Page 40 - Communication Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts

BROADCASTING

BROADCASTING

Jostein Gripsrud (1998) writes that the original use of the word
‘broadcasting’ was as an agricultural term, to describe the sowing or
scattering of seeds broadly, by hand, in wide circles. This image of
distributing widely and efficiently from a central point, as far as the
reach will allow, is also present within the term’s technological
meaning, as a distribution method for radio and television. Broad-
casting is over-the-air transmission, whereby signals (analogue waves
or digital data) are emitted from a central transmitter in the AM,
VHF/FM and UHF bands. The power of the transmitter determines
howfar that signal will reach.
Implicit within broadcasting is the idea of distribution from the
central to the periphery. The historically dominant, one-to-many
structure of television and its capacity to distribute information
efficiently to large numbers of people imply that broadcasting is
essentially a modernist device. It is seen as an instrument with the
capacity to organise and to commodify which is based in large,
centralised industry structures. The characteristics of the techno-
logical and industrial distribution of television has, in this way,
given rise to analysis of broadcasting that sees it as purely one-way
communication, a central voice communicating to the masses with
an authoritative or controlling capacity. However, this conception
of television has been revised by theories that explore the capacity
of the viewer to actively engage with television, to bring their
own self-knowledge and experience to interpretation of the
television text and to make cultural and identity choices through
viewing.
Technological changes in broadcast technology are also challenging
our assumptions about the nature of broadcast media. Digital
compression technology has enabled a greater amount of channels,
increasing viewer choice and encouraging programming for niche,
rather than mass, audiences. In many respects narrowcasting and
community broadcasting have always rejected the assumption that
television was intended for large audiences of common interest.
Furthermore, digital technology allows for two-way communication
through broadcasting, enabling interactivity (with the programme or
with other people) through the television set.
‘Broadcasting’ also describes an industry, funded through subscrip-
tions, advertising, sponsorship, donations, government funding or a
combination of these sources.

25