Media ecology plan

This blog post will discuss an in-deph overview of my essay plan in regards to the media ecology questionn listed below.

Key Concepts:

  • Language

  • Representation

  • Industry

  • Audience

Mark Scheme:

  • Contexts, Concepts & Critical Debates

  • Terminology

  • Meaning

  • Examples


Explain what you think is the most significant change in the media in recent years. (AI)


Start w media ecology definition 

Convergence of personal communication and mass communication 

(Increasingly social ubiquitous media) - migration of media to internet 


A01

  • MEDIA CONCEPTS 

  • P1: chatbots - political propaganda + misinformation (monetization by data mining underpins knowledge economy) 

  • P2: (content generation) - companies relying on ai to satisfy audiences, competition for attention as media companies have to keep producing content

  • P3 : Data Regulation - impact on society of technological change including collection + sharing of info = issues raised by media ownership and funding in contemporary media practice ( changes how future audience will consume and produce new media as ai may develop and with it learning more about audiences it become more “human like”) 

  • CRITICAL DEBATES

  • P1: (regulatory framework - section 230 -> jeopardises people’s democracy = how does this affect people’s freedom of speech) (need for new regulation, section 230 not prepared for the rapid changing tech in our world like chatbot) 

  • P2: Media industry - effect on audience/industry  (process of production - shaping media products) (patterns of ownership and control - economic factors) (these scripts could be translated to fit local/global audiences) 

  • P3: 

  • TERMINOLOGY

  • net neutrality 

  • Globalization 

  • Conglomerates

  • AI/Augmented reality

  • Technological convergence 

  • Media ownership  

  • Section 230 

  • Technological determinism debate (social/political/cultural factors) 


A02

  • MEANING + THEORY

  • Media Industries : Curran and Seaton 

  • Identity theory : David Gauntlett

  • Regulation : Livingstone + Lunt 

  • Reception theory : Stuart Hall

  • Cyber Utopianism : Morozov ( 2011) = morozov warns against cyber utopianism, data control allows for manipulation = concerns around “free election” - effect of bypassing institutions designed to protect privacy. 

  • Surveillance capitalism : Zuboff = undermines personal autonomy + democracy 

  • Case Studies: 

  • P1: Joe Biden’s use of digital propaganda

    • Joe Biden’s victory was fuelled by an extensive digital campaign, which relied on new methods to reach out to voters. Among these was conversational AI deployed as a chatbot via Facebook Messenger and designed by Amplify.ai.

    • Spam and Misinformation: In some cases, malicious actors have used chatbots to spread spam, fake news, or political disinformation, potentially impacting public opinion. Chatbots can be programmed to share political messages and campaign updates across various social media platforms, amplifying a candidate's or party's reach.

    • Automated Messaging Campaigns: Political campaigns have used chatbots to send automated messages to potential voters, disseminating campaign materials and gathering support.

  • P2: Washington Post using Heliograf to produce automated news stories and alerts

    • give readers localised results updates for House, Senate and presidential races at the top of “Post Reports,” “The Big Idea,” and “Can He Do That?”

    • “ensure our readers have timely information that’s relevant to them and easily accessible on the platforms they turn to for news”, says a washington post executive

    • By ‘relevant to them’ this could be tied in together with the risks of biased information/misinformation being widespread using the ai program.

  • P3: Writers’ Strike getting rid of peoples’ jobs

    • During the WGA strike, production stalled on dozens of TV shows, including “Stranger Things,” “The Last of Us”, “Emily in Paris” and “Severance.” Once the WGA authorizes its members to start working again, it sounds like writing on some shows can resume, although acting work is still banned under the SAG-AFTRA strike. (AS A RESULT) Younger consumers are transforming the media industry and have gone mobile. They have cut the cord from cable and switched to OTT providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime by the hundreds of millions. Older generation consumers are heavy users of Facebook, while their kids create and share TikTok videos

    • (Focus more on regulation rather than content generation)


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