Media technology is an ever-evolving category currently including many different aspects, items, or arenas such as cell phones, internet, radio, television, newspaper, and so on. Each of these media can be used for any number of reasons including personal, and/or professional and for any number of purposes such as entertainment, sales, information, persuasion, etc. A few forms of media technology are:
Radio – Although radio has changed throughout the years and evolved to include satellite radio and internet radio, the purpose has largely stayed the same. Radio can be used to entertain through music or sports broadcasting. It can be used to persuade through religious or political programming or talk radio. It can be used to inform through public service announcements, news radio, or educational programming. Or it can be used to sell something through advertisements. Radio’s audience is a very broad category with different stations targeting different segments of the population. Some stations target age groups such as teens or middle-aged adults. Some stations target interest groups such as Christian radio stations, sports stations, conservative or liberal talk radio, etc. Some stations target various cultures or ethnic groups, broadcasting in the language of their target audience.
Internet – Arguably one of the greatest forms of media technology ever invented is the internet. The advances in communication that have occurred because of the internet are tremendous. The internet can be used for instant communication from all over the globe through the use of email, webcasts, web-conferencing, etc. The internet may also be used to gain information from written communications posted to websites from anywhere in the world. In fact, the internet has allowed individuals to access so much information that they may suffer from information overload as well as be fooled by inaccurate information. As with the radio, the internet can be used for personal and professional reasons, for entertainment, for education, for information, for persuasion, and many other purposes. Internet users, otherwise known as internet communication’s audience, are as vast and diverse as the occupants of the seven continents. Each website posted on the internet has its own audience which may range from children to the elderly, the healthy to the ill, the Christian to the Muslim, the intellectual to the sports enthusiasts, the educated to those who desire education, etc.
Cell Phones – How did we once live without cell phones? In many cases, cell phones have replaced landlines for household communication. Parents and children have cell phones to keep track of each other. Organizations have cell phones to enable them to carry out their business from anywhere and not be tied to their desks. Some of these devises are simply for verbal or written communication (texting). Other cell phones, generally known as smart phones, use integrated technology enabling individuals to access other forms of media such as the internet, radio, even television. The audience for cell phones, once primarily younger individuals, has grown to include a once limited demographic: senior citizens. From the grade school to the retirement home, individuals of all ages, genders, cultures, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds are users of this form of technology.
Newspapers – Although some say that the print newspaper is a dying media, it is very much alive and well in my community. The overwhelming purpose of a newspaper is to either inform or persuade. Local, national, and international news is the major content of the print newspaper. Locally, obituaries, community calendars of events, crime watch, economic concerns, etc. are offered on a daily or weekly basis. State, national, and international headlines, travel information, and weather are other items included in the pages. Newspapers are used to sell or persuade through the classified ads. Entertainment is also a part of the print newspaper through the inclusion of movie times, local cultural events, horoscope, comics, etc. A drawback to the print newspaper is the difficulty in finding desired information. Fortunately, most newspapers have a searchable website in which their feature stores are accessible. Newspaper readers, otherwise known as the audience, are generally thirty-something or older adults. The low-tech environment of the print newspaper is often unappealing to today’s youth.
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