Page 180 - Communication Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts

NEWS VALUES

and cultural possibilities (cyberdemocracy, cyborg and virtual
communities) all point to the significance of change brought about
by newmedia technologies.
A key characteristic of newcommunication technologies is
digitalisation. As discussed by Feldman (1997), digital technology is
compressible, able to be manipulated and networked, dense and
impartial. Its density means that large amounts of digital information
can be stored in a small space – what would otherwise take up shelves
of printed books can be stored on a single CD. If it is still not dense
enough, large files of information (such as video) can be compressed
and then decompressed when required. As it is manipulable, the
information can be reshaped easily, allowing for interactive services.
Audiences can alter signals at the delivery point in order to specify
what it is they wish to see, thus creating their own content. The
networking ability of digital media means that information can be
distributed to numerous users at once. All these characteristics
combined have radically altered the speed and capabilities of media
technology.
A significant result of digitalisation is that information can nowalso
be transferred across otherwise distinct platforms. This means that the
traditional media (television, radio, print) are no longer required to
retain their separate identities. Print media content, for instance, can
be received through a web site on a computer or a digital television set,
with links to audio (radio-like content) or video (television-like
content). The impact of media convergence on incumbent media
institutions and industry structures is proving immense.
Media studies itself has changed significantly as a result of new
media technologies. Apart from a range of newtheoretical concerns
arising from the advent of digital media, media studies is becoming
increasingly ‘hands-on’. As media production is nowpossible from the
desktop, the distinction between those who do media and those who
analyse it is becoming increasingly blurred.
See also: Convergence, Digital/analogue distribution, Information
society/information economy, Network society

NEWS VALUES

Those professional codes used in the selection, construction and
presentation of news. News values do not necessarily relate to
individual journalists, who themselves are subject to personal values,

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