The Role of Old Media In New Communication Environment

Abstract

This paper deals with the different aspects of old and new media in the present world. Disseminating knowledge and information is the sole purpose of media and in India, the importance of old media and its influence in new communication environment is amply evident. Enhanced technologies and innovative product development provide an ongoing barrage of new communications that join the ever growing list of existing media transforming rapidly into old media. Today, new media can be defined as media that are interactive and integrate computers with multimedia and they seem to greet us at every nook and corner of our life. However, new media would soon turn into old media, but media that has long lasting effects such as telephone, newspapers and television, would never run out of fashion or significance. Old media is also evolving over time, for example, party lines in telephony give way to private lines as technology continually evolves. This shows that old media will also interact with new media over time and in the process develop better mediums of disseminating information. Historical linkages between new and old media have been consciously attempted by several researchers in the past. In the following discussion we will get an overview of what old media and new media truly means and what they entail. Further, the importance of old media in Indias growth and development along with its continued value in new communication environment has been succinctly noted in this paper.

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Introduction The role of old media in new communication environment is still present as traditional human interaction between face-to-face communication is still considered a better option compared to mediated communication (especially computermediated communication) which more often obscures than illuminates.

Traditional media or old media still remains a dominant force but over the previous half-decade the growing mainstream popularity of the internet has started to undermine some broadcast-era assumptions regarding strategic news management, both in government, and on the campaign trail. This new, hybrid, environment, one characterized by a complex intermingling of the old, the new, and the renewed creates particular uncertainty for old news media, established politicians, and political parties. The old media environment, dominated by media and political elites working in traditional television, radio, and newspapers, remains significant for Indian politics, but politics is increasingly being mediated online these days. The internet is creating a more open, fluid political opportunity structure one that increasingly enables the Indian public to exert its influence and hold politicians and media to account.

Humans have a communication imperative (Thurlow, et al., 2004) that drives us to maximize our communication and this is why we always tend to look for more information. We appropriate technology to gather information as it serves our own ends (Thurlow and Brown, 2003). Most communication technology, such as printing press, telephone, and internet is marked by humans need for dissemination of information and the desire to gather news. Traditionally news was

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disseminated at coffee houses or public squares that emerged as places that facilitate interaction (Alexander, et al., 1977).

In common with all of the advanced democracies, Indias political communication environment is now a hybrid, contradictory, mixture of old, new and what Hoskins and OLoughlin have termed renewed media (Hoskins and OLoughlin 2007, 17). Old media, primarily television, radio and newspapers are still, given the size of their audiences and their centrality to the life of the nation, rightly referred to as mainstream, but the very nature of the mainstream is changing. While old media organizations are adapting, evolving and renewing their channels of delivery, working practices, and audiences, genuinely new media outlets, driven primarily by the spread of the internet, are achieving popularity and becoming part of a new mainstream.

Today, India is enjoying a period of sustained economic growth. The government through measures such as RTI (Right to Information) is trying its best to disseminate information in all forms to the general public. Communication plays an important role in the development of nation and it is the most essential method of social interaction through which people are influenced by ideas, attitude, knowledge and behaviour of each other (Joshi 1999) Communication has attained a great importance as development of society from one stage of life and living to another can only be achieved by dissemination of information.

In India, majority of the population lives in rural areas. Old media or traditional media remains one of the most effective methods of disseminating information and knowledge to the rural people as they are yet to cope with the advancement of technology and advent of new media. Old

media as a means of development have been discovered in India for over 45 years and have been in practice throughout the lower rungs of the society. It is significant tool in the process of motivating people in desired direction. Old media can be the most effective in rural area, tribal area and among illiterates as they do not understand the language of modern communication or the new media. Even though the communication environment is changing but the role of old media to express socio-cultural, religious, moral and emotional needs of the people of society to which they belong is still widespread and dominant.

Media In India In the olden days pigeons were used as messengers, our ancestors used to train pigeons and use them as a mode of communication. Today, in India there are 1, 55, 333 post offices that serves the nation and India is ranked as the 2nd largest newspaper Industry in the world with a whopping 99 million copies sale every day. This shows that India has come a long way. But the role of old media in new communication still plays a vital role. In 2010, India had more than 723 million telecom subscribers. This shows that old media still plays an important role in present day communication. 1n 1994, there were 65 million listeners of Radio, and in 2010, 140 million listeners. AIR boosts one of the largest networks in the world. With 231 radio stations, the radio market continues to grow in India and in the future too is bright for the radio industry. Television entered the Indian household in the late 1960s and today India stands 4th in TV broadcasting with 95+ access cable networks.

With time, new media too has come into India and made its mark. Today, there are 5 million internet connections with over 17 million computers that are being used by more than 81 million

internet users. Social media evolution in India has also taken everyone by surprise. Orkut growth since 2004 is 500 % year on year and there are 17 million Facebook users in India. In 2010, India became the 6th largest Twitter using country in the world and over 6 million Indian users are registered in LinkedIn. All these data shows that India has overtaken most other countries in disseminating information. However, the social disparity in India is still predominant. To reach out to the rural areas, India has too continue using old media in the new communication environment.

Old Media We are witnessing accelerated evolution of the media, due in part to convergence, and the appearance of media as well as media-like content coming from a variety of sources on ever new platforms. The whole process and its ramifications require analysis, also in order to establish whether a new look is required at the conceptual, policy and standard-setting approach adopted so far and what changes, if any, are needed for it to keep abreast of, and be adequate to, the new situation.

As traditionally understood, the old media include the print media, film, broadcasting, recorded music, etc. Here, we are dealing primarily with the press (including print media and broadcasting), or news media, regardless of the platform on which they are disseminated, as they are crucial to freedom of expression, exercise of human rights and the operation of democracy, and so attract particular attention in terms of policy, regulation and standard-setting.

The news media, as indeed all mass media, are the organized technologies and organizations/institutions that make mass communication possible. They can be seen as media organizations (McQuail, 2005), operating in a field of social forces (social and political pressures, economic pressures, etc.), and performing a sequence of activities to obtain, select and process content, then assemble it into a media product and disseminate it, or have it disseminated, to the audience.

New Media The singular noun new media has a misleading fae-value appearance of simplicity. Far from representing a simple concept, the term new media encompasses tools, systems, practices and routines that have evolved from the convergence of computer technology, telecommunications and traditional media, creating new digital audio-visual media that transformed work in other media. (Aelst & Walgrave, 2004, 97-122)

New media communications includes websites, chat rooms, bulletin board services as well as email list servers, social networking, video-sharing platforms and others. Short message service (SMS) and the sophisticated multimedia messaging service (MMS) are also means of new media by which users easily share their pictures or video clips as well as text.

News today is gradually becoming more of a shared, social experience. The definition of new media goes beyond technological classifications but encompasses a set of components which includes their associated social contexts. Lievrouw and Livingstone (2006) defined new media as the artefacts or devices used to communicate or convey information, the communication

activities and practices in which people engage to communicate or share information and the social arrangements or organizational forms that develop around those devices and practices

With growth and innovations, new media communications are constantly changing and today, there are several social networking sites such as MySpace, Orkut and Facebook that have come to the fore. Today, the Indian social media scene represents a fast-emerging and influential domain that covers all the conventional media as well as the latest technological advanced media formats.

Disadvantages In The Use Of New Media While most advertising and marketing agencies have cited the use of New Media as a positive force, however, the credibility of the sources used in gathering information by New Media, still remains a doubtful point. The rapid rate at which new media changes or can be changed by innumerable sources is a serious concern amongst all. While trying to reach new customers and developing communication, one has to look out at the credibility of the source from which they gather information. Today, there are many unhappy consumers who voice their concerns about the authenticity of the news. Again, new media formats are exclusively digital in nature, thereby the cost of initial establishment and then the upkeep of the equipment, resources, and manpower needed may pose a significant problem for smaller businesses. From the India perspective, new media has definitely taken over the present generation in the urban areas. But, in the rural parts of India, television and radio still play a dominant role and they are the only means of disseminating information. Old media continues to be the dominant source of information and it

is a trusted means of information generator that will continue to play its role in the development and growth of India in the future.

Difference Between New And Old Media Many public relations practitioners and their principals look at the internet as merely a new technology to implement the same strategies and messages they delivered with old technology (television, radio and print media). But in order to fully utilize new media, one must first appreciate that the Internet has some basic differences from other media. (Fitch & McCurry, 2004, 116)

For example, both television and Internet can be viewed as revolutionary changes in communications but in different ways. Television changed the delivery system for information. Instead of a paper-based, print based word communication, people got information through an audio-visual medium. The Internet changes the entire communications dynamic between the sender and the receiver.

What distinguishes new media from traditional media is the digitizing of content that is done in real time to save time. However, when talking about new media, we should keep in mind that what is an old or traditional media for the advanced societies may for other regions be revolutionarily new in its use such as the community radio in India.

An expert, helping villagers to run a community station was quoted by The Washington Post: Community radio in India is not about playing alternative rock music. It is a new source of strength for poor people because it addresses their most basic development needs. And, she continued, Our radio is more powerful than the corrupt and inefficient village council. This seems to define the essence of the question of how the various communications technologies can allow us to test and push the boundaries of free speech and press freedom. Another characteristic that distinguishes new media from old media is dispersal. It refers to decentralization of production and distribution of media (as opposed to centralized production), to a degree of individual customization (as opposed to uniformity) and to its omnipresence. One strong point of New Media is that of their speed and geographical reach. In this respect, they look like the telephone and the broadcasting. Using the internet, one can send message to the other side of the world in a few seconds. However, old media, such as print media and face-toface communication are only able to connect to proximate others instantly. With regard to India, however, we have to keep in mind that new media does not have the reach of old media because only a small minority of the population has access to internet and computer.

Another strong quality of new media is that it has high storage potential. This potential is low in face-to-face communication, which depends on inadequate human memory. The accuracy or

exactness of the information transmitted is also an advantage of digital media as compared with old media such as face-to-face communication or telephonic conversation. The selectivity of messaging and addressing is perhaps the most important capacity of new media. However, compared to old media, new media lacks privacy protection. New electronic media and broadcasting media are nowadays stored in cookies and therefore one may argue that they are protected, but in the true sense, they are not protected.

A prime lesson of media history is that old media never disappears with the advent of new ones. With rise of digital media, the printed press, cinema, radio, television, gramophone, VCR and plain old telephone have not disappeared. What happened instead was that old media acquired new uses and got connected with new media. This way the role of old media in new communication environment has remained sustained over the years. (Downing, 2004, 157)

Importance Of Old Media While new media technologies are being hastily adopted world-wide, however one must understand that the importance of old media cannot be underrated. New media technologies have been described as tools to strengthen and weaken social democratization, while old media has been said to promote welfare as it reaches out to the roots of the society.

For many years, people have speculated that established media industries will disappear and old media will vanish with time. With the invention of laptops and kindle readers, people have also predicted that newspapers would cease to exist in the near future. However, no matter how much technology advances, the shocks of the recent recession have proved that internet and the new media onslaught cannot be trusted. People still believe that old media is important the shape the lives of the future generations and although the corporate and technocratic promises based on the full potential of human creativity and participatory democracies are still debatable (Wasko & Mosco, 1992), the advantages of old media compared to new media is rampant. As Sussman (1989) noted, the nature of new information technologies entails pluralism, diversity and twoway interaction and thus reduces the potential for monolithic, centralized information control and direct or self-imposed censorship.

Traditional media have a high value in communication systems because it has a special position in a culture system and it also helps people to appreciate the art of verbal expression, materials, or music that is displayed (Compton, 1984).

Old media can also depart educational purposes. Therefore, it can be used to convey knowledge to the public (citizens). It can also instill and reinforce cultural values, social norms, and social philosophy. However, in contrast to this optimism, experts warn that not all traditional media are flexible enough to be used for development purposes. Because it combines the old and the new cannot always done well. Sometimes this sort of thing can even be damaging to old media, so we must be vigilant. (Dissanayake, 1977)

Despite the many difficulties faced in adjusting the use of traditional media for development purposes, research shows it is still possible. Development messages can be inserted in performances that contain a conversation, both monologues and dialogues, and which are not rigidly bound to the storyline. Puppet example, one of the traditional performances contained in Java, Bali and other regions in Indonesia, which can be used as a medium for light construction. Shows usually show episodes Hindu epic stories like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Puppet shows are usually delivered in languages such as Java language, Sundanese, or Balinese are accompanied by singing and music-specific.

The importance of folk media in local as well as national development has been felt from the 70s of the last century for their participatory character. (Lent, 1978, 1) The folk media are better transmitters of communication as: one, they belong to the community and not to individuals, state or private/public industry. Two, local talent and localized message would have more creditability than those centralized ones emanating now from state capitals. Three, Acceptability, cultural relevance, entertainment value, localized language, legitimacy, flexibility, message repetitionability, instant two-way communication, etc. are among their

virtues. Four, Folk forms may be better carriers of the 'total' message--- welfare of the whole society in the many sidedness of cultural, economic and social development... (Eapen, 1976:1819) Dissanayake (1977) has also recognized the vibrating character of traditions and institutions of the folk: ...they are not mere quaint relics of the past, but vigorously active and highly functional cultural institutions performing functions vital to the well being of society: they provide entertainment, disseminate information, inculcate socially accepted norms and values, and perform a general socializing function. Though both Eapen (1976) and Dissanayake (1977) added some caution against using folk forms of communication for disseminating modern messages those relating to literacy, family planning, campaign against bride price, health care, pulse polio injection, female literacy or women empowerment.

Though India is a sixty year old democracy, television news is a relatively young enterprise to emerge in the private sector. The boom in 24-hour news channels that started in 2000 is gathering momentum. When the trend began, media analysts had serious misgivings on the role twenty-four/seven news channels could play in their pursuit of saleable stories. Initial competitive scramble for ratings and the resulting tendency towards excessive crime reporting and sting-journalism with hidden cameras, did appear to justify these fears.

New Communication Environment New technologies, principally in the form of the internet as well as mobile telecommunications, are creating major new opportunities for disseminating information, networking, amplifying marginalised voices and for creating synergies between new and old media. The potential of allying the power of the internet with the reach of radio offers particularly strong opportunities to

create more knowledge based societies. New technologies are creating much more information based, increasingly horizontally networked and highly complex communications environments. They are leading to increasing information saturation for those who are connected, but also potentially major new forms of information (and therefore political and economic) exclusion for those who are not.

Many of the inventions of the past century and a half, either individually or when taken together, may be comparable to Gutenberg's printing press in their impact on history. Consider some of the themes in the literature of this bibliography. Several writers argue that democracy depends on print culture and that the more visual, electronic media of recent years threatens this system of government. Some contend that our dependence on electronic media imperils our legacy to future generations because while modern media give us the ability to record more than ever before, they deteriorate rapidly and the technology on which information is stored quickly becomes obsolete making the data inaccessible. Some writers maintain new media that pass easily across national boundaries and into our homes -- radio, satellite television, the Internet -threaten the existence of the nation state. Some link the collapse of the Soviet Union to a flood of new media computers, facsimile machines, electronic mail, video recorders that came into that nation during the 1980s. Other scholars argue that modern technology has become so sophisticated and invasive that it threatens to destroy almost any possiblility of privacy. Still others maintain that recent developments in artificial intelligence and biotechnology may alter the very definition of what it means to be human. (Vaughn, 2006)

Media freedoms have been hard won and fought for but remain under constant threat in many countries. New international networks have emerged to help protect media freedoms and donors have increasingly made their support conditional on governments guaranteeing free media. New technologies have made censorship and state control of information far more difficult. While there has been a general global trend towards much greater media freedom, sometimes this trend has been confined largely to urban metropolitan middle classes rather than the population as a whole.

The media continue to play a critical role in relation to the fuelling, and sometimes in the alleviation, of regional tensions and conflict. Nationalistic, sensational and ill-informed (or misinforming) media remains a major problem in some countries, and is making a major contribution to inciting public resentment, hatred and intolerance to neighbouring countries, migrant communities or particular minorities.

In the latter part of the 20th century, a number of media appeared that were called new. Every time this happens in history, it is wise to ask ourselves what exactly is new about these media. Hardly ever are so called new media completely new. Most often, they combine characteristics of old media.

Electronic communication technologies, like the Internet and new media, offer businesses significant new ways of communicating. (Huber, 1989; Thompson, 1975) Given that the adoption of new media can significantly alter business results one must take ample care before opting for new media promotional services of their business. However, businesses should not

rush onto the Internet just because their competitors are there, they must have clear and compelling reasons for doing so. One must learn to balance the usage of old and new media services to promote their business so that maximum advantage of the new communication environment can be availed for reaching out to targeted audience. The new communication environment cannot be immune to the influence of old media and it is very much evident in various aspects of our everyday life.

Importance Of Old Media In New Communication Today, the Third World countries are participating in a communication revolution of new, primarily electronic technologies. The use of media in development has focused much attention on the tools, methods, and impact of message that create change within a country. (Hanson & Narula, 1990, 1) For India, the adoption of old media, such as telephone, radio, film and television has opened possible channels of communication among varied segments of the society. Today, old media is merging into the new communication environment that has been generated with the advent of computer and internet. News, movies and radio is now available on the internet via YouTube, internet radio etc. This has established the fact that old media continues to play an important role in the present generations life.

Today, developing countries should seek to maintain the compatibility of the old media with the new communication environments. New communication technologies should be cost effective and practical. Old media has served India for several years now. The Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, while addressing the Asia Pacific nations in New Delhi in November 1986 called

for a halt to technological dependence and for a reversal of the current trend of overwhelming dependency on industrialized countries for technology. (Hanson & Narula, 1990, 2)

Today, emerging models of media indicate that relationships between and among these levels of communication are both uni-dimensional and multidimensional. Cinema, radio, television, and video have traditionally taken their places in societies as unidimensional communication media, whereas computers, telephones, FAX networks, and so on, are twoway or multidimensional in the sense that they integrate both wired and nonwired distribution systems, and capitalize on those forms of communication.

Conclusion In the computer age, new media has ended the predominance of narrative by replacing it with the database (defined as a structured collection of data). While some "old" media objects such as catalogs, encyclopedias, and books of photographs may eschew narrative structure, most "old" media objects such as print fiction, newspapers, television shows, and cinema, normally tell stories. In contrast, many new media objects dont employ narrative; instead, they are assemblages of items which lack any thematic or formal development which would organize their elements into a sequence.

Despite declining audience share, traditional media organizations continue to play a pivotal role in India society. Providing knowledge to the farmers for agriculture plays an important role in achieving food security of nation and old media plays an important role in improving it. It will strengthen and reframe the agricultural system for healthy and better life style. This world

consequently help them to protect their natural assets like land and water therefore organic farming practices help rural farmers for sustainable land and other natural resources.

Today, most Indians who live in the big cities, are often not aware of critical issues in their country, such as unending drought and debt-cycles that have led more than 100,000 farmers to commit suicide in the countrys south over the last decade, a massive immigration overflow in the north-east or a sectarian war that has reduced hundreds of thousands of Muslims to living as second class citizens in the west. Even simple things like the fact that most Indian villages do not have electricity, drinking water and primary health and education facilities go unreported. Some estimates have it that there are in excess of 3 million Indian bloggers today. Most of them must reside outside India. But while India has a fairly intense online environment, it is also lacks hugely for density. 88 per cent of Indians have no access to the web. And I am very sure those who have daily access account for less than 5 per cent of the country. The achievements that technology has brought to the media cannot be undermined, but in an economically disparate country like India, where literacy rates remain low, technology can lead to parallaxes of judgment.

From the above discussion it can be rightly seen that the role of old media in new communication environment is very important and no amount of technological growth can demean the part played by old media in disseminating knowledge in various fields of life. Old media continues to depart valuable knowledge to the most rural parts of India by the means of newspapers, television and radio. New media can amalgamate with old media and form better

techniques in future to reach out to a larger mass but the importance of old media in our everyday lives would continue forever.

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