Week 2 Lectorial Reflection
Not being alive during the time in which broadcast production had control over the media landscape places me in a position to favour the post-broadcast age we live in now. The ease of access to information and entertainment is so deeply ingrained in our society that I have heard the phrase “I can’t live without my phone” multiple times in the past year. The free environment of the internet does lean towards the proposition that media is not a ‘thing’ but places we inhabit and is a constant source in out everyday lives.
Yet this presence is not so restrictive in terms of audience choice in comparison to the broadcast age where a limited number of television station aired programs designed to draw audiences away from the few rival stations. The television viewing population were active in their choice of channel but not in the content they saw and as someone who tries to absorb as many cultural touchstones as possible, the internet age has allowed the people to flourish. The huge volume of media output such as user created content is not created through media factories anymore but through individual or networks of creative people who can share their expressions with a click of a button. The majority of these works do not reach as many members of society because they are specific to the creators interest and that entails viewers with similar interest seek it out whilst others never learn of its existence. This contrasts greatly with the mass comprehensibility of broadcast content but I certainly feel that the age of user created content allows for a more personal connection between creators and viewers ensuring that even though a media text is not known by everyone, it still is very important for those who care.
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