread – communication is ever changing. The invention of the printing press in the mid-1400s changed the world. It made mass communication possible through the printed word and prompted a major industry shift in business and personnel. This innovation paved the way for the first daily newspaper nearly 200 years later.
The invention of the radio was another earth-shattering concept for communication. In different locations throughout the country, multiple people could hear the same voice over radio-waves, adding a personalized touch that had not been possible before. That element of personalization only grew with the invention of television that made it possible to not only hear, but view another person on a screen. While it was possible to change the channel or station to adjust the information being received, the viewer/listener had limited control over the content. The world wide web changed that. The receiver of the information could play an active role in selecting the content, by seeking it out. This also changed the role of the receiver. The internet gave everyone a voice, because it gave receivers the opportunity to contribute information or feedback as well. The addition of smart phones made that ability mobile and more accessible.
While there are disadvantages to changes in the media industry, there are clear advantages in the innovative transition. I spent a portion of my professional career working for a marketing firm. We tracked media analytics for our organization. With digital journalism, we can determine the number of times our organization’s name was used every day in publications across the world. We could get a jump on negative press the minute it was published. The readership is no longer limited the the number of subscribers in a geographical area, but had a possible distribution of millions because of the digital reach. Also, submitting press releases and maintaining contact with media outlets has become much more feasible with digital communication platforms. All of these are strong marketing assets and were not possible in traditional media.
While we relish in the new possibilities, we lose traditions that we have depended on for centuries. The newspaper was intertwined with our society in such a powerful way that it became part of the everyday human experience. This experience is now being replaced by another. In my hometown, Mobile, Ala., the Mobile Press Register, the oldest newspaper in Alabama, underwent major changes in 2012. In the early 2000s, the newspaper constructed a state-of-the-art building, solidifying its place in the industry, and six years ago it laid off half of its staff and reduced its distribution. Instead of a daily newspaper, the print-edition publication schedule moved to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with coverage on other days provided by its website, al.com. Mobile is now the third largest city in the U.S. without a daily newspaper.
There is a part of me that mourns the downsizing and closing of newspapers. There is something genuine and even nostalgic about holding recycled paper in your hand and reading the printed serif type. I am also concerned that other news outlets don’t allow for the depth of reporting that was previously found in the newspaper. The information is reduced to highlights that must fit in a soundbite of 30 seconds or less. Are we still telling the whole story?
Another concern is the way our news reaches us online. Analytics calculate our content and we are fed information based on the information we seek. This may only perpetuate our world view rather than expand our perspective. The newspaper, while attune to its geographical location, presented a variety of news in a way that challenged the perspective of the reader. When we view news and information online, are we still be challenged or presented with a view that is different from our own?
perspectives in communication leadership 