Fighting perceptions against new media
Here are two reasons why traditional media producers decry new media:
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They’ve listened to something “new media” and were underwhelmed by the quality. I’m sure that happens frequently. There are LOTS of bad new media examples out there, so it’s possible. But that doesn’t mean all new media is bad. But it can reinforce the uneducated position that “all this stuff must suck”.
They haven’t listened, because they know that no one could possibly do it as well as they do without being paid/trained/ordained. This is… unfortunate. But also understandable. Many traditional media producers have invested a lot of time learning their craft.
It’s unsettling to think a bunch of upstarts can just come along, practice really hard and figure all this stuff out for, well… free.
It’s unthinkable that dedicated people could get their hands on tools and equipment necessary to produce comparable products for, well… free.
And it’s unconsciable that entire industries built on this separation of knowledge and skills are not immune to changes in the marketplace and democratization of technology, information and ideas.
So what do we do about the problems above? Perhaps nothing. There has to be a better solution to #1 than creating yet another filter. Though I’ll be damned if I can think of one. The second is perhaps more insidious. This impacts peoples world-view. Change is tough for many. The normal reaction is PRESERVE AND PROTECT rather than adapt and change.
And maybe they aren’t “problems” at all. Maybe they are simply what they are, and we’ll all go about our business, watching the lines between the two continue to blur until there isn’t any difference. Or maybe the outside world already sees it that way, and this is just my perception as an insider? Or maybe I’ve just spent too much time thinking about and commenting on this thread.
October 12th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
One of the frustrations I have with your first point, Evo, is that there’s a lot of old media out there that sucks, too. On a percentage basis, it might not be as much but because there’s so much more of it, it stands out. It’s one of the facts that’s letting new media actually develop. If the old models were really, really good, then the thin end of the wedge would find no purchase.
And thanks for the plug
October 12th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Agreed, Nathan. But in my post, I’m already making concessions and not holding the two up to the same light. I do this purely for the sake of the argument, you understand.
Yes, there are plenty of people fed up with the swill that traditional media has been producing. Hooray for them, and the better for us. But I find it hard to accept that traditional media folks will jump ship to our side once they’ve come to their senses and realize there’s plenty of crap coming from the old ways.
Again, I know you and I are on the same side of the argument here. If in fact it is an argument. Is it old media we need to change, or the perceptions of the audience at large?
October 12th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I don’t know if we need to change anybody. There’s probably room for both. It’ll be like the PC/Mac debates … whatever works for you is probably a good answer.
It would be NICE if we could get the two medias to stop bashing each other, but that’ll happen the day after PC/Mac people agree that they’re both just computers and get on with doing stuff with ‘em.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:12 am
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October 16th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Why fight? It seems to me. if you want to change perceptions about anything, you only need to do ,whatever it is, the way that you think it should be done. If you truly seek democratization of the media, you must understand that democracy is messy and spectrum of quality derived from it is good and bad. In this there is no arbiter of value or quality. Let people embrace the concept of new media on their own terms. That is the purpose of democracy.
October 21st, 2008 at 3:39 am
If there is one thing old media Knows who to due is suck.
Much of podcasting has things in common with public broadcasting like putting content over highest profit and giving consumers what they want.
With the number of programs on radio like The Sonic Society and NPR, how can they say untrained? Since when was Father Roderic not ordained?
I don’t think old media hates new media and much of it is slowly catching on like morning shows putting highlights in the feed.
I am also not surprised to see NPR shows so popular as podcast since many old radio shows were first Vaudeville and many first TV show first radio shows.
I may be wrong because the internet is just a fad like radio and television.
October 21st, 2008 at 3:41 am
Opps that is supposed to be How to suck typo
June 5th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I am a fiction novelist. My website is http://lpwrites.com and I have a podcast at http://lprants.com
Here’s the thing about the ‘sucky’ nature of podcasting:
If you have a product/ serve to offer the public and you don’t market yourself using new media constructs, you are called behind the curve and unworthy of special notice. If you DO market yourself, you are called self-important. My take? If a person is going to listen to my podcast and scoff at my inflections (or lack thereof) my background music (or lack, thereof) or my pace (or lack, thereof) — then he should find another podcast to listen to. I am a writer — not a professional, sing-songy, scripted, bullshit broadcaster. I am trying to connect with loyal and potential readers at once; in a forum that may (or, may not) offer them different perspectives on myself and my work; in a relaxed, conversational (and maybe sometimes, ranting, screaming) manner. Myself, as myself, as it were. If that’s not good enough for the ‘discerning’ listener, too flipping bad. It’s all I’ve got and it’s what I give to my cherished readers and listeners every time I get on the mic… everything I’ve got. If authenticity sucks, then I am proud to say that my podcast sucks. LOL