Chapter 4: How electronic media work
This is about Chapter 4 of the book. I'm posting two articles. The first one related to the 4th Chapter, the second one related to the topic of "Electronic Media and politics, convergence and control of the media." You have to write a short, brief comment about both of these articles (two comments: 1 for the first, another one for the second). You should be prepared to discuss this topic at our next meeting on Tuesday March 7th .
Give me your OPINION about the articles.
Tell me if the links between what you have listen in the last classes and the articles that I am posting here.
Click on Comments at the end of the post.
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If you have problems doing this, please just send me an e-mail with your comments on them before Friday.
Thanks,
UG.
Article ONE:
Actually, It's Amazing Anybody's Watching This Stuff
By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: February 24, 2006
The New York Times
TURIN, Italy
In many ways, it is a miracle that American viewers pay attention to the Winter Olympics at all. Here is a collection of sports, except for figure skating, that fade to niches, or to black, from one Olympics to the next.
You can marvel at the achievements of Joey Cheek or Ted Ligety, but six months from now they will be largely forgotten. (Cheek is a speedskater, Ligety a skier, for those in need of a cheat sheet.) Curling will be gone from CNBC, and everyone will wonder what you do with brooms and big rocks.
The reality of those routinely crowded mixed zones — where the news media gather after events to question sweaty athletes — will yield to sports pages in this country that are devoid of coverage of nearly all these sports.
In the four years until the Vancouver Games, programs for skiing, speedskating and other winter sports will receive negligible ratings, and those low viewership figures will not soar even for pre-Olympic events.
Consider that the most popular ongoing winter sport is hockey, but National Hockey League viewers comprise a mighty small lot.
It is astonishing that NBC is averaging 21 million viewers a night for the Turin Games, which is a testament to NBC's storytelling, the power of hype (though this time less potent than usual) and a strange quadrennial routine practiced by viewers these past 40 years. Somehow, they watch, as if the sports they formerly ignored had grown hundredfold in stature.
Much the same can be said for Summer Games viewing patterns, except that the United States is better in the heat than in the cold.
And the Beijing Games in 2008 will cause NBC the same type of time-zone woes that the Sydney Games did in 2000.
NBC is likely to face new and greater challenges four years from now in Vancouver, even though it will be a virtual domestic Olympics. CBS cannot help but see what ABC and Fox did to attack NBC's soft underbelly with new episodes of "American Idol" and "Desperate Housewives."
Electronic breakthroughs will further fragment viewer attention spans, and make people wonder just why they watched the Winter Games at all.
And what has amazed viewers in the past about the technological advances that NBC deployed for the Olympics already seem routine.
What, then, should NBC do in an environment of an Olympics every two years that has diminished the anticipation of the Summer and Winter Games in the same year, a practice that ended after the 1992 cycle?
Were we excited about Turin 18 months after Athens? Hardly. The biggest hoop-de-do was over Bode Miller's interview on "60 Minutes."
NBC's prime-time model is likely to stay the same. It pays as much as it does to dominate prime time. For Turin, NBC's rights and production costs totaled about $750 million; they will be close to $1 billion in Vancouver.
The best stuff will rightly be saved for prime time because it would be asinine financially to carry the downhill live at 10 in the morning.
But here are some ideas:
¶NBC should actually return to more storytelling. Once the home of too many overwrought athlete profiles, NBC appears to have gone the other way and isn't telling viewers enough about enough athletes. The vast majority of the 21 million viewers just didn't know most of these people.
Without a stronger foundation of profiles, NBC might as well just show the always-improving world feed, and throw in some announcers.
¶NBC should invest heavily in electronic graphics that give viewers a greater sense of what these athletes must do. Let viewers feel like they know far more than they do. Let them feel like an anonymous skating judge. It is one thing to use technology to compare how two skiers, side-by-side, traverse the slalom, another to delve deeply into slalom strategies.
¶Loosen the anchor job. Unleash Bob Costas. Get him out of his blazer and tie, get him outside. NBC's studio is removed from the world, and athletes and newsmakers must be invited in. Let Bob go out and play.
¶Embrace pay-per-view, or at least study it. Let viewers pay to see live what NBC tapes for prime time. There are already lots of live events on cable, and a pay-per-view model might please some fans, especially figure skating's. NBC would, of course, have to determine if such a plan would deprive its prime-time program of a significant number of viewers.
In Vancouver, women's figure skating might start in the afternoon, so it would be held for prime time. Would the real fans want a peek at the world feed before NBC takes hold of it? Would NBC even allow it?
¶Accelerate the interactivity that it is being tested on eight Time Warner cable systems with technology from BIAP Systems. Digital subscribers can press their remotes to view medal counts, athlete biographies and news about the United States team, but the technology exists to let viewers buy video clips and vote midrace on who will win.
Winston Churchill, the chairman of BIAP (and no relation to the former British prime minister), said by telephone: "When the viewer feels like they're in the vent, it will conquer passivity from the sofa."
But was sofa passivity the enemy of these Olympics in America?
Or is it a big, expensive event on the verge of jumping the shark?
******
ARTICLE 2
By The Media Line Staff
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
ABBAS TAKES CONTROL OVER ELECTRONIC MEDIA
Just days before Hamas gains control of the Palestinian parliament, Palestinian leader Mahmoud 'Abbas has decided to take control of the Palestinian media, reports the Palestinian daily Al-Quds.
'Abbas issued decrees on Tuesday, ordering the transfer of responsibilities for the Television and Radio Authority from the Information Ministry, said unnamed sources.
'Abbas also ordered the transfer to his office of responsibility for the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Hamas leaders dubbed the move "illegal."
Following the overwhelming victory of Hamas in the January 25 elections, 'Abbas is trying to preserve some power for the day after the new government is established. Last month he announced he would have direct responsibility over the Palestinian security forces. That declaration also raised criticism from Hamas leaders. Hamas recently proposed unifying all Palestinian armed forces under what they termed the Palestinian Army.
****
posted by ulises at 12:02 PM
23 Comments:
The Winter Olympics
This is funny, because it was the first year that I actually watched the winter Olympics. I am interested in learning how to ski, and I was inspired by the sports. I really want to have that kind of control and ability. But I agree that I did not know any of the athletes, except figure skating, and I still don't know. Curling? I couldn't understand that game. So yes, I think that showing viewers what is it that the athletes should be doing, what is good form, would make it more enjoyable. Knowing more about the athletes would not hurt either.
The idea of having NBC 1. create a more interactive kind of experience for viewers, 2. go back to storytelling, and 3. letting Bob Costa out and about to interview athletes, are great suggestions.
Interactivity is a direction that many have already undertaken and/or are exploring. They want to get people to further connect to what they are viewing on TV. They want viewers to have the experience of TV, sort of like or like if they were using a computer. Maybe this would make the technology more accessible to technophobes.
It also corraborates what the book is saying about convergence. However, I just want to talk about the dangers of all this interactivity. I think people can be easily monitored , and this is a great threat to privacy rights, and civil liberties, and even security. Wire tapping anyone? I read that companies are making millions selling people's phone records, and it is legal. So, imagine what they will do if they can sell our viewing habits? They probably already are exploiting this also. We are being used, big time.
I am not surprised that the Palestinian government has taken over the media. That is just one way of controlling the opinions of the citizenry. In the US they do the same thing, it's just that they don't announce it to the world. It is covert. I mean why is it that here in the US, we don't get many of the reports of the war, or many of the images? This is because the gov't does not want the American public to start protesting the war in large numbers.
Globalization has made the world into a small village and everything is connected. Don't be surprised if government officials have stocks, or are on the board of directors of many of the big media conglomorates. The media is not as free as it used to be and it is a shame.
However, there is a little hope, in that the Internet offers people the opportunity to talk, and report on things that are not picked up by the mainstream media. And let's not forget those reporters that continue to do investigative reporting, like the New York Times, and it's breaking story about the illegal wire-tapping authorized by the President. I guess there is always hope.
By ANDREA K.DIAZ
Article 1
The Winter Olympic Games just finished, and it seems that everyone was amaze. But, for what? Probably not for the technology but for the sports in the Olympics. Whatever, that NBC did to show the winter season of the Olympics was not a miracle or anything over what we already seen before. I am not saying that they did not, did a good job because they cover all of the different competitions and they did spend a lot of money however, with the same technology we have seen before.
I agree with Mr. Sandomir when he mentioned that it would be helpful to connect the viewers with the athletes and let us know more about whom they are and how they got to be part of the Olympics. It is also true that a couple of months after the Olympics, people would not even remember who won the gold medal in free skating, for example. Alternatively, if someone does is because he/she has been following the sport or because the athlete has caused a great impact. Something that will probably work will be to inform the viewers about the athletes before, during and after the games.
Something that I do not agree with is that this type of programs should be available for everyone and if they are send to pay per view, many of us will not have the opportunity to enjoy this. I know that four years from now things are going to be different and the technology will put the viewers closer to the actual game, but there is a lot of work to do.
Article 2
In the Middle Eastern countries, things work really different and if you ask an American about the issue presented they will disagree because of many things. For example, freedom of speech as it is something already stated in the constitution. Probably the President of Palestine has his reasons and has the power to do what he is doing and we do not really know what is the posture of the citizens there or what are they planning to do about it. In my opinion, I do not agree with Mr. Abbas. I think the media is the only source in which everyone can express and if is control by the government, they will limit the sources where the information is coming and they will have the right to manage what the people is getting.
Octavia
Octavia
NBC & The Winter Olympics
I agree with some of the comments that Mr. Sandomir made. Storytelling would help. It would be helpful if we actually knew something about the athletes. NBC should conduct a needs assessment by way of Survey or Poll. The viewers vote on American Idol. Another good idea is utilizing modern technology Graphics & Animations. Why not have an interactive video game created. Stage 1 of the game could be the Athletes in training. Let us see what is involved in the training as it relates to the Olympic event we select. Stage 2 The Competition etc.
Comments of Abbas Control
I believe Abbas is utilizing his power and authority to survive. He is doing what any business minded person would do. You can influence a nation if you have control over the Radio, News WAFA, Television, and Palestian Security Force. Hamas definitely has their hands full dealing with Abbas. David Sarnoff comes to mind when he tried to stop Armstrong with his FM band. Sarnoff influenced a great deal of people and so does Abbas. Armstrong failure was his inability to compromise. How Hamas deals with this remains to be seen.
Winter Olympics
I can honestly say that I could care less if the Summer and Winter Olympics are done away with forever. As soon as I realized the Winter Olympics were beginning all I wanted to do was find out when they were going to end. But obviously, financially, for NBC is is a big deal.
It comes down to the way television has evolved and the way people have come to expect different things from television in general. There are oodles upon oodles of reality shows that allows viewers to virtually be in the moment with the characters and then there are the shows that allow the viewer to decide the fate of the character. The Winter Olympics lack of interactivity through competition leaves even less to be desired. Why watch the no name characters when you can find a different kind of competition with the switch of a channel and find someone you can vote for or gossip about?
Should NBC try and become more interactive with the Summer and Winter Olympics and follow the list of suggestions? I think they have no other choice but to try another approach to gain viewership. Honestly, I do not know how any network can make the Olypmics appealing.
Abbas vs. Hamas
Hamas is taking over; Abbas is trying to keep power. The story is not new. I ultimately agree with the comments posted before my comment; the power of the mic is the way to reach people by the masses. It allows for easier control and manipulation of people to broadcasts what you want them to hear and believe. It goes on right before our eyes with every show we watch. With power comes money and with money comes control and that is the way of the world no matter where you are located.
Article #1
I do agree with the Olympics article, I believe that NBC should emphasize more the Olympics games. In ways that we as orients are familiar with what is going in each game. Who are the athletes, what they suppose to do and what the target for their achievement is. Personally I never watched the Olympics for the reason that I guess it doesn’t really attract me , unless there is a controversial person that is participating whether that person is from my city , or my country . The point is that unless there is some body or something really controversial occurring I won’t tune in because I’m not a big fan of sports. The article makes really good points when they articulate for NBC to modify their ways they usually conducted the Olympics. I will say if they changed the way they conducted the Olympics they definitely would get more viewers to tune in for that grand event.
Sasha Mejia
Article # 2
It doesn’t surprise me that the Palestinians government is having all the authority of their media. This is terrible because the news is not going to be said like it supposed.
Pakistan is not a big country like the U.S, which has more than 1 main radio or TV station, which provide the news. Personally I think that at this instant there is going to be nothing but good news towards the pakistanian government. They are not going to articulate nothing bad about them since they have the control of the media.
Sasha Mejia
Regarding the olympics, I think that giving viewers a background of the sport or athletes would greatly increase the number of viewers. People do not want to watch an event where they know nothing about the athletes or how the competition is structured. The article suggests giving viewers the options of voting on possible outcomes and viewing competitor bios. This somewhat goes along with what we were talking about interms of introducing digital media. Digital media gives the user more options- people want options. If they had the opportunity to view various elements of the sport without simply listening to the commentor, they would be more likely to watch. I remember watching summer olympics years ago and watching them do short video biographies of the gymnastics competitors. I though that this was such a great idea. They usually did them in between events, showing the person's story before they performed. This really made you want to watch the event more because you now knew how they got here, their training and stories about their families, etc.
--Jackie
By taking control of the media, Abbas ensures both that his party will stay in the news, and that he will be able to control what the civilians think (due to their small number of broadcasting outlets). This was a very good idea on Abbas's part because he can somewhat hinder the Hamas group's progress. However, since his party will have very little control after the terrorist group takes over, it is likely that the new government will regain its power over the media.
--Jackie
I also agree with Mr. Sandomir on telling the biography of Olympic athletes for the viewers. NBC should look into the polls and have viewers decide what they like to watch. NBC should also introduce the viewers the background on each sport, because I still don't know the purpose of curling. I feel that the controversy of the sports makes ratings how higher than the general winter olympics, since they said not many viewers watch it than the summer olympics.
It is not surprising that the Palestinian government has taken over the media. Sarnoff and Abbas share many similar characteristics as we saw during class. Sarnoff had authority over mainstream media, but Armstrong had fought for his rights. Abbas has a right to take over because if nobody will protect the Palestinian government then who else would assist them? However, Abbas and the Hamas leaders need to negotiate on the issues based on the Palestinian security forces.
Olga Mora said...
Article One
Personally Im not much of a fan when it comes to the Olympics, and that may just be because Im not really into sports anyway. But I do believe that with some subtle changes the ratings can definetly begin to soar. Just like many of the reality shows now a days, where you feel in touch and involved with the actors and what is going on in the show, NBC should make an effort to make the broadcasting of the Olympics much more entertaining.
Aricle two
Im not surprised at all that Abbas is trying to take control of the media. But I do see it as somewhat of a problem because unlike the United States where there are a number of different broadcasting stations where different opinions and statements are being said, now in Palestine people are only exposed to what is convinient for them to hear.
Winter Olympics
NBC and the Winter Olympics would benefit greatly if some changes would occur with their programming. I agree that the fact that viewers know little or nothing about the athletes competing does little to entice and draw viewers in. Americans for the most part want a good show with a great ending BUT they don't want to have to see the same program with little variation over a series of days to get see an ending/result. Reporters at these events are basically commentators it would be more exciting if it appeared that they were in on the action, that they were genuinely enjoying the event.
As for the Palestinian government taking control over the media, the American Government has control over every aspect of the American life, the difference is the Palestinian government is not hiding their control. Perhaps, in some way they are just trying to protect their people and their country. Here in the U.S., the government and media lets the world know all our vulnerabilities ie; subways not secure, water supply security, bridge and tunnel vulnerability. Then they try to make it seem as if they're trying to inform the public. They only inform us about the things they deem appropriate.
melissa........The Winter olympics
I agree that the olympics is getting less important to the viewers watching from home. I personly watch the figure skating and sking occassionaly, but if I miss it its not a big deal. It's boring, I am sure it would be different if I was there but sitting at home I could care less.
..........Artical 2........
I think that Abbas is a genious for taking over the media. Not that what he is doing is right but, having comtrol over the media gives him control over all the people.
The Winter Olympics
I guess NBC will have to face, in the next years, a loss of viewers during its Winter Olympics. I am even amazed that so many people are still watching the Winter Games. It seems to be more a habit than something else. In the future, the average viewer will change and may demand a new kind of sportive entertainment and NBC should be aware of this matter. Changed the way those news are broadcasted, detailed uncommon sports for the average viewer, their rules and their athletes, are one of the means they can be used to make us pay attention conquer a disillusioned public.
Abbas Takes Control Over Electronic Media
Abbas’s measure to take control of the media and the security forces shows how journalists can frighten an oppressive man. It is not also good news for the Palestinian people and their international credibility. If the Palestinian leader doesn’t respect the freedom and independency of press, how will he respect the freedom of speech and so the freedom of his own people? This measure wasn’t the first one in the world’s history and we can even observe such a political control over the press in well-known democratic countries such as ours. But this control is less obvious and very often with the consent of the press.
Article 1
Well after reading the article you chose to give us about the Torino Winter Olympics coverage on NBC, I must say that I strongly agree with many of the points brought up by the write of the article. I actually wondered myself as a I watched some of the events over the course of the days at how out of touch some things felt in general. Still to this day i really dont know too many of the winners in these past olympics, partly my fault because I have no accessed the NBC websistes for more info. What the write wrote is the story of the olympics always, summer or winter, some guys get all the glory during those short couple of weeks, come back home and are no longer heroes, they are no body's, until the next olympics anyway.
I failed to see the connection with this article and what we spoke about in class though.
Article 2
Although this article is shorter in length, I feel in connects more to what we were speaking about in class over the course of the last classes.
This is another case of the government ruling over the media, which inevitably will cause some sort of censorship. As we all know a government employed official cannot play owner to media in a country. The news and programming produced by such an organization will always be spun in a way favorable to anti political scandal and opinion, its purely unfair for the people who use that medium of media to inform themselves of world and nation events.
Roshawn Mckend-Pettaway
Roshawn Mckend-Pettaway
I for one am not too gone hoe, about the winter olympics myself. I have to agree with the writer of the article. They make it difficult to follow individual players because there isn't enough news coverage on them. They just jump on the scene and your expected to immediately fall in love with them. The events themselves are not practical everyday traditional events that the majority of people participate in. An example is the sport with the broom and the smooth shaped rock. I wonder if people actually practice for this type of sport.
I agree with the author for the most part of his article. However I do not believe it should be on pay-per view. Paying money to watch something on tv, means that the program is rare and special. Well broom hockey is rare and very special but I'm not paying to see it. Broom hockey is not exciting enough to hold my interest.
Roshawn Mckend-Pettaway
article 2
There is a lot of change going on in Palenstine and throughout the Middle East.The drastic change from one government to another is always going to cause problems,and unrest.For a government to give power to one man just after elections is a big issue. It sets up the grounds for a dictatorship. One man with a large sum of power does no government good, just take a look at history.
Ann Adhari
Article 1- This article is interesting because it made me question whether watching the Olympics or other programs is simply for entertainment reasons. Programs are created in such a way that viewers constantly watch for excitement. When the radio first came out, people were able to listen to music, plays and other forms of entertainment in the convenience of their own homes. Instead of once never being able to give up radios, I honestly think people are now more reluctant to give up their televisions. It seems that people are now watching more television. Although the radio is still used by many and listeners are still tuning in for music and news, television is much more popular. Broadcasting companies are constantly adding new features and programs, making it irresitible for viewers.
Article 2- I think this article is an example of all the fuss about media and how important it is to be in control. This article reminds me of all the important men that invented means of listening to the radio and television and their struggles to patent their inventions. A perfect example is the controversy between Armstrong and De forest. The article explains that when Abbas takes control over the electronic media, there is some controversy “Just days before Hamas gains control of the Palestinian parliament, Palestinian leader Mahmoud 'Abbas has decided to take control of the Palestinian media, reports the Palestinian daily Al-Quds.”
who is watching? I could not bring my self to watch it past the Ice dancing (if thats what you call it) it.
I wish thay would hire a more creative cameraman or do some helmet cams
Isis
to tell you the truth, i did not understand the article too well. what i did understand was that it seems that NBC used to be the channel were sports and reality T.V programs were aired, but now they have competition with Fox 5 and Channel abc 7. NBC seems to be loosing rating and its viewers. I do not understand what the article means by story telling. the article is linked to what was said in class about pay-per-view and about using electronic graphics which to trhe topics in class. the article suggest that NBC should become more modern to fit the viewers, this isse was also dicussed in class.
The second article also relates to what was spoken in class about Big time companies and peolpe taking over networks. Who gave Mahmound Abbas power to take control of the television and radios in palestinian, this has a link to time warner and Disney.
Laurie Moreira
Article 1
I think that NBC is wasting its money broadcasting the Olympics. I noticed that not many people cared to watch the games this year. It seemed that people were either unaware of the games or unenthusiastic about it. For the amount of money on technology that NBC had to spend on airing and managing the time, it seems to me that it just wasn’t worth it. I think that if the games had been advertised more and hyped up by the media, then more people would have bothered to tune in. I believe that people can become interested and involved in the outcome of the games if they players are humanized by the media. People will then become more involved in the game and who wins. As it was, I don’t think anyone really cared about the Olympics this year.
I also don’t think that NBC should go through the headache of spending the kind of money they will have to spend in order to air and manage the time difference between the US and the country the next Olympics will be played in. This just seems ridiculous, especially if people don’t apathetic to the games and who wins.
Article 2
I think Mr. Abbas is really hindering these citizens. He’s limiting freedom of speech and the knowledge and information that can be useful to these citizens. It’s insane that a person can actually have authority to restrict information to so many people. I think that he is acting as corporations do when they want to remain on top. He has made it impossible for people to form enough knowledge to fight back. The corporations, having all the money and power, can make it easy to push down small businesses in ways that may seem legal, although unfair. We see this in Mr. Abbas’ actions and restrictions.
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