Creative industries
Week 3
13/10/2016
Print and electronic publishing

POLITICS OF PUBLISHING

JOURNALISM

DIGITAL TURN

There are many different forms of literature and publishing and their respective 'cultural values' are often judged to see which holds the most merit and a hierarchy has become apparent.

The Oxford Dictionary defines literature as 'Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting merit.'

PUBLISHING AND PRINT INDUSTRY

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Threats to the publishing industry

Brief history of printing industry

"Dead" media

PRINTING IN AMERICA:1639 Issues such as book piracy, book price regulation and copyright law bought forward in C19th. In the C20th book clubs began and saw the beginning of literary agents and more advertisement-based sales methods.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: 1800'S Emergence of printers, publishers and sellers as organised separate industries which then founded the supply chain we still see in modern publishing

AGES OF EARLY PRINTING:1450-1550 The first printing press invented c.1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. Quickly spread around Europe (England in 1476, France in 1470, Russia in 1552) until 50 years later number of books produced was estimated around 9m.

'Classic' Literature (such as novels and poems)

Magazines

'Modern/popular' Literature (such as novels and poems'

Scriptwriting

Blogs

New media is not necessarily the latest released instead it is how society reacts and responds to it. Sonia Livingston states we should ask "what's new for society about new media?"

What is new media? (Flew, 2008:2-3)

Manipulable

Paul Dugid: Two reductive "Futurological tropes"

Networkable #

Impartial

Compressable

Dense

Examples of new media

Television has also evolved, with 1000's of channels and programs for the whole family to enjoy. Sitting around the TV together used to be a family affair but now thanks to catch-up and online viewing everyone can watch separate things.

Books have even evolved over time and now thanks to technology such as Kindles or eBooks literature can be conveniently accessed anywhere at any time.

Newspapers are now accessible online or on apps so can be read on tablets, phones or laptops

SUPERCESSION: The notion that each new medium "vanquishes or subsumes its predecessors"

INCREASING TRANSPARENCY: The assumption that each new medium mediates less, that is successfully "frees" information from the constraints of previously inadequate or "unnatural" media forms that represented reality less perfectly. #

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There is an assumed improvement and easier accesibility and more immediate information. Paintings have become photographs, television is now in higher resolutions such as HD, 4K and 3D and finally books have becomek kindles

Whilst the digital turn means changes in the publishing industry Lisa Holton wrote in 2009 for Publishing trends that the future means "believing that the word 'Publish' is not bound between two covers, but instead defined by the art and craft of connecting great writers with their audiences". #

Digital-based "virtual" books, newspapers and magazines now hold a higher value due to an increased demand for online publications. Electronic reading is slowly becoming more desirable than paper-based readings and therefore traditional print media are losing revunue #

The newspaper industry is said to be 'dying' as the digital industry continues to increase its revenue as this article explains:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/24/digital-advertising-climb-tradional-media-trouble_n_6930958.html

Emergence of Citizen Journalism

WEB 2.0

An article discussing citizen journalism and the problems that can arise from it such as credibility
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jun/11/rise-of-citizen-journalism

What is citizen journalism?

Citizen journalism is when private individuals report information, which can be anything from a podcast or video, to a blog post with text and pictures

Examples

Web 2.0 allows interact and comment on information. This allows to take a more active role in news and therefore society around us. Some have argued that this undermines the traditional authority of media institutions however Rick Stengel the managing editor of TIME wrote in 2006 "The new media age of Web 2.0 is threatening only if you believe that an excess of democracy is the road to anarchy. I don't..."
I also agree that any information needs to be immediately accessible and is there to be questioned.

Examples

Being invited to 'Tweet in' to shows and broadcasts

Blogs and bitesize videos related to programs

Calls into shows

Blogs and micro blogs have allowed previously unheard citizens to interact with news

Video blogs of politicians and their supporters often present a more honest image of their campaign

Videophone footage of wars in countries inaccessible to western journalists

Journalism needs to stay relevant to the reader, hence the emergence of citizen journalism which often uses social media as a platform which therefore reaches a greater and more varied audience.

Citizens are now able to be the reporter, reader, commentator and editor