In the age of New Media and advanced digital technology, old media is often thought of to be any form of media that predates the 21st century. Mediums that collectively identify, as old or traditional media are print, which is generally books, newspapers, magazines and anything else printed on paper, broadcast radio and broadcast television. In light of all the historic events that have been recorded on these channels of communication, it is often thought of as yesterday’s media for some. Many media experts have suggested that as communication innovation and technology advances, old media will become more and more obsolete. The general perception is that this age of media will eventually become, if it hasn’t already, unreliable.
With old media, a message is typically created and sent from a sender to a receiver through the previous mentioned channels. The receiver then interprets the message. Once the message is received, very rarely can a sender give feedback on the message they received. This is one of the variables that differ old media from new media. New Media generally allows receivers to send feedback to senders, which allows senders to understand how their messages were interpreted. New media has revolutionized many different industries and professions. It changed the way we receive information, how we receive information and when we receive information.
When considering its future, one must observe the historic significance of the various channels in old media as well as measure the capabilities it currently possess in today’s rapid changes seen in technology and sociology as well. One must understand how society’s views and values have also evolved exponentially in order to fully evaluate the relevance of old media. While new media can be credited with the social implications seen in recent years, old media’s role helps to expand and prolong society’s newfound sense of beliefs and culture. Each medium within old media has found its place in new media and can be utilized to disseminate information and send effective messages to the sender. Furthermore, one can also argue that while old media may be able to benefit new media, new media can also benefit from its predecessor.
What is beginning to be seen with traditional media is this a new approach known as convergence. Convergence is a method in which a media company may take to present or deliver content to media consumers. The idea is to, rather than compete with the new technology, use it to the advantage of traditional media and increase the consumption of content that audiences would generally consume. “new media may provide an alternate space for visibility and participation, critically interrogating the relations between the new and the old. The opportunities these technologies provide can benefit groups that are overlooked by old outlets.” (Geiger, 339) A perfect example of this convergence is AMC’s hit television show “The Walking Dead.” While the walking dead can be viewed on television through the cable channel it can also be viewed through the cable channel’s website. More so, a spin off of the show can be viewed exclusively on the show’s website, where it is limited to be played.
The idea of convergence is to create a series of content related presence in all mediums of media, both of traditional and new. Basically, the process of storytelling in media has now evolved from being a one medium aspect to a cross platform model. In the case of radio, we’re seeing instances where disk jockeys or radio personalities will have a show on a traditional radio station and then have a separate show online, usually through podcasting, in which the show is uncensored and may carry more content. Magazines and Newspapers have also engaged in this content delivery practice. Subscribers and readers can visit digital versions of their favorite newspapers or magazines and find different content between different mediums.
Content providers have also found different channels within new media to reach out to media consumers. These channels provide the content creators and providers with an outlet to market and promote themselves, relatively for free, through the use of social media. Social media allows traditional media content providers to engage a targeted audience and bring awareness to the content, which they are offering. Furthermore, it provides the audience or receivers of traditional media content with a channel to send their feedback, giving them the power they have been restricted to having for years but also giving traditional media the advantage of knowing how their content has been perceived by the intended audience.
Keeping in the spirit with convergence the advertising industry seems to thrive much more in offering clients a cross platform campaign. “Above all, marketers must create an integrated experience for their customers. Achieving that integrated experience will require every digital and physical channel, and allowing your customers to pick which they prefer.” (McCorkle,2016) With new media channels integrated with old media channels, advertisers and marketers can put out a much more throughout campaign that allows consumers to interact with the brand. Multi-media campaigns have now become the norm and are often offered to customers as a standard package in the advertising industry.
Consolidation also plays a key role into the survival of old media. It is a well-known fact that the majority owners of media range to six different companies. These companies are Time Warner, Disney, GE/NBC Universal, News Corp., Viacom, and CBS. A few of these companies have gone on to invest in several new media companies. Time Warner is currently invested in the New Media site Mashable. NBCUniversal has invested $250 million dollars both in digital publishing sites Vox and BuzzFeed. Vice media as received $70 million in seed money from News Corp, in 2013, for a 5% stake in the company. Vice has gone one to absorb the H2 channel for its own content driven television channel Viceland. For all its worth being a digital media site, Vice has still gone on to create a cable television channel with content separate from that of its digital site.
While new media has presented some challenges to old media, for all its worth, new media has in fact not killed old media but provided it with innovative methods that will keep it going far longer than experts originally speculated it would. Radio never ended the lifeline of print and video never quite killed the radio star. In the wake of text messaging and social media, e-mails, once thought to soon be extinct, remain a strong form of communication. The advancement of technology doesn’t have to threaten the existence of old media, if old media can adapt to it. While television and radio seem to be more promising in surviving than print does one must take into consideration that advertisers often create campaigns that run on a cross platform. “Digital media products will increase their strategic value in order to defend and expand the reach of traditional media players.” (Krumsvik,,739)
Its clear and evident to see that new media has perhaps improved traditional media. In the same way that radio improved print, television improved radio, so to has the Internet now improved all three. Listeners may now force radio shows to offer more music than just the same hourly rotation they traditionally offer. Publications offer more in-depth reporting with more fact-checking and viable data to support their findings than time constrained websites may do. Television content creators are now forced to provide more substance in their content as streaming services have made it more challenging for broadcast and cable television content providers to rely solely on “Reality TV.”
One can suggest that traditional media still has a viable future. With New media in tow that the future that once appeared to be hindered is now much brighter through innovation and adaptability. In finding compatibility between the new and the old media, a future where both can co-exist is possible.
