Week Three: The changing face of media 'empires'

The changing role and complexion of media empires worldwide can be linked with the ideas associated with ‘informational flows’. The Oxford dictionary defines an empire as ‘an extensive sphere of activity controlled by one person or group.’ For Australian audiences, the vast majority of our news has been provided by two powerful media empires- Fairfax Media and Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited.

The theory of ‘informational flows’, which are ‘global flows of information linked to the instantaneous and almost unlimited access to information of all kinds’ using online methods (Srivastava et al. 2013), have unquestionably changed how the likes of Fairfax and News Ltd. deliver news and information in the 21^st century.

Before the introduction of internet, smartphones and tablets, media ‘empires’ relied on traditional media formats such as newspapers, television and radio to provide information and generate money for the company. As a result of audiences being able to access and share unlimited information online, media empires and their journalists were forced to shift their focus to a digital perspective. 

Kawamoto (2003) describes digital journalism as ‘the use of digital technologies to research, produce, and deliver (or make accessible) news and information to an increasingly computer-literate audience.’ Media empires such as Fairfax and News Ltd. have clearly embraced the importance of digital journalism, with this evidenced by the introduction of smartphone/tablet news apps and online newspaper ‘pay-walls’.

                                                      

The introduction of new and social media empires has also resulted in a greater diversity of opinions. While News Ltd. and Fairfax still have an extremely powerful influence in the media industry, their monopoly on moulding opinions of Australian’s has been diminished by scores of citizen journalists ‘having their say’ online.

Another significant difference between old and new/social media empires relates to audience interaction. Whereas old media empires were mainly concerned with disseminating information to their audiences, a major focus of new and social media empires revolves around interacting and communicating with their audience.

While I am sitting on the couch writing this blog post, an interactive poll has appeared on the Channel 10 nightly news bulletin, encouraging viewers to 'tweet' their approval for their preferred Prime Minister (e.g. #trustrudd, #trustabbott).  This illustrates the importance media empires now place on interacting with their audience using tools such as social media, as opposed to media empires of yesteryear who were simply focused on one-way communication.

With technology developing at a rapid rate, who knows how many evolution’s media empires will undertake in coming years?

References:

Kawamoto, K 2003, ‘Digital journalism: emerging media and the changing horizons of journalism’, Rowman & Littlefield, N.Y, p.4

Oxford Dictionary Empire definition, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/empire, retrieved 7/8/13

Srivastava, S, Warren, B & Moore, C, 2013 ALC215 Deakin University Study Guide ‘Global flows & scapes’, retrieved 30/7/13