Internet research

The internet is a massive system that enables the search for information very quickly. This is useful in the research element of the project as I can understand more ways to target my audience with the help of the internet.

Media production has in contemporary society progressed to a stage where media is dependent on the internet. The internets origins date to the 1960’s, an idea fuelled by the American military.
The rapid development of the internet in only recent years has created a convergence with other media institutions. Contemporary gadgets such as the Iphone and portable games consoles now are prime examples of the convergence in the way they have the capability to multi task. The convergence the internet has with the range of media production reinforces the impact and the significance of the internet. It is evident that media production is now reliant on the internet as it is a tool for marketing and is capable of influencing its audience.

Radio is an institution that relies on the internet to maintain their viewing figures. BBC radio now offers listeners to listen to their broadcasting over the internet through their live streaming feeds. The website enables a new way of engaging the listener in to viewing the body language and facial expressions made by the presenter , this therefore creates a closer kinship between the presenter and the audience as the audience can gain a greater understanding of how a presenter is trying to say something, evident through there expressions.

The BBC radio website offers a diversity of radio channels that appeal to nearly every possible target audience. The range offered on the website enables a circulation amongst its audiences which would result in higher ratings for the website and the radio station. The recent creation of pod casts is another contemporary example of the way certain shows on the radio ( an example, The Archers) and portable devices such as mp3 players have converged to become more easily accessible and gain more money through viewing figures for the institutions.

The idea of the internet making certain media production profit through viewing figures and purchasing certain content has come with its own criticisms. Market place economy where media institutions make profit from it’s audience is an emblem of the Marxist view towards Capitalism. It has been argued that Institutions exploit its audience through its costs for certain content . Due to the power of the internet and how it is used by millions of users per day it is easy for certain institutions to try to reinforce a message and be hegemonic. An example of this is the Annan report of 1977 which criticised the BBC’s influential attempt of predominant hegemony.
Linking closely to this, the internet has a big impact in the audience’s interaction in media production, the introduction of blogs, forums and social networking sites all help the circulation of a certain part of a media institution and the internet helps engage new opinionated audiences. An obvious criticism of the accessibility of internet forums on websites for TV Channels and Radio is how it lowers its standards to gain more audiences. The consequences would therefore be influencing its audience, which questions the sense of morality in contemporary society.

Recent benefits to the internet are the use of watching particular clips, films and TV shows in a simple way. The accessibility to these through sites such as Youtube and BBC Iplayer enable an audience to be able to “catch up” on what they have missed in order to continue with the storyline in the following episode, the increase in popularity of IPTV questions whether in a few years people in society will own separate Gadgets or instead, own a multi-purpose gadget.
Linking back to the accessibility of the internet, it is simple to gain information quickly which benefits a large range of media production, inevitably the easy access to images, information and talking to others via social networking sites benefits towards globalization.
A massive impact that the internet has had on media production is the unnecessary need of certain jobs. The problem with the technological advances of the internet means that some people are not needed for jobs, the consequence of this leads to a social frustration as the bourgeoisie who are in charge have their jobs whilst the proletariat are without, arguable this soon may lead to a large separation between classes in society.

After looking at and exploring the impact the internet has on media production, it is clear that the internet is a powerful force in contemporary media production. It is clear that the internet will continue to change due to the necessity for humanity to flourish and that it is inevitable that more convergence will happen between a range of Gadgets in the near future. The focus on society’s capitalist system means that the internet will always be significant in society, due to its power of gaining profit.