Why is tv a vast wasteland

Current reports already reveal that the future of TV will not always appear, at least exclusively, on TV. In an already interwoven and interconnected field, television is becoming even more integrated with other communication fields and media as new technology rapidly changes both form and function. It is becoming increasingly apparent to the modern viewer that the future of television will rely heavily on its integration with online communication. In , Philo T.

Today, there are TV sets in over million American households Fitzpatrick. The interconnected media involved in this portion of the world of communication are vast. In fact, even television itself can be seen as the furthering of another industry: radio. Advertising remains one of the key communication specialties related to the field of TV. Advertising is vital in order for networks to receive revenue, taking the form of commercial breaks or product placement in its programming.

Public relations keep television functioning by allowing the network organizations to relay messages to their viewers. Journalism has been involved in television history since its origins; critics in newspapers and magazines and now on blogs have often consistently made or break shows based on their reviews, and further publicize television shows to the masses.

Film, of course, has always coincided at times with TV; their professionals from writers to producers to actors often overlap. Furthermore, those two mediums themselves often crossover in various ways, whether it is the cinematic approach utilized by The Sopranos or the several films that are born from Saturday Night Live sketches.

Thus, journalists, advertisers, public relations specialists, filmmakers, and all the jobs associated with TV writers, producers, directors, actors, consultants, music coordinators—one can simply watch the end credits of a random series are all connected to this specialized industry. The landscape, however, is changing.

The interconnection of media and communication professionals with regard to television is not-so-slowly becoming even more interwoven.

With the emergence of sites like Hulu. The invasion and era are frightening to copyright holders, movie studios, and over-the-air broadcasters who fear a fate similar to that of the newspaper industry Moyer.

While some sects of the industry fret the digital threat, it should be noted that the industry is expanding in this very process. The new media marriage between the internet and TV inherently merges all the communication professionals of the world wide web into the aforementioned mix of media specialists. Now even phone companies have a stake in the television industry. Moreover, the role of the advertiser is shifting as well—and, perhaps surprisingly, in a positive way for that portion of the world of communication.

The new technology of IPTV has the capability to relay targeted advertisements to the consumer based on his or her viewing habits and preferences on the computer Mehta. The fusion of communication fields and professionals does not cease there. The strike lasted from November to February with over 12, writers joining in the fight Cieply. In the proposal, called the New Economic Partnership, writers were offered revised terms for using movies and television shows on the internet but the terms were evidently not revised enough; the guild was still unsatisfied in their demands for new media compensation Cieply.

The studio side of the argument was less publicly respected but nevertheless very notable in a discussion of new media and the industry. It was as if the company executives and writers were in an ideological argument over the future of the media or how fast that future was coming, or that companies were scared of that future, or simply that the companies wanted more money.

Disney can be seen as an exemplar for the transition in question. This company has been a household name for decades and through generations, and its movies are often the first thing children around the world see with respect to media and entertainment.

The company has withstood the test of time and evolved at a quick pace, from its animation origins to cable TV. Now it has been taking a new form entirely, or perhaps more accurately enhancing its business in the current media marketplace. If one views this prediction as too far out or futuristic, one only needs to log onto his or her iTunes library, which contains music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and radio stations.

Disney is in the process of attempting to move a significant amount of content to the Internet, even threatening the movie-house industry with the idea of releasing films to both the theater and the internet on the same day Vivian Apple and Disney reveal a crossover between almost every form of modern communication outside the written word though it should be noted all of the aforementioned media begin with a writer.

Their businesses further show how the internet is not simply challenging the necessity of a TV box, but also the movie theater, the radio, the CD, or the DVD records, VHS, and audio cassettes do not even appear to be in the mix anymore.

On the subject of Disney, it is interesting to see that former CEO Michael Eisner left the company and created Tornante Company, which merged with the Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Communications to form a studio called Vuguru Lieberman.

Vuguru will buy and develop a form of media that complicates and combines the TV show and the internet: the web-series. Web-series show how communication fields and professions overlap; for one show, Vuguru has teamed up with Big Fantastic a production company and United Talent Agency a PR firm Lieberman. Sponsors and advertisers are also vital for web-series.

Furthermore, ads will run before and after each segment which will reportedly contain product placement from Fiji Water, Pom Wonderful juices, and Telflora florists Lieberman.

And most of all, boredom. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it. The person who came up with the phrase was journalist John Bartlow Martin. The reason television needed to be better, Minow said, was bigger than entertainment. During the Cold War, the communications potential of television needed to be put to use for the cause of helping democracy defeat communism. The speech is acknowledged to have helped steer the development of what was still a young medium, though some might argue that television is even more violent and bloody than it was 55 years ago—Minow had never seen Game of Thrones , after all.

And, of course, the medium acquired a new moniker. Write to Lily Rothman at lily. Newton N. The Trump years accelerated that, but it existed before. We have ironically so democratized the speech market that no one can be heard, bad actors flood social media, and democratic deliberation is damaged.

Submit a letter, of no more than words, to the editor here or email letters chicagotribune. Get our latest editorials, op-eds and columns, delivered twice a week in our newsletter. Sign up here. Skip to content. Newton N. Minow in his Lake Shore Drive residence in Chicago in Tribune Content Agency. Michael Hiltzik is a business columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

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