Name(s):

1. Peh Xin Ying

Topic: Media and Communication Individual Assignment

Title: Compare and Contrast Two Mass Media Forms

Marks:
Comments:

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Compare and contrast two forms of mass-media technologies. Discuss their relevance in the world
today, and gauge which media technology is more effective in communicating to the masses.
I will be doing a comparison between two mass-media technologies; one traditional, one modern. I
will be focusing on newspapers, which is a form of traditional print media and social networking
websites such as Facebook, which represents the current medium that is frequently utilized by the
masses in todays digital age.

a.

Give a brief history of the selected media technologies. Is it the same now as it was
when it was first invented. Has the technology changed?

Newspapers
Before newspapers were invented in the early 17th century, news was channeled through
government bulletins that were circulated in centralized areas with a mass populace. Only two major
kinds of periodical news publications existed: the handwritten news sheet, and single item news
publications which were both circulated simultaneously. Once Johannes Gutenbergs printing press
was invented, it led to a printing revolution produced the first forms of printed media which
introduced an era of mass communication. Hence, this is why journalists are often referred to as the
press due to the use of the printing press for mass production.
According to Barber (2014), the early days of newspapers often held political overtones. It played a
prominent role in wars, as it was utilized as a medium to circulate propaganda in order to influence
public opinion. These newspapers were often read by the higher fractions of society, who are
literate and aware of public affairs. Journalism, at this point, held a rather no-barred style which is
considered to be libelous by todays modern standards, reported mostly on political happenings.
In this day and era, newspapers are also more accessible, and are also read by laymen instead of just
the more educated minority when it was first invented. According to Stephens (2000), newspapers
also play a role in commerce through the advertisements they carry, and provide information that
are of practical value instead of just noteworthy happenings. Newspaper companies often own other
media outlets such as broadcasting networks.

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Social Media
According to Curtis (2013), the earliest form of social media came in the form of emails, and mass
media services such as America Online (AOL), that went online in 1985. By the early 2000s, social
sharing networks such as Friendster, MySpace and Flickr have come to existence, as quickly gained
user growth. Friendster registrations skyrocketed to three million user in just three months.
However, it wasnt until 2004, when five students from Harvard College invented a website that was
originally intended to be a college version of Friendster called Facebook, did the social media
phenomenon take over.
Social media was originally invented as a platform to build connection or social relations among
people who share interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. A social network service
consists of a representation of each person, his or her social links, and a variety of additional services
such as instant messaging. This allows users to share a wide variety of things, such as but not limited
to ideas, pictures, posts, activities, events, interests with people in their network. This has resulted in
the existence of a world without boundaries, as people can easily know what the other is doing,
even if they live on the other side of the planet. However, this evolved to the point where it has also
left an impact on society that extends beyond just social means.
Social media has changed the way we communicate, how we interact with each other, but most
importantit has changed how news is broadcast all over the world. People can now easily share
news stories, current happenings with just a simple click of a button. News reporting has become
fluid, mobile and very, very fast.

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b.

How do these technologies fit in with society today? Is it still important? Do you think that
in the near future it will no longer be needed?

In my opinion, both mediums still play significant roles in todays day and age, in spite of the
tremendous technological changes that have taken over our world.

Newspapers still play a role in the process of news reporting, the problem lies not with the question
of how fast we can get information out there; it is in the fact that there is simply too much
information. Even though the Internet is quicker, newspapers aid us in making sense of a huge range
of differing views about an issue, doing it quickly and knowing the right questions to ask of the right
people at the right time (Greenslade, 2012). It lies in the fact that news is still a no-nonsense field;
facts are still being screened, you cant simply state something without having the evidence to back
it up. I believe that because of the strict guidelines that come with news reporting and publishing,
this creates a sense of valid truth compared to anything any tom, dick or harry could easily publish
online.

However, this is not to deny social media of its undeniable place in the web of information transfer.
Social media grants us the gift of unlimited connectivityto each other, and also the world. We are
able to exchange messages, thoughts and updates because of the existence of social media
websites. It allows us to keep a constant pulse on things; significant things and events that are
happening, even though we arent physically present. Similarly, because of social medias
widespread reach, urgent, critical news updates can be easily broadcasted to audiences, without the
hassle of going through physical printing such as newspapers. Furthermore, half of social network
site users have shared news stories, images or videos, and nearly as many (46%) have discussed a
news issue or event (Anderson et al., 2014).

Some people say that print media will eventually go extinct within the future. Due to the
technological growth and widespread reach of the Internet, but I might argue that print media has
more established roots and because of that, it gives it a sense of legitimacy, of reliability and truth.
Hence, newspapers still present itself as irreplaceable even as todays modern society continues to
grow. Social media however, to me, feels more like a complimentary device to the process. While
social media has its own standing as a tool to keep people connected and sharing with each other,
its multi-faceted use also plays a prominent role in aiding the process of news reporting.

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Therefore to me, I feel that there is a need for both devices, and that they both still have a relevance
to our society.

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c.
Compare the audiences of both technologies, their usages, and reach, before making a
conclusion about your comparison.
Newspapers are still experiencing significant readership, although it definitely loses to digital media.
Newspaper website audiences grew 3% as measured by unique visitors from November 2011 to
November 2012. However, total visits decreased almost 5% in the same time period (Edmonds et al.,
2013). In the same article, circulation revenue, both for weekday and Sunday editions, has remained
relatively steady over the past two decades. In 2012, circulation revenue increased 4.6% for both
weekday and Sunday editions.

The audiences for newspapers are predominantly the older generations, although a surprising
statistic is that people from the young adult age group did not show any changes in readership.
According to Edmonds et al., the percentage of adults who report they read a newspaper
yesterday declined again in 2012 for all age groups except 18-to-24-year-olds. The biggest decline
was for 35-to-44-year-olds, down three percentage points. Those 65 and older again were most
likely to be newspaper readers. This shows that even though newspapers are considered to be one
of the older forms of mass media, it is still being used by both the young and old.

According to Stephens (2000), newspapers have begun emphasizing feature stories and analysis
pieces. Fewer stories now employ the inverted pyramid format. So while it still covers the daily beat,
international news and other practical information, newspapers have become more of a device for
human interest, as the focus on feature articles is ultimately what that sells. However, newspapers
are also dependent on their geographical location, and therefore, newspapers only cover news that
is local and relevant to the society that reads them. This results in a lower reach compared to the
newspaper websites, will can easily reach hundreds of thousands of readers, and are not limited only
to locals.

As for social media, Facebook has 864 million daily active users on average for September 2014
(Facebook, 2014). This includes approximately 82.2% of active users that are outside the US and
Canada, which means that it is being utilized globally. In addition to sharing news on social media, a
small number are also covering the news themselves, by posting photos or videos of news events
(Anderson et al., 2014). Pew Research found that in 2014, 14% of social media users posted their
own photos of news events to a social networking site, while 12% had posted videos. This practice
has played a role in a number of recent breaking news events, including the riots in Ferguson, Mo.

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While Facebook users cater mostly to the younger generations of the world, studies have shown that
respondents in the Generation X (30 to 44 years old), baby boomers (44 to 65 years old), and the
WWII categories are more likely to use Facebook, followed by MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn (Inside
Facebook, 2009). Which indicates that it appeals not only to the young, but also the older
generations as well.
While it is clear that social media far outranks traditional print media in terms of reach, I feel that
that both still play a relevant role in getting information out there to the masses. Where learning is
concerned, there is no such thing as a winner or loser.

Word Count: 1670 WORDS

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References

Anderson, M., Caumont, A., Anderson, M. and Caumont, A. (2014). How social media is reshaping
news. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2014/09/24/how-social-media-is-reshaping-news/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

Barber, P. (2014). Newspaper History. [online] Historicpages.com. Available at:

http://www.historicpages.com/nprhist.htm [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

Dr. Anthony R. Curtis, a. (2013). The Brief History of Social Media. [online] Www2.uncp.edu.
Available at:
http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html [Accessed
27 Nov. 2014].

Edmonds et al., (2013). Newspapers: By the Numbers | State of the Media. [online] Available at:
http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2013/newspapers-stabilizing-but-still-threatened/newspapers-bythe-numbers/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014].

Facebook, (2014). Company Info | Facebook Newsroom. [online] Available at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20141118022839/http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/ [Accessed
28 Nov. 2014].

Greenslade, R. (2012). Local news crisis: why newspapers remain so important to the public. [online]
the Guardian. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2012/jun/25/marketingandpr-local-newspapers
[Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

Inside Facebook, (2009). New Study Shows How Different Generations Use Facebook. [online]
Available at: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=109824897739 [Accessed 28 Nov.
2014].

Stephens, M., (2000). History of Newspapers - Mitchell Stephens. [online] Available at:
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Collier's%20page.htm [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].