Mass Communications Essay

Communication has developed and still continues to develop. Over the centuries, many forms of communication have developed that have made the transmission of messages among people faster and more efficient. These include the radio, television, the print media as well as telephones. With technology and globalization improving at a fast rate, certain factors have influenced the way these different channels of communication operate in ensuring their audiences are satisfied with the services they offer and also the media houses make profits. Some of the trends affecting the delivery of content are: convergence, increasing audience control, and media mobility. The focus of this essay is to analyze the impact and relevance of convergence, increasing audience control and media convergence on Radio. Radio is a means of communicating by using electromagnetic waves or frequencies to detect signals and transform them to sound and its history of radio can be dated back in the late 19th century. Back then, the radio was a simple device whose usefulness was seen during the wars and battles as it was used to send telegraphic messages to people fighting in far places. Since then, radio has developed and is used for other purposes such as educating, advertising, relying information and entertaining people. In addition, it has created a livelihood for many people who depend on it. ? Convergence Convergence refers to the way in which various communication systems are linked so as to foster faster and better ways or relaying information. Basically, it is the merging of technologies. In media, convergence is the linking of technology with media content as well as the communication networks. As technological improvements continue to advance as each day passes, people in the radio business have embraced the changes and have become better. Radios initially used to be big equipments; but they have been modified and transformed such that they can be small as the size if a pen. Convergence nowadays is seen by how the internet has linked up with radio such that people from any corner of the world can listen to different radio stations in other countries. Before the internet came to use in 1969, people could only listen to radio stations within their regions. â€Å"The arrival of new digital communication technologies have facilitated the delivery of digital signals through various platforms and improved audio visual quality (Chan-Olmsted, 2006). † With the advancements in digital technology and the internet, people can now choose on what they would like to listen and from anywhere. Internet has enabled people to listen to music online, download and upload whatever they like. Moreover, it has generated new experiences both socially and business wise such that people from different regions meet and interact and businesses can advertise their products to more people thus expanding their markets. Convergence is also being enhanced in radio in through pod casting such that individuals can download their favorite programs on MP3 players. The disadvantages that come with convergence is that mobiles such as the iphone and the internet are taking over the functions of the radio networks are slowly being eroded away. For radio stations to be able to tap on the convergence advantages , they need to have experts working for them that is the employees, employers as well as the private consultants who advice them. This will be good because they will always be keen and updated on what is happening so that they know whish areas need to be improved on or the ways in which technology will be incorporated into the system. Moreover, professional consultants will advice them on what competitors are doing so that the can also try similar strategies. ? Increasing audience control Nowadays, the audience especially the younger generation that is technologically more advanced and conversant with how things work influences the activities of radio stations. This is because what they listen to, read or watch determines there preferences. â€Å"Although they have a variety of things to choose from, they are influencing time, prices and the portability of media use (Chan-Olmsted, 2006). † These preferences make them request or demand for programs they like and even suggest for what things they would like to see. Since the audience is means everything to the radio owners, they are forced to give in to their customers requests. This has enabled radio stations to benefit from the customers ideas as they always work on improving their services and retain their audiences. The shortcomings of audience control is that media houses need to change the way they operate so as to meet the demands of customers and at the same time offer quality services. In doing so, they will have to invest on the latest machinery and technologies and sometimes they have to overstretch their budgets to do away with the pressure or sometimes they do not have the funds hence they risk losing their audience. ’ Media houses have to contemplate on how to internalize new technology and be responsive to the new media audience. Another disadvantage is that the audience once they do not get what they want, they will opt to down load things on the internet or shift to their competitors. ? Media Mobility Media mobility refers to the ease with which the technologies in communication can be accommodated and enhanced so as to diversify the uses of the radio. The radio while being serving as a communication channel also links technologies with customers, markets and technology. â€Å"The globalization of mobility directly involves the way in which service integration and network integration relate to one another (Hardy, Malleus & Mereur, 2002). †Mobility can be seen in the way the radio is incorporated with various devices making it more portable and more flexible thus increasing the rate of acceptance. Most mobile phones nowadays have evolved and have radios. This was mainly a marketing strategy used by the mobile companies to attract the younger generation and we can say that it has helped in expanding the usage of telephone. Furthermore, some DVDs especially home theaters and televisions have been modified to perform many functions and the radio is one of them. The usage of radio has expanded to accommodate many things and people are always eager to know what will come next. All these coupled by various enhancements such as the ear pieces have made radio more attractive. The disadvantages that come with incorporating all these new things is that the focus shifts from the radio to the other devices as it is being used to complement the other functions of the device. In addition, the costs of certain software and hardware is high therefore this limits research at times especially now when the global economy and markets are not doing well. To tap on the advantages, radio companies will need to be regularly updated on new technologies as well as invest in training and educating their staff so that they become better at what they do as well as find better marketing strategies. In addition, radio companies need to budget properly so that they have enough funds to run their businesses as well as accommodate new strategies that are beneficial to the business. Conclusion These factors have greatly impacted the things we purchase and what we listen to. Moreover, they influenced and enabled businesses to develop and grow as they do their advertisements, promotions and marketing strategies using it. I as well as other Americans have been exposed to a variety of products thus making it easier to purchase commodities especially those manufactured in far off areas. We therefore need to support the work done by researchers as well as radio stations so as to benefit through things like media mobility which link the old and new systems. References Chan-Olmsted, S. M. (2006), Competitive Strategy for Media Firms: Strategic and Brand Management in Changing Media Markets. Routledge, p. 204 Hardy, D. , Malleus, G. & Mereur. J. N. (2002). Networks: Internet, Telephony, Multimedia: Convergences and Complementarities. Translated by Michael Byrne,De Boeck Universite